*
Janis Holden-Toruño
NC Assessment Trainer
holdenj@faytechcc.edu
*Varying degrees of native language literacy
*Many native languages: some with the
Roman alphabet, others with another
alphabet, and some with no written
alphabet.
*Varying rates of progress affected by:
* Diverse learning styles
* Learner expectations
* Culture, religion, sex, and age of the
learners.
*
* Standardized Assessments (formal) include CASAS,
BEST, and TABE Clas-E. TABE is norms-referenced
while CASAS and BEST are criterion-referenced.
* Alternative Assessments (informal) include one-onone interviews, group discussions, learner
observations, teacher-made tests, quizzes,
homework, projects, et al.
These assessments help determine the instructional
level, but do not give us the complete picture.
*
* Why do your students want to learn English?
* Intermediate and Advanced students can do a goal-
setting exercise. This can be an individual
assessment or it can be done as a group. Suggested
questions:
* 1. What do I want to do?
* 2. What will help me reach my goal?
* 3. What will prevent me from reaching my goal?
* 4. What is my plan of action?
*
* Why do your students want to learn English?
* Beginning students can be given an activity sheet
with pictures. This can be an individual assessment
or it can be done as a group. The activity sheet
can have simple English captions under pictures of
things such as children’s school, work, driving, etc.
Remember: It is important that adult learners are
actively involved in choosing the direction and
content of their learning (Auerbach, 1992).
*
How do I
pull that
rabbit out
of my hat?
*
*Self-access centers enable learners to take
responsibility for choosing appropriate work.
*Tasks are set up so that learners need minimal
assistance to accomplish the activity.
*Directions are clear and need little
explanation.
*Answers are often provided to allow learners
to evaluate their own work.
*
*Factors to consider:
*Differences in age
*Social backgrounds
*Country of origin
*Educational background
*English language ability
Cultural and personal differences are important!
*
* There are many text books that lend themselves to
guided, self-access study. Look for books with an
answer key. Some answer keys even explain why an
answer is appropriate.
* Books with correlated CDs or Tapes are very useful,
especially if you have a CD/Tape Player with
headphones for students to use.
* Belkin sells a Multi Headphone Splitter that allows five
headphones to be plugged in. Cost is under $20. Other
splitters are available.
* Legally reproducible activities cost more in the
beginning, but are very economical and very useful.
*
* Health Stories (and other books from New
Readers Press)
* English, Yes! Or Literature in English
(Contemporary)
* Six-Way Paragraphs (Contemporary)
* Practical English (Cengage)
* Side by Side (Pearson)
* Vocabulary series from Townsend Press
*
* 10 Steps: Controlled Composition by Gay Brookes
& Jean Withrow (oop-Check Amazon)
* 26 Steps: Controlled Composition by Linda Ann
Kuntz (oop-Check Amazon)
* Writing Practical English 1, 2, & 3 by Tim Harris
and Allan Rowe (Cengage). The companion book is
called Practical English
Don’t forget Dialog Journals! They aren’t a text, but
they are a good way to get students writing.
*
10 Steps, by
Gay Brookes
and Jean
Withrow
Writing
Practical
English 1,
by Tim
Harris
* Listening Dictation: Understanding English
Sentence Structure by Joan Morley (University of
Michigan Press)
* Active Listening (Levels 1, 2, & 3)
* Catherine Sadow books on dictation:
* Great Dictations (High Beginning)
* Interactive Dictations (Intermediate)
* Dictations for Discussion (Advanced) by Sadow and
DeFelippo (Pro Lingua Associates)
*
* Jazz Chants
* Grammar Chants
* Other chants books by
Martha Graham
*
* Pronunciation Pairs
* Clear Speech
* Clear Speech from the
Start
Grammar
Chants
By Carolyn
Graham
* Back & Forth: Photocopiable Cooperative Pair
Activities for Language Development by Palmer,
Rodgers, & Olsen (Alta ESL)
* Look Who’s Talking by Christison & Bassano (Alta ESL)
* Writing Warm Ups: 70 Activities for Prewriting by Tom
& McKay (Alta ESL)
* Index Card Games for ESL by Clark (Alta ESL)
* Ventures: Civics Worksheets by Bitterlin et al
(Cambridge)
*
* Software for Purchase (Internet based)
* Burlington English—An exceptionally well-
done, interactive software experience. Costs
under $100 per seat per year. Go to
www.BurlingtonEnglish.com
* Rosetta Stone—Another great program.
They
have moved from CDs to online. It’s
expensive, but you get good value. Email
them for information at:
education@rosettastone.com
*
Great Websites
* www.FreeRice.com
Help feed the hungry while
learning. This is a free website and has more than
just vocabulary.
* www.ESLCafe.com
Dave’s ESL Café has activities
for students and lots of information for instructors.
* www.ESL-Lab.com Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab
* www.townsendpress.net Higher level reading
* Create your own class website at www.weebly.com
It’s free—create up to two sites.
*
* Just-a-Minute by Elizabeth Claire
(elizabethclaire.com)
* Cathy’s Cards by Cathy Jo Seitchik Diaz (Alta
ESL)
* Runners & Scribes (make your own)
* Basta! (make your own)
* Hangman (make your own)
* Information Gaps (make your own)
* Dictacomp (make your own)
*
* Consider making pre-recorded tapes for
dictation.
* Use writing frames to create sentences.
* Develop longer writing exercises such as those
found in 10 Steps or 26 Steps. Try News for
You articles or other appropriate-level reading
if you don’t have time to prepare your own.
* Keep index cards of topics to be discussed.
* Have role play scenarios for pairs or small
groups.
*
Hey
students!
Wanna see me
pull a rabbit out
of my hat?
*