Basic Skills
So you've
taught ESL for years. You understand the population you serve.
You know what works for them. In the ESL classroom.
But now
it's a whole new adventure. You are co-teaching in a content
area that you may have no experience in! How do you adapt?
Here are
some tips for the new I-BEST instructor.
Focus on the student
What do your I-BEST students need in order to pass this class? Have
this as a priority and use it as a teaching principle when you want
to revise activities and tests with the content instructor. You may
experience teaching frustration because of not teaching 100% of the
time or not teaching solo. Since I-BEST is all about collaborative
teaching, approach any conflict between instructors’ teaching styles
by addressing the students’ needs first.
-
Classroom assessment technique: On an index card, ask students
to answer these questions, What kind of a learner are you?
(By listening, hands on, visual) How do you learn best?
(Working in groups, individual, both) What do you want to see
more in class? (Hands on activities, notes, interactive games)
Use this tool to modify future lesson planning together, keeping in
mind how your students learn best.
Build interest
in the content
You should be interested in the content that you are going to
collaboratively teach. Students can sense an instructor’s
disinterest and may interpret that content as being unimportant.
Even when there is a lack of interest, you need to find motivation
for yourself, as well as the students.
To do this, keep your eye on the end goal – why are the students
learning this? What are the practical applications? What lessons
or activities can you plan that demonstrate how that material will
be used in the real world?
Familiarize yourself with the content, text materials, and
activities to support the content. In addition, learn what the
students can do after your class. Where can they get a job? What
further training can they get? Be clear on the pathway for your
students to continue their education or training at the college or
elsewhere.
Set up expectations
Develop a course outline that integrates content and basic skills
outcomes and activities. Make sure to go over course and program
expectations at the beginning of the quarter so that students are
not caught unaware at any point. Also frequently review these
expectations.
In class, have an agenda written on the board. This keeps both
instructors on track of objectives that need to be covered during
that time. This also serves as a comprehension check at the end of
the day to see if students understand the concepts presented and
practiced in class. A quick-two minute review of those concepts will
go a long way toward helping students recognize and retain key
concepts.
Deconstruct lecture,
lecture, lecture
What do you do about lectures? They're unavoidable, but you need to
make them interactive so that students feel comfortable asking
questions and participating in discussions. How do you re-focus the
lectures from teacher-centered to student-centered?
Here are some suggestions:
-
Pre-lecture questions: Provide questions prior to the lecture
and have the students listen for the answer. This will not only
help students recognize important material, but will also help
their listening comprehension.
-
Insert clarification questions: Right after the lecture or
mid-lecture, ask students specific questions to assess their
comprehension or ask them to summarize what the important ideas
were.
-
Take notes: If you’re able to, have an outline ready for the
students prior to the lecture and have them fill in the outline.
Students then get into groups and fill in any part of the
outline they were unable to alone. This reinforces their
listening and group work skills.
-
Tape or videotape: Suggest that the students bring in their own
recorders or provide your own. You can then use these tapes as
review and as the basis for listening exercises.
Design assessment strategically
How do you know what students know? Think about how you can develop
activities that do more than just recall students’ memory. Design
your activities to focus on the practical application of the
concepts in their future career.
Let things go
You may have the most detailed course outline but what happens when
you don’t stick to it? Or what happens when your plan is based on
the content instructor’s plan and that goes off schedule? You need
to be flexible. You may need to give up some of your class time to
make sure students are ready for exams or assignments. But remember
the focus is on students’ needs and their success. Maybe you’d
planned a lesson on slang in the accounting industry – but what the
students really need is to review for Exam #2. If you go ahead with
your lesson, you may find that students are absent or studying for
the test during your class time. Be prepared to wing it and let
your lesson plan go.
Suggestion: muddy points* classroom assessment. On an index
card, ask students to write what concepts they don’t understand.
Use this for test review or to design the next lesson. Keep notes
on difficult concepts so you can revise next quarter’s syllabus and
course outline together.
Teach cultural competence
How do you talk about cultural awareness? Some content instructors
or students do not have experience with an internationally diverse
classroom. Their unfamiliarity with other cultures may be an
opportunity to do a mini lesson on cultural awareness and
sensitivity. What are the hidden rules in the United States? For
example, in the US, we avoid talking about salary, whereas in other
cultures, it’s a common topic.
Suggestion: Comparative chart of US customs at the workplace vs.
their native cultures’. Students fill in their own charts and
discuss in groups. Some topic suggestions are perception of time,
conflict resolution, personal space, eye contact, forms of
addressing superiors, etc.
Invite the content instructor to watch you with the students
The content instructors can get ideas on effective techniques to use
with basic skills student. Have the instructor be an active part of
the classroom activity. You will spend quite a bit of time
observing them in the content classroom; extend the same opportunity
even if it is not part the curriculum design.
Make yourself obsolete
At the end of the quarter, do you feel unnecessary? Out-of-place?
Useless? That’s a good thing. The goal of an I-BEST is to give
students the tools they need to be successful on their own. Make
sure you’re teaching the students the skills to be independent and
self-directed. In an ESL class the teacher is used to holding the
students’ hands, but you can’t be there for the rest of their lives.
Allow them to be increasingly self-sufficient.
Suggestions:
-
Give the students options and have the students make the choice.
-
Ask the students to assess their own needs and come up with
solutions on their own.
-
Ask leading questions to get the students to discover the
correct answer on their own rather than giving the answer
yourself.
If, at the end of the quarter, you find that the students don’t need
you anymore, consider the program a success and give yourself a pat
on the back.
*Muddy Points Resource: Angelo, T. & Cross, K.P. Classroom
Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers.
Last updated:
November 06, 2009
|
