IDIOM

Idiom

T E NY S O L

New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Vol. 41, NO. 3

This issue’s Theme:

Conversations Contents Collaborative Conversations 1 Conversations in Support 3 Acting 4 Resources for the Common Core.

6 Talking is learning 10 Small Talk 14 Conversation Table 24

Regular Features/ Special Announcements Promising Practices Book Review SIGs and Regions Members Only Website Editorial Notes Upcoming Idiom Themes Calendar and Announcements NEW Membership Form

8 12 17 18 22 22 22 23

in the TESOL educational community (e.g., themes of 2011 New York State and Kentucky TESOL conferences). Acknowledging the importance of collaborative exchanges among teachers is not a completely novel idea, though.

Close to three decades ago, Judith Warren Little (1982) examined the differences between more and less effective schools and found that the more effective ones had a greater degree of collegiality. She noted four unique characteristics of collegiality (or collaboration) in successful schools, where teachers participate in the following activities: -Teachers engage in frequent, continuous, and increasingly concrete and precise talk about teaching practice.

-Teachers are frequently observed and provided with useful critiques of their teaching -Teachers plan, design, evaluate, and prepare teaching materials together.

-Teachers teach each other the practice of teaching (pp. 331– 332).

Collaborative Conversations

by Andrea Honigsfeld That effective collaboration benefits students (and teachers alike) is affirmed by the well-deserved attention it has received most recently in the professional literature (see, for example, DelliCarpini, 2008, 2009; Honigsfeld & Dove, 2010; NACTAF, 2009; NEA, 2009; Pawan & Ortloff, 2011) and

Consider what Warren Little’s (1982) frequently quoted four key ideas could mean for ELLs in today’s schools. What if we translated her seminal fi ndings into a contemporary framework of four Cs, in which “collaborative” serves as a defining adjective, followed by a key activity or de-

Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

1

NYS TESOL Idiom

Fall 2011

http://www.nystesol.org

sired teacher behavior necessary for improved student learning?

Collaborative Conversations: Through enhanced communication, all teachers have the opportunity to develop ownership and shared responsibility for ELLs’ learning.

Collaborative Coaching: Through an encouraging school climate and supportive framework, teachers offer and receive feedback on their teaching practices Collaborative Curriculum Development: Through curriculum mapping and alignment and collaborative materials development, teachers match both their longterm and day-to-day instructional goals and activities.

NYS TESOL Annual Conference Oct. 28-29 Marriott Hotel Melville www.nystesol.org/annualconf/

Desk

President’s From the

Dear Colleagues,

Our new Commissioner of Education, Dr. John B. King, Jr., may not be familiar with the importance of the resources offered by the BETACs. You may e-mail him directly at: jking@mail.nysed.gov. In addition, you may email the NYS Board of Regents on this issue at: RegentsOffi ce@mail.nysed.gov.

At the Melville Marriott October 28-29th, I will be passing the gavel to our incoming President, Rebekah Johnson. I would like to thank the many wonderful members of my Executive Board and the many SIG and Region Leaders for their service to the organization. Special thanks to Cornelia Randolph, a constant support and inspiration, and Fran Olmos, for her guidance.

You will be receiving ballots for the Executive Board slate in the mail shortly. Thanks to our Nominating Committee, led by Cornelia Randolph and Terri Brady-Mendez, for their time and efforts. Members, please do not forget to vote for your new leadership in our organization by returning your ballots. As always, please continue to keep in touch with issues, concerns, and ideas on how our organization can best serve you. Best wishes for a great school year to all.

Peace and blessings to you, Nanette Dougherty, President, NYS TESOL

I hope you have been enjoying a happy, healthy and restorative summer. I would like to update you on some changes and challenges facing educators.

On July 13, I attended the Bilingual/ESL COP (Committee of Practitioners) meeting at Teachers College, Columbia University. The most major changes include the New Evaluation Law for K-12 teachers and principals: 1. Annual evaluations for all teachers and principals 2. Clear, rigorous expectations for instructional excellence, prioritizing student learning 3. Multiple measures of performance 4. Multiple ratings: Four performance levels to describe differences in teacher effectiveness 5. The new should encourage regular, constructive feedback and ongoing development 6. Signifi cance: results are a major factor in employment decisions

You can view all documents discussed at the COP Meeting at the following link: http://www.p12.nysed. gov/biling/bilinged/BilingualESLCOP.html. For more information about the Common Core Standards, please consult the website at: http://www.corestandards.org/ and see the article in this issue.

Though it was not considered at this meeting, the 14 Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Centers (BETACs) across New York State closed permanently on June 30, 2011. This puts both our schools and our LEP/ELL populations at risk of not having the appropriate resources to meet their educational and programmatic needs over the next five years.

P.S. We’re so very excited to be launching our new Members Only website - please read more about it in this issue and log in soon to check it out. Please contact us with ideas!

Introduction from the new Idiom Editor, Cara Tuzzolino Werben

in Teachers College, Columbia University, graduated with an Ed.M. in TESOL, and began working as an adjunct at Pace, CUNY, and Columbia.

Presently, I work in an intensive English program at Nassau Community College. We focus on improving students’ skills through an integrated, holistic approach, so that they can exit our program and be prepared for college-level work. I also instruct and mentor aspiring TESOL teachers at the Literacy Assistance Center.

I welcome the chance to meet with interested writers during the Annual conference in October. See you there!

--Cara <idiom@nystesol.org>

Greetings Idiom readers, I am delighted to combine my background in publishing with my love of TESOL as the new editor of Idiom. Thank you to my predecessor, Julie Dziewisz, for her great work and help with a smooth transition. I also thank the column editors, copy editor, NYS TESOL leadership and members for the warm welcome.

My career began with a B.A. in journalism from NYU. After I switched to marketing, and later fundraising, I volunteered in an ESOL classroom and loved it. I enrolled Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

2

NYS TESOL Idiom

taught graph skills across the disciplines. This class was one of a select few Jamaica High School English and ESL classes that benefited from TeenBiz3000 (Empower3000), a Web-based individualized reading program by Achieve3000.

Conversations with ELLs form part of the data collection that drives my curriculum changes. Several first-year students (participants in Experiment I) reported the lessons and activities helped them pass content-area finals and New York State Regents examinations. When asked how the support class could be improved for the following year, ELLs suggested that I allot more time to science, continue teaching math and social studies, and retain computer instruction on TeenBiz3000. One student, who was particularly resistant to my teaching anything but ESL all year, later admitted he benefitted from content-area instruction by his ESL teacher. All students expressed a deep appreciation for the bilingual content area glossaries I provided.

In the second year (Experiment II), I spent less time on dictionary/glossary skills; did not teach idioms; and, upon careful review of recent livingenvironment Regents exams, added an ecosystem unit, a lesson on pH, and group activities on bar and line graphs.

I replaced the formal versus informal English lesson with daily academic English and everyday English explanations and definitions. Students assessed their multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983; Gardner, 1993, 2996; McKenzie, 1999), and learning styles (Dunn & Dunn, 1993; Dunn & Griggs, 2003, 2004, 2007; Missere & Dunn, 2005). I added native-language translations of key content vocabulary to my student notebook grading rubric. Groups researched continents and explorers and presented their PowerPoint slide shows to ELLs in other classes. TeenBiz3000 was replaced by Study Island, Web-based instruction built on New York State standards, that provided all Jamaica High School students practice for English, mathematics, science, and social studies Regents exams; and for national Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Based on requests from Experiment I participants for Internet resources for speaking practice, I created lists of Web sites and links with podcasts and speak-

Conversations in Support of High School ELLs

by Victoria Pilotti Adolescent ELLs are second language learners who are still developing their profi ciency in academicEnglish. Moreover, they are learning English at the same time they are studying core content areas through English. Thus, English language learners must perform double the work of native English speakers in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s middle and high schools.

At the same time, they are being held to thesame accountability standards as their native English-speaking peers (Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007, p. 1).

Conversations with ELLs and colleagues are viable ways for ESL teachers to help their students navigate academic challenges. My short time at Jamaica High School has been filled with conversations that have driven my instruction to best support the ELLs in my charge.

Curriculum Experiments Based on Conversations with ELLs At Jamaica High School, an ESL support class is offered zero period, 7:22 to 8:06 a.m., to provide intermediate ELLs with additional targeted interventions. September 2011 will be the third year I am teaching zero period, and each year is an ongoing curriculum development action research experiment.

I conduct the course as a combined resource room and advisory class model. Based on daily conversations with my students about their challenges, I provide homework help; teach problematic topics in mathematics, science, and social studies; and assess and teach diverse skills necessary for academic success. The first year of the experiment, my curriculum included mathematics symbols and word problems; the living environment topics of scientifi c method, evolution, and organ systems; social studies topics of feudalism, estates, and analysis of political cartoons; English language arts topics of idioms, formal versus informal language, and dictionary/glossary skills; and academic readiness in test-taking strategies, study skills, time management, notebook organization, public speaking skills, and computer skills. I also Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

3

NYS TESOL Idiom

ing exercises.

As I gear up for Experiment III in the 2011-2012 school year, I plan to devote more time to dictionary skills, such as alphabetizing, and contentarea textbook structure, with special attention to textbook glossaries and indices; the participants in Experiment II were lacking in dictionary/textbook research skills and did not make optimum use of these resources. I provided a list of Web sites and links for Regents practice and bilingual glossaries, and will again provide copies of bilingual glossaries in Experiment III. I have decided to step up test-taking strategies and content writing practice in the zero period support class beginning in September.

Conversations with Families Individual writing conferences often involve reinforcing the student’s strengths and discussing specific areas in need of improvement (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001). I had conversations with each student about his/her multiple intelligences and learning style profiles generated from the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model high school assessment Learning in Vogue: Elements of Style (LIVES) (Missere & Dunn, 2005) and suggested individual study and homework strategies. My students had critical conversations with their families about their personal preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement. Some students discussed their need for a quiet, cool, and brightly lit place to study and complete homework assignments. One student, who was not a morning person, discussed her need for an alarm clock to wake her so she could arrive to class on time. Sadly, her family did not want to be disturbed by the sound of an alarm clock so early in the morning and the student’s guidance counselor suggested dropping her from this support class.

Conversations with Colleagues My fellow ESL teachers, bilingual guidance counselor, and department supervisor met regularly to discuss parent outreach, truant students, misplaced students, overcrowded classes, credit accumulation, and NYSESLAT scheduling, among the numerous challenges facing our ELLs. These conversations led to solutions and consensus on major decisions and new initiatives. Colleagues who shared students would (a) discuss division of language skill focus—one would emphasize the writing process, vocabulary, and grammar, while the other would provide readings of a broad range of literary genres, teach literary terms and vocabulary, and emphasize listening and speaking, (b) collaborate and share data for each student before making arrangements to call parents on each other’s behalf—each teacher relayed messages of both teachers, and (c) preview and review each other’s lessons so we could reinforce what was learned in each other’s classes. Much to our dismay, we discovered that students often did not transfer learning between Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

4

ESL classes and teachers—somehow, the learning remained in the classroom environment and was forgotten in a new setting.

Conversations with mainstream English colleagues centered on implementation of TESOL strategies to meet the needs of transitional and postELLs. Conversations with mathematics, science, and social studies assistant principals and teachers helped me focus on topics that they found were the most problematic for ELLs. As the ESL teacher component in a collaborative team teaching mathematics class, daily co-teaching experiences and collaborative conferences led to differentiated tutoring and small-group instruction. I reinforced basic math skills to the students who did not know simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, while my math colleague reinforced higher-level math skills and concepts.

Conclusion These conversations take time and energy. High school teachers of ELLs may fi nd they, too, are performing double the work to support adolescent ELLs in meeting the challenges of second language acquisition in an academic environment. This increased responsibility, however, may prove worthwhile when the resulting conversations lead to targeted instruction and interventions as teachers collaborate in assessing ELLs and planning instruction for their students.

NYS TESOL Idiom

All the World’s a Stage: References Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1993).

Teaching secondary students through their individual learning styles: Practical approaches for grades 7-12. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Dunn, R., & Griggs, S. A. (Eds.). (2003, 2004, 2007). Synthesis of the Dunn and Dunn learning-style model research: Who, what, when, where, and so what? Jamaica, NY: St. John’s University’s Center for the Study of Learning and Teaching Styles.

Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers grades 3-6: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1993, 2006).

Multiple intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Basic Books.

McKenzie, W. (1999).

Multiple Intelligences Inventory. Retrieved from http:// surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm Missere, N., & Dunn, R. (2005). Learning in vogue: Elements of style (LIVES).

Retrieved from www.learningstyles.net Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

Victoria Pilotti, Ed.D., is an ESL teacher at Jamaica High School. A former Region 3 secondary schools mentor, NYC Department of Education, she has taught TESOL methodology graduate courses at St. John’s University and Hunter College. <vpilotti.TESOL@ gmail.com>

All the World’s a Stage: Ways in Which Teaching Is Like Acting

by Elizabeth Fonseca Acting is a sport. On stage you must be ready to move like a tennis player on his toes. Your concentration must be keen, your reflexes sharp; your body and mind are in top gear; the chase is on. Acting is energy. In the theatre people pay to see energy.

—Clive Swift Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.

—Gail Godwin If “acting is energy,” teaching is many things: a combination of knowledge, experience, awareness, expertise, and care. It is also the energy we, as language instructors, bring into the classroom that absolutely affects the order of the day.

As a theater lover and past occasional performer, I have often thought about the parallels between teaching and acting. Here are a few that come to mind.

You’re on stage. All eyes are on you. You’re the initial focal point of attention.

Your presence shifts the energy in the room. Sometimes, you literally have a podium, with desks arrayed in rows before you like patrons at a theater. There is noise, chatter, laughter, shuffling in the room until the lights dim. Curtain up! Enter stage left, the professor. Cell phones get put away, or at least discreetly placed to the side. Chitchat dies down. The room is hushed a moment, the pause of anticipation before the first words of dialogue are spoken.

All eyes are on you. An actor uses her body to convey information about her character before she even speaks. So do you. How are you dressed? Does what you wear convey some message about your position in this play, your role, your persona as teacher, leader, or facilitator of the energy in the room? How do you walk in? Are your eyes downcast, reflecting your students’ spent energy at the end of a long week, or do they sparkle? Do you walk in the room with pizzazz, transmitting vital energy to them, to create the cycle of give-and-take necessary for effective language learning? Do you use gestures, winks, and nods to convey information, emotion, even comedy? These are things worth thinking about, because one of the most important ways you are like an actor is in this all-important function. Your energy and presence set the tone.

Just as audiences must have faith in actors and suspend their disbelief to fully enter into the world the actors are creating, your students must agree to the unspoken contract of trust that bonds them to you in a vulnerable learning situation.

Your ability to create that atmosphere of trust is important; your dynamism helps your class generate energy that in turn feeds you and helps the learning environment be dynamic. This is important for learning as well as for the teacher’s ability to sustain energy and passion both within a class and over her entire run.

Actors use their voices as tools, relying on not just word choice but infl ection, intonation, varying volume, and the judicious use of pauses to capture the audience’s attention, rivet them, spellbind them, draw them forward in their seats wondering “What’s next?” You too can use your voice itself as a tool that weaves Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

5

NYS TESOL Idiom

NYS TESOL

Remembers Jeanette D. Macero the bewitching spell of energy, dynamism, and trust that makes for a lively and effective learning environment.

The show must go on. There are days when you can’t imagine generating that energy at all. On those days, you have to “act as if”: put on your teaching persona as an actor dons a mask or stage makeup, preparing herself to go before the lights. If you don’t show up, or show up without energy, you might flop.

This leads us to the all-important teaching persona. As an actor slips into a role through preparation, curiosity, and the desire to share emotion and information with an audience, you can slip into your teaching persona, comprised of your sincere and genuine self with a soupçon of public-role poise, strategic sass, and teacher’s tools you’ve learned throughout your teaching days that help you on the way.

Do you have a little playful clown thrown in? Are you the compassionate guide, leading students to the knowledge they

already possess? Can you switch hats to that of the taskmaster, pushing for and demanding the very best? It can be useful to think of the teacher role as composed of these different personae that serve useful functions in the various processes of learning, including enabling you to reach students of different backgrounds, needs, and learning styles. Even if you are not like that, your alter ego, “Professor Picky”, can be. Although you are more lenient, “Scholar Strict” can be called upon as necessary to whip an underachieving class into shape. Being a teacher is a public role that requires daily public speaking; why not train for it and find useful tools and approaches that may aid in maintaining your interest, creating a positive learning environment, and aiding in efficient classroom management?

If you think some training might help you focus your body as instrument and help you channel energy more efficiently and effectively in the classroom, here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Take an acting class. Learn how to use body language, breath, and voice to create energy and atmosphere.

• Take a public speaking class.

Learn relaxation techniques, visualization techniques, and tips for effectively conveying a message.

• Join a group such as Toastmasters International, where you’ll learn tips for public speaking.

• Listen to and read poetry aloud. Learn about cadence, rhythm, and volume to use your voice more effectively—and to save it from too many of those hoarse, raggedy, “I’ve-spoken-toomuch” days!

• Similarly, take a vocal or voice training class. Learn specific breathing exercises to strengthen your voice and to become expert in effectively and efficiently using and saving your voice.

Here is a website to get you thinking about your own parallels between acting and teaching: http://www/jbactors.com/actingphilosophy/actingquotations. html.

NYS TESOL Remembers Jeanette D. Macero

by Vel Chesser The field of ESOL has lost one of its most revered members, Jeanette D. Macero, who died May 9, 2011.

Jeanette was passionate in her dedication to non-native speakers of English as exemplifi ed by her teaching, mentoring and participation in professional organizations.

Jeanette, one of the founders of NYS ESOL BEA (now NYS TESOL—see note below), was a leader in that organization nonstop until her retirement from Syracuse University in 1998, as associate professor of English and TESOL coordinator of languages, literatures and linguistics. She moved to Medfield, MA to be near her family.

Many NYS TESOL members will testify to the mentoring they received from Jeanette, who held leadership Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

6

NYS TESOL Idiom

positions in the organization for her entire career. Jeanette graduated with a BA in English from Barnard College, an MA in linguistics from Columbia University, and did doctoral study in linguistics at the University of Michigan. She was president, second vice president twice, and chair of various TESOL committees: publications, paper selection, awards and nominations. Twice, she received the NYS TESOL Distinguished Service Award.

In addition to Jeanette’s full-time teaching at Syracuse University, she published skill books for beginners of English through Laubach Literacy (now known as ProLiteracy), as well

as a number of scholarly papers and addresses, edited books of readings, and acted as consultant to many groups.

All those who knew Jeanette are aware of her many accomplishments in professional organizations and her skillful teaching, but those closest to her will remember most her kind and compassionate manner to all she met and worked with, her hearty laugh, and her engaging personality. Jeanette’s friends and colleagues have lost a treasure.

Vel Chesser, retired from Syracuse University, can be reached at <vfchesse@syr.edu>

Editor’s note: With thanks to NYS TESOL historian George Morris: The very fi rst organization was called NY TESOL (No “S” for State), then NYS ESOL BEA. The founding date is 1970 (hence our 40th anniversary in 2010). The split into NYS TESOL and NYSABE was in the early 1980s.

Resources for Implementing the Common Core for ELLs

by Diane Garafalo The Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) have been adopted by dozens of states. The NYS Board of Regents adopted the new P-12 CCLS for ELA, Literacy, and Mathematics in January 2011; it will be phased in over the next year. Beginning in school year 2012-13, NYS assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics will measure student achievement of the P-12 CCLS. Find New York State’s complete CCLS timeline at www.usny.nysed.gov/rttt/docs/ccsstimeline.pdf.

The initiative began in the spring of 2009 and was coordinated by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSO). The advisory group for the initiative comprises Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), and the State Higher Education Executive Offi cers (SHEO).

The Common Core State Standards Initiative released a draft of the math and language arts content standards for public comment in September 2009, and the individual K-12 grade-level content standards in these subjects were released for public comment in March 2010. Both sets of content standards were finalized in 2010.

Criteria for Development This process differed from past standards initiatives because it was state led and had the support of educators across the country as well as prominent education, business and state leaders’ organizations.

The standards were developed by the following criteria: • Aligned with expectations for college and career success; • Clear, so that educators and parents know what they need to do to help students learn; • Consistent across all states, so that students are not taught to a lower standard just because of where they live; Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

7

NYS TESOL Idiom

Resources for

Implementing the Common Core for ELLs • Inclusive of both content and the application of knowledge through high-order skills; • Built upon strengths and lessons of current state standards and standards of top-performing nations; • Realistic, for effective use in the classroom; • Informed by other top-performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; • Evidence and research based (Quay, 2010); • Application of the Standards for English Language Learners.

Common standards can potentially provide a greater opportunity for states to share experiences and best practices within and across states that could lead to an improved ability to serve ELLs. The K-12 English-language arts and mathematics standards do include information on the Application of the Standards for English Language Learners, located at http://www.corestandards.org/assets/application-forenglish-learners.pdf.

One segment of the Application of ELA Core Standards recommends that to help ELLs meet high academic standards in language arts it is essential that they have access to: • Teachers and personnel at the school and district levels who are well prepared and qualified to support ELLs while taking advantage of the many strengths and skills they bring to the classroom; • Literacy-rich school environments where students are immersed in a variety of language experiences; • Instruction that develops foundational skills in English and enables ELLs to participate fully in gradelevel coursework; • Coursework that prepares ELLs for post secondary education or the workplace, yet is made comprehensible for students learning content in a second language (through specific pedagogical techniques and additional resources); • Opportunities for classroom discourse and interaction that are designed to enable ELLs to develop communicative strengths in language arts; • Ongoing assessment and feedback to guide learning; • Speakers of English who know the language well enough to provide ELLs with models and support; • Need for English Language Proficiency Standards.

The Common Core did not spell out how the standards applied to specific levels of English proficiency. It was left up to states to create English Language Proficiency Standards that align with the Core Standards or to explain how specific standards can best be Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

8

taught to students depending on their level of English proficiency. In her July 12 blog at Education Week, “Learning the Language,” Mary Ann Zehr recognized this need by reporting that Stanford University has received a $1 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to create English Language Proficiency Standards for the states’ Common Core Academic Standards.

Dr. Kenji Hakuta, a professor of education at Stanford University, a member of the Common Core Validation Committee, and a long-time expert on ELLs; and Maria Santos, the former director of programs for ELLs for the New York City school system, are co-chairs of this national effort to write standards for ELLs to parallel the Language Arts and Mathematics Standards of the Common Core, as well as the Science Standards that are expected to be developed. This grant award fills the gap in the process of implementing the Common Core for ELLs (Zehr, 2011).

The grant, which lasts for two years, is called “Building on Common-Core Standards to Improve Learning for English-Language Learners.”

“The effort is to think about the content areas in the common core that offer strategically fertile areas around which language instruction can take place,” Dr. Hakuta explained. “The standards will elaborate on what ELLs should know and be able to do in the content areas at different Englishproficiency levels,” he added. (Zehr, 2011).

Preparing ELLs for the Common Core—A Webinar On May 5, 2011, Dr. Hakuta presented a webinar at www. teachscape.com called “Research to Practice: Preparing ELLs for the Common Core.” He offered his thoughts

NYS TESOL Idiom

and ideas during the webinar under the topic of planning for the Common Core, including: • Recognize that language is necessary to teach, learn, and demonstrate understanding in school subjects, and that this is true for all students, but especially for ELLs; • Engage in the idea that excellence in instruction and assessment around content revolves around the idea of rich language use; • Build the professional development around the idea that language instruction is the domain of all teachers, not just English Language Arts and ESL teachers; • Identify your objectives, assessments, and best practices in classrooms and ensure that you’re making progress toward those objectives; • Use the Common Core to recognize and amplify the opportunity for rich language development for ELLs and for all students (Hakuta, 2011).

According to Dr. Hakuta, there are some key elements for ELLs regarding the Common Core, including: • The Common Core provides a strong incentive to examine the role of language in content instruction and in assessment; there is a role for leadership to take advan-

tage of this opportunity; • Even though the Common Core says nothing about the English Language proficiency expectations of ELLs, there is a requirement that English language proficiency be aligned to the Common Core; • There will be more commonality across states in the identification of students because there will be more common proficiency tests; • The Common Core has the potential to move ELL performance/ proficiency both across schools and across the country (Hakuta, 2011).

Criteria for Writing Common Core Curriculum Materials Last summer, the nonprofit group Common Core issued a set of free curriculum maps. The maps are designed to give an understandable sequence of thematic curriculum units that connect the skills provided in the ELA standards with recommended student objectives, texts, and activities.

Examples of these thematic curriculum units include: Grade 1: The Amazing Animal World; Grade 3: The People, the Preamble, and the Presidents; Grade 6: Folklore: A Blast from the Past; Grade 9: Literary Elements of a Short Story; and Grade 12: European Literature: Renaissance and

Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

9

NYS TESOL Idiom

Reformation. Common Core is working with schools and districts in different states to implement the maps. Arizona and North Carolina are using them statewide to help districts put the standards in place (Gewitz & Robelen, 2011).

Two writers have recently crafted documents outlining Common Core curriculum criteria.

Working under a contract with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a strong supporter of the standards, David Coleman and Susan Pimentel, co-authors of the Common Core Standards for ELA/Literacy, wrote two documents highlighting the key ideas of the standards and describing the qualities of instructional materials they consider an accurate reflection of them (Gewertz, 2011).

Common Core Assessments and PARCC According to the National Governor’s Association/CCSSO, the Common Core State Standards will also ultimately be the basis for a system of high-quality assessments. New York State is a governing member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which was awarded Race to the Top Assessment funds in 2010.

The PARCC Web site can be viewed at http://parcconline.

P Idiom will work to keep readers aware of all the upcoming changes.

August, D., Cortese, A., La Fonde, S., Leos, K. (2010). Making Common Core Standards work for ELLs: The importance of linking English Language Profi ciency Standards to the Common Core Standards. October 21, 2010. AFT Educational Policy Forum. http://www.colorincolorado.org/powerpoint/ELL-ELPStandardsPPT%20Slide.pdf Colorin Colorado (2011). Common Core Standards and English Language Learners. Reading Rockets. WETA Learning Media. http://www.colorincolorado. org/educators/common_core/ Gewertz, C. (2011). Common Core Writers Craft curriculum criteria, July 22, 2011. Education Weekly. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/07/21/37curri culum.h30.html?tkn=UPSFLpcFv4ebJmsg2qZx2C7B8rKm7AL%2FiacG&cmp=c lp-sb-ascd Gewertz, C., & Robelen, E. (2011). Curriculum maps aim to bring ELA Standards to life. July 25, 2011. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/07/ the_nonprofi t_group_common _cor.html Hakuta, K. (2011). Webinar: Research to practice: Preparing ELLs for the Common Core, Teachscape, May 5, 2011. http://marketing.teachscape.com/K12KenjiELLMay2011WebinarAccess.html Lopez, E. (2010). ELA Standards: Shifting the focus to the Common Core comments, standards and curriculum, NYS TESOL, October 2010. http://www. nystesol.org/curriculum-standards/standards.html Nagel, D. (2010). Feds award $330 million to fund alternatives to highstake bubble tests. The Journal, September 2, 2010. http://thejournal.com/ articles/2010/09/02/feds-award-330-million-to-fi nd-alternatives-tohigh-stakesbubble-tests.aspx?sc_lang-en NYSED (2011). FAQs—Common Core learning standards. http://www.p12. nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/faq.html NYSUT (2011). Educational Resources for English Language Learners. http:// www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/k12_13765.htm Quay, L. (2010). Higher standards for all: Implications of the Common Core for equity in education. Civil Rights Research Roundtable on Education, Berkeley Law, April 2010. http://www.law.berkeley.edu/fi les/Education_Roundable_Standards_ Brief_ 4_10.pdf Washington State School Board (2010). Common Core Standards—Process FAQs. http://www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/FAQ%20Common%20 Core%Standards%20Process.pdf Zehr, M. A. (2011). Conference: Implementing Common Core Standards for ELLs, Learning the Language Blog, August 11, 2010. Education Weekly. http:// blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-thelanguage/2010/08/conference_implementing_common.html Zehr, M. A. (2011). Stanford to lead creation of ELL standards for “Common Core” Learning the Language Blog, July 12, 2011, Education Weekly. http://blogs. edweek.org/edweek/learning-thelanguage/2011/07/stanford_to_lead_creation_ of_e.html Diane Garafalo is a former ESL teacher at Oswego City School District. She was also a secondary English teacher. with a total of fi fteen years of public school teaching experience. Diane’s previous positions include working as an adjunct professor of written communications for ITT Technical Institute and a human resources and training manager for a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Diane is an HR and workforce literacy consultant for DRG Associates. <dgarafalo@earthlink.net>

Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

10

NYS TESOL Idiom

Some Helpful Resources Common Core Curriculum Maps: www. commoncore.org/free/ Common Core Standards and English Language Learners: www.colorincolorado. org/educators/common_core Common Core State Standards Initiative Web site: www.corestandards.org Common Core Standards Work for ELLs: The Importance of Linking English Language Proficiency Standards to the Common Core Standards www.colorincolorado.org/powerpoint/ELLELPStandardsPPT%20Slide.pdf K-6 Units in ELA Aligned with Common Core Standards: www.elementarytests. com/blog/k-6-ela-common-core/ P21 Common Core Toolkit www.p21. org/images/p21_toolkit_fi nal.pdf www.thejournal.com/articles/2011/08/02/common-core-toolkitaligns-standards-with-21stcentury-skillsframework.aspx Websites of the members of the advisory board to the Common Core Initiative:

Achieve, Inc.: www.achieve.org ACT: www.act.org The College Board: www.collegeboard.com National Association of State Boards of Education: www.nasbe.org State Higher Education Executive Officers: www.sheeo.org

Promising Practices

Piece of cake! Idiom activities and the importance of proper intonation

by Andrew Edison Schneider Idioms pop up everywhere in English media, often met with confused looks by our students. Even more advanced students have difficulty using them with any degree of competence, especially if the idioms are culturally different from their own (Irujo, 1986).

Given their importance, more attention should be paid to teaching idioms in ESL settings (Cooper, 1998). It is up to teachers to help students not only learn idioms, but also to encourage their usage in an intelligible manner. How can we incorporate idioms into classroom settings in a relaxed, communicative, and student-centered way? More important, how can we teach the intonation of idioms to achieve students’ maximum intelligibility? I have found the following three activities to be helpful for my students.

BYOI—Bring Your Own Idiom Each student chooses one idiom to “teach” the class. They may choose from any source, and learn it well enough to be able to explain it in front of their classmates. This is a great warm-up; it’s student-centered and exciting, since they have chosen these idioms themselves based on their own interests. Don’t be surprised if a number of idioms come from Gossip Girl or Glee, American television programs centering around high-school students, so idioms relating to dating and shopping tend to surface quite often (i.e., It’s on me; She’s into him; Those shoes are totally you). During the students’ explanations, I stay off to the side and will assist only if the situation calls for it; I have even done this activity remotely via Skype when I was home sick in bed. Having the students in charge of this activity made it quite manageable. It can also act as a springboard for all kinds of culture related discussions.

Where Is the Change?

A major obstacle facing our students is intelligibility, especially when using idioms. While pronunciation may be a factor, an equally important factor is proper intonation. As the pitch in our voices rises and falls, Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

these changes in intonation are processed by the listener (Cruttenden, 1986). If you have ever studied Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese, you may be familiar with the inextricable link between the proper tone and communication. In English as well, when language is given the correct intonation, communication can be greatly enhanced. To emphasize this point with my students, I imitate the “wa wa” teacher from Charlie Brown. I walk around the class, lock eyes with a student, raise my hand, and slowly say “Wa, wa wa Wa?” What I am actually saying is “Hi, how are You?” Students inevitably guess correctly and are quite surprised that they can understand what I am saying. Once they have caught on, we can then create contextual situations and apply the proper intonation. A mini-dialogue I might have with a student in front of the class, in which my role would be B, is as follows: A: What are you doing this weekend?

B: This weekend? Nothing special. I’ll probably just hang OUt. A: OK. Give me a call.

B: Alright.

After the classmates have heard the dialogue, I will ask them, “Where is the change?” Hopefully, they will hear “OUt” on the first try. I will then mark it on the board. The rise in pitch at the beginning of “OUt” rather than on the word “hang” is essential to the intelligibility of the idiom as well as to the rest of the dialogue. Teachers play a vital role here. Once an idiom is presented, either the students or the teacher should provide/elicit the proper intonation and then mark it. This marking system is especially important for non-native-English-speaking teachers who may be unfamiliar with the proper intonation of idioms.

The good news regarding idiomatic phrases is that there are general intonation patterns. In an emphasized two-syllable word, such as “brainer” in the expression “no-brainer,” the word tends to receive a higher tone or pitch on the first syllable. It’s a no-

11

NYS TESOL Idiom

BRAIner. In the case of a one-syllable word, such as “cake” in the expression “piece of cake,” there is a higher tone on the fi rst half of the word: It’s a piece of CAke. In either case, the rising intonation at the beginning is then followed by a falling intonation. Saying the idiom in front of your students in slow motion can really help to clarify this, and it is also good for a laugh. When students know the proper intonation, communication can be achieved even with less-than-perfect pronunciation. This is good news for our students, as it is generally much easier to change the pitch of a word than to pronounce the word properly.

Mini Dialogues The mini dialogues written by the students, followed by an in-class role play, are not only a lot of fun but practical and effective exercises for ESL students (Nunan, 2003; Scott & Ytreberg, 2000). They could be done as homework or in class individually, in pairs, or in groups. These dialogues supply the context necessary to achieve natural usage and effective communication (Nippold & Martin, 1989). The task is to write mini dialogues, where each dialogue contains at least one idiom from class, either from our text or from one of the students’ BYOI. There should be just enough context (4-6 lines) for the exchange to be meaningful (Nippold & Martin, 1989).

Make sure the students understand that even though these dialogues are being written down, they should be striving for spoken and not written English. I also ask them to consider the roles of the speakers as in the following student dialogue (the professor is putting on her coat as her student enters the office): A: Excuse me. Professor? Are you busy?

B: I’m running LAte, actually. I’ll be here tomorrow.

A: Ok, thank you.

B: Alright.

This exchange meets the criteria in that it is a spoken dialogue, the roles are defined, at least one idiom is used, and the idiom is marked with the proper intonation. Once their dialogues are done, I collect, correct, and return them. Afterward, I circulate, taking student questions on my corrections. Then, I have each pair practice and perform at least one of their dialogues in front of the class. Eye contact, body language (students must sit facing each other), and voice management should be emphasized during practice time. Be sure to circulate, as some students will simply read the dialogue together. I walk around with a blank sheet of 81/2 x 11 paper, which I use to cover up the dialogue they are working on. This forces them to look up and, hopefully, at each other. The students then perform at the front of the class. I act as the director, yelling “Action!” and opening/closing my cell phone like a director’s slate. The class listens for the idiom used in the dialogue. This is always fun, as students enjoy watching their classmates perform. I like to supply props/wigs to spice it up. Be prepared for the cameras to come out!

I also quiz them on the idiom and the intonation right after each dialogue.

Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

12

NYS TESOL Idiom

References Cooper, T. C. (1998).

Teaching idioms. Foreign Language Annals, 31(2), 255-266.

Cruttenden, M. (1986).

Intonation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Irujo, S. (1986). Don’t put your leg in your mouth: Transfer in the acquisition of idioms in a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 287-304.

Nippold, M. A., & Martin, S. T. (1989). Idiom interpretation in isolation versus context: A developmental study with adolescents. Journal Speech & Hearing Research, 32, 59-66.

Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English teaching. New York: McGraw Hill.

Scott, W. A., & Ytreberg, L. H. (2000). Teaching English to children. New York: Longman.

Andrew Schneider has been teaching ESL/EFL for 20 years, having taught in Japan, Spain, and the United States.

He currently teaches medical students in Kanazawa, Japan. <Andrew@med.kanazawa-u. ac.jp>

For ELLs,

Talking Is Learning For ELLs, Talking Is Learning

by Elaine Caputo Ferrara ESL teachers employ a variety of instructional tools in the classroom. Conversation can be used to help students practice pronunciation, to prepare and develop a well-thought-out paragraph, and to enhance listening skills. Most important, conversational activities tap into students’ schema to help them fully develop critical thinking skills in English. Below are several activities I have used with my students.

To introduce the concept of students’ origins, I show students how to use the Reporter’s Questions (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) to gather information. Students partner with one another to ask these questions and record the answers. When the class comes together again, I ask the group, “Who has a partner coming from a country whose name begins with the letter A?” Students might answer Argentina. The class then identifies which continent Argentina is on. Students check the map in the classroom to know more about their partner’s home country. This is repeated until the end of the alphabet. Students work with their partners to see what they already know about these countries. This prior knowledge helps students realize that they know more than they think about geography and other topics.

Next, the class discusses the variety of languages spoken by the students. After obtaining this information, students put the names of these languages on the board. This first conversation in class provides information needed for the first writing assignment, which is the biography of a class member. The first draft begins in class and is peer reviewed for content by the student’s conversation partners. Their homework is to review the draft and to rewrite it at home on the computer. The next day, I review the homework with students and focus my comments on a grammatical topic, such as verb tense usage. I choose to focus my feedback on one or two aspects of the writing assignment so that a completely marked-up paper does not increase students’ writing anxiety.

The next assignment involves reading a biography about a famous American. It might be a commonly known American like George Washington or someone from a particular fi eld. After forming groups and prior to reading, students discuss what they already know about the person and what they expect to see in the article.

I introduce the concepts of topic and main idea as well as vocabulary specific to the story. After reading the biography, students individually answer the Reporter’s Questions from the article, and then share their answers with their conversation group. In groups, Vol. 41, NO. 3 (Fall 2011)

13

students generate their own questions using the Reporter’s Questions. When the class comes together, one student from each conversation group writes one question on the board—the questions should not be duplicates of other groups’ questions. Students read each question aloud. I ask the whole class for grammatical corrections to the questions. After completing the exercise, students write a summary of the biography—they can use these questions or the ones from the conversation group—and show this to their conversation partner for feedback. Their homework is to create a revised version of the in-class written summary that incorporates their partners’ feedback.

They staple the draft to the top of the rewrite.

Using conversation sheets, such as those available at www.bogglesworldesl. com, also provides opportunities for interaction. Each conversation sheet centers on a theme such as seasons, media, habits, and customs.

These can be used to talk about the topic in conversation groups, to learn vocabulary specific to a topic, and to practice pronunciation. I ask students to look up definitions of highlighted words on the sheets. As an instructor, using these sheets is a way to determine students’ familiarity with American culture and to plan class trips.

Students can also conduct research to enhance their knowledge about media.

I used these conversation activities with levels 3 to 7 students (as measured by the Best Plus) enrolled in non-credit ESL CUNY courses for a semester or more. Students ranged from 18 to 60 years, were from all over the world, and spoke a wide variety of

NYS TESOL Idiom