Join me?

I've just signed up for a MOOC!  That's Massive Open Online Course, in case you didn't know.  It's free!  I've been waiting for it to come around since reading about Carol Goodey's experience earlier this year.

The course is Corpus Linguistics: Method, Analysis, Interpretation and the blurb says that it's a "practical introduction to the methodology of corpus linguistics for researchers in social sciences and humanities".  OK, I'm not a researcher in social sciences and humanities!  But I do use a corpus almost daily (specifically, the Corpus of Contemporary American English aka COCA).  I also use and recommend corpus-based dictionaries to my intermediate and higher learners.  However, I would like to expand my abilities in this area.  I'm hoping this course will give me the motivation to focus on the topic more seriously for a while.  In addition to whatever comes with the course itself, I've had an ebook in my queue for some time now and have not had the chance to give it the attention it deserves: From Corpus to Classroom: Language Use and Language Teaching by O'Keefe, McCarthy and Carter (the link is to a PDF with the table of contents and the preface of the book.)

If the idea of using a corpus in English class is new to you, you might want to check some other resources first.  Here are a couple of good ones!

First, Scott Thornbury gives a wonderful short overview of how to use COCA at his extremely informative (if now no longer active) blog.  By the way, the comments on this blog are almost always as rich as the posts, be sure to read them!

Second, Amy Tate and Emilia Seravo share very useful step-by-step instructions for using several popular corpus-based tools in a webinar called Corpus Confidence: quick and easy steps to turn corpus-based language data into language learning.  (Note that the nitty gritty "how to" stuff begins at about the 15 minute mark.)

If you're already psyched about corpora and, like me, want to know more ... maybe you'll join the MOOC too?  See you there!

A Look to the Future

A while back, I realized that I needed to guide myself more when it came to my personal professional development efforts.

They're all attractive, which one(s) should I choose? *

I started exploring specific subjects in more depth rather than reading whatever interested me at any moment. Thanks to learning opportunities that came up, I chose to examine "vocabulary teaching" first. That included joining a book circle, reading other books on my own, and collaborating with other teachers and a researcher to teach vocabulary-focused lessons to one of my classes for 6 months.  The books:

Vocabulary Myths - Keith Folse (book circle)
Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners - Graves, August, Mancilla-Martinez (related to our project)
How to Teach Vocabulary - Thornbury (my choice)

I'll just share a quick comment on each: Folse really did make me rethink my assumptions about teaching vocabulary.  It was a good book start with, as it kind of shook my mind open.  Graves focuses on teaching ELLs (kids in the US schools system) which is not directly relevant to me, but I especially liked the chapters on teaching word learning strategies and promoting word consciousness (both promote autonomous learning). Thornbury backs up almost every concept with concrete examples of how to apply it in the classroom and introduces corpora as a tool for teachers (and even learners).

A conclusion I came to about vocabulary teaching (especially from Thornbury) is that it's difficult, and maybe doesn't really makes sense, to teach vocabulary (or grammar, or "the facts") as separate entities.  That inspired me to put (or keep) these topics on my queue:

Corpora
"Grammaring"

The Lexical Approach

While the vocabulary project was going on, I also had a chance to take a state-sponsored course on teaching EL-Civics.  That took 3 months, all told, and involved online course material, developing lesson plans, using them in class (my class that was not getting the vocab-intense lessons got the honor), reflecting on the lessons and sharing with other teachers.  The online material, funded by the US government, is available free to anyone who's interested.  Topics that arose from this are:

Content-Based Learning
Task-Based Learning
Curriculum Design

The first two are supposed to overlap with Dogme in a number of ways. They both also seems like naturals for EL-Civics, since the goals of the program are to improve English skills while becoming familiar with American civics topics and to learn how to connect with and contribute to the community.  I also want to examine more formally other ways to explore topics with learners than the standard PPP approach.

Grammaring is next!  I finished my first pass of  "Uncovering Grammar: How to Help Grammar Emerge" (Thornbury) over Thanksgiving and that was good preparation for "Teaching Language:  From Grammar to Grammaring" (Larsen-Freeman), which is now in progress.  Reading is not enough, of course.  I'll have to try things in class, refer back to both books, and reflect.  It will be a little different without other people (collaboration does impose a bit of discipline, ha ha!).  Let's see how it goes.

* photo courtesy of Peter Stevens

A Textbook for Autonomous Learners

I know, I know, the "t" word is something of a no-no for fans of the unplugged approach!  But I don't think that education-oriented books should be banned completely from the lives of English learners.  (Deep breath ... hear me out!) I read textbooks for information and inspiration as I work on improving my teaching skills.  Why shouldn't English learners use them to support their efforts as well?

Four pages of this.

Of course, I'm using a broad definition of the word textbook.  I'm NOT referring to those books with a "scope and sequence" at the beginning!  In my opinion, those are written for teachers and administrators.  Just skim the 10-20 pages at the beginning of one such book -- if they were addressed to a language learner, they would be in L1, no?  They basically promise that if you follow the steps in the teacher's guide and the student follows the steps in the student book, the student will produce something that correlates to the requirements of funding providers. (I accept that that something will include some learned English.  My point is that the book is written to serve teachers, not learners.)

What I'm thinking of is the kind of book that has readable chapters with questions and other activities for discovery and reflection, suggestions for trying out new ideas, and a good list of references. These are the books that I (a dedicated self-motivated learner) use myself.  They can be used alone for reading and reference, they can be used as a textbook in a formal class, and they're very effective in an informal book circle arrangement.

Such a book does not pretend to be teaching English.  It can be in the learner's L1 (although, if it's addressing advanced learners it might be in English).  What it offers is support for a transition from student to learner. Some ideas:

How to be a learner.  For those who are not already skilled at self-directed learning (any kind, not just language learning).  Especially for those who have many years of training as "students" and who believe that a tutor or teacher must tell them how to reach their goal. It might address identifying personal goals; noticing, evaluating and taking advantage of resources; finding and asking for help; reflection and self-assessment; learning from undesired or unexpected experiences; setting up a network of supporters; making time for practice, etc.

Two pages of this.

How to be a language learner. The learner applies the skills above directly to language learning.  What are the habits of a successful English learner and how can they be acquired?  Is a language class necessary?  If so, what kind of class?  What do you intend to get out of it?  How can you check that you are getting what you need?  How can you help the teacher, other learners, and even administrators to help you reach your goal?   If language class is not needed (or not available), what resources do you have available and how can you take advantage of them?  What is the best dictionary?  How do you use a corpus?  How can you analyze a text for readability?  What is the pedagogical relevance of certain activities and drills?  And so forth.

How to be a [particular L2] learner. This should explicitly address issues that are unique to various kinds of learners (for English: EFL, EAP, ESP, ELF, ESL, etc.).  In the US, for example, folks who are here on an F-1 visa should know that they can't attend free government-funded classes (it's illegal).  They would do better to find (or contribute to setting up) a conversation "meetup" in a coffee shop.  Wouldn't it be nice if they had tips for going about doing this and the confidence to try?   Hmmm, learners might be better served if this were a subscription e-periodical so they would get access to regular articles and advice on different topics and learners could discuss with each other, share tips, etc.

I've been mulling over ways to untrain students into learners for a long time.  The motivation to put it in writing came a week or so when I stumbled on a book that is effectively a prototype for How to Be a Language Learner.  It's a Peace Corps document called On-Going Language Learning Manual (free PDF!).  It's written for people who are in a foreign environment and want to learn the language, even though they don't have access to a teacher or class.  In other words, it's a set of instructions for autonomous learning!

Four pages of this.

One gem:

Try to learn grammar every day from listening to people talk. You will come to recognize patterns of sounds and the meanings they carry. You can begin to figure out the rules from the many examples you hear in everyday speech. In fact, eventually you will become aware that you are internalizing many of the rules without giving conscious thought to them.

Another priceless aspect is the idea of having a "language helper".  A volunteer might find a native speaker who is willing to answer questions, model authentic speech, etc.  The learner is clearly directing and controlling what he or she wants from the helper.  For example, here is one tip:

Ask your language helper to accompany you on your learning adventures to observe or “coach” you, but only when you need and want help.

This book could be edited slightly, translated to other languages and offered to every learner who finds themselves in a place where a new language is spoken and who wants to join in.  And its ideas can be used for untraining now.  I will be borrowing from it for my lessons as soon as possible.

Just to set the record straight: I think teachers and English classes play a valid role in the learning process.  In fact, classes would be more effective if learners and teachers know from the outset what they want and need from each other and everyone in the room is working together to make it happen.  Even books like the one pictured here could play a role (thought neither the teacher nor the learners would be snaking through it mindlessly, hoping to push other-defined "success"  out at the end)!

Agents of Fortune

Still thinking of the past these days ...

In my senior year of high school, I bought a couple of tickets to a rock concert as a gift to my boyfriend. The headliner was Bachman Turner Overdrive. They were late and their show was ... bleh. But the warm-up act was some no-name bunch of guys called Blue Öyser Cult and we were wowed! Their album, Agents of Fortune, went on to be part of the soundtrack of my freshman year at Virginia Tech.

The album title came to mind because last week my lesson plan called for discussing suffixes of agency with my higher level learners.  Bottom line: a verb can often be changed into a noun which describes the performer of the action (the agent).  We mostly use -er to form these nouns, but verbs with a Latin heritage are likely to end up with -or.  Examples are: painter, writer, reader, creator, actor.  (My plan included touching on -ist and -ian because they would probably come up during brainstorming, but the focus was to be on the -er/-or ending.)

click to view a few pages of this book

Here's where "fortune" came in: when I arrived and began unpacking for class, several learners were already waiting.  We meet in a library and one of the learners had selected some children's books for reading practice.  I have no idea what motivated her choices, but as we were chatting I picked one up and paged through it, discovering that the text was completely devoted to the -er suffix! Out went any planned remarks ... most learners had arrived, so I held the book up and turned the pages and volunteers read them aloud.  We paused for discussion when unfamiliar language turned up ("puddle stomper", for example) and when we were finished, small groups discussed what the language had in common from page to page: a noun phrase in the form of "object verb-er". Actually, one page ("A make-believe critter") did not fit the form and this worked out to be a good comprehension check and point of further discussion. All of this lead naturally to partners thinking up more examples and we then examined the text from our last lesson, as I had originally planned.  How fortunate that this book found its way into our class!

This was not an unplugged lesson.  I'm committed to a rather fixed plan with this group through October.  But I just couldn't pass up this opportunity (see Thornbury's "A is for Affordance" here).  It was also nice to acknowledged and accept the initiative of the learner who brought the books into the classroom, and it encouraged noticing -- primarily of the affordance the book offered for learning, but also of the form in the book itself.

More on Vocab Notebooks -- and Cards

In an earlier post, I reflected on the use of vocabulary notebooks.  I concluded that learners need to be taught a specific way of organizing their notebooks, that they need to be given time to work on their notebooks during class, and that we need to use the notebooks regularly in class activities (give learners a need to keep up with them).  Eventually, individuals can personalize their notebook-keeping but they need to see the utility in the process first.

How did I do with these conclusions over the last month? Well, I was OK with showing learners a method of organizing, and I reinforced this by using the same format on the board when discussing a new word. I also gave folks time to write in their notebooks.  I didn't make sure each learner had set up a notebook -- I think many just embedded vocabulary notes in their regular notebook -- and I didn't include the notebooks in activities often.

In continuing to mull this whole process over, it occurred to me that a vocabulary notebook is somewhat "schooly".  When learners get home, it probably gets dumped on the desk with other class materials and is probably looked at only when (if) they do homework.  It doesn't seem to lend itself to frequent reference during the time between classes.

What if learners used a small notebook that they could carry around day to day?

These are all about 4.5x3 inches (114x82 mm) in size.  The 50-page "composition" books are very inexpensive -- you can get a 3-pack at the dollar store for a buck.  The 140-page spiral books have unlined paper and the pages can be torn out and used as flash cards.  I think I got them on sale at an office supply store for $1 each.  They're a bit bulkier, but would easily fit in a backpack or handbag.  Not only can small notebooks be used for vocabulary study at any time, they can be used to jot down interesting or confusing language as it's encountered.  (Homework this week is for learners to observe language around them and bring in something interesting to share with their classmates.  I'm going to do it too, and it will be a standing assignment for the weekend.)

If learners have a smart phone, they don't need a notebook.  They just need to find the app that suits their needs (and use it!).  I can see using the "reminder" app that comes with the iPhone to note new language, maybe checking an item off when it's been clarified or transferred to a notebook for further study.  Any notebook app could be used for study.  Put the word at the top of a page and the definition far enough down that you need to scroll to see it.  There you go!

I've also been continuing with reading books on teaching vocabulary (click "vocabulary" in my word cloud for earlier notes).  I finished the Graves book, though I admit I skipped the last section which dealt with "Empirically Validated Vocabulary Programs for ELLs".  The programs are designed for children and don't seem useful for adult learners.  Now I'm trying to read How to Teach Vocabulary by Scott Thornbury.  The reason I'm saying "trying" is ... the book's so packed with practical material that I keep opening to random pages and getting caught up imagining how I can use whatever's on that page!  I'm sure I'll have more to say on the book in another post sometime.  Meanwhile, one idea in Thornbury's book, also described in Games for Language Learning by Wright, Betteridge and Buckby, caught my eye.

It seems as if vocabulary cards could serve many, if not all, of the same functions as a vocabulary notebook.  But they're much more flexible.  Learners can alphabetize them, categorize them, carry them around easily, use them to quiz each other and use them for games.  I can join in the act by making a set of vocabulary cards for the classroom.  In fact, I like the idea of making two sets.  That way, two groups can use a set at the same time or both sets can be used together for a game or other activity.

Here is a pencil bag I got on sale at an office supply store for (probably) a dollar.  Inside are 50 or 60 3x5 index cards and several kinds of clips.  Personally, I think smaller cards would be easier to use. Maybe we could cut these cards in half.  The clips can be used for the 10 or so cards a learner wants to take out and carry around for this week's studying.  In the classroom set, the clips might have another use.  I'm thinking of having one-sided cards (keeping the backs blank).  Word and definition would go on separate cards and be clipped together.  Then the cards can be mixed up and learners can pair words with definitions.  They can also be used with card games where the backs need to be blank.  Each word could slowly accumulate additional cards for synonym, antonym, collocation, gap-fill sentence, etc.  Both of the books listed above offer a variety of games and activities to be used with vocabulary cards.  Here's one to add to the list (not in either book).  It's a reworking of a popular kid's game.

thanks to Tom Magliery

Use 2 sets of 12 pairs of cards (48 cards in all), a pair being a word and its definition, a word and its opposite, etc. Deal out 5 cards to 3-5 players and put the remaining cards in the center of the table. Players take turns asking: Do you have the definition of “economy”? or Do you have the opposite of “create”? The card holder says “No.” or “Yes, the opposite of “create” is “destroy.” and hands over the card. If no match, the requester must “go fish” (draw a card). If they draw what they were looking for, they can continue, otherwise play goes to the next learner. When a player gets all 4 cards (2 pairs of the same word), they have a “set” and can set these cards aside. The player with the most sets at the end wins.

To wrap up, there are also flashcard apps.  I've taken a brief look at a basic one called Quiz Maker  by TouchMint that seems pretty good.  With this app, you can create different decks of cards.  You can quiz yourself on either "side" of a card.  You can add hints, and you can evaluate yourself -- I haven't given it a good try yet, but I presume that the cards you mark as "don't understand very well" will come up more often during quizzing.  It appears that you can share your cards with other by email ... hmmm, I feel a classroom activity coming on!

Individual Words

(Recently I've been posting reflections on a book, please click "Graves" in my tag cloud for other related posts. This isn't a book review or a report on the contents, just a personal response to what I've read!)

Chapter 4 of Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners is called "Teaching Individual Words".

From Wikimedia Commons

Off the top of my head, here are some typical vocabulary-teaching activities:

• matching a word to a definition
• completing a sentence with the word
• using the word in a sentence that shows an understanding of meaning (and which uses correct inflection, syntax, spelling, etc.)
• unscrambling a word
• Using or finding the word in a puzzle
• Associating the word with synonyms, antonyms, collocations or pictures

Do you have some other favorites? Do they tend to be related to spelling or reading the word and connecting it to a definition? In teacher culture (from what I see in textbooks and lesson plans, including my own), I think we consider a word "taught" if a student can do those two things. I suspect that this is the assumption behind many studies as well. For example:

... a study by Giambo and McKinney (2004) found improved vocabulary for ELL kindergartners with phonemic awareness instruction ..." (Graves, et al, 2013, p. 18)

How was "improved vocabulary" measured? Did kindergartners match a word to a picture (i.e., a definition)?

Yet, participants in my classes will say things like, "I know the word when I see it or hear it, I just can't remember it when I need to use it." or "I know that word, but I can't say the meaning in English." They certainly know something ... What is it that they know?

After reading this book (and the previous one, see "Folse" in my tag cloud), I'm ready to make a distinction between vocabulary teaching and vocabulary learning. I'm seeing the first as outcomes-focused: we focus on helping students connect a word with its definition. We can check that by giving a test. But the second is a continuing process, not so easily measured. Does what a learner knows help her to participate in communication better than before? Certainly, associating a word with a definition is an early step in the process, so the teaching thing is useful. But it doesn't stop there.

• Why does learner want to know this word?
• Did the new word introduce a new concept?
• Does the new word open the door to a new context?
• Can the learner build on the word, or even innovate with it?
• Did the learner notice a pattern that can be applied to other words, improving how well those words are understood as well?

I'm realizing that It's not only beneficial to spend a significant part of each lesson on vocabulary and to recycle words often and intentionally over a long period of time, but also to show and encourage an interest in words beyond definitions. For one thing, include first languages in the discussions about words. And how about letting learners play a role in deciding what words to study? Learners can bring in words they think the class should study and explain where they found the word and why they want to study it. This ties in with another tip: have learners be on the lookout for words outside the classroom. Obviously, they can look for current and past words or words they want to learn. Why not look for phrasal verbs, a certain suffix, when people say "um", adjectives, words with 5 syllables, unusual spellings, etc.?

This chapter is chock-full of other useful ideas and suggestions, such as what to consider when choosing words to teach explicitly, providing student-friendly definitions, techniques for teaching in-depth, and ideas for recycling and review. I can tell I will be referring to it regularly!

(PS: I'm posting for the first time from an app called Blogsy. Apologies if things look funky!)

Posted with Blogsy

Surrounding Learners with Words

It's been a pretty busy week and I haven't had a lot of time to forge onward in the book I'm reading (click "Graves" in my tag cloud for more on that), but I have been thinking about what I've read so far and re-reading parts of it.  In my last post, I reacted to the idea I found most intriguing, the notion of exposing learners to some spoken language that's above their level -- language that's not necessarily on the agenda but is appropriate to the context, not too far beyond their reach, and (perhaps) interesting.

Among other suggestions for "Providing Rich and Varied Language Experiences" are:

Read Across America Day (credit)

- Reading aloud from books that are interesting and enjoyable, helping with comprehension by  pausing to define words, asking questions and pointing to pictures.

It's easy to find pictures of adults reading stories to kids -- it's a no-brainer!  But what about reading aloud to other adults?  Hey, I love being read to (Selected Shorts, for example)! I'd like to read a book to one of my classes, perhaps in the last 15 minutes of every lesson.  I think it should be for pleasure, no worksheets or quizzes in sight.  Since we're an EL-Civics program, the topic should probably be related to American history or some civics theme ... I'm exploring historical fiction written for children.  If a story is well-written, it may hold the interest of adults.  (I may not get to try this out until winter -- when I do I will post about it!)

- Facilitating wide reading by the learners themselves, helping them to select texts that will support vocabulary growth and (presumably) are interesting.

In lieu of reading a whole book to the class, I could read part of a book and then let anyone who's interested take the book to finish on their own.  I suppose I should have enough copies to go around!

Reading outside on a sunny day. (credit)

Another person with the same idea. (credit)

Reading outdoors in Tunisia. (credit)

- Involving learners in discussion "in which real issues are considered", both casual conversation and discussion on academic topics.

Unplugged teaching. 'Nuff said!

- Promoting word-learning through writing by encouraging learners to write with a purpose and for an audience and helping them learn to choose words wisely.

Our annual SpeakOut project opens the door for this. Learners, alumni and teachers may submit writing done independently or in class and we publish a book, celebrating its release in the spring.  This does stimulate many learners to produce heartfelt work, work hard to polish it up, and practice reading it aloud (in case they're selected to read at the celebration).  I occasionally get a learner in class who has strong independent motivation to write and who is always seeking just the right words to get specific ideas across.  I'm wondering how I could encourage this kind of motivation on a day-to-day basis.  Wait!  What about the previous point regarding involving learners in real discussions?  Wouldn't that carry over to writing, too?  (*Forehead smack!*)

Rich and Varied

The first meaty chapter of Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners is called "Providing Rich and Varied Language Experiences".  It's generally organized around the traditional skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.  The authors propose that, while all learners should work on all skills, beginning learners should receive an emphasis on speaking and listening and more advanced learners should receive an emphasis on reading and writing. (I have a question about that: it seems that advanced learners often come to me with more reading and writing experience than listening and speaking experience? In any case ... )

Not all of the language that learners encounter has to be "taught".  In the section on listening, we're advised to go ahead and include some words that are beyond learner ability -- with some thought to what the level of the group is.  I think the idea is that the challenging language may slip past, but (as Ellis and others contend) that doesn't mean it isn't being collected and processed.  The authors give an example of using an interesting but uncommon word to stimulate curiosity.  "Too many decibels for me!"  I imagine the goal is more to pique learner interest in language than to "teach" the word.  I can also see:

- using an idiom or common phrase that I would normally use in free speech, but that I tend to filter out when speaking in class.  Loosening the filter intentionally, I guess.
- using authentic language that learners are not asked to study explicitly, but that is appropriate for the context they're in. A possible parallel: kids overhearing their parents talking nearby.

A week or so ago, I witnessed an example (perhaps) of the results of this kind of exposure.  We had turned our attention to "have to" in a lesson with my high beginner/low intermediate class.  Learners practiced and seemed to be getting comfortable with it, but one learner obviously had an epiphany.  Usually somewhat reserved, she brightened up and said "Oh!"  Then she started throwing out example sentences with  delight: I have to call my brother. You have to go to work.  He has to make an appointment ... And so forth. She had surely heard this language many, many times at work and I certainly have used it often in the classroom.  She probably had the gist of its meaning, but not its form.  When I put the form on the board, it just clicked for her.  I didn't "teach" it to her, I just provided that one bit of information that firmed up what she had been collecting all along.  For the rest of the folks in class that day, our attention to form may only have added to their repository, but maybe it brought them closer to the click.  (An aside: could such a  click be he moment when receptive vocabulary becomes productive vocabulary?)

The above is maybe an example of when I inadvertently provided my learners with language above their level (using "have to" and "don't have to" frequently).  I asked myself if I could think of ways that I've more deliberately offered "rich and varied" language to my classes.  It turns out that last week both of my classes watched videos that were challenging. In each case, I scaffolded the experience -- eliciting background knowledge, reviewing some key words, and reading and discussing a simplified text before watching the video.

The lower level class watched a video that was specifically prepared for language learners, but for a group at a higher level.  They did not tire of watching it again and again (we would review the video to answer questions that arose during discussion, for example).  The last time they watched it, many were reading the subtitles aloud to the extent that they could.  To my great pleasure, several later used some of the language they had heard (but we had not focused on explicitly) in class.  They did it deliberately, and I'm sure it's because they had seen it modeled so many times.  One was "thanks to [someone or something]" and the other was from a humorous moment in the movie: "Don't move!"  A character in the movie said this while drawing a picture of someone else.  We had a drawing activity ourselves and "Don't move!" flew about the room with lots of chuckling.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear another repeated phrase from the video ("I have an idea.") soon.  In fact, I will make a point to use it myself!  Here is a link to the video I used (We watched "The Hospital") and here's a picture two learners made of me (note the similarity to a picture in the video!).

After reading about and discussing a brief description of the American Civil War, my higher level class read a simplified version of the Gettysburg Address and we discussed.  We made a recording of them reading it as a class, one sentence per student, and played it back to analyze pronunciation. We then reviewed some key words and watched a video where various famous people read the original text one sentence at a time, similar to the way we had done it.  In the video, certain words were repeated.  I asked learners if they noticed, we tried to remember which words were repeated, then we watched again.  We then discussed why those words were emphasized.  (There are two  kinds of repetition: made by the video editors, and in the speech itself.  Lots to discuss!)  Lincoln's speech is simple, yet the language is formal.  I don't expect students to study the formal words, but such a "rich and varied" examination of the Gettysburg Address may come back to them, since this is an important text that's quoted and referenced heavily. In fact, next month is the 150th anniversary of the battle. A noticing learner will probably see many of these words again, especially here in Philadelphia!

hubby riding near Gettysburg

Another Vocabulary Book

Oh yes, I always "dress" for reading!

In the ongoing saga of "Kathy learns to teach vocabulary", I'm moving to the next book on my list: Teaching Vocabulary to Second Language Learners by Graves, August, and Mancilla-Matinez.  Although this book is aimed at K-12 ESL instruction, there is no reason that the main principles should not apply to teaching adults.  Perhaps we'll see about that over the next 6 months!

I've just completed the introductory portion of the book.  As in Folse, the authors assert that   vocabulary instruction is neglected far too much (some of the same studies are cited).  In this book, the authors propose a vocabulary teaching program consisting of four parts:

- providing rich and varied language experiences

- teaching individual words

- teaching word learning strategies

- fostering word consciousness (noticing, yeah!)

The meat of the book consists of one chapter for each of these topics and there's a final chapter which  discusses and compares four "empirically validated vocabulary programs for ELLs".  Because I'm not in a reading group this time, I'm going to have to provide my own discipline!  By that, I mean pausing after each chapter to ask myself some questions and rereading the chapter before continuing. I'm also setting a deadline of the end of June.  I'm giving lots of time for pondering each chapter -- allowing for a shift from "receptive" to "productive" understanding?

image courtesy of plum leaves

Word Frequency Lists

It has been really helpful to participate in an online book group while reading Ken Folse's book Vocabulary Myths.  I have started to get to know a few other teachers (always a plus), gotten ideas from them and the moderator, and the discussion questions motivated me to read each chapter again (sometimes several times).

I can tell that I'm in the process of learning, because every time I sit down to blog about my experience, I end up writing a long and unfinished piece!  I'm trying to relate what I've read to my current understanding and experience and there are whole subtopics out there that I really don't understand yet (how to use corpora, for example)!

Speaking of corpora, I've notices that many vocabulary resources make a statement something like this:

The 4,000 most common English words account for 80% of words in a typical text.  

This is usually followed by a recommendation that these 4,000 words be the foundation upon which learners build their vocabulary knowledge.  I don't disagree with this.  Since we can't begin to teach every word a learner needs to know, using a frequent words list can help us make choices. But statements like the above bother me.

In the chapter on using translations while learning vocabulary, Folse make the point that each meaning of a word could be thought of as a different word.  He notes that "take medicine" is not the same as "take a shower" and proposes that these expressions be taught as separate "words" (Ch. 4, p. 65):

When using translations for learning new vocabulary, learners and teachers need to remember that a word is not always a single word but rather a chunk of several words and that is what needs to be translated. (the author's italics)

As far as I can tell, the researchers who calculate word coverage don't distinguish between different semantic uses of each word. If "off" only rates a single entry on this list, then its use as a preposition may be "covered" but not all of the shades of meaning that it brings to phrasal verbs.  Modals, too, affect meaning depending on the words they travel with. And, of course, most "regular" words have more than one meaning.  Consider "brush": an implement with bristles, vegetation, an action.  Indeed, some of the most common words (make, get, and put are among the top 100) can generate a half-page or more of elaboration in a good dictionary.

thanks to Jaboney*

If most strings of characters that are counted as words have several to many meanings, then teaching one meaning for each of the 4,000 most common strings will not bring a learner anywhere near 80% "coverage".   (It occurs to me that native speakers who are learning to read probably already know the meanings of many words. Their challenge would be much smaller than that of English language learners.)

I'd like to reiterate that I think lists of common words are useful tools for both teachers and learners.  I guess what I'm concerned about is that "facts" such as the above can be very attractive to administrators looking for ways to measure success.  But when it comes to English language learners, I don't think "coverage" is so easily defined!

* image changed to one that's more clearly "free"

Words, Words, Words

Recently, several of the teachers in my group have come into the opportunity to participate in some  vocabulary-teaching research.  I'm very excited!  I hope my learners will benefit directly, but I also hope that my own skills will improve significantly during the course of the project (it stretches out over the next seven months).

Our program normally uses a thematic framework rather than a cut and dried curriculum. This gives teachers quite a bit of latitude when it comes to individual lesson plans.  Each month, we focus on a common topic so we can support each other, but we are free to decide independently how to go about exploring the topic with our learners.  I love this, because I can bring learners into the decision-making from lesson to lesson.  However, thanks to this project we have prepared a more formal three-month curriculum. We've chosen specific topics and texts.  Our project leader will provide particulars with regard to teaching vocabulary.  The rest -- how we interact with the content of the text -- will be defined by the teachers.

Our project leader has suggested that we read a recently-published book: Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners by Graves, August and Mancilla-Martinez.  I bought the text, skimmed though it, and began reading ... but at about the same time, an online book reading group formed over at ELL-U.  They were planning to read and discuss Vocabulary Myths by Keith Folse.  That seemed like an excellent opportunity to keep my focus (thanks to weekly deadlines) and to expand learning beyond the book through the discussion with fellow teachers, so I signed on.  I will follow with Graves when the discussion group ends in a month.

So, I'll probably be reflecting on vocabulary-teaching a lot over the next few months.   I don't intend to comment any more on the project itself, but rather on my own learning -- especially my questions about and reactions to the two recommended books.

It seems as if vocabulary-teaching is quite a hot topic these days.  Our local TESOL chapter recently offered a forum on the subject and I've been seeing other online opportunities as well.  Is it really the case, or am I just sensitized these days?  (Wink!)

PS: I provide links to Amazon only so that you can see what the book's cover looks like, read reviews and (sometimes) page through the table of contents and example text.  I'm not advertising on behalf of anyone.  Just to be clear!

Secret Lives of Learners

Long time, no see!

Last time, I noted that I was expecting a new bunch of learners at the beginning of February.  Over a dozen potential learners showed up on the specified day and more came by over the next few lessons.  As always, some candidates' levels were too high, some were too low and some were just right but decided that the class was not for them and disappeared after a couple of lessons.  Ten were eventually enrolled.  Since then four have already left. One had to leave suddenly for Cyprus (hmmm ...) and another also left to return to her home country.  Two others have schedule changes and want help transferring to classes at a better time, if possible.

The group is now mostly younger people (age below 30).  They hit it off and quickly exchanged electronic contact information, started going out for coffee after class, and have been meeting for weekend activities.  Although there are several Spanish speakers, there are enough other languages mixed in that they have to use English for socializing.  That's great!  It's a new experience for me, though, to so clearly see evidence of the secret life of this group.

From the secret life of my garden.

When I say "secret life", I'm referring to a chapter of the same title in George Lakey's book Facilitating Group Learning.  He notes that all groups have interactions besides the ones in our lesson plans and that these can facilitate learning or detract from it.  I love it when I see learners going to each other for help or asking each other for advice. (I've even overhead learners advising each other of other English classes they've discovered.)  On the other hand, what if two learners decide to date and then break it off.  One might stop coming to class or there could be a strain that everyone knows about except me!

I've been aware of the idea of a secret life after reading the book, but with this group it's really obvious.  There's some flirting, with a bit of competition between some of the women for the attention of one of the men.  And on more than one occasion, I've said something seemingly quite innocuous (like, "I need to end class a few minutes early today.") only to see several pairs of eyes immediately lock on each other with great meaning ... which I can only speculate about!

Lakey notes that the secret life is generally a good thing because a teacher or facilitator can't possibly help each learner work through every issue in every lesson.  He says it can be a relief to know "that it's not all on us to make sure the learning is happening -- we are indeed engaged in co-creation and the participants are mainly responsible for what they learn, using the assistance of us and the group." (p. 45, italics are mine)  However, he also states that we need to build bridges between the secret and public layers of the learning group so that if problems develop that could be a hindrance, we may be aware enough to perhaps lend a hand.  He suggests something as simple as hanging out with the group during break time.  I think the idea is to be alert and available as we interact informally.

I truly appreciate having this opportunity to become more sensitized to the private life that a class develops.  When it comes to bridges, I put out hot water and keep supplies for tea handy and students regularly bring in snacks to share.  I've got everyone on edmodo  too, but this group isn't using it as much as earlier groups (they're surely already texting each other and using Facebook).  I think I need to push edmodo more, giving assignments to be completed there. I don't care if they communicate elsewhere, but I'd like them to communicate about our lessons at edmodo, especially since there are several students who aren't a part of the social group that has developed.

Well, this wasn't what I intended to write about!  I meant to describe some learning I've had with regard to vocabulary-teaching ... and some further learning I expect to have over the next 6 months or so.  Looks like another post or two will be coming soon.

Should we be student-centered?

In an earlier time (my youth!), the traditional approach to teaching was teacher-centered.  Students gathered before the person in the front of the room and received information.  When I studied language (Spanish, German) in classes, we listened to lectures, read and memorized dialogues, did exercises and listened to tapes.

In more recent times, this view of teaching has been shaken up.  The buzzword you hear in professional development and read in the copy accompanying teaching products is student-centered. The way it was presented to me in my certificate training was "sage on the stage" vs. "guide on the side".  The focus turns from the teacher teaching to the students learning. The teacher facilitates as the students plan, explore, collaborate, and share what they have learned.

I am all for the empowering of students!  I thoroughly agree with helping them to become self-directed, curious and creative learners.  But I'm not so thrilled with the label, for several reasons.

First, the word is an umbrella term. It not only refers to a group of related pedagogical principles (see one overview in the link below), but it's also used to refer to any activity where attention is on the student's life, interests or needs.  I see many lesson plans (online and my own) that include "student-centered" activities such as having them work in small groups or pairs, surveying them to find out their needs, asking them to personalize their answers, etc.  To my mind, those are still largely teacher-centered.  Sure, I'm paying attention to the learners and collecting information about their needs ... but I made the plan, I  decide when they move into groups, I decide what information to collect, I take the survey home and decide how to use the information in a future lesson plan.  Don't I still hold most of the real power?

Second, in my explorations on the topic I read again and again that student-centered learning is achieved by shifting power from the teacher to the student:

from 

Student–Centred Learning: What Does it Mean for Students and Lecturers

by Geraldine O’Neill and Tim McMahon 

I think another model may be more useful.  For the student to be empowered, must the teacher's power be diminished?  Isn't the shift really from authoritarian power (respect is defined by compliance) to individual power (respect is defined by acknowledging the unique gifts offered by each person as well as their needs and ambitions)?  To my mind, the student-centered label retains a hierarchical mindset.  It continues to put someone on a pedestal (just a different person).  It does not acknowledge the individual power of the teacher, nor of the others at a school who support both teacher and student.

Third, I'm not so sure that the focus should be on people at all.  We've recognized that a spotlight on a person who is a font of knowledge is not effective.  Should the spotlight be turned to the seekers of knowledge?  Or should it be turned to the knowledge itself?  Imagine that the teacher and learners are each using their own spotlight to explore a topic.  When we work together, more light is shed on a subject.  When learners step out of the school, they take their spotlight with them and use it alone or with others as they choose.  That's autonomy.

The first time I encountered the proposal that we all, students and teacher, put the subject in the center of the circle was in Parker J. Palmer's excellent The Courage to Teach (Ch. 4, see diagram on p. 105).  He says:

To be in the truth, we must know how to observe and reflect and speak and listen, with passion and with discipline, in the circle gathered around a given subject.  (p. 107)

He also shares this quote from Robert Frost:

We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

The paradigm-shift that gave birth to the phrase "student-centered learning" is revolutionary.  But I wonder if it isn't time to step even further along that path.  I'd like to see the line between student, teacher, and the others at a learning institution eliminated completely and replaced with equal respect for our experience, skills, responsibilities, needs and aims.  We are all there to support the same thing: learning.  Who is the learner?  Who is the teacher? 

Culture Clash

Last week, I dusted off the blog.  This week, I got caught up with Feedler.  Whew, it feels good!

I'm reading a fascinating book right now called "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures" by Anne Fadiman.  I'm only 10% into the book (I don't do page numbers anymore -- this is an e-book!) but have had to stop several times to reflect on ideas related to intercultural communication.

For example, in chapter 4 ("Do Doctors Eat Brains?") the author examines cultural reasons why Hmong refugees have little confidence in Western medicine. After a study of one hospital log at a refugee camp, a nurse wrote that "in comparison to refugees of other ethnic groups, the Hmong have the lowest per capita rate of visits."  The author details numerous cultural reasons that contribute to this attitude.  At the end of the chapter, she shares the experience of an ethnographer named Dwight Conquergood, who volunteered at a refugee camp called Ban Vinai. He had success with convincing the Hmong to participate in various health initiatives (such as having the camp dogs vaccinated for rabies) because he approached them with a respect for their cultural beliefs.  The author concludes the chapter by saying "In his opinion, the physicians and nurses at Ban Vinai failed to win the cooperation of the camp inhabitants because they considered the relationship one-sided, with the Westerners holding all the knowledge.  As long as they persisted in this view, Conquergood believed that what the medical establishment was offering would continue to be rejected, since the Hmong would view it not as a gift but as a form of coercion."

While I like to think of myself as respectful of the varying cultures that my students represent, I can't possibly be as sensitive to them as I wish I were!  I'm thinking about how I might at least stay open to the potential that miscommunication could be a result of clashing cultural assumptions, rather than a learner's "not understanding me".

Post Scripts:

If you're curious, you can read the first chapter of the book (and a review) at the New York Times.

I searched for more information about Mr. Conquergood.  I'd like to follow the book by reading some of his publications and seeing his documentary "The Heart Broken in Half" (about gangs).  I'm sad to learn that he died at age 55 (my age now) from cancer.

Direct Education

I always get so much to think about when I read Scott Thornbury's blog, An A-Z of ELT.  This week, the topic is "personalization" -- drawing on student experience for the content of our lessons.  Scott raised some questions about the risks that come with this endeavor.  There's the risk that things might get too personal, for one thing.  There's a question about whether students want so much attention on their personal lives.  There's also the question about whether there's a sound theoretical basis for this approach.  See his post for more on those questions!

I jumped into the comments and made a bunch of references to Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners by George Lakey.  (I've linked to the Amazon entry so you can browse through part of the book if you want.)  I think there are many parallels between this book and the Dogme approach. Lakey contends that real learning happens when both the teacher and the students drop pretense and "get real".  To be yourself is to personalize.

Lakey describes his approach this way:

"I call this kind of education direct because it brings focus to the encounter of teacher and group; it replaces scatter—of teacher preoccupied with curriculum and participants preoccupied with distractions—with gathered attention. Direct education takes the most direct path to the learner in the here and now."

from kalyan02

It could be a description of Teaching Unplugged! The name of direct education is also derived from "direct action", or organized activities for social change.  Lakey facilitates workshops in this area and has published a book on the topic.

And that brings me to the new book 52 by Lindsay Clandfield and Luke Meddings (co-author of Teaching Unplugged).  It's a book of materials-light activities, one for each week in a year, that are described as "disrupting", "subversive", and "empowering".  I just bought it yesterday and I LOVE it!  It's one of those books that makes you slow down when you're reading because you don't want to finish too quickly. I found activities that echo or build on much that we've been doing in the classroom lately.  I'll be doing activity 16 (Respect) in the coming week, as it ties right in with recent discussions about what makes a successful English class.  There's a free excerpt to download at the link.

To finish, I'd like to repeat something from a very early post on this blog:

"It's not a stretch to see our ELCivics-based classes as a sort of training for social action.  Not that I want students to take any particular action.  But an important purpose of the class, as I see it, is to give learners the communication tools and cultural information they need to take action of their choice.  Participation at all levels of community is social action!"

Safety Dance

If you're old enough to remember when Men Without Hats put out their video "Safety Dance", then I have a 5-disc carousel CD player you might be interested in ...

What does this have to do with teaching English unplugged? Well, Josette LeBlanc posted recently about a tool used by some practitioners of Nonviolent Communication called a restorative circle. She described it as a place where conflict can safely take place.  That immediately put me in mind of the EFL/ESL classroom, where I hope to create a safe place as well, albeit a slightly more generalized version where students feel safe enough to take risks.

"The effective language teacher is someone who can provide input and help make it comprehensible in a low anxiety situation."  - Stephen Krashen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, p. 32

Krashen proposes that when someone feels stressed, an affective filter blocks the ability to absorb input.  I believe this would apply to any communication situation.  If you're distracted, anxious or angry, you're not in the best position to truly hear what another person is trying to say.

So, what have I done to facilitate a safe place in my classes?

As Mr. Barter notes in the video on Josette's post, a sense of community is essential.  One small, but effective practice: I make a point of learning and using student names as soon as possible, asking for help with pronunciation and checking that the way I'm addressing them is to their preference.  This models what I would like students to do with each other.  To facilitate that, I ask all students to make a "name plate" -- a piece of notebook paper folded into a triangle with their name and home country on it.  I have one too.  Students pick their name plates up from a shelf in the classroom when they come in and they tuck them back on the shelf when they leave. It's amazing how effective this is in getting students to notice each other as people. Before we used name plates, learners rarely addressed each other by name.  With the name plates, they will reach over, turn the plate to read it and initiate some discussion about the name or country with a classmate.  After a few lessons, students begin leaving their plates on the shelf.  That's fine, as long as the plates have done their job.  When a new student joins the group, we start using the plates again. I love that a student will go to the shelf and get the plates for everyone at the table! A tip: use a different color of paper for each class if you have several classes that meet in the same room.  A thought that occurs as I write: after a while, I could take away all of the name plates.  I'd let partners make new plates for each other, asking each other for help with spelling as needed.  That would benefit kinesthetic learners.

Developing ground rules can also help with building community. I haven't done this with all of my classes, but it's been effective in the cases where I have.  (The process I'm about to describe is based on tips from this article by Emma Mendiola.) Briefly, I begin with a discussion about "what makes a good place for learning?" (the list includes things like few distractions, good temperature, good light, suitable furniture/supplies).  We then follow with "what makes a good student?" (does homework, comes to class prepared, is motivated, participates actively, listens well, is respectful to the teacher) and "what makes a good teacher?" (is knowledgeable, is patient, is on time, helps the students, gives advice).  I like to question the separation between the teacher and student lists.  (Shouldn't a teacher come to class prepared, too?  Couldn't a student help/respect another student? How? etc.)  I don't spend a lot of time on the classroom list, but do point out that we have some control over the "few distractions" item and ask for ideas about that (cell phones, interrupting, private conversations are things that come up). Through various activities (depends on the group) we come up with a list of five things that apply to both student and teacher and then make a poster.  In one class, we had this lesson shortly after Independence Day and  we each put our own John Hancock on the poster before we hung it up!  This activity creates a safe place because the items are all out in the open and the list is co-owned.  If a learner needs to, he or she may be more comfortable reminding another learner of the agreement.  (Note that the classroom list can be used in a future lesson to stimulate thought about what makes a good study space at home, too.)

Another "safe space" idea sort of slowly revealed itself to me over my first year or so of teaching.  It has to do with truly being myself in the classroom.  That sounds obvious in hindsight!  But, in reality, a classroom is very similar to a stage.  I mean, you walk into a room full of people who are sitting in a bunch waiting for you to get "the show" going.  As a new teacher, I was very conscious of what I was doing and whether it was "what I'm supposed to be doing".  Many of my adult students, meanwhile, were all set to play a "good student" role that they've played many times before.  Knowing what our roles are is a kind of safety.  Unfortunately, it's not conducive to a communicative English class.  When we're in our roles, we're saying the lines we think we're supposed to be saying and doing the things we think we're supposed to be doing (perhaps a sequence of  "communicative activities" as outlined in a book).  It didn't feel right.  I thought it was mostly due to the students' lack of understanding about the structure of a communicative English class, but I came to realize that my own role-playing was literally setting the stage for them. I wasn't sure what to do about this, however.

About a year ago, I read Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Adult Learners by George Lakey.  He emphasizes the need for authenticity in a learning group.  In a section with the title "Design for Discomfort", he says:

"A lot of zest gets unleashed when people give up pretense and get real.  As the container strengthens, people give themselves permission to get silly or make puns or do the funny things they are ordinarily too self-conscious to try."

Lakey reminds the reader that the point of establishing a safe place is to support students as they venture out of their comfort zone (in SLA, I guess that would be Krashen's i+1).  I began to give myself permission to make little jokes, be silly, draw funny doodles on the board and that opened the door to my being more authentic in general.  In a section about supporting authenticity, Lakey advises facilitators to give permission to the learners as well.  I now make a point of mentioning some of the unconventional things we're going to be allowed to do in class -- for example, sticking out your tongue and making funny noises when practicing the "th" sound.  When students disagree, I make a point of nodding and smiling and mentioning that disagreement is a great opportunity to practice communicating.

All of this seems to lead naturally to unplugged teaching.  I guess it's no surprise that I'm using it more and more these days!

I would love to learn more about making a safe place for learning.  Please share your experience and ideas?

I'll leave you with these immortal words from the Men Without Hats web page:

I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
It's a Safety Dance

An Untapped Resource

Gosh, for someone who hangs around at the library for 18 -- make that 24 now -- hours a week, I don't check out very many books!  Sure, I'm in English class most of that time.  But still.  I should probably take advantage of the time I'm not teaching to explore potential resources more.

For example, I noticed this book recently: In November by Cynthia Rylant with lovely illustrations by Jill Kastner.  It's an attractive picture book; I enjoyed it and I think beginning adult readers might enjoy it too.  The book evokes the mood of Thanksgiving time without mentioning the holiday by name.  Language is simple, but poetic. Unlike many picture books, it's not written from the perspective of a child.

Last year, some of my adult students read a great version of "Billy Goats Gruff" as found on the library bookshelf (sorry, I don't have a link to the particular book at the moment).  They passed the book around and read aloud, turning the book around and showing the wonderful, evocative pictures as they finished. I think we could do this more often.  In fact, why couldn't the students browse through the books on the shelves and discover their own picture books to share?  There are so many fine books that are enjoyable at many levels.

I think we should have a "field trip" to the bookshelves in the library outside our meeting room soon!

Unplugged Superhero?

In my last post, I talked about the book I'm close to finishing:

Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms (Cambridge Language Education) by Jack C. Richards and Charles Lockhart

I was posting between classes (as I'm doing now!), so I kept it brief.  At the end of the post, I mentioned that I was all geared up on the idea of the action research project as a way to move from reflection to, well, action.  The notion is exciting to me because:

a) I've tried to do such a thing before, though I didn't know it was called "action research project" and mine was maybe not the most methodically-organized effort.  It was a success, though!  Quickly summarized: I'm in a rolling enrollment situation and had a lot of students churning through my classes.  I hardly knew who was in and who was out and I never knew who was going to show up.  (When you're stuck on photocopies, this can be a problem ... do I make way too many, or risk not enough??).  I wanted to see if there was some way I could settle things down a bit.  I read around, tried several different things in my classes (some were a success, some were not so good).  The bottom line is: I regularly get students inquiring about joining, but in general, my classes are stable groups of students who try to come on time and stay the whole class. 

b) I've been mulling over a number of issues and I think each is ripe for "action research" (it really does sound like it should be capitalized ... Action Research: a job for Super-Teacher!).  The book has clarified the process enough that I feel I can get started immediately. (I realize that there are more formal versions of action research; I'm talking about small, short projects a reflective teacher can do informally.)

One issue is that my beginning level students seem to use more L1 with each other than they did when they first came to class.  I think they started off with good "try to use English" intentions but have begun to lapse ... perhaps due to frustration?

For the last couple of weeks, I've tried to note when they did this and what they were saying (when it wasn't obvious, I inquired).  It seems that much of the time, students were giving each other comprehension help.  Obviously, I need to check and tweak my presentation skills!

But I also asked myself, "We get along OK in class, so why don't they just speak up and tell me what they need?"  The next lesson, I noticed how a student struggled to ask me how to pronounce a word.  Suddenly, my Action Research Superpowers kicked in and I had an insight: I never actually gave them much in the way of "I need help speaking and understanding" language in English.  (What's that called, metalanguage?) I didn't feel much like Super-Teacher at this realization.

So, two days ago I walked into class without any copies or texts (oh, Dogme be with me now!) but just some colored markers and a pad of easel paper.  Since my next class starts in a little while and I want to rearrange the room ... I will leave you, my imaginary reader, in suspense.  More to come later!

Upon Reflection

One of the many books littering my desk is this one:

Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms (Cambridge Language Education) by Jack C. Richards and Charles Lockhart

I'm not finished reading it yet, but I can say already that I think it will be an invaluable resource!  Every new teacher should have it on the bookshelf (and take it down and use it!).

I've only just discovered ELTChat and am still figuring out how it works (and whether/how to join) but I saw that the most recent discussion was on this topic -- how timely!  I believe that every teacher who wants to be successful in the classroom must reflect, whether fresh out of training or a seasoned pro.  The nature of the reflection may be different, but the need to do it is ever-present.

But what does "reflection" mean?  How can a teacher translate musings into improvement?  This book has many practical suggestions.  I'm especially excited about the idea of an action research project (something I've already been doing but not necessarily very well!).

Nonviolent Communication

Following up from the previous post, I have to acknowledge my commitment to nonviolent communication and the scaffolding it provides for my personal teaching experience.

Heh, I'm not saying that I'm always a nonviolent communicator!  But it does inform my perspective.  Students will be exposed to this approach if they spend more than a few hours in my classes.  Given recent readings, I question this but I also say: that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Some sources that have been important to me over the years (since way before I began teaching English):

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg

My husband picked this book up from an independent bookstore in Victoria, B.C. one year when we were on vacation.  Perhaps August of 2001?  The fundamentals of good communication, in my opinion!

The Assertiveness Workbook by Randy Paterson

I think I may have gotten this one in an independent bookstore (maybe in Canada too!).  Anyway, It blew me away.  Chapter 5 alone is worth the price of admission -- it lists a number of solid, emotionally-sound beliefs that one can carry into life.  Successful communication depends (in my opinion) on having these beliefs in the back pocket while communicating.  I'm still learning (and always will be), but whenever possible I try to model  these in class.  They do flavor my approach.

Ethics for the New Millennium by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

If you happen to find this book in the library or a bookstore and don't have a lot of time, just read the last chapter.  A rational and non-religious argument for nonviolent communication as the foundation for life.  Of course, the Dalai Lama is not a non-religious man -- but his ideas can be used to strengthen and support ANY religion.  Or none.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Yeh, I could be reading my already-strong beliefs into his book.  Or not.  I think he argues for much the same as the books above. From the perspective of a man who survived a concentration camp.

Although The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching was more influential to me in general, Thich Nhat Hanh's book Anger is more specifically about nonviolent communication.  Don't be fooled by the simple language. ETA: Another deceptively simple, but highly influential book is Peace is Every Step.

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

Many of her books have been helpful, but this one addresses nonviolent communication very well.

Daniel Goleman, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Paul Ekman and a number of other rational-minded authors also tie in to my thoughts on nonviolent communication. Hey, Lakey's book (just finished, see earlier posts) fits right in! ETA: also local heroes Aaron Beck and Martin Seligman ...