Arizona State University TESOL Professional Certificate
Launch Your Career as an English Teacher. Master strategies to teach English as a second or foreign language.
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/arizona-state-university-tesol
Teach English Now! Courese #1 Foundational Principles
WEEK 1
Lesson 1: Technique and Content
Lesson 2: Teacher Techniques
Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Question
- Video: Welcome Video
- Video: Video 1: Language is Cake
- Video: Video 2: Language is Cake: Technique and Content
- Video: Video 3: Making Meaning Clear
- Video: Video 4: Teacher Talk
- Video: Video 5: Scaffolding
- Video: Video 6: Summary and Essential Question
- Video: Teacher Talk Example (Advanced)
- Video: Teacher Talk Example (Advanced)
- Reading: Welcome Guide to the Teach English Now! MOOC
- Reading: Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters
- Reading: The Input Hypothesis
- Reading: Optimal Input is Comprehensible
Module 1: Making Meaning Clear
This course introduces learners to the role of a teacher in helping to motivate and properly engage learners. It begins with a metaphor: language is cake, meaning that language must be presented well in order to be enjoyed (we will actually perform a skit to show this meaning clearly). This module will demonstrate how a teacher can encourage a student and increase motivation by paying attention to techniques such as improving teacher talk, scaffolding language, and the use of body language to make meaning clear. All of these skills, while gained over the course of a lifetime as a language teacher, must be considered primary goals from the very beginning. And all of these skills help a teacher recognize that presentation skills make a difference to learners not only in motivating them, but in allowing them to understand the concepts presented.
- Video 2: Language is Cake: Technique and Content
In a controversial but famous 1993 study by Harvard researchers, Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, students observing teachers were able to accurately predict the teachers who were really bad and really good.What makes the study so controversial is the amount of time it took students to make those predictions. it took students six seconds.the students weren't paying attention to the class content at all.students are paying attention to you.
Keep in mind the tremendous difference that both content, the cake, and technique, your presentation of the cake, will make in having successful classroom experiences. I remember hearing one educational expert remark that professors think of their bodies as nothing more than transportation for their brains.
- Video: Video 3: Making Meaning Clear
Lev Vygotsky
sweet spot
Stephen Krashen, an ESL theorist, has a similar theory called the input hypothesis. or i + 1, meaning input plus new information.
- Body language ( =80%)
- teach talk: Teacher talk refers to the need for a teacher to speak in a modified or simplified way to accommodate the current level of your students. repetition, reduced grammatical forms, simplified vocabulary, signpost expressions, common cultural references, elaboration, clarification questions
- scaffolding: Model, guided practice, independent practice,
Don't forget to look into learner's eyes to see if they are with you.
- Reading: Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters
Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters in the Classroom
by Norma Gorham
One of the top ten problems teachers comment on is lack of student engagement and motivation.
This drive to know and to find answers for their own sake is referred to as “intrinsic motivation.” When you hear someone say – “Science interests me,” or “Learning math helps me think clearly.” – we are talking about intrinsic motivation. William Glasser’s choice theory suggests how strong intrinsic motivation is in learners when he states that, “we are born with specific needs that we are genetically instructed to satisfy” (as cited in Sullo, 2007). In other words, natural curiosity is literally built into our genetic makeup to help us best meet our basic needs, survive, and thrive as humans. According to Glasser, these basic psychological needs are:
- Belonging or connecting
- Power or competence
- Freedom
- Fun
Belonging or connecting
As teachers, it is important to develop the community of our classroom to create a place where everyone is an active member with a purpose and reason for being a part of the learning process. Our classroom communities need to provide a space where students feel safe and welcomed by the teacher and their classmates. The teacher / student relationship sets the tone for the classroom. Not surprisingly, research shows that teachers who developed good relationships with their students have fewer discipline problems than teachers who do not make that effort (Sullo, 2007). Fewer discipline problems indicate more students are engaged and motivated in the work they are doing.
Power or competence
Power and competence relate to the ability to do something successfully. When we teach our students how to learn and what not to learn, we provide them with the confidence, skills, and tools they need to be competent and successful individuals. They are willing to take risks in their learning because they feel confident they have the tools necessary to achieve and master new skills.
Modeling and feedback are important parts of mastering skills. The first time I made this connection was watching my children taking ski lessons. At the beginning of the day, they could barely stand upright on their skis, but with clear demonstrations of the correct technique and specific feedback from their instructor within a couple of hours they were able to successfully ski down the slope. Even though it was difficult, they mastered the basic skills needed to enjoy the activity and the desire to learn more. They were competent and therefore empowered by what they had learned.
Freedom
As humans we want the freedom to make choices and be a part of the decision making process. By including learners in the decision making process, they have more ownership of that process. But what does that look like in the classroom?
It could start with the students determining the classroom rules for the academic year or could be as simple as what topic they will write their essays about or as thoughtful as determining the criteria for grading that essay. Students that have a voice in the classroom are more invested in the work they are producing for that classroom and thus more motivated.
Fun
Everything is better when there is a fun element to it. It is our playfulness and enthusiasm that lead us to discovery and growth. An enthusiastic teacher brings passion, excitement, pleasure, and joy to the classroom. They bring their classroom to life, engage their students, and encourage exploration. A teacher’s emotional engagement and enthusiasm can increase student participation, interest, curiosity, and motivation.
These four basic psychological needs create the foundation of our individual interpretation of the world around us and is the basis for what motivates us. When my students – whether they are energetic 5 year old boys or slow thoughtful grandmothers – have these needs met, they are more engaged and willing to learn; they have the skills and tools needed to succeed; and they enjoy the thrill and excitement they experienced as young children learning at their parent’s knee. Simply stated, they are motivated.
Please note that there are many ways to motivate, but that intrinsic motivation, sparking that natural, internal motivation inside each student, will make your students recognize their love of learning and their need to meet these four psychological needs!
===================================
Anyone who speaks the language can teach the language
I totally disagree.
Language is very complex. AI has conquered many things, but language translation maybe impossible feat. For example, operation can be referred to as surgery when you talk to a doctor but it means arithmetic, that is, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, when you take your math class.
This is main reason I am taking this class because I want to be an ELL teacher even though I am a native Chinese speaker. I figure that even though I am weak in pronunciation, I would compensate it with better explanations.
===================================
Is language like cake?
I would like to admit I am puzzled by this cake metaphor first. Language to me is a necessary tool just like food. You have to eat no matter what in order to survive. After watching the second video, this makes more sense. The metaphor means that language must be presented well in order to be enjoyed. Our teacher said: "Keep in mind the tremendous difference that both content, the cake, and technique, your presentation of the cake, will make in having successful classroom experiences... I remember hearing one educational expert remark that professors think of their bodies as nothing more than transportation for their brains." I think cake metaphor preciesly demonstrate the difficulty that every teacher face: engagement and motivation, but solutions are not easy to find.
I am taking this class because I want to be ELL teacher even though I am native Chinese speaker. I figure that even though I am weak in pronunciation, I would compensate it with better explanations. For example, operation can be referred to as surgery or in math, arithmetic.
===================================
Language is cake
Hello, I am Maralaa from Mongolia. First of all, congratulations to the team for reading this paragraph. I wish you success in your studies with the same passion.
I agree with the topic “Language is cake”. Because learning a language takes a lot of time and effort. But after a while, when you see the results, it feels like a slice of cake. very tasty and happy. The process of learning and developing little by little feels like a spoonful. I hope to eat it whole soon. Also, sharing your sweet cake with others is the same as sharing your knowledge with people who are learning a language.
How delicious your cake will depend on how hard you work. if any of the ingredients are lost, the taste will change and will not meet the needs of consumers. So I'm taking this course to make my cake taste better. Good luck all!
Cool! from Mongolia. Your English is pretty good. How do you learn it so well? Hope I could find a way to connect you to ask this question. This is my first time on Coursera. I am still in the process familiar with this platform.
===================================
LANGUAGE IS CAKE;
The metaphor above appeals to me, due to its sheer unexpectedness.
I personally interpret it on two levels:
1. Language is cake, meaning it is something that pleasurable.
2. Language is cake, meaning depending on how it is served, it will affect the recipient’s willingness to receive it. Therefore, how language is presented to a learner is very important.
I am taking this course in order to improve my skills as an English teacher, in order to better serve my students.
No comments:
Post a Comment