Sunday, January 25, 2009

In-class, Jan. 26: Lesson Plan for Asian ESL Student

Today, we are constructing another mini lesson; this time for an Asian student who has English as a second language (ESL).

In order to deal with diversity in our students, we need to understand the background of their native languages. We do this by reading research, by observing our students, and by simply asking them. The grammar of their native language might be completely different from the English grammar.


Task 1:
Proofread the sample text below. It is an original text written by an SIU TESOL student in 2007. Then, take a piece of paper, and repair as many mistakes as you can find. Rewrite the sentences correctly, with regard to good grammar AND style.


The Beijing is a modern city and there are a lot of places to visit. First, there are many new building was build. One of the new buildings, it looks like a bird’s nest. Then, it have a big history. You can visit a lot of old buildings to know the history, just like “the summer Palace”. Finally, many people come from different country, there are kinds of restaurant. You can eat which you want to taste. Beijing is a nice place.


Task 2: In class, we will discuss a list of specific errors that occurred, and we will group these errors into categories. We'll fill in a category table on the board.

Here is an example for a category: modifiers

In Chinese, modifiers always precede the noun, whereas in English they can follow the noun, especially for attributive clauses. Therefore, Chinese students often have problems constructing an attributive clause. For example:

· Their owners may want to come to the store knows the pets better.
· These are all good strategies should be used.
· There are some people want to live in the countryside.
· The Plan provides lots of good statistic numbers which very helpful.
· My grandfather is the only person who influenced by his actions.

Another category: pronouns

One salient error is the leaving out of the relative pronouns, because they don’t exist in Chinese. For instance, the first sentence, if written in Chinese, would be like: “Their owners may want to come to knows the pets better the store.”

To find more categories, take a look at the homework reading which was due today: ERIC document (look only on pp. 47-62 for specific error types of Asian ESL students.)


Task 3:
Pick one of your categories, or one category mentioned on pp. 47-62, and write a short passage how you as a teacher/tutor/editor would explain to the Asian writer above WHY this can’t be said in English. Use her sentences as samples, and give her some other examples, too. Please write with quotation marks (how you would actually say it to the student). Give plausible examples of right/wrong sentences, and explain to the ESL student how to use the grammatical form you picked correctly. (Don't just explain, "we do it this way in English.")

Email this assignment to me. If you can't finish in class, this will be homework for Wednesday, January 28th.

Here is an example of how a teacher explained article use to an ESL student:

In a case study, a Costa Rican boy used the “the” too often, for example, “the nature has a lot of secrets.” The teacher replies: “Let me ask you, if you are walking in the woods, where is nature?” – “It’s in the trees. It’s kind of … everywhere,” the student replies. “Right. It’s everywhere. So nature is a very general noun. We talk about nature but we are not talking about a specific place or specific trees…” (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman 1983, 9-10).


Task 4:

Post a short comment to this blog about your own experience with Asian students, if you are observing/student teaching and have made any experiences so far. You can also write about what you observed outside of class with regard to Asian ESL persons. Or, post your personal thoughts about teaching children of diverse cultures. What would you do to make it easier for them? Any accommodations? Or would you treat them like the rest of your students? If you had an Asian student in your class who wrote great essays but placed the articles wrongly each time, would you take points off or give her the good grade her content deserves? If you give her the good grade, would it be fair to your American students who get points off for mechanics??? Let your conscience speak.

17 comments:

Angela Wille said...

I tend to see that many Asian students talk amongst themselves in their native language. Although I do not blame them; practice can make perfect. Encouraging students to practice using English even when it is not necessary is an important step to speaking it fluently. If I had an ESL student in my classroom I would find it hard to not take into account his or her situation, and would make accommodations. If for instance he or she wrote a paper with good content, but poor mechanicals I would take into account his or her situation. Most likely I would highlight areas where pronouns and articles were used wrong, ask the student if he or she could fix them, and have the student turn the assignment in again. On the other hand, passing a student with flying colors will hurt the student more than anyone else. If the student goes on to a higher grade they are automatically expected to be fairly close to the ideal writing level for that particular grade. If a student was allowed a free pass because he or she was an ESL student than he or she will not be adequately prepared.

Dana Stute said...

As an observer in a public school, I had a student from Japan. This student had been to many countries and had been an exchange student for many years. He was a wonderful student and was very smart. I believe he once said he knew seven different languages. He wrote very well in his English papers and spoke well also. He was very shy and at times did struggle with vocabulary in his writing and speaking. Other than that, he was a better student than some of his peers. On the other hand, if I were to teach a student of Asian descent who did not do well in writing and speaking, I would be more than willing to help them. I would help them by taking into account their own languages and I would try to show them comparisons and things that differ between English and their own writing. After allowing them to compare and contrast, I would take them further into the lesson and help them step by step with their writing and speaking. I hope to help ESL students in my career and I hope that I am able to influence them in a positive way.

miss canty said...

I understand that America is the "land of opportunity", but America is also competitive. I'm all for EDUCATION. Without sufficient education, students wouldn't be able to excel within the walls of Corporate America. Speaking of Corporate America, that brings me to my next point. Not that i'm oppose chinese students or any other foreign races of America, but this corporate society thrives on competition. Americans (white/black) compete amongst each other everyday. Are there elaborate, thorough resources held out for us? Are students sitting in a huge lecture hall quizzing and assisting each other with homework and notes? No, they are not. Unfortunately, i feel that either you (foreign student) go hard or go home. On another note, I feel that people should dismiss the competitive streak of individualism and accommodate one another. If thorough help is given to one (asian) student, it should be given to all students. But since when were teachers so empathetic to the personal or cultural faults of their students? -really??

Samantha said...

I don't know any Asian students and this is my first semester observing, so I haven't encountered reading papers written by them. However, if I had an Asian ESL student in my class I would grade their papers like everyone else and then workshop them. Pointing out the mistakes can make students feel inferior and cause them to dislike writing. I think if I show them the mistakes and explain how to correct the paper they would learn more. Negative comment can turn students off to a certain subject. If the Asian student is already shy and worried about his/her writing negative comments may make the student unwilling to participate in the activity. I would offer to workshop all of my student's papers and it would be up to every student whether they wanted it workshopped or just turn it in as is. Their grades would be calculated fairly.

Ashley McGillis said...

I have been observing in Southern Illinois Elementary schools for almost 2 years now. One thing I have noticed is the lack of diversity. Every school I have been to is often all white with the exception of a few students. I personally have not had the chance to observe an Asian student, let alone any other race other than white. If I were to encounter an Asian ESL, I would give them extra help. The English language is one of the hardest to learn. It would be best to teach an ESL student at a young age, so they can have time to perfect their English. As far as grading, it would be done fairly. Workshopping would be helpful to an ESL student, so they can get responses not only from the teacher but from other students. When I do encounter an ESL student, I hope to have a positive effect.

stephanie schofield said...

Although I have not personally encountered teaching Asian students, I have had fellow Asian Students in my classes. I found found that they are typically shy to speak up in class. I feel that if I had an ESL student in my classroom that I would try to make a special effort so that they feel comfortable. I would try to make connections between their native language and to the English language. It's one thing for a student to learn to speak English but its another to learn all the rules of English. If an ESL student turned in a paper with good content but grammatical errors, I would explain to the student what and why their paper was wrong. I would allow a re-write of the paper. I feel that this would best benefit the student. They would grow comfortable with their writing and would not be punished for something they did not fully understand.

Laura Melfi said...

I would grade an Asian student’s work in the same way that I would grade an American student’s work. I don’t think it would benefit the Asian student to make him or her believe that the writing is correct. When the student is an adult entering the work force, he or she will be expected to speak and write English correctly. However, I would give the student any amount of help that he or she needs. If the student needs more help than I am able to give, I would speak to the parents about finding a tutor for the child. I would do the same for any other student struggling with a subject.

stef said...

I would not grade an Asain ESL student like an American student who has been speaking English his/her whole life. It is simply unfair. I just believe as a future teacher that success is different for each child, and that students should be graded individually, not based on what the next student is doing. Althought there is a standard that should be upheld concerning education, it is important that teachers meet the students where they are. It is plain lazy, and inconsiderate to just grade an Asian ESL student like a student who's first language is English. The solution to perfecting the student's english is not tough grading, but extra time and practice.

Rosalind said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rosalind said...

Having learned or attempted to learn several foreign languages, including Japanese, myself, I can say that each portion of "fluency" is just that - a portion. A student may write beautifully, but have unintelligible speech, or vice versa. Furthermore, a learner's ability depends upon his or her audience. Speaking with strangers, teachers, family, friends, and peers all elicit different levels of boldness or apprehension, along with, often times, a different set of known "safe" words. Current slang may interest a student and allow him or her to speak to the enthusiasm and understanding of their friends, without offering much help in the formal writing department, or in conversations with respected elders.
If I taught an ESL student, I would work with the student as much as time afforded, trying to incorporate as many of the pie pieces of literacy into the therapy according to his or her strengths. A phobia of speaking aloud in class might warrant slow, controlled discussion with a small group of students, including other SWE learners if possible. Trouble with formal writing would necessitate one-on-one time and drafting with either me or a student tutor, depending upon ability and comfort level. In grading, I would first offer a student the opportunity to work on his or her writing, highlighting problem areas, and then gauge progress and effort along with correctness. Grades can never be objective, and I see no reason to punish a hard-working student.
I do think that Michara has a point - resources given to Asian ESL students sometimes far surpass those offered to Spanish-speaking or AAE students, I have noticed, and that breeds prejudice and failure in our schools and our society. Teachers should spread what they have to all according to need, eliciting help when necessary, without bigotry. I understand that I and we cannot accomplish this with a snap of the fingers or a blog post, but and ideal to work for never hurts.

JoAnna Rutledge said...

If I had an Asian student I would give him or her a shot and remind him after the first or even the second time, but after that I would have to take points off and recommend tutoring. It wouldn't be fair to my American students if I made exceptions for the foreign student and not for them. I understand that not all foreign students will come to America with great standard English writing skills. In the end it is not fair to give one a chance and make the others suffer. Everyone deserves an equal shot, and that is why you encourage students to come to workshops after class so they receive a better understanding of how to write using standard American English.

Danielle McCarty said...

I've never tutored or taught Asian students, but I've held conversations with them many times when I've worked. I've noticed they do tend to speak the least amount that the can. When they want to return something they've bought before, they'll hand me the item and just say "return." But the most common grammatical error I've noticed is their pronouns, but I can imagine it's incredibly difficult to adjust to such a hard language.
If I were teaching ESL students, I would try my best to place myself in their shoes and make sure they are comfortable with the speed of my lesson plans. I would try to make it seem as less intimidating as possible by including games and rewards. I would also emphasis time on speaking directly to them, so that when they left my classes they could go out and feel confident that they could hold a conversation without feeling shy or nervous.

Courtney said...

My mother has been in the U.S. long enough to have finally gotten over her personal issues with the English language, but I remember specifically as a child hearing my mom turn the letter L into R. And mixing up her Ps and her Fs.

We lived on Trevor Circle --> TrevoL CircRe.

Phone - Pone.

It was funny.

I've never observed or seen Asian language paper, so I really can't take a stance on whether I would be gentler on them than on my English language students.

Shaya Barnett said...

I have not had the opportunity to work with students who have another language as their primary language. I would like to think that I would treat all my students fair and with that comes the responsibility to make sure my ESL students were comfortable. The purpose of being an educator is to make sure all of your students learn and understgand what they are taught. If this means taking extra time to work with my ESL students I would. I would Englis as much as possible. Maybe they could get together with other ESL students and practice on speaking English together. The only way they can learn to speak English is with practice.

Twangie said...

I think it is common sense to not grade a foreign student who is not fluent in speaking the English language on the same grading scale/level as an American-born, English speaking student. I, of course, would point out the SWE errors, but I would grade the paper on its content and what the assignment was.

hschultz said...

I have not student taught or read a paper written by an Asian student, as I'm not going into teaching. However, I can see how it would complicate things. I don't think that you could grade them the same that you would an American English speaking student. I think that content for them would be more important, that way you know that they understand what you're teaching even though they may not write it all grammatically correct.

Chris Lacy said...

I would not grade an Asian student as I would an American-English speaking student because it simply would not be fair. I've had numerous encounters with Asian speaking/writing people during my tenure in retail work and have had some difficulty in communicating. However, all issues were resolved with patience and friendliness. English is said to be the hardest language to learn, and I believe that with all of our tenses and word choices.