ENGL 5890: TESL PRACTICUM

(Three semester hours of graduate credit)

in the

Department of English & Philosophy of the College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Science

Course Description:

Supervised practical experience in teaching ESL under the direction of a TESL faculty member.

Spring 2008

Robert Yates

Office Phone: 660-543-8741 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Office Hours: T Th 1-4 (or by appointment)

Office: Martin 231a Office mailbox: Martin 336

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION: The TESL practicum is a supervised practical experience in teaching ESL carried out under the direction of a TESL faculty member and preferably under the supervision of a cooperating teacher. Beyond practice teaching, participants will have opportunities to observe in ESL and foreign language classrooms and to lead their peers in discussions of practical ESL/EFL concerns. Careful reflection upon what is observed, what is discussed, and what teaching is done is central to this course.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D.. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English language learners: The SIOP model. 2/3 Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

GOALS: In this course, students will have the opportunity to: 1. reflect upon their own language learning and language teaching experiences. 2. observe a variety of teachers teaching a second or foreign language and report on each observation as well as synthesize and reflect upon the entire observation experience. 3. work with a supervising teacher and/or be supervised by the course teacher. 4. teach a language learner or group of language learners at least 10 hours. (The hour stipulation depends greatly upon the teaching situation. In some situations, students will be expected to teach more than 10 hours.) 5. identify the needs of this/these second language learner(s) and develop well-written, purposeful, assessable learning objectives for them. 6. develop lesson plans for this/these same second language learner(s). 7. adapt or develop language learning materials to achieve the objectives developed for the above student or group. 8. do informal assessment to determine the progress of the language learner(s). 9. receive feedback from the course teacher on the way they teach the learner(s).

10. present to their peers a pedagogical topic that interests them and lead a discussion of that topic. 11. develop skills of self-awareness and self-evaluation of their teaching performance, plans, and decision-making processes. 12. develop self-confidence in an instructional setting.

OBJECTIVES: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to: 1. critique the performance of students and teachers, including themselves, in a language classroom. (Note: the word critique means "evaluate" not "find fault with.") 2. interact effectively with other teachers and supervisors. 3. analyze the language learning needs of one or more second language learners. 4. develop session by session lesson plans to meet a learner's/learners' needs. 5. assess a learner's/learners' progress toward specified learning objectives. 6. critically evaluate their own teaching performance, planning, and decision-making. 7. discuss intelligently a number of pedagogical issues and relate those issues to their own experiences, needs, and their understandings of SLA and ESL/EFL teaching.

DESE's competencies for K-12 teachers of ESOL Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

(approaches to ESOL standards) 4.2 specify strategies for using English as the language of instruction to help learners develop social and academic language proficiency, 4.3 specify strategies for selecting, organizing, adapting, and evaluating materials for students from diverse language and educational backgrounds in a cross-cultural setting, (language competency standard)

5.2. demonstrate or move toward native or near-native proficiency in standard English (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Meeting the NCATE/TESOL Standards

This course is designed to meet Standard 3 of the NCATE/TESOL standards.

Standard 3: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Instruction Candidates know, understand, and use standards-based practices and strategies related to planning, implementing, and managing ESL and content instruction, including classroom organization, teaching strategies for developing and integrating language skills, and choosing and adapting classroom resources. Standard 3.a. Planning for Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction. Candidates know, understand, and apply concepts, research, and best practices to plan classroom instruction in a supportive learning environment for ESOL students. Candidates serve as effective English-language models, as they plan for multilevel classrooms with learners from diverse backgrounds using standards-based ESL and content curriculum. Standard 3.b. Managing and Implementing Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction. Candidates know, manage, and implement a variety of standards- based teaching strategies and techniques for developing and integrating English listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and for accessing the core curriculum. Candidates support ESOL students in accessing the core curriculum as they learn language and academic content together. Standard 3.c. Using Resources Effectively in ESL and Content Instruction. Candidates are familiar with a wide range of standards-based materials, resources, and technologies, and choose, adapt, and use them in effective ESL and content teaching.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES:

Written assignments: * a description and reflection upon your own language learning experiences and beliefs (L2 Learning History) * 10 observation reports, one on each of the observations you make * a reflective paper on what you have learned from the observations you will have made (Observation Paper) * reflective paper on what you have learned from the teaching you will have done (Reflections on Teaching Paper)

Observations of teaching: A minimum of 10 hours of observation of classroom instruction and short reports on each of these experiences; see the Observation Report Form

Presentation to the practicum class: A 50 minute presentation to the practicum group on a topic. The topic may be one of interest to you, or it may be based on section in Echvarria et. al. Afterwards, the presenter also leads discussion of the topic; note: the presentation does not need to be a lecture-- activities and examples are welcomed. The use of audio-visual aids is encouraged.

Teaching/assisting a teacher: * teach at least 15 contact hours with one or more ESL learners *submit detailed, complete lesson plans (including objectives and means of assessment)for three teaching sessions which you present for observation and feedback from me.

Consultations: * consultation sessions with me after my observations of your teaching and at any other time you wish--during office hours or by appointment * consultation sessions with your cooperating teacher if you have one

Grading LATE WORK (work turned in after an assignment is taken up in class or after a due date) WILL BE SEVERELY PENALIZED, and the resulting loss in credit cannot be made up. Remember as teachers we must be prepared for classes we will be teaching. Not being prepared is unacceptable.

Material assigned for class must be adequately prepared. Evidence of preparation includes highlighted or underlined readings, notes, prepared handouts or assignments, etc. Not being able to provide such evidence at any given class will result in a deduction from the total grade. Two points will also be deducted for every unexcused absence after the first or any failure to keep an appointment (for consultations, observations, teaching, etc.).

L2 Learning History 5% Observation Reports: 20% Observations Paper: 10% Presentation to the practicum class: 15% Reflections on Teaching Paper: 20% Feedback from supervising teacher: 10% Evaluations of observed teaching 20%

Academic Honesty

It goes without saying that work that you do will be your own. Accessibility

Students with documented disabilities who are seeking academic accommodations should contact the Office of Accessibility Services, Union 220, (Voice and TTY) 660-543-4421

Written Assignment 1: L2 Learning History Assignment

Write a reflective biography of your own L2 learning. Describe your L2 experiences. Consider what teaching materials, methods, styles, and techniques have worked well and have not worked well in helping you learn an L2. Reflect upon the learning strategies that have and have not been effective for you.

How will/have your learning experiences impact/impacted upon your approach to

L2 teaching: the materials, methods, styles, and techniques you will use (and have used)?

Do you anticipate (or have you already noted) any problems with transferring what has worked best for you into your own teaching of your prospective students (imagine a specific group)--both those who are like and unlike yourself in their ways of learning. If so, do you have a plan for adapting what has worked for you in an effort to teach all your students more effectively? This paper is to be typed double-spaced. It should not exceed four pages in length.

I will post my history on Blackboard over the weekend. Class Topics

This is a tentative schedule. Dates are Thursdays. Echeverria et al. (2004) (indicated as SIOP below) is very useful for observations. It is valuable to read it as quickly as possible.

There are list of papers that Muchisky has used in this class. The one’s with the * seem especially interesting. Here they are.

Berube. B. (2000). Chapter 6. Parents and the community. In Managing ESL Programs in Rural and Small Urban Schools. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Berube. B. (2000). Chapter 7. Authentic, comprehensive student assessment. In Managing ESL Programs in Rural and Small Urban Schools. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. *Edge: J. (2003). Imperial troopers and servants of the lord: A vision of TESOL for the 21st century. TESOL Quarterly, 37.4 (701-709). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Kouritizin, S. (2000). A mother=s tongue. TESOL Quarterly, 34.2 (311-324). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Pennycook, A. (1989) The concept of method, interested knowledge, and the politics of language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 23. 4 (589-618). Alexandria, VA: TESOL. *Prabhu, N. (1992). The dynamics of the language lesson. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 225-241. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Samimy, K. ( ). Comment=s on Sandra G. Kouritzin=s AA Mother=s Tongue.@ TESOL

Quarterly. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. *Stevick, E. (1988). Before you begin. In Teaching and Learning Languages (pp. 3-28). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Youngs, C.S., & Youngs, G.A. Jr. (2001). Predictors of mainstream teachers= attitudes toward ESL students. TESOL Quarterly, 35,1. (97-120). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Which of these do you wish to read?

Are there other topics you would like to read? I have also found a blog written by Nat Bartels who has had interesting teacher learning. The entries are relatively short and asks for comments. I would like to have us read these entries and comment. http://elgg.org/nbartels/weblog/1525.html We will supplement this. This is set up for meeting on Tuesdays.

Week One B 1/15 Getting started. Week Two B 1/22 Learning History (Bartels blog?) SIOP Chapters 1-3. Each student will be required to lead the class in the discussion questions. Stevick Week Three B 1/29 SIOP Chapter 4-6. Observation Reports (2) Week Four 2/5 SIOP Chapters 7-9 Observation Reports (2) Week Five B 2/12 SIOP Chapter 10-11. Observation Reports (2) Week Six B 2/19 Observation Reports (2) Week Seven B 2/26 Observation Reports (2) Week Eight B 3/4 (We cannot meet on this day because of the Scalia presentation) Observations Paper Spring Break Week Nine B 3/18 Week Ten B 3/25 Must begin teaching this week Week Eleven B 4/1

Week Twelve B 4/8

Week Thirteen B 4/15

Week Fourteen B 4/22

Week Fifteen B 4/29 Presentations to Begin Reflections Paper

Finals Week B Do we need to meet?