ESL Magazine, 2003. ISSN ISSN-1098-6553 PUB DATE 2003-00-00 NOTE 130P.; Published Bimonthly

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AUTHOR Rosenthal, Marilyn, Ed.; Beall, Kathleen R., Ed. TITLE ESL Magazine, 2003. ISSN ISSN-1098-6553 PUB DATE 2003-00-00 NOTE 130p.; Published bimonthly. For the 2002 issues, see ED 472 794. AVAILABLE FROM ESL Magazine, 220 McKendree Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401 (first year subscription, $16.95; individual issues, $3.95). Tel: 410-570-0746; Fax: 630-214-2888. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT ESL Magazine; v6 n1-4 Jan/Feb-Jul/Aug 2003 EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; Classroom Environment; *Computational Linguistics; Computer Uses in Education; Conversational Language Courses; Elementary Secondary Education; *English (Second Language); Family Literacy; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *Internet; Interpersonal Communication; Listening Skills; *Literacy Education; Online Courses; Reading Skills; School Community Relationship; Teaching Methods; Textbooks; Writing Instruction IDENTIFIERS Authentic Materials; Malaysia; Social Justice

ABSTRACT These four issues contain the following articles: "Corpus Linguistics: Discovering How We Use Language" (John Rosenthal); "Conversation Class: More than 'Just Talking'" (David Kehe and Peggy Kehe); "The Peace Project: A Personal Path to Overcoming Intolerance" (Stephanie Jones-Vo); "Developing the Reading Skills of Adults Learning English" (Miriam Burt and Joy Kreeft Peyton); "Developing Listening Skills with Authentic Materials" (Lindsay Miller); "Bring the Community into the Classroom" (Kathleen Olson); "Malaysia Promotes Excellence in English" (Vinodini Murugesan); "Your Online Companion: ESL Textbook Websites" (Owen Murray and Nevitt Reagan); "Dave Sperling's Guide to the Internet's Best Writing Resources" (Dave Sperling); "Online TESL/TEFL Training" (Thomas Nixon); "Binational Centers: Teaching English and Building Friendships in the Americas" (William Ancker); "Family Literacy and ESL" (David L. Red); "Effective Ways of Building Vocabulary Knowledge" (Paul Nation); "Cryptograms in the EFL/ESL Classroom" (Lee Oakes and Marilyn Rosenthal); and "Creating Congenial Classrooms" (Kirsten Schaetzel) .The issues also contain editor's notes, letters to the editor, news briefs, conference calendars, reviews, catalog showcase, and regular columns. (SM)

ENTIRE DOCUMENT: POOR PRINT QUALITY

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ESL Magazine, 2003

Editors Marilyn Rosenthal Kathleen R. Beall

ESL Magazine v6 n1-4 Jan/Feb-Jul/Aug 2003

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2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE www.eslinag.00111 January/February 2003 S 13.95,Canada $4.95_

I. ".\ THE IN-FORMATION SOURCE FOR ESL/EFL PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE t:14 Did you know that simple aspect verb phrases are more than 20 times as common as progressives in conversation?

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3 Did r00 know that simple aspect verb phrases are Jan./Feb. 2003 more than 20 times as COM= 11.1 Vol. 6, No. 1 progressives in conversation?

FEATURES Corpus Linguistics: Discovering How We Use Language by John Rosenthal 10

Conversation Class: More than "Just Talking" by David and Peggy Kehe 16 Page 10

The Peace Project: A Personal Path to Overcoming Intolerance by Stephaney Jones-Vo 22

DEPARTMENTS Editor's Note 4

Letters to the Editor 5 News Briefs 6

Conference Calendar 7 Page 14 Reviews 20 Catalog Showcase 30

COLUMNS Christine Meloni's Networthy 8

Greg Kessler's Technology 14

Richard Firsten, The Grammar Guy 19

Thomas Nixon's Employment Focus 29 Page 16

Who's Reading ESL Magazine?

Daniel Tumposky TOEFL Test Developer and Manager at Free resources for Educational Testing Service, the teachers at world leader in www.eslmag.com educational measurement and research.

Page 22

ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ESL MAGAZINE The magazine for English as a Second Language professionals.

Getting a New Body Publisher GEORGE H. CLEMES,Ill

Editorial Director MARILYN ROSENTHAL N., I'm not talking about the body one gets by keeping New Year's Editor KATHLEENR.BEALL resolutions to eat less and exercise more. I'm talking about a body of

Contributing Editors languagecorpus linguistics. John Rosenthal writes a very interesting article RICHARD FIRSTEN about this field of study that attempts to describe how languages are really NATALIEHESS

STEPHANEY JONES-VO used. He also describes a big project in the works to produce an updated DAVID KEHE

PEGGY KEHE corpus of American English. This will be of great value to teachers, materials GREG KESSLER writers and others because ESL/EFL students who want to learn American JACK LONGMATE CHRISTINE MELONI

English want "the real thing." JOHN ROSENTHAL

What makes a conversation class successful? Students talking? Of course, Webmaster CHARLES FOWLER that's part of it, but David and Peggy Kehe explain how to teach conversation Advertising Sales 410-570-0746 630-214-2888 (fax) strategies that will make conversation class more valuable for students. [email protected]

Subscription Information World peace. It seems like this is on everyone's mind these days. But Introductory rate:Iyear, 6 issues, U.S.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95, outside North America: $34.95. All prices in U.S. what about peace closer to home, in the school or program where you teach? $ and must be paid in U.S. funds. To subscribe, fill out subscription form on page 29 (photocopy additional forms if neces- The ESL students at Urbandale High School in Illinois designed a program to sary) and mail with payment to: ESL Magazine, 220 McKendree Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or fax subscrip- promote peace in their school. Stephaney Jones-Vo describes their "Peace tion form with credit card information to 630-214-2888. Please call 410-570-0746 Project" and how it is transforming the relationships between newcomer for all other inquiries. ESL Magazine is published bimonthly students and their native born classmates. by Bridge Press, LLC 220 McKendree Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401 All the best! [email protected] www.eslmag.com RL ISSN: 1098-6553 Marilyn Rosenthal, Ph.D. ESL Magazine is abstracted and Editorial Director indexed with ERIC. 0 2003 Bridge Press, tic, all rights reserved. 5 4 ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 0 ;

later?), I got letters from several people illustrating how English is evolving.Ihave expressing deep-seated umbrage, including noticed and have been occasionally annoyed my own 9th grade English teacher! I felt then, by these changes.Iconducted research as I do now and as Richard does, that it isregarding "there is"vs. "there are." The important that we describe for our studentsmajority of the people I observed used the how English is actually used, and as Richard singular structure "there is" with plural further suggests, make distinctions in usage nouns, including 60% of NS speech samples levels for them. (myself included)and many were even BETTY AZAR observed in academic settings! I was shocked via email at first but then realized that perhaps English is moving towards one form to express both Thank you for Richard Firsten's article in meanings. Teachers need to overcome the ini- Write Us!Send letters to the Nov/Dec issue. I also notice, sometimes tial "shock," admit that native speakers use [email protected] or ESL Magazine, with a twinge of pain, when something previ- forms that are "incorrect," and raise our stu- 220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401. ously seen as an error gains common usage. dents' awareness on how to deal with this dis- Include your name and position or address. He left out possessive "s" used as a plural, as crepancy. We must empower our students to in "All DVD's on sale today" and "alot" used make language choices regarding style, regis- Language Evolution for much or many. I've been a bilingual/ESL ter and context. Your Grammar Guy, Richard Firsten, is ter- teacher for 22 years and have seen many of ADRIANNE OCHOA rific.Ialways turn to his column first.the changes he writes about (aka: about Atlanta, GA Richard's insights into complex grammarwhich he writes). More than that, my mother issues are fun to read as well as practical for was an English teacher in the early 50s (noCreating Placement Tests teachers. He demystifies grammar in hisapostrophe!).I can still hear her retorting, I read your very informative article on test- down-to-earth approach and gives practical "Sitting on the A drinking the Tea" to a ques- ing ["Creating Placement Tests" by Joel advice about dealing with those sticky gram- tion about where something was at, which, Murray, Nov./Dec. 2002]. In conjunction with mar questions that all of us run into in theby the way, is a very common form here in the programmers at Blackstone.ca, I am using classroom. His recent article "Evolution: It's the Pacific Northwest. The only thing con- the ViaMedia software to create an accent test Not Just For Biology" was equally informa- stant is change! online, which should be up and running soon. tive and fun to read. All of us can learn from DAVID IRWIN We have a series of 12 tests in the Accent his common-sense perspectives on areas of Vancouver, WA Exam, and the issues of validity, weighting English usage that are still changing. Twenty and scoring are especially important to us as years ago, when I said in the first grammar I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Firsten's we develop the tests. textI wrote that can is sometimes used toarticle"Evolution:It'sNotJustFor ANN COOK request permission (e.g., Can Icall you Biology"! I"chimed in" with the examples www.AmericanAccent.com/introtemp.html OXFORD Language Learning for Students UNIVERSITY PRESS With Special Education Needs

English Language Learners With Sielltr!1 Special Education Needs addresses So issues that schools face across the It's United States when providing appropriate special education services for students learning a new language. The solution involves a I I continuum of well-coordinated services: identification of English 4IA language learners with special needs, assessment of their abilities, placement in appropriate programs and classes, and instruction that helps them learn English and school content. This book describes model programs and approaches that The Dictionary offers: include early intervention strate- English Language Learners 1,200 essential words and phrases gies, assessment methods, With Special Education Needs: 12 units providing key everyday vocabulary parent/school collaboration, Identification, Assessment, and and native and dual language Instruction in full color illustrations in context instruction. Alfredo J. Artiles and Alba A. Ortiz, NEW Easy exercises on every dictionary page For online information about this Editors NEW Teacher's Book with complete lesson plans series and the other books in it, $20.95 (+ 10% shipping) 262 pp. please visit ISBN 1-887744-69-X 2002 www.oup.com/us/esi ORDER ONLINE OR CALL DELTA SYSTEMS AT www.practiceseries.com1-800-323-8270

ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 6 5 NEWS BRIEFS New Education Survey Focuses NCLB Accountability Plans on "Teacher Gap" Submitted /n January, Education Week released "Quality Counts 11 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto 2003," an education report based on surveys of the 50 Rico have submitted theirstate educational states and the District of Columbia and 30 large school accountability plans for review on time under the districts and analysis of data from the 1999-2000 Schools No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of and Staffing Survey, a federal database. The report focuses 2001. The plans, which detail how and on the "teacher gap," the shortage of qualified teachers in under what timeline states plan to the schools that need them most. It suggests that closing the achieve full proficiency toward state "teacher gap" is necessary for closing the "achievement academic content standards, were due to gap" between minority students and nonminority students, the U.S. Department of Education onNo Child between poor and rich students. The report reviews various January 31, 2003. The plans also mustLEFT BEHIND efforts by states to recruit and retain higher numbers of address how states intend to close persistent achievement qualified teachers but maintains that these efforts don't gaps between disadvantaged children and their more direct the "high quality" teachers to the high-poverty, high advantaged peers. minority and low-performing schools. The following sta- Five statesColorado, Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts tistics are among the findings: and New Yorkvolunteered for early review of their plans 0- 22% of secondary students take at least one class and received approval by early January. Most states have with a teacher who doesn't have even a minor in the class met with Education Department leaders to discuss devel- subject. In high-poverty schools, it's 32%. opment of their state plans. The next steps include review O 13% of secondary students in low-poverty schools of the applications, technical assistance and a peer review have a teacher who is not certified in the subject taught. In of the state plan. The non-federal peer reviewers include high-poverty schools, it's 26%. state policymakers, national education reform experts, sta- Also included are state-by-state data on one hundred tisticians, and others who are familiar with educational quality indicators for each state's public school system. standards, assessments, accountability, the needs of under- Each state also received a report card summarizing these performing schools and other educational needs of students. data in these categories: student achievement by race, stan- The five approved state plans are available on the U.S. dards and accountability, improving teacher quality, school Department of Education's website at http://www.ed.gov/ climate, and the adequacy and equity of resources. offices/OESE/CFP/csas/index.html. International Students Vital to U.S. National Interests In its report released in January, the Strategic Task Force 3) The cost of U.S. higher education; on International Student Access identifies major barriers 4) The complexity of U.S. higher education. encountered by prospective internationalstudents Among the task force's recommendations: attempting to access U.S. higher education. This task force A recruitment strategy that mandates and coordi- was established by NAFSA: Association of Internationalnates the actions of the Departments of State, Commerce, Educators to examine the issue of international studentand Education, which share responsibility for international access to higher education in the United States. student recruitment. The report, "In America'sInterest: II- Updated immigration laws and a visa Welcoming International Students," outlines a screening process that permits necessary plan to overcome these barriers, a plan that scrutiny of visa applicants and decisions with- calls for a national policy that articulates the inreasonable and predictable periods of importance of international students to the inter- time, and a student monitoring system that ests of the United States. serves its intended purpose without damag- Recognizing that U.S. security requirements ing student exchange or imposing severe have changed since September 11, 2001, the penalties for inadvertent errors. report describes the need to sustain and bolster Partnerships among government, higher the long-standing belief that the United States education, foreign governments and busi- In AmeridsZalerest: ex- benefits from international educational iz:t1:,111rj nesses that increase financial aid opportuni- change, which fosters mutual understanding, 6mIrbolree.I....no. the ift of Aim ties for international students and provide respect, and cooperation with other nations, and N .4% better mechanisms for accessing information that educating the world's future leaders is an about them. indispensable investment in America's global A marketing plan with clear, consistent leadership. information about U.S. higher education that includes a The task force has identified four barriers to access: user-friendly, comprehensive web-based resource. 1) Absence of a coordinated international student For an executive summary and the full report, go to recruitment strategy; http://www.nafsa.org/content/PublicPolicy/stf/inamericas 2) Unnecessarily burdensome U.S. government regula- interest.htm. tions; 7 6 ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 Continental Book company High-Interest Readers - Life Skills Publications Research Grants Available Software - Proficiency Testing - Dictionaries from TIRF Grammar, Writing & Conversation Guides The TESOL International Research Foundation Need more than a textbook? (TIRF) invites proposals for Doctoral Dissertation

Grants (up to U.S. $5,000) and Priority Research APRENPIIN6LE; Grants (up to U.S. $25,000). Proposals are solicited for NITTY research directly related to the relationship between teach- GRITTY ers' proficiency in English, effectiveness in teaching English as a second or foreign language or as a medium of instruction, and student achievement. The deadline for :iVIGEISH TEACHER receipt of complete proposals is May 31, 2003. For more information and complete instructions, visit the TIRF web- LAROUSSE ESL site at http://www.tirfonline.org/ and click on "Call for GRAMATICA TEACHER'S Research Proposals 2003-2004." INGLESA ACTIVITIES COMUNICATIVA AtialaT Conference Calendar 6W04. r11/1Billi MIRE January 25-29 Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. 6-10 Hawaii international (TESOL). Baltimore, MD. Conference on Education. Contact 703-836-0774. Honolulu, HI. We carry the extras! Contact 808-947-7187. April 22-24 Costa Rica TESOL. San 4-6 TESOL Spain. Valencia, Spain. www.continentalbook.com Joce, Costa Rica. Contact Elieth Contact [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Matamoros, [email protected]. 10-12 Arizona TESOL. 23-25 Thailand TESOL. Bangkok, Mesa, AZ. Website: 625 E. 70th Ave. #5 Denver, CO 80229 Thailand. Contact Suchada http://www.az.tesol.org/2003- Tel: 800-364-0350 Fax: 800-279-1764 Nimmannit, [email protected]. conference/menu.htm. February 10-13 CATESOL. Pasadena, CA. Please contact us for a complimentary catalog. Contact Eleanor Black, 15-17 Georgetown University 323-343-4330. Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics, GURT 2003. 17-18 Isik University International Washington, DC. Contact Andrea ELT Conference. Tyler, 202-687-5755. Istanbul, Turkey. Website: http://www.eltc2003.isikun.edu.tr. 22 NYS-TESOL. Long Island City, NY. Contact Joanne Grumet, 22-26 IATEFL Conference. [email protected]. Brighton, United Kingdom. Teachers College Website: http://www.iatefl.org. 27-1 XVII Foro de Expertos Unlversitarlos en Lenguas 25 Arkansas TESOL. Extranjeras. Toluca, Mexico. Arkadelphia, AR. Contact Sharon Columbia University Website: Nichols, 501-450-4870. http://www.uaemex.mx/feule2003. 25-26 Tennessee TESOL. 28-1 Illinois TESOL. Chicago, IL. Franklin, TN. Contact Kim Llorens. Explore techniques for teaching English Contact 846-692-8287. 615-790-0892. 28-1 Ethnography In Education 25-26 National Association of here and abroad Research Forum. Philadelphia, PA. State Directors of Migrant Contact 215-898-3273. Education Conference. Develop your knowledge of how English Portland, OR. Contact Al Wright, March 225-664-8637. works and how people learn languages 5-8 Glendale, Litchfield and May Washington Elementary School Broaden your cross-cultural awareness Districts Conference. Scottsdale, 3 PennTESOL East. AZ. Contact Maria Lohrasb, Philadelphia, PA. Website: 1-800-531-0082. http://penntesoLorg. 41111 6-8 Central States Conference on 27-29 Damascus University the Teaching of Foreign international TEFL Conference. Languages. Minneapolis, MN. Damascus, Syria. Contact Waddah Contact Diane Ging, Al-Khatib, +963-11-212-0321. 614-529-0109. 28-29 TESOL Ukraine. 12-14 TESOL Arabia. Dubai, United Sevastopol, Ukraine. Arab Emirates. Contact Kathy Bird, Contact Svitlana Gladio, [email protected]. [email protected]. 7 July 15 August 2003 13-14 University of Seville confer- June ence on applied linguistics (ELIA). New York, New York 7 Kentucky TESOL. University of Seville, Spain. Contact [email protected]. Cincinatti, OH. Contact Anita Lewis, 513-674-4244. Contact 22-25 American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). 26-28 Korea Association of Linda Wine, Director Teachers of English. Arlington, VA. Contact Jim Yoshioka, TESOL Certificate Program 808-956-9424. Daejeon, South Korea. Contact Dr. Lee, Hwa-ja, [email protected]. Teachers College, Columbia University 22-25 Teachers of English to 27-29 Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. 525 West 120th Street, Box 66 (TESOL). Third TESOL Graduate Student Forum. Baltimore, MD. (TESOL) 2003 TESOL Academy. New York, NY 10025 http://www.tesol.org/mbr- Washington, DC. Contact 703-836-0774. community/students/gsf1.html. 212-678-3459www.tc.columbia.edu/academic/tesol

ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 7 Teaching Culture in the ESL/EFL Classroom Most foreign language teachers would agree that they "Teaching Culture in Literature in the ESL/EFL Classroom" should teach culture in addition to language. But whatby Anna Franca Plastina. TESOL Italy (http://iteslj.org/Lessons/ does culture mean? Samovar and Porter define it as "the Plastina-CultureinLiterature/). This paper appears in the Internet cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, atti- TESL Journal and was presented at a British Council National tudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spa- Conference held in Palermo, Italy, in March 1999. It is the design tial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and for an in-service training plan for ESL/EFL teachers to demon- possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of gener- strate the importance of teaching culture in literature. ations through individual and group striving." No wonder teachers are often baffled when asked to define cultureit encompasses all Authentic Materials The ESL/EFL teacher must decide which culture to teach: U.S.? aspects of life! To get more of a handle on this broad concept, educators commonly distinguish between "high culture" (or capital C Canadian? British? Australian? Which aspects of culture? She can culture) and "low culture" (or small C culture). High culturethen find authentic materials on the Web to use in class. I teach includes the fine arts (e.g., music, literature, painting) and low cul- international students in Washington, DC, and have made use of ture includes aspects of daily life such as food and clothing. the resources listed below. Online materials can be found for The Web offers an abundance of materials to help language almost every city and country in the world! 0. Art: All of the art museums in Washington, DC, have websites. teachers address culture in their classes. Numerous online articles define culture and discuss why and how to teach it, and many The National Gallery of Artwww.nga.gov/ 110 Government: White Housewww.whitehouse.gov authentic online cultural materials are available for classroom use. Ow Entertainment: Wolf Trap, an open-air theater in suburban Online Articles Washington, DCwww.wolf-trap.org/ "Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom" by Meena The Press: The Washington Postwww.washingtonpost.com Singhal, University of Arizona. ThaiTESOL Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 1, February 1998 (http://www.thaitesol.org/bulletin/1101/110102. Christine Meloni is associate professor of EFL at The George html). Singhal provides a brief history of culture teaching and Washington University in Washington, DC. She can be reached at defines a cultural syllabus. She discusses culture teaching in [email protected]. Please write "Networthy" in the subject line of classroom, the World Wide Web in culture teaching, and the e-mail messages. All Networthy columns can be found online at importance of comparative culture teaching. http.//www. es lmag.com/articles. html .

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8 01. ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 Closethe ac.ieveent gap.

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Includes two CD-ROMs with video clips of classroom Spanish interaction. English Reading and writing From New Standards®, for English language creator of the teacher-acclaimed learners kindergarten Reading & Writing and through flint Speaking & Listening books.

1 0 CORPUS LINGUISTICS: Discovering How We Use Language

BY JOHN ROSENTHAL

How do you know what to teach your dozens of definitions or unique attributes also be programmed to act as something of ESL/EFL students? What are theof thousands of different words. "Wea verbal spreadsheet. In more advanced most important words to add tomight be able to keep track of a fewcorpora, programmers tag words by their their vocabularies? What verb tensesthings," says Randi Reppen, professor ofparts of speech, the age and/or gender of should you emphasize in class? These and English inthe MA/TESL and Appliedtheir author, and the context in which the similar questions can be answered through Linguistics Program at Northern Arizona words occur. Then researchers can use that corpus linguistics,the hot topic in lan- University. "But there's no way humans information to discern differences among guage circles these days. For those with can keep track of multiple things across these various kinds of speech. rusty Latin, corpus linguisticsliterally millions of words." means "a body of language." More specif- Furthermore, because computers are An Updated American Corpus ically, corpus linguistics is the study of lan- meticulous and exhaustive, they record One of the byproducts of the surge in inter- guage through the use of a large collection every instance of a word, not just the onesest in corpus and computational linguistics of naturally occurring written and spoken that stand out. "Our intuitions about lan-is the creation of the American National texts. Corpus linguists collect thousands of guage use are quite off," says Reppen. Corpus, a massive undertaking sponsored examples of written and spoken Ian by a consortium of publishers, software guage and then break down these companies and academics including examples word by word so that they Pearson, Random House, Microsoft, Did you know can get a better understanding of how that simple aspect Sony,VassarCollege, Northern the language is used. verb phraees are Really? Arizona University, and the more than 20 tines I didn't know The idea of a corpus is not new. afi common as that! Universities of California, Colorado progressives in Samuel Johnson used a corpus of conversation? and Pennsylvania, among many others. English texts in 1755 to compile exam- The American National Corpus is not ples of authentic uses of words for his oiki the first corpus of American English dictionary. Similarly, in the 1800s, vol- there are already hundreds of different unteers working on theOxford English kinds of corpora in the United States, Dictionaryread through hundreds of andthousandsmorearoundthe texts, looking for examples of their ,At worldbut it will be the most compre- assigned words, which they submitted hensive corpus available to researchers. to the publishers on slips of paper. The American National Corpus will Since then, linguists around the world also be the most representative corpus have used various corpora intheir o I of American English available to date. efforts to document hundreds of lan- Most of the existing corpora are limited guages. '411=11MINorto some segment of the language, for example, business English, academic Corpora With Computers English, professional English or con- What is new is the computer, which versational English. The American permits much more expansive and National Corpus, by contrast, will detailed investigation into language incorporate English from more than usage. Whereas the field of corpus linguis- Normal usage of many words "passes at a 6,000 contemporary written and spoken tics might once have been likened to asubconscious level, while the unusual istextseverything from academic text- bicycle, today it's more comparable to a what catches our attention."If a wordbooks, magazines and popular newspapers motorcycle. appears hundreds or thousands or tens ofto everyday conversations that have been "Actually,it wasn't even a bicycle thousands of times in a corpus, it is impos-recorded and transcribed by researchers. before the computer," says Susan Conrad, sible for a human reader to count and cate- And unlike most other corpora, it will pro- co-authorof Corpus Linguistics, Investi- gorize all the contexts in which it appears. vide a proportional balance of these differ- gating Language Structure and Useand As a result, dictionaries, vocabulary listsent registers. As a result, the American professor of applied linguistics at Portland and structure guides that are still in useNational Corpus will not only allow stu- State University. "It was more like walk- today may suffer from a disproportionatedents and teachers to compare language ing. It was just too time-consuming to ana- attention to types of usage that simplyuse across registers, but it will also provide lyze a large body of data by hand. The aren't that common. a definitive portrait of how the English lan- computer allows us to look at a large body Finally, computers also make it possi- guage is used in the United States today. of data and analyze language patterns." ble to expand corpora to millions of words. The Corpus will also shed light on More importantly, computers don't As any statistician will tell you, the larger "across the pond" comparisons between get tired. That means that unlike the human the data sample, the more accurate conclu- AmericanEnglishandtheQueen's volunteersfortheOxfordEnglish sions can be (if the data are balanced and English, which was codified in a 1994 cor- Dictionary,computers can keep track ofrepresentative, of course). ers canpus of British English. "The Europeans 11,

2tlir A 10 ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 have been doing this for a long time," saysonly now are other kinds of classroom the corpus identifiedwant, to,,seem,and Reppen, who is also the project managermaterials beginning to be corpus-based as likeas the verbs that occurred most fre- for the American National Corpus. The well. And as more corpora are developed, quently with infinitives in conversation. Scandinavian countries in particular have they are shedding light on pedagogy. An additional benefit of corpora is beenleadersindevelopingcorpora. For example, in their article "Whatthat students can do their own research by According to Conrad, "there were a lot of toDo With Does Frequency Have accessing the raw data. For example, if stu- people who wanted to learn English, butGrammar Teaching," Reppen and Douglas there were very few native speakers." So Biber, also a professor in the Applied dents in Conrad's classes at Portland State they had to create corpora from English Linguistics Program in the Department ofwant to know whether to usebigorlarge, texts to provide examples of how the lan-English at Northern Arizona University,they can go to the computer lab and get guage was used. suggest that the progressive aspect is wide- frequency data that show not only how By contrast, up until10 years ago, ly believed to be the "unmarked choice in often each word occurs, but the contexts in computational linguistsin the Unitedconversation." They point to several ESLwhich each is most commonly used. In States were trying to describe language grammar books in which the progressive is Conrad's experience, this tool is particular- with rules, rather than studying the raw regarded as a cornerstone of English gram- ly useful for teachers who are not native language to determine whether the rules mar, including four in which the progres- speakers of English and, therefore, may were right, says Nancy Ide, chair of the sive is introduced as early as the first chap- not have the intuition that native speakers Computer Science Department at Vassarter, and three in which the progressive is College, and the technical director for thetaught even before the simple present. have about when to use each choice. American National Corpus. "The problem But according to the 20-million word(However, since frequency data have with the rule-based approach is having acorpus that is the basis for theLongman shown that such intuition may not be as precise enough description when the rules Grammar of Spoken and Written Englishaccurate as we once thought, native speak- change over timeit takes years to actual-(1999), "simple aspect verb phrases are ers might wish to double-check their per- ly describe all the characteristics so that a more than 20 times as common as progres-ceptions, as well.) computer can know what humans know." sives in conversation." So when teachers Teachers who have a corpus that The transitionto a statistics-basedcomplain that their students overuse the tracks language across registers could ask approach was slow to come to the United progressive, it's not because the students students to compare the use of the word States, but the delay has allowed corpus failto understand their textbooks, but likein different kinds of speech. Accessing linguistics to benefit immensely frombecause their textbooks put a grossly dis- improvements in technology. For example, proportionate emphasis on how commonly the corpus data, they could find uses oflike in the past, if you wanted to include spo- the progressive occurs. in casual conversation that do not appear ken language in a corpus, you audiotaped Inanotherexample,Biberand anywhere in fiction or nonfiction writing. conversations and transcribed them. ButReppen take on the conventional wisdom Exercises such as these, says Conrad, get today, it is possible to videotape conversa- that participial adjectives (such asboredor students using the language as they talk to tions so that the transcribers can not only exciting)are more common than adjectival each other about language. hear the context in which the conversationsnouns as modifiers of nouns. Of the six Perhaps most importantly, as students occurred, but also see face and hand ges-ESL/EFL grammar texts they surveyed,and teachers become more accustomed to tures that may provide additional context four explained the role of participial adjec-using frequency data to inform their con- for these dialogues. tives, while only one mentioned the adjec- clusions about language use, Reppen says It is also now possible to amass thou- tival role of nouns (e.g.,dog houseor sands of hours of conversations for inclu- movie theater). "people will be more receptive to corpora sion in a corpus entirely by telephone. I But the corpus paints another picture. and won't be so scared of them." recently participated in a study in which aAs one might expect, it demonstrates that computer arranged for me to have 10- plain old adjectives are the most common Corpus Linguistics Needs You minute phone conversations with complete modifiers of nouns, especially in spokenThe University of Pennsylvania's Ling- strangers on a variety of current subjects.conversation. What's surprisingisthat uistic Data Consortium is conducting a The conversations were recorded and tran- adjectival nouns are much more common telephone speech study to support linguis- scribed and will be included in some future thanparticipialadjectives, which aretic research and technology development, corpus as examples of conversational extremely rare. And in newspaper writing, and you can help. Simply agree to talk on English. adjectival nouns modify nouns almost as the phone for ten minutes with other par- frequently as adjectives do. Applications of Corpus Linguistics Although the American Nationalticipantstypically people you do not The most obvious application for corpusCorpus won't be completed for at least know. A robot operator initiates the calls. linguistics is the creation of dictionaries three more years, existing corpora areYou just answer the phone and talk about and vocabulary lists. Because it is based on already transforming the learning process. the topic of the day. To participate, call actual language use rather than intuition or ESL andfirst-languagestudentsat 1-800-380-PENN or go to www.ldc.upenn. rules of grammar, corpus linguistics pro- Northern Arizona University and Portland edu. Each time you complete a conversa- vides an empirical answer to questionsState University are currently using a stu-tion, you'll get $10 plus a chance to win such as "What are the most frequently useddent version of theLongman Grammar ofone of three $1,000-lottery prizes. More words in the language?" and "How com-Spoken and Written English."One of theimportantly, you'll be helping linguists things my students got most excited about mon are the various definitions of words learn exactly how people talk. with more than one meaning?" was frequency information for structures Because those questions are of inter- they know are difficult, such as verbs plus est to dictionary publishers, the major dic- infinitives," says Conrad. "There are so John Rosenthal has written numerous tionary publishers have, over the past few many verbs, but it makes it easier if you ESL/EFL textbooks, including the recently years, started using their own private cor- can narrow it down to the ones that occurpublishedCool Chatseries from Pearson pora as the basis for their dictionaries. But most commonly with infinitives." She said Mexico.

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t's easy to think that a conversationing intently to what others had to saygies can be done either indirectly or class is successful if students are kept and were asking follow-up questions. directly. First, let's look at how focused 1busy talking. With thisin mind, Asking follow-up questions soon practice can be incorporated indirectly teachers may find themselves in a con- became a strategy that we recommendedinto an information gap activity. Then, a tinual search for the types of topics thatto the whole class as a way to reach adirect focused practice will be intro- their students will have an intrinsic inter-deeper and more meaningful level in duced in an activity that has a more free- est in discussing. However, while keep-their interactions. Students began incor- style discussion format. ing students talking is a worthwhile aim,porating these questions into their dis- it may not constitute what should be the cussions, anditdid add depth andAn Indirect Way to Practice top priority. Talking alone may not suf- breadth to what they had to say. Conversation Strategies fice to prepare students for speaking sit- Further analysis of what the "good" One popular information-gap activity uations beyond the classroom, where students were doing resulted in a list ofinvolves using maps with missing infor- they will be expected to interact on aconversation strategies that eventuallymation. In a typical arrangement, half wide variety of topics, some interesting, included asking for clarification (Didthe class (the Student As) have maps of some mundane and some about whichyousay...?),usingcomprehensiona town with some locations labeled and they have little prior knowledge. checks (Do you understand?), solicitingothers left blank, and the other half of Itispossibletodesign information (What do you mean?) a n dthe class (the Student Bs) has the same speaking activities that help stu- maps but with the opposite dents hone their skills so that information provided. Without these challenges are addressed looking at their partners' maps, more directly. Moreover, students students talk to each other to fill gain the maximum benefit from in what is missing. these activities when they are Students,however,can given appropriate feedback. In miss the main point of activities fact, giving feedback can make like this. Not surprisingly, they the difference between teaching a may assume that the primary class with a lackadaisical attitude aim is to practice giving direc- and a class that is focused and on tions. While this is a goal, it is task. The following two speaking not the main one because they activities aim to meet students' will rarely have to explain direc- specific conversationalneeds, tionsin English inreallife. and the sample feedback form However, they will regularly and suggestions on how to imple- need to use strategies to clarify, ment it will increase the effec- negotiate for meaning and repair tiveness of the activities. giving understanding responses (I see.). breakdowns in communication, in the After that, seldom did we introducesame ways that native speakers do. The Purpose of a a speaking activity that did not includeThus, the primary aim of activities like Conversation Activity an explanation of what strategies stu-this is, in fact, to provide opportunities In keeping with the communicativedents could incorporate while doing it.to practice strategies of clarification and trend of the times, we began to use pairThis shift in emphasisfrom just dis- negotiation, although the students might and group activities in our conversationcussing topics to practicing strategiesnot be readily aware of it. courses in the 1970s. Observing our stu- meant that the activities themselves When students misconstrue the pur- dents interact, we began to notice that needed to be restructured. pose of activities like these, they risk there tended to be one or two exception- missing opportunities to use the strate- al students in any typical class. TheseStructuring Activities to gies that the activities were designed to students were always actively involved,Promote Specific Strategies focus on. At such times, students are apt regardless of what the topic was or whoIn his study of conversation strategies, to resort either to using another language their partners were; this would often beDornyei (1995, 55) presented empirical or glancing at their partners' papers. in contrast to others in the class whoevidence that students can learn strate- To help ensure that students grasp would skim the surface of activities andgies "through focused instruction." Ifthe primary purpose of a lesson, a finish quickly. Closer examination of theinstruction is focused, then students areteacher can carry out the following two stellar students revealed that they wereworking with a strategy rather than "pre-steps." The first pre-step is to deter- not extendingtheir discussions bymerely listening to the teacher it. mine which specific strategies would be monologuing. Rather, they were listen-Focused, practice in conversatiolate-useful in order for students to complete 16 '. ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 the activity entirelyin English. Forfocus on a specific strategy. For exam- "Maps" example, with the map activity, they ple,in the activity at right entitled could fairly easily incorporate the fol-"Soliciting Details," students practice Pre-activity Dialogue lowingthree:askingforarepeatthe strategy of asking for details by (indirect practice of strategies) ("Could you say that again?"), echoing using such expressions as "What do you ("You said to the north, right?"), andmean?," "Can you give me an exam- Directions: Fill in the blanks with the clarification requests ("Which street is itple?," "I'd be interested to know..." or words or phrases in bold type: on?"). "Could you explain...?" "you repeat that" The second pre-stepisfor the As was the case with the map activ- "on the west side, right?" teacher to write a "pre-activity" dialogueity earlier, a pre-activity dialogue is use- "Did you" to demonstrate how the students will be ful in giving students the chance to work "Which avenue?" able to use the strategies in their own with the strategies that they themselves pair or group work. The dialogue takes will subsequently use in their pair/group 1. A: We'll start by finding the coffee place between imaginary students whowork. See the example of a pre-activity shop. are doing the same type of speaking dialogue for "Soliciting Details" at right. 2. B: (clarification request) activity as the students in the class will After filling in the pre-activity dia- say the coffee subsequently do. For maps, thus, it is alogue as a written exercise, the students shop? dialogue between two hypothetical stu- woulddotheSolicitingDetails dents who are in the process of doing aSpeaking Activityon page18.It 3. A: That's right. Do you see map activity and who use the threeincludes four steps and is arranged in a Kennedy Street on the west side? strategies mentioned above to completeStudent A/Student B format. In the first 4. B: (echo) You said it. So that students will focus on thestep, Student A reads and completes 5. A: Yes, on the west side. Also, strategies incorporated into the dialogue, general statements. Student B solicits can you see Sunshine Avenue? blanks are left where key phrases are todetails using phrases provided. For be filled in. Students read the dialogueexample, using the cards illustrated on 6. B: (clarification request) silently and fill in the blanks with thepage 18, Student A reads her first sen- phrases, which appear in random ordertence to Student B and verbally fills in 7. A: Sunshine Avenue. above the dialogue. See the example of athe blank with the type of work she 8. B: Yes, I see it. pre-activity exercise for the map activitywould like to do. Student B listens and at right. then reads his part, verbally filling in the 9. A: OK. Where Kennedy and This pre-activity exercise can helpunfinished portion of his statement. Sunshine meet is the coffee clarify for students that the challenge is After Student A reads her first item shop. Next, we'll find the bakery. not merely to fill in a map, but rather to (by saying, for example, "In the future, 10. B: (ask for a repeat) I'm sorry. communicate in English by using strate- I'd like to work as a journalist."), Could gies to clarify meaning and clear up mis- Student B would probably respond with, understandings. The fill-in-the-blank"You said that you'd like to work as a format gives students a reason to bejournalist. Could you explain why?" actively involved with the content, and it Student A would then give a free-style gives them the chance to focus on theanswer (e.g., "I love writing and travel- "Soliciting Details" strategies to a greater degree than had ing. Journalists are able to do both of Pre-activity Dialogue they been asked to merely read it. these."), which might prompt Student B (direct practice of strategy) to make a comment or solicit more An Indirect vs. A Direct Way details by asking another question (e.g., Directions: Fill in the blanks with the to Practice Strategies "Would you like to write about politics, words or phrases in bold type: Information-gap activities are like puz-sports or what?") All students could be "What do you" zles that partners solve by sharing and encouraged to extend their discussion of "You said" comparing information; these provide the first item until it had reached a nat- "I'd like to know" an ideal way for students to practiceural end, at which point they would go "happened" strategies indirectly. However, the lackon to Student A's next general statement. of an explicit focus on the strategies In Step 2, the roles reverse, with 1. A: My brother got a speeding tick- themselves means that students couldStudent B reading the statements and et. conceivably carry out these activitiesStudent A asking the questions to solicit 2. B: (soliciting details) Really? What without using any of the strategies thatdetails. See an example of Step 2 on they may have been designed to focuspage 18. As can be seen in Steps 1 and 2, on. On the other hand, a direct type ofthe questions for soliciting details are 3. A: Well, he was late for work and practice would set up situations in whichprovided and students are virtually was driving fast. students cannot avoid using strategies.obliged to use them. 4. B: (soliciting details) In this type, partners follow separate Step 3 of the Soliciting Details mean by "fast"? instructions on their respective papers in Speaking Activity is less structured. The 5. A: About double the speed limit. order to carry out specific roles in a con- initiating statements are still provided, versation. but the soliciting questions are not. 6. B: (soliciting details) Students must decide for themselves "double the speed limit." A Direct Way to which expressions to use to solicit what the limit was. Practice Strategies details in response to each of their part- 7. A: Thirty miles per hour. Direct activities can be designed to eatements. In Step 4, the roles are

ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 18 17 reversed. See Steps 3 and 4 on page 18. By the end of this activity, students "Soliciting Details" Speaking Activity Cards should have made progress toward inter- step nalizing the strategy of asking questions in order to solicit details, and it is hoped Student A Student B that they will make use of these types of Say these sentences to Student B Listen to Student A's statements. questions in future speaking situations. and answer B's questions. Then decide how to complete the questions and ask them in order to Giving Students Feedback 1. In the future, I'd like to work as a get more details. . (fill in) For helping students incorporate conver- 1. You said that you'd like to work as 2. When I was younger, I was very sation strategies, it can be effective to a . Could you explain why? provide them with feedback on how they [bad/good]. are interacting. In order to gather the 2. Can you give me an example...? data needed for this, while students are Step 2 working in pairs or groups, the teacher notes on paper which students are using Student A Student B strategies as they interact. After several Listen to Student B's statements. Say these sentences to Student A classes, each student is given a complet- Then decide how to complete the and answer A's questions. ed conversation evaluation form like the questions and ask them in order to 3. My favorite holiday is get more details. example below, at right. (fill in). This type of feedback is particularly 3. Could you tell me... effective if given both early in a term and 4.I want to have several children at regular intervals thereafter. Teachers 4. What do you mean... someday. who may not feel entirely certain of their evaluation of every point for every stu- Step 3 dent can still give students their percep- Student A Student B tion of how each of them is interacting. Doing this is not as daunting as it may Fill in the blanks and read these sen- Listen to Student A's statements. seem, as it is a matter of focusing mere- tences to Student B. Also, answer Then ask several questions in order ly on students' participation, rather than Student B's questions to get more details. Use expressions to solicit details. on their grammar or the depth of their 5. I think pets are ideas. 5. (student chooses expression) 6. is my favorite Previous articles in ESL Magazine 6. (student chooses expression) (Englander 2000, Olsen 2002) have discussed the importance of conversation Step 4 strategies both inside and outside the classroom. Students are more apt to use Student A Student B them and understand their value if they Listen to Student B's statements. are given focused practice. And provid- Fill in the blanks and read these Then ask several questions in order sentences to Student A. Also, ing students with specific feedback on to get more details. Use expres- answer Student A's questions how they are interacting is a way for sions to solicit details. teachers to recognize their students' 7. makes me angry. 7. (student chooses expression) strengths and/or make them aware of 8.I prefer to spend time areas where they still need improvement. 8. (student chooses expression) [alone/with people]. If the purpose of a conversation course is to learn specific ways to explain ideas and understand others, rather than just to talk, then students' time and efforts can Conversation Evaluation Form be maximized, and teachers can shift Name Date their energies so that designing activities with a specific focus takes on a higher Strong Points priority than searching for ideal topics. You make a good effort to use only English. You ask questions to get more details. You use rejoinders or nod your head to show that you understand. David and Peggy Kehe are instructors at You explain your ideas with details. Whatcom Community College. They are You volunteer to talk in groups. co-authors of Discussion Strategies, the You make a good effort to speak, even when the topic is difficult. award-winning Conversation Strategies, and the soon-to-be-published Writing How You Can Improve Strategies. Try to use only English. Try to ask questions to get more details. REFERENCES Try to use rejoinders or nod your head to show that you understand. Dornyei, Z. 1995. On the teachability of communi- Try to explain your ideas with more details. cation strategies.TESOL Quarterly29: 55-85. Try to volunteer more to talk. Englander, K. 2001. Maximizing classroom partic- Try to give your partner(s) more chances to talk. ipation.ESL Magazine(September/October): 22-24. Olsen, K. 2002. Content for conversation partners. Grade ESL Magazine(January/February): 22-24. 19

18 ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 Getting Oriented on Idiolects! Dear Richard: I enjoyed the article "Evolution: It's Not Just regard to:Right again! Regard should be singular in this phrase and For Biology." I often ponder English words that are fre- also in the phrasewith regard to. quently used incorrectlyFebruary: often pronounced Here's the "Food for Thought" from our last issue: We can say "Febuary," leaving out the "r."Orient(ed):often pronounced "ori- "I heard her sing," "I heard her singing," "I saw the cars crash," but entate" or "orientated."Nuclear:often pronounced "nucular."In not "I saw the cars crashing." Why? Adrianne Ochoa of Atlanta, regard to:often said or written as "In regards to." There are many GA, sent in the right answer. Here's my explanation: The-ing, examples, but [these] have been bothering me for a long time. What which I call one of many kinds of "direct object companions," is do you think? Thank you.Philip N. Carson, Davis, C'A reduced from the past progressive in this case, indicating an action Dear Philip: Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed my in progressthe singing was in progress; the speaker did not wit- article. Now I'll respond to your observations.February:The pro- ness the end of it. If we use the basic verb form,sing,it represents nunciation you've cited as incorrect is actually the secondary pro- the simple past or completed action in this case, which means the nunciation. In the primary pronunciation, the "r" is pronounced, but speaker witnessed the end of the singing. However, an action like in the secondary, it's not. It really is acceptable. Many words in crashdoesn't work in the progressive form since it's something fin- English have primary and secondary pronunciations.Orient(ed): ished in the blink of an eye. Only the basic verb form,crash,will We're not dealing with pronunciation in this case; we're dealing work in this case, representing the simple past. It means the speak- with what you believe to be a "false verb." Well, there really is a er witnessed the end of that action. Keep in mind that the-ingform verbto orientate,and it's a synonym forto orient.Everybody has direct object companion always represents an action in progress an idiolect, the personal way that each speaker uses his/her native whether the sentence is in the past, present or future. Furthermore, language. In your idiolect,orientis the verb, but in other peoples', the basic verb form direct object companion always represents a it's orientate. They're both acceptable.Nuclear:You're totally right completed action. about the mispronunciation of this word. It's a phenomenon that Here's more "Food for Thought": Is the following italicized arises out of what is easiest for the tongue and other muscles of the phrase "acceptable" English?:The guy who won the lottery'srela- mouth to do. This holds true forask,which in Chaucer's time was tives are all hitting him up for loans. actuallyaks (aksen)!Over the centuries, the sounds of /k/ and /s/ got reversed. The reason some people sayaksis that it's easier for Richard Firsten is an ESL instructor, teacher trainer and author specializ- many people to go from the back of the mouth to the front (from /k/ ing in grammar and methodology. He currently teaches at Lindsey Hopkins to /s/) than to go from the front to the back (from /s/ to /k/).In Technical Education Center in Miami, Florida.

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ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 19 Active Skills for Reading Neil Anderson's Innovative New Four-Level Series BY NATALIE HESS Active Skills for Reading, Books 1-4 One of Book Two, which is dedicated to this sweet temptation. by Neil Anderson, Heinle & Heinle, 2002 The title of this chapter is provocative: "Eat ChocolateIt might /na presentation atlast year's TESOL conference, Neil be good for you." This admonition is followed by pictures for dis- Anderson spoke movingly about his quest to promote literacycussion. These are good enough to eat! Prior knowledge is further in ESL/EFL. Like all TESOL professionals, Anderson always activated and investigated as students circle answers in sentences knew that his students should read more, read faster, read bettersuch as "Chocolate is made from the (fruit/leaves) of trees" and and enjoy reading more. The problem was that everyone repeated"Originally chocolate came from (Europe/The Americas)." (Book these platitudes, but no one seemed to say just how to accomplish 2, p. 2 ) the feat of developing excellent readers. The unit guides us to a passage about "The Now Anderson himself is taking a stab at it History of Chocolate." Here the reading strat- with ACTIVE, his new four-level series. egy is "reading for clues." We then read The acronym stands for activate knowl- "Addicted to Chocolate" and learn how the edge, cultivate vocabulary, teach for com- product that everyone feels guilty eating prehension, increase fluency, verify strate- might just be more friend than foe. gies and evaluate progress. Throughout the passage, as everywhere in The four graded books provide level- the books, difficult words are foot-inoted and appropriate, high-interest material that given clear explanations in easily recognized moves from relevant high beginning pas- and color-coded spaces. In the "Vocabulary in sages to challenging intermediate ones. Context" section, the chocolate unit features Each book has 16 units, each with two pas- work with parts of speech, as well as a struc- sages that focus on a theme. The themes are all pertinent to mod- tured conversation on the pros and cons of chocolate consumption. ern student life. Book One, for example, deals with managing All four books offer extensive exercises that can be done both stress, finances, and the changing family. Book Two features top- in class and as homework. The reading-rate charts and the reading- ics such as the world of work, modern communication, and health comprehension charts at the end of each volume are outstanding maintenance. Book Three offers high-interest units such as and unusual features of these books. These charts can be used to "Cultural Differences" and "The Mystery of Memory." Book Four challenge students to monitor their own progress. Each book also includes "Laugh and the World Laughs with You" and "Emotional provides a vocabulary Intelligence" among a host of other compelling topics. Andersonindex, an excellent tool English+-+Spanish has managed to present issues that spark interest, elicit languagefor review, and maps and trigger authentic conversation. He has not avoided the contro- of the world, a visual Economy versial, but he has stayed away from contention. For example, aid helpfulto most Book Three has a chapter that deals sympathetically with "Stay-class discussions. The Translation Service at-Home Dads." skills index in each of The thematic approach allows for intensive exploration and the four books should www.Hyper-Spanish.com the recycling of vocabulary. But unlike many other thematically also be a useful review Serving the K12 community arranged texts, which tend to beat a subject to death, ACTIVE has tool for both students nationwide since 1999. only two reading passages per unit, thus promoting in-depth work and teachers. without tedium. I find Anderson's Each unit offers ample comprehension exercises, variedintegrationist-based vocabulary work, interesting language points, and plenty of inter-pedagogical frame- Instant On-Line Quotes action. The language work is always useful and varied. For exam- work veryvaluable. ple, the dictionary work in Book Two is well constructed and The ACTIVE series is Specializing in 1(12 Work clearly beneficial. The illustrations are purposeful and should a significant contribu- spark language interaction although I often wished that bright col- tion to ESL/EFL prac- ors had been provided, especially in the unit that displays "The tice. World of Art," Unit 14 of Book Three. The organization of the four books is impressive and will make any reading teacher's life easier. Students are guided by the On-TiNmetert charts, by the contrastive highlighting and the pattern of the recur- ring ACTIVE methodology. Each unit opens with a "getting ready" section that activates and expands on previous knowledge, Natalie Hess, Ph.D., is and each reading is illuminated through an accompanying reading aprofessorinthe strategy. Thus, for example, when students are asked to scan anBME/ESL program at article for specific facts, they are told "When reading something NAU in Yurna, AZ. She to find certain information, we move our eyes quickly across the has taught EFL1ESL in (800) 633-4652 Fax (800) 232-8228 text. When we 'scan' like this, we do not read every word or stop six countries and has [email protected] when we see a word we do not know; instead we read quickly, written severaltext- stopping only to find the information we need." (Book One, p. 2 ) booksandteacher As a certified chocolate addict, I especially enjoyed Chapter resource hooks. Spanish Translations

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE The Peace Project A Personal Path to Overcoming Intolerance BY STEPHANEY JONES-VO

studentsat Urbandale High promotes a collegial atmosphere. Next, The program continues as a different School near Des Moines, Iowa each ESL student introduces himself to the ESL student asks the class his assigned noticed a growing tension among host group including his name, country ofquestion, "Are there any students here their classmates and reported an increased origin and the length of time he has been whose parents or grandparents are immi- incidence of hostile acts directed toward living in the United States. If time allows, grants?" The responses yield a surprising- ESL students. Name-calling was on the each host student introduces himself aslywidevarietyof nationalorigins. riseand violence seemed imminent. well. This formalized beginning makes for Encouraged, the ESL student presses on, Urbandale's ESL students come mostly a more attentive audience. "Do you know why your relatives came to from Bosnia but also from Sudan, Albania, Next, the designated ESL student the United States?" As most of the host Vietnam, Mexico, Poland and Brazil. moderator directsthehost group to students realize that they are ignorant on These students identified a crisis and want- observe a Bosnian folk dance called the thispoint,the Peace Project gathers ed to address it, but they weren't certain "kolo." Strains of authentic Bosnian music momentum. how to proceed. Meeting after school in fill the classroom, and the ESL students Now each ESL student poses a ques- the ESL classroom, these newcomer and take to the floor, forming a circle. After tion to the other ESL students, questions refugee students began to create the "Peace modeling the simple dance steps, the ESL such as "What was your first day of school Project," a student-centered, interactive students invite their hosts into the circle. in America like?" and "Tell us about your presentation designed to improve relation- Amidst the laughter and mis-steps, stu- lifestyle before you came to the United ships among immigrant students and their dents begin to have fun. Mission accom- States." ESL students answer as they feel native peers. plishedthe group is ready to move on to comfortable, supporting each other and the next topic in the program: debunking sharing the floor. Planning the Peace Project myths surrounding refugee resettlement in With the approval and enthusiastic support the United States. Personal Stories of War of the high school principal and their ESL Armed with brochures, facts and sta- After the stage has been set, it is time to teacher, a cadre of 30 students tistics, the next designated ESL student turn up the intensity of the exchange and developed an outline for their get some of the hard work done. "Peace Project" program. They A Bosnian ESL student ask the decided to visit content area class- other Bosnian students, "Did es such as social studies, health anyone experience any of the war and special education as invited firsthand? Does anyone have a guests, a dozen at a time, to pre- souvenir from home? Is anyone sent their interactive program to comfortable talking about your an entire host class. Their success personal experience? Would you would depend on the willingness be willing to share it with our of classroom teachers to integrate group?" What follows is the heart the Peace Project into their partic- of the entire Peace Project. ular curricula. The ESL students know from Each Peace Project presenta- experience that this is the most tion begins with the ESL students emotionally draining part of the sharing aspects of their cultures presentation. They must dig into and highlighting contributions their memories of the horrors made by refugees and immigrants they have witnessed and experi- to the United States and to the world. This queries the hosts, "How many of you have enced and be willing to talk about them builds rapport with the host participants. heard that refugees don't pay taxes?" once again. There is no prescribed order in After breaking the ice, ESL students share Hands go up. "How many have heard that the responses. The ESL students, who have personal stories of war and escape from refugees take jobs away from Americans?" repeated the program dozens of times, wait their homelands and detail how they ended Again,hands waveintheair.She for the first student who feels ready to up in the United States. Sharing these per- responds, "I want to tell you the truth," and respond. The power of the Peace Project sonal recollections of often tragic experi- proceeds to hand out brochures provided liesin the fact that these students are ences has proven to be the most powerful by the Bureau of Refugee Services. Host revealing the personal consequences of toolin building relationships based on students are surprisingly candid with their violence and intolerance. If students are compassion, resulting in greater under-comments about what they have heard doing back-to-back presentations, it is too standing and improved tolerance. about refugees. Firsthand information stressful for any single student to respond from the refugees themselves is extremely each time. Training thirty volunteer ESL A Peace Project Program in Action credible. Both ESL and host students are participants allows a rotation of speakers On the day of a Peace Project program, the now freely exchanging their views and and keeps the Peace Project fresh and ESL students arrive at the host classroom clarifying the facts. As needed, the ESL unique each time. and arrange the seats in a circle, inter- teacher facilitates the discussion, aiming to The students have vivid memories spersing themselves evenly among the host involve as many of the students as possi- Aida recounts the day her school was students. This reduces sidebar chatting and ble. bombed and her classmates killed. She

22 23 ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 tells how the blood lingered in the snow upon which ESL students choose to share and ice for a long time. She recalls how at that moment. The more empathetic the Peace Project her brother was shot outside of their hosts, the more willing the ESL students Presentation Items home, and she escaped through theare to tell their true stories. It is a mutual- cramped tunnelbeneaththecapital, ly beneficial process; the ESL students are hen making a Peace Project Sarajevo. Another student describes howbeing validated and understood by their Wclass presentation, the follow- many people died in that narrow, oxygen-peers, perhaps for the first time. In addi- ing items may be helpful: depleted tunnel and what it was like living tion, the hosts are learning more about the Copies of the Peace Project without food, water and heat. In a stun-world around them while cognitively ning and unplanned gesture, one studentmaking connections that may affect their program outline for all ESL who had been living in United States forfuture behaviors. They seem to become students and teachers, listing each less than two years gently removes a pair infused with compassion. designated student and his of carefully folded socks from her pocket, assigned question, and detailing softly recounting details surrounding herTying It All Together activities in order. father's murder. She tells her classmatesTime is running out in the eighty-minute that these are the socks he was wearing atclass period. An ESL student poses the Inspirational posters, for the time. Even though she has presentedconcluding questions: "Do you have any example, one of Dr. Albert Einstein before, this is the first time she has shared ideas or suggestions about how to prevent that notes, "A bundle of belongings this personal artifact. All of the students the cycle of mistrust, discrimination, hate are deeply moved, many to tears. One and violence from happening in our com- isn't the only thing a refugee brings ESL student reaches over to take hermunity? What can we do to promote to his new country. Einstein was a hand. Teachers reach for the tissues. peace, understanding and respect for oth- refugee," or of Dr. Martin Luther A Sudanese student, wearing theers?" The host students raise their hands King, Jr., connecting the refugee bright "kinte" cloth suit he wore on the and respond. ESL students process ideas experience with the philosophy of plane when he first traveled to the United and comments with their hosts. States, relates how he was kidnapped and At the end of the presentation, the tolerance and non-violence. put in jail at eleven years old. His captors ESL student moderator thanks allthe Brochures and handouts related tried to extort money from his relatives.Peace Project participants, and the stu- to refugee facts from the Bureau of dents applaud each other. As a gesture of He recalls the long, Nuer tribal password Refugee Services. containing generations of family namesgoodwill, the ESL students distribute for- which gained him access at dangeroustune cookies to their hosts, ending on a CD player and folk music. crossings. He relates how grateful he is to positive note. Reflection sheets are given be in the United States, ready to graduateto classroom teachers to give to their stu- Photos or souvenirs belonging to from high school and attend a university. dents and return to the ESL teacher with- ESL students from their native A newcomer from Albania expresses in 48 hours. Immediately reflecting on countries. input, articulating conclusions and con- gratitude to the military in Kosovo that Reflection sheets to be filled out saved his life. He shows an army emblem necting personal attitudes with the school from a uniform he has brought with him. environment comprise a critical piece of by host students following the Personal testimony continues as athe Peace Project: developing higher Peace Project presentation. Bosnian girl explains that her father was order thinking skills. As one philosopher Box of tissues. taken from her family by the enemy when put it, "Everyone wants to save the world, she was ten years old, and that she, along but no one wants to help mom with the Fortune cookies, individually with her younger siblings, lived for two dishes." Giving students time to sift and wrapped (depending on food policy months without any parents at all. Sheorganize all the data that have been pre- of the school,) or homemade then produces a key, but is overwhelmed sented and to formulate meaningful con- with emotion and unable to speak. Her clusions applicable to daily living are cen- international treats to share. younger sister explains that the key is to tral to the success of the Peace Project. the front door of their house which no Feedback provided by host students longer exists, destroyed in the war. on reflection sheets guides the on-going Another Bosnian girl pulls out adevelopmentofthePeaceProject. small, ragged stuffed dog given to her by Following Peace Project presentations to Peace Project her grandma. She elaborates that her 266 eighth graders over a two-day period grandmother, a Muslim, was forced to live during Black History Month in February Reflection Prompts in a camp for Muslims, apart from the2002, student reflection was guided by fter the presentation, reflection Catholic members of her own family. A this prompt: "Based on Dr. Martin Luther Asheets help bring meaningful relief organization had sent the little toy to King, Jr.'s philosophy of tolerance and closure to the experience. Possible the Muslim camp. It was all Grandma had non-violence, do you have any ideas on questions include: to give her granddaughter. She relates how to prevent the cycle of hate and vio- how much she treasures the little dog and lenceinour community?"Student How did you feel after hearing how much she misses her Grandma. responses on individual reflection sheets clearly indicated that students can make the ESL students share their The Impact on Host Students the connection between their behavior experiences of war? The mood in the classroom among all the and the existence tolerance and non-vio- What new insight or students is now somber and respectful. lence (see page 24). The work of building Host students are listening and even shed- community by breaking down interper- understanding did you gain after ding tears with the presenters. The ESL sonal barriers, as demonstrated in the stu- participating in the Peace Project? teacher has learned that taking a box ofdent-centered Peace Project, is valuable Do you see any relationship tissues to pass around the circle is practi- and necessary to promote intercultural between Dr. King's message of cal and appreciated. Each ESL student has understanding and peace in our own com- vivid memories and a compelling story; munities and schools. tolerance and non-violence and the Ifeel that the Peace experience of these ESL students? each presentation is unique and depends As ta teacher, ESL MAGAZINEJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 24 23 Project is one of the most powerful, enriching and far-reaching instructional Peace Project Student Comments strategies I have ever witnessed. Any ESL These are comments made anonymously by eighth grade students on class, regardless of ethnic make-up, can reflection sheets following Peace Project presentations in February, 2002. replicate it, and I encourage ESL teachers to present this idea to their own students. "...that made me want to help other people that were hurt." "After the Peace Project I was amazed. I know some of their culture and some Stephaney Jones-Vo, a former K-I2 and of their aching memories. I do have a different viewpoint." university ESL teacher, is director of two Title III grants targeting ELL achievement "I was relieved that they were so open because that gave me a lot of confidence, too...I respect them a lot more." and literacy in Des Moines public schools. Her Peace Project students were recog- "As you spoke I got chills and almost cried for you." nized by the Grinnell Peace Institute with "The ESL students were trying to help us understand that they are just normal the first place award in 2001 for promoting people who have gone through so much." peace and understanding within schools. "After yesterday, I had a much better understanding of refugees." "I had a lot more respect for refugees in general. I also learned that many of the widespread rumors about refugees aren't true." .. "Even though they are different from us they deserve equal treatment." "I think that if we keep having the ESL students come and talk that they will Promoting cross-cultural make an impact on our lives. Because of them, I'm going to try hard to not be understanding is a goal of rude or racist to anybody." your ESL/EFL program. "I felt touched by their experiences, and it really had an effect on how I feel." "I felt they were brave and courageous people for sharing their stories." 69% strongly agree "I feel that I have more respect than ever for people from other countries." 29% agree "Dr. King and the ESL students are trying to teach us not to hate each other just because we are different." 1% disagree "I felt happy that they opened up to us.I understand the myths [about 0% strongly disagree refugees] and most of them aren't true." "I realize we can take Dr. King's message and apply it to our everyday lives with ESL students."

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28 29 ESL MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 I

Supporting Excellence for Part-Time Instructors BY GUEST COLUMNIST JACK LONGMATE

Even though ESL is among the fastest growing teaching fields, attend national conferences. This was proposed by Jocelyn Graf, a high percentage of ESL teaching jobs are part-time. In chair of the part-time committee of the Illinois TESOL and chair- Washington State's community colleges, for example, no elect of TESOL's COPTEC. other field relies upon part-timers as much as ESL, at 79%. This If the working conditions of ESL professions are to improve, compares to 73% for ABE/GED courses, 52% for English composi- TESOL will play a role. TESOL has urged that "institutions and tion, and 33% for the sciences (Washington State Board for programs that provide ESOL instruction make a concerted effort to Community and Technical Colleges 1998, 11). How should ESL's ensure the equitable treatment of part-time faculty," and specifically professional associations respond? TESOL's mission is "to ensure that part-time educators receive "adequate working conditions, excellence in English language teaching to speakers of other lan- salary, health benefits and pensions in fair proportion or parity with guages" (www.tesol.org/index.html#about). But promoting teaching those available to full-time instructors." (TESOL 2000). Not only is excellence is profoundly challenged when many ESOL practitioners this appeal based on an ethical regard for educators and civic decen- are part-time. cy, it is the chief mission of the association: to promote excellence Not all of ESL teaching is dominated by part-timers. In U.S. in teaching. public schools, part-time educators make up around 12% of the certified staff, with pay that is fully pro-ratedthose who teach at 50%Jack Longmate is an adjunct English instructor at Olympic College of full-time receive 50% of the pay and benefits; thus, there is no in Bremerton, WA and past chair of COPTEC.

cost incentive to hire part-timers. At colleges, by contrast, a signifi- REFERENCES cant cost-incentive exists for hiring part-time faculty since part-time TESOL. 1997. Members Profiled in 1997 Survey. TESOL Matters 7:3. pay is not proportional, but 40 or 50 cents on the dollar, which TESOL. 1998. TESOL Fonvard Plan. Alexandra, VA: TESOL. http:// explains why over 60% of U.S. community college faculty are part- www.tesol.org /assoc/bd/forwardplan.html. Accessed January 21, 2003. TESOL. 2000. TESOL Board of Directors Endorses Equitable Benefits for time. To demonstrate the discounted part-time rate, while the aver- Part-Time Instructors. http://www.tesol.org/assoc/articles/0008-parttirne.html. age full-time pay is roughly $46,000 at my institution, a part-timer August I, 2000. Accessed January 3, 2003. assigned a full-time load would earn only $22,000. But since part- Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. 1998. Part- timers aren't given full-time assignments, the actual part-time earn- Time Faculty in Washington Community and Technical Colleges. Research ings are closer to $16,000 or less. Report No. 98-4. June. Reliance on non-pro-rated part-time employees degrades the Williamson, K. 2002. Interview by author. Salt Lake City, UT, 12 April. quality of teaching. Poverty-level wages directly affect professional growth and teaching excellence by precluding membership in professional associations, journal subscriptions or attendance at national or even affiliate conferences. This is corroborated by a 1997 TESOL survey which revealed that only 10% of its members teach part-time and only 12% have incomes less than $25,000 annually (TESOL 1997, 16). Even for those part-timers for whom finances are not restrictive, the lack of job security in part-time jobs tends to undermine a commitment to "excellence in teaching" and professional growth. Ready+Use TESOL has taken a positive step by removing the $13 fee to join its Caucus on Part-Time Employment Concerns (COPTEC), TESOL's part-time advocacy arm. TheConferenceof College Supplementary Composition and Communication (CCCC) has a "Professional Equity Project," which offers 100 grants of $250 each to help part- timer members attend its annual convention; unfortunately, CCCC Lessons! has had trouble finding individuals to apply for those funds (Williamson 2002). The sum of $250 only partially covers the expense of travel, lodging and conference registration. Offering regional workshops is an alternative to paying for part-timers to ORWINAL ACTIVITY WORKSHEETS FOR EULBRIGH KENNER TO INTERMEDIATE MIS-ADULT Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Opportunities for educators at the elementary, secondary, two-year and STUDENTS! four-year college levels to: Exchange classrooms with teachers from other countries.Participate in a six-week administrative exchange. Attend a classics seminar in Italy or Greece. For more information please contact: 800-726-0479 fulbrightexchanges.org Oen4141.001111[1 http://wwwell4u.com -Sponsored by the U.S. Department ofState- TRACHINOTilt WORLD CMOLIIIN

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 29 ESL MAGAZINE 3 0 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Franklin Electronic Publishers All Your ESL Students Thrive with Providing your students Recorded Books! with a Franklin speak- With Recorded Books, all ing dictionaryislike your students enjoy the CATALOG having an extra same unabridged literature teacher's aide in your as their non-ESL peers, ESL classroom. Your ESL modeled by native speak- students will be able to ers. They can study on their SHOWCASE own, at their own speed, look up and hear words and listen to the same text Stay current with the latest they encounter as well as often as they need. They as explore words at learn vocabulary in context, products and services for their own pace with a and see the spoken/writ- real sense of independence. ten word connection as ESL/EFL professionals. they follow along with the print text. Audiobooks make learning a new language fun and exciting. To place your catalog or product in the Call for a free catalog! Call for a free catalog! Franklin Electronic Publishers Catalog Showcase, call 410-570-0746. RECORDED BOOKS, LLC 800-525-9673 800-638-1304 www.franklin.com www.recordedbooks.com AD-PHON: Don't Let Our Name Fool You! The Phonics Program for Adults AmEnglish.com® Essential phonics World of Reading information and offers the largest TOEIC® Pronunciation in instruction for adult range of ESL soft- learners. Teacher 71111111AD-PHON: wareK through American English on CD-ROM and parent Me Mocks hogram bar Adults Designed for non-native speakers at the by adultall atdis- intermediateleveland above with an resource/reference Elabbe C. Sft counted prices. for all grades. All emphasis onstress,intonation and English sounds rhythm. Now in ten languages! New Flash explained. product overview at www.amenglish.com/ Shigley Enterprises products/pronunciation .cfm#slideshow, P.O. Box 3894, Holiday, FL 34690 already adopted by more than 300 schools and colleges. Messages: 727-815-1991 Call for our 2002 print catalog: Contact David Hans: 925-485-3080 Fax: 727-849-9737 [email protected] [email protected] 404-2334042 or 800-729-3703 or visit us online at www.wor.com. www.amenglish.com www.ShigleyEnterprises.com "Tune in to the Music of English"

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FEATURES Developing the Reading Skills of Adults LearningEnglish by Miriam Burt and Joy Kreeft Peyton 10 Developing Listening Skills with Authentic Materials by Lindsay Miller 16 Page 10 Bring the Community into the Classroom by Kathleen Olson 22 Malaysia Promotes Excellence in English by Vinodini Murugesan 26 .04;1*011

DEPARTMENTS Editor's Note 4 Letters to the Editor 5 Page 16 News Briefs 6 Conference Calendar 7 Reviews 20 Catalog Showcase 30

COLUMNS Christine Meloni's Networthy 8 Greg Kessler's Technology 13 Richard Firsten, The Grammar Guy 14 Page 22 Thomas Nixon's Employment Focus 29

Who's Reading ESL Magazine?

--.016-X.Y Rebecca Graham Teacher Free resources for Kneseth Israel teachers at Preschool www.eslmag.com Annapolis, Maryland

36 BEST COPYAVAILABL[age263 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 ESL MAGAZINE The magazine for English as a Literacy, Listening Second Language professionals.

Publisher and More... GEORGE H. CLEMES,III

,eachers of adult ESL learners often have classrooms that are diversenot only Editorial Director in the nationalities and ethnicities represented among their students, but in MARILYN ROSENTHAL the literacy levels of their students. Meeting the needs ofa diverse group poses quite a challenge. Miriam Burt and Joy Kreeft Peyton describe six different Editor literacy types and how teachers can assist students at each level of literacy. KATHLEEN R. BEALL Lindsay Miller shares some great ideas for finding and using authentic materials for listening activities. Radio, TV, video, Internet, CD-ROMwith this variety of media available, there are many opportunities for teachers to provide Contributing Editors authentic listening materials that help students develop truly useful skills and MIRIAM BURT enjoy themselves in the process. Need an alternative to taking your students on a field trip? Bring the RICHARD FIRSTEN community into the classroom. Kathleen Olson tells us how guest speakers, FRANCISCO GOMES DE MATOS community publications and lots of other resources can help students learn Joy KREEFT PEYTON English and actually be able to use it in their communities. While Malaysia is a diverse nation with three main ethnicgroups, these GREG KESSLER people form a unified nation with the help of Bahasa Malaysia, the official CHRISTINE MELON1 language, and English, which is widely used in all walks of life. The efforts of LINDSAY MILLER the government and educators to promote excellence in Englishare admirable. All the best! VIN0DIN1 MURUGESAN KATHLEEN OLSON

TomRIEDMILLER Marilyn Rosenthal, Ph.D. Editorial Director Webmaster Communicate in Multiple Languages CHARLES FOWLER

Simultaneously Advertising Sales 410-570-0746 The Talk System g is ideal for: 630-214-2888 (fax) [email protected] ESL programs Multilingual meetings Subscription Information Classroom participation Introductory rate:1 year, 6 issues, U.S.: Parental involvement $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95, outside North America: $34.95. All prices in U.S. The only $ and must be paid in U.S. funds. To sub- simultaneous scribe, fill out subscription form on page language 29 (photocopy additional forms if necessary) and mail with payment to: translation system ESL Magazine, with patented 220 McKendree Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or fax subscrip- Sy lencer°technology. tion form with credit card information to 630-214-2888. Please call 410-570-0746 "I don't know how I ever lived for all other inquiries. without the system, ifs just amazing what we are able to doI" ESL Magazineis published bimonthly Lupe Simpson, Parent InvoNement, LAUSD by Bridge Press, Lt.c 220 McKendree Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401 See Video [email protected] www.eslmag.com of the TalkSystem Call today Complete TalkSystems® in use at: beginning at $805.00 ww.talk-tech.net1-888-811-9944 ISSN: 1098-6553 Leasing options available ESL Magazineis abstracted and indexed with ERIC. 2003 Bridge Press, LLC, all rights reserved.

4 BEST COPYWAILABLE ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

nobody has heard the words "regime" orpolitical and economic aftermath of 9/11 "embedded" as much as we have lately! has greatly affected the ESL job market. I ANNE SCOTTdid obtain a part-time position at an institu- Glen Burnie, MD tion where over half of the teachers on campus are adjuncts. Recently, the faculty Peace Project and staff newsletter published an article Thanks for the article on The Peace celebrating this fact, citing that adjunct fac- Project. It's another example of when weulty members add diversity (of profession- know each others' stories we can under-al backgrounds) to the academic environ- stand, be empathetic and start to forgement. I feel the opposite, that "reliance on authentic relationships. The host students non-pro-rated part-time employees Write Us. Send letters to will look at other new ESL students with degrades the quality of teaching." Now that [email protected] or ESL Magazine, different eyes wondering about their stories Ihave education and some experience 220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401. and having some feel for what they wentunder my belt, I'd like the opportunity to Include your name and position or address. through to get to this country. Hurray forcontribute to a university-level academic Stephaney Jones-Vo for seeking a solution program. I am denied this, however, by not Corpus Linguistics instead of just wringing her hands. being included in the program's decision- Thank you for the interesting article on AVON CRAWFORD making process. Even though we are part- corpus linguistics. As I read about the time, we deserve substantial pay, benefits American corpus project, I thought about Literacy and Professional Development Coordinator, Des Moines Public Schools and a chance to help improve the curricu- the differences in language from place to lum. Higher educational institutions should place in the U.S. An interesting project for Part-Time Teaching realize that it is better to have a small, full- ESL students would be to interview native time staff than only one or two full-time English-speaking Americans and ask them I agree with Jack Longmate's article on part-time teaching. I am a recent graduate faculty members with several part-time fac- to describe some of the regional differences of an M.A. program, which I was told was ulty members (less turnover and training, in English (for example, is it soda or pop? a prerequisite to obtaining a full-time more familiarity with the program and stu- sub sandwich orgrinder?).Also, various dents, more investment, etc.). In the long subcultures have their own corpora (hip teaching position on the university level. Upon graduating, I was dismayed to dis- run, it is more beneficial for everyone. hop, for example). Another question for cover that no full-time positions are avail- ADRIANNE P. OCHOA research and discussion is how the media Atlanta,GA influence the "American" corpus. I'm sure able in my city (Atlanta). Granted, the

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5 ESL MAGAZINEMARCH/APRIL2003 BEST COPY AVAILABLE NEWS BRIEFS TESOL/McGraw Hill to Free Report on Collaborate in China Adult Literacy TeachersofEnglishtoSpeakersof Other The Center for Applied Linguistics has recently pub- Languages,Inc. (TESOL),McGrawHill lished Reading and Adult English Language Education and a cross-section of Chinese educa- Learners: A Reviewofthe tors will work together on a 30-month project to write and Research by authors Miriam Burt, Joy publish English as a foreign language content standards Peyton and Rebecca Adams. The authors and teacher performance standards for primary and sec- acknowledge that learning to read in ondary schools in China. The China English as a Foreign English is difficult for adult English lan- Language Project aims to address China's need to train guage learners. Teachers know that their more than two million new teachers in the next ten years. learners come from diverse backgrounds, Four volumes are planned for development: the first three have different experiences with literacy volumes identify and describe the elements of English in their first languages, and have various reasons for learn- that students can be expected to learn in primary, inter- ing English. They also know that there is no simple recipe mediate and senior school. These volumes will also to help their students become proficient readers. This describe the characteristics of effective English as a for- report summarizes the research on adult English language eign language teachers. The fourth volume will describe learners reading English, offers ESL teachers and admin- a portfolio-based professional development and appraisal istrators suggestions for instruction, and points toareas process for standards-based teaching. where further research is needed. It is available for free at www.cal.org. NAFSA Reports "Serious Glitches" in Foreign Student Tracking System More than two months after the original deadline for are not finding this to be the case. Schools create records in U.S. institutions to begin using the Student and SEVIS and generate admissions documents for students, as Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to admit required, but some consular officers have reported to stu- international students and scholars, NAFSA: Association ofdents who appear to apply for visas that they cannot find their International Educators reports that serious problems contin- records in the database and thus cannot process their visa ue to plague SEVIS, problems that could jeopardize interna-applications. Such communication failures are already result- tional educational exchanges, particularly the entering class ing in serious delays for prospective international students of international students and scholars expected for fall 2003and scholars. enrollment. Users are reporting extensive delays, ranging from hours SEVIS users across the country are reporting problemsto days, in getting responses from the SEVIS Help Desk. Help with data integrity, technical reliability, system communication Desk staff are often unable to provide information about the and support and training. status of transmissions by institutions SEVIS sometimes loses data that that experience problems or to advise has been properly entered into the sys- users on how to correct errors or address temin some cases, numerous times. glitches. The training of immigration offi- School officials are not authorized to SEVIS.net cials in the use of SEVISat ports of correct certain errors and are some- entry, the Help Desk, and regional ser- times advised by the SEVIS Help Desk vice centersremains inadequate. to create new records, thus creating multiple files for a single NAFSA hasexpressed concernthatSEVIS was student. This brings into serious question the reliability andimplemented with "very little testing of the system's capacity integrity of the SEVIS data. Erroneous data can directly affect to sustain a high volume of use." That high-volume period is the legal status of thousands of international students andnow quickly approaching, and SEVIS is being "tested" as it is scholars in the U.S. implemented. System users estimate that one million records Users navigating SEVIS often encounter technical prob-will need to be added to SEVIS in the next four months. lems that affect the ability of school officials to report cor-There is great concern that it will not be able to sustain this rectly on their students. Users have found numerous identicalvolume of data and that there will be a major system failure listings for one school's various locations, system time-outs at the height of the summer travel and fall enrollment occur after just a few minutes, forms printed at one school periods. have been discovered at a school in another state, docu- NAFSA recommends reinstituting the grace period ments have printed without complete information. Tasks that previously declared by INS, during which these problems INS estimated would take only minutes sometimes requirecould be addressed. Schools could use pre-SEVIS forms and hours or days to complete. It is unclear what the impact ofprocedures if they found SEVIS impossible to use due to tech- such errors may be on students who are legitimately enrollednical difficulties. This would involve no loss of monitoring but whose records are affected by technical glitches. capability because a transitional system required by the SEVIS was intended to be a fully integrated electronicEnhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 database, shared by the Department of Homeland Securitygave the government the capacity to track students even and the Department of State. However, schools and students before SEVIS became mandatory.

6 39 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 NEWS BRIEFS ESL Pioneer Russell Campbell What Works Clearinghouse to Study Passes On Elementary ESL Interventions Russell N. Campbell, Ph.D., teacher trainer, author he What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), estab- and researcher in ESL/EFL, passed away on March lished by the U.S. Department of of Education's 30, 2003 following a short battle with a reoccurrence Institution of Education Sciences, has announced ofcancer. Dr. Campbellwasfeatured in the topic areas for initial WWC Evidence Reports. These January/February 1998 ESL Magazine article "A Tribute to topic areas were chosen to meet the needs of K-12 and ESL Pioneers": adult educators and education decision makers to identi- "Russell Campbell is best known for fy and implement effective and replicable approaches to his work in design, implementation, and improve student outcomes. The seven topic areas chosen evaluation of international TEFL pro- for systematic review in the first year of the WWC's jects and research and development in operation reflect a wide range of education issues: heritage language education. Over the 0 Interventions for Beginning Reading past 35 years he has written or edited Curriculum-Based Interventions for Increasing K-12 several books on methodology and Math Achievement English language teaching. He was chair OPreventing High School Dropout of UCLA Applied Linguistics and TESL O Programs for Increasing Adult Literacy department for nineyears;president of c) Peer-Assisted Learning in Elementary Schools: International TESOL (1972-73); coordinator of research Reading, Mathematics, and Science and development programs in China, Egypt, Mexico, 0 Interventions To Reduce Delinquent, Disorderly, and Armenia, Hungary; a teacher trainer at UCLA, in Thailand Violent Behavior in and out of School. and Korea; dean of the English Department, American O Interventions for Elementary School English University of Armenia (under UCLA contract); and Language Learners: Increasing English Language researcher in bilingual education. He is professor emeritus Acquisition and Academic Achievement in the Applied Linguistics and TESL Department at UCLA A work plan will be developed for each topic area, and director of the UCLA Language Resource Program. and an Evidence Report team will draft a review proto- Advice to ESL Professionals: 'Learn from your students!" col that tailors the WWC standards of evidence to the Dr. Campbell also served on the Board of Trustees for systematic review for the specific topic area. The studies the Center for Applied Linguistics from 1991 to 1996. For reviewed for each topic area will be determined by a more information about Dr. Campbell, visitwww.cal.org. search of published and unpublished research literature, including submissions from program and product developers. The WWC Evidence Reports will bereviewed Conference Calendar against standards of scientific evidence set by the inde- March May pendent Technical Advisory Group and by peer review- 12-14 TESOL Arabia. Dubai, United 3 PennTESOL East. ers. Beginning in fall 2003, WWC EvidenceReports will Arab Emirates. Contact Kathy Bird, Philadelphia, PA. Website: [email protected]. http://penntesol.org. be posted online at http://www.w-w-c.org/topicnom. 22-25 American Association for 27-29 Damascus University html#schedu le. Applied Linguistics (AAAL). international TEFL Conference. Arlington, VA. Contact Jim Yoshioka, Damascus, Syria. Contact Waddah 808-956-9424. Al-Khatib, +963-11-212-0321. 25-29 Teachers of English to 28-29 TESOL Ukraine. TESOL's Annual Convention Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. Sevastopol, Ukraine. Contact (TESOL). Baltimore, MD. Svitlana Gladio, [email protected]. Attracts Thousands Contact 703-836-0774. June ver 7,000 ESL/EFL pro- April 7 Kentucky TESOL. TESOL2003 4-6 TESOL Spain. Valencia, Spain. Cincinatti, OH. Contact Anita Lewis, fessionals representing all Contact [email protected] 513-674-4244. educational levels attend- 10-12 Arizona TESOL. 26-28 Korea Association of 0 Mesa, AZ. Website: Teachers of English. ed the annual convention and http://www.az-tesol.org/2003- Daejeon, South Korea. Contact expositionof theassociation conference/menu.htm. Dr. Lee, Hwa-ja, [email protected]. Teachers of English to Speakers AI, 10-13 CATESOL. Pasadena, CA. 27-29 TESOL Academy 2003. HEARiNG EVERY VOICE Contact Eleanor Black, Washington, DC. ofOtherLanguages, Inc. BAIIINORE MARTI,. USA 323-343-4330. Contact 703-836-0774. (TESOL) in Baltimore, MD in March this yearthis 17-18 isik University international July despite recent world events and the U.S. Department ELT Conference. Istanbul, Turkey. 11-13 TESOL Academy 2003 http://www.eltc2003.isikun.edu.tr. Denver, CO. Contact 703-836-0774. of Homeland Security'sthreatalertstatusof 22-26 IATEFL Conference. 31-August 2 Japan Association for "orange" (second highest) for terrorist activity. There Brighton, United Kingdom. Language Education and from 111 Website: http://wwwjatefforg. Technology (LET). Osaka, Japan. were 6,813 attendees from the U.S. and 1,011 25 Arkansas TESOL. E-mail [email protected]. other countries for a total attendance of 7,824. Two thou- Arkadelphia, AR. Contact Sharon August Nichols, 501-450-4870. sand one hundred forty-seven presenters from over 100 23-25 URUTESOL. 2003 TESOL countries conducted 1,028 educational sessions. One 25-26 Tennessee TESOL. Southern Cone Regional Franklin, TN. Contact Kim Llorens. Convention.Montevideo, Uruguay. hundred sixty-seven companies and organizations exhib- 615-790-0892. Contact [email protected]. , ited products and services for ESL/EFL professionals. 419 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ' A: la Phil Quirke Supports ESL/EFLTeachers

Halfway through dinner with a group of TESOLers at the Learning and Teacher Development. Baltimore convention, it suddenly hit me that the dynam- Planning and Testing:The page is divided into Lesson ic Englishman sitting across from me was the creator ofa Planning, Testing, Syllabus Design, Materials Production and website that 1 had visited and admired. He was none other than ELT Management. Papers and links go from preparing single Phil Quirke! He laughingly told us that people constantly tell him lessons to planning entire courses. that his URL is spelled wrong: www.philseflsupport.com. But it is Study-Reading and Research: This page focuses on indeed correct; it's Phil's EFL Support. His mission is to provide Reading, Research, Action Research, Writing Better Assignments support to candidates studying for a TESL/TEFL master's degree, and ELT Organizations. but anyone who is teaching English will find lots of interesting information at this site. Most Interesting Features The home page informs you that you will find over 70pages If I were asked to name the two features I liked the best, I would and 150 links relevant to you and your work. Youcan take a look probably say the history of EFL and the journal links. On the at Phil's newsletter, register for his database in order to linkup Teaching and Learning page under Teaching Methodology,you with other professionals whose research interestsare similar to will find "A Brief History of EFL to ESP" followed by 42ques- yours, and sign up for bulletin board discussions on themes oftions that you can ask yourself after you have read the history. On your choice. The site is divided into four sections: Language, the Study-Reading and Research page in the Reading subcatego- Teaching and Learning, Planning and Testing, and Study- ry, you will find direct links to many ELT journals with full access Reading and Research. to their articles. Language:This page has five subcategories: Grammar, Lexis, The Skills (four or five?), Phonology and Discourse. Each Christine Meloni is associate professor of Englishas a foreign offers papers, articles and links to relevant sites. language in the EFL Department and senior research associate in Teaching and Learning:This page includes papers, links, the National Capital Language Resource Centerat The George self-study exercises and reading lists in the followingareas: Washington University in Washington, DC. She can be reachedat Teaching Methodology, Learning, Technology, [email protected]. New ESL Novel Teach English In A Great Summer Read! South Korea Disturbing The Peace (Harper Collins) is the latest novel by notable author Natic. \er%inntl Experience the Land of Morning Galin Nancy Newmana warm, funny novel Disturbin, as a public school English teacher about a dedicated ESL teacher's search to h e discover the truth about a family secret. 'e a Vacancies: 200 (full-time) Contract Period: 1 year (can be renewed) "A delicious foray into the frenzied world of a single woman searching Application Deadline: April 30 (1st term), for her identity...chock-full of inter- June 27 (2nd term) esting characters and wicked insights." Starting Date: September 1, 2003 Book list Minimum qualifications: "Sarah appears to have it all...But Bachelor's (or higher) degree while interviewing a handsome $13.95 paperback. Romanian immigrant...she reveals a Citizen of Australia, Canada, Ireland, secret she has hidden her entire Available in New Zealand, the U.K., or the U.S. life...it's difficult not to feel bookstores touched..." everywhere or at To apply, contact: Publisher's Weekly Amazon.com. Education Center, Korean Embassy "The theme of ESL is not the main Visit the author's 2320 Mass Ave., NW Washington, DC 20008 interest...but the ESL references are accurate and hold the reader's inter- website at Phone: 202-939-5680, Fax: 202-265-2127 est. Read it for fun..." www.disturbing E-mail: [email protected] ESL Magazine, July/August 2002 thepeace.ws Website: http://epik.knue.ac.kr

8 41 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 p` -L V `'y 0

How? By making sure your Spanis speaking students learn to read and write we in English.

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New! Five guidelines for teaching English language learners To order, Student performances on reading and writing standards visit oar Expert commentary on the challenges web site: and solutions to teaching K-3 students to read and write in English www.ncee.org Includes two CD-ROMs with video clips of classroom or call S'pa'-'is - interaction. English Reading 4 888.361.6233 and writing From New Standards®, for English language creator of the teacher-acclaimed learners kindcriprtcn Reading & Writing and through third gnegk Speaking & Listening books.

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4'2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Developing the Reading Abilities of Adults Learning English

BY MIRIAM BURT AND JOY KREEFT PEYTON

The ability to read is a criticalfirst language. These factors mustLimited Literate Learners skill for adults in the Unitedbe taken into account inall areasPreliterate learners come from cul- States. AsBillGrabe andof instructionprogram planning,tures where literacy is not common in Frederika Stoller assert, "As we enterlearner placement in classes, andeveryday life because the language is a new century, productive and educat-instructional approaches. In this arti-not written, has only recently been ed citizens will require even strongercle we describe how one of these fac-written, or is being developed. For literacy abilities (including both read- tors, literacy in the first language, canexample, most Bantu people of ing and writing) in increasingly largeraffect the development of readingSomalia are preliterate in their native numbers of societal settings" (2002,skills in English, and we give someAf-Maay because it has been written 1). However, most of what we know suggestions for instruction. for only a short time (Van Lehman about reading comes from research and Eno 2002). Preliterate English onEnglish-speakingchildrenin How Does First Language language learners often have had little preschool through grade 12. (See, forLiteracy Influence Reading or no exposure to written texts and example, the results of the NationalDevelopment? may not be aware of the purposes Reading Panel 2000; Snow, Burns and Huntley (1992) described four typesofliteracy in everyday life. Griffin1998.) There is very littleof literacy in the first language thatTraditionally, literacy instruction for research on reading that involves preliterate learners builds on adults learning English as a sec- 10-4. their oral language knowledge ond (or additional) language. and is supported by oral lan- (See Adams and Burt 2002; Burt, guage activities (Carroll 1999). Peyton and Adams 2003, for a Preliterate learners generally bibliography and a review of progress slowly in literacy and these studies.) other language instruction and require re-teaching of skills Who Are Adult English and concepts (Robson 1982; Language Learners? Strucker 2002). Those who The adultEnglishlanguage never attended school as chil- learner population in the United dren may be unfamiliar with the States is large. In 2001, 42% of behaviors and expectations of adults enrolled in state-adminis- school. tered, federally funded adult edu- Nonliteratelearners come cation programs were enrolled in from cultures where literacy is ESL classes; over one million -ee available, but they have not had adults(U.S.Departmentof sufficientaccesstoliteracy Education 2002). These learners instruction, often because of were also served in adult basic their socioeconomic status. For education (ABE) and adult secondaryaffect English literacy developmentexample, some adult learners from education (ASE) classes, in privateand should be taken into account inCentral America may not know how language schools, and in programsadult ESL literacy instruction: prelit-to read or write in their native Spanish sponsored by community-based orga-erate,nonliterate, semiliterate, andbecause of disrupted schooling due to nizations and volunteer literacy orga-non-Roman alphabet literate. Birchwar and poverty. These learners have nizations such as Pro-Literacy. They(2002) adds to these types non-alpha-probably had some exposure to writ- come from diverse backgrounds andbet literate. Birch and others (Hilfertyten language and may have a greater have widely different experiences1996; Strucker 2002) add Romanawareness of the value and uses of lit- with literacy in their first languages. alphabet literate. In our discussion oferacy than preliterate learners. They A number of factors influence thethese six types of first language liter-may be reluctant, though, to let others ways that these adults learn to read inacy and their impact on English lan-know about their limited literacy English. These factors include level ofguage learners' reading in English, webackground, and instruction with literacy in the first language and inuse two broad categories: limited lit-them may proceed slowly. These English, oral language proficiency inerate (preliterate, nonliterate, semilit-learners may also learn classroom English,educationalbackground,erate) and literate (non-alphabet liter-content more slowly than other learn- goals for learning English, and theate, non-Roman alphabet literate,ers because they cannot make full use structure and writing system of theRoman alphabet literate). of textbooks, other printed materials, 10 4 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 and class notes for review. semiliterate learners, includingable to read and make sense of an Semiliterate learners usually haveGeneration1.5 learners, may ap-alphabetic script in the way it was had access to literacy in their nativeproach English reading with trepida-designed to be used (Adams 1994). culture, but because of their socioeco-tion. They need to be given opportuni- Non-Romanalphabetliterate nomic status or educational situation,ties to increase their self-confidence learners read in a language that uses a they have not achieved a high level ofin educational situations and to devel-non-Roman alphabet that is phoneti- literacy in their native language. Likeop positive images of themselves ascally based, such as Cyrillic or Thai. non-literate learners, they may havereaders (Goldberg 1997). At the sameThese learners have the advantage of left school at a young age for eco-time, many have high oral skills inbeing accustomed to reading with an nomic or political reasons, as was theEnglish, and they may have had posi-alphabet, but they may struggle to case with many Southeast Asiantive experiences with learning throughfind words in the dictionary and may refugees and Central American immi-oral ESL instruction. need time to process written materials grants in the 1970s and 1980s (Holt presented in class because the orthog- 1995). Literate Learners raphy of their first language is differ- Some students who have beenLearners who are literatein someent from that of English. For example, educated primarilyin the Unitedwriting system have the advantage ofNepali students, whose Sanskrit- States have characteristics similar toexperiencewithdeciphering andderived letters descend below the those of other limited literate learners.assigning meaning to print and usinglines of text, may at first attempt to Referred to as "Generation 1.5" learn-printtoenhancetheirlearning.direct their visual attention below the ers, they have immigrated to theLearners who are nonalphabet literatelines of English text where only the UnitedStates,where theyhaveread a language that is written logo-"tails" of some English letters (g, j, p, attended schools and developed oralgraphically, such as Chinese andq, and y) are written (Strucker 2002). fluency in English. However, they areJapanese, and they may try to read inArabic students learning to read in not literate in their native language,English by memorizing whole words.English will have directionality issues and they struggle with reading andHowever, learners who try to read by(their alphabet reads right to left, the writing in English. They may remainrecognizing whole words withoutRoman, left to right). They are also in ESL classes throughout elementarydeciphering the sound and symbollikely to have problems with vowels, and secondary school and enter ESLcorrespondences of written texts willwhich are usually not written out in programs as adults or need specialnot become proficient readersin everyday Arabic writings (Ryan and attention in college programsalphabetic languages. Good readers inMeara1991). Strategies that these (Harklau, Losey and Siegal 1999). English have developed an "alphabet-learners may have developed to read Many preliterate, nonliterate, andic strategy" (Birch 2002, 33); they areArabic (e.g., relying on context to Types of First Language Literacy and Effects on Second Language LiteracyLearning

FIRST LANGUAGE LITERACY EXPLANATION SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Preliterate The first language has no written form Learners need exposure to the (e.g., many American indigenous, African, purposes and uses of literacy. Australian, and Pacific languages).

Non literate Learners have no access to literacy Learners may feel stigmatized. instruction.

Semiliterate Learners have limited access to literacy Learners may have had negative expe- instruction. riences with previous literacy learning.

Nonalphabet literate Learners are fully literate in alanguage Learners need instruction in reading written in a nonalphabetic script (e.g., an alphabetic script and in the sound- Chinese). syllable correspondences of English.

Non-Roman alphabet literate Learners are literate in alanguage writ- Learners need instruction in the tenin a non-Roman alphabet (e.g., Roman alphabet to transfer their first Arabic, Greek, Korean, Russian, and language literacy skills to English. Thai). Some, such as readers of Arabic, will need to learn to read from left to right.

Roman alphabet literate Learners are fully literate ina language Learners need instruction in the spe- written in a Roman alphabet script(e.g., cific letter-to-sound and sound-syllable French, Croatian, and Spanish). They correspondences of English. read from left to right and recognize letter shapes and fonts.

a BEST COPY AVAILABLE ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 44 11 determine which vowel sounds tothe many pronunciations of vowels, Center for ESL Literacy Education & Center for assign to words) may not work as wellincluding their sounds in stressed and Applied Linguistics. in Carroll, S.D.1999. Storytelling for literacy. English reading and spelling,unstressed syllables. Presented at the annual meeting of the Michigan where vowels must be attended to Reading Association in Grand Rapids, MI. ERIC, (Birch 2002). Meeting the Needs of All ED 430234. Both the nonalphabet literate andTypes of Learners Goldberg, R. 1997. Deconstructing the great wall of print. Connections: A Journal of Adult Literacy. non-Roman alphabet literate learnersLearning to read is not easy, and it is VII (Summer): 8-13. have valuable reading skillsin theespecially difficult for adults learning Grabe, W., and F. L. Stoller. 2002. Teaching and first language that they may be able totoreadinasecondlanguage. researching reading. Harlow, England: Pearson transfer to second language reading,Research suggests that all English Education. Harklau, L., K. M. Losey, and M. Siegal. 1999. but they need direct,systematic,language learners, regardless of the Generation 1.5 meets college composition: Issues sequential instruction in the sound-to-type of first language literacy in their in the teaching of writing to U.S.-educated learn- symbol correspondences of writtenbackground, need direct teaching in ers of ESL. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum English (Strucker 2002). Associates. the English symbol system and in Hilferty, A. G. 1996. Coding decoding: Predicting Many adult ESL students are lit-English sound-symbol correspon- the reading comprehension of Latino adults learn- erate in a Roman alphabetic languagedences. Previously learned reading ing English. Ph.D. diss., Harvard University. (e.g., Spanish and Croatian). Likestrategies, learners' experience with Holt, G. M. 1995. Teaching low-level adult ESL learners. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: National those literate in a non-Roman script orand access to literacy, and the nature Center for ESL Literacy Education. Available at in a logographic script, these learnersof their first language writing system http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/HOLT.HTM have already developed reading skillscontribute to the speed and ease with Huntley, H. S. 1992. The new illiteracy: A study of and formed reading behaviors in their the pedagogic principles of teaching English as a which the learner will acquire second second language to non-literate adults. first language. They know that writtenlanguage literacy. These factors, as Unpublished manuscript. ERIC, ED 356685. language can represent speech. Theirwell as English proficiency levels, National Reading Panel. 2000. Report of the educational background and literacyshould be considered when working National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child skills may be an important part ofwithadultslearningtoreadin Health and Human Development. (Retrieved their self-image. They can studyEnglish. 1/23/03http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications English texts, take notes in class to /nrp/smallbook.htm) Robson, B. 1982. Hmong literacy, formal educa- learn new vocabulary or structures,Miriam Burt, at the National Center tion, and their effects on performance in an ESL and read outside of class. The Englishfor ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) class. In The Hmong in the West: Observations and alphabet will be more familiar to themand the Center for Applied Linguistics reports, ed. B. T. Downing and D. P. Olney, 201- than to others whose native language 225. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota. (CAL), loves to read and has worked Ryan, A., and P. Meara. 1991. The case of the does not use the Roman alphabet.in adult ESL for more than 25 years. invisible vowels: Arabic speakers reading English Many of them may appear to have lit- words. Reading in a Foreign Language. 7:531-540. tle difficulty reading English, espe-Joy Kreeft Peyton, at NCLE and CAL, Snow, C., M. S. Burns, and P.Griffin.1998. Preventing reading difficulties in young children. cially if their first language is a lan-loves to work with and study the work Washington, DC: National Academy Press. guage such as Spanish, which hasof teachers of reading and writing. Strucker, J. 2002. NCSALL's adult reading com- many cognates with English. ponents study (ARCS). Paper presented at the Roman-alphabet-literate learners REFERENCES International Conference on Multilingual and Adams, R., and M. Burt. 2002. Research on the Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Dyslexia, June, in still need to learn English sound-sym- reading development of adult English language Washington, DC. learners: An annotated bibliography. Washington, bol correspondences before they are U.S.DepartmentofEducation,Officeof able to read well (Hilferty 1996; DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult Available at: http://www.cal.org/ncle Education and Literacy. 2002. State-administered Strucker 2002). They need to know Birch, B. M. 2002. English L2 reading: Getting to adult education program 2001 enrollment. 8 April. that English does not have the same the bottom. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Washington, DC: Author. levelof correspondence between Associates. Van Lehman, D., and 0. Eno. 2002. The Somali Burt, M., J.K. Peyton, and R. Adams. 2003. Bantu: Their history and culture. Washington, DC: sound and written form that other Reading and adult English language learners: A Center for Applied Linguistics. Available at: orthographies or spelling systems do, review of the research. Washington, DC: National http://www.culturalorientation.net/bantu/ that there is not necessarily a one-to- one correspondence between letter and sound. Some letters are pro- or nounced more than one way depending on the letters/sounds that follow (e.g., c in citation and car), and some sounds are represented by more than sing-3ga®nethe funvvaj, one letter (e.g., the hard /k/ sound can Building langua be written as c, k, or ck, often depending on the letters/sounds that precede Accelerating language and learning and follow it). Sometimes letters in through traditional kids' songs .11 English are silent, as are the g and h in right. At the syllabic level, readers See and hear it all on should learn, for example, that the our website: www.singlish.com combination ough can be pronounced as in tough and rough or as in bought 877-375-SING and sought. Readers also need to learn

; 45 12 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 140

II 1

Discovering the Teacher-DeveloperInside

Every teacher reaches a point at which the availableout with simple experimentation. You never know what kind materials do not meet the needs of a particular class orof interesting materials you may create until you try! group of students. Traditionally, ESL teachers have In the next issue we will take a look at how to extend been very resourceful and creative in overcoming this obsta- the creation of such materials into an entire course as we cle. We have compiled collections of authentic languagediscuss course management systems (CMS). resources, created unique texts, lectures, drawings andpho- tos and integrated a vast array of realia into our lessons. Links: Recently, many teachers have also begun creating comput-L- Hot Potatoes: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ er-based materials. Makers: http://lang.swarthmore.edu/makers/ It has become easy for average computer users to Purevoice: http://www.cdmatech.com/solutions/products/ design interesting, interactive and elaborate materials. The purevoice_download.html Internet has instilled people with a desire to contribute their own creative ideas to the virtual community. So, Iask, Movie Maker (Windows): http://www.microsoft.com/ shouldn't you be able to contribute as well? windowsxp/moviemaker/default.asp Before you begin, you should identify your goals for iMovie (MacIntosh): http://www.apple.com/imovie/ using technology. If you are simply trying to impress your students with your technical prowess or you are replicating a traditional activity with a computer-based equivalent(withGreg Kessler teaches in the Ohio Program of Intensive no noticeable benefit), you may want to reconsider. English (OPIE) at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He Whether you are interested in simply creating an onlinemanages OPIE's use of a self-access computerlab and quiz or designing an entire online course, you are only lim-develops distance programs. He is currently chair-elect of ited by your own imagination. You may want to get startedTESOL's CALL Interest Section. by creating a few quizzes, review exercises or skill-based materials that support a course with no current computer- assisted language learning (CALL) content. You have three basic directions in which you can move: you can create simple exercises, more media-intensive exercises, or even com- ESOL Instructor/ Eastern plete courses. Many exercise generators exist to help you create interactive materials. Two common examples are Hot Potatoes European Program and Makers. Both provide a free materials creation interface with their own web server space so that you don't have to manage a website to use them. They are also easy to useand provide helpful step-by-step directions. (See links.) If you already have some exercise developing skills, Teach pre-academic English you may want to begin designing more media-intensive materials. You can add audio to an exercise by using an to native Russian speakers. audio recording tool. There are many easy-to-use tools that allow you to record and save audio files. One free program, Requires Masters in TESOL Purevoice®, allows you to record and compress sounds to transfer through email. Since these files are very com- and 1 year experience. pressed, they can also be used in conjunction with websites. To incorporate video into a project, you can record your Competitive salary. own video on a digital camcorder or transfer from video tapes. Many of today's computers are equipped to handle this input of video, but yours may require a small invest- Send resume to: ment for a video card, firewire card, or other transfer device. While any such device is likely to include the necessary CMMS, P.O. Box 163177 software, you can also use such free programs as iMovie (MacIntosh) and Movie Maker (Windows). Orlando, FL 32816 Creating your own materials can be fun and rewarding. Once you get some experience with these tools you are likely to see promising results. Many CALL specialists started t-- - 13 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 BEST COPY AVAILABLE That's It! Dear Grammar Guy: What is the difference between the usage start off his idea. It's a new idea and there's no previous reference of it and that? While editing my students' papers, sometimes point. Person B, however, is referring to what Person A has said and they use that at the beginning of sentences when it should beuses that to do so. it and it in the middle of sentences when it should be that. When I try Keep the explanation simple and give lots of examples to back it to explain why it doesn't sound right and how they should use these up. Go back and check out the examples of their writing you sent, and words, I can't come up with a sufficient explanation. What should I you'll see why you wanted to change that to it and it to that! tell them? Here are some examples from my students' writing: Here's my "Food for Thought" question from the last issue: Is (1) I personally think that language is one of the reasons that Patrick the following italicized phrase "acceptable" English?: "The guy who and I have misunderstandings because English is not my first lan- won the lottery's relatives are all hitting him up for loans." Stephen guage. I actually have to ask him many things like, "What does it Berkowitz of Haifa, Israel had this to say: This is one of my favorite mean?" (I thought it should be that.) oddities in English! It's called a group genitive, I believe, and is per- (2)Thatis not always right to expect people to act on every sugges-fectly acceptable in informal, conversational English. In fact,I tion you give them; they can choose to go with your suggestion or not. remember as a kid growing up with early TV back in the States that (I thought it should be it.) Gracie Allen of the comedy team of Burns and Allen used to crack the Adrianne Ochoa, Atlanta, GA audiences up with her amazingly long group genitives. Of course, in Hi, Adrianne: The problem has to do with a neat part of language more formal English we would say, "The relatives of the guy who called deixis, which deals with the "nearness" or "farness" of things won the lottery"but that's not nearly as much fun! in relation to the speaker or writer. It can be seen in concrete ways, Good for you, Stephen! Yes, it's a group genitive, and I agree that such as when we teach the difference between this and that, with this group genitives are lots of fun! meaning something relatively close to the speaker and that meaning And here's the "Food for Thought" question for this issue: You something relatively far away. In abstract ways, deixis comes into go to school, you go to church, you go to bed. Why don't you go to play, too. We use it when referring to something that stands alone, the school, go to the church, or go to the bed? You can say, "The something not previously referred to. We use that when referring to school/church I go to is five blocks away," right? So what's going on something previously mentioned. My students, even at a low inter- with the definite article, or lack of it? Please send in your answers as mediate level, don't usually have a problem understanding this con- soon as possible. As always, I love hearing from you! cept. Here's an example of how both words work: A: It's not winning a war which may be so hard, but maintain- Richard Firsten is an ESL instructor, teacher trainer and author specializing ing the peace after the fighting has stopped. in grammar and methodology. He currently teaches at Lindsey Hopkins B: That's a very interesting point. TechnicalEducationCenterinMiami,Florida.Reachhimat In the example above, Person A uses it, the "anticipatory it," to [email protected].

Readirg And NOW AVAILABLE Adult English Langunge Learners FREE OF CHARGE A P.n. of Pit &march Reading and Adult English AceReadee Language Learners Proficient Reading Software by StepWare, Inc. AReview of the Research Teachers ofadults learning English have many questions about reading. Is learning to read in English different for Read faster with students who already read in their native language? better understanding! Does first language literacy help or hinder reading development in English? Will reading skills from logographic languages and languages with Break the habits that slow you down: other alphabets transfer to English? sub-vocalization and re-reading. Does lack of reading ability in the native language mean that reading instruction needs to be different? Unique software package with over 200 How much research is there on adult English language learners reading and comprehension tests. learning to read? Effective for: Reading and Adult English Language Learners: A Review of the Research describes the research base on adults learning to read in Students English, discusses the role of the first language and other factors in reading development, and makes suggestions for instruction. It's free Parents from NCLE (except for shipping and handling). Teachers CMS trjre Bowr-55.?-831119g/store Business Executives For more instructional resources for adult English language learners, Award-winning software ONLY $24.95 visit or call National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) www.cal.org/ncle 202-362-0700 ext. 200 INFO: 970-243-9390SALES: 800-999-2734 CAL NCLE Center for Applied Linguistics Neiosal Come lor ES1 UI.nnySdsceIo, www.acereader.com

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Learner management system $1. , 1 1,1 rt . ( r, . ;1 . BEST COPY AVAILABLE Developing Listening Skills with Authentic Materials BY LINDSAY MILLER

For too long listening has been rele- authentic texts. Authentic texts are any Iwill use this established format of gated to a secondary position in the spoken texts which have not been special-pre-, while-, and post-listening activities English language teaching class- ly prepared for language learners, and they and make some suggestions as to how they room. This stems, in part, from the fact that are often delivered via technologies likecan be used with authentic materials deliv- whereas a considerable amount of research radio, television/video, and the Internet orered through technological media. has been conducted into reading, writing CD-ROM. and speakingresearch which has influ- In the rest of this article I would likeRadio enced our approaches to teaching language to suggest a process for helping learners Using real-time radio in class is one of the and has also influenced how textbooks develop their listening skills, and makemore easily accessible forms of authentic have been written (see sidebar)there has suggestions as how this might be achieved listening practice we can give our learners. been a lack of research interest into listen- with authentic materials. The airwaves are filled with programs ing. Some of the reasons for this lack of twenty-four hours per day, and the low cost research interest come from the fact that Pre-, While-, and Post-Listening of radios means that most language teach- speaking was always considered a more One of the main advancements to come outers can obtain a radio and take it to class. "valuable" skill to focus on in the class- of research into listening strategies was the Radio stations such as BBC World Service room; that researchers and teachers have understanding thatlistening exercises(BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) are often considered that listening was some- could be divided into three main parts: Pre-constantly on-air. Meanwhile, many non- thing which could just be "picked up"; and listening, While-listening, Post-listening English speaking countries also broadcast as researchers and teachers had not beenactivities. This format has proved useful in some programs, or even have dedicated taught listening themselves, they saw taking the attention off continually testing stations, in English. Although radios are little need for developing a specific easy to access, they are perhaps the most research agenda or approaches to teach- difficult of aural text for language learning listening. ers to listen to. The reason for this is that It is indeed interesting that listen- all non-verbal information is missing, ing has not received wider attention in information which can aid in helping the past given that itis the language understand the message, and the learner skill most often used in everyday life. has to focus on the skill which is most More than forty percent of our daily difficult for him or herlistening. communication time is spent on listen- In order to use radio programs with ing, thirty-five percent on speaking, six- learners teachers need to select a pro- teen percent on reading, and only nine gram at a suitable time for their class and percent on writing (Burely-Allen 1995). decide on some global listening tasks for Although listening has been a rela- the learners. For instance, with an inter- tivelyneglectedskillinterms of mediate group of learners about to listen research and how it is introduced to lan- to a radio program on travel we might guage learners, it is now beginning to adopt the following procedure: receive more attention. In the past few years we have seen the publication of Stage 1: Pre-Listening Task several major texts, both practical and the- listening andhas allowed learners to doToday we are going to listen to a travel oretical, specifically dealing with listening other things with the information that theyprogram on the radio for ten minutes. skills: Mendelson and Rubin 1995; Nunan listen to. For instance, a teacher can initiate Before we listen, who has made a trip and Miller 1995; Buck 2000; Rost 2002; a short discussion with the learners in the recently? Where did you go? What did Flowerdew and Miller, in press. In con-pre-listening stage as to what they think ofyou see? junction with these books, there is now athe topic before they listen to the text (acti- The radio guide tells us in that this greater awareness among teachers that we vating world and personal knowledge).program is about Egypt. What do you have to help learners develop their listen- Then the learners can be asked to useknow about Egypt? What would you like ing skills, rather than rely on the skill whatever information they gathered from ato know about Egypt? What kind of developing itself. text to have an extended discussion in ainformation do you think the presenter will The question of how to help learnerspost-listening stage (allowing for moregive us? develop effective listeningskills brings individualization and critical comments to attention to the methods we use and thebe developed).In between these twoStage 2: While-Listening Task type of materials we introduce our learners stages, learners can be helped to focus on While you listen to the program, try to lis- to. The aim of all listening lessons shouldtheir listening by careful selection of tasks ten for the main things the presenter rec- be to allow learners a greater degree ofthat are meaningful and that cater to devel- ommends doing while in Egypt. Don't try independence when confronted with lis-oping specific listening skills rather than to write anything down, only listen to the tening to the foreign language in a realon constantly measuring performance program and see how much you can under- world context, and that means usingthrough test-like exercises. stand. 4 f3 16 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 Stage 3: Post-Listening Task movies to help them develop their secondcritical post-viewing taskse.g., Do you In groups of three have a short discussion languagelisteningskills.With an think we should go to war with each other about what you heard from the program. elementary-level class of learners we (after viewing a war movie). Would you like to go to Egypt based on might consider the following out-of-class what you just heard? Why or why not? activity: The Internet/CD-ROM In using the radio in the way suggest- There has been a rapid increase in the ed here we allow learners access to nativeStage 1: Pre-Viewing Task development of Internet facilities and CD- speaker models, something which might beThis weekend there is an English movie on ROMs. This has been prompted, partly, by missing from their normal classroom expe- TV. Does anyone know what it is? What the more powerful computers we have riences. Also, we place the focus on exten-time isit on? Which channel isit on?these days and has been partly driven by sive listening for pleasure and take thePlease write the name, time and channel the users' demands for more interesting emphasis off testing what the learners hear down as this is your homework task. and innovative applications of the technol- (that is why we ask the learners not to write ogy. We are able to direct our learners to while they listen). Stage 2: While-Viewing Task sites on the Internet where they can prac- I would like you to watch the movie thistice their listening as long as they have TV/Video weekend, or try to watch as much as you access to the appropriate computer hardware. Using television or videos in the classroom can. Focus on listening to the movie There are several benefits computer allows the learners access to more infor-instead of reading the subtitles. Try to col- software has over radio or television. For mation when listening. That is, the learners lect the following information: kind of instance, many CD-ROMs now have glos- can now see what is happening as well as movie (comedy, romance, action, horror), saries and online scripts, so that when listen to the text. Non-verbal behavior ornames of the main characters (male, problems are encountered, the learners can paralinguistic features of the spoken textfemale, animal), where does the movieget online help. In addition to this, many are now available to the learners (com- take place (inside, outside, on land, at sea,younger learners wish to learn or use their pared with radio, that is), so learners cancountry), what isthe main idea in thecomputer skills nowadays, so the prospect develop their listening skills in a richer lan- movie? of developing computer skills along with guage context. developing their language skills may seem Many language learners watch movies Stage 3: Post-Viewing Task (the next les-attractive to these learners.With an outside of class time, but few of them con- son) Who watched the movie last week-advanced group of learners we might consider this as an opportunity to develop theirend? What can you tell us about it? sider having extended critical and creative listeningskills (perhaps because they This generic format can be repeated asdiscussion about the news: become used to reading the sub-titles ofmany times as you like, and once learners English movies). Going to a movie is con-have developed the habit of watching andStage 1: Pre-Listening Task sidered as entertainment and often "doesn'tlistening to English language movies with Tomorrow in class we will have some dis- count" in terms of learning. We can, how-some kind of focus, they will get used to cussion about what's in the news. In order ever, in the language classroom, sensitizethis type of exposure to listening for plea- to do this I would like you do access at our learners to how they can make use ofsure, and you may then move on to moreleast two of the following websites: The Question of Authenticity When preparing learners for academic listening, English lecture non-threatening and empathized with the students, language teachers often choose to use a textbook b) personalized many of his references, and c) checked with a titlelike Academic listening: preparing students that the students were following the lecture as he deliv- for lectures.Such textbooks are widely used on pre-sessional ered it. The impersonal nature of an audio text cannot sim- courses, and many students and their teachers diligently work ulate any of these features. their way through the textbook in the belief that they are 5. As the authentic lecture lasted for two hours, the lecturer preparing for the real thing. However, my colleague John made use of a narrative thread to hold his talk together, Flowerdew and I conducted an investigation of an authentic that is, he told a story and continually returned to the economics and finance lecture (Flowerdew and Miller, 1997). theme of the story. ELT textbooks, on the other hand, We found that what academic listening textbooks prepared rarely have recordings of more than a few minutes and learners for was very different from the "real thing." We tran- cannot sustain any narrative thread. scribed and analyzed a lecture discourse and then compared it to a selection of academic listening textbooks, this is what 6. The lecturer made use of macro-markers to signpost his way through the talk and to refer to future lectures, e.g., we found: "Last week we saw how "In next week's lecture I am 1. The authentic lecture was structured at the micro-level of going to move on to In this way he structured the lec- discourse. There were lots of uses of "and," "so," "but," ture around the series of talks he was going to give to the many pauses, and filled pauses with the use of "ah" and students. Textbooks cannot do this as most of their texts "er." On the other hand, textbook lectures had complete are stand-alone lectures. clauses and fewer pauses. 7. The lecturer made use of a variety of visual aids during his 2. The authentic lecture discourse contained many false talk including the white board, overhead transparencies starts, redundancies and repetitions. None of these show and pre-lecture reading text. None of these were used in up in English language teaching (ELT) textbooks. the textbooks analyzed. 3. The lecturer made use of a variety of extra linguistic fea- This detailed lecture analysis illustrates that authentic texts tures such as body movements and kinesics. Textbook should also be used when helping learners prepare for listen- texts are usually only audio recorded so such cues are ing to lectures. By only using specially scripted text, learners missing. may miss important features of spoken academic discourse 4. In the real lecture the lecturer made an attempt to estab- and develop listening skills which will be of little use to them lish a rapport with the students; he a) tried to make the in the real lecture context. i:P. 4'tf 17 ESL MAGAZINEMARCH/APRIL 2003 http://www.bbc.co.uk,http://www.avoa. to help second-language learners develop gov orhttp://npr.org(National Public 0 * 0 effective listening skills and with the Radio) and listen to different versions of greater availability of technology nowa- the main stories. days, teachers are able to explore more cre- Once you are in the website you can What medium do you use ative ways of teaching listening in and out choose audio or video presentations. You of the class using authentic materials. Once can also look for related items. Just surf most often to obtain authentic we begin to explore the possibilities, a few around until you feel you have collected listening material for ESL/EFL of which are outlined here, we offer a rich- enough information for our discussion in instruction? er language learning experience for our class. TV learners and create good listeners into the 35% bargain. Stage 2: While-Listening Task 11%radio Students may either work at home or in a Lindsay Miller is an associate professor of computer lab at school to collect the infor- 14%films language education in the Department of mation they require. 31%Internet English and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong. 9%other Stage 3: Post-Listening Task (the next class) www.esimag.com REFERENCES First Buck, G. 2000. Assessing Listening. Cambridge: I would like you to sit in groups Cambridge University Press according to one of the websites you visit- presenting the stories, and what this story Burely-Allen, M. 1995. Listening: The forgotten ed. So lets have a group of BBC listen- means to you personally. skill. New York: John Wily & Sons, Inc. ers/viewers, one of VOA, and one of NPR This use of the Internet and computer Flowerdew, J. and L. Miller. 1997. The teaching of to begin with. In your groups discuss whattechnology integrates several authentic academic listening comprehension and the ques- the main news stories were. Only exchange tion of authenticity. English for Specific Purposes, activities for the learners and widens the 16(I):27-46. information at this stage. scope of developing listening skills.In Now change groups and have one per- Flowerdew, J. and Miller, L. In press. Second addition to this, learners are now given Language Listening Comprehension: Theory to son for each website in groups of three. more autonomy over their language learn- practice. New York: Cambridge University Press Explain to the other members in youring and the links between classroom and Mendelson, D., and J. Rubin. 1995. A Guide for group the main stories in the order they real-world learning becomes more obvious the Teaching of Second Language Listening. San were presented on the Web. Then discussto them. Diego, CA: Dominic Press. your reaction to these stories. Consider Nunan, D., and L. Miller, eds. 1995. New Ways in how important you think the item is, whatRicher Learning Experiences Teaching Listening: Alexandria, VA: TESOL. angle the broadcast company took when Rost,M. 2002.Teaching and Researching With the increased awareness of the need Listening. London: Pearson. Pie-Mizard "Hands-On" Vocabulary Cards athelstan EnrichmentGrade Level InstructionRemedial software

The signature oa the check CD-ROMs was . He became ast after the accideut. O *woos O isuralid books O victim O paralytic Concordance software The cards are easy to use and provide "hands-on" NEW: MP 2.2 $85 practice for the student. The student picks the correct Highlight collocates, corpus comparison, sorted answer from four choices, places a golf tee or pencil in concordance lines. Save results as html file. Demo the corresponding hole, and self-checks on the reverse available on the web. side of the card. That's all there is to it! Cards may be MonoConc 1.5 $69 used in centers, small gioups or individually. Simpler concordance program for use by language SynonymsHomophonesMultiple Meaning learners. Basic search, sort, save. Collocate and AntonymsPhonics corpus frequency information. Corpus of Spoken Professional American Cards are 4" x 4" English $79 125 cards come in a sturdy box Transcripts. 2 million words. Untagged and tagged 13 chains for assembly (POS) versions. $29.95 per box ParaConc (parallel concordancer) $99

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18 5.1 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language

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MARCH/APRIL 2003 ESL MAGAZINE BEST COPY AVAILABLE 19 Pioneering Volume Teaches Grammar and Analytical Skills BY FRANCISCO GOMES DE MATOS

Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written informationflow,conversationalrepair,speechact). English, and Workbook Interestingly, the authors opt for register and dialect in their by Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad and Geoffrey Leech description of language varieties. Thus they speak of four main Pearson Education, 2002 registersconversation, fiction, news, academic proseand refer to American English and British English as dialects (nation- n 1999, a breakthrough took place in the history of English al varieties). Typographically, the Student Grammar promotes language grammars: the publication of the 1,204-pageprocessing ease: the print is most readable and bold type high- Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English lights main elements. (LGSWE), written by a team of five researchers under the direc- tion of U.S. linguist Douglas Biber. This reference work is basedThe Student Grammar Workbook on a corpus of almost 40 million words and is pioneering in its The Workbook is a novel contribution to the tradition of compan- coverage of four registers of English: conversation, fiction writ- ion workbooks, which have been productive in related areas (e.g., ing, academic prose and news writing. Significantly, the core vol-in linguistics) but have been somewhat underexplored in thearea ume has given birth to two useful grammar books designed forof reference/pedagogical ESL/EFL grammars. The Workbook advanced students, their teachers and teacher educators/trainers: merits a longer discussion, but space limitations makeme opt a 487-page Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Writteninstead for pointing out what have struck me as interesting, inno- English and a 140-page Longman Student Grammar vative exercises. For teachers interested in typologies of Spoken and Written English Workbook, both by LONGMAN of classroom practices, I suggest that a compilation be Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad and Geoffrey Leech. made of the key verbs used for each activity. Such a STUDENT listing would include analyze, categorize, circle, cotn- The Student Grammar GRAMMAR xaCARD pare, complete, count, create, decide, describe, discuss, The preface to the Student Grammar tells us that it is distinguish, explain, express, fill-in-the-blank (a rare "more than just an abbreviated LGSWE," since the example on p. 88), find, identify, justify, label, match, contents have been considerably simplified and reor- reconstruct, rewrite, suggest, underline and use. The ganized, with the addition of new and simpler extracts wealth of exercisesmany inspired by the corpus- from the corpus data. In its introductory section, the based-approachand the varying degrees of cognitive- coursebook/reference grammar provides a list of linguistic challenge posed by such use-focused practice grammatical abbreviations and symbols and of typo- is but one of the virtues of this tool, aimed at helping graphic conventions used within examples. There are 13 chap-users learn how to analyze English grammar while at the same ters, a seven-page glossary of terms, a two-page A to Z list oftime advancing their proficiency in the language. irregular verbs and a 23-page index. Innovative ly, there isan Another praiseworthy feature in the Workbook is the 30-page introductory index of the "Grammar Bites" in each chapter,Answers to Exercises. Sociolinguistically-oriented instructors which summarizes the grammar content. will welcome such key concepts as "informal usage." Given the The introductory chapter, "A Discourse Perspective onchallenging nature of many of the exercises, several of them have Grammar," is followed by two chapters on key concepts and cat- multiple solutions. Accordingly, the Workbook provides only egories in English grammar, four chapters on the major phrasesome possible answers, leaving itto users to create other types, one chapter on clause grammar, four chapters on building answers. the clause and one chapter on the grammar of conversation. Innovative ly,the first unit features three self-tests: A Chapters feature from two to six "Grammar Bites" and their Discourse Perspective on Grammar, Standard and Non-standard respective reviews. There is an abundance of figures (e.g., English and How to Interpret Frequency Information Given in Frequency of perfect and progressive aspect in American English the Student Grammar. Among the contrastive exercises, theone versus British English conversation and news, p. 158), tableson comparing natural and fictional conversations is an insightful (e.g., A survey of conversational inserts, p. 450-453), andsec-example of how to challenge advanced users of English to look tions of text presenting corpus patterns (e.g., The use of fronting systematically at linguistic and functional characteristics in a text across registers, p. 405) sample. Given the Student Grammar's emphasis on the needs of The Workbook was classroom-tested in a U.S. context high-proficiency learners/teachers of English, I looked for theNorthern Arizona Universityand should be tested in other kinds of advanced grammatical information that could enhanceESL/EFL environments so that its dual benefits (development of my own grammatical knowledge as a non-native user: The choiceanalytical competence and language performance) can be between genitives and of- phrases, semantic categories of lexical assessed on the basis of a larger sample of advanced students, verbs, personal and logical meanings of modals, adjectivalcom- their teachers and, if possible, teacher-educators/trainers. pounds, degrep adverbs, meaning relationships expressed by noun + noun sequences, semantic categories of stance adverbials, the discourse circumstances of conversation, and performance Francisco Goines de Matos teaches at the Federal University of phenomena in conversation. The 320-entry glossary features tra-Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. He is currently president of the ditional terms (e.g., auxiliary verb, ellipsis, relative clause) andBoard of Trustees, Associarcio Brasil America, a local bination- linguistics-inspired terminology (e.g., backchannel, end-weight, al center He may be reached [email protected]'

20 33 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 Advanced level LONGMAN Intermediate-Advanced LONGMAN Illustrates how different level grammatical choices are Nearly 900 words in STUDENT made in speech and language alphabetical order with AR. various writing genres descriptions grouped by Uses example sen- Activator concept tences from real texts il!f Appropriate for written and conversation and spoken English Holy Student Workbook Wider coverage of colloca- available for practice 111.- _,Ad tions, followed by example of correct usage

PEARSON Longman LONGMAN Intermediate-High- Intermediate level Visit our Dictionaries Website ESSENTIAL Word banks help with www.longman-elt.com/ essay writing dictionaries Useful avoidance strategies Teachers' Resources include lesson highlight common errors plans and downloadable worksheets Includes section on situaton-based language Activities and games with instant feedback for immediate use help students build vocabulary and improve grammar and spelling Hot Words keep you up to date with the latest language Think Pearson Longman ESLfor yourWriting Classes! Contact your ESL Specialist at 1-800-375-2375 or VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.longman.com To place an order: 1-877-202-4572 Longman Scott Foresman ESL Prentice Hall Regents Penguin

dlif1iffalalolv1111/11111eltilla Bring the Co into the Classroo BY KATHLEEN OLSON

/na soon-to-be-published five yearis new and interesting for one portion of ties, projects and discussions. Volunteers study of what works in adult ESLthe class may be familiar to another por- and guests may come into the classroom to (AmericanInstitutesforResearch tion of the class, or a field trip that is coach or critique, support or assist with a forthcoming), researchers found that oneappropriate for a beginning level studentvariety of topics. They may provide shel- significant factor which makes a difference may not be appropriate for others in the tered interactions. For example, business inthe acquisition of English language classroom. people may conduct mock job interviews skills is the degree to which the teacher with students or may be available for stu- brings the community into the classroomWays to Bring the Community dents to interview. The students them- and the degree to which the classroominto the Classroom selves can be guest speakers who present goes into the community. The developmentBecause of all the obstacles to overcome in information on their jobs or they may of English language skills is of little use iftaking the classroom into the community,invite a coworker or boss to talk to the students are not able to get out of the class- many teachers are reluctant to schedule class. room and apply those skills in their imme- field trips. It is often more convenient for Volunteers and guests come from and diate and broader communities. The goal the teacher to arrange to bring the commu- represent the community. As such, they are of developing English language skills in valuable assets to make use of in the the classroom is for learners to use classroom. Involving volunteers in ESL those skills to access services and func- instructionis a way to educate and tion successfully in their homes, work- enrich members of the local community places and communities. Comfort with as well as offer the ESL students direct the community and community involve- contact and increasing comfort with ment can and should begin in the class- members oftheircommunities. room. Oftentimes, this becomes the language learner's first opportunity to develop a Why Bring the Community into relationship with a native-speaking the Classroom? community member. Bringing the community into the classroom is an alternative to taking students Videotapes and Brochures on field trips into the community. Most When field trips are not possible, teach- instructors would agree that taking ers can contact museums, historic soci- adult ESL students on field trips is a eties, and other community, state and valuable learning experience. Learning national organizations for free and inex- in an authentic context is considered to pensive instructional materials (e.g., be advantageous, and field trips into the videos, CD-ROMs, and printed materi- community can facilitate the transfer of als). Videos can be obtained for tourist classroom learning to actual situations. attractions such as national parks, col- A number of factors, however, leges and universities, and many com- make it difficult for many programs to munity points of interest. Videotapes plan and take class trips with adult stu- featuring life in the United States can be dents. First of all, field trips do not Inviting guest speakers is one of the many ways to used to teach students about U.S. cul- always coincide with class times, so bring the community into the classroom. ture, making them feel more comfort- students may have scheduling conflicts able when experiencing cultural events with work, child care or other responsibil- nity into the classroom through a variety of in the community. Teachers can produce ities. Many field trips have costs, whichdifferent activities. If these activities are videos on expeditions both near and far so must be paid the students or absorbed bydone well, students will be able to experi- that students may experience these trips in the program. There is also the belief on theence much of the value of field trips with-the classroom. part of some students that they are notout all the associated problems. learning English on field trips. Many stu- Virtual Tours/Visits dents believe that if there is no textbook orGuest Speakers A virtual field trip or virtual tour uses the classroom instruction involved, learning Inviting guests to speak to the class isInternet to enable students to visit places must not be taking place. Transportation is probably the first thing most instructorssuch as NASA, the Statue of Liberty, a often a problem as many students do not Krispy Kreme donut bakery, and the U.S. think of when considering ways of bring- Senate without leaving the classroom. have cars and come to class with others oring the community into the classroom. But by bus. Most programs and schools havestudents can benefit in many other ways Virtual tours enable students to visit tourist attractions, community services, govern- strict travel policies that regulate the times, when community members come into the distances traveled and types of transporta-classroom. In addition to speeches, class- ment agencies, factories and shops or tion allowed. In addition, students come toroom visitors can share their experiences workplaces and job situations through a classroom computer. class with differing prior knowledge, dif- and expertise with students through activi- fering needs and interests. A field trip that s5 Virtual visits differ from virtual tours 22 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 in that they are webpages made by actual http://www.askanexpert.com/learners can Tours visitors to field trip sites. Virtual visits email their questions to professionals such reflect the point of view and abilities of the as dentists, doctors, immigration experts persons making the video, and as suchand police officers. They can also use ard Visits email to find out about careers, submit they may vary in quality and may not rep- The Web sites below are virtual resent the views of the site itself. résumés, join local support groups, or link Both virtual visits and virtual tours with their communities in many other tours which may be of interest enable students to see and experience ways. to adult learners, but were not places via the Web. Students can take trips The Web can be a valuable source of made by them. which might not otherwise be possible forlocal information. Learners can find out WI- Grocery store virtual tour of a them, or they can get information and gain about weather conditions, entertainment or where learners can visit different employment opportunities. They can use it experience that will help them in the departments and find out about future. A virtual tour of a doctor's office,for making travel reservations or for products available. http:// for example, can be the first step in devel- reserving books at the local library. All of oping the language and comfort necessarythese activities increase the students' interactive. colum.edu/eatit/ to visit in person. familiarity and comfort with the services grocery.html and the language of the services in their Jo Domestic violence shelter tour Media Resources communities. These activities will encour- and stories about domestic violence Local radio, television and newspapers asage students to try out their newly developing language skills in person in their from victims who have sought safety well as online newspapers and radio pro- in shelters. http://www.dv grams can be used to bring local, nationalcommunities. and international current events into the sheltertour.org/ classroom. NewspapersinEducation Cameras Ys. Virtual Toursan extensive col- (NIE) provides newspapers with educa- Any kind of camera can be used to bring lection of links to tours of museums, tional support programs including lesson thecommunityintotheclassroom. exhibits, places of interest and U.S. plans and resources. NIE is a non-profit Disposable cameras are an inexpensive Government tour sites. http://www. way of supplying cameras to students, but program funded by individual newspapers virtualfreesites.com/tours.html and community sponsors. A classroom someone has to pay for developing the pic- supply of local newspapers is distributed tures.Digital cameras cost more but Jelly Belly and Hershey's virtual to area schools one day each week for nothere's no cost for developing the pictures factory tours via Prentice Hall's or minimal cost. The newspapers contain since they are downloaded onto a comput- companion site supplements with suggested activities forer. Instructors can take pictures of commu- http://myphliputil.pearsoncmg.com/ their use. The activities connect the news- nity events or area locations and use them student/bp_russell_opsmgmt_4/vtc paper topics to real-life community situa- for activities in the classroom. Pictures on hOl.html tions. NIE online (http://nieonline.com/)the computer are convenient writing provides newspapers, learning programs prompts. Students can use cameras outside Virtual beauty salon allows stu- and online activities to classrooms to help of the classroom to document what is dents to use a given face or upload foster real-world learning by bringing the important in their lives at work, at home their face to try out different hair world into the classroom. and inthe community. Learners can styles and colors. National Public Radio(NPR) proudly share their outside lives with the http://www.women.com/style/ (http://www.nprorg/) offers audio clips, class, which helps develop their self- beauty/pages/0,12701,265717_ transcriptions and discussions of variousesteem. As students share pictures of their 289604,00.html topics for classroom use. Free lesson favorite grocery store or workplace, the plans, professional development materialscommunity becomes less threatening and and more can also be found at the Public more personal to the students. This in turn The following websites were created BroadcastingSystem(PBS)website helps the students develop a sense of pride by ESL students. (http://www.pbs.org/).Thesesources and a feeling of belonging to the commu- allow teachers to bring authentic material nity. It- How to Buy My First House: on community issues into the classroom. Learners can also take photographs Homebuying Readiness Virtual that highlight community issues that are Visits Other Internet Resources important to them such as trash strewn http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/It Email, electroniclists(listservs) andabout the neighborhood, a local polluted c/Housing/HousingHome.html online chats give students the opportunitystream, or a car speeding through the to communicate with people and services neighborhood. Classroom discussions can Homebuying for Everyone inthe local community and beyond.then be held as to how these issues affect http://www2.wgbh.org/mbcweis/ltc- Teachers can help identify a network oflife in the community and what students final/whome.html people active in community organizations can do to work towards changing the prob- Virtual Visit to the Adult Literacy who could be available for email inter-lem. Letters can be written to community Resource Institute Library in officials or students might investigate a views. This increased electronic access to Boston the world around them increases students' local clean-up activity. These are good social awareness and confidence in theirfirst steps towards community involve- http://www2.wgbh.org/mbcweis/Itc7 ability to use English. Students can be ment. LibraryVisit/ALRILibraryW.html empowered by their ability to communi- *. Visiting May Wua Virtual Visit cate their concerns with local, state and Realia for Healthcare Information in national government officials. They canPrint materials found in the community Boston's Chinatown http://www.gis. resources. get to know and feel comfortable withmake excellentclassroom net/-qsccbcnc/MayVisit.html people and places from the safe distance ofThese could include flyers, inserts, labels, a classroom computer. Free email is avail-signs, job or credit applications, traffic Virtual Visit to a Goodwill able from Yahoo! Mail at tickets, school information or mailbox Computer Store http://www.geo http://mail.yahoo.com/?.intl=us or from items such as messages from the INS, bills cities.com/a9421243/ Hotmail at hotmail.com. By going toor jaktiail. A pharmacy flyer might lead

ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 23 to the creation of a "Pharmacy Flyer newsletters, assemble products, write let- Scavenger Hunt" where students use the ters or do other projects to link the class Kathleen Olson is the ESOL training and flyers to find products. This could lead to with community issues and needs. support specialist for the Northeast Adult more community interaction as learners All of these activities allow students Basic and Literacy Education (NE ABLE) become more familiar with services andto connect what is being learned in the Resource Center. products available in the neighborhood. classroom to life outside the classroom. REFERENCES These activities make students more com- American Institutes for Research. Forthcoming. What Posters, Bulletin Boards, Displays fortable with the challenges they face in WorksStudyforAdult ESL LiteracyStudents. The content of student newsletters and bul- becoming active members of their commu- Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of letin boards can be used to encourage stu- nities. Vocational and Adult Education. dents to discover a variety of cultural and community issues. Many communities have special holidays, foods and activities. Su'ested Guest Ow- Military recruit Displays can be made of upcoming events ESL program director in the community, including parades, fairs Speakers: and arts and craft shows. Students will Weatherman 1* Successful past students gain interest in the events and familiarity 0- Chef with what to expect through these visuals. 10. Immigrants who have pursued various training opportunities or have Special Events achieved their desired occupations Roresentatives from: ESL or adult education programs can host 0- Government workers at all levels special events to encourage the communi- ). Employment agencies ty to join with their classes. Some sugges- 0. Health care workers Volunteer organizations tions are game nights, popcorn and movie i Legal system workers 0- Local community colleges and nights, cultural displays, or on-site dinners universities for elderly or homeless people. 10, Performing artists/authors Students can work in the classroom 0- Animal shelter worker Ps. Local chambers of commerce, on a community action project to help oth- industry councils 0- Students' coworkers or employers ers in need or to make life a little brighter I* Forest service (Smokey Bear) for others in the community or beyond. 10. Law enforcement workers One way for classes to reach out might 9l4- Service organizations (Rotary, Ow Fireman, EMT involve finding community partners, agen- Kiwanis, etc.) cies in the community such as churches or Teacher of the deaf ko Red Cross (disaster preparation) local ethnic or community-based organiza- 0- Auto mechanic tions that would be interested in collabo- Local businesses ratingwith thestudentstoproduce 10, Skin care/hair care professional

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t 1 liardsv To order your examination copy please contact us today! 58 BEST COPY AVAILABLE CAMBRIDGE ESL/EFL Marketing *4(01est 20th StreetNew York, NY 10011 UNIVERSITY PRESS 800-872-7423212=64-5960 (fax)[email protected] MalaysiaPromotes Excellence in English

BY VINODINI MURUGESAN

English is one legacy of more than a Today, however, Bahasa Malaysia is solidly Malaysian public. century's worth of British colonial rule and irrevocably established as the official in Malaysia. It is the most important language of Malaysia, thus clearing the way English in Education foreign language in Malaysia and is used for a new emphasis on the importance ofMalaysian students usually receive English extensively in practically all aspects of daily English without posing a threat to the status instruction in two distinct ways. Most of life, from conducting business transactions to of the official language in any way. The gov- them attend the public English language edu- labeling products to writing jingles for tele- ernment has issued a nationwide exhortation cation system in government schools during vision advertisements. English and the offi- to the people to achieve a high standard ofthe day, and depending on need, background cial language of Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia, proficiency in English, providing incentivesand preference, receive instruction from both play a vital role in binding together a and encouragement in various forms. either private language centers or qualified multicultural nation made up largely of three As the primary foreign language in freelance teachers in the evenings. Of course, separate and distinct racesthe Malay, the Malaysia (often labeled "second language" some students exclusively attend private Chinese and the Indians. These groups differ due to its importance and not always from a schools where English is the language of in both appearance and mother tongue and strictly pedagogic perspective), English is instruction. rely on one or both of these shared languages evident everywhere. Most people use itor English is a compulsory subject in both to communicate outside their primary and secondary school, ethnic groups (in some cases and isgenerally taught in even within them). English and mainstreampublicschools Bahasa Malaysia help unite from the first year of school people and create a unique until the last (eleven years in national consciousness. all). There are usually five periods of English in a week, The Role of English totaling up to 200 minutes or in Malaysia roughly three and a half hours. The importance of the English MN There are three major language as a global lingua examinations throughout the franca has always been a major school years, all of which fea- motivating factor in the learning ture English as a core paper. and use of the language in The first is at the end of pri- Malaysia, especially as a vehi- mary schoolinYear Six cle to gain information in sci- (UPSR or Primary School ence and technology. Also, as a Evaluation Certificate),the member of the world order second at the end of lower sec- increasingly embracing global- ondary in Form Three (PMR ization via the Internet and the or Lower Secondary School Information Age, Malaysia is Certificate), and the third at aware of the vital need to be lit- the end of upper secondary in erate in English in order to access the wealth a uniquely Malaysian colloquial form of it Form Five (SPM or Malaysian School of data available and achieve a reasonablecalled Malaysian English or "Manglish"to Certificate). After taking this last exam, stu- measure of success and stature in trade andhold ordinary conversations, give ordinary dents may choose to enter Form Six, which is industry. directions or make ordinary remarks. comprised of two years' work and leads to Despite its history, Malaysia has recent- Local television channels screen a wide theSTPMexamination(theHigher ly seen a sharp decline in English languagevariety of English cartoons, serials, dramas Malaysian School Certificate), and thence- proficiency, which has provoked the imple- and films in the original language, often sub- forward on to university. Other options mentation of certain measures calculated to titled in Bahasa Malaysia, while cinemas include continuing education at private col- check this and prevent itsrecurrence. The usually add Chinese and Tamil subtitles to leges or entering one of the many post-school decline is largely due to a backwash effectEnglish movie releases as well. A few matriculation programs available according from a change implemented in the early English language films and sitcoms have also to interest. 1960s and 1970s when Bahasa Malaysia been written and produced locally, featuring Competence in English is highly prized replaced English as the medium of instruc- local actors, and these have been quite suc- whatever the field of interest, and students tion in schools and as the language used for cessful. No English language entertainment are aware that getting a good grade in officialmatters.Intheearlydays of import is ever dubbed; this treatment is usu- English greatly increases the chances of Malaysia's independence, it was necessaryally reserved for Japanese, Korean or Latin acceptance at both local and foreign univer- for this fledgling multiracial and multicultur- American soap operas. A good proportion ofsities as well as providing a coveted edge in al nation to establish an official language tolocal radio stations broadcast exclusively in the workplace. manifest and reinforceitssovereignty. English, and these are very popular with the In addition to mainstream public prima-

26 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 ry schools, Malaysia has a substantial num- speaking skills. class, although the figure can drop to as low ber of vernacular primary schools in which Recently, the Ministry of Education as 35 or rise to as high as 45. lessons are conducted using either Chinese announced its intention to implement a radi- or Tamil as the medium of instruction. In cal step to improve the standard of English in The Teachers these schools, one hour of English must be Malaysiai.e., shifting the medium ofMost of theEnglishteachersinthe taught per week at the very minimum, begin- instruction for the subjects of science and Malaysian public school system are gradu- ning in Year Four through to Year Six. (From mathematics back to English. The change isates of government universities or teacher 2003 onwards, however, English lessons will to take place gradually over the next few training institutes, which offer a wide range begin in Year One.) Schools are given auton- years, implemented in a carefully plannedof courses from English language and lin- omy to decide if they will only fulfill this "staggered" way to allow time for students guistics to TESL (Teaching of English as a minimum or allot more time to English. and teachers to fully adjust to the changeSecond Language) to English literature There are no vernacular secondary schools, before the national examinations are official- degrees. Many university graduates from however, and students must fulfill an extra ly held in English for these two core subjects. other fields like science and geography as year of school focusing on an intensive study The rationale behind this rather controversial well as English language graduates with of both Bahasa Malaysia and English before (but potentially extremely effective) method B.A.s instead of B.Ed.s enter the teaching they are integrated into a mainstream sec- is that students will learn English while gain- profession after completing a post-degree ondary school. This year of transition ing knowledge in science and mathematics,teaching certificate in a teacher-training col- between primary and secondary education is thus providing a much greater exposure to lege. The government has also conducted called the Remove Form and is compulsory English as a language as compared to mere- scholarship programs for twin degrees forallstudents of vernacular primary ly learning it as one subject with limited between local teacher training institutes and schools. class time. This will also prevent students foreign universities in Britain and New Some years ago, basic requirements forfrom compartmentalizing English as an Zealand in an effort to maintain an adequate a passing grade in both the PMR and SPM unnecessary or too-difficult subject (which number of fully qualified ESL teachers with were upgraded, as were the papers them- often happens in rural schools with limited a correspondingly high standard of the lan- selves, in an effort to redress the plummeting exposure to the language) as well as prevent guage. standards of English. The SPM 322 exami- students from taking English lightly since English language teaching methodolo- nation was conjoined with the Cambridge their academic performance will be severely gy is exhaustively covered as part of B.Ed. 1119 "0" Level paper to produce a hybridjeopardized if they do not master the actual degree requirements, together with a pletho- which was altogether far more challenging science and mathematics subject matter. ra of related skills like educational theory, than the old model. A few years later, a liter- Also, the creation of a new generation oflinguistics, phonetics and teaching tech- ature component was added to both papers, graduates who are fluent in English not only niques. Although short practical teaching including a carefully selected range of poet- as a communicative device but as a technical stints are interspersed regularly throughout ry and prose to further jumpstart student and scientific tool will greatly facilitatethe course, a final three-month teaching interest in the language. The SPM English Malaysia's aim of becoming a fully industri- practicum is conducted at the end of the aca- examination incorporating this component alized nation by the year 2020. demic session, and a reasonably high grade made its debut in 2000 while the PMR paper in this component is essential before the did so in 2002. Students were, of course, The Students degree can be awarded. This provides the given two years to prepare themselves for theBy the time English lessons are formally student-teacher with an invaluable hands-on new element in the language paper. Teachers taught in public schools, most pupils are rea- experience with English language teaching, attended in-service courses organized by thesonably proficient in their first languages, so that both pedagogic theory and practical Education Ministry to help them cope with which influences their learning of English in teaching guidelines can be optimally merged the change in examination format and toeither a positive or a negative way. First lan- in the language classroom. ground them in the basics of understanding guage interference is to be expected in such and teaching literature. a melting pot of languages and cultures, andThe Classroom and Syllabus Up to 2002, the SPM examination had teachers must be prepared to select and uti- Malaysian public school students usually an oral examination component which was lize the best teaching approaches to negate or stay in a classroom, and subject teachers graded based on the candidate's comprehen- counteract it. move between the classes, except in certain sion of a dialogue and ability to respond to In general, location and backgroundsubjects like science or living skills which pictorialstimuli. However, thistest was play an important part in determining stu- may require laboratory facilities. Most class- found to be woefully inadequate since stu-dents' attitudes towards English. Urban rooms have notice boards along the walls dents' proficiency in speaking English con- pupils have more exposure to the language as where the language teacher can put up any tinued to drop to the point where prospective well as more opportunities to use it. In fact,charts or visual aids, and the students can employers in both government and private there are a growing number of children display their work. sectors complained about the inability of whose first language is English and who may English is generally taught using gov- graduates to converse in even the most rudi- be termed native speakers since their parentsernment issued textbooks which have been mentary situations. This year, a new oral have chosen to use only English in the homeprepared according to the national English exam was designed and implemented, aimed instead of their ethnic languages. Children language syllabus guidelines set out by the at truly improving students' verbal skills by living in rural areas tend to have little expo-Ministry of Education, although teachers are continuous assessment over a period of two sure to English except whatever is available encouraged to diversify their materials and years rather than a single test, in which the through the radio or television, and so tend to use sources other than the textbook alone as examiners are the students' English teachers be more negative towards learning the lan- long as they achieve the language teaching at their own schools. Students are given a guage. objectives for each language lesson. Schools choice of what form their oral test takes (i.e., These differences in background result set out the annual scope of work at the begin- individual presentation, group discussion, in mixed-ability groups in the English lan- ning of each academic year to synchronize dialogue, etc.) and they are allowed to take guage classroom, with students ranging from what is taught so that examinations may be the tests as often as they wish to in order to highly proficient to complete beginners. set fairly. Nevertheless, teachers must still gain a better score. It is hoped that this will Classes are not streamed according to levelsdecide on the level of language work given prove more practical than the previous oral of English proficiency, so teachers have to for each individual class within a particular exam and provide a growing Malaysian deal with the range of abilities as best they topic and within a particular skill, depending workforce withatleast basic Englishcan. Class sizes average 40 students per on students' language proficiency in a partic-

27 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 0 ular class. Students usually have their own Board, based on competence levels in the ficiency among graduates. Malaysia has high dictionaries, and most language teachers use four linguistic skills. numbers of foreign students taking local some form of workbook for classwork or Other centers offer English for academ- degrees since Malaysian education is recog- homework. Schools usually have their ownic purposes, usually attended by foreign stu- nized worldwide and is comparatively more libraries and language laboratories. Somedents who find it difficult to keep up with affordable. The government aspires to make schools have special self-access learningacademic courses due to a lack of proficien-Malaysia"TheRegionalCentrefor centers where students can go to improve cy in English. Examples of these courses are Educational Excellence" in accordance with their linguistic skills whenever they are free. the intensive English program (IEP) and theits Vision 2020. The syllabus is based on a communica- semi-intensive English program offered at There are a number of off-shore cam- tive model of teaching English according tomost centers. Most language centers alsopuses of foreign universities in Malaysia a skill-based approach. The four languageoffer the basic English language tests needed offering degree courses in English studies. skills (reading, writing, listening and speak- for entrance into both local and foreign uni- Monash University of Australia is one of ing) are specifically targeted by sequencedversitiesthe TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridgethese,aswellastheUniversityof activities, although lately,a new system 1119 English. Basically, it is the private lan- Nottingham (U.K.) and Curtin University of based on "multiple intelligences" instead of guage centers' ability to prepare students for Technology in Sarawak. All these universi- the four skills is being used to increase lan- these internationally recognized language ties offer degree courses and selected post- guage competence among Malaysian stu-examinations that ensures their status in the graduate degrees in English. dents. These "multiple intelligences" are eyes of the public. roughly divided into three domains: informa- Concurrently,teachers inprivate Opportunities for tional use of the language, aesthetic appreci- English language centers are reputed to beTeachers in Malaysia ation of the language, and language for inter-more highly specialized than those in theMalaysia remains one of the most open personal communication. In this way, stu- public sector, some holding post-graduateplaces in the world when it comes to job dents are expected to gain a holistic knowl- degrees in ESL or EFL. Many expatriates opportunities. While the public school sys- edge of the language as well as the ability to work as language teachers in private schools, tem is only open to those with an excellent employ it towards any purpose. and since most are native speakers of English command of Bahasa Malaysia, since that is from developed nations, this provides much the medium of instruction, the private school Inservice Support of the impetus which prompts locals to send system as well as the colleges, language cen- Teachers receive a great deal of support from their children to these centers for Englishters and universities welcome any qualified the Ministry of Education, which regularlylessons. Any parent would prefer his child toteacher into their ranks. conducts inservice training courses, semi-learn English from a native speaker rather nars, conferences and workshops on variousthan someone who has acquired it as a sec- Vinodini Murugesan has been an English topics of pedagogic interest when the needond language, despite paper qualifications language teacher in a rural public secondary arises. The Ministry of Education has recent- which bear witness to an equal level ofschool in Malaysia for the past four years. lyestablishedtheEnglishLanguage English language proficiency. Her classes include Form Three ( 15 year Teaching Center specifically to provide in- olds) and Form Five (17 year olds). Her spe- service training programs to update andEnglish and Tertiary Education cial interests include literature and drama. upgrade English language classroom teach- Withsixteenfully ers' skills and expertise. funded government universities offering a Private English Language Education wide range of courses Apart from being a compulsory subject inin English (linguistics government public schools, private English as well as education language centers found in all major citiesdegrees), there is no A complete language-learning "kit"! and most towns in Malaysia offer English shortage of English language courses tailored to meet the indi- degrees available to vidual needs of people, whether personal or the public. The oldest professional. Private primary and secondary and largest university, schools that use English as the medium ofthe University of instruction in all subjects are open to all who Malaya, has the Flash Cards & Sticky Labels can afford the fees. These schools are usual- largest English depart- ly attended by students whose parents feelment and a separate that they would prefer an English-medium English literature Colorful Illustrations, Crosswords instruction for their children instead of the degree offered under publicschoolsystem which generally the arts and social sci- employs Bahasa Malaysia as the language ofences department. instruction. Private schools like Garden Post-graduate degrees International School are popular with both in English are also "I've found nothing else Malaysians as well as expatriates. available at many gov- that is as versatile, simple There are language centers offering ernment universities. and easy to use." English courses for specific purposes, usual- In 1999, the ly patronized by those eager to improve their Malaysian govern- command of the language for advancementment introduced the in a specific career or in a specific field (i.e., Malaysian University communicative English or CEP, business English Test (MUET) communication, company contract training, as a prerequisite for Bilingual Books, Inc.(800) etc). For instance, employers who want to students planning to evaluate their staff's level of language profi- study at local universi- 488-5068www.bbks.com ciency for any purpose can register them forties in order to estab- the English Language Skills Assessment lish and maintain a (ELSA) conducted by the London Chamberhigh standard of of Commerce and Industry Examinations English language pro- 28 , s ESL MAGAZINEMARCH/APRIL 2003 /IMMO 011111 r".-1 Email Rules! BY GUEST COLUMNIST Tom RIEDMILLER

/n the old days of Internet, using email for thejob search used Using company email can work against you in another way. to be an edge. It showed you were technically savvy and putA prospective employer might not like seeing that you are net- you on the "short list" because you were easy to gethold of. working or job-hunting on your company's system. Get yourself It got you noticed and hired. Those days are gone. a personal email account. Now it's as common as your telephone number. You commu- 10. DON'T SEND ATTACHED FILES. Did I scare you nicate with colleagues and, yes, prospective employers on theiragain? Some older systems may render attached files to electron- own terms. However, rules for using email are like rulesfor gram- ic dust. Some larger files may even make someone's email marthey change depending on the situation. So, here are some "crash." Moreover, a virus might take a ride in the attachment. rules for email. These are not the be-all and end-all but reflectThese are things that a busy boss does not want to experience on twelve years of experience, failure and success with electronic a bad day. If you have to send attachments, take some time to consider communication. I. What? You don't have email? Get it! 'Nut* said. whom you are mailing to. In an informal survey of about 30 ESL 2. Put that email on your résumé. It is just as important asprogram directors, only about 10% felt "comfortable"dealing with attachments. Others said that it might involve assistance your phone number. 3. Use grammar and spell checkers! After reading this emailfrom others. that I received a couple years ago, you can see how important it is 11. Relax and enjoy using email. It's your most useful job to think before you hit the "send" button: "Hello! My name is Ima search tool, but use it with care; the way you use it reflects on you Teacher. I found your advertisement in Dave's am as a potential employee. extremely interested in the teaching position that youre offering. I have a university degree in English and Education and a DiplomaTom Riedmiller teaches in the Culture and Intensive English of Second Language teaching Although I have not taught inProgram at the University of Northern Iowa, Iowa, USA. He is the an Arabic country, I can adjust and adapt well inforeign coun-Associate Convention Chair for the TESOL 2003 conference. You tries. I have language abilities in Japanese and Spanish and are acan reach him via his webpage http://fp.uni.eduiriedmill. native English speaker. I would like to foward my résumé, cover letter and professional reference for consideration however I am hestitant to try as you have stated, this is an "all male school", implying students or teachers included. Please reply as to whether Everyone deserves a there is any reason for me to apply. Regards, Ima Teacher. Did you find the errors? If not, I hear MacDonald's is hiring. good story. 4. Ditch the smileys :-) and abbreviations like IMHO. And at all costs, cut the shorthand coz if u use shrthnd thn u r sunk. Email to a potential boss is still a business letter. 5. Follow up with email quickly. While that letter is in the mail, the job could be offered to someone else. Follow up on an interview or telephone contactbut remember to balance that with the enduring nature of "snail mail." Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid Arranged Marriage by Chirra Divakaruni 6. Avoid Spam! Make your message hot, fresh and personal. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Don't cold email if you don't have to. Consider this: What do House of the Winds by Mis Yun YOU do with spam besides putting it on a sandwich? If you're A Good Scent front a Strange Mountain like me, you delete it without a thought. by Robert Olen Butler 7. Look at these examples and then try to guess what Rule Number 7is:[email protected], [email protected], Views and Voices: [email protected]. In other words, cut the cute. 8. Look before you leap. It may not be Halloween, but some Writers of English Around the World emails will come back to haunt you later. Ima Teacher should be Valerie WhiresonFrancoise Beniston Original, unedited stories from prized collections of fiction by scared to death. Do you take part in Internet discussion lists like international authors, complete with glossed vocabulary, compre- TESL-L? Then reconsider sending that poisoned pen email to that hension exercises, and Internet explorationsall for ESL learners! numbskull on the discussion list. He could be the director reading ISBN: 1-882483-87-i $16.95plus shipping and handling your résumé. 9. Don't use your business email for your job search. Alta Book Center Publishers

Personal use of those services can be legal grounds for discharge. 14Adrian Court Burlingame, California 94010 USA I personally think employers have better things to do than see Phone: 800 ALTA/ESL650.692.1285 (International)

what kind of jokes you're sending to your grandmother in Florida, Fax: 800 ALTA/FAX650.692.4654 (International) but there are some ogres that see it as a company resource that is Email: info@altaestcom Website: www.altaesl.com being abused. 29 ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 .t171 82 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Franklin Electronic Publishers Heinemann Books by the Providing your students Best in the Business with a Franklin speaking dictionaryislike Including: CATALOG having an extra teacher's aide in your Yvonne & David classroom. Your ESL Freeman SHOWCASE students will be able to look up and hear words Maureen Barbieri Stay current with the latest they encounter as well Stephen Cary as explore words at products and services for their own pace with a Pauline Gibbons 15;.\111101mosif real sense of independence. ESL/EFL professionals. Stephen Krashen Irgelltrt jle. mann K 12 To placeyour catalog or product in the Call for a free catalog! Catalog Showcase, call 410-570-0746. Franklin Electronic Publishers Contact Customer Service 800-525-9673 800-225-5800 or visit us online at www.franklin.com www.heinemann.com Instant Immersion Ingres Don't Let Our Name Pronunciation Power Products Millions of people Fool You! worldwide have Exciting new English discovered the pronunciation software!Aglatti. value of INSTANT World of Reading I IMMERSION, the offers the largest a. most effective range of ESL soft- View our new demo movies and interactive program available through forlearningto wareK demos at: SPEAK English adultall at dis- www.englishlearning.com quickly. Developed by a team of linguistic counted prices. experts & university professorsINSTANT Instructions for beginners, available in 12 IMMERSION INGLES is presented entirely languages. Site licenses are available. in Spanish and utilizes the same methods used inuniversitylevel language programs and ESL curriculums. Call for our 2003print catalog: For more information TOPICS Entertainment 404-2334042or800-729-3703 call 1-780-448-1032 or visit our website: 425-656-3621www.topics-ent.com or visit us online atwww.wor.com. www.englishlearning.com . . ijJ WIAN'L-`4 I want ESL Magazine at the low Introductory ratel I understand I must fill out this form,sign and fax It . to the number below with my credit card information, or mall It to the address below with payment I/1 Cs14, Gra"..mn Special Introductory Rate: C L' 1 Year (6 issues) Environmen U.S./P.R.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95*, Outside North America: $34.95*. pi (or 2 Years (12 issues)U.S./P.R.: $32.95, Canada/Mexico: $49.95*, Outside North America: $69.95*. Name Payment Title OCheck or Money Order.Must be enclosed and made out to ESL Magazine. Organization 0 Purchase Order. O Credit Card. 0 Visa 0 MasterCard Address City Card # State/Province Postal Code Country Exp. Date. ED- Phone Signature Date (in case of a problem with your order) (required) Subscription price: Signature Date (required) Maryland residents add 5% sales tax: TOTAL Please take a moment to answer these questions: 1.. Please indicate your specific position. (check 1)3. Do you work in a public or private institution? 6. What dollar amount (U.S.) of a. 0 teacherb. 0 administrator a. D public b. 0 private ESL materials/services do c. 0 director z. 0 other 4. Do you purchase ESL teaching materials you purchase each year? 2. What level of ESL do you work with? or services? a. 0 0-$999 a. 0 elementary (Pre-K-6th grade) a. 0 yes b. 0 no b. 0 $1000-$4,999 b. 0 middle school (7-8th grade) 5. What kind of materials or services c. 0 $5000-$10,000 c. 0 high school (9-12th grade) d. 0 Over $10,000 d. 0 college/university would you purchase? e. 0 IEP/Intensive Language Center a. 0 books 1.O educational trips 7. What is your highest earned f. 0 adult education b. 0 software S.O travel insurance academic degree? g. 0 teacher preparation c. 0 video h.O map and a. 0 Bachelors or equivalent d. 0 hardware geography materialsb. 0 Masters or equivalent e. 0 audio z.O other c. 0 Doctorate prices in U.S.$ and must be paid in U.S. funds from US. bank Photocopy this FAX card for additional subscriptions. THIS FORM TO 630-214-2888 (must include credit card information) or mail with payment to: ESL Magazine, 220 McKendree Ave.,Annapolis, MD 21401

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Today's complex and multilingual world demands a variety of English language assessments forstudents interested in living, studying, and working in English- speaking countries. Recognizing this need, the CollegeBoard has designed these assessments for English as a Foreign Language and English as a Second Languagestudents. Choose One or Bothfor Your Institution

part of SAT® II: Subject Tests, tests students'understanding of spoken and written standard American English and their ability to useEnglish in the classroom and in daily life. The test concentrates onevaluating academic and practical use of the language with lessemphasis on grammar and usage than might befound on other English language tests. For more information on ELPT, please call 800 784-1462.

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LIBRARYVIDEO COMPANY. Educational Video Produced Sesame English a) 2003 Sesame Workshop (New York), Sesame English, Sesame Making Educational Media Work For Schools & Libraries. To Meet Your Standards. orkshop and associated characters and logos are trademarks of Sesame Workshop 5. All rights reserved. www.eslmag.com May/June 2003 \O" US $3 q5,,, Canada $4 95 e Sperling's Guide to the st Writing Websites Online TESL/TEFL Training MAGAZINEDiscovering Bin tional Centers TION SOURCE FOR SIONALS WORLDWIDE

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Studying Working Building a future To succeed in the world, your students need the strongest command of English you can help them achieve With a three-tier assessment and training program from ETS, you can now help your students achieve the real-life language skills they'll need wherever English is spoken Choose all three, or select the individual programs you need LanguEdgeT® Courseware brings the most advanced English immersion training into your classroom, helping your students master every critical aspect of communication, including reading, listening, writing, and speaking TOEFL® ITP (Institutional Testing Program) gives you an on-site language assessment program that pinpoints your students' English skill levels, so you can determine areas of need and measure outcomes Criterions® Online Writing Evaluation offers you an online diagnostic tool that assesses writing skills, provides instant feedback on essay submissions, and helps you tailor your lessons for even greater effectiveness Find out how these tools will enhance your English Language Program and prepare your students for the biggest test of allLife

Visit us online at: 6 Inside the U.S.: Outside the U.S.: EFL Phone: 1-800-241-5393 Phone: 1-609-683-2328 www.toefl.org/life.html Test of Eneltsh as a Roar Lenguaee Email: [email protected] Fax: 1-609-683-2366 Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2003 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. Eduetip Testing Service, ETS, and the ETS logo, TOEFL and the TOUL logo are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service. LanguEdge, Criterion, Test of English as a Fo/gn Language, and The Real Test is Life are trademarks of Educational Testing Service. BEST COPY AVAILABLE May/June 2003 Vol. 6, No. 3

FEATURES Your Online Companion: ESL Textbook Websites by Owen Murray and Nevitt Reagan 10 Dave Sperling's Guide to the Internet's Best Writing Resources by Dave Sperling 14 Page 10 Online TESL/TEFL Training by Thomas Nixon 22

Binational Centers: Teaching English and Building Friendships in the Americas by William Ancker 26

DEPARTMENTS Editor's Note 4 Letters to the Editor 5 News Briefs 6 Page 14 Conference Calendar 7 Reviews 20 Catalog Showcase 30

COLUMNS Christine Meloni's Networthy 8 Greg Kessler's Technology 13 Richard Firsten, The Grammar Guy 18 Tom Riedmiller's Employment Focus 29 Page 22

Who's Reading ESL Magazine?

Tom Pinkham Executive Director Literacy Volunteers of AmericaDanbury, Inc. Free resources for Celebrating its 25th year teachers at of teaching English as a www.eslmag.com second language and American culture in the Danbury, Connecticut area. Page 26

ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 '68 BEST COPY AVAILABLE I ESL MAGAZINE The magazine for English as a For "e-novices" and Second Language professionals.

Pub/isher "techno-gurus" GEORGEH.CLEMES,III

Editorial Director MARILYN ROSENTHAL elcome to our annual technology issue! E-novices, techno-gurus and Editor everyone in between will find useful information on technology to KATHLEENR.BEALL

assist in teaching English. Contributing Editors WILLIAM ANKER

Owen Murray and Nevitt Reagan have evaluated numerous "companion RICHARD FIRSTEN

DANIELB.FREEMAN websites"sites designed by publishers to augment their printed materials. GREG KESSLER These sites provide teachers and students with a wide variety of supplemental CHRISTINE MELONI OWEN MURRAY

materials and activitieswithout the burden of a heavy textbook! THOMAS NIXON

NEVITT REAGAN Dave Sperling, Internet and TESL guru himself, has scoured the Web for TOM RIEDMILLER

the best sites to support writing instruction. His list is a great resource, and his DAVE SPERLING enthusiasm for the Internet is contagious! Webmaster CHARLES FOWLER

Whether you are new to the field of ESL/EFL or a veteran teacher, there Advertising Sales 410-570-0746 may be online teacher training opportunities for you. Online higher education 630-214-2888 (fax) [email protected]

is in the early stages of development, but according to Thomas Nixon's article, Subscription Information Introductory rate:1 year, 6 issues, U.S.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95, outside it will continue to gain ground. Online programs help teachers overcome some North America: $34.95. All prices in U.S. $ and must be paid in U.S. funds. To sub- of the limits of time and distance to acquire the training they want. scribe, fill out subscription form on page 29 (photocopy additional forms if necessary) and mail with payment to: ESL Binational centers have a long history of promoting cultural understand- Magazine, 220 McKendree Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or fax subscrip- ing and exchange between the United States and countries in Latin America. tion form with credit card information to 630-214-2888. Please call 410-570-0746 for all other inquiries. Bill Ancker tells the story of binational centers and their activities including ESL Magazine is published bimonthly by Bridge Press, tic English language teaching, a very prominent feature of binational centers. 220 McKendree Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401 All the best! [email protected] www.eslmag.com

ISSN: 1098-6553 9-7"a44-17"- ESL Magazine is abstracted and Marilyn Rosenthal indexed with ERIC. Editorial Director 69 © 2003 Bridge Press, u.c. all rights reserved. 4 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Developing Listening Skills Bringing the Community with Authentic Materials into the Classroom "Developing Listening Skills with Thank you for publishing Kathleen Authentic Materials" is a very practi-Olson's article about ways to bring cal article. Miller has some great ideasthe community into the classroom. for finding and using interesting mate-We really are wasting our students' rials for teaching listening skills.I time if we don't make our classes as look forward to incorporating these"real world" as possible. I plan to into my classes. It was also enlighten-spend time this summer contacting Write Lie! Send letters to [email protected] or ESL Magazine, ing to see just how inauthentic somecommunity representatives to partici- 220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401. listening materials are! In my classespate in our classes. Include your name and position or address. of college-bound ESL students, I have BECKY TAI used academic lecture listening mate- Atlanta, GA Developing the Reading Skills rials prepared for ESL students. These of Adults Learning English materials were not very authentic, butTeaching English in Malaysia Thank you for Miriam Burt's andthey were convenient and came as a Thank you for the excellent article Joy Kreeft Peyton's excellent articlenice set of tapes with a student work-on English teaching in Malaysia. It's on adult literacy. The summary of thebook of learning activities to accom-exciting to read about a country that six types of first language literacy ispany the "lectures." I think that conve-finds strength in the preservation and very concise and the special consider- nience is one of the main reasonspromotion of its own language along ations listed for each is very helpful.teachers use materials that may not bewith English. The various ethnic Thisisa great tool especially foras authentic as they would like. Thankgroups are bonded together through teachers with classes of students fromyou for educating us on authenticitythese two languagesa reminder that all over the world with all kinds of lit-and challenging us to make the learn-unity within a nation does not require eracy backgrounds. ing experience as real as possible. a single, dominant language. TAMSEY DILLENBECK CATHY COFFMAN ANDREW FORD Charlottesville, VA Alexandria, VA Clearwater, FL OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS New ESL Novel A Great Summer Read! Disturbing The Peace (HarperCollins) is the latest novel by notable author \ el\ wan American Nancy Newmana warm, funny novel about a dedicated ESL teacher's search to be discover the truth about a family secret. l'ea

"A delicious foray into the frenzied world of a single woman searching for her identity...chock-full of interesting characters and wicked insights." Booklist

American Headway is ideal for adults and young "Sarah appears to have it all...But while interviewing a handsome $13.95 paperback. adults who want to use English accurately. Romanian immigrant...she reveals a secret she has hidden her entire Available in Grammar and vocabulary are taught and life...it's difficult not to feel bookstores explained thoroughly. touched..." everywhere or at Publisher's Weekly Amazon.com. Every unit contains integrated skills work. "The theme of ESL is not the main Visit the author's Material is up-to-date and from authentic sources. interest...but the ESL references are accurate and hold the reader's inter- website at est. Read it for fun..." www.disturbing ESL Magazine, July/August 2002 thepeace.ws r ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 70 BEST COPY AVAILABLE5 NEWS BRIEFS

Online Library of New Online TOEFL Educational Software Preparation Product The Educational Software Cooperative has launched istance Learning, Inc. (DLI), a a software download site, a collection of diverse provider of Web-based English software from the trade association's 140+ mem- language training solutions and bers. Located at http://www.edu-soft.org/padlib/, the soft- services,and American Language ware library is open to members and non-members. One Academy (ALA), a provider of lan- can browse the download site by category, from class- guage learning software products and room tools and educational games to English skills, math, training content, recently announced and reading applications. One can also perform keyword their comprehensive online TOEFL preparation package, searches of the software database by title, company name, which combines ALA's courseware with DLI's digital or software description. The website's "New Releases" publishing. ALA's course (also on CD-ROM) is designed section highlights the latest educational software avail- to prepare ESL/EFL students for the Test of English as a able to the public. In most cases, a free, fully-functional Foreign Language. It integrates the latest computer tech- 30-day trial version of software can be downloaded. The nology, including digitized voice capabilities, with the programs that are purchased are the latest versions avail- structure of a computer-based TOEFL test. The course- able directly from the authors. The Educational Software ware gives students context-sensitive feedback and offers Cooperative is a nonprofit corporation bringing together them guidance and suggestions for making the right developers, publishers, distributors, and users of educa- choice the next time. It also provides students with test- tional software. taking skills and strategies. Commission Submits Final Report on Educational Needs of Hispanic Americans In October, 2001, President Bush charged a presidential reading at or above proficient on the National Assessment of advisory commission with developing an action plan to close Educational Progress by 30 percentage points and meet or the educational achievementgapfor Hispanic Americans. exceed the annual measurable objectives defined in each The Commission held 11 meetings and four bilingual town hall respective state's accountability plan. forums in which they talked and listened to more than 1,600 3. Reinforce a high-quality teaching profession by fully experts, parents, teachers, students and business and com- preparing all teachers to address the diverse needs of their munity leaders. On March 31, 2003, the Commission submit- students, including Hispanics, those with disabilities and ted to the President a planFrom Risk to Opportunitytothose with limited English proficiency by attracting more close the achievement gap for Hispanic American children. Hispanics to the teaching profession, and by providing incen- The Commission found that the nation is losing Hispanictives and compensation for successful performance as evi- American students all along the education continuum: denced by improved student achievement. Launch a national One of every three Hispanic American students study of the curricula, practica, student teaching fails to complete high school. experiences and the models used to integrate Only 10 percent of Hispanic Americans graduate these preparation formats employed by colleges from four-year colleges and universities, with ITO of education to prepare educators for reading fewer than 100,000 graduating each year. instruction of diverse children. Too many Hispanic American families lack the 4. Initiate a new coherent and compre- knowledge to fulfill the high expectations they hensive research agenda on the educational have for their children, and too many Americans From Risk to Opportunity development of Hispanic Americans across the set low expectations for them. educational spectrum from preschool through 11.1S IrCe.37 postsecondary. The federal government does not adequately monitor, measure and coordinate programs and 5. Ensure full access for Hispanic Ameri- research to the benefit of Hispanic American can students to enter college and demand children and their families, despite the rapidly growing greater accountability in higher education for Hispanic grad- Hispanic American population in the U.S. uation rates. Challenge the nation's postsecondary institutions to graduate 10 percent more Hispanic American stu- The Commission recommends six strategies: dents from colleges and universities each year, than are cur- 1. Set new and high expectations for Hispanic American rently graduating, over the next decade. Urge institutions to children by helping parents navigate the educational system, explore the increased development of retention programs that creating partnerships that can provide expanded options for would benefit Hispanic American students. children, and implementing a nationwide public awareness 6. Create increased federal accountability and coordi- and motivation campaign aimed at increasing educational nation. Increase the accountability and coordination of pro- attainment and achieving the goal of a college education. grams within the federalgovernmentto better serve Hispanic 2. The Commission strongly supports full implementa- American children and their families. tion and full enforcement of No Child Left Behind. The For more information go to http://www.yesican.gov/ Commission challenges the states and school districts to, paceea/final.html. within five years, increase the percentage of fourth graders 71 6 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 54 NEWS BRIEFS IEP Survey Reveals Decline in New Bilingual Publication Answers International Enrollment Parents' FAQs about School The results of a recent survey of intensive English preguntas que Hacen Los Padres Sobre Las Escuelas programs could be an early indication of a trend (Questions Parents Ask About Schools) is a bilin- toward declining international student enrollments gual publication from the U.S. Department of in the United States this fall. The Institute of International Education that answers questions frequently asked by par- Education flash survey queried the membership of the ents of elementary and middle-school-aged children who American Association of Intensive English Programs want to help their children learn and succeed. It suggests (IEPs) between May 5 and May 16 via email. IEPs report- effective ways parents can support their child's education. ed a 19 percent decline in total enrollments between 2002 The publication aims to help parents fulfill their important and 2003 and an average anticipated decline of nearly 31 role in their child's academic achievement. By taking percent in this summer's enrollments when compared with steps to become involved in their child's education, par- the summer of 2001. Survey respondents attributed the ents can bridge the gap between home and school to enrollment declines to several factors including a substan- ensure their child's success in learning and in life. The tial increase in visa delays and denials for international research-based tips in this publication provide both guid- students and scholars, concerns about SARS and "internal ance and information about a range of topics: a) prepar- problems" in Columbia and Venezula. Concerns about the ing their child for school; b) knowing what to expect from impact of visa delays on educational exchanges have been their child's kindergarten teacher; c) monitoring school widely reported in the news media and were the subject of work; d) working with schools and teachers effectively; e) a survey by NAFSA and the Association of American helping their child with reading and homework; f) ensur- Universities in October of 2002. Because intensive ing that their child's school is safe and drug-free. To learn English programs offer a number of enrollment dates more, go to http://www.ed.gov/ Family/agbts/Questions/. throughout the year, changing trends in student numbers are more quickly apparent than those for higher education institutions as a whole. What Works Clearinghouse Accepting Nominations Conference Calendar he What Works Clearinghouse of the U.S. May September Department of Education is accepting nominations 3 PennTESOL East. 3-6 EUROCALL 2003. Limerick, for programs, policies, practices, products, and Philadelphia, PA. Website: Ireland. E-mail [email protected]. http://penntesol.org. 13 Teachers of English to studies to be reviewed for inclusion inits Evidence 27-29 Damascus University Speakers of Other Languages Inc. Reports on seven topic areas, one of which is interven- International TEFL Conference. (TESOL) Symposium. Rome, Italy. Damascus, Syria. Contact Waddah Contact 703-836-0774. tions for elementary English language learners. To read AI-Khatib, +963-11-212-0321. 19-21 Panama TESOL. more, go to http://www.w-w-c.org/topicnom.html. 28-29 TESOL Ukraine. Panama City, Panama. Contact Sevastopol, Ukraine. Contact Carlos Prescott, 507-221-5595. Svitlana Gladio, [email protected]. 24-27 Louisiana TESOL. New Orleans, LA. New Survey on Prekindergarten June Contact Susan Ary, [email protected]. 7 Kentucky TESOL. in U.S. Public Schools Cincinatti, OH. Contact Anita October Lewis, 513-674-4244. According to Prekindergarten in 3-5 IATEFL. Budapest, Hungary. U.S. Public 26-28 Korea Association of Contact Eszter Falus, Schools: 2000-2001, a study released recently by Teachers of English. [email protected]. Daejeon, South Korea. Contact the U.S. Department of Education's National Dr. Lee, Hwa-ja, 10-12 INGED-Turkey, Center for Education Statistics, public elementary [email protected]. BETA-Romania, ETAI-Israel and TESOL-Greece Joint Conference. schools enrolled approximately 822,000 children in 27-29 TESOL Academy 2003. Ankara, Turkey. Contact Washington, DC. [email protected]. prekindergarten classes throughout the country. Thirty- Contact 703-836-0774. 17-18 Washington Area TESOL five percent of all public elementary schools, both regu- July (WATESOL). Annandale, VA. lar and those designed for children with disabilities, 10-11 Paraguay TESOL. Asuncion, Contact Paraguay. Contact Andrea Amarilla [email protected]. offered such programs. Among the findings was that 15% Saguier, [email protected]. 17-18 Wisconsin TESOL of prekindergarten students are limited English profi- i 11-13 TESOL Academy 2003. (WITESOL). Eau Claire, WI. Denver, CO. Contact Contact Beth Kozbial Ernst, cient. About half (49 percent) of the children were white, 703-836-0774. [email protected]. 24 percent were Hispanic, 23 percent were black, 3 per- 31-August 2 Japan Association for 18-19 Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). cent were Asian, and 2 percent were American Language Education and Seoul, South Korea. Contact Technology (LET). Osaka, Japan. Yangdon Ju, [email protected]. Indian/Alaska Native. Research on the relationship E-mail [email protected]. 31-1 Michigan TESOL (MITESOL). between children's early care and education and school August Ann Arbor, MI. Contact: Jennifer Warren-Craft, 248-942-3184. readiness has shown the potential importance of enrich- 23-25 URUTESOL. 2003 TESOL Southern Cone Regional 31-1 Washington Association for ing learning experiences for young children. In recent Convention. Montevideo, Uruguay. the Education of Speakers of Other Languages (WAESOL). years, renewed attention has focused on the role that pub- Contact [email protected]. Seattle, WA. Contact: Wanda Hvezda, 509-335-3431. lic schools might play in providing high-quality pro- t71 grams for prekindergarten children. ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 72 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 7 I.11.11111.1 INIMMOSSONNOMS/NNOMO

Popular Songs in American History Hats off to Lesley Nelson for "Popular Songs inand "Blow the Man Down"). American History," her valuable, well-organized This site should prove useful to ESL/EFL teachers at all musicalwebsite(http://www.contemplator.com/educational levels. The songs can be used to teach history america/). Nelson offers visitors lyrics, midi sound files, tuneand culture as well as to develop language skills. information, and the history behind a very large number of songs familiar to Americans (although not all written byBorrowed Words Americans). Another site that teachers will find interestingis "The Most of the featured songs are organized chronological-English Language: Words Borrowed from Other ly. Here are the historical categories with some examplesLanguages"athttp://www.krysstal.com/borrow.html. fromeach: 1)17thCentury: "BarbaraAllen,"Languages are listed alphabetically. Following the name of "Greensleeves," and "Lavender's Blue," 2) French andeach language are words that English borrowed from that Indian War: "The Death of General Wolfe," 3) Thelanguage. Here are a few examples: Afrikaanss/im, Revolutionary War: "Yankee Doodle," 4) War of 1812:Algonquinpecan, Arabicsatin, Danishfog, Dutchskip- "Star Spangled Banner," 5) Early 1800s to the Civil War:per,EtruscanApril,Finnishsauna,Frenchzigzag, "Turkey in the Straw," 6) Civil War: "Tenting Tonight" andGermangenesis, Italianvolcano, Latinveto, Norwegian "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," 7) Post Civil War:walrus , Tagalogboondocks, and Wolofbanana. "Grandfather's Clock," 8) The Gold Rush and Westward Journey: "Clementine" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike," 9)Christine Meloni is senior research associate in the National Cowboys: "Green Grow the Lilacs," 10) After 1900: "CaseyCapital Language ResourceCenterattheGeorge Jones" and "When Irish Eyes are Smiling." Washington University, Washington, DC. She welcomes com- Other categories include Songs of Other Countriesmentsandsuggestionsandcanbereachedat (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Australia) [email protected]. Please include Networthy on the subject and Sea Shanties and Songs of the Sea ("Anchors Aweigh"line of email messages.

Also Available Rosettatone for Learning: Language Learning Success Spanish French German 2001 Districts' Choice Award, halisa Curriculum Administrator Magazine Dutch 7orh_Ttiese :tlOfl On Latin

Russian Individualized instruction for all learning styles Turkish Polish Flexible use for classroom or lab Japanuse Chinese Student &Teacher Study Materials Korean Thai Student Management System for record keeping J ±etrk. m,se Indonesian Aoic f Call for free Demo CD! HehrLw Di! Fairfield Language Technologies(800) 788-0822(540) 432-6166Fax (540) 432-0953 [email protected] www.RosettaStone.com b'ku

8 BESiCOPY AVAILABLE ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 Houghton Mifflin ESL 2004 Dedicated to preparing students for academic success

Grammar Links kI)I NG N1 \TIERS

Thisfour-book seriescombines comprehensive Thisfour-volume seriesuses a communicative, grammar coverage with a communicative teach- integrated skills approach to develop fluency ing approach to help students use grammar in and accuracy in academic reading. Each volume real-world contexts. Each book offers student is paired with student and instructor web sites and instructor web sites with interactive learning featuring interactive learning tools and down- tools. loadable supplements.

Online resources for students: Online resources for students: Flash cardsof key terms support students' Timed reading passagesallow students to track mastery anew concepts and feature a host their reading rates and test comprehension. of interactive tools to track improvement. Flash cardsof key terms support students' ACE practice testshelp monitor students' mastery of new concepts and feature a host progress in English language skills. of interactive tools to track improvement. Web linksto sites related to unit themes give Web linksto sites related to unit themes give context to new material. context to new material. XPRESLINKassists students of all levels in XPRESLINKassists students of all levels in developing language skills by using web sites developing language skills by using web sites to stimulate discussion and writing. to stimulate discussion and writing.

Online resources for instructors: Online resources for instructors: Teaching notesprovide a unit-by-unit Sample syllabiare available to download as overview of each volume in the series. Microsoft Word documents. Tapescriptsallow instructors to follow along and guide students Lhrough listening exercises. Unit tests, sample syllabi, and answer keysare available to download. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

For a free catalog, examination copy, or Online resources for these and information about texts and materials: many other Houghton Mifflin Visit the ESL web site: esl.college.hmco.com ESL books can be found at the Call or fax the Faculty Service Center College Division ESL web site: Tel: 800.733.1717 x4040 Fax: 800333.1810 esl.college.hmco.com Contact your Houghton Mifflin sales representative: instrectors.co!lege.hmco.corn 74 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Your Online Companion: ESL Textbook Websites BY OWEN MURRAY AND NEVITT REAGAN

Having trouble finding goodtiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank quiz-dents to work through online flash- teaching supplements for yourzes for the vocabulary and grammarcards containing words and defini- class? Not sure where to directin each unit. tions from every unit. your students for topical authentic Additional reading and listening Games on companion sites create materials? Don't have the teacher'spassages quiz receptive skills on theengaging opportunities for students to manual for your textbook? The solu-Interactions/Mosaic site. On Hough-work with vocabulary or grammar. tion to these problems could be just aton Mifflin's Reading Matters site,Oxford University Press' Headway few clicks away on your textbook'sstudents can even try timed readingwebsite, for example, includes an companion website. passages. On sites like these, studentsonline game in which users must fly a In the scramble to make a mark inget their scores and correct answersspaceship into floating words to form the new medium of ESL textbookwith just one click. If they havecorrect sentences, without hitting companion websites, publishers areentered a teacher's email address, thewords like"danger." Pearson/ trying to outdo each other in provid-results can be forwarded there as well. Longman's Pingu Loves English web- ing supplemental materials, often site for children has a game-like series specifically adapted to the Internet. of animated videos with English nar- Many already have a multitude of ration to teach prepositions of loca- companion sites up and running tion Pearson/Longman alone has 55 Online tasks for productive sites accompanying ESL text- skills such as speaking and writ- books. What's more, like much ing are more difficult to auto- else on the World Wide Web, mate. As yet, speaking activi- these materials are usually ties are non-existent on ESL free. So, if you use a com- companion sites. For writing mercial ESL textbook, you tasks,the most common can most likely find a web- approach (as on Pearson/ site for it. Longman's Focus on Gram- mar and Thomson/Heinle's Student Resources Go For It!sites) merely Publishers have developed requires students to type sen- two main types of online tence answers into text boxes activities for students: pub- underneath questions. These lisher-produced materials and sites then direct students to those linked to external authentic email their writing to teachers English language websites. The for evaluation, which is not very first type consists of publisher-pro- different from ordinary paper assign- duced quizzes, exercises, resources ments. and games, which often make use of The second major type of online capabilities unique to the Internet activity makes use of external links to such as interactivity or automatic For discrete items such as vocabu-authentic English language websites. grading. In the other type of onlinelary, companion websites often pro-This offers potentially the most com- activities, students use external linksvide wordlists and review activities.prehensive supplement to ESL text- to the vast assortment of authentic,Students may log onto sites such asbooks ever available, especially for third party sites on the World WidePearson/Longman's North Star web-reading courses. Many companion Web. site and use their wordlists as a study site developers have written exercises Because computer technology forguide for vocabulary tests. based on "real world" external web- subjective evaluation is so complex,Cambridge's New Interchange also sitesthat are related to textbook publisher-produced exercises usuallyfeatures words and expressions forthemes. The Focus on Grammar and quiz students only on specific itemseach textbook unit on their teacher'sNorthStar websitesbothcontain from the textbook or on global recep-site, as well as vocabulary reviewworksheet activities that send students tive skills such as reading and listen-crossword puzzles that can be down-to one or more site-external web ing. For instance, Thomson/Heinle'sloadedandprinted.Houghtonlinks. The NorthStar exercises are Tapestry site and McGraw Hill'sMifflin's GrammarLinks anddesigned for students to do while Reading Matters websites allow stu-logged into the student site, whereas Interactions/Mosaic sites supply mul- ft4 10 7 5 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 the Focus on Grammar activities arewebsiteofferscomplete "Onlinebook. A few companion sites, for found on the teacher's site, to be print-Instructor's Manuals" as well as tape-example, Macmillan's Inside Out and ed and distributed as homework. scripts for their CNN video clips. TheReward, even offer periodic e-lessons Tasks that use these external linksNorthStar series website providesthat allow registrants to receive fresh may be as simple as copying informa-teacher support for student Internetmaterial for their courses every week tion or as demanding as writing sum-activities with detailed instructionsor month. Occasionally, extra maries. For example, in the Focus onand printable handouts. resources are available for a fee, as in Grammar Introductory Unit 13 web Teachers often want short supple-the case of the Reward "Resource activity, students follow a link to anmental activities or interesting gamesPacks." external site devoted to famous peopleto take to their next class. These can Finally, some teacher sites feature and copy basic biographical data. Inoften be found on a teacher's compan-a bulletin board or forum for teachers contrast, to complete the task forion site and downloaded (usually asworldwide to discuss the textbooks, North Star Advanced Unit 8 studentspdf files) for use in class or as home-suggest extra activities, and ask each explore a similar authentic website,work. The Cambridge Universityother questions. For example, the but then write an original summaryPress Let's Talk website includes sev-"English Firsthand Café" site has a about a famous person's life. eral valuable teaching ideas, optionalvery active teacher discussion center, However, not all companion web-activities, review board games, andhosted by author Marc Helgesen, full sites supply explicit tasks for theirseveral types of classroom languageof interesting message threads posted site-external links. For example, thephrases (valuable for encouraging stu-by teachers.TheAzarseries Grammar Links series simply pro-dents to use only English in class)."Grammar Q & A Newsgroup" lets vides URLs for sites with information Pearson/Longman's Azar grammarteachers post questions and comments related to the content of each unit. Theseries features "The Azar Grammarabout English grammar and usage. Tapestry site has a "Web Strategies"Exchange" which offers "more thanNearly 1,000 questions, answers, and page that contains only general web200 communicative, task-basedcomments posted over the past two search advice. This approach puts thegames and activities." Macmillan'syears have been archived. responsibility on students to makeESL home site "onestopenglish.com" independent use of whatever websiteshas several language games for youngCaveats they find. Lower level students willlearners, playable online or down-Like any new technology, ESL/EFL probably find this too difficult. loadable for use in the classroom; intextbook companion websites have addition, the same site's "Lessonquite a few bugs that need to be Teacher Resources Share" page presents a variety ofworked out. Before sending your stu- Companion websites often includeready-to-use lesson materials whichdents to a companion website, consid- several types of supporting materialhave been submitted by teachers.er these ten questions: for teachers, usually on a separatePearson/Longman's English First- teacher's site. For example, the com-hand companion site, "The English1. Is the site error-free? Some pub- prehensive Grammar Links teacher'sFirsthand Café" contains photocopi-lishers have not edited their online websitefeaturesteachingnotes,able pdf activities for each unit in thematerial as carefully as they have their answer keys, tapescripts, and unitfour-book series. printed textbooks. tests downloadable as MS Word files Activities on teacher's sites are or in Adobe Acrobat's universallysometimes the same as those found in2. Are the materials relevant and readablepdfformat.Thomson/a workbook or instructor's manual,level-appropriatefor your stu- Heinle's Looking Ahead "Virtualposted online for the teacher's conve-dents? This problem occurs mostly Office"alsocontainsextensivenience. But more often, they arewith site-external web links, which instructor's manuals for each of thenewly written and provided as anoften contain language that is too dif- four books in the series. The Tapestryadded benefit for users of the text-ficult for lower level learners. ESL Textbook Companion Websites Cambridge University Press Oxford University Press http://www.cup.org/es1/ http://www.oup.com/elt/global/teachersclub http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/students/ Houghton Mifflin http://www.oup.com/us/es1 http://college.hmco.com/esl/instructors/index.html Thomson/Heinle Pearson/Longman http://www.heinle.com http://www.longman-elt.com/cws/index.html University of Michigan Press McGraw-Hill http://www.press.umich.edu/esl/compsite/ http://www.mhcontemporaryelt.com/home.html

Macmillan Publishers Limited http://www.onestopenglish.com/booksandcourses/

ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 ;47 76 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 11 3. Are there specific tasks for exter- effort to check out what can be done nal links? If not, learners may not ESL Magazine's with publishers' web-based compan- know what to do with the authentic Online Poll ion materials. Moreover, many com- material. panion websites are updated so fre- Do you use online materials quently that it is quite likely that the 4. Do the site-external links contain on publishers' websites that amount of materials available will inappropriate advertising? are designed to accompany increase, even over the time span of your current courses. Some caution is 5. Does the site contain mostly sam- printed ESL/EFL textbooks? necessary, since the pedagogical and ple pages or promotional materials editorial standards of many websites for the textbook? 42% Often are not yet on par with the textbooks they accompany. However, by picking 6. Are there any dead links or pages 42% Occasionally and choosing the best your compan- "coming soon"? ion site has to offer, you may get more 9% Never out of the textbook and become a 7. How fast does the website load? twenty-first century teacher to boot. Some are frustratingly slow.

8. Is the overall layout of the web Site designers should add audio pages simple and clear? or video to accompany listening/ speaking textbooks. Sound files areOwen Murray received an MATESL 9. Do the navigation labels tell youeasy to transmit on today's fast multi-from St. Michael's College and has where links lead? media systems, which has made self-spent the last seven years teaching study listening exercises a viable fea-English and American culture at 10. Do your students use non-ture on those sites that offer them.Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, English operating systems or olderHowever, listening tasks are currentlyJapan. Web browsers? Watch out for fontavailable on only a very few compan- compatibility problems such as super-ion sites; more publishers should con-Nevitt Reagan received an M.A. scriptsthatappearasunrelatedsider adding audio. Furthermore, asEnglish: ESL/EFL from San Chinese characters on some Asianonline video and animation becomeFrancisco State University and teach- operating systems. better, faster, and easier to generate,es EFL and film studies at Kansai exercises offering students more real-Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. Future Possibilities istic, contextualized visual and audi- In the long run, the potential of thesetory support for acquiring language English4-*Spanish companion websites to give studentsshould also become more common. meaningful access to the tremendousThese could even become a standard Economy volume of English-language informa-homework format, like the Pingu Translation Service tion available on the World Wide WebLoves English an i mated video combined with the interactive capa-lessons. www.Hyper-Spanish.corn bilities of personal computers may As noted above, companion sites revolutionize ESL course design. Intoday do not offer higher order tasks Serving the K12 community the near term, ideally, publishersfor the productive skills, speaking and nationwide since 1999. should attend to the caveats men-writing. Speech recognition software tioned above and then begin addingis improving and will eventually cre- new features. Here are three ways inateopportunitiesforinteractive Instant On-Line Quotes which companion websites couldspeakingactivities.Softwarefor become more valuable for teachersassessing student essays holistically is Specializing in K12 Work and students. also becoming commercially avail- Making teacher's sites "smarter"able (e.g., CTB/McGraw-Hill's will vastly improve their usefulness to"Writing Roadmap") but is currently teachers. If publishers developed aexpensive.Eventually, companion simple way to verify a user as awebsite designers should be able to Okcn-uCt teacher, a password-protected teach-offer online evaluation of written dis- Guaranteed! er'ssite could become a powerfulcourse. ---____ / resource and evaluation center. Aside '-----/V/ from having allteacher resourceConclusion materials organized and instantly ESL textbook companion websites -----,..-,---zr, available, this kind of site would easi-already offer teachers a wider range ly allow teachers to automate correc- of supporting and supplemental mate- (800) 633-4652 Fox (800) 232-8228 tion, scoring, and even collection andrials than printed teacher's manuals [email protected] return of homework, quizzes andever will. If you are using commercial tests, especially those involving dis-ESL textbooks, it is well worth the Spanish Translations crete items. 12 77 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 1

Move Your Course Online /n the last issue we explored at a variety of ways to createOrganize and Orient instructional materials. Now I hope to convey how easily theseOnce you have established a class, you have to begin organizing materials can be delivered online to enhance your instructionthe materials you plan to use. Organization is important for any further. course, but because students work independently with a CMS, it requires even more attention to organization. Once you have done What is a Course Management System (CMS)? this, consider how your students might navigate the system. It is A CMS is probably the easiest way to deliver a course, or part of very important to make sure that you not only organize all of the a course, online. To "deliver a course online" may certainly evoke materials in a reasonable and logical way, but that you also famil- a variety of expectations. Some may expect a complete distance- iarize your students with the organization. education course while others may simply want to set up a discussion board or area for email exchange. Both of these solutions,Use it Early and Consistently and many that exist between them, are possible through the use ofMany novice online teachers have been frustrated by late intro- a CMS. duction or intermittent use of CMSs. Students who are allowed time to forget the organizational patterns or fall out of the habit of Why Use a CMS? participation are likely to be less involved. Likewise, students Are you interested in motivating your students? Do you wantwho do not begin to use such a system until later in a class are them to interact with one another outside of class? Do you wantlikely to be indifferent. to exchange information with them between classes? Do you want to create an environment in which they can share ideas and opin- Take it For a Test Drive ions that they might otherwise be afraid to share in a convention-It is always difficult to envision aspects of technology form the al classroom? A CMS may be just the answer! A CMS will allow written word. To get a hands-on experience with a CMS, I invite you to interact with students and have them interact with one readers to visit http://www.nicenet.org/ and click "join a class." another. It will also allow you to exchange ideas, documents and Once you have done this, enter the key, "374382S34" This will media. These systems are designed to be very user-friendly and allow you to join a class to discuss this column. In this forum offer a wide variety of capabilities to enhance an ESL class.users can experiment with a sample class, share ideas about Without knowing how to create a webpage, write computer code potential use, share suggestions for future columns, and experi- or manage a server, users can design a shared space for interactionment with creating classes of their own. Users will also be able to that is only limited by the imagination. find a collection of resources related to this and future articles in this column. I hope to see you online! What are the Choices in CMS? Many people may already have access to the more popular sys- Greg Kessler teaches in the Ohio Program of Intensive English tems, such as Blackboard® and WebCT® (usually by contract (OPIE) at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He manages OPIE's with your university, school or district). These two offer sub- use of a self-access computer lab and develops distance pro- scribers a very extensive collection of features. There are also free grams. He is currently chair of TESOL CALL Interest Section. services available to educators that have fewer features, but may serve your needs perfectly. Perhaps the easiest of theseis Nicenet's Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA). Others, including Edventure and ATutor, offer many of the same features, but New book from Christine Meloni! require more technical expertise to operate and maintain. hristine Meloni, ESL Magazine's Cl...../Networthy columnist, began her EFL POWDERED Some Popular Features teaching career in 1962 at Casa Materna, PEAS While each system is slightly different, all include some of the an orphanage in Naples, Italy. She was a AND OTHER following: discussion boards, assignment posting, quizzes and university student then, spending her BLESSINGS surveys, shared Internet links, class schedules, class documents, summer as a volunteer at Casa Materna. tanr. A% U,.i 1,1,40, quick group or individual email capabilities, personal document She has recently published a book exchange area and gradebook. about Casa Materna entitled Powdered How Can I Get Started Using a CMS? Peas and Other Blessings: Life in an Orphanage in Naples, Italy .This book is Fig.,TEN If your school has a license for one of the commercial products, MV:I.E)N1 they are likely to have a course establishment policy as well. a collection of the personal stories of 21 Many schools will also restrict access to those students who are former residents who describe what it was like growing currently registered for courses, thus, eliminating collaborative up in this home and the impact it has had on their lives. use by other parties such as colleagues at other institutions (the All speak of Casa Materna and the founding family with cost of these licenses is usually based on number of users). It is gratitude and affection. also possible to purchase a contract for a single department if you have the means to do so. However, if your school does not have a Order online at: contract, or you want to make access available to select outsiders, www.xlibris.com/powderedpeasandotherblessings.html you can create a simple free class in Nicenet's ICA by visiting the address at the end of this article. Read a brief author biography and book summary as well as a sample chapter at this site.

ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 78 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 13 Dave Sperling's Guide to the Internet's Best Writing Resources BY DAVE SPERLING

4 4 hat I find when I speak towebsites that include online dictionaries,Professional Writing other public school teachersencyclopedias, and libraries, as well as OWL. ENGLISH.PURDUE. EDU/HANDOUTS/PW/ is fear. They are afraid toworksheets and exercises on grammar,From the Perdue University Online get involved and try. It sounds strangepunctuation, spelling, and essay writing.Writing Lab, students can find informa- coming from teachers, but that's theStudents can even practice what they've tion about various aspects of business, truth. In many cases, however, thislearned by communicating in English technical, and professional writing. fear comes from lack of experience or with keypals from around the globe. This exposure to the Internet." guide will highlight some of my favorite * Dictionaries and Thesauruses Lynore Carnuccio, Mustang Publiconline writing resources for ESL stu-"If a word in the dictionary were mis- School System, Oklahomadents. Have fun! spelled, how would we know?" Steven Wright "Wow! They've got the Internet on* Business Writing computers now!" Homer Simpson"In the business world, the rearviewLanguage Dictionaries and mirror is always clearer than the wind-Translators I was truly amazed the first time Ishield." Warren Buffett WWW.WORD2WORD.COM/DICTIONARY.HTML bought a computer, logged onto the This awesome resource is produced by Internet, and sent my very first emailBull's Eye Business Writing Tips Word2Word and has links to dozens of message. Within a few hours I was com- BASIC-LEARNING.COM/WBWT/TIPS-INDEXI.HTM language dictionaries and translators... municating with other human beingsAn archive of over 300 tips on how stu- from Abadani to Zapotec! throughout the world, logging onto uni-dents can improve their business writing versity libraries, conducting research forskills. It's also possible to sign up toMirriam-Webster Online my graduate studies, and chatting "live"receive their free weekly business writ- WWW.M-W.COM/HOME.HTM with friends in England, Canada, Japan, ing tips via email. Don't know the meaning of a certain and Thailand. A computer can do all word? Helpison the way with this? Wow! It was this excitement and Mirriam-Webster Online, a fast and curiosity that motivated me to begin extensive online resource that is based building web pages, resulting in the on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dic- creation of my website, Dave's ESL tionary. Enter a word or phrase in the Cafe. search box and you'll quickly get its Here we are, halfway through pronunciation, part of speech, etymol- 2003, and I still run into teachers who ogy, and definitions. You can also areafraid of computers and the locate its synonyms by clicking on the Internet. Well, here is a little secret: the thesaurus button. This is an extremely Internetisafun,exciting,and potent resource. extremely powerful learning tool for you and your students. I made this dis- OneLook Dictionary Search covery back in 1995 when I introduced WWW.ONELOOK.COM my intermediate writing class to the Wow, what an amazing resource! If Internet. What were the results? you have a word, idiom, or slang that My students found the Internet needs a definition or translation, this fun and "cool." They were thrilled to resource will quickly search more than share their creativity with the entire 5 million words in more than 900 online world. They increased their reading and Business English for Teachers dictionaries. vocabulary in English because they wereand Learners exploring the World Wide Web and dis- WELFR/VOLTERRE/BUSINESSENGLISH.HTML Thesaurus.com covering material that interested them. An outstanding resource that focuses on THESAURUS.REFERENCE.COM My students were writing email mes- teaching and learning business EnglishA simple and powerful online thesaurus. sages in English every day. They wereas a foreign or second language. meeting and communicating with others Yourdictionary.com from around the world. They wereBusiness English on the Net WWW.YOURDICTIONARY.COM becoming more motivated and excited WWW.WEI .FR/VOLTERRE/BIZENGLISH.HTML This is a newly discovered resource for about learning English. They were even Linda Thalman's guide onhow tome and I ended up spending several coming to my class early! improve business English skills usinghours here exploring dictionaries in over The Internet is quickly becoming the Internet. 280 languages, 100 different language the premier resource for students to courses, and 50 different glossaries. practice and improve their writing skillsBusiness Letter Writing Basics in English. On the World Wide Web stu- ESLABOUT.COM/LIBRARY/WEEKLY/AA04 1 399.HTM * Email dents can find numerous high quality Kenneth Beare produced this very useful "Human beings are human beings. guide for about.com. They say what they want, don't they?

14 7 9 ESL MAGAZINEMAY/JUNE 2003 They used to say it across the fenceBritannica, Britannica's Student and while they were hanging wash. NowConcise Encyclopedia, websites, maga- 7 Internet they just say it on the Internet." zine article, and more. Dennis Miller Teaching Tips Infoplease A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email WWW.INFOPLEASE.COM WWW.WEBFOOT.COMIADVICEIEMAILTOP.HTML Combining the contents of an encyclope- 1. Don't be afraid of knowing less This informativearticle,written bydia, a dictionary, an atlas and several up- than your students! Kaitlin Duck Sherwood, teaches the fun-to-the-minute almanacs loaded with sta- damental differences between email andtistics,facts, and historical records, Personally, I just can't keep up with paper-based communication. This is aInfoplease places the resources of an all this new technology, and I am must read for anyone new to email andentire reference information center at constantly learning from my stu- the Internet. your fingertips. dents, nephews, and now my Email Keypals for Language Fluency MSN Learning and Research 12-yearold son! KYOTO-SU.AC.JP/^-TROBB/KEYPALS.HTML ENCARTA.MSN.COM An excellent article by Thomas RobbA comprehensive online encyclopedia 2. Don't get frustrated! covering allaspects of how to makepowered by Microsoft's Encarta. The ride isn't always smooth sail- email work for you and your students in the language classroom. # Free Web Space ing, so try to keep your cool when "Looking at the proliferation of per- things don't go as planned. EPals Classroom Exchange sonal web pages on the Net, it looks WWW.EPALS.COM like very soon everyone on earth will 3. Don't abandon pen and paper! The Internet is an fine place to makehave 15 Megabytes of fame." friends from around the world and, of M.G. Siriam I make my students keep a note- course, to practice your English writing. book handy when surfing the Net Over 4.5 million students and teachersAngelfire so they can take notes, jot down are building skills and enhancing learn- ANGELFIRE.LYCOS.COM new vocabulary and interesting ing with ePALS. Established in1996, Free web space from Lycos. ePALS has 79,767 classroom profiles information. bringing people in 191 countries together Blurty as cross-cultural learning partners and WWW.BLURTY.com 4. Make it social; not antisocial! friends. Free space to create an online journal for When working in the computer lab, I all the world to read. Keypals Club often pair students together or have WWW.TEACHING.COM/KEYPALS/ WebSpawner.com them work in small groups. This Start a project with another class, or just WWW.WEBSPAWNER.COM makes the class more communica- create a new friendship with someone on My 12-year-old son turned me onto this the other side of the globe. Key Pals Club website because he was able to create a tive, interactive, and fun. is a free educational service from teach- very sophisticated website in minutes. ing.com. Just click on "Create Webpage," fill out 5. Get your students away from the form, and away you go! the computer sometimes! Students of the World Break into groups and discuss what WWW.STUDENTSOFTHEWORLD.INFO Yahoo! Geocities Very good keypal and "snail mail" GEOCITIES.YAHOO.COM students have learned and discov- resource for students, brought to you byThis has been around for quite a number ered from their Internet journey. Etudiants du Monde, a French non-profit of years and is still one of the most pop- organization. ular. Free and paid versions are available. 6. Don't be afraid to experiment! # Encyclopedias # Sites for Fun Remember: what doesn't work for "Wisdom begins in wonder." "To me, growing up digital means hav- one group may very well work for Socratesing fun while you're learning." another. Chris, 8 years old, from the book Assorted Encylopedias on the Web Growing up Digital by Dan Tapscott EDIS.WIN.TUE.NUENCYCLORHTML 7. Integrate the Internet into what Celebrity Address Emporium you're teaching in class! Columbia Encyclopedia WWW.SPRINGROSE.COM/CELEBRITY/ If, for example, you're teaching WWW.BARTLEBY.00M/65/ Practice makes perfect, so students can Containing nearly 51,000 entries (withpractice their writing by communicating about food, have your students six and one-half million words on a hugewith their favorite singers or movie stars. search the Web for recipes. range of topics), and with more thanCelebrity Address Emporium has a list- 80,000 hypertext cross-references, theing of thousands of addresses of celebri- It's imperative that teachers current Sixth Edition is among the mostties from around the world. complete and up-to-date encyclopedias not use the Internet as a babysit- ever produced. Grandpa Tucker's Family Fun: ting tool, but instead as a powerful A Time for Rhyme learning and teaching resource Encyclopedia Britannica GRANDPATUCKER.COM/RHYME-TIMEl.HTML-SSI where your students can read, WWW.BRITANNICA.COM Bob Tucker's fun guide on how to rhyme Search the 32-volume Encyclopediaand create poetry. write, explore, and communicate.

ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 15 52111 Pizzaz! Creative Writing Updated daily at midnight, Libweb lists loads of help on what to write, how to and Storytelling Ideas over 6,600 pages from libraries in overorganize, revise, edit, compose essays, UOREGON.EDU/-LESLIEOB/PIZZAZ.HTML 115 different countries. and how to document sources. This Created by Leslie Opp-Beckman, PIZ- resource is not to be missed! ZAZ! is dedicated to "providing simpleStardots.com creative writing and oral storytelling WWW.STARDOTS.COM/INDEX2.SHTML Purdue Online Writing Lab activities with copyable (yes, copyable!)I just discovered this site, and I'm really OWL.ENGLISH.PURDUE.EDU handouts for use with students of allglad that I did! Stardots.com is a directo- This was one of the very first "OWLs" or ages." ry of the Web's best resources on every-online writing labs and is still one of the thing from art to zoology! very best. Located at Indiana's Purdue Wacky Web Tales University, you'll find a large collection WWW.EDUPLACE.COM/TALES/ Yahoo! Libraries of Internet search tools, links to some of Thisfunresourcefrompublisher DIR.YAHOO.COM/REFERENCE/LIBRARIES/ the best writing resources on the Web, Houghton Mifflin allows students to cre-Awesome collection of links to onlineand over 130 instructional sheets that ate funny stories by filling in variouslibraries from around the world, with include help with general writing con- parts of speech. Recent stories includetopics ranging from art to transportation.cerns, writing research papers, citing "The Mummy," "The Camping Trip," sources, writing for the job search, pro- and "The Box." Great for all age groups! Online Help fessional writing, English as a second "Treat people as if they were whatlanguage, parts of speech, sentence con- Grammar they ought to be, and you help them tostruction, punctuation, and spelling. This "I am the Roman Emperor and ambecome what they are capable ofsite will keep you busy for months! above grammar." being." Emperor Sigismund Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThe Write Place Catalogue (LEO) WRITING.RICHMOND.EDU/WRITING/WWEB.HTML Common Errors in English Ask an Expert This is a terrific resource from Sharon WSU.EDU/-BRIANS/ERRORS/INDEX.HTML WWW.ASKANEXPERT.COM Cogdill and Judith Kilborn of St. Cloud The online version of Paul Brians' book,Ask an Expert is a must for anyone State University. You can spend hours on Common Errors in English Usage. working on a research project because their tutorials: Business Writing, Citing you'll find the Web sites and emailSources in Research Papers, Grammar, Grammar When You Need It addresses of over 300 experts on hun-The Process of Writing, Punctuation, GEocrnaconi/ATHENS/Opmus/7583/INDEX.HTML dreds of subjects ranging from "AmishResearch Papers, Sentence Structure, A unique resource developed by Davidto Zoo Keeping." Do you have a ques-and Style of Writing. Tillyer, Grammar When You Need It is tion? If so, surf over to Ask an Expert! dedicated to the idea that it's best for stu- Punctuation dent to learn grammar when they need it. ESL Cafe's Help Center "You know you've been spending too Color-coded lessons offer advice to WWW.ESLCAFE.COM/HELP much time on the Internet when every beginning, intermediate, and advancedNeed a question quickly answered? Freecolon appears as a pair of eyes." students. help is on the way at ESL Cafe's 24 hour Erik ESL Help Center. Hundreds of questions Net Grammar are answered each month from a highOWL Handouts: Grammar, BUSBOY.SPED.UKANS.EDU/-ALLENQ/NET quality team of English teachers fromPunctuation, and Spelling GRAMMAR/ around the world. This site was created OWLENGLISH.PURDUE.EDU/HANDOUTS/GRAMMAR Written by an ESL/EFL practitioner,specifically for English language stu-Brought to you by Purdue University Net Grammar focuses on English gram- dents. Online Writing Lab, you'll find handouts mar through interactive listening, read- and exercises on grammar, pronuncia- ing and writing activities. 15 online units = Online Writing Labs (OWLS) tion, and spelling. include a preview, grammar focus, lis-"Either write something worth read- tening, reading writing, and review. ing or do something worth writing." Punctuation Ben Franklin WWW.UOTTAWA.CA/ACADEMIC/ARTS/ The Online English Grammar WRITCENT/HYPERGRAMMAR/PUNCT.HTML WWW.EDUFIND.COM/ENGLISH/GRAMMARI The Online Writery An excellent punctuation guide created This is an amazingly comprehensive MISSOURI.EDU/-WRITERY/INDEX2.HTML by Frances Peck from the University of grammarresourcefromAnthony Located on the campus of the UniversityOttawa. Hughes. Not to be missed! of Missouri-Columbia, you'll find a considerable collection of online referencesYes English Guide to Punctuation Libraries and search resources, as well as "cyber- YESENGLISHONLINE.COM/PUNCTUATION.HTM "I must say that I find television verytutors" that will answer your questionsA super tutorial covering the capital let- educational. The minute somebody and problems about writing. Try joiningter,fullstop (period), ellipsis, semi- turns it on, I go to the library and readthe discussions at the Writery Cafe,colon, comma, colon,question mark, a book." where you can "kick around ideas,exclamation mark, apostrophe, quotation Groucho Marxdream up projects, commiserate aboutmarks, brackets, dash, and the hyphen. Libraryspot.com problems, plot and scheme, goof, theo- WWW.LIBRARYSPOT.COM rize, etc." Search Tools LibrarySpot.com is designed to make "To steal ideas from one person is pla- finding the best topical information onParadigm Online Writing Assistant giarism; to steal ideas from many is the Internet a quick, easy and enjoyable WWW.POWA.ORG/ research." experience. This is a newly discovered resource for Anon me and truly one of my favorites.AlltheWeb Libweb Created by Dr. Chuck Guilford from WWW.ALLTHEWEB.COM SUNSITE.BERKELEY.EDU/LIRWEB/ Boise State University, students will,find This is a new one for me, but I like it a 16 '4) ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 lot because it's extremely fast and corn- prehensive.

Ask Jeeves WWW.ASK.COM A search tool that is actually cool, easy, MONTEREY INSTITUTE and fun. MONTEREY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AskJeeves for Kids WWW.AJK1DS.COM/ Great for K-6 students and teachers. CALL Online Certificate Google GOOGLE.COM What can Isay? This is my all time The Graduate School of favorite search engine and the one that I use every day. Don't forget that you can Language and Educational Linguistics also search for images and news. is offering a unique CALL program Yahoo YAHOO.COM in a predominantly online format.* It's still one of the best after all of these years. This is a terrific place just to explore. Equips teachers to integrate computer technology Spelling appropriately into language classrooms and "I have a spelling checker programs. It came with my PC; It plainly marks four my revue Mistakes I cannot sea. I've run this poem threw it, Can be taken for professional development, I'm sure your pleased too no, continuing education, or other accreditation or Its letter perfect in it's weigh, My checker tolled me sew." certification purposes. Janet Minor Frequently Misspelled Words Individual modules may be taken online. Full certificate WWW3.WCU.EDU/MKISER/MISSPELL.HTML This list of the most frequently mis- requires 3 weeks in Monterey. spelled words in English was even helpful for me, a native English speaker! Guide to American English Spelling Enroll Now! 1SS.STTHOMAS.EDU/STUDYGUIDES/SPELLING.HTM This resource from the University of St. Application Deadline is August 10 Thomas offers strategies on how to improve one's spelling.

How Well Can You Spell? ENCARTANEN.com/Quiz/QuIz.AsP7QuizID=36 Test your spelling skills with a quiz on Contact Us the most commonly misspelled words in web English. Fun! http://maxkade.miis.edu Musical Spelling Rules GARDENOFPRAISE.COM/SPELLI.HTM http://www.miis.edu This unusual resource by Patsy Stevens email uses music to help student learn English spelling rules. [email protected] phone 831-647-4630 Dave Sperling lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two children. He is the creator of the well-known ESL/EFL website Dave's ESL Cafe. He Monterey, California USA (831) 647-4123 www.miis.edu is the author of The Internet Guide for EnglishLanguageTeachers,Dave Sperling's Internet Guide, and Dave Sperling's Internet Activity Workbook.

ESL MAGAZINEMAY/JUNE 2003 17 Counting on You!

Dear Richard: While I was rereading Chapter 2 [ofthe bed? You can say, "The school/church I go to is five your book], I realized that what I thought was theblocks away," right? So what's going on with the definite English article problem is more about nouns thatarticle, or lack of it? have both countable sense and uncountable sense. Below are examples of what I mean. Please help me sort this out! Jean-Claude Billet of Toulouse, France emailed this: Yu Soon-ja, Palmdale, CA"The three examples you listed identify general activities; they don't refer to a specific school, church, or bed. The Thanks for writing, Soon-ja. Let me respond in asentences where you can use the do refer to specific build- methodicalway(examplesfromtheCambridgeings or things. That's the difference." International Dictionary [1995]). Vive la difference, Jean-Claude. You're absolutely correct! Thanks for that succinct explanation. Activity"They're concerned by low economic activ- Now for this issue's "Food for Thought." How would ity." (uncountable) The word activity in this case has a dif- you explain the difference between dish and plate? How ferent meaning from the word as it's used in the next sen-about ground and land? What about large and big, small tence. The uncountable noun activity means generaland little? actions, people doing things, or things happening. "We offer many outdoor activities." (countable) The countable term activity refers to an individual sportingRichard Firsten is an ESL instructor, teacher trainer and author event or other kind of event that can be counted. "We'vespecializing in grammar and methodology. He currently teaches planned three outdoor activities for the kids: a 3-leggedat Lindsey Hopkins Technical Education Center in Miami, race, a swimming race, and a pie-eating contest." Florida. Reach him at [email protected]. Noise"The street was packed with vendors and bars; the noise was unbelievable." (uncountable) Of course, here, we use the because we're referring to specific noise coming from those places. When noiseis Everyone deserves a uncountable, it refers to generally distasteful sounds with- good story. out specifying one kind or another: "One reason I dislike big cities is having to put up with all that loud noise." Har. "There was a loud noise." (countable) Noise is countable here because we mean one specific, unpleasant sound :--y from one source. "They made noises about the budget problem." (countable) Here is an example of an idiomatic expres- Lucyby Jamaica Kincaid sion. I can say that noises in this case is synonymous with Arranged Marriageby Chitra Divakaruni "complaints" or "objections," both of which are count- Things Fall Apartby Chinua Achebe able. House of the Windsby Mia Yun /31 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Newspaper"A daily newspaper is published every- by Robert Olen Butler day except on Sunday in Britain." (countable) Here, the countable item, a newspaper, refers to one publication. Views and Voices: "You should wrap your dishesin newspaper." Writers of English Around the World (uncountable) Here, the uncountable item refers to the Valerie WhitesonFrancoise Beniston material, not a publication. It's a general category of mate- Original, unedited stories from prized collections of fiction by rial just like cotton, linen, or wool, all of which are international authors, complete with glossed vocabulary, compre- uncountable nouns. hension exercises, and Internet explorationsall for ESL learners! This is a complex topic because making the noun ISBN: 1-882483-87-1 $16.95 plus shipping and handling countable or uncountable depends on its context. Coming Alta Book Center Publishers up with hard-and-fast rules is very tricky. Here's the "Food for Thought" question from our last 14 Adrian Court Burlingame, California 94010 USA Phone: 800 ALTA/ESL650.692.1285 (International) issue: You go to school, you go to church, you go to bed. Fax: 800 ALTA/FAX650.692.4654 (International) Why don't you go to the school, go to the church, or go to Email: [email protected] Wehsite: www.altaesl.com

18 83 ESL MAGAZINEMAY/JUNE 2003 No Child Title III appropriate Left 1m Behind Longman ESL is dedicated to the needs of Scott Foresman ESL: Accelerated English language learners. We have the English Language Learning materials that meet the specific needs of your Word by Word Primary Phonics students while fulfilling the scientifically Picture Dictionary research based requirements of the No Child Penguin Readers Left Behind, Title Ill Legislation for Limited Longman American English English Proficient and Immigrant Students. Dictionaries

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sixNg; Longman BEST COPY AVAILABLE REVIEWS Get Acquainted with TEFL in China BY DANIEL B .FREEMAN

The Tongue Goes Through the Teeth: He believes in teaching conversational English. Teaching English in China Jared is bright and sincere. He is teaching English in China in Pamela Toole, Director order to return to China in the future with an MBA and work in Lotus Blossom Productions, 2000 Chinese-American business ventures. Jane teaches in Hong Kong. She has had experience in teach- The Tongue Goes Through the Teeth, a documentary abouting English and culture. Jane also sings with a rock band in her teaching English in China, particularly in Beijing and Hong spare time. She tells about life in Hong Kong, which is different Kong, is an interesting and important film for any- from Beijing in that itis more modern and more one contemplating traveling far from home and teaching crowded. It also has more indoor plumbing. The English as a foreign language (EFL). The film has four scenes of Hong Kong and Beijing are fascinating but 3 parts: the school, the classroom, the teachers and the stu- TheTongue Goes too few. rough the Teeth: dents. It focuses on the private lives of actual classroom Th This documentary is particularly informative for teachers who are living and teaching in China. They talk untrained or novice teachers who wish to look at other about themselves and what they hope to achieve and cultures. It does not address the professionally trained describe their adventures as ex-pats. There are teachers EFL teacher and provides no new theories or teaching from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and strategies. However, it does present an extremely inter- Australia. Some of the teachers are non-native English esting look at the teaching situation in China today and speakers from mainland China and Hong Kong. They all an opportunity for people who may be interested in "tell it like it is." Even viewers who know little about teaching there to get a realistic picture of living and teaching English as a foreign language will enjoy this teaching in Beijing or Hong Kong. documentary. It has a certain charm and seems to come from the hearts of these personable people. It captures the adventure ofDr Daniel B. Freeman is author/co-author of a number of ESL/EFL teaching abroad and answers the questions of those who would use books including Speaking of Survival (Oxford University Press), their "native speaker" qualifications for a chance to view other cul- Longman Photo Dictionary (Longman, Inc.), and McGraw -Hill tures and hear other languages. Connections Readers (McGraw-Hill). EnglishclassestaughtinChinese schools by Chinese teachers are Confucian in that they are rigid. The classes are immense. Communicate in Multiple Languages The teachers give the information in Chinese with no conversation. The students become Simultaneously walking dictionaries who can't ask where the bathroom is but know how to say "plunger" The TalkSystem ® is ideal for: in barely recognizable English. Hence the ESL programs need for a communicative approach provided Multilingual meetings by native English speakers in their schools. Several of the people in the film are liv- Classroom participation ing and working in China today. They Parental involvement include Robert Toomey, who owns a school in Beijing called Robert's Education Center The only (REC). He hopes to open more schools and simultaneous become the Berlitz of China. It looks as language though he might make it. translation system Lucas teaches at REC. He is a happy-go- with patented lucky Australian, very attractive with his Sylencer®technology casual style and his worn-out baseball cap. He wants to stay in China for another year, "I don't know how I ever lived maybe more, maybe lesswhatever life without the system: ifs just amazing serves up. His hat and his smile say it all. what we are able to dol" Li Yanshee isa non-native English Lupe Simpson, Parent Involvement, LAUSD speaker who works at the Culture University in Beijing. She teaches English to diplomats, and although her command of English is See Video good, it would be difficult for diplomats to of the TalkSystem Call today Complete TalkSystems learn enough from her to be fluent in English. in use at: beginning at $805.00 Brian,anothernon-nativeEnglish w.talk-tecl-net1-888-811-9944 speaker, is a very serious teacher, and one can Leasing options available see that he believes in what he does and thinks of himself as a future expert in EFL. Talk Technologies Inc. 1-8P8-211-9944 email: [email protected]

20 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 /An innovative assessment tool from the makers of TOEFLR

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et x ONLINE TESL/TEFL TRAINING BY THOMAS NIXON

Since the advent of web-based online cuss the course, online learning, and theand ground-based courses, the presenta- learning in the mid-1990s, the num- future of your academic field. Friendships tion must be different. Putting lecture ber of higher education degree pro- will break the solitude bubble. notes in an Adobe pdf file and placing grams offering such instruction has sky- Another disadvantage can be cost. them on a website is not online learning. rocketed. It has grown from a few in 1995Many online programs are quite expen-"This so-called 'shovelware'is a most to over a hundred in 2003, and the futuresive. However, as more programs become unfortunate use of the powerful technolo- looks bright. While online learning has available, prices will have to drop for gy available: the equivalent of using your been available since the 1980s, it was theschools to be competitive. At present, the Maserati only to make short shopping trips advent of the World Wide Web in 1995 prices in many programs are high precise- to the mall," says Bear. that caused the online learning explosion. ly because they can be. Little competition How do you deal with this? Ask how While there are still many more class- leads to a seller's market. long the school has been offering online room-based degrees available than online programs. Ask to see one of their courses degrees, online learning is gaining ground. The Dangers of Online Learning in action, perhaps "observing" a class or Distance learning takes many forms,There are a number of dangers in onlinetwo. If you're not satisfied with what you but it is clear that the online form see, move on. Even within online learning, there are a number of is growing in popularity and at a el! faster rate than other types of pro- different presentation formats. grams. While the largest group of Find out what works for you. distance learning programs is still independent study ("correspon- The Future dence") courses, you can look for Management guru Peter Drucker this to change. There is so much has made the prediction that by available on the Internet for the 2030 much of higher education younger (and not so younger) gen- will be online. Although many erations to explorethis includes academic pundits may smile at earning degrees. such an assertion, it doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to The Advantages and believe that parts of programs will Disadvantages of have gone online. Bear believes Online Learning that online learning is really in its Online learning has a number of infancy, and he is certain that the advantages over traditional class- number of online students is like- room-based learning. John Bear, ly to grow exponentially. author of Bears' Guide to Earning Michael Lambert, executive Degrees by Distance Learning, director of the Distance Educa- asserts "it offers a level of flexibil- tion and Training Council, offers ity unavailable from a traditional program,learning. Diploma mills abound on thethis view of the future: "The future of in that the student can pursue his or herInternet. While such schools have beenonline learning is clearly one of increased studies whenever and wherever he or she with us for a long time, the Internet has usage by all sectors of education, from wishes. Furthermore, one can partake of a given them the opportunitytolook kindergarten through postgraduate study. 'smorgasbord' of choices, doing coursesrespectable and preserve the anonymityIt has proved to be educationally sound, or classes from a number of differentnecessary for unethical and/orcriminal cost effective, and socially acceptable in schools, often at a lower cost, and always acts. Bear states, "The 'bad guys' are well virtually all educational settings. The tech- with greater convenience than driving toaware of the power, the lure of online nology is now easier than ever to use, tech- campus, looking for parking, and sitting inlearning, and we have seen an enormousnology costs will continue to plummet, a hard chair hour after hour." growth in the number of fake and terribleand consumers will continue to demand The one major disadvantage can beschools." Before you sign up with anymore convenience and therefore we will isolation. Some students just naturally per- school, check their accreditation status. see an unstoppable, tremendous expansion form betterinaclassroomsetting.(See information under subhead "Accred- in online learning worldwide." However, there are ways to create relation- itation.") ships even though you are far from other The other danger is that many schools TESOL Training Online: students. Read the posts of your class- are rushing to board the online bandwag- Masters, Certificates, mates and find a person or two with whom on, and in their haste they are not ade-and Endorsements you tend to agree (or disagree, if youquately preparing their courses for theOne of the first online U.S. TESOL pro- appreciate a challenge). Begin an email transition to cyberspace. While the infor- grams was the Master of Science in relationship through which you can dis- mation is and should be the same in onlineEducation, TESOL Concentration, offered

22 ESL MAGAZINEMAY/JUNE 2003 by Shenandoah University. For directorstates, "Many non-certified teachers or Ashley Hastings, it was a matter of sur-new teachers need training but are unable The Successful vival. In 1999 he and Brenda Murphy to travel to an on-site course." were asked to take charge of the TESOL One difficulty that Transworld faced Online Student program. The catch? Like a number ofwas how to create the practicum experi- programs across the United States, enroll- ence. With a TEFL/TESL/TESOL type of ment was declining and the program wascertificate, many employers require some ara Dulaney Gilbert, in her book losing money. The university president type of practicum experience. And this is S..)How to be a Successful Online was quite open about the fact that they asitshould be. To accomplish this, Student (McGraw-Hill 2001), offers needed to raise enrollment quickly or theTransworld requires a one-week residency the following advice to help you program would die. during which students can take their decide whether or not you can be Hastings and Murphy realized that practicum and experiential courses. Winchester, Virginia was too small a mar- Transworld's TESOL certificateis successful as a cyber student: ket from which to draw enough new stu- respected worldwide, and the online pro- dents. Distance learning,in particular gram puts it within reach of more people. online learning, offered them new possi-Many students cannot afford room and Can you manage yourself? bilities. With such a small departmental board for a month in San Francisco. Now Most online learners quickly realize faculty, they realized that somehow they they can get the respected credential with- that the time commitment is the would need to offer all of the required out breaking the bank. There is a savings courses each semester. They decided toon the cost of the course as well as on the same, if not more, than "brick and post videotaped courses of actual classes accommodations. The Transworld Dist- mortar" classes. Some people online with some semi-permanent web ance Learning CTESOL course is accred- believe that these courses must be components.Incidentally,thisset-up ited by ACCET and approved by BPPVE easier because they do not have to works particularly well for students using (State of California). go to a "classroom." The truth is less sophisticated computers (asisthe Keith Folse of the University of case in many places around the world). Central Florida (in a recent interview from often quite far from that Courses are presented in non-real-an Internet café in Amsterdam) discussed perspective. time. While you are indeed looking at a why his school made the decision to move Shenandoah University classroom, it maytowardofferingonlinecoursesfor or may not be the current crop of students. Florida's ESOL endorsement. For public If you don't have enough time, The advantage to this format is that youschool teachers in Florida to get the ESOL can you make more time? can click "rewind" and watch a segmentendorsement, they must take a series of several times to understand more difficultfive courses at the university. According to Some options are sleeping less, information. Folse, thisisa problem because "the shifting some household responsi- The Shenandoah University online geography of the state of Florida is such bilities, getting babysitting time TESOL program is similar in content and that many people who do attend universi- from parents/parents-in-law, scope to residential programs. It requiresty classes have to commute. Having some thirty-three units of coursework. The big courses online makes 'attending' the watching less television, and so on. difference is that the program requires courses easier." Online learning, like all learning, only one campus visit at the very end to However, Folse also believes that not requires a commitment of time. present the master's capstone project. all courses are suitable for the online for- Most unsuccessful students have Otherwise, the entire program is online. In mat. While courses in testing and evalua- additiontothemaster'sprogram, tion or teaching second language vocabu- not been able to get the time factor Shenandoah University also offers two lary would work well, a methods course in check. TESOL certificates (in nine-credit and might not. Teaching is different than other eighteen-credit versions). academic subjects in that there is a pre- Shenandoah Universityis on thesentation component. A grammar course Are you an efficient learner? frontline of online TESOL training. Forcould easily make the transition to being Gilbert recommends the "Preview, them it was a matter of survival. Otheronline, while a practicum most certainly schools are getting into the act because of would not. View, and Review" method of learn- the demand for TESOL training with Folse echoes Bear's sentiments con- ing, but many methods are quite online advantages. The reality resulting cerning the appropriateness of some of the effective. In previewing, you need to from September 11, 2001, is that fewercurrentonlinecourses. He cautions look at the big picture: When are international students will be going toagainst using technology for technology's the tests? When are the papers U.S.-based programs. They may, however, sake. Just because it is available does not still be interested in an American creden-make it the most pedagogically sound way due? How often each week must I tial. to provide an educational opportunity. "In log on? Viewing is the actual Other schools offering online mastersthe 1990s and to a lesser extent in the coursework itself. Most learners will programs are the University of New 2000s, it seems to me that there has been tell you that it is vital to keep up England in the U.K. (Applied Linguis- this rush to put things online without real- tics), the University of Tasmania and thely thinking through whether the material with the reading and assignments. University of Central Florida (in thematched the format. Judicious use of com- Fall behind and you could be in seri- process of starting.) puter technology and Internet can enhance ous trouble. Review all of the notes Transworld Schools in San Francisco an MATESOL program, but it should not and class discussions. This also started an online TESOL certificate pro- run the program." gram because of the increasing demand Starting in August 2003, the Graduate works well in studying for tests (i.e., for easily accessible TESOL training. Ceri School of Language and Educational glance at entire chapter, read it, go Rich-Odeh, president of Transworld,Linguistics at the Monterey Institute of back over it). ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 ss 23 International Studies (MIIS), in collabora- Colleges ([email protected]; 510-degreeinfo.com). Distance learning ex- tion with the Max Kade Language and 748-9001) pertsregularly answer questions and Technology Center at MIIS, will offer a The only other credible general accred- debate formats, accreditation, schools, and computer-assisted languagelearning itor(as opposed toprogram-specificthe like. The one other large-scale site is (CALL) certificate ina predominantlyaccreditors) of value to educators is thefrom Peterson's (www.petersons.com), online format. Distance Education and Training Councilpublishers of many nonfiction reference (www.detc.org). However, you shouldbooks on educational programs. A caution: Accreditation check with your school district or college They list at least one purported degree mill In selecting an online TESOL program,to see if they accept degrees from institu- on their website. make sure it is respected. There are good tions accredited by DETC. Public educa- online programs based in the United tion, in particular, has not been welcoming Conclusion States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and to them, but I would look for that toOnline learningisnot for everybody. South Africa. A U.S.-based programchange, particularly as some of theirHowever, from all indications it is here to should be accredited by one of the six U.S."higher-end" schools (Aspen University, stay, and many people are quite happy with regional accrediting bodies. It is wise toAmerican Military University, and Thethat. It provides greater access to higher check with them if you are unfamiliar with Catholic Distance University, and others)education and increased opportunities for a particular school: begin to become better known. many pre-service and in-service teachers. Take one online course, and you might Middle States Association of Colleges Resources never go back to sitting in a classroom. and Schools ([email protected]; 2 15-662-There are a number of resources about 5606) online programs. Often, it should be noted,Acknowledgements 0. New England Association of Schoolsthese programs are included inlargerI would like to thank John Bear, Keith and Colleges ([email protected]; 781- works on distance learning.Bears' Guide Folse, Mike Lambert, and Ceri Rich-Odeh 271- 0022) to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning for their valuable contribution to this arti- 0- North Central Association of Colleges is in its fifteenth edition and is still goingcle. They are the experts! and Schools ([email protected]; (312- strong. It is the seminal work on distance 263-0456) learning programs. It's "daughter" book, Thomas Nixon is the co-author ofBears' 0. Northwest Association of Schools andBears' Guidetothe Best Education Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Colleges([email protected];(425- Degrees by Distance Learninglists quite aDistance Learning.Practicing what he 558-4224) number of programs in education and preaches, beginning in fall 2003, he will 0- Southern Association of Colleges andTESOL around the world. pursue an entirely online master of educa- Schools ([email protected]; (404-679- In terms of websites that offer relevant tion in school counseling at the University 4500) information and discussion, the mostof West Alabama. He can be contacted 0- Western Association of Schools andactive is the DegreeInfo Website (www. through his website at wwwtomnixon.net.

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE BINATIONAL CENTERS: Teaching English and Building Friendships in the Americas

BY WILLIAM ANCKER

For over 50 years in the major cities lowships, served as directors of the aca-americano opened its doors in down- of Latin America, one of the mostdemic departments at new centers. town Buenos Aires, the primary goals of popularplacesforlearningLarge collections of books were sent tobinational centers have been to strength- English has been the binational centercreatelibrariesthatspecializedin en friendly ties and promote mutual (BNC). Originally binational centersAmerican literature and history. Also,understanding betweentheUnited were opened in the national capitalsmost BNC libraries carried a variety ofStates and the host country by offering a with funding and personnel from thepopular magazines and scholarly jour- variety of academic services and cultur- United States government. As their pop-nals published in the United States. al programs. Most BNCs have galleries ularity grew, local leaders in other Since the beginning, when thefor art exhibits by local and internation- major cities sought approval and sup- Instituto Cultural Argentino Norte-al artists. Some of the larger centers port to open BNCs beyond the capi have well-equipped theaters for plays tal. Now there are almost 100 BNCs, and concerts. Some BNCs have audito- from Hermosillo in northern Mexico riums large enough to host conferences to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, and seminars. Argentina. All of them are auton- For many years, BNCs functioned omous and self-supporting, and still as a branch of the cultural affairs office dedicated to the original goal of fos- of the embassy. There was a steady tering greater friendship and under- stream of events open to the public, standing between the United States such as film showings, art exhibits, and the countries of Latin America. and jazz concerts, sponsored by the embassy and hosted at the BNC. In History fact, in the early decades, the direc- The first binational center was found- torsofbinationalcenterswere ed in 1927 in Argentina. Soon after American diplomats, often serving an the end of World War II, BNCs had additional role as assistant cultural been established in almost every attaches. country in the region. For example, a binational center was founded in Rio Services and Programs deJaneiro,Brazilin1937;in The most important academic service Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru in 1938, offered by a BNC has always been in Montevideo, Uruguay and Tegu- language teaching. Typically, the rev- cigalpa, Honduras in 1939; in Caracas, enue from English classes provides Venezuelain1941;inAsunción, the funding for the other programs Paraguay in 1942; in Guatemala City in offered by the center. As demand for Guatemala and San José, Costa Rica in English has grown in recent years, 1945; in La Paz, Bolivia in 1946; in many BNCs have expanded their EFL Medellin, Colombia and Santo Dom-At the Instituto Chileno Norteameri- programs to include courses for adoles- ingo, Dominican Republic in 1947; and cano de Cultura in Santiago,U.S. cents and children, TOEFL preparation in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1951. Ambassador William Brownfield inau- classes, off-site ESP training for local The older BNCs, those that havegurates an exhibit of drawings bybusinesses, exams and certificates of celebrated their golden anniversaries, Chileanchildrensubmittedtoan proficiency in English (in particular were established with invaluable sup- Embassy/BNC-sponsored contest held those from the University of Michigan), port from the United States. Textbooksfor the one-year anniversary of the and EFL teacher training certificates. and other materials provided by the U.S. attack on the World Trade Center. The scope of language teaching at embassies were used to set up programs Among the guests were the ambas-many BNCs has expanded to include for teaching English as a foreign lan- sadors to Chile from the PhilippinesSpanish (or Portugese) classesfor guage. A small cadre of American lin- and Israel, and the representative fromtourists and foreign residents. In some guists, as recipients of government fel- the Palestinian Authority. countries, the English courses taught at 26 91, ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 the BNC, and the diploma that a gradu-have choirs that give public recitals.years, one center hosts an ABLA con- ate of the BNC receives, have been rec-The Centro Cultural Brasil-Estadosference, which features speakers and ognized by ministries of public educa- Unidos in Santos, Brazil has a student workshops on the topics most important tion. Many of the small private schools drama club. Many BNCs host specialto the success of a binational center: and academies that offer EFL classesevents on American holidays, such asmanagementofnon-governmental and create competition for the BNC'sThanksgiving and July Fourth. Someinstitutions, English language teaching, English courses eagerly hire teacherscenters have cooperative relationshipslibraries and information resources, and who have received their TEFL trainingwith institutions in the United States forfund raising for the arts. at binational centers. exchange programs for high school and Another essential educational anduniversity students. Notable Accomplishments cultural service of a binational center is The staff at every binational center the library. Typically a BNC library spe- Changes probably has many stories to tell about cializes in American studies, offeringUnfortunately, U.S. embassies' fundingparticularlysuccessfuleventsand reference materials, works of fiction for public diplomacy and cultural pro-notable achievements in their educa- and nonfiction, and current periodicals.grams decreased during the 1980s andtional and cultural programs. Some At more than one BNC, its library is the 1990s, and gradually, binational centersunique activities and characteristics largest English language collection in throughout Latin America were forceddeserve special mention. the city, or even in the entire country. In to become more self-supporting. The Materials development was a prior- some places, the BNC library, with itsState Department closed the last fewity for the large Instituto Mexicano- circulating collection, may be the onlypositions for American diplomats toNorteamericano de Relaciones Cult- place where readers can actually checkserve as BNC directors, so those centersurales in Mexico City (IMNRC). The out books and take them home. had tohire new directorslocally.center wrote and published its own text- For many years, BNC librariesEmbassies sponsored fewer large-scalebook series for teaching Spanish as a have played the role of reference ser-cultural programs, such as tours by bigsecond language, which was used for vice for the U.S. embassy. Importantensembles of musicians, traveling bookyears by the other BNCs in Mexico. local contacts in the public and privateexhibits, and exhibits by AmericanThe most ambitious and successful sectors, such as elected officials, mem- artists. materials development project, howev- bers of the judiciary, and university Support for BNC libraries was also er, was the creation of In Touch and administrators and professors, couldcut. Some BNC libraries have convertedLifestyles, the former a three-level turn to the BNC's librarians to getentirely to electronic media and servebeginner series and the latter a three- answers to their questions about specif-only as reference services and no longerlevel intermediateseries.These ic aspects of the U.S. society and gov-offer public reading rooms or circulat-ESL/EFL texts were written by four ernment. For example, a deputy to the ing collections. As information technol-teachers from IMNRC (which unfortu- minister of foreign affairs, planning anogy and electronic media have reshaped nately is now closed) and published in upcoming visit of the minister tothe modern library, however, manyconjunction with Longman in1980. Washington, DC, might need the con- BNCs have kept pace with collectionsThey became best sellers around the tact information for the assistant to theon CD-ROM, access to specializedworld, with particularly strong sales in chair of the U.S. Senate Committee ondatabases, and computers linked to the Latin America and Japan. When these Foreign Relations. Or, a university rec- Internet. books were adopted at BNCs and many tor interested in setting up a new gradu- Today, there are close to 100 bina-other schools, they ushered in the era of ate degree in agronomy might want thetional centers throughout Latin Amer-communicative language teaching, in names and locations of counterpartsica, each one operating as an auton-some instances against the wishes of from American universities to consultomous, non-profit institution for educa- teachers who were comfortable with on curriculum design and researchtional and cultural purposes. English their well-worn audio-lingual materials. facilities. language teaching remains their prima- Binational centers can be big oper- Student advising is an additionalry source of revenue. In general, theations. At some of them, there is a main educational service provided by bina-size of the city determines the size ofbuilding and one or more branch offices tional centers to people interested inthe BNC. The largest metropolitanwith additional classroom space. For studying in the United States. A well-areas have the biggest centers with theexample,the BNCs inMonterrey, equipped academic advising office canbest facilities. In countries where there Mexico; Arequipa, Peru, and Asunción, provide accurate and up-to-date infor-is more than one BNC, the centersParaguay have two branches in neigh- mation, including print and CD-ROMcooperate closely and pool resources. Inboring communities. The BNC in Rio catalogs, on hundreds of American col-other places, the centers maintain theirde Janeiro, Brazil has five branches. In leges and universities. Some of the larg- independence and separate identities in a city as large as Sao Paulo, Brazil, er BNCs host annual recruiting fairsthe crowded marketplace for Englishthere are actually two different U.S.- where prospective students can get language instruction. Brazilian binational centers, each with applications for admission and talk to In 1990,theAssociationofthousands of students. representatives from American schools. Binational Centers of Latin America The Instituto Cultural Peruano Finally, cultural activities for stu-(ABLA) was formed by center directors Norteamerica in Lima, Peru (ICPNA) dents are also offered at BNCs. Forwho saw the need for regular interna-has two branch buildings, but the other example,theAssociagdoCulturaltional networking among themselves.numbers for this BNC are the most Brasil-Estados Unidos inSalvador,ABLA is an informal organization ofimpressive. At its three sites, ICPNA Brazil and the Centro Ecuatoriano BNCs throughout the region; there is nohas a total of 33,500 students and 360 Norteamericano in Guayaquil, Ecuadorpermanent headquarters. Every twofull-time teachers. There are another 30

ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 ,' 27 .1 92 teachers who teach part-time and alsothe years. CCCN leaders decided that ithttp://www.colomboworld.com (click work as academic coordinators andwould not be big enough, however, foron "Quienes somos" and then on "Tour supervisors.Itsfacilities are remark-what they had in mind to celebrate the virtual CCA"). able: each of the 215 classrooms in thecenter's 50th anniversary in 1995. First, Like many other non-profit institu- ICPNA system has a networked com- they booked Grammy-award winningtions that have stood the test of time, puter that the teacher uses to sign in andjazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, andbinational centers have gone through record grades. If a teacher doesn't signthen they rented the most historic andsome changes in policy and personnel, in using the classroom computer at theprestigious theater in San José for thefrom their early days with considerable beginning of class, then the academicconcert. The show quickly sold out andfinancial support from the U.S. embassy department knows to send a substitutewas an exemplary instance of cross-cul-to the present, when BNCs operate promptly. Also, if the teacher needstural appreciation: a musician born inautonomously of the American govern- help, for example, for room mainte-Cuba playing a style of music born inment and are self-supporting. Despite nance or a medical emergency, the com-the United States to an enthusiasticthe changes, the focus of binational cen- puter is used to notify the department. audience of Costa Ricans. ters remains the same: creating opportu- Finally, all the supplemental materials nities for face-to-face encounters with for the textbooks have been digitizedFor More Information people from different countries to pro- (with the publishers' permission) andFor readers interested in learning moremote mutual understanding, respect, are stored on a server. In each class-about the binational centers in Latinand friendship. It's a mission that fits room, teachers can play the appropriateAmerica,thereareseveralonlinequite well into the world of English lan- audio or video segment without having sources.First,the center in Santos,guage teaching, and throughout Latin to cue up a machine with a tape inside. Brazil has created a site with informa-America, BNCs remain major players in At those BNCs fortunate enough totion about ABLA and a list of BNCs atthe field. have a fully-equipped theater, there ishttp://www.abla.ccbeunet.br/index. usually a busy schedule of cultural and html. Next, the Office of English artistic events, especially music, drama, Language Programs of the U.S. State and dance performances. For example,Department has a separate list of BNCs theCentroCulturalCostarricense at http://exchanges.state. gov/educa- WilliamP.AnckerisanEnglish Norteamericano in San José, Costation/engteaching/eal-elp. htm. Finally,LanguageOfficerwiththeU.S. Rica (CCCN) has excellent facilitiesthe Centro Colombo Americano inDepartment of State and is currently with its 315-seat Eugene O'Neill theaterMedellin, Colombia has a virtual tour inserving as editor of English Teaching and has hosted hundreds of events overSpanish,English,andFrenchatForum magazine. Ace Read& athelstan Proficient Reading Software by Step Ware, Inc. software Read faster with CD-ROMs better understanding! books Concordance software Break the habits that slow you down: NEW: MP 2.2 $85 sub-vocalization and re-reading. Highlight collocates, corpus comparison, sorted Unique software package with over 200 concordance lines. Save results as html file. Demo reading and comprehension tests. available on the web. MonoConc 1.5 $69 Effective for: Simpler concordance program for use by language Students learners. Basic search, sort, save. Collocate and Parents corpus frequency information. Teachers Corpus of Spoken Professional American English $79 Business Transcripts. 2 million words. Untagged and tagged Executives (POS) versions. Award-winning software ONLY $24.95 ParaConc (parallel concordance') $99 INFO: 970-243-9390SALES: 800-999-2734 www.acereader.com www.athel.com

28 9 3 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 Tom's Top Ten

BYTomRIEDMILLER Since this is our technology issue, I thought a techcen-7. Best Jobs in Japan Site tered column would be just the thing. Some might ask, ELT News bills itself as "the" source for job info in Japan. I "Tom, why another article on using the Internet for thetend to agree. There are links to the JET program, universities job search?" Easy. The Web is where it's at. Besides network- and the ubiquitous conversation schools. For everything ing (that's another column!), the Internet is one of your most"Japan," go to http://www.eltnews.com/horne.shtml. important resources for your job search. So hang on tight and let's look at Tom's Top Ten websites for the ESL/EFL8. Best Newspaper Advertisements Site job search! For links to newspapers and their want ads all over the world, try Onlinenewspapers.com. http://www.onlinenewspapers.com 1. Best International Schools Site //index.htm This clickable map leads you to Yahoo's directory of schools worldwide. Just click the school you want and their employ- 9. Best Professional Resource Site ment button (Believe me, they will have an employment but-If you haven't joined TESOL (http://www.tesol.org), Teachers ton.) http://web66.coled.umn.edu/schools.html of English to Speakers of Other Languages, you should. TESOL's job resources and networking opportunities are sec- 2. Best Teaching in U.S. Government Schools Site ond to none. Members can take advantage of TESOL's jobs e- Granted,it'sthe only officialsite, but hey! Browse tobulletin, job workshops and jobfinder. Everyone can make use http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/ and you'll get the latest informa-of the great FAQs and career advice. tion and applications for teaching for Uncle Sam in far away romantic locations. 10. Best Overall Site Dave Sperling, creator of Dave's ESL Cafe (http://eslcafe 3. Best Job Fair Site .com), still holds the trophy for best ESL/EFL site on the U.S. citizens' tax dollars are hard at work providing informa-Internet. Dave's site is a springboard for your job search. The tion about teacher recruitment fairs. This site carries a great listjob bulletin boards are active and employers post daily. Caveat: of links to the larger recruitment fairs and useful informationThose seeking serious academic positions will be disap- about teaching overseas. http://www.state.gov/www/about_pointed. state/schools/oteaching.html Humble guy that I am, I'll admit that the websites in this 4. Best K-12 Site column are not the be all and end all. There may be some Web This directory links you to back to Yahoo and virtually every heads out there who have found something even better. If so, school system on the Web and on the planet. A great start!come to my website and share your fabulous finds at http://web66.coled.umn.edu/schools.html http://fp.uni.edu/riedmill/jobpage.htm.

5. Best Higher Education and Intensive English Site Higheredjobs.com (http://Higheredjobs.com) competes with Tom Riedmiller teaches in the Culture and Intensive English the venerable Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chroni- Program at the University of Northern Iowa. You can reach cle.com) for jobs in intensive English, teacher education and him via his webpage http://fp.uni.edu/riedmill. related fields. Postings seem to creep from the Chronicle to Higheredjobs.com. At both sites, you'll find a good number of U.S. colleges, universities and even community colleges that are advertising for ESL pros. 01® riethe fun way/ 6. Best TEFL Site Building langua The TEFL Professional Network (http:// www.tefl.com/) is a good source for all Accelerating language and learning things TEFL. Be careful, though. I tried to subscribe to their email alerts, but now I through traditional kids' songs dip can't get off the alert list no matter how See and hear it all on hard I try. Other good TEFL sites include http://tefl.net/ and The TEFL JOB Centre our website: www.singlish.com http://www.jobs.edunet.com(Ilove the British -re!). 877- 375-SING " ESL MAGAZINE MARCH/APRIL 2003 94 29 Parents Become Partners with New Language Methods Books KEEP BOOKS and LIBRITOS M1OS for ESL Teachers KEEP BOOKS address ) Yale University Press the need for inexpen- has a growing list of CATALOG sivebut appropriate books in methods and booksinthe home. ESL, including Beyond ,Written and developed Methods: Macrostrat- SHOWCASE lbyeducators, they egiesforLanguage enhance achievement Stay current with the latest because children are Teaching, by B. Kum- motivated and encour- L, aravadivelu and 12 v./ '%:(1,1 trAcerlei products and services for aged to read at home. American Voices: An 1..113;u...1.,. Tr ESL/EFL professionals. AvailableinSpanish Authentic Listening and English for Pre-K through 2nd grade read- and Integrated Skills Textbook. ing levels. To place your catalog or product in the Read sample chapters at Catalog Showcase, call 410-570-0746. KEEP BOOKS yalebooks.com/methods 800-678-6484 customer.care@triliteraLorg www.keepbooks.org 800-405-1619 Continental Press Don't Let Our Name Beginning ESL Videos Materials for ESL/ELL Students Fool You! With Teacher's Guide Do you have stu- Continental Press ofdents who speak fers a variety of ESL/ World of Reading littleor no Eng- ELL materialsfor offers the largest Grade 1-9 students, lish? Stage One including workbooks range of ESL soft- Productions has and test preparation wareK through created ahighly materials.Subjects adultall atdis- acclaimedsuite include reading and counted prices. of 12 Natural Ap- language arts, math- proach videos ematics, social stud- startingat$275. Teaches standard ies and science. See our latest materi- American accent through lessons, skits als in our new 2004 catalog! and songs. Call for our 2003 print catalog: For more information or a free download For a FREE catalog, call us at 404-233-4042 or 800-729-3703 800-233-0759 or visit us online at go to www.ESL.net www.continentalpress.com or visit us online at www.wor.com. or call 1-888-886-514 for details.

I want ESLMagazineat the low introductory rate! I understand I must fill out this form, sign and fax it la . to the number below with my credit card information, or mail It to the address below with payment Special Introductory Rate: 1 Year (6 issues) U.S./P.R.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95*, Outside North America: $34.95*. 2 Years (12 issues)U.S./P.R.: $32.95, Canada/Mexico: $49.95*, Outside North America: $69.95*. Name Payment Title 0 Check or Money Order.Must be enclosed and made out to ESL Magazine. 0 Purchase Order. Organization El Credit Card. 0 Visa 0 MasterCard Address Card # City State/Province Postal Code Country Exp. Date.ED- Phone Signature Date (in case of a problem with your order) (required) Subscription price: Signature Date (required) Maryland residents add 5% sales tax: TOTAL Please take a moment to answer these questions: 1. Please indicate your specific position. (check 1)3. Do you work in a public or private institution?6. What dollar amount (U.S.) of a. 0 teacherb. 0 administrator a. 0 public b. 0 private ESL materlais/services do c. 0 director z. 0 other 4.Do you purchase ESL teaching materials you purchase each year? 2. What level of ESL do you work with? Orservices? a. 0 0-$999 a. 0 elementary (Pre-K-6th grade) a.0 yes b. 0 no b. 0 $1000.44,999 b. 0 middle school (7-8th grade) 5.What kind of materials or services c. 0 $5000-$10,000 c. O high school (9-I2th grade) ouid you purchase? d. 0 Over $10,000 d. 0 college/university a.O books I.O educational trips 7. What is your highest earned e. E IEP/Intensive Language Center academic degree? b.O software g.O travel insurance f. 0 adult education c.0 video h.O map and a. 0 Bachelors or equivalent g. 0 teacher preparation k b. 0 Masters or equivalent d. hardware ootghrearphy materia c. 0 Doctorate C.0 audio z. nAll prices in U.S.$ and must be paid in US.Jimds from US bank Plwtocopy this FAX THIS FORIVI TO 630-214 2888 carOtin. additional subscripthms. (must include credit card information) or mail with payment to: ESLMagazine,220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401

30 BEST COPYAVAILABLE 9i5 ESL MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2003 --I Om

Today's complex and multilingual world demands a fr variety of English language assessments for students interested in living, studying, and working in English- speaking countries. Recognizing this need, the College Board has designed these assessments for English as a Foreign Language and English as a Second Language students. Choose One or Both for Your Institution

ELPT' part of SAT® II: Subject Tests, tests students' understanding of spoken and written standard American English and their ability to use English in the classroom and in daily life. The test concentrates on evaluating academic and practical use of the language with less emphasis on grammar and usage than might be found on other English language tests. For more information on ELPT, please call 800 784-1462.

LOEF" part of ACCUPLACER®, is a comprehensive batteiy of tests delivered online and designed to place college students of limited English proficiency in appropriate courses. ACCUPLACER offers a variety of computer adaptive tests covering the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The Available to two- and four-year institutions, LOEP is used for academic .6- JCollege advisement and placement of students from the novice to advanced levels. Board For more information on LOEP, please call 800 486-8497.

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Learner management system 2002 ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING Er INSTRUCTION SYSTEM, INC Tests, Games, & Quizzes . . July/August 2003 U.S. S3.95, Canada $4.95 Effective Ways to Build Vocabulary Knowledge Cryptograms in the ESL/EFL Classroom MAGAZINE 0 Creating Congenial Classrooms *FORMATION SOURCE FOR ESL7tFL PROFESSIONALS WORLD

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FEATURES Family Literacy and ESL by David L. Red 10 Effective Ways of Building Vocabulary Knowledge by Paul Nation 14 Page 10 Cryptograms in the EFL/ESL Classroom by Lee Oakes and Marilyn Rosenthal 22 Creating Congenial Classrooms by Kirsten Schaetzel 26

DEPARTMENTS Editor's Note 4

Letters to the Editor 5 News Briefs 6 Page 14 Conference Calendar 6 Reviews 20 Catalog Showcase 30

COLUMNS

Christine Meloni's Networthy 8

Richard Firsten, The Grammar Guy 18 Greg Kessler's Technology 24 Tom Riedmiller's Employment Focus 28 Page 22

Who's Reading ESL Magazine?

Francisco Hernandez Regional Coordinator for Migrant/ELL Services at the Northwest Regional Free resources for Education Service District teachers at in Hillsboro, DR. The www.eslmag.com r- NWRESD supports 20 school districts, including 6,135 migrant students and 23,475 ELL students.

100 Page 26

ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 3 EDITOR'S NOTE ESL MAGAZINE The magazine for English as a --- Family literacya Second Language professionals.

Publisher foundation for success GEORGE H. CLEMES, III

Editorial Director e know that family is an influential factor in manystudents' success in MARILYN ROSENTHAL

school. David Red describes how various family literacy programs Editor KATHLEEN R. BEALL geared toward English language learners provide parents with language and life skills, which give entire families greater hope for and access to success Contributing Editors DAVID L. RED in the future. RICHARD FIRSTEN

Paul Nation shares excellent ideas about helping ESL/EFL students build GREG KESSLER their vocabularies in English. You'll find his article practical and ready-to-use! CHRISTINE MELONI PAUL NATION My friend and colleague, Lee Oakes, usually gives me a cryptogram for my LEE OAKES birthday in August, which I always celebrate like it's a national holiday. This Tom RIEDMILLER

August I asked her to join me in writing about cryptograms for the ESL/EFL KIRSTEN SCHAETZEL MONA SCHERAGA classroom. The results of our efforts are in this issue. Webmaster Would like to hear more of your students' opinions in the classroom? CHARLES FOWLER

Would you like your students to get along well, even when they have diverse Advertising Sales 410-570-0746 backgrounds and world views? You'll find wonderful insights for creating 630-214-2888 (fax) [email protected] "congenial classrooms" in Kirsten Schaetzel's article. Subscription Information All the best! Introductory rate: 1 year, 6 issues, U.S.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95, outside North America: $34.95. All prices in U.S. $ and must be paid in U.S. funds. To sub- Marilyn Rosenthal scribe, fill out subscription form on page Editorial Director 29 (photocopy additional forms if necessary) and mail with payment to: ESL Magazine,220 McKendree Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or fax subscrip- orl c.ej tion form with credit card information to 630-214-2888. Please call 410-570-0746 slngc40ffie for all other inquiries. rtethe fun w ESLMagazineis published bimonthly Building langtxa by Bridge Press, LLC 220 McKendree Avenue Accelerating language and learning Annapolis, MD 21401 [email protected] through traditional kids' songs op www.eslmag.com

4 101 ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . Sperling's Guide to Internet both in terms of time and money. Writing Resources There are many ESL students who Dave Sperling is rightthe Internetneed qualified teachers and many will not go away, and I'm glad! Itteachers who need more qualifica- offers so many resources to teachers. Itions. Hopefully, online training will '1.1', feel very fortunate to be teaching inhelp with the teacher shortage. the "Information Age." Dave's list of WILLIAM GRIEST writing resources will be most helpful. Wildwood, NJ It will be near my desk at all times, for Write Us! Send letters to work and for fun! Binational Centers [email protected] or ESL Magazine, ELIZABETH KERR Thank you for William Ancker's 220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401. Vancouver, B.C. article about binational centers. These Include your name and position or address. nonprofit organizations are accom- How long before you publishplishinggreatthingsinLatin ESL Textbook Companion "Dave'sSperling's GuidetotheAmerica. The article is an excellent Websites Internet's Best Reading Resources"reminder that friendships between l Thank youforMurray andand "Dave's Sperling's Guide to thenations need cultivating. This can Reagan's excellent "one-stop" listingInternet's Best Listening Resources"? happen through a variety of means of publishers' companion websites. P. ANDRIANOSincluding language instruction, I've never used companion website Syracuse, NYlibraries, the arts and other cultural materials before. I visited some of the activities. ESL/EFL teachers world- sites listed in the article and liked whatOnline TESL/TEFL Training wide should view their classrooms as I saw. I plan to do more research and Thomas Nixon's article on online"multinational centers" in which stu- perhaps steer our program towardTESL/TEFL training was informative dents build friendships through lan- using materials that have alltheseand helpful. I hope more state educa-guagelearning and many other online resources to go with them. tional agencies will follow Florida's means. ---A. PHILIPS lead and help teachers get the creden- M. JONES Seattle, WA tials they need in an affordable way, Oak Park, IL Students Love It! I I. A complete language-learning "kit"! Includes Instructions in Spanish Phrasebull Flash Cards & Sticky Labels Colorful Illustrations, Crosswords and more!

en 10 manillasGL.ES "I've found nothing else Collocations are common word al dia that is as versatile, simple combinations such as "speak fluently" and easy to use." and "meet a challenge." This unique - Pamela Mann, Migrant dictionary gives over 170,000 collocations Ed Teacher for 12,000 words, which adds up toa "winning formula!" Bilingual Books, Inc.(800) OXFORD 488-5068www.bbks.com UNIVERSITY PRESS www.oup.com/us/esl $17.95ISBN 0-944502-30-X

ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 BEST COPY 102 AVAILABLE 5 NEWS BRIEFS New Prizes for Excellence in National Recognition for IEP International Education Accrediting Agency Program In June, the Goldman Sachs Foundation createdthe Prizes for The Commission onEnglishLanguage Excellence in International Education to recognize the best Accreditation (CEA) announced in June that it has been examples of international education for K-12 students and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an offi- those working to promote international education. Prizes of cial accrediting body for intensive English programs (IEPs) in the $25,000 each will be awarded annually to 1) an elementary/mid- United States. CEA received a two-year recognition. U.S. law dle school that engages its students in learning about other world requires international students to attend certified schools. Now regions, cultures and languages; 2) a high school that engages its IEPs can be certified by an accreditation agency specializing in students in learning about Asia, Africa, Latin America or the the field of English language education and administration. The Middle East, or about international affairs through its curriculum CEA began as an advisory committee within the association and partnerships with other countries or local organizations; 3) a Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. state that actively promotes the development of international (TESOL) in 1995. The advisory committee developed standards knowledge and skills on a wide scale by creating robust state for IEPs and proposed the organization of an accrediting body for policies and specific programmatic initiatives; 4) a higher educa- IEPs. In 1999, CEA became an organization independent from tion institution that shows exceptional commitment to promoting TESOL but received a grant and loan from TESOL to begin. international knowledge and skills K- 16 through its teacher preparation program or by creating ongoing partnerships with local schools to introduce international content; 5) a private sec- Free Website Helps Adults tor or nonprofit organization that has developed outstanding pro- Learn English grams using media/technology to educate students orteachers about other world regions and cultures, or international issues. English for All is a free, web-based multimedia program Applications due 9/30/03. http://www. InternationalEd.org/prizes. for adult English learners at the high beginning level. The program has been developed by the Division of Adult Career Education of the Los Angeles Unified School Conference Calendar District and is funded through the U.S. Department of July November Education. It includes video, CD-ROM, instructional website 10-11 Paraguay TESOL. Asuncion, 1 Northern Regional CATESOL. and print materials. Students can work through five different Paraguay. Contact Andrea Amarilla Canada Com. College. Contact: [email protected] stories and 20 episodes. For each episode, students are pre- Saguier, [email protected]. sented with activities for building linguistic and social/cultur- 31-August 2 Japan Association 1 Indiana TESOL. Indianapolis, IN. for Language Education and Contact [email protected]. al skills. www.myefa.org/login.cfm Technology (LET). Osaka, Japan. 1-2 Washington TESOL (WAESOL). E-mail [email protected]. Seattle, WA. Contact 509-335-3431. August 6-8 Texas TESOL (TEXTESOL). 23-25 URUTESOL. 2003 TESOL Austin, TX. Contact Southern Cone Regional www.textesoLorg. Convention. Montevideo, Uruguay. 7-8 Colorado TESOL (COTESOL). 4:41)14/'1,144 Contact [email protected]. Denver, CO. Contact September [email protected] 24-27 Louisiana TESOL. III 7-9 New York TESOL (NYS TESOL). New Orleans, LA. Contact Susan New York, New York. Ary, [email protected]. Contact 212-678-3074. 26-28 Panama TESOL. 8 Oregon TESOL (ORTESOL). Panama City, Panama. Contact Portland, OR. Contact Carlos Prescott, 507-221-5595. www.ortesol.org. October 13-15 TESL Canada (BCTEAL). Burnaby, BC, Canada. Contact 3-5 IATEFL. Budapest, Hungary. 604-736-6330. Contact Eszter Falus, [email protected]. 14-15 Ohio TESOL. Columbus, OH. Contact [email protected]. 10-12 INGED-Turkey, BETA-Romania, ETAI-Israel and 21-22 Italy TESOL. Rome. TESOL-Greece Joint Conference. Contact [email protected]. Ankara, Turkey. Contact 21-22 TESOL France. Paris, [email protected]. France. [email protected]. 17-18 Washington Area TESOL 21-22 Puerto Rico TESOL. (WATESOL). Annandale, VA. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Contact Contact www.watesol.org. [email protected]. 17-18 Wisconsin TESOL 28-30 EgypTESOL. Cairo, Egypt. (WITESOL). Eau Claire, WI. Contact www.egyptesol.org. Contact Beth Kozbial Ernst, [email protected]. 30-1 TESOL Greece. Athens, Greece. Contact [email protected]. 18 California TESOL (CATESOL). San Diego, CA. Contact December Ordering CAL publications and www.catesol.org. 2-5 Asia CALL international 18-19 Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). Bangkok, Thailand. Contact resources has neverbeen easier. Seoul, South Korea. Contact www.asiacall.org. Click or call today to learn more about our wide array of publications Yangdon Ju, [email protected]. January 2004 and resources designed to serve your language education needs. 25 California TESOL (CATESOL). 29-31 Thailand TESOL. Pomona, CA. Contact Khonhaen, Thailand. Contact www.catesoLorg. www.thaitesoLorg. 1-800-551-3709 ,Intl 31-1 Michigan TESOL (MITESOL). III 29-31 TESOL Ukraine. Ann Arbor, MI. Contact: Jennifer www.cal.orgIstore Donestska Oblast, Ukraine. cims-ore Warren-Craft, 248-942-3184. Contact www.tesol-ua.org.

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ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 ftj4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 7 Web Resources for CreatingFamily Trees

To help students master the vocabulary of familyrela- ideas about ways to design family trees. It shows ten blank tionships, ESL/EFL teachers frequently make use ofcharts including a nine-generation fan chart, a seven-genera- family tree charts. They create their own family trees astion bow-tie chart, five- and six-generation charts, and five- models, and then ask students to make their own personaland four-generation couples charts. These blank charts can be charts. The World Wide Web is an excellent resource for find-printed out. ing suitable materials for this activity. Teachers can find free The Family Tree Magazine site also offers materials that downloadable charts at numerous sites on the Web. teachers can assign to students as preparatory work. For TheFamilyTreeMagazineathttp://www.fami-example, before filling out a family tree, students can com- lytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html provides a simpleplete "family group sheets" for nuclear families and/or com- five-generation ancestor chart. If more than five generationsplete biographical outlines for individual family members. need to be recorded, two charts can be printed out. Family Another interesting form at the magazine's site is the terms need to be filled in but the phrases "birthdate and"Time Capsule" that includes a list of future-oriented ques- place," "marriage date and place," and "death date and place"tions such as "What great new invention do you foresee being are printed under the line for each individual onthe chart. created in the next 50 years?" or "What problems do you think The Pellaart site at http://www.pellaart.com offers two fam-will still be around 75 years from now? Which ones will we ily tree charts. One is a standard chart, and the other is in thehave been able to solve by then?" While this is not directly shape of a tree. Family vocabulary is printed on both. related to family trees, it encourages students to think about The Ancestors website of Brigham Young University athow the world changes from generation to generation. http://www.byubroadcasting.org/ancestors/charts/ has both a standard chart and a family group record chart, both in PDFChristine Meloni is a professor of EFL and a senior research WashingtonUniversityin format. associateatTheGeorge The Tree Maker site at http://www.thetreemaker.com/Washington, DC. She welcomes comments and suggestions samples.html sells customized charts, but it also gives visitorsfrom readers. She can be reached at [email protected].

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ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 8 105- Il_faak,d&=_sk

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Strategic READING 1 Strategic aq tlfrcte licrOmil$6010 Strategic READING READING 2 Strategic READING 3 ' Jack C. Richards and SamuelaEckstut-Didier Family Literacy and ESL BY DAVID L. RED

Family literacy is a term that has beencation. These types of programs provide change perspective. The major difference in use since at least the 1980s. It is some of the four basic services outlined by among these three models is the view taken also referred to as intergenerational Congress, but not all. The focus of instruc-of the participants' role in society and their literacy or two-generation programs. In the tion differs among these programs. Family-ability to contribute to their own learning United States, family literacy began incentered childhood education provides and improve their situation. Kentucky among American-born women childhood education and parent training, who had little formal education and whoand maybe PACT, but it does not provideFamily Literacy and ESL often had children at a young age. A four- adult basic education. Family-centered Nowadays, however, family literacy pro- part model of family literacy was developed adult education provides adult basic educa- grams are often for immigrant families, to meet the needs of these women. This tion and parent training, and maybe PACT, many of whom do not have the same needs model is now enshrined in several laws inbut it does not provide childhood education. as those in early programs. As a result, fam- theUnitedStates,forexample,the The program provides services directly toily literacy for English language learners Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the parent with the intention of reaching thehas often had to shift its emphasis to devel- the Head Start Act and others. child through the parent. Family-centeredoping English language skills for the par- Congress defines family literacyin parent education provides parent training ents and helping them understand and nego- terms of services. These services must be of and PACT, but normally lacks childhoodtiate the American school system in which sufficient intensity (in terms of hours) andand adult basic education. The purpose oftheir children are enrolled. Also, many of duration to make substantial changes in a this type of program is to teach "parents to these parent participants have had education family and must integrate the fol- in their home countries and lowing four components: may not need a high school Interactive literacy activities diploma. For reasons such as between parents and their children these, the four-part model has [parent and child interaction time been amended in many programs, but not done away with (PACT)], Training for parents regard- because of federal restraints on ing how to be the primary teacher money. for their children and full partners 411k_ Two family literacy in the education of their children, programs that support ESL Parent literacy training that learners have been described in leads to economic self-sufficiency the literature. The first is the Literacy (adult basic education), and Intergenerational Age-appropriate education to Project described by Paratore prepare children (from birth to age (2001). This program supports eight) for success in school and life the literacy development of parents, helps parents support their experiences. Family literacy began as a pro- children's literacy development gram for native English-speaking at home, and provides parents Americans and has evolved and with information about school been adapted for ESL learners. culture and ways to help their children in school. It does not Types of Family Literacy Programs implement activitiesat home that willdirectly involve children in its program but In the United States, the National Center for improve their children's early literacyinstead focuses on the parents. Project Family Literacy (NCFL), a nonprofit corpo- knowledge" (Paratore 2003). FLAME as described by Rodriquez-Brown ration established in 1989, has been the (2003) is similar. Itis based on certain leader in promoting family literacy. It rec- Issues in Family Literacy assumptions: "a supportive home environ- ognizes that not all programs are the same. According to the NCFL, it has "focused the ment is essential to early literacy develop- According to information on its website nationalattention on thecriticallink ment, the belief that parents can have a pos- (http://www.famlitorg/media/pfacts. html), betweenundereducationandpoverty itive effect on children's learning, and the family literacy falls into two broad cate- through training, research and advocacy. knowledge that, if parents are confident and gories: comprehensive family literacy pro-The correlation between undereducatedsuccessful learners, they will be the most grams and family-centered (or family-parents and the potential failure of theireffectiveteacherstotheirchildren" focused) literacy programs. The first type,children in school is well-documented.... (Rodriquez-Brown 2003, 129). This pro- the comprehensive program, provides inten- Adults who lack basic skills need special gram does not bring the children into the sive services that integrate the four compo- assistance to break out of the cycle oftraining but focuses much of its instruction nents outlined in the laws of the U.S. undereducation and poverty" (http://www. on helping parents help their children. It Congress. This type of program is frequent- famlitorg/medialpfacts.html). These simple also encourages parents to become volun- ly referred to as the Kenan Trust Modelstatements have given rise to very different teers in their children's schools. (Edmiaston & Fitzgerald 2003). Federally- interpretations of the role of family literacy The question of native-language litera- funded Even Start programs must follow and the way it is presented to participants. cy is also an issue in ESL family literacy this model. Auerbach (1995) suggested that therecourses. Some programs do encourage non- Programs of the second type, family- are three approaches to family literacy, each literate learners to learn to read in their centered programs, tend to be placed within of which takes a different perspective on thenative language, but the vast majority of a larger program context and can be broken participants and the program (see sidebar). family literacy programs teach literacy in into three basic categories: family-centered The firstisthe intervention-preventionEnglish. Both Project FLAME and the childhoodeducation, family-centeredadultapproach, the second is the multiple-litera- Intergenerational Literacy Project follow education, and family-centeredparentedu- cies perspective, and the third is the social this practice.

10 107 ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 One Program's Solution the Internet and other technology sources. school requirements. The participants are The Adult English for Speakers of Other For the last half hour of class, the par-usually mothers and sometimes other fami- Languages (ESOL) office in Fairfax County ents and the children come together for a ly members. They tend to come to the pro- Public Schools in Virginia has a family lit-shared activity such as alphabet bingo orgram when the children reach school age, eracy component. It can best be described shared books. In one class, adults drew the and many have been in America for several as family-centered adult education andoutline of the children's bodies on large years but have come to realize their need for includes adult ESOL education, parentingpieces of paper, and the adults and childrenEnglish when their children enter school. and PACT. These classes are taught in the labeled the body parts as part of a health The nonEnglish-speaking family members afternoon or evenings in elementary schools lesson. Each family literacy class has a are most concerned with how they can help and classes are free for family members oflibrary of commercial children's books that their children with school. The teachers in children in the elementary schools. The come with tapes. Parents are encouraged to the program encourage parents to have rich learners come from many different lan- check these books out and take them home discussions with their children about school guage backgrounds and come to learn spo- to share with their children. Even if parents and to provide them a quiet environment for ken English and English literacy. are unable to read the English, they andstudy. The family literacy classes prepare The program currently has a family lit-their children can listen and read along. parents for parent-teacher conferences eracy specialist who coordinates all activi- Teaching parents how to share books through role play and demonstration. The ties in the program. With the help of feder- with their children is a critical component school system provides translators for these al and other grant funds, this program of the family literacy program. Even when conferences, but the classes provide parents reaches out to the parents and other family family members lack the literacy skills to with information about what teachers members of the English language learnersread English, they can share rich language expect and prepare parents to communicate enrolled in school. The classes for adult experiences with their children. One of the with teachers. learners are two hours long and meet twice pervasive myths in education is that parents One of the benefits of the family liter- a week. The children who accompany their have to speak English with their children to acy program is the adults' involvement in family members to these classes spend theimprove their chances in school, but noth- the school and community. Family mem- first hour and a half with care providers,ing could be further from the truth whenbers who participate in the classes often who normally engage the children in learn- English is a new language for the parents. become volunteersatthe school and ing activities. Some schools use teachers as Instead, the program encourages parents tobecome active members of the school com- care providers, others use volunteers, andtalk to their children in their native lan- munity. They are introduced to the public stillothers use paid childcare providers. guage because that is the medium through library system by taking class trips together, Arrangements for caring for the children which knowledge is passed from generation and many of them get library cards for the are left to the individual schools. to generation and the medium for future lit- first time. They learn how to use the Internet The adult family members receiveeracy development. Research has shown to access important community information English language instruction for one and a that "regardless of all the other differences on local health clinics, parks and recreation, half hours using various materials provided found between families (education level,the department of motor vehicles, etc. by the program. According to the expressedparents'intelligencequotients[IQs], With the advent of the No Child Left needs of the learners, materials may include socioeconomic level, and/or race), the best Behind Act, which has a strong emphasis on picture dictionaries, English language text- predictor of academic performance was the literacy skills for LEP children, the Fairfax books, or a specially written curriculum sheer amount of talk that was directed at the County Public Schools Family Literacy focusing on English literacy and civics edu- babies" (Enz 2003, 51). The participants inprogram is looking for ways to further inte- cation (EL/Civics). The latter curriculum the family literacy program are encouraged grate K-12 education with adult education. includes lessons on the school and the com- to spend time talking to their children, shar-The program is planning staff development munity, health and consumerism. This cur- ing their stories with them. In class they are for family literacy teachers that focuses on riculum was written for multi-level classes. given practice in using picture books to tell literacy acquisition of adults and children Where available, computers are used to stories. and the kinds of activities that can be done enhance the instruction, and the EL/Civics The parenting aspect of the program is to help adults learn to help their children. curriculum includes specific exercises using primarily a discussion of school culture and The adult program is also strengthening ties Three Approaches to Family Literacy Intervention Prevention Multiple-Literacies Social Changes Stresses correlation between Sees problem that families have with Social change perspective is simi- undereducated parents and poten- literacy and schooling as a "mis- lar to multiple-literacies perspec- tial failure of their children. match between culturally variable tive, but goes beyond culture to Suggests undereducated parents home literacy practices and school address issues of power. are unable "to promote positive lit- literacies; it sees the solution as P- At heart of perspective is idea eracy attitudes and interactions in investigating and validating students' "that problems of marginalized the home" (Auerbach 1995, 644). multiple literacies and cultural people originate in a complex inter- Suggests problems with America's resources in order to inform school- action of political, social, and eco- social and economic systems are ing" (Auerbach 1995, 651). nomic factors in the broader soci- rooted in the family, not in the Sees participants in programs bring- ety rather than in family inadequa- greater society. ing with them home practices that cies or differences between home are rich and varied and should be and school cultures" (Auerbach 10. Suggests family literacy classes 1995, 654). are way to change family behaviors valued by mainstream as valid prac- and attitudes. tices upon which to build. Social context must be focus of Sees rich language interactions in change in this view, not individu- Programs often teach parents ways als. to read to their children, and also home as points of departure rather improve their parenting skills. than practices to be eliminated. IA* Follows principles of Paolo Friere Sees culture of participants as (1981), who advocates for social bridge to culture of mainstream. change as goal of education. Sees participants involved in creating curriculum, and having curricular materials that are culturally familiar. 0 ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 los 11 with the K-12 ESOL system to ensure that U.S. Department of Health and Humannew century. ESL researchers and practi- the childcare provided during classes will Services and focuses on the whole child. tioners should be a major voice in the devel- provide the children with the pre-literacyThe 1998 reauthorization of Head Start opment of family literacy for ESL popula- and literacy training that will enhance their mandated that the program promote school tions. chances of success in school. readiness by enhancing the social and cog- The family literacy program is also nitive development of low-income children. David Red is the coordinator for adult introducing standardized assessment for its Recently, President Bush has asked that ESOL for Faitfax County Public Schools in participants to meet the requirements ofHead Start become more of a literacy pro- Virginia. adult education. A grant allowed the program and that providers receive literacy gram to purchase four laptop computers,training. This request has stirred some REFERENCES which will be used to administer the com-apprehension and opposition among Head Auerbach, E. 1995. Deconstructing the discourse puter-based Basic EnglishSkillsTest Start providers, and the matter is yet to play of strengths in family literacy. Journal of Reading (BEST) Plus assessment. out completely. Behavior. 4: 643-661. Title1IIof theElementary and Edmiaston, R. K., and L. M. Fitzgerald. 2003. Secondary School Act is one source of Exploring Even Start and Head Start family litera- Future Directions in cy programs. In Family literacy: From theory to Family Literacy funding that will become important in fam- practice, ed. A. DeBruin-Parecki and B. Krol- The changes in K-12 education brought ily literacy. It states that funds may be used Sinclair,168-183. Newark, DE: International about by the No Child Left Behind Act and for "family literacy services and parent out- Reading Association. the changes that will likely be introduced in reach and training activities to limited Enz,B.J. 2003. The ABCs of family literacy. In thereauthorizationoftheWorkforce English proficient children and their fami- Family literacy: From theory to practice, ed. A. Investment Act that outlines and funds lies to assist parents in helping their chil- DeBruin-Parecki and B. Krol-Sinclair, 50-67. many adult education programs will affectdren to improve their academic achieve- Newark, DE: International Reading Association. family literacy programs. Even Start has ment and to become active participants in Freire, P. 1981. Education for critical conscious- been strengthened in the reauthorization ofthe education of their children." This is new ness. New York: Continuum. money for family literacy, so schools are Paratore, J. R. 2003. Building on family literacies: the Elementary and Secondary Education Examining the past and planning the future. In Act and will likely be a major Source ofjust beginning to use these funds. These are Family literacy: From theory to practice, ed. A. funding for 'family literacy. Even Start has some of the funds that the Fairfax County DeBruin-Parecki and B.Krol-Sinclair,8-27. requirementsthatanyone consideringPublic Schools Family Literacy program Newark, DE: International Reading Association. applying for funds must meet. For example, hopes to use to further its outreach to adult Paratore,J.R. 2001. Opening doors, opening Even Start must run year-round and not just family members of elementary children opportunities: Family literacy in an urban commu- during the school year. Even Start federal who are learning English. nity. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. funds diminish each year of a grant and Family literacy shows great promise as Rodriguez-Brown, F. V. 2003. Family literacy in a means to help immigrant family members English language learning communities: Issues local funds must increase, so a provider related to program development, implementation, must seek those funds from the outset. and their children to succeed in their new and practice. In Family literacy: From theory to Head Start is another program that is country. Stable funding and innovativepractice, ed. A. DeBruin-Parecki and B. Krol- likelytosee changesinthefuture. practices will both help to establish family Sinclair,126-146. Newark, DE: International Currently, Head Start is administered by theliteracy as a viable form of education in the Reading Association.

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In vocabulary learning, it is important to 1990). Seeing them both together does not do 6. Keep changing the order of the words have a good balance of incidental and this. in the pack. This will avoid serial learning deliberate learning opportunities. In inci- 2. Initially start with small packs of where the meaning of one word reminds you of the meaning of the next word in the pack. dental learning, the learner focuses mainly on cardsabout 15 or 20 words. Difficult items communicating or interpreting a message, should be learned in small groups to allow 7. Say the word aloud to yourself. This and vocabulary is learned without being the more repetition and more thoughtful process- helps the form to enter long term memory. 8. Also write collocates of the words on focus of the activity. Most of a language pro- ing. As the learning gets easier increase the gram should involve such message-based size of the pack. More than 50 seems to be the card where this is helpful. This particu- activities. However, another kind of learning,unmanageable simply for keeping the cards larly applies to verbs. Some words are most deliberate learning, also has an importanttogether and getting through them at one usefully learned in a phrase. part to play in a well-balanced course. time. Deliberate vocabulary learning involves 3. Space the repetitions. The best spac-Studying Word Parts focusing on words and consciously trying to ing is to go through the cards a few minutesStudying word parts is another way to build learn them. Deliberate teaching is one way of after first looking at them, and then an hourvocabulary and another way of linking the encouraging deliberate learning, but ideally or so later, and then the next day, and then a form of a word and its meaning. Let's say most deliberate learning should be under the week later, and then a couple of weeks later. that the learner wants to learn the word collo- control of the learner. Learners should takeThis spacing is much more effective thancate. First the learner needs to find out what responsibility for their own vocabulary the word means by looking it up in the dic- learning, and the teacher's responsibility is tionary or asking someone. Secondly, the learner needs to look at the word to see if to show students effective ways of learn- it has any known parts. In collocate the ing and to help them become proficient in double "1" is a good clue to where word the most useful strategies. Three useful parts meet. Collocate has three parts: strategies for the deliberate learning of comlocate. Coin- means "together" or vocabulary are using word cards, studying "with," and loc means "place." Thirdly, the word parts and using dictionaries. learner needs to restate the meaning of the Using Word Cards word so that it contains the meaning of the The most effective of these strategies is word parts: "to collocate means to be learning from word cards. Learning words placed together typically with another from cards involves writing a word on one word." This restatement of the meaning side of a small card (about 1" x 2") and may sometimes be a bit clumsy, but its value is that it strongly connects the mean- writing its first language translation on the ing of the word to its parts. When the word other side. The cards are kept in packs held together by a rubber band, and when the is seen again, its meaning will be more learner has a few free moments, he goes readily recalled. Note the following things 74111111MPOIR" through the cards recalling the meanings. about this technique: This way of learning vocabulary is just massing the repetitions together into an hour 1. It is a way of remembering the mean- one of the first steps in learning a word.of study. The total time taken may be the ing of words, not of guessing their meaning. Using word parts to guess meaning has a low There are several reasons for this. First, there same but the result is different. Spaced repe- is more to knowing a word than knowing its tition results in longer lasting learning. success rate. translation. Second, learning a word is usual- 4. For words which are difficult to learn, 2. To use the technique the learners must ly a cumulative process rather than a one- use depth of processing techniques like theknow the most useful prefixes (see sidebar time event. Finally, words not only have to be keywordtechnique(seesidebar"The "Common Prefixes"). There are only about known, they have to be readily available for Keyword Technique"). Other helpful tech- 20 very common ones that are needed to use. However, learning the translation of aniques are thinking of the word in language begin with. Learners must have some practice in recognizing them in words and must new word is a very good step towards know- contexts and situational contexts, breaking be able to look up the meaning of a word in a ing that word. the word into word parts, or using a simple Research on vocabulary learning pro- picture. The more associations you can make dictionary and restate it using the meaning of vides useful indications of how learning fromwith an item, the better it will be remem- the prefix. Teachers can help learners gain vocabulary cards can be done most effective- bered. this knowledge. ly (Nation 2001). Students should be taught 5. Make sure that words of similar Because about 60% of the words of to follow these instructions when using word spelling or of related meaning are not togeth- English come from French, Latin or Greek, many words have prefixes and suffixes. This cards: er in the same pack of cards. This means days of the week should not be all learned at thetechnique of using word parts can thus be 1.Write the word to be learned on one side of the card and its translation on the same time. The same applies to months of the used very often. Unfortunately learners' dic- other side. Each time you use the card, look year, numbers, opposites, words with similar tionaries do not give the etymology of words at the new word and try to recall its meaning. meanings, and words with the same superor- and thus high intermediate and advanced Since the word and its meaning are not writ-dinate such as items of clothing, names of learners may find it useful to have a dictio- ten side by side, the meaning must befruit, parts of the body, and things in the nary that does this. retrieved from memory. Each retrieval kitchen. These items interfere with each other strengthens the connection between the form and make learning much more difficultUsing a Dictionary of the word and its meaning (Baddeley (Nation 2000). I 1 IThere are three kinds of dictionaries that a JULY/AUGUST 2003 14 ESL MAGAZINE second or foreign language learner could use. learner. Monolingual dictionaries are all in the sec- 3. When the meaning has been found, The Keyword ond language, that is, the meanings are given look at the example sentences containing the in the second language. The famous learner word in the dictionary and try to visualize the Technique dictionariesliketheOxford Advanced meaning of these sentences. Also think of a Learner'sDictionary, theCambridge situation in which you might use these sen- The keyword technique is a very AdvancedLearner'sDictionary, the tences. useful way of helping words to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary 4. When using your own dictionary, put stay in memory because it pro- Englishand the Collins COBUILD English a small mark next to the word to show that vides links between form (the written Dictionary for Advanced Learnersare all you have looked it up. If you find that you monolingual dictionaries. The problem with or spoken form of the word) and look up the same word again, it is clearly a monolingual dictionariesisthat learners meaning. Numerous experiments on good idea to put this word on a word card need a vocabulary of at least 2,000 words to the keyword technique for learning for- and deliberately learn it. be abletounderstand thedefinitions. eign vocabulary have shown that the However, they contain a large amount of very 5. Some dictionaries have frequency technique increases the efficiency of useful information about the meaning and markers next to the most useful words. The vocabulary learning by around twenty- use of words. Longman Dictionaryof Contemporary five percent. Except in a few pre- Bilingual dictionaries use the learners' Englishuses letters and numbers (S I means the word is in the first 1,000 words of spoken dictable cases, the technique has no first language to give the meanings of the negative effects on pronunciation or words. This makes them easy to understand English, W3 means in the third 1,000 words spelling of words learned by this tech- and thus bilingual dictionaries are very pop- of written English). TheCOBUILDdictio- nique. ular among learnersin the early stages of nary uses diamondsmore black diamonds language learning. Bilingual dictionaries dif- means a more frequent and useful word. There are four parts to the tech- fer greatly in quality, but they are a very These markers provide a very useful guide to nique. Parts one and two constitute important learning tool. the value of spending time deliberately learn- the "form link," three and four, the A less common but very useful dictio- ing a particular word. Learners should be "meaning link": nary is the bilingualized dictionary. Usually helped to become skilful at interpreting these 1. The foreign word this is a monolingual dictionary that has the markers and acting on the information. 2. First language keyword which first language meanings of the words added The three strategies we have looked at sounds like the foreign word to it. Thus it can combine the best features of word cards, word parts, and dictionary 3. Mental image of the meaning bilingual and monolingual dictionaries. useare all ways of giving deliberate atten- of the keyword and foreign word Research on dictionary use indicates tion to vocabulary. Deliberate attention 4. Meaning of the foreign word that learners tend to use dictionaries in limit- speeds up learning. These strategies require ed ways, not making the best use of the wide some investment of time by both the teacher range of information that the good ones con- and learners. It is not enough to know about In the following example, the four tain. Here are some ways to help learners them. They need to be practiced until they parts are numbered to match the four make good use of dictionaries. become easy to use. parts of the technique. When learning 1. Before looking up a word which has the word cite (1)meaning "to quote been met in reading or listening, try to guess or refer to" (4), a Javanese learner of what the word might mean from the context Paul Nation is director of the MA/PhD and English might use the keyword sae (2) clues. This will help when having to choose distanceprogramsintheSchool which means "good." The image (3) a particular sense listed in the dictionary. of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at 2. When looking up the meaning of a could be someone being told they are Victoria word, look at all the senses that are given and University of Wellington, New good because they cited someone's see if there is a common underlying meaning Zealand. His research interests are the teach- work well. running through the different senses. For ing and learning of vocabulary and language 1. cite example,interpretcan mean (1) to explain teaching methodology. 2. sae the meaning of a difficult text, (2) to under- 3. good citing REFERENCES stand the purpose of something such as a ges- Baddeley, A.1990.Huinan memory.Hillsdale: 4. quote or refer to ture, (3) to translate from one language to Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. another, (4) to convey the spirit of a work of Nation, I.S.P. 2001. The keyword technique works art as in interpreting a dance. All of these Learning vocabulary in another language.Cambridge: Cambridge University because it makes learners process share the meaning of "carry the meaning of Press. something from one form to another." Seeing more than one feature of a word, and this underlying meaning then makes the Nation, I.S.P. 2000. Learning vocabulary in lexical this processing is not superficial in sets: dangers and guidelines. TESOLJournal9 (2): range of uses of the word accessible to the 6-10. the way that rote repetition is superficial. The only limit is the learner's imagination! Common Prefixes The keyword does not have to sound exactly like the foreign word to hese are the most common English prefixes. Though not always regular,they Tare a good first list to learn for the word part strategy. be learned, and it does not have to be like all of the word. If the form of the ab- from, away abstract non- not nonviolent keyword is like the beginning of the ad- to(ward) advertise ob- against oppose foreign word, then thatisusually corm with, togetherconfuse over- above overcome enough. de- down, away deduct per- through perforate Learners need to practice think- dis- not dislike pre- before prejudge dis- apart, away distance pro- forward propose ing of keywords for at least ten differ- ex- out, beyond express pro- in favor of progovernment ent foreign words under the guidance in- not inconsistent re- back, again redirect of the teacher. Explaining the tech- in- in(to) instruct sub- under support nique to learners is not enough. The inter- between intermission trans-across transport technique need not be used with mis- wrong(ly) misdirect f:ue- r.not- unable every word, only those that prove dif- .t. ficult to remember. ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 112 15 /ft

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1 WHAT TEACHERS STUDENT WORKBOOKS & TEACHERS' GUIDE ARE SAYING ABOUT IT: AT-THE-SUPERMARKET POSTER "Students loved it! Great learning tool." NUTRITION PYRAMID POSTER "It helped our students with vocabulary, grammar and reading for fluency." PRODUCTS-YOU- "The students liked the activi- CAN-USE POSTER ties in the workbook." FREE GIFT PACKS "Fun, informative lessons, nice FILLED WITH charts." PRODUCT SAMPLES, "These packs are much appre- COUPONS, ciated by all levels of the adult LITERATURE, AND literacy students." MUCH MORE! "Excellent teaching tool." "The posters are very effective and useful." "Our students truly enjoy receiving your As an ESL educator, you packs. Thank you so much." know how important it is to help newcomers toour Contact us at country make a smooth transition 1-800-281-0924 to a new language and a productive today to learn why our FREE new life. For more than seven years, ESL gift packs and educational Euro RSCG Impact has provided materials have earned high marks from millions of ESL teachers and ESL classes with unique,FREEgift adult students nationwide. packs full of high-quality products Contact us now to sign up for our and classroom materials geared Fall and Spring programs, especially for the adult ESL,student. EURO RSCG IMPACT 144 BEST COPY AVMLABLE Let's Keep it Together Dear Richard: I teach ESOL part time, but I don't understandwere single items. Try saying the first five examples above out loud; what's going on with hyphenation. Sometimes I see things I you'll notice how your stress and intonation communicate that the think should be hyphenated, but they aren't; other times I seehyphenated parts are like single adjectives. the same things, and they are. I'm getting confused about when we As for our last issue's "Food for Thought:" How would you should hyphenate and when we don't have to. Can you please explain explain the difference between dish and plate? Ground and land? this? Thanks for your help. Oh, I really enjoy your column! Large and big? Small and little? Jerome Fagan of Austin, TX sent in "Mr Dash," Chicago, ILthis response: "Dish and plate can mean the same thing. Dish, however, can also mean some prepared food, e.g., chicken mole is a Thanks a lot, "Mr. Dash"! Here are the four basic rules of thumb. Mexican dish. When we think of ground, we think of the surface, We traditionally hyphenate in English: what we can see and stand on; land, on the other hand, is used for two I. in compound numbers between 21 and 99: twenty-one/ninety-nine basic meanings, to differentiate it from the sea or ocean, and as some- Ir. in some compound noun phrases: mother-in-law/jack-o'-lantern thing that can be divided up and bought or sold. Large is usually used in phrases with two or more words that are used as one adjectival for concrete things (a large room) and big for abstract things (a big unit: a part-time job/a four-year-old child/state-of-the-art technology idea). The same holds true for small, which is concrete (a small in between syllables when dividing the last word at the end of ahouse), and little, which is abstract (a little problem). We also use big line: div id- ing/col-laborate/tradi -tion and little idiomatically to mean a child's age or behavior (a big boy, a Compare He has a part-time job with He works part time. "Part little girl)." time" isn't hyphenated in the second sentence because it isn't being You did a wonderful job, Jerome. Thank you very much! Now used as an adjectival unit before its noun; it's being used adverbially. for this issue's "Food for Thought." You're in a waiting room and you Also notice that in English, the hyphen is "suspended", in the middle overhear the receptionist say on the phone, "There's a Mr. Jensen on of the space separating the syllables or words. In some languages, the line three for you." Why did the receptionist say a? Please send in hyphen sits right on the line. So if you see some of your students writ- your answers as soon as possible. As always, I love hearing from you! ing that way, don't think there's something wrong with them! When dealing with compound numbers or hyphenated adjectival Richard Firsten is an ESL instructor teacher trainer and author specializing units, I tell my students that the hyphen is a way of telling readers to in grammar and methodology. He currently teaches at Lindsey Hopkins consider all the words connected by the hyphens as single elements. TechnicalEducationCenterinMiami,Florida.Reachhimat When we speak, we say these hyphenated phrases out loud as if they [email protected].

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BEST COPY AVAil APIr Comprehensive Insights for ESL Teachers BY MONA SCHERAGA

Making it Happen: From interactive to Participatory Part II: Exploring Methods and Activities: What Can We Language Teaching Theory and Practice, Third Edition Learn? examines several methods and activities compatible with Patricia A. Richard-Amato, Longman, 2003 interactional/participatory teaching including Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, chants, music, poetry, story- There may be a more comprehensive body of work for teach- telling, role play and games. It also addresses ways to promote lit- ers and future teachers of other languages to learn from, but eracy development. It probes the history of affective activities and I can't imagine where. Making It Happen starts as with every other chapter in Parts I through III,it with a summary of the history of "foreign" language begins with "Questions to Think About" and ends with a teaching theories and methodologies and goes through summary of the chapter and readings, reflection and dis- sample lesson plans, classroom layouts, the pros and cussion. cons of various methods, and insights from those in the Part III: The pragmatic, immediately useful field. The author is obviously aware of her target audi- aspects of Making It Happen are evidenced in particular ence, practitioners and future practioners, and her own in Putting It All Together: Some Practical Issues, which experience is evidenced by her focus on the most suc- includes considerations for developing and implement- cessful ways to "make it happen." A section that has ing programs: the plan, the tools, program design, and particular impact includes case studies from teachers political implications. and students involved at different grade levels from Part IV: Programs in Action is an opportunity to elementary school through college. read about how other teachers have implemented and In her introduction, Richard-Amato talks about the inevitabili- developed activities and methodologies according to the needs of ty of change and the pitfall of dichotomous thinking where every their particular programs and students. controversy becomes an either/or situation. The new edition of Part V: Related Readings by Alastair Pennycook and Sonia Making It Happen is based on the premise that teachers are prag- Nieto reminds us that there is more than language learning/teaching matic beings. "In their efforts to be effective in classrooms, theygoing on in the foreign language learning classroom. "Revelations will pick and choose whatever strategies are needed at the moment, on Being Black and Multicultural," "Confronting One's Identity," depending upon the situation and the participants involvedtheirand other essays on "the personal and collective transformation of histories, their preferred modes of learning, their personal, social, teachers" are riveting. and political concerns, and their immediate as well as longterm In Part VI, case studies are presented for reflection and discus- goals" (p. 2). As a teacher and teacher trainer, I was hooked! sion. Students get to read case studies from different grade levels, Teachers now have an active role in shaping their teaching. to discuss what they would do in each case and to read what the Richard-Amato talks about the importance of history, the contribu-actual practitioners tions of applied linguists, socioculturalists, cognitive theorists and did. "My Good Year researchers as essential to building one's own principles of second Explodes: A Confron- EnglishSpanish language teaching. Her interactive conceptualization of second lan- tation With Parents" at guage teaching includes three basic components: the affective base, the elementary level, Economy the disciplinary knowledge base, and the experience/research base, and "Please, Not Translation Service with a myriad of other factors building on those three. It was a joy Another ESL Student" to read, "Another feature is that the conceptualization is indepen- formiddleschool dent of any specific method or methodology" (p. 6). teachersarestories www.Hyper-Spanish.corn Making It Happen stresses the value of participatory educa-that any teacher can Serving the K12 community tionof examining, reflecting, collaborating with supervisors, con- relate to, along with stantly evaluating what works, what doesn't, and why. It reminds usconflict resolution at nationwide since 1999. to welcome with open arms non-native speakers into teacher-edu- the high school level cation programs and stresses their value as role-models for studentsand suddenly being learning another language. thrust into a multicul- From the first page of the first chapter, Richard-Amatotural situationat the Instant On-Line Quotes engages the reader, asking questions to stimulate reflection and dis-college level.I read cussion, to help the reader process background knowledge and to Part VI first! Specializing in K12 Work evaluate his/her own attitudes toward language learning/teaching Each part can be techniques. For the novice, this is a concise introduction to the his- usedindependently. torical development of language learning theories. For those who For example, a teacher have lived and taught through many of these cycles, it is a reminder in need of immediate of where we've been, how far we've gotten, and where we still have help can turn to Part II to tread. The questions at the end of the chapters provoke analysis for on-the-spot lesson and reflection and create a reader who is an active participant, plan ideas. After each whose opinions and experiences are central to the themes of each partof MakingIt section. Charts, tables and sample lesson plans enhance the read-Happen,Ithought, ings. "This is my favorite." The book is divided into six parts. PartI:Theoretical It's a true self-help Considerations: Developing Your Own Language Teaching book. Principles, includes these chapters: "From Grammatical to Communicative Methods," "The Classroom as an Environment for (800) 633-4652 Fox (800) 232-8228 Language Acquisition," "The Role of Interaction, ParticipatoryMona Scheraga is a [email protected] LanguageTeaching,""LiteracyDevelopmentandSkillsteacher, teacher train- Integration " "The Affective Domain," and the inevitable Scarlet er and author in the fields of ESL and EFL.Spanish Translations A"Language Assessment and Standards." t 20 117 ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 Doyouhave the tools to helpyour Spanish-speaking studentsmeet rigorous literacy standards in English?

With effective teaching, Spanish- With this new resource, teachers will speaking students can and do learn to recognize and address the meet the standards. difficulties that English language learners face as they acquire oral and Now, a new book and accompanying written English literacy skills. CDs from New Standards® provides K-3 teachers with instructional From Spanish to resources and materials for teaching English is a Spanish English English to native Spanish speakers. companion to three From Spanish to English is the one other books from practical guide that gives you: New Standards: Reading & Writing Guidelines for teaching English grade by grade, language learners Speaking & Listening for preschool Analyses of student through third grade and What parents performances on reading and need to know about Reading & writing that pinpoints common Writing grade by grade. challenges for English language learners NEW Expert commentary on the STANDARDS° challenges and solutions to To order visit our website at: teaching K-3 students to read www.ncee.org, or and write in English call 1-888-361-6233

BEST COPY AVAILABLE 118 Cryptograms in the ESL/EFL Classroom BY LEE OAKES AND MARILYN ROSENTHAL, PH.D.

Cryptogram, criptograma,cryp- Let's look at an example of a cryp-cryptogram solver, but especially to any- togramme, crittograma, lamig-togram using the word cryptogram itself.one who wants to bring this interesting luwka, padaranga, kripta,krip- In this example, each letter is representedand instructive pastime into the ESL/EFL tograma! Known, loved and played by the one after it in the alphabet. A is B,classroom. So, with great appreciation to worldwide, cryptograms are word puz- B is C, C is D, etc.: cryptogram becomesMs. Moll for compiling these, here are zles with roots in many languages anddszuphsbn. This is a good example of asome characteristics of English that can cultures. Remember being a kid with ahard puzzle word because only one letterbe helpful in solving cryptograms: secret to share with your buddies using ais repeated and most of the other letters The order of frequency of the most code based on the alphabet? In our mem- are not among the most frequently usedused letters in English is E-T-A-0-I-N-S- ories and probably yours, the very bestin English. This means you won't findH-R-D-L and U, a total of twelve letters. secret languages were scrambled alpha-many puzzle-solving hints for this word The five most common three-letter bet puzzles that could only be imbedded in other words in the puzzle. Inwords include the, and, but, for and are. solved by breaking a code that was The five most common two-letter hidden in a magic ring or board, words areit, is, of in and to. usually found in a cereal box or a Long word endings include -ing, box of Cracker Jacks.® These -ion, -est, -ied and -ally. puzzles were fun because they Here is more helpful information, provided a real sense of accom- gleaned from our own experience: plishment when the words were In addition to the five two-letter unscrambled and the mystery was words cited by Moll, there are fifteen solved. Maybe we didn't know more that are useful to remember: this, but we were solving cryp- am, an, as, at, be, by, do, go, he, if tograms. (By the way, those words me, my, no, so, we. above are in these languages: Short words are often builder English, Spanish, French, Italian, words. They can be found at the end Polish, Kannadaan indigenous of longer words or imbedded in them: language of India, Slovak and for example, legion, magician, honor, Latvian.) the "Sample Puzzles" sidebar below,many or human. Cryptograms may seem like simple there are two more examples for building He and the are examples of short fun, an end in themselves without a larg-a simple cryptogram, using only thewords that often help to make longer er purpose, yet they can be effectivetwelve most commonly used letters inones: for example, they,them, then, learning tools in the hands of thoughtful English. As you look at the repetition ofthere, here. There are many more. ESL/EFL professionals. Regardless ofletters, you can see how much easier it is Three-letter endings are common. age or prior language preparation, stu- to solve these. Be on the lookout for them. dents can use cryptograms to reinforce Very few commonly used words newly acquired language skills and trans-Solving Cryptograms end in i in English. fer a familiar pastime to a new languageOne of our favorite cryptogram-creators Twelve frequently used double let- and culture. is Louise B. Moll, whose work is pub-ters are cc, dd, ee, if ii, mm, nn, oo, pp, lished in English and can be found in ss, tt and zz. What are Cryptograms? bookstores everywhere. In her book And now for five problem-solving Cryptograms are word puzzles that relyCryptogram-a-Day sheoffers somestrategies to remember when adding on a simple system of substituting onethoughtful guidelines for solving cryp-cryptograms to your professional tool- letter for another in a pre-determined pat-tograms. They would be helpful to anybox: 1) look at the puzzle in its entirety. tern so that a word, phrase or sentence becomes a puzzle. Every cryptogram has its own logic, but there are common Sample Puzzles threads that run through all of them. Any Pattern 1: Each letteris represented by the one after it in the alphabet. letter may be substituted for any other A is B, B is C, C is D, etc. Z defaultsto A. letter, but once chosen, it must continue Cryptogram:Mfbso usvtu boetibsf FTM svmft. to be used as the code letter stand-in for Solution: Learn, trust, and share ESL rules. theremainder ofthatcryptogram. Sometimes the numbers 1-26 are substi- Pattern 2: Each letter is represented by the letter before it in the alphabet. tuted for letters. Even more occasionally, A defaults to Z, B is A, C is B, etc. abstract symbols are used to represent Cryptogram:Kdzqm sqtrs zmc rgzqd DRK qtkdr. alphabet letters. Solution: Learn, trust, and share ESL rules. S 22 BEST COPYAVAILABLE; ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 See it as a language picture. 2) Are there box below; then give your students a lot of long words? Are they repeated? Is ESL Magaziners encoded messages using a message box there a rhythm to the repetition? 3) Are like the one illustrated below. there any single letter words? Think A or Online Poll I. These are starters in other words. 4) Student-Created Cryptograms Are there apostrophe words? These are Do you use word puzzles Why should teachers have all the fun? often end in t, s, 11, re. They are all among (crosswords, cryptograms, We suggest having students write their the most commonly used lettersin etc.) in teaching ESL/EFL? own codes and messages. Give each stu- English, 5) Do any of the longer words dent a code box to create his or her own include the same letters as any two- or code with letters, numbers or symbols to three-letter words? 29%Often represent each letter. A code using letters Now that you have all the hints and could follow the "before" pattern, the Sometimes strategies you need, decode the sentence 59% "after" pattern, or any other pattern (e.g., in the "Now You Try It" sidebar below Never "flip-flopping" the alphabet). Any letter and figure out the code pattern being 12% can substitute for any for any other letter, used. Remember the strategies. Look for as long as the substitution is consistent repeated letters, little words, etc. Write within the puzzle. the sentence in the second row of boxes After students have created their and write the code pattern. prepositional phrases for the intermedi-own codes, give each student a page with ate levels, and complex sentences per-three blank message boxes. Have each Cryptograms in the haps with adverbial clauses for advanced student write three simple encoded sen- ESL/EFL Classroom level students. tences in the top row of boxes. Students Since solving cryptograms is essentially You can use cryptograms in manycan then exchange papers and decode decoding, what a perfect fit these puzzles ways: their classmates' cryptograms, writing are for the ESL/EFL classroom where To reinforce various syntactic pat- the message in the bottom row of boxes. the language learning process is primari- terns (simple subject + verb + object Teacher-made or student-made cryp- ly one of decoding and secondarily one(SVO) sentences, prepositional phrases, tograms can be a fun, challenging, of interpreting. adjective clauses, adverbial clauses) While the cryptograms generally change-of-pace activity. Your students To reinforce various word classeswill love it, and it will be great grist for found in cryptogram books are intellec- (nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives) tually stimulating and fun, most of them discussion about the differences in lan- To reinforce phonics patterns (con-guage and culture with regard to cryp- are a bit too difficult for ESL/EFL stu-sonantal shapes) in American English dents. However, you can create your own tograms in students' native languages. such as the high frequency consonant +Try it and let us know how it works. In cryptograms at various language levelsvowel + consonant (CVC) pattern (man, the meantime, rememberDszuphsbnr for practice and reinforcement as well ascan, ton, tin), initial consonant clusters bsf dppm! (Cryptograms are cool!) fun in the ESL/EFL classroom. (tr,st,str;th, gr) and final consonant In creating your own cryptogramsclusters (ts, st,rd, nt). These patterns are and having your students solve them, all idiosyncratic to English and reinforcing the same rules and strategies mentionedthem as part of a cryptogram would add above will stillapply. The differencean element of fun. Lee Oakesis a freelance writer and an would be that the cryptograms you create To introduce cultural patterns withavid fanof cryptograms.Marilyn would be on an easier language level orsimple proverbs or idioms in American Rosenthalis editorial director of ESL could help teach culture without beingEnglish Magazine. culture bound. We recommend simple To introduce quotes, jokes, and REFERENCES sentences for the beginning level stu-simple poems. Moll, Louise B. 1996. A Cryptogram-a-Day. New dents, compound sentences with a lot of Create your own code using the code York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Now You Try It Decode the message and write it in the bottom row of boxes. What is the code patternPattern 1 or 2?

Code Box You and your students can use a code box like this one to create a code. A

Message Box You and your students can use a message box like this one. The encoded message is written in the top row of boxes and the decoded message is written in the bottom row.

ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 1 0 BEST COPY AVAI LAKE dam NIP Reduce, Reuse, Recompute! ne issue associated with technology use these days is the Considerations. There are some basic guidelines that can potential for waste. Computer equipment is finding its wayassist you on either end of these transactions. When donating com- into landfills at an alarming rate as we strive for continued puters, erase the hard drive so that personal information is not avail- 0improvements in speed and power. Of course, this issue divides usable to future users. If you are accepting donated equipment, be cer- into the "haves" and "have-nots." Some readers may contributetain that it is in good working order or that you'll have help making annually to the great landfill of plastic, glass and toxic cathode rayit so. Also, be certain that the equipment in question is appropriate tubes; others may be using equipment for a decade, wishing for for your needs. This includes determining what level of ongoing something new. Connecting these two groups is one way to reduce maintenance and repair certain items may need as well as what waste. additional materials they may require. DonateDon't Throw Away. If you are among the "haves," Don't go overboard in accepting donations. I volunteer for a you should celebrate and share. You may think your two-year-oldnon-profit organization that has accepted dozens of inkjet printers CPU is outdated and of no use to anyone, but others might greatly of many makes and models. Ink for inkjets is expensive and car- appreciate such equipment. Such donations regularly go to non-tridges are not interchangeable. This group wasted lots of money on governmental organizations around the globe, but there are organi- cartridges for printers that stopped working or were phased out for zations that redistribute equipment to groups in the U.S., too. This more recent donations. I found a donated laser printer (which oper- applies to printers, scanners, monitors, cables, keyboardsjustates on cheaper toner and is shared by everyone in the office), and about any device you may consider discarding. Some job-training now one appropriate piece of equipment serves them better than programs even incorporate the refurbishing of this equipment. many inappropriate ones had. Sometimes it is Better to Receive. There are a variety of orga- Visit http://gregling.net/donate for resources relatedto nizations that cater to the needs of educators who lack appropriate donating, applying for donations and purchasing used computer technology. Many federal and state programs also provide services equipment. that distribute computer equipment to public schools through these means as well as through grants and awards. If you can't find whatGreg Kessler teaches in the Ohio Program of Intensive English you need through donations, you may want to consider purchasing(OPIE) at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He manages OPIE's used equipment as a way of lessening the environmental burden and use of a self-access computer lab and develops distance programs. saving money. He is currently chair of TESOL CALL Interest Section.

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ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 122 25 \ CONGEIriALCIASSROOMS BY KIRSTEN SCHAETZEL

During my first ESL teaching job rarely just happen. They are set up throughpairs or groups, and then ideas can be afterreceivingmy MATESL the strategies and philosophies of teachers. shared with the whole class and a short list degree, I had an experience thatThe most important philosophy for pro-of class rules and policies can be deter- changed the way I look at teaching andmoting a good classroom environment is mined. I have found it best to keep this list learning. A student walked out of my class that diversityis good. This may seem short, three to five items, so that it is easy after arguing with another student aboutbasic; however, often teachers see diversi-for students and the teacher to remember. the roles of women, our class discussionty as a "problem" or a "wrinkle" in theirThen, when students do not follow the topic. Despite my experience and educa-classroom plans. For example, teachers inpolicies, they can be referred back to their tion, nothing had taught me how to man-an Australian project with adult migrantown policy. age cultural differences in the classroom. I English service classes saw disparate In addition to this, having one or sev- knew then that I did not want to teach any groups as "problematic" and "difficult toeral discussions about quotations and slo- more classes in which a student stormed teach" (Burns 1997, 7). Though all of us as gans that promote the coexistence of out. So, in the twenty years since thatteachers would say that we value diversity, diverse opinions is also helpful.I have class, I have consciously tried to create awhen we have extremely diverse groups, used the following three slogans to spark classroom climate that not only tolerateswe often look upon them as more difficultdiscussions on the value of people's differ- diversity,but encourages studentsto to teach, whether differences are in skill ing opinions and there are many others: acknowledge that there is more than one level, nationality, personality, age or other"Each person is entitled to his/her opin- way of looking at an issue. ion"; "We agree to disagree"; "If two people agree on every- Cultural Community thing, one of them is not nec- Margaret Coffey defines a cul- essary." tural community as one which Discussing these slo- fosters "meaningful communi- gans at the beginning of the cation among all group mem- term not only communicates bers when they do not share a to students that diversity of common worldview" (1999, opinion will exist in this class, 26). So the aim in creating a but that diversity is expected. congenial classroom environ- It'sthe norm rather than ment is to have students from something unusual. These slo- differing worldviews engage in gans, combined with clear meaningful communication. To classroom rules, give students do this, students must move the guidelines they need to through the "inclusion" stage of express their opinions and group development. The inclu- ideas and to participate in a sion stage "revolves around class that values diversity. ideasofselfpresentation, In addition to commu- building trust, and building a nicating to students that diver- feeling of safety within the sity is good, it is also impor- group" (Shaw 1992, 3). Many students infactors. If we want students to value diver- tant that a teacher know his students well our ESL/EFL classes come from educa- sity, we ourselves must value it and com- and that the students know each other well. tional systems with very competitive class- municate that to our students. People do not voice opinions readily if room environments in which the ideas and I have found that I need to communi-they do not know their audience, and opinions of students are seldom voiced;cate this overtly. I cannot depend on stu-knowing their audience helps people mod- thus, students entering our ESL/EFL class-dents to see this through my attitudes, ify the phrasing of opinions so that people es from competitive classes need an orien-actions and reactions. There are two ways can agree to disagree. tation to a different kind of class environ-that we can clearly communicate that we I use the following activity at the ment. They need to understand that in our value diversity: through class policies andbeginning of a course as a way for students classrooms diversity is valued, and allrules, and through discussions of slogans to get to know one another well. Instead of opinions and ideas are shared freely. and quotations that promote the diversityhaving students introduce themselves or As teachers, we can control aspects ofof opinions. one other person to the class, I devote one our classrooms so that we have a congenial At the beginning of the term or schoolclass period to students getting to know environment and help students learn to year, it is important to formulate class rules one another by having them fill out a grid, appreciate and enjoy difference. We can set that allow all students to speak and give all gathering the following information from up a good classroom environment, intro- students the responsibility of listening toeach classmate: name, email address, tele- duce group work and manage it so that it is others' opinions. I have found that makingphone number, and answers to questions a positive learning experience, and we can class rules and policies works best if theysuch as "What you like about...?" and understand and manage our own biases. come from the students themselves. This"What you do not like about...?" This discussion can begin by asking students toactivity can be adapted to the locale in Developing a decide the three most important things theywhich it is done. I usually have students Classroom Environment can do to have clear, smooth communica- express what they like and don't like about Good classroom environments for learningtion with others. They can discuss this in the city or country we are in, or about food,

26 itsca 123 ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 hobbies, etc. This gives students their firstindividual student expected to do in the willing to do so. opportunity to express an opinion to one of group? When working with students who We need to adopt the attitude toward their classmates. It also allows every stu-have never worked as part of a groupdifference that Emily Perl Kingsley (1987) dent to meet every other student in the before, it is often helpful for the teacher todescribes in coming to terms with having a class and ensures that they make eye con- listrolesforindividualstudents:a child with Down's Syndromeit's like tact. Eye contact is the basis of the "pos-recorder, a presenter, a time manager, aplanning a trip to Italy but having to go to ture" for discussion and the exchange ofdiscussion facilitator (who talks and forHolland. It's not a bad place, just a differ- ideas: "Eye contact, an important channel how long). A teacher can list the responsi-ent place, and "if you spend your life of interpersonal communication, helps bilities for each of these roles the first timemourning the fact that you didn't get to regulate the flow of communication" (Rittsthey are given to students. Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the and Stein 2002,1). This activity also 4. Time Management: How long will very special, the very lovely things...about allows the teacher to talk to all the students students work on this project or how long Holland." individually. Though this exercise usually should this discussion be? What are stu- Ms. Kingsley can see the goodness of takes an entire class period, the classes in dents expected to accomplish during classdifference in life with a child who has spe- which I have done it have a much bettertime? What might they need to do at cial needs. We, as teachers, need to be able environment for participatory activities. home? to see difference as something good and This exercise has two additional ben- If we can give students the parameters valuable as we allow students to speak and efits for teachers: a teacher can quickly for group work and the reasons why we areparticipate in our classrooms. A discussion assess students' oral abilities in Englishasking them to engage in it, they are more might not end the way we would have it; and can find out which students have par-likely to participate in it willingly and to the reporting out from groups might ticular abilities in which areas. These stu- gain that which we had hoped from it. By include ideas that we find "unenlight- dents can be "class experts" on certain top- clarifying our goals and objectives to stu-ened"; or a group presentation might not ics. At the beginning of one term, I discov-dents, we help them understand the poten- cover an "extremely important aspect" of a ered through this exercise that a student tialofgroupworkforlearning. topic. How will we react to these situations had studied the Latin and Greek roots ofFurthermore, when students know what is and what will students see and perceive of English. So, when we did vocabulary required of them, it is much easier for them our commitment to diversity through our development, he was often consulted about to work together. When they know whatreactions? what the root of a new word might mean. they have to do, why they have to do it, When we teach in congenial environ- Another way to help students get to how long they have to accomplish it and ments, valuing the diversity of opinions know each other sooner rather than later is who is responsible for what, the founda-and ideas, we, ourselves, are constantly to have a class party at the beginning of a tions of cooperation have been laid. experimenting with new thoughts. And, as term rather than at the end (Wilhelm Palmer says, "Experimentation is risky... 1999). Managing Teacher Biases but if we want to deepen our understand- in the Classroom ing of our own integrity, experiment we Managing Group Work "Good teaching cannot be reduced to tech- mustand then be willing to make choic- Another way to build cultural community nique; good teaching comes from the iden- es as we view the experimental results" is "to include ample assignments that fos-tity and integrity of the teacher (Palmer(1998, 16). We must be willing to allow ter cooperation," i.e, group work (Coffey 1998, 10). Palmer defines identity as the students to see us as we really are and 1999, 28). However, many students, espe- "intersection of the diverse forces thatallow them to be who they really are. cially those coming from competitivemake up my life" and integrity as "relating classrooms, see group work as a waste ofto those forces in ways that bring me time and the result of a teacher's laziness. wholeness and life rather than fragmenta- In their research in mainland China and the tion and death" (1998, 13). When we work Kirsten Schaetzel teaches English lan- U.K., Jin and Cortazzi discovered that with a diverse class and invite students toguage and literature at the National Chinese students felt that discussion was air diverse ideas and opinions, our reac- Institute of Education in Singapore. "fruitless': they thought it wasted time; tions to what students say and how they REFERENCES they risked learning errors from their say it allow students to glimpse our identi- Burns, A. 1997. Valuing diversity: Action research- peers" (1998, 105-106). ty and judge our integrity in a way that ing disparate learner groups. TESOL Journal 7 (1): Because students come to our classes vocabulary and grammar exercises never 6-10. from many different educational back- do. How do we respond to student opin- Coffey, M. 1999. Building cultural community in grounds, it is important that we explain the ions that are vastly different from, and English language programs. TESOL Journal 8 (3): value of group work and other educational sometimes contrary to, our own? How we 26-30. experiences that may be new to them. I as teachers react or do not react to what Jin, L. and M. Cortazzi. 1998. The culture the have seen many reluctant groups of stu- students say will determine the extent to learner brings: A bridge or a barrier? in Language dents decide at the end of a discussion or a which our classrooms are truly congenial Learning in Intercultural Perspective: Approaches group project that they actually haveenvironments for learning. through Drama and Ethnography, ed. M. Byram learned a great deal. When assigning a To allow students to see our identity and M.Fleming.Cambridge: Cambridge group activity, we especially need to com- and determine the integrity of our reac- University Press. municate the following to students : tions to certain opinions and ideas, we first Kingsley,E. 1987. WelcometoHolland. I.Clear Objectives: Why are weneed to know our own identity and be http://www.nas.com/downsyn/holland.html doing this activity? What can students comfortable with ourselves. This will often Palmer,P. 1998. The courage to teach. San learn from it? How might this activity help involve acknowledging our own biases, Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc. them in their language development? Does likes and dislikes. In addition to this, we Ritts, V. and J. Stein. 2002. Six ways to improve this activity in any way mimic a real lifemust be "models" of listening to diverse your nonverbalcommunication.http://www. experience they might encounter? ideas and being open to ideas that are very hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/ 2. Clear Goals: What do we expectdifferent from our own. If we listen with a guidebk/te groups to be able to do at the end of thefalse attitude of openness, students will Shaw, V. 1992. Community building in the class- activity? Will group members need to pre- know and our integrity will be compro- room. San Juan Capistrano,CA:Kagan sent something? Will group members need mised. So, if we want to encourage stu- Cooperative Learning. to write something? dents to value diversity and "try on" differ- Wilhelm, K. W. 1999. Collaborative dos and 3. Roles for Students: What is each ent ideas and opinions, we, too, must be don'ts. TESOL Journal 8 (2): 14-19. r ESL MAGAZINEJULY/AUGUST 2003 124 27 1,01 Writing Effective Cover Letters BY TOM RIEDMILLER We all understand the importance of first impressions inDON'Ts a job search. A poorly written and unattractive cover letterX Don't include personal information such as age, weight, health, can create a bad impression about you, your skills and the religion and marital status. It's none of their business. way you work. A good cover letter is like an essay with an intro- X Don't use your employer's email, computers and equipment for duction, body and conclusion. your cover letters (or résumé) unless you have permission. Introduction. Establish a context and your thesis. Establish a X Don't drop names if you don't have permission. context by telling the reader how you found out about the opening.X Don't use cheap paper or ink jet printers. Use laser printers and Drop a name here, tooe.g.,"Dr. Irma Sawtoothe in the English résumé bond papers from your office supply store. department suggested I write to you ...." Your thesis should be at the X Don't email your letter unless specifically requested to do so. end of the introduction and should be your most powerful sentence, Some folks out there still don't know how to use email. telling how qualified you are and how you're a perfect match for the My website (http://fp.uni.edutriedmill/jobpage) is still open for position. This sentence also controls what you discuss later in youryou to share your website finds. You can also share your dos and letter: "With my certification in Spanish and seven years of teaching don'ts. You will also find links to great examples of cover letters and ESL, you will find me well suited for the position you advertised intemplates that do all the fancy formatting for you. I welcome your Sunday's New Pfaltz Times-Herald." input, so leave your comments on the website. Body. The body of the letter is ideally one paragraphshort and sweet. Elaborate on how your education, experiences and RESOURCES achievements you summarized in the first paragraph relate to what Yate, M. 2002. Knock 'Du Dead 2003. Holbrook, MA: Adams the employer wants. This is how I started one paragraph in response Media Corporation ISBN: 1580627595 to an advertisement that was very specific. Can you see what the ad was looking for? "As you can see on my Cli, I have the practical and Yate, M. 1998. Cover Letters that Knock 'Em Dead. Holbrook, MA: educational qualifications you are seeking. My qualifications Adams Media Corporation. include a master's degree in TESOL and seven years working in ESL and English for academic purposes programs at the university level. Tom Riedmiller teaches in the Culture and Intensive English Moreover, spending many years as an educator working in a variety Program at the University of Northern Iowa. You can reach him via of international environments has provided me with keen sensitivityhis webpage http://fp.uni.eduiriedmill. to the needs of people of all backgrounds..." Conclusion. When I read student essays in my writing classes, the conclusion is the Communicate in Multiple Languages point where even the best students get sloppy. They are so relieved to finish the introduction Simultaneously and the body that they end it all by simply dashing off a conclusion. Don't let a pithy "Thank You" or "Sincerely" bring a lovely let- The TalkSystemis ideal for: ter to a horrible end. Paraphrase your assets ESL programs (in this letter, education and experience) and Multilingual meetings then include the customary closing words:"/ Classroom participation have enclosed a resume, which outlines my education and experience in more detail. I Parental involvement would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you on how I can become a productive part of The only the team at Prince Albert High School" simultaneous (Adapted from Yate 1998, 104 and 108). language Finally, here are some dos and don'ts to translation system save your cover letter from the "circular file." with patented Sylencer ® technology. DOs / Select Times Roman 12 as your font for the sake of convention and readability. "I don't know how I ever lived / Send a letter to a person, not a "Dear without the system; its just amazing Director." Do anything to get a name. what we are able to do!" Write in a business letter formatsee my Lupe Simpson, Parent Involvement, LAUSD website for some links to Microsoft for dozens of examples. .1 Use the spell checker. There is no excuse See Video for bad speling and terribl gramme,: of the TalkSystem / Use active verbs and avoid passive voice Call today Complete TalkSystems2 in use at: beginning at $805.00 when possible. 1-888-811-9944 Explore good career websites for hints. ww.talk-teci-.net Leasing options ovailable Check out Cover Letters That Knock 'Em Dead by Martin Yate. See sources below. Talk Technologies Inc. 1-888-811-9944 email: [email protected]

28 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 12'5 ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 People fo People ki-ev-hod-ioval Sckcci CietSSYCOM PROGRAM I I' ' I I

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yESI want ESL Magazine at the low introductory rate! I understand I must fill out this torm, sign and fax it . to the number below with my credit card information, ormail it to the address below with payment Canisn(aim Special Introductory Rate: Envir 1 Year (6 issues) U.S./P.R.: $16.95, Canada/Mexico: $24.95*, Outside North America: $3495* 2 Years (12 issues)U.S./P.R.: $32.95, Canada/Mexico: $4995*, Outside North America: $69.95*. Name Payment El Check or Money Order.Must he enclosed and made out to ESL Magazine. Title 0 Purchase Order. Organization 0 Credit Card. El Visa 0 MasterCard Address Card # City State/Province Postal Code Country Exp. Date.CB Phone Signature Date (in case of a problem with your order) (required) Subscription price: Signature Date Maryland residents add 5% sales tax: (required) TOTAL Please takea moment to answer these questions: 1. Please indicate your specific position. (check 1) 3. Do you work in a public or private institution? 6. What dollar amount (U.S.) of b. 0 administrator a. 0 public b. 0 private ESL materials/services do a. 0 teacher you purchase each year? c. 0 director z. 0 other 4. Do you purchase ESL teaching materials a. 0 0-$999 2.What level of ESL do you work with? or services? b. 0 no b. 0 $1000-$4,999 a.0 elementary (Pre-K-6th grade) a. 0 yes c. 0 $5000-810,000 b.O middle school (7-8th grade) 5. What kind of materials or services d. 0 Over $10,000 C.0 high school (9-I2th grade) would you purchase? 7. What Is your highest earned d.O college/university a. 0 books f. 0 educational trips academic degree? e.0 IEP/Intensive Language Center b. 0 software g. 0 travel insurance a. 0 Bachelors or equivalent f.O adult education c. 0 video h. 0 map and b. 0 Masters or equivalent g.O teacher preparation d. 0 hardware geography materials e. 0 audio z. 0 other c. El Doctorate Allprices in U.S.$ and must be paid in U.S. funds from US. bank. Photocopy tUs FAX THIS FORIVI TO 630-214-2888 card for additional subscriptions. (must include credit card information) or mail with payment to: ESL Magazine, 220 McKendree Ave., Annapolis, MD21401

30 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1'7 ESL MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2003 Today's complex and multilingual world demands a variety of English language assessments for students interested in living, studying, and working in English- speaking countries. Recognizing this need, the College Board has designed these assessments for English as a Foreign Language and English as a Second Language students. Choose OneorBoth for Your Institution

part of SA-1-6 II: Subject Tests, tests students' understanding of spoken and written standard American English and their ability to use English in the classroom and in daily life. The test concentrates on evaluating academic and practical use of the language with less emphasis on grammar and usage than might be found on other English language tests. For more information on ELPT, please call 800 784-1462.

part of ACCUPLACER®, is a comprehensive battery of tests delivered online and designed to place college students of limited English proficiency in appropriate courses. ACCUPLACER offers a variety of computer adaptive tests covering the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The Available to two- and four-year institutions, LOEP is used for academic College advisement and placement of students from the novice to advanced levels. Board For more information on LOEP, please call 800 486-8497.

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EFF-089 (1/2003)