Online Course: Principles of Second Language Teaching: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Instruction

Use this discussion thread to share your comments on the ELL-U course, Principles of Second Language Teaching: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Instruction. Please share your thoughts on any of the following questions, or post a general comment or feedback on the course. 
 
  • Reflect on your current practices. What strategies, activities, or methods are you already using related to each of the topics below? What could be added to your practice?
    • creating learning objectives based on learners' communicative needs
    • using authentic materials
    • sequencing communicative activities that integrate skills and build from more highly structured to more open-ended tasks
    • assessing objectives
    • creating opportunities for learners to get to know each other
    • using classroom routines
    • using topics that are relevant to students' lives and goals
    • using thoughtful grouping strategies
  • What methods do you use for getting to know your students and/or helping them to get to know each other?
  • Share the lesson plan, learner-centered practices, and/or classroom management strategies you developed through the culminating activity.
  • Reflect on what you learned in the course. How has the course helped you to better plan your instruction to meet the needs of the adult ELLs in your  classroom? Which of the topics discussed in the course do you feel you will be able to integrate into your teaching to be more effective in meeting the needs of your learners?
 
 

Comments

 

  1. Identify student characteristics and factors that may affect learning.

 

  • Class attendance prior to lesson
  • General well-being of student that day (work, childcare, physical health)
  1. Determine lesson focus.

 

  • Possessive adjectives and possessives
  1. Plan lesson objectives, activities, and assessments.

 

  • See Step-By-Step: T-32 & T-33
  1. Implement learner-centered instruction practices.

 

  • Students determine questions to ask classmates; answer their own questions, and decide who to interview
  1. Apply classroom management strategies.

 

  • Apply rules for giving classmate’s response. Also provide structure for returning work to teacher

Lesson Overview

Theme: Recognize and use possessive adjectives to describe people

Level: Low and Intermediate Beginning

Content Pillar: Cultural Expectations

Strand:

Outcome:

Proficiency Descriptor:

Reading:

 

Read and understand conversations that involve possessives of other people.

Write the answers to comprehension questions.

Writing:

 

Write questions to ask a partner. Answer questions and write partner’s answers, as well.

Correct completion of “Practice Possessives” chart that goes with these questions.

Literacy Strategies:

Reading

Read and circle correct response for possessive cloze

Correct responses

Writing

Write four sentences about classmates and teacher

Correct sentences using possessive

Spelling

Correct spelling of words

One portion of the work requires changing a possessive into His or Her. Sentences that are rewritten should be spelled correctly.

Habit of Mind:

 Use of possessives with apostrophe and interchanging with possessive adjectives

Lesson Resources:

Podnecky, Janet. Step Forward : Workbook. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

Santamaria, Jenni Currie. Step Forward: Step-By-Step Lesson Plans. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

Spigarelli, Jane. Step Forward 1: Language for Everyday Life. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

 

Class Level: Beginning ESL

Topic: Possessives and Possessive Adjectives

Class Length: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Lesson Objective: Students will use possessive adjectives to describe people.

Language Skill Proficiency Focus: Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading

Materials and Equipment: iPad, CD player, Step Forward CD, Workbook p 18-19, Multilevel Activity Book p. 40

Warm up/Review: Show pictures of celebrities on iPad and says sentences about them: “His hair is red. Her hair is blond. His hair is brown.”

Introduction: Write those sentences on the board and say, “Today we will use possessives to describe people.”

Presentation: Looking at picture on p. 32, ask questions: “Is her hair blond?” “Is his hair brown?”

Guided Practice: students circle the correct answers and speak in complete sentences. Students will create 5 more sentences using different possessive adjectives.

Communicative Practice: Students interview 2 classmates about eye color, name, and hair color. They write and say sentences about partners’ answers.

Evaluation: Students will write 4 sentences about teacher and/or classmates.

Application: Similar to the game of Telephone, students write a story together about a family, passing a page around their groups.

 

Identify student characteristics and factors that may affect learning.

  • Class attendance prior to lesson
  • General well-being of student that day (work, childcare, physical health)

Determine lesson focus.

  • Possessive adjectives and possessives

Plan lesson objectives, activities, and assessments.

  • See Step-By-Step: T-32 & T-33

Implement learner-centered instruction practices.

  • Students answer their own questions, and decide who to interview

Apply classroom management strategies.

  • Apply rules for giving classmate’s response. Also provide structure for returning work to teacher

I have not actually started teaching yet, but here is a brainstormed lesson plan based on the class observations I have conducted, as well as the online training modules, of course!

  1. Student Characteristics and Factors that may affect learning
    • They are all from different countries and at a fairly beginning level. Most of them prefer to refer to translations they give each other than actually speaking and learning in English (we’ll work on it). All from central or south America with stable family experiences and simply want to communicate in English. Some want advanced degrees. All will eventually want citizenship, and they vary with schedules and jobs.
  2. Determine Lesson Focus
    • Functional life activities: Right now the unit we are working on describes objects in the home and community. Vocabulary/functioning discourse: describing the objects in the home. I want them to be able to send someone else to the store to buy objects, ask a cashier if they can’t find something, and be able to travel to another store to get it if they need to.
  3. Plan lesson objectives,  activities, and assessments
    • Objectives: I want them to be able to send someone else to the store to buy objects, ask a cashier if they can’t find something, and be able to travel to another store to get it if they need to.
    • Activities: First we will go over the vocab words from the section in the book, and then do a guided dialogue from the book with a partner, writing down the answers. Next, I will ask questions about where they go in the community to buy the different things from the book (food, toiletry items, and things in the home) and elicit responses. We will do some choral practice and then I will set a few lists of places and items. Given these lists, they will work with partners to create their own dialogue. Next I will ask them to work with a different partner and talk about the last time they went to the store.
    • Assessments: I will be able to walk around and listen for any problems and give feedback, and students will be able to give feedback as well. With the written down answers they will be able to self-correct as well as go back and see what we talked about that day.
  4. Implement learner-centered instruction practices
    • I think an interesting thing would be to use the board and set up three different “stores”: grocery, home/Target/Home Depot, and a pharmacy type store. They could work in groups and send one member up and if I called out an item, they could tell their group member which store to go to. I could also use corners of the room. This way, they could interact, use total physical response, and it would feel like a game. 
  5. Apply classroom management strategies
    • Journal: I really liked the journaling idea presented throughout the training modules. Even with beginning learners, I think starting to write a sentence or two at the beginning and end of class would be terrific. At the beginning I could introduce a topic or question for the day and have them write predictions, and at the end we could have a wrap-up of the things they learned or what to know more about. I would keep the journals to direct my planning for the next lessons.
    • Agenda on the board when they walk in, and once the vocab words are on the board, leave them there for the entire class/unit
    • Get to know you: I want the students to make name cards, both to help me and each other. On the inside of the folded part, we can have a different discussion topic to start each day with (countries they’re from, how long they’ve been in the states, other places they’ve traveled, etc.)

 

One thing I will need to brainstorm more is my grouping strategies, but that will depend on the size of the class!

Here is my assignment for this course.

1. Identify student characteristics and factors that may affect learning

This class is a small, multi-level class.  Usually about six students are present. All current students are from Mexico. Four are high intermediate, one is low beginning, and one is high beginning. Their goals and motivations include: taking better care of children and grandchildren and helping with their education, advancing their own education, traveling, getting better jobs, and working more effectively with customers in their current jobs.

The most important consideration in lesson planning for these learners is the range of levels. Another consideration is the unpredictability of attendance. In planning lessons for this class, I usually include some whole-group activities, as well as lessons and activities by level or in mixed-level pairs.  The class is too small to break into several groups, so activities such as jigsaws are difficult. On the other hand, there is time to give a lot of individual attention and feedback.

2. Lesson Focus: Public Transportation Schedules and Communication

All of the students drive in their neighborhoods and to class, but they have expressed interest in learning how to take trains or subways for trips to other cities, or when they are visiting other cities where public transportation is essential, such as New York City or Washington D.C.

  • Communicative Task: Talk about train and subway schedules and routes; ask for directions when in a strange city; ask about costs of transportation
  • Functional phrases: Asking for directions, e.g., What time, Where, When, How long, How much? For higher-level students, asking for more detailed information on train and subway schedules, e.g., how to transfer lines
  • Language skills: Reading and analyzing transportation schedules; listening to directions; reading schedules on websites; interpreting costs of transportation options
  • Cultural Knowledge: Knowing where the train or bus stations are; knowing where the train and buses travel; knowing what time they travel
  • Grammar: Question forms for present tense (When does the train leave? Where is the train station? How much does it cost?)
  • Vocabulary: Schedule; station; subway; arrival; departure; distance; etc. Also, time of day vocabulary (this is review for most students)
  • Communication Strategies: How to ask for clarification on directions; how to ask strangers for transportation information; what to do if you get lost

3. Plan lesson objectives, activities and assessments

I use WIPPEA, the TEAL lesson planning framework. Note that this lesson would probably take more than one class.

A) Warm-up:

  • Review time-of-day vocabulary and make sure students are comfortable with it. If not, review as needed. (Most students know this very well.)
  • Ask about transportation methods: How do you get to class? Do you take a train or subway? (no) Do people take the train in Chapel Hill? (no) Where do people use trains and subways to travel? (mostly in larger cities). Show a photo of a train station and elicit vocabulary.

B) Introduction:

  • Explain that the objective is to learn language for traveling by train or subway. Additional objectives are to be able to interpret schedules, plan routes, and calculate costs of travel. Elicit specific objectives from students, for example, travel within a specific city like D.C. or New York.
  • Write at least three specific lesson objectives on the board.

C) Presentation:

  • First, write a greatly simplified “schedule” on the board for a train trip. Then review question forms related to travel schedules: When does the train leave? When does the train arrive? How long does it take? (etc.) Ask and answer as a group.
  • Hand out a simple, real train schedule, for example, Amtrak for the Durham to D.C. route. Have learners work in pairs (or threes) to answer questions about the schedule. Then review as a whole group.
  • Ask and answer questions about the train schedule on the board. Check for understanding by asking additional questions. Have learners come to the board to write answers to questions about the schedule.

D) Practice:

  • Model a conversation about the schedule using a prepared dialogue with a customer and an employee. (Excuse me, when does the train leave for D.C? How much does a ticket cost?) Practice this dialogue as a group.
  • Then have learners break into pairs again and review dialogues. Have more advanced learners modify the dialogues or create their own, e.g., asking for help if you are lost.
  • Additional practice with technology: Provide a few websites with train or subway schedules, e.g., Amtrak.com. Ask learners to work in pairs to answer specific questions from the website and filling in a short worksheet. (This might be only for more advanced learners; beginners could spend more time on the dialogues.)
  • Come back together as a group and share what they found. (This could be a homework assignment as well.) Have beginners practice their dialogues for the group.

E) Evaluation:

  • Use the “red card/green card” approach to find out what learners feel confident about, and what they want to work on. Refer back to the original lesson objectives.
  • Have learners complete a cloze activity based on the schedule handout.
  • Use the results to plan the next lesson, for example, additional practice with websites or with route planning on a complex subway system.

F) Application:

  • This would depend on students’ individual interests. For example, each student could identify a city and then research the transportation options in that city online at home.
  • Further classes and class projects could be devoted to additional cities or transportation options.

4. Implement learner-centered instruction practices

  • Self-directed learning: Learners have a great deal of freedom within this lesson, to explore transportation options in cities of their interest and to create dialogues that are meaningful to them. This lesson is also differentiated, with more advanced learners using the internet while beginner learners practice dialogue.
  • Transformational learning: This lesson should open up new opportunities or possibilities for learners; for example, giving them confidence to travel in a strange city, or to plan a train trip for their family.

5. Apply classroom management strategies

  • This lesson reinforces classroom routines including forming groups and working in pairs, using technology in the classroom, and using dictionaries and reference materials for unfamiliar vocabulary.
  • It involves various grouping strategies. For the schedule reviews and dialogue practice, learners will work in multi-level pairs or groups of three. For the more advanced website research and additional dialogue practice, learners will work in like-ability groups.
  • Whole-group discussions also occur at several points during the lesson.

I found this course to be a good introduction to lesson planning principles. The example lesson plans and lesson plan templates were useful and I will refer back to them in the future. I thought the most valuable components of the course were the videos of actual classroom lessons, because I noticed a lot of things that the teachers did really well that I need to improve in my own teaching. I also learned a lot about grouping strategies. My class is small, but I can imagine grouping methods would be extremely important in larger classes.

Most of the topics in ELL Course 05 were not new to me, but reviewing them was useful and expanded my thinking about them. I found the discussion of language and content objectives to be useful, as I had previously only identified learning objectives, which I think is very important to focusing a lesson. I also appreciated the practical strategies, which I noted for future use. I like building a sense of community in a classroom, which I had not studied before, but came to after years of teaching—I realized how important it is for students to study in a supportive climate, so I try to nurture one. I think it's especially important, as some students are reticent communicators or suffer from a good deal of communication apprehension about speaking. They have to feel safe to speak, so they will participate more in class activities and learn from them. It makes sense to me that a supportive classroom environment is part of a CLT approach, is learner-centered and potentially transformative.

 

The first day of class, I create name cards (cardboard tents) which I continue to use each day until we all know each others' names.  The first day of class, I have students tell their country of origin, their profession in their country, and something about themselves and their family.

My class is an Advanced Reading and Writing Class.  Students have similar proficiency levels (they were pre-tested) but they may be in the US for differing amounts of time.  Most have at least a high school education in their own country.  

The Lesson I am preparing is on the "Bill of Rights."

Objective: By the end of the lesson students will be able to explain how the "Bill of Rights" relates to the Constitution.

Warm Up: Students complete a brief cloze on the purpose of the Constitution and the concept of the amendment process.  The cloze introduces and defines the necessary vocabulary.

Introduction: Teacher circulates miniature copies of the Constitution where students can visually note the concept of amendments.

Presentation:  Teacher hands out a list of the "Bill of Rights" and later amendments to the Constitution and reviews content with class.

Practice:  Students break up into groups and read the Readworks handouts, "American Government, the Bill of Rights Parts I and II" aloud to each other and discuss comprehension questions. Teacher circulates and monitors groups.

Evaluation: Using the "Bill of Rights" handout, students in groups, complete a matching exercise matching each of the Bill of Rights with the correct explanation of each.

Application:  Students in their small groups discuss 10 examples of real life situations where students must determine which rights are being violated according to which amendments and decide what would be the right thing to do according to the Bill of Rights.

In every class I try to get to know my students and we use the grammar lesson to know each other. Students work in groups and each group comes up with a story about their childhood or their country, food, culture. Students get to know each other and at the same time use the grammar that they have learnt.

Upon completing this course, I chose to "polish" a lesson I had already re-visited once on the "Bill of Rights."  The first time I taught the lesson, as a new ESL teacher of an Intermediate Reading and Writing Class, I selected two "reading comprehension" selections on the "Bill of Rights" that proved too difficult for my students.  I would now recommend the passages as a component of a larger lesson for Advanced ESL students.  As part of revising this lesson, besides recommending it for advanced students, I also added "scaffolding" to precede and follow the reading passages. That scaffolding included an introductory cloze that presented and defined the necessary vocabulary and then a handout and an accompanying "matching" exercise that outlined and defined the ten Bill of Rights.  

Having completed the "Principles" course, I re-visited the lesson for a third time.  Prior to completing this course, I was too attached to teacher-centered "whole class" interaction rather than the more student-centered grouping or pairing of students. So too, convinced of the importance of moving from highly structured tasks to more open ended tasks, I now would first have the students read the handout silently while the teacher reads it aloud but then I would have the students complete the matching exercise (that mirrors the handout) in groups or pairs.  

Also upon completion of the "Principles" course, I was taught to think about the "authentic communicative task" of the lesson and I decided to add a final component to the lesson where students discuss real life scenarios and decide which "rights" from the "Bill of Rights" the scenarios may violate as well as what might be the more appropriate course of action.  Not only would this "application" component of the lesson plan require critical thinking, it would also allow the students to get to know each other better and even possibly promote a shift of consciousness or transformational learning.

 

 

 

I create learning objectives based on learners’ needs and goals.  On the first night of class the students get to know each other.  We have a short dialogue where the students get to know the names of their classmates, the country they are from and how long they have been in the U.S.  They also ask them their goals.  As I circulate among the students I am able to get the information as well.  I also use classroom routine in my class.  We also review the previous lesson and sometimes have a quiz.  At the end of the class the students give me two or three sentences using the tense that we learned that night. 

When I was teaching them to write paragraphs, I used thoughtful grouping of students (using their level of education).  I gave each group title of a paragraph.  Each group had to come up with the topic sentence, supporting details and concluding sentence.  The students had a lot of fun trying to think of the supporting details and concluding sentence.  This gave the students lot of opportunity to interact. 

Although I have taught ABLE/GED for over 25 years, the only experience I have with ESOL is from a 4 day workshop 15 years ago.   I decided to add this class to my schedule and thought this course "Principles of Second Language Teaching: Planning, Implementing and Managing Instruction" would be of great value.   I wish that I had known the Prerequisite Activity "Reflect on Your Current Practices",  before I registered as upon completing the course I struggled to create a lesson plan.   I think that I will be able to do a reasonably good job after I have a few more PDs under my belt and some real life experience!   

Activities should be varied from time to  time especially with ESL students to implement and apply learning in practice.As an ESL instructor ,I have some topics I have to address or encounter with the students and even with myself:

-what am I planning to explore or implement in my classroom?

It is Crucial to KWL .The instructor should know where he/she stands before addressing any topic to the students.What amount of information students know or have about certain topic.This later facilitates the instructor's job later to divide the class into groups.

-Why did I choose this focus?

Engaging students with something they have already known opens the door for enthusiastic approach and gains positive feedback at the end..

-Are there any contextual factors?

Instructors have to be aware of the class size and the level of the students.However, the content focus is the most important factor that students will deal with.In the same token,the competent instructor will lead students to a safe understanding regardless of the levels in the same class;students help each other.At the same time,it is not easy at all dealing with students of different levels at the same time during certain period of time ,so what do you think?

-How I will implement my ideas?

I focus on reading the passage most time twice using the Dictogloss as to allow me to assess learners' listening and language usages.It sis a good activity where students can interact and discuss meaning and vocabularies of the text.It suits all levels and it is of four steps starting with preparation and doing dictation and reconstruction ending with analyzing and correction.

-What signs will you look for to know if the activity is having an impact?

The impact and the involvement of students in positive way can lead to a positive accomplishment.Students participate ,and take parts correcting sentences of each other.Students work in pairs and then fours to compare notes and share their written ones .students will- at the end- be able to write correct sentences related to the main ideas of the text...Thanks

 

A. Students and Setting

This lesson is designed for adult English Language Learners whose ages range from 19 to 53. The students have taken the C Level CASAS level tests in Reading and in Listening. The listening scores of the students range from 217 to 237, while the reading scores range from 223-243. Most of the students are high intermediate according to the levels set by the National Reporting System. A few of the students placed into the advanced scoring range.  All of the students have at least nine years of education in their first language and most have completed their secondary education. Two of the students hold professional degrees in their native countries. While most of the students are Spanish-speaking, this class of 18 students has 3 Koreans, 1 German, and 2 Haitians.

The students attend their English as a Second Language class as part of an Adult Education Program in a community college located in a standard metropolitan statistical area of 250,000+. The college is located within five miles of a large military base and many of the students have a connection to the military through family relationships. The class is considered to be intensive. Students attend from 8:00 to 12:00, Monday through Friday, and from 12:30 until 2:30, Monday through Thursday. There are 15 computers placed around the walls of the classroom and all of the computers have Internet access and have Microsoft Office Professional loaded on them.


B. Lesson Background:

The class has worked on reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills for the past four weeks, but there has been a particular emphasis on writing. Students were asked to bring in examples of print information that interested them. One student brought in a newsletter from a medical clinic, which inspired a discussion about writing for a specific purpose. The discussion evolved into a discussion regarding newsletters in general. One of the students suggested that the class create a newsletter about social activities in the area and the other students agreed that not only would their class benefit from the information, but also the lower level classes. They also thought learning to use Microsoft Publisher® would be a good skill to develop.

This lesson will take place over a series of weeks with students preparing a newsletter every two weeks. There will be other integrated skills lessons during this time frame as well since students attend a minimum of four hours a day. For this activity, students will spend approximately an hour each day researching, writing drafts, doing peer reviews, and then editing the newsletter using spellcheck and grammar check.

C. Learning Objectives/Expected Results:

Students will:
Speaking and Listening
 S.1.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one--on-one and in groups) building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
 S.1.4.5 Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
Reading and Writing
 W.3.4.6 Use a computer to create paragraph divisions in an extended text and mark them through indentation.
 W.5.4.1a Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
 W.5.4.1e Use precise language and domain—specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
 W.5.4.4 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
Technology
 T.6.4.3 Plan, select, evaluate, interpret, and use information from a variety of digital resources to develop assignment, project, or presentation.
 T.4.2.5 Use word processing as a tool to write, edit, and publish sentences, paragraphs, and stories.
Note: Student Learning Outcomes are taken from the North Carolina Community College System Standards January 2014 Revision.

D. Materials and Sources:

1. Computers with Internet access and Microsoft Office Professional 2010
2. Microsoft Publisher® Installed Newsletter Templates

3. Instructions on how to create a newsletter in Microsoft Publisher® found at
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-newsletter-a551d55e-3078-4707-8a93-02930907d7d8?CorrelationId=aef65c6f-b8b2-42b6-bac9-b21c67f502bd&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
4. PDF file on How to Create a Newsletter developed by the instructor
5. Variety of newsletters obtained locally (some provided by the instructor and some brought in by the students) to review, compare, and contrast
6. Internet websites listing local community events.
7. Cell Phone cameras
8. Email accounts for sending information among the students working on the newsletter

E. Procedures/Timing:

DAY ONE

1. Approximate Time 5 minutes
T: Reminds students of the discussion they had about newsletters and their desire to produce one. Asks students what they remember about newsletters and how they differ from newspapers and fact sheets.
S: Students offer various responses but eventually point out that newspapers concern events that have happened. Fact sheets are not time related. Newsletters have a general theme and provide information to a specific group of people on topics of interest to them.
 

2. Approximate Time 5 minutes

T: Divides class into three (3) groups of six (6) students each. Each group will have two (2) people who do not speak Spanish.
S: Students move into their groups and put tables together to make it easier to have a group conversation.
 

3.  Approximate Time: 15 minutes

T: Outlines tasks for the group. Each student will be a reporter and a researcher. They will also be members of the editorial board. Explains what an editorial board does. Also tells group to select an editor-in-chief who will make assignments (with student input) and will be responsible for final editing. Asks students to decide what theme they want for their newsletter and who will be responsible for formatting the newsletter.

S: Students elect an editor-in-chief who then gets the students to brainstorm whether they want to prepare newsletters on current events or if they want to select a different theme. Students also decide who will be responsible for inputting the articles into Microsoft Publisher®.

4.  Approximate Time:  15 minutes

T:  Calls groups back to the larger group and asks them to report on the roles each student will play. Asks groups for the theme of their newsletter.

S: Students report their decisions to the class and explain the reason for their decisions.

5.  Approximate Time:  15 minutes

T: Uses LCD Projector connected to the computer to demonstrate how to access MS Publisher®, select a template, and import images. Asks groups to move to computers to select a template for their newsletter.

S: Students watch demonstration of MS Publisher® and then select a template and practice inputting text and an image into a sample document.

6.  Approximate Time: 5 minutes

T: Reviews what has been accomplished so far and writes list on the board as students mention what they have done. Then, asks students to do homework by thinking about what they need to accomplish in their groups on Day Two and making notes for their groups.

S: Students respond to the teacher’s questions about what they accomplished that day.

Days Two through Nine continue with students working on the newsletter in group meetings and on the computer doing research or writing articles.  Students edit each other's writing, but have access to the instructor for questions they are unable to answer within the group.

F. Alternative Assessment:

This lesson plan produces a large number of opportunities for formative assessment for learning to take place. There are no tests or quizzes, but the students create products (drafts, articles, and newsletters) that provide printed evidence of the gaps and strengths of student learning. The print evidence allows the teacher to determine what additional support is needed for students to improve punctuation, capitalization, and spelling skills. The teacher can also spot errors in writing, including syntax, tenses, subject-verb agreement, and other areas of writing. From an analysis of these errors the teacher can create integrated skills activities as part of the teaching and learning in the part of the class not dedicated to the newsletter activity.

Students can also be evaluated on their speaking and listening skills. When they work in groups, they must communicate orally. A checklist from Day One is included and it can be used as a sample for daily rubrics that the students can help create. Because the teacher is actively observing the students throughout the lesson, an informal evaluation of their speaking takes place. The instructor can note issues in pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary, and structure and then develop lessons to address these issues.

While all four of the integrated skills are used in this lesson, speaking and writing skills are most clearly observed. These are active skills, often neglected in classrooms because they require so much more effort on the part of the students. Linguistic competence is demonstrated by the oral group activities and by the newsletters created as part of the project.

Integrated Skills: This lesson uses integrated skills although the skills of speaking and writing are most predominant. Speaking (including pronunciation) and listening take place during the group work in which every student has a role and must report on his/her progress to the overall group. Reading is developed through the research the students must do in order to write articles. Sometimes the reading is done through print materials, but it is most often done by accessing online sites. Reading is assessed by the written summaries the students produce ad by their ability to answer questions regarding the writing. The skill of writing is developed through note-taking, writing drafts or writing articles. Additionally, editing of articles fosters the further development of writing skills since the students must analyze their own and their group’s errors.


Alternative Assessment: The assessment in this activity is formative. The teacher develops a sense of the speaking skills of the students by selectively listening to their group meetings. The instructor has an initial checklist that is applied to evaluate oral communication. Later, students help develop a rubric that they use to assess one another. The teacher provides feedback regularly by sitting in on group meetings. Assessment of writing skills is pervasive. Students take notes, create drafts, write articles, edit articles written by themselves and others, and examine writing in terms of purpose and clarity. Not only does the instructor assist with editing as requested, but the students also perform peer reviews of articles. Finally, while the groups conduct a peer review prior to the publication of the newsletter, a final assessment is done as the other groups look at the finished newsletters of the other groups and then ask questions, make comments, and consider the finished newsletters as model for future newsletters.

Classroom Management: The activity is well-organized through the creation of groups that have the responsibility of producing a newsletter. Each member of the class belongs to a group and has a specific responsibility within the group. If he/she does not live up to group expectations, the group is adversely affected. For that reason, the groups use peer pressure to ensure individual focus and completion of activities. There is a fixed period of time each day for the students to work on the project. Those who finish early have an alternate assignment they can work on, helping to avoid the possibility that they could distract those who have not completed their assignment for that day. Classroom Management is greatly aided by the fact that the students wanted to create a newsletter.

Differentiated instruction/individual learning differences: The use of group work allows students to select activities that challenge, but don’t frustrate them. By assigning student roles on the newsletter staff, each student has a specific learning task that integrates with the whole. Students whose writing skills are weaker will be assigned to activities that require more research and less writing, but every student will produce some writing. In addition, students who wish to work on the actual input of articles into the newsletter template will have the opportunity to develop skills in the use of MS Publisher®. During the editing process, students may work as individuals or with a partner to review and offer editing suggestions to others. Students will learn to edit using the “Two Stars and a Wish” technique for Formative Assessment.

I like EL Civics questions especially for ESL students. I place different letters in different places in my classroom trying to let the students make words out of these letters. It was three weeks ago when the students had fun and got educational benefits sharing what each one has accomplished .However, one of these words was Constitution. It is really a long discussion to  open among students .I left the topic pending ,but I did not tell students why I will not talk too much about this idea.After two days,one of the students said :What about the constitution from the previous class! The students was really inquiring until I told the students to go again and look at the wall and write down and share.You know what did they they find?

                                                                                    Constitution

                                 Legislative                                         executive                                 Judicial

                                     Congress                                      President- Vice president                Supreme Court

                                   Senate + House of Representatives

This diagram opens a discussion of a lot of topics to be discussed everyday for half an hour.

1. A core group of five students attend my Intermediate English class. One is a medical doctor from Kosovo, who used to teach medicine at a school. Now he's in the US working in a salad factory, as his credentials are not recognized and his spoken English is weak. The remaining students are Bhutanese, Nepali-speakers. They like to collaborate with each other in class in Nepali before answering questions or performing tasks in English. All of the students seem unfamiliar with pair and group dialogues and pair checking (of answers). 

2. Students need necessary vocabulary and functional language to request and fill a prescription.

3. Ss first listen to a story about a man who needs to call the doctor to refill his prescription, but forgets until he completely runs out of medicine. Ss are asked to speak about the story that they've listened to, and reproduce as much information as they can remember. Ss are then asked to listen to the story and read it simultaneously, to check if they missed any information while listening. Ss discuss the main character's problem and how he could have avoided the situation. 

Ss write about the process of visiting the doctor, receiving a prescription, and going to the pharmacy to get the prescription. We also practice the essential skills necessary for reading prescription and over the counter medicine labels, over a period of two weeks.

4. Ss work together to complete all tasks, and are encouraged to share their experiences of visiting the doctor and buying medicine.

5. Ss talk about how it was visiting the doctor and buying medicine back home. Ss share home remedies that they learned from their parents and grandparents, and are asked to discussed which home remedies they continue to implement on themselves and their children.

1. Identify student characteristics and factors that may affect learning.

We have a large population of West Africans in our program that speak English as one of their primary languages.  A couple classes have been created tailored to their population.  They are primarily Beginning Literacy students, having little to no exposure to education in their home country.  One of these students considers his English as "broken".  Therefore, reading and writing is the primary focus, yet oral communication is not completely forgotten.  

2. Determine the lesson focus

Communicative tasks commonly address civic engagement that involved basic reading and writing skills, such as filling out forms, reading schedules, and paying bills.

3.Plan lesson objectives, activities and assessments.


Our students in these classes work primarily on common sight words found on common forms.  The first 100 sight words are addressed as well to increase accuracy of reading simple sentences and passages.  Alphabetics and phonetics is integrated throughout the class.  Pronunciation is addressed along the way to ensure that the students, as speakers, are intelligible to listeners in their community.  Teachers use provided pre- and post-assessments to gauge student progress and make adjustments along the way.

4. Implement learner-centered instruction practices.

Learners are a part of the instruction process through our use of SMART goals and contextualized instruction.  Students are encouraged to bring in realia from work and home to augment the selection of materials used in the classroom.  Students express to the instructors target areas in their lives that are pressing, needing attention. 

5. Apply classroom management strategies.

Instructors use a variety of kinesthetic, hands-on activities that engage each student in the classroom.  These activities are intended to mirror experiences outside of the classroom where the literacy skills will be required to employ.  Explicit instruction is used to ensure the proper modeling and guidance in the acquisition of the literacy skill.  As the students are all from West Africa in these two classes, a rapport is built quickly, and the instructors can better target common deficiencies.

 

Factors that affect learning:

The class consists of 5 male students from Mexico. They have been in the US from 1-4 years. The English proficiency level is Pre-Beginning to Low Intermediate. The literacy level is from Pre-Beginning to Low Intermediate. Prior education experiences range from 0 to 9th grade. Of the 5 students, 3 are married, 1 is divorced, and 1 is single. Four of them have school-age children. Four of them live in the same mobile home park and do manual labor, such as construction, picking galax, cutting brush, etc. All are motivated to learn English for family, community, and job reasons.

I created this lesson using the Teal Center Fact Sheet No. 8: Effective Lesson Planning

How and When to Call 911

Warm-up:

1)Ask students if they’ve ever had to call 911. 

2)Write the main emergency categories on the white board: fire, crime, medical, natural disaster

3)Ask if they recognize any of the words.

Introduction

What is an emergency? What is not an emergency?

What happens when you call 911? What information will the operator ask you for?

Presentation

1)Model a dialogue with the 911 operator.

2)Introduce the new vocabulary using pictures.

Practice

1)Play the “flyswatter” game with vocabulary words.

2)Have the students practice the dialogue in pairs.

3)Have the students use flash cards independently.

Evaluation

1)Teacher pronounces the vocabulary words. Students write what they hear using a provided word bank.

2)Role play in pairs.

Application:

Students create an emergency information sheet for use in their homes.

Hi Jane, Your lesson focuses on an authentic task that is important for all new arrivals to the US, calling 911. You include listening, speaking, reading and writing activities for your multilevel class. Having the students who are writing create their own flashcards is a helpful strategy to support their growing vocabulary. Devoting class time to this can really pay off, especially if, as the students experience the benefits, they begin to create flashcards on their own outside of class. Creating an emergency information sheet students can use at home is practical and authentic.

Thanks for sharing your lesson plan with all of us!

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Adult English Language Learners CoP

I'm a beginning ESL teacher, so all the material is fresh and useful for me. I appreciate all the suggestions for actual activities and lesson planning. My students are pre-beginning to low intermediate literacy level, so the section that is most important for my class is: "Using topics that are relevant to students' lives". Following the links, I've found great worksheets and activities for all sorts of everyday topics, such as healthcare, speaking on the phone, going to the grocery store, etc.

It's good to hear that you found the ELLU course on Principles of Second Language Teaching so helpful, Jane. There is a wealth of resources available to teachers online and this course connects teachers to many useful ones. That's for sure!

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Adult English Language Learners CoP

I am aware of the many needs of our students, but after seeing how well the illustration on reading was, I feel it will be beneficial for the students if we get the student to verbally express their needs and set their own goals.  Reading and understanding can be extremely difficult but by scaffolding as illustrated in the Advanced Level Reading class film, students can be more successful.  The reading, comparing their story directly to their life, writing and discussing the differences or similarities was also a great technique.

Since I teach students in lower levels, I can be more creative in assisting them to set their own goals and compare them to my class goal.  During my reading sessions, I can have them write about the story (allow them to write it in their language since they are low), but then attempt to have small group discussions on how it compares to their life, the differences and/or similarities.

Mike Shecket

Godman Guild Association

June 18, 2015

 

Principles of Second Language Teaching: Culminating Activity

 

1. Identify student characteristics and factors that may affect learning.

 

A plurality of my students are from Somalia. Most of them, to my knowledge, have been in the U.S. for less than ten years. They have varying English proficiency levels, but I believe most of them fall in the High Beginning to Low Intermediate range. At least one of my students is in her first-ever school experience. Most of my female students have young children. I believe most of my students have the goal of trying to improve their ability to function in everyday life in English. I believe the most important factors to keep in mind are the students’ proficiency levels and goals.

 

2. Determine the lesson focus.

 

My students may need to make a major purchase, like a car or a household appliance.

 

Functional phrases: “How much is it?” “Can we look at this one?” “What colors does it come in?”

Language skills: Speaking to a salesperson, reading a product description

Cultural Knowledge: Knowing when bargaining is acceptable, or knowing how to find out whether it is acceptable. “Can I make you an offer?”

Grammar: “I am looking for a new dishwasher” versus “I looking for a new dishwasher”

Vocabulary: Features, financing, “rent-to-own”, warranty

Communication Strategies: “Could you please repeat that?” “Could you please explain?”

 

3. Plan lesson objectives, activities and assessments.

 

LESSON BASICS

Class Level: High Beginning to Low Intermediate ESL

Topic: Making a major purchase

Class Length: 3 hours

Date: 7/14/2015

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to gather and evaluate information necessary to making a major purchase and use the communication skills necessary to complete that purchase.

Enabling Skills:

Grammar: use present progressive tense (“I am looking for…”)

Vocabulary: types of products and stores, words for money, words for features

 

Language Skill

Proficiency Focus

L S W R

Materials and Equipment:

 

Information stickers from cars or appliances

Play money, sample purchase contracts

 

ACTIVITY PLAN

Warm Up/Review: Whole-class discussion about making major purchases. Students discuss what they have had to buy.

Introduction: Tell students that they will be practicing making major purchases. Show them some of the sample stickers from the various products.

Presentation: Act out a dialogue in which a customer goes to a car dealership to look at cars and take a test drive. Comprehension check: Ask students Y/N, OR, and WH- questions for approximately 5 minutes regarding the content of the dialogue.

Guided Practice: Group students for practicing their own dialogues related to making major purchases.

Communicative Practice: Have pairs of students develop their own dialogues.

Evaluation: 1. Have the pairs of students present their dialogues to the class. 2. Give students time to reflect on what they’ve learned.

 

Application: Guide a whole-class discussion on what students might buy and where they might look for it. Do they need to buy a car? A dishwasher? An oven?

 

4. Implement learner-centered instruction practices.

 

I will give students a choice of what kind of purchase they want to talk about. I will let each pair of students creatively write their own dialogue. I will try to devote as much time as possible to students communicating with each other in a real-life situation.

 

5. Apply classroom management strategies.

 

I will have students from different countries who speak different languages sit together and communicate with each other.

 

I will have students make name signs so they can learn each other’s names and I can learn theirs.

 

I will write the agenda for the class on the whiteboard every day.

 

The content of the "Principles of Second Language Teaching: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Instruction" course has helped me plan my instruction to connect language content to real-life contexts. It pointed out that I could use authentic materials, which could be a great variety of materials, such as TV news reports, newspaper clippings, advertising circulars, and even cartoons.

It has also caused me to think more about how my students will be using English on an everyday basis.

Hi Mike, It sounds like you have a wonderfully diverse class of adults with varying goals. You are supporting English learners to use English in their everyday lives outside of the classroom and you are bringing the outside into your class through the use of authentic materials -- including TV news and newspapers. Balancing listening, speaking, reading and writing, as shown in your lesson plan, is a good goal to shoot for. You indicated that you also pay attention to what I like to call communication strategies, i.e., asking for clarification when we don't understand and checking comprehension. Giving learners the opportunity to practice these strategies in the safe space of the classroom is likely to enable them to do so outside the classroom, too.

This ELLU online course on the Principles of Second Language Teaching engages teachers in understanding the basic principles of excellent English language instruction. This course can be beneficial for all teachers and especially for those who are new to the field of adult ESL.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

 

I currently utilize the strategies listed in my classroom.  I conduct a lot of discussion-role-playing in my class using realistic topics such as teacher-student setting, employee-employer setting.  If the students don’t understand, I would use their native vocabulary word and match it with the English word with the same meaning.  We would compare the spelling and pronunciation.  I would lead a discussion on comparing similar cultural traditions to those of the United States.  Not only does the discussion help comprehension, but it will build trust and a positive teacher-student relationship.

Hi Danyell, Creating a safe space for learning through positive teacher-student relationships, as you note, is one of the most important aspects of teaching. Another essential aspect is to create a community of learning by supporting students to get to know one another. Through interacting with each other, adult English learners form friendships and also get the practice they need to push their language development forward.

You say that you sometimes draw upon the home language of the learners as support. Research has shown this to be a positive approach. In my experience, it is common for learners who share a first language to readily help each other when necessary, so instead of having a hard and fast "English only" rule, it's more effective to draw upon that home language support when it is needed to, for instance, quickly clarify vocabulary or the directions for an activity.

As you indicated, engaging students in comparing the way English works versus their home language can be both helpful and fascinating.

You have outlined some of the valuable take-aways from the ELLU online course Principles of Second Language Teaching. Others in our community may be interested to check out this course as well as the other ELLU online courses.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

1. I have students ranging from very little education to students with some college.  I try to pair students with less education to those with more. 

2.  Grocery shopping- identifying foods. Asking for food location.

3.  Reading, writing, speaking and listening.

4. Classroom discussion over what we enjoy eating.  Where do we shop?

5. Learn vocab words of food and food groups.

6. Pair students and practice conversation in book.  1. Listen 2. Choral practice 3. A group and B group practice 4. Practice in pairs. 

7. Partners plan a small meal and write a shopping list.  Where do we find the foods in the grocery store?

This lesson has always been a favorite of the class.  We all love hearing about what cultures eat and how to cook these foods.  This lesson incorporates listening, reading, writing and speaking.  We also end up exchanging recipes.

 

Hi Marti, Thanks for sharing your reflections on the ELLU online course Principles of ESL Teaching. Since we are fast approaching the beginning of a new school year, I wonder if you could share any of the icebreaker activities you use at the start of a new class?

Teachers, what are some of your favorite getting acquainted activities to use at the beginning of a new class?

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

This course will help me to better plan instruction to meet the needs of the ESL students in my Family Literacy class.  One example of a lesson I will improve upon is one in which students practice writing letters to their children's teachers explaining why they were or will be absent.  Students will use all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) as they learn related vocabulary (parts of the body, common illnesses), grammar (verb tense), and letter-writing and editing skills.

Sequencing can be an issue, especially when some catch on quicker with the written  and others are kinesthetic learners.  Do teachers tend to go with what is easier for they themselves?   

A number of our lower classes have a mix of refugees and Hispanics.  Depending on where the refugees hail from, the educational backgrounds span an incredible range.   Another huge variable is the fact that many of the Hispanic students have, at least, a minimal acquaintance with U.S. life style through movies, family members who have been here, and often longer length of residence.  There are also topics of interest that students from the Western Hemisphere find totally acceptable while other students view those same topics as untouchable.  It has become much more complicated for all of our lower level ESL teachers to make lesson plans once one has dealt with the basics of clothing, food, colors, etc. 

Pauline's description of the classes and the last sentence about how complicated it is to make lesson plans for what I have long-termed "mixed everything classes" is a pet topic o mine.  This challenge has been prominent in adult ESOL for decades, and much has been written about it.    I do not have time at the moment to go in to this in depth, but right now let me say that I have found from many years of coaching teachers in this situation that is is VERY important to abandon old ways of teaching and re-think this kind of classroom.  There IS no ONE lesson plan that will work in such a class-- and the teacher will inevitably end up "teaching to the middle and hoping for the best"-- or, in many cases, teaching to one language group or teaching to the more educated, etc.   

Differentiated instruction is completely necessary in settings such as these. Differentiation can be achieved in a a variety of ways-- many, many of the resources offered in these recent discussions would work to provide learning activities for learners at different levels of whatever-- literacy, need for English for s specific purpose-- i.e. a current job or other urgent need-- cultural backgrounds, language backgrounds, etc.. All of the great suggestions in the discussion on creating "non-formal" learning opportunities for students apply equally well to differentiating a classroom-- having students work in self-directed groups where possible, freeing up the teacher to work with those who cannot work in self- directed groups for whatever reason.    My long-standing approach has been to create learning centers within the classroom and highly individualized and flexible materials for small group learning, etc.

In any case, it requires accepting the reality of the classroom and working from that instead of trying to mold the classroom to fit older, more traditional teaching approaches, from what I have seen and experienced.   Robin Lovrien   

 

 

 

Dr. Robin, I agree wholeheartedly with your point of view and observations. A lot of the difficulties in mixed-everything classes could be solved if there were computers in the class. Now we can also use cell-phones as educational tools - in class. 

But, I guess my question is - do ESL teachers use technology in their classes? I am very interested in people's opinions on this point.

Paul

Hello Dr. Robin, We have learned so much from your sharing over the years about how to address the wide range of needs in typical adult ESL classes through setting up learning stations. Thank you kindly for sharing your expertise with us here.

Members who have questions about strategies for structuring classrooms to address diverse needs will be interested to check out last spring's LINCS discussion led by Dr. Robin and classroom teachers Lauren Osowski and Alicia Broggio.

As Paul suggests, incorporating technology through computers, tablets and cell phones can play an important role.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

I am here to enhance my teaching skills. The men I teach in prison are diverse racially, ethnically, cognitively and academically. While I teach a program focused on reentry; their effort to prepare themselves for release, I have learning objectives for the class generally. I also note those who may struggle with reading and understanding written materials and pursue other media which address their individual learning styles.

Hello Jerry, The work you are doing in the prison is important. Addressing a wide range of needs in the classroom is always a challenge. Understanding individual learner's needs is always the first step, and it sounds like you are aware of how to support learners at various levels. 

Did you know that LINCS also has a Correctional Education Community? You would be welcome to join with others who share your teaching context.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

I have been volunteering in an ESL program at my church for several years now in which we work one-on-one with immigrants and teach them English. While taking the Principles of Second Language Teaching course, I implemented a weekly activity in which I encourage my individual reader to watch a little bit of CNN every week and come prepared to discuss one topic in class because she deeply enjoys following world news. Of course we keep it at a high-level of discussion, but it's great to stay abreast of world events and share our thoughts and opinions on the latest drama in the political race. My reader gets to listen to other people who speak English, think about the events covered, develop her own opinions, and then form her ideas into English, while listening to me do the same. We both enjoy our weekly news conversations! This regular activity combines class routines, student relevance, and authentic materials, as we integrate CLT. Fun times!

Hi Toya, Creating a structure for the learner you work with to continue learning outside of your tutoring sessions is valuable. You are doing so by building the activity around content she is interested in, which is clearly motivating. As you note, your conversations focused on current events are also fun ... a great bonus!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

What methods do you use or have you heard of for getting to know your students and/or helping them get to know each other?

As I currently do not have an ESL class I will have to go with what I've learned so far and from personal experience with dealing with my international friends from college.

Creating name cards

Asking them to introduce themselves and where they are from using guided practice.

As the class progresses, stop and ask "What would people in your home country do in this situation?" (for holidays or current events)

 

 

Hi Tessa, Using name cards is not only helpful to the teacher in getting to know the names of students at the start of a new class, but --of course-- it helps them to get to know each other's names as well.

I believe there are some games that help students learn each other's names. If anyone has a game to recommend, please let us know.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

 

Principles of Second Language Teaching: Five Steps Activity

  1. Identify Student Characteristics and factors that may affect learning
    1. As I do not actually have a class, I will make up one.  My imaginary class has students from Mexico and Russia.  All have been in the US for at least 6 months – a year or more.
    2. The Mexican students English is what they have picked up so far from living in the US.  The Russian students have a firmer grasp as they have been taught English in Russia, however, they learned “British” English and are having a hard time adjusting what they currently know with what they need to know
  2. I will be having my students call in sick for work.
    1. This will help my Mexican students with proper sentence structure and pronunciation as well as expose them to new vocabulary.
    2. This will help my Russian students with new vocabulary and some slang, as well as some sentence structure and proper pronunciation.
  3. I will introduce the lesson and ask for the students to pair up with a partner. Students will first use their home language to English dictionaries to make a vocabulary and pronunciation list. 
    1. I will also prepare my own list of words.  We will go over all of the words they chose and go over pronunciation.  If there is a question to what the word means, we will go over the definition.  Some words I will personally choose would be: Fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, migraine, dizzy.
    2. After we have looked over and learned vocabulary, students will work in pairs to create a “script” between themselves and a boss. 
    3. I will go around to each group providing support and helping with grammar and pronunciation issues.
    4. After they have finished their script, each pair will come to the front of the class and perform their “skit”.  They are allowed to fully complete their skit with no interruptions.
      1. After the skit, the class is asked to critique it for correct sentence structure and pronunciation as well as clarity.  “Did they get their meaning across?”
      2. After the class has made their recommendations, I will also weigh in.
    5. After all the groups have gone, I will ask the class which group had the best excuse for not coming into work.  That group will receive a prize.
  4. Since my entire lesson is on communication this question answers itself.
  5. This is also part of my lesson plan.  Student will get to know their partner very well, and the students will learn about each other during the skits.

Hi Tessa, Skits-- or what we often call role plays -- are an excellent way to get students interacting in meaningful ways. We usually use role plays to give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned. I'm trying to include more role plays in my teaching. I always ask for volunteers to perform their role plays for the class; instead of having everyone present their role plays, only a few will perform. I usually have pairs perform their role plays for another pair or two before asking for volunteers to present to the whole class. In this way, everyone gets more opportunity to practice.

One thing I'm planning to do is to ask pairs of students to audio or video record their role plays.Most students have cell phones that can do this. They will have the freedom to re-record themselves as often as they want to until they are happy with the result. They can then work in groups of four to listen to each other's recordings and offer comments.

If members have other suggestions on how to use skits or role play, please feel free to share them here.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

Susan and All,
  If you were to have students record each others' role plays, would they be able to email them to the teacher during class?    Couldn't the teacher then project the role plays via an overhead projector so that all students' work is displayed?  If so, what program would you insert the files into so that they could be projected?  I'd want some program that would be quick to use so that this all could be accomplished during the same class.  Would PowerPoint work?
  The next REEP cycle for our outreach programs starts next week.  So, I start with a personal identification unit.  I'm considering having students interview each other as a get-to-know you application such as Susan just described.    It sounds like the activity could work but I'm concerned there could be pitfalls. 
  I'd love some input...
  Ellen
  Ellen Clore-Patron

REEP, Arlington Education and Employment Program

Video files are big and are likely to exceed e-mail size limits. They would also quickly eat up a learner's data plan, so it would be better to send them over WiFi if it is available.

A better solution would be to have the learners bring their Smart Phone charging cables use them to transfer the videos to a laptop connected to a projector. (There are instructions to do this at this link: http://www.smartphonefilmpro.com/transferring-video-files-to-a-computer/.) I've transferred a few videos from Android to Windows and had no problems. Going from iOS to Windows was another story, so I'd do a few dry runs with different devices before grinding to a halt in class. Smart Phone videos are in a standard format, so any media player (Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, VLC, etc.) should work. Again, do a few dry runs to make sure the media player you plan to use works. VLC Media Player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) seems to work when all else fails. If possible, have the learners make their videos in separate rooms or the videos may contain audio from multiple role plays.