Etienne and ESL

TESL 0100 Unit 7 Reflection: Controversial Topics in the Language Classroom (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Debate_Logo.svg ) For this week’s blog post, I’d like to discuss the use of controversial topics in the language classroom as a way for students to develop their skills in debating and expressing opinions. To start, I think that these can make for some incredible learning opportunities, where students can develop their language skills while exchanging their opinions on relevant issues. These activities can help build better informed individuals and allow them to use language in a powerful way. However, with that said, I feel that teachers should also use some caution when introducing certain controversial topics, especially ones that relate to politics and religion. These can be sensitive areas that not all students may feel comfortable talking about. As a teacher, should you encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and share their beliefs on...

TESL 0100 Unit 6 Reflection: Lesson Planning for the Unexpected   (Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/83633410@N07/7658298768 ) This week’s readings focused around the mechanics of lesson planning and how to structure one that will effectively address the students’ needs. On that note, I would like to talk about planning for the unexpected. Although I do not have much experience in lesson planning, one thing I have learned is that it involves a lot more calculated guestimates and predictions than I had initially expected! While there is research and plenty of resources to guide teachers in their lesson planning, there are still many unknown variables that teachers must address; variables that do not always have clear cut answers. Will my students find this activity difficult? Will this keep them engaged? When should I correct my students? The list goes on and on. There seems to always be some element of uncertainty. With all that said, I think that is a good thin...

Lesson Plan 2 – Using Winnipeg Transit   Date: October 19, 2018 Class Levels: CLB 3-4 Class Time: 120 mins Communicative Language Task Goal Students will ask someone how to get somewhere by bus and be able to identify route information when looking at the outside of a bus. Students will also give instructions on how to go somewhere by bus. By the end of the lesson today, learners will have: -         Identified the information displayed on the outside of a Winnipeg Transit bus (Route number, destination, via what location, and express route/vs. local route) -         Asked someone about how to get to a destination via bus, referencing bus routes, stop names and other related vocabulary -         Used a logical sequence of simple instructions to explain how to get to a destination via bus. -         Restated informa...

Lesson Plan 1 - Returning an Item to the Store   Date: October 5 th , 2018 Class levels: CLB 5 Class Time:  60 mins Communicative Language Task Goal Students will return an item to a store and explain why they were not satisfied with the product. By the end of the lesson today, learners will have: -         Learned how to politely open and close a conversation when requesting to return an item. -         Learned and used necessary language to explain why they are returning an item to the store, in a series of steps.   -         Learned how to use adverbs and adjectives to describe an item they are dissatisfied with Lesson Procedure Lesson activities and procedure Language focus Language Skills Purpose of the activity Interaction Time Describe what learners are doing Identify what linguistic and co...

Hi everyone, For this unit, I made a short quiz going over the various teaching methods that have been proposed for ESL. Feel free to try it out and let me know what you think! Methodology Quiz

TESL 0100 Unit 5 Reflection: Favourite Approaches to Language Teaching                                                                        (Source: https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/saadan-kan-indvandrere-faa-langt-stoerre-viden-om-sundhedsvaesnet)  After having read about all the various methods and approaches that are out there for ESL education, I’d like to go over three of them that I quite like for this week’s blogpost. Task-Based Language Teaching: This is one variant of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) that is built around learning language in order to accomplish a goal or a task (Brown & Lee, 2015). These goals can range from something simple like learning how to fill out a form with personal information all the way to planning a complex itinerary for an overs...

Hi everyone,  Below is a sketch I did of how I envision my future classroom. I have put the students in the centre of the drawing because I hope to create a learner-centered environment. Aside from that, I think the rest is pretty straightforward. Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think! What would you do differently? 

TESL 0100 Unit 4 Reflection: Languaculture and English                         (Source: https://pixabay.com/en/international-world-flags-countries-1751293/ ) For this week’s blogpost, I’d like to discuss the term “languaculture” and some questions that came to me regarding this concept. Brown and Lee (2015) refer to this term as on of their eight principles behind second language acquisition (SLA). According to them (2015) “language and culture are intricately intertwined, and often an L2 is so deeply rooted in a culture that it is not quickly and easily discerned or internalized by a learner.” (Brown & Lee, 2015, p.81) This essentially is what languaculture is all about. It’s the idea that language and culture are essentially inseparable, meaning that in order to learn a language and fully understand it, one must also learn about the culture from where the language originates. Personally, I have expe...