SUM 2018 Response to ESL readings and more resources by Laura Mulas

SUM 2018 Response to ESL readings and more resources by Laura Mulas https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq For this Padlet post a response to the articles that you read (200-250 words) and will participate in an active discussion about ESL teaching and strategies. This assignment is a 2 part assignment. Post your response to the readings. This will be between 200-250 words by WED Post another useful link that you found related to teaching ESL by WED July 18th Comment on at least 2 other student posts by FRI July 20th Comment back to all the comments to your post by WED July 23rd of week 5 en-us 2018-06-23 13:14:00 UTC 2018-08-19 21:13:20 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png ESL Readings and resources. amy115 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270333628 First, it is easy to see that there already is a system of testing for proficiency in place as shown by the chart from Cambridge. I wonder where I would land on this chart based on the tests. Are the tests biased? There is so much slang and different meanings for words that could make these tests inaccurate (in my opinion). Then there is the question about who should teach English to the students in Spain. Should Spanish teachers who speak and understand English be teaching or should the country bring in native English speakers? As I Googled this subject, the first thing that came up was a company looking for native speakers to travel to Spain to teach children and families English. This particular company is for volunteer work with free room and board. So it was more of a family immersion than a paid teaching position.

]]> 2018-07-16 19:27:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270333628 ESL Readings Response sgabbard https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270464336 I found it really interesting to see the differences between teaching styles in Spain versus in America. Comparing the amount of work that the students are given in Spain versus the ones in America was really surprising. The amount that a 15-year-old received seemed like the same amount that I would get in college level courses. Also looking at the test for finding out where you would land for knowing a certain language was pretty cool. I never knew something like that existed and it makes sense for when you maybe transfer schools, are trying to learn a language, or just curious on where you are for a language. I really related with the article that talked about how teaching English in Spain isn't working anymore. I have tried to learn a couple of languages here in America, Spanish and German, and I could retain very little of both. I think trying to find a specific teaching style of kids learning foreign languages is critical to help them learn them. The link is from Scholastic and is all about what helps when teaching ESL students. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/success-esl-students/ ]]> 2018-07-18 01:13:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270464336 ESL readings saxon21 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270540083 The articles were very informative and i learned a lot of useful information regarding the education in Spain and how it differs from ours. It was interesting to find out that education is free between the ages of 6-16. I thought this was an awesome thing that they do. Another thing that came as a surprise to me was that they start their version of high school at the age of 12. It made me wonder if the course work they are attempting to teach them at the age of 12 is the equivalent to that of a high school freshmen here in the U.S. Learning about what the best method for teaching English was interesting and useful as well. It showed that the need for collaborative learning is necessary to teach such topics. Learning about native speakers vs educators was a unique perspective i never considered. It makes sense that their is a difference between a native speaker and an educator and that the ideal candidate to teach a language would be a combination of both. I found a link that shows all the ideal requirements to teach ESL. ]]> 2018-07-18 18:10:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270540083 ESL Response Hesam https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270550216 Articles about the teaching system in Spain were interesting and surprising. Students at age 14 get about three hours of homework every day and even twice that on weekends. It is crazy that a kid on that age should stay up after midnight to do the homework. This is not reasonable because they score lower than average on the standardized test. I believe homework is a very important part of learning especially at that age that kids don’t want to study. When I was 14 the only thing I wanted to do was to go out and spend time with friends playing soccer or volleyball. So, homework was a great way to push me to study. However, if kids spend 12 hours doing school work on the weekend they don’t have time for themselves and their family.

As I grew up outside of the US, I can understand the problem of teaching English in other countries. I experienced learning English from the non-native teacher and the native teacher, and I learned much more from the native instructor. However, I think it is necessary to train a native English speaker to teach their language. It is essential to have a system that makes good educators from native speakers.
I found this interesting
https://www.denverspanishhouse.com/node/279 ]]> 2018-07-18 20:40:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270550216 ESL Reading Response vvoisin2 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270566510 After reading this week's articles on education in Spain, I was particularly surprised by the article on homework. I also thought that European countries placed less of an emphasis on homework. Three hours after school seems like a ridiculous amount of work for students to complete. I am also surprised to hear that Spain allowed Catalonia to have rights over it's own educational system. I was also very surprised to hear that fluency in English is so low amongst Spanish children. I know it other countries, learning to be proficient English is required/ expected. It's disappointing to hear that some of this lack of knowledge is coming from the teachers themselves.

I also found the article on native teachers very interesting. I think this augment could go ways, but realistically it would be ideal if the school had both a fluent Spanish speaker who knows english, and also a English native speaker who can also speak Spanish. Below I have included an article by the New York Times which touches on how valuable it can be to learn a language from a native speaker.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/business/17novel.html

]]> 2018-07-19 00:42:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270566510 I found the article talking about whether or not native speakers are the best teacher for their language. I agree that it is necessary that teacher must know the language being taught but what is more important, being a native speaker or being a good teacher? I agree with the article saying that it is more important to be a good teacher, although it is extremely important that the teacher knows the material they are trying to teach. I don't think it necessarily means that to be a good teacher you need to be a native speaker although in some cases it could be more beneficial (learning new lingo and phrases that don't come with the common language). I think in this case it is important for a teacher to get the students to understand a strong base for learning the language, and lingo or phrases specific to the language can come with being in the culture and learning from native speakers AFTER being taught the foundation of the language. But what's even better is if the individual is a good teacher AND a native speaker! cloynewelch https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270582763 I found this article interesting
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/albertrayan/characteristics-highly-effective-teachers-english

]]> 2018-07-19 03:30:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270582763 Teaching ESL in Spain chowon https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270584305 This week articles were very interesting and informative about the Spanish education system. I was surprised that Spanish students do their assignment until midnight because I thought only Asian countries have tough education systems, and European countries have a similar education system with the United States. On the other hand, Spanish students’ parents are different than Asian parents. It was very interesting that parents don’t want their children to have too much homework for success. I had most of the education in Korea, and there were many pressures to study and homework. However, most Asian parents want their children to have more assignments for success. I was very impressed that Spanish parents have a different perspective on success.

While I was reading the articles about teaching English in Spain, I was thinking about my English teachers in Korea. I believe non-native and native speaker teachers each have advantages for students. I agree that “Native speakers use very up-to-date language, but they don’t always know how to analyze it.” I don’t think always native speaker teachers have a good benefit to students. Non-native speaker teachers might have a more diverse perspective of cultures, so they might communicate with students better than native-speaker teachers.

I found an article is more about Spain homework strike.

]]> 2018-07-19 03:52:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270584305 ESL Readings phamchel https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270591305 The article for this week had shown the differences in education in cultures. It was informative, I was able to get a glimpse of how the education system is like in Spain. It differs from the American education system. I was a bit surprised to read the amount of homework given to students. The workload could even compare to the college level. I'm used to the idea that in Asian countries the education system is difficult. I am Asian American, I grew up with the education system of America's but was raised by parents who had a different education system. I know that in Asian countries, the education system is paced a lot faster than in America. In Asian countries, education is quite strict and competitive. Thus, it was insightful to learn about another culture's education system (Spain's).

I was born in America but I grew up with speaking Vietnamese thus, in school it was challenging to understand English. I had classes that help students to develop English speaking skills in the past. Once I had a teacher who was a native speaker and my other experiences were with a non-native speaker. In my opinion, both types are helpful in learning a language. A native speaker taught me more technical terms. While a non-native speaker understood the struggles of learning the language and provided guidance on how they personally counter against it. I found an interesting article that describes the common biases that a student have about native speaker teachers vs non native speaker teachers.
https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/native-english-speaking-teachers-always-right-choice ]]> 2018-07-19 05:38:15 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270591305 ESL Reading cecelia1 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270671271 Through the reading this week I was very impressed with the educational system that is in Spain and other parts of Europe. The system CEFR that they use in Europe was specifically interesting and very useful. I think that overall it is important that we are looking at individuals on a broad plectrum. Through this scale it shows where people’s strengths and weaknesses lie. This can and will untimely set them up for great success, as they are aware of what makes them marketable to employers as well as can help them immensely in their success in school. As for the system of education in Spain it seems very similar to the United States in terms of how the grades are set up. I did think I was very interesting that they have two sets of preschool. One that is the age range of birth to 3 and then 3 to 6 years old. From ages 3-6 years old they focuses on body control communication and body positive images, this is something that I think more cultures need to adopt as this gives such an amazing base line going into traditional school. One way however that made me concerned with the way that the Spanish operate their schooling is that sheer amount of homework that is given to a child every night. This is something that I know many nations are struggling with as their needs to be a balance with school and home life. ]]> 2018-07-20 01:46:24 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270671271 ESL Reading jennicolethompson22 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270719402 I knew that teaching styles and educational standards differed from country to country. However, I assumed that Spain's standards and expectations would fall near the standards of the English/UK system. After reading this week's articles, my mindset completely changed. I was kind of uncomfortable reading that students were receiving 3 hours of homework per day and even more than that on weekends. Personally, I was a kid where sit down homework/textbook structured work was not extremely beneficial to my learning. I went to a private international school in Hong Kong that had American standards and during the SARS breakout when I was in about 1st grade, we had to stay home for a few months and we had a list of assignments. Most of these assignments were out of the box and hands-on. For example, we had to create homemade playdough and shape my family out of it. We also had to learn how to cook food and play computer activities. As someone who is around many international students in the US, I know how hard the ESL test can be sometimes. In terms of teaching English and the difference between non-native and native speakers, I've always been someone who supports native teachers to be the ones to conduct a class. I don't appreciate when let's say, a Caucasian individual decides to teach an Asian Studies class or an African Studies class.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/oct/28/poverty-and-education-a-lost-decade-for-spains-children]]> 2018-07-20 18:47:58 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270719402 ESL Readings emileelinnc https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270739786 I’ve always been curious about how other countries go about second language learning in schools. I have met so many different people from various places in the world where English is not their first language, yet they speak excellent English and for the most part all expressed that they had learned the language throughout school. It was my first time learning about the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). I found it fascinating the way the program is conceptualized, applied, and interpreted, at different levels of proficiency. I am curious now what types of similar programs or ranking systems exist for other languages. However, at the same time I thought it was intriguing that Spain has struggled in recent years to most effectively teach foreign languages to it’s students. The project-based language learning method with focus on culture that was tested in Spain’s Catalonia region, I felt was a brilliant approach. As the article stated, it’s harder to learn and memorize material that you are not interested in. Students began improving as they garnered intrinsic motivation through understanding cultural differences. On that note, I am also curious about the benefits and drawbacks of having foreign teachers in a school that’s in a country which the teacher doesn’t speak the language.

This article is very informational as well as interesting. There is a lot to learn still about the many complexities of language learning, teaching, and proficiency

]]> 2018-07-21 06:46:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/270739786 ESL Readings krysde https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/271244957 I have always thought about the fact that countries all over the world make it a necessity to learn English. They begin incorporating into school at such a young age, and it often makes me wish that the U.S. would do the same thing with a second language. If there is no second language being used at home then people typically don't have a chance to learn one until classes are offered in high school, as this is exactly what happened to me. It was interesting to read about whether or not there was a preference for English native speakers. I agree that although they are up to date in speaking, it is still just as important to know how to teach English as a second language to those trying to learn. I would think that the best combination is a teacher who has studied the language and has immersed themselves in the culture enough to be able to explain how and why the language is used. I was also surprised to read about the homework load young students suffer from, especially during the weekend. At such a young age, it was such a shame to read about how stressed these kids were and how late they would stay up just to finish their homework. It was even more shocking to read that the heavy homework load did not translate into high test scores. The link I have provided discusses a couple tips on how to teach ESL.]]> 2018-07-27 00:50:40 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/271244957 ESL Readings and article ar321 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/271497987 I found it interesting in the way that the grades were set up. They are pretty much in the same standing as our school age system here in the states. It was great to see that most of the education was paid for and if a parent was wanting a better place for their child’s education, they are able to determine where they want them to go. The article about how the students were protesting homework caught my attention. During the weekday it is understandable to have homework, but over the weekends is when a student should be able to rest their minds of all that constant work. I also liked how the parents of these students were supportive of their children taking a stand of the amount of homework that needed to be done over the weekend. It does take a lot of time to get the work done on their own and then having to continue the next day can be very draining to the body. As to being taught English, it was also interesting to read that in a more effective way to help students learn English, they hired English speaking teachers who didn’t speak Spanish. I find this to be reasonable because of the way one is able to listen to the way the speaker uses words that are up to date.

The article I chose talks about how they utilize videos, photographs and drawings in their teaching methods to those learning English as their second language. The teachers use a lot of repetition and demonstrations as their primary tools.

]]> 2018-07-31 00:45:44 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/271497987 ESL Readings and New Article kneebone1955 https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/273823921 I had never heard of the CERF (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) before the readings and video this week. I have mixed feelings about it. Language can definitely be subjective, but should there be things that actually compare how we talk to others? For educational purposes, this is probably suitable, but outside of that, I think it is unnecessary. Different cultures and areas of the world have different ways of speaking and dialects and sayings as well, who is to say one is more important or more educated than the other in terms of our tongue. As for the other educational strategies in Spain, I was very impressed and do think they have a leg up on America and our school system. I think becoming an ESL teacher is something I am interested in and something that has a need for in the United States more than ever these days. The article that I found, it is a presentation actually, something that stuck out to me in regards to teaching ESL and the strategies with it, is incorporating reminder words. Students cannot be accepted to fully learn a language without having help and having connections and words that remind them will establish pre-connections and things to make it a little more flexible for the learners.]]> 2018-08-17 22:23:28 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/273823921 Coming from a Korean background and actually participating in ESL programs in America when I was young I found this topic to be particularly interesting and impactful. I think that CERF is one where it can bring a standard but with the different cultural backgrounds find it should be addressed more by community then continental. The US system has this trait where teachers can have more input into the content of the work that they are distributing to students. The article that I chose is one where it focuses on stress for the students and the teachers and why the area of ESL teaching is decreasing. The stress that the students feel through these programs are compounded for the teachers when the results and performance or the students are not reached because of the resources that are available. The teachers take this on and have difficulty employing learning strategies without the appropriate mediums. This article also talked about how they can address these issues and better handle situations for themselves and the studentshttp://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/overcoming-obstacles-as-an-esl-teacher/education jungwhok https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/273927781 2018-08-19 21:01:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mulas/xpwy98utmxvq/wish/273927781