30.05.

2020
Module 1: Teaching and learning
1.1 Motivation
1.1.1 Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is the best stepping stone to success, but you can't teach it.
Intrinsic motivation characterizes someone who is compelled to do something for
internal rewards. This type of motivation is powerful because extrinsic rewards can
be fleeting or disappointing, but an internal drive to succeed will almost always
motivate an individual.Here are some tips to access and use your students’ intrinsic
motivation:
· Get to the root of what is driving the individual.

· Understand the basis for most forms of intrinsic motivation. William

Glasser, an American psychiatrist, published a theory in 1998 proposing that
humans have essential needs that dictate our emotional health. These needs
are the need to belong or connect, the need for power or competence, the
need for freedom, and the need to have fun. Which of these needs is this
lesson satisfying?
· Be aware that intrinsic motivation cannot be forced, and does not abide by
the classic reward and punishment system. Try to access your students’
internal drive but don’t force them.
1.1.2 Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation refers to the external force compelling an individual to do
something for a reward.
Here are some examples of extrinsic motivators that work in the classroom:
· Grades

· Competition

· Extra rewards and punishments: Besides grades, some teachers will offer
extra incentive to succeed, perhaps in the form of prizes.
1.1.3 Which type of motivation is better?
While intrinsic motivation is stronger than extrinsic motivation, it is not very
immediate and therefore can lose effect in the short-term. Extrinsic motivation can
be very helpful in the short term, but is often only temporary. For that reason, the
best type of motivation is a combination of the two.
1.2 Understanding cultural backgrounds
1.2.1 Why is it important to understand your students’ cultural backgrounds?
Language is directly related to culture because language is fluid and changes over
time as the culture of a region changes. This is why such languages like Italian and
French can both originate from Latin but still be fundamentally different. Latin was
taken to these regions, and it developed as the culture of the regions developed,
taking two very different paths in Italian and French.
Here are some ways that an individual’s cultural background can affect their
learning of a new language:
· A student who comes from a home that values education comes from a home
that nurtures what he or she is learning. A student who comes from a home
that values life experience over formal education might have more difficulty
with traditional lessons.
· Students from various cultural backgrounds will react to different styles of
teaching in different ways. Some of your students may be coming from a
background of very strict, teacher-led instruction. Others may be coming
from a background of more free, student-led instruction. While both styles
have merit, you will find yourself needing to use differentiation to properly
reach both of these students.
· An individual’s cultural background can affect the way they think, which
can affect the student’s performance in your classroom.
1.3 The importance of a first language
While a student’s cultural background can affect the way they learn, a student’s
native language can affect the way they view language to begin with. What are
some of the obstacles students face when trying to learn English as a second
language?
1.3.1 Language barriers
· Some languages have been created based on symbols or pictures that
represent ideas rather than words made of letters.
 · Some languages are read from right to left rather than left to right, which is
how English is read.
· Many languages require a different sentence structure than English does.
One of the most common examples is when languages place adjectives
differently in a sentence than they are in English.
· Many students will be confused by the way verbs are conjugated in English.
Many languages have set rules that apply to the conjugation of most verbs,
while English can seem like a free-for-all at times.
1.3.2 How can we use our students’ native languages to our advantage?
Here are some ways that teachers can use a student’s native language to help them
learn a new language:
· It is important that you understand cognates, and how to use them. A cognate
is a word, or root word, used in different languages and has a similar
etymological background. In other words, you can provide a link for your
students between their native language and English.
· Developing further on the above point, emphasize breaking words down to
their roots as you are teaching them.
· Using different texts is a good way to help students ease into the new
language. Providing a translated version of the text may change the
structure, connotation, and intent, but it will give the student a frame of
reference for when they get stuck.
· Try asking questions in the student’s native language, but ask them to
answer in English. Or switch it around and ask them questions in English
that they need to answer in their native language.
· Use your students’ native language to help scaffold and model in English.
This can be as simple as having your students write in their native language
and then showing them how it would look in English.
· Have your students help each other. Even if the students do not speak the
same native language, they are going through the same process and can bond
in their desire to learn English and help each other learn.
1.4 Getting started
1.4.1 Ensuring your success
 · Make sure you are well versed in the structure and makeup of the English
language.
· It is important you continually seek out research and professional journal
articles to keep up with the current educational trends.
· Learn everything you need to know about differentiation (which we will
discuss at length in a future module) to give your students the best chance to
succeed in learning their new language.
· Be prepared to be patient.

· Continually use your experiences to build strategies and concepts that work
for your students.
1.4.2 Understanding the basics
There is a basic framework you will need to follow to be successful in helping
students learn a new language. While we will discuss most of these concepts in
detail in future modules, here is an overview:
Linguistics: Helping your students understand the basics of linguistics will help
ensure that they understand the basics of how the English language is structured,
how we break down and diagram the components of a sentence, and how we
communicate in English.
Reading: Reading is one of the first skills you will develop with your students.
Writing: The next step is usually to work on your student’s skills in writing in
English. They will have the guidance of the words in front of them as they do when
they learn to read, but it requires them to take the next step because they will be the
ones producing the words.
Speaking: Speaking can be the most difficult part of learning a new language.
Having to sound the words out loud can add an extra level of anxiety because
everyone in the class will hear the student if they make a mistake. Creating a
classroom of respect and support can go a long way to assuage your students’
anxiety.
Listening: While listening is arguably a more difficult skill than speaking
concerning a new language, students often feel more comfortable with it because
they are not required to put themselves out there as much. However, listening is the
next step after the students begin learning to speak the language.
Module 2: Linguistics
Linguistics is the study of language and its structure, and is an invaluable tool for
individuals who are trying to learn a new language. As we begin to think about
how we are going to help our students read, write, speak, and listen to a new
language, we need to prepare to give them the basics in structure that will help
them understand the overall structure of the English language.
2.1 Phonology
Phonology is the study of the sound and structure of a language. Essentially,
phonology concerns itself with the mental representation of a sound, so
understanding phonology means that you understand how to break down a word
into its smaller sounds and pronounce it.
2.1.1 Basics of phonology
Phonology deals with how we mentally break down the pronunciation of words,
while phonetics deals with producing the sounds; therefore, phonology is more
relevant for people who are learning a new language, not learning spoken language
for the first time.
In phonology, words are broken down into smaller units that represent sounds to
make it easier for new learners to understand how to pronounce new words. If
students understand the common sound units in the English language, they will be
able to sound out most words, making language acquisition much more
comfortable. Here is a breakdown of some of those units of sound:
Phonemes: A phoneme is a unit of sound that when replaced changes the sound of
a word in a particular language. English is a complicated language for people to
learn because even though there are twenty-six letters, there are forty-four
phonemes. These phonemes represent all iterations of sounds that a letter can
make. For example, a “c” can sound like a “k” or an “s,” depending on its position
in a word. If an individual understands phonemes, he or she will understand all the
different sounds in the English language. Phonemes are broken down into two
categories: vowels and consonants.
Vowels: A vowel is an open sound that is spoken without blockage from the lips or
tongue. Vowels can be difficult because they are very versatile and shift and
change a lot depending on the word in which they appear. Vowels are typically
broken down into the following categories:
 · Single vowels

· Short vowels

· Schwa

· Long vowels

· Diphthongs

Consonants: Consonants are sounds that are spoken with obstruction from the
lips, teeth, or tongue. Just like vowels, they can be complicated to understand
because there are so many variations of similar sounds. Consonants can be broken
down into the following categories:
· Voiced consonants

· Unvoiced consonants

Minimal pair: Two words that differ in meaning because they contain one
phoneme that is different are called minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are often words
that rhyme or at least form a near rhyme.
Phone: A phone is the smallest unit of sound and refers to the way in which an
individual pronounces a sound. It can therefore exist in more than one language.
This is different from a phoneme, which refers specifically to the sound that is
assigned to a letter or group of letters in a given language. For this reason, phones
can be universal to all languages, while phonemes are specific to individual
languages.
Accents: When a syllable or sound within a word is given more attention than the
others. This changes the way an individual pronounces a word.
Stress accent, dynamic accent, or stress: When an accented syllable is given a
change in pitch and volume, it is referred by any of these three names.
Pitch accent: When the accented syllable is differentiated through a change in
only the pitch which it is pronounced.
Quantitative accent: When the accented syllable is differentiated through only a
lengthening of the syllable.
Intonations: A change in the pitch of a word or syllable that does not change the
meaning of the word or syllable but rather indicates any of a number of different
situations, including:
 · Revealing the feelings of the speaker.

· Identifying the phrase as a question or distinguishing between different types

of questions.
· Giving importance to a word or phrase in the statement or question.

2.2 Morphology
Morphology is very closely related to phonology in that it is concerned with the
structure of language. Specifically, however, morphology deals with the structure
of language morphemes, phonemes, and other linguistic units. The English
language relies heavily on morphology, especially regarding English language
acquisition. Understanding the morphological relationship between two words can
help an individual recognize a similar morphological relationship between two
different words, which helps them better understand new words and phrases. For
example, if an individual can recognize the morphological relationship between the
words “heart” and “monitor” in the phrase “heart monitor,” then he or she can use
that to understand other complex nouns. Using this knowledge, an English
language learner can take an educated guess to determine what the phrase “hall
monitor” means.

2.2.1 Basics of morphology

To truly understand morphology, one must fully understand morphemes, which are
the basis of the area of study. While phonemes refer to the sounds that make up the
structure of words, morphemes are the physical structural units in a word.
Morphemes: Morphemes are sometimes referred to as the smallest linguistic unit
that carries meaning. While phonemes are smaller, they essentially build towards
pronunciation rather than meaning. Breaking a word into its morphemes allows an
individual to separate and (better understand) the root words, prefixes, and
suffixes. Here is an example:
In the sentence, “Send these schematics down to the marketers.” the word,
“marketers” has 3 morphemes.
Morpheme 1: Market. The root of the word that carries the major meaning of the
word. This word could stand alone and make sense if it needed to (though not in
the sentence we plucked it from). This morpheme is called the free lexical
morpheme.
Morpheme 2: -er. This is the suffix that is added to the word, carrying with it the
inherent meaning of “one who does something.” Understanding the suffix allows a
student to understand that a marketer is one who markets. This morpheme is called
the bound lexical morpheme.
Morpheme 3: -s. This letter is added so that the amount is clear and that the word
fits in the sentence grammatically with the intended meaning. The sentence would
still make sense without this morpheme, but it would change the meaning. This
morpheme is called the bound grammatical morpheme.
In the above example, we discussed some classifications for morphemes. Let’s
look closer at these.
Free lexical morpheme: This term is used to describe a morpheme that can exist
on its own and make sense. In the previous example, the free lexical morpheme
was “market.” Alone, “market” is a word. Conversely, “er” is not a word that can
exist on its own and still make sense. While in this case the free lexical morpheme
was the root word, it does not have to be. The word “classroom” is composed of
two free lexical morphemes—“class” and “room.”
Bound lexical morpheme: This term is used to describe a morpheme that is bound
to another morpheme lexically and cannot make sense without it. This term often
refers to prefixes and suffixes that are added to words to adjust their meaning.
These morphemes cannot function alone and serve to simply modify the meaning
of the free lexical morpheme to which they are attached.
Bound grammatical morpheme: This term is used to describe a morpheme that is
bound to another morpheme and serves the purpose of helping its word fit into a
sentence grammatically. In the following example, notice the importance of the
bound grammatical morpheme (we will use “s” in the same way we used it in the
previous example). In the phrase, “John threw two balls to Mike,” the “s” in the
word “balls” is the bound grammatical morpheme. The sentence would not make
grammatical sense without it, as it would read “John threw two ball at Mike.”
Free grammatical morpheme: While we did not clearly identify this in the
previous examples, free grammatical morpheme is a term used to describe
morphemes that are not bound to other morphemes but are there to serve a
grammatical purpose. Usually, these words are articles, conjunctions, and
prepositions. In the sentence above, “John threw the ball at Mike,” “at” is a free
grammatical morpheme.
Understanding these basic concepts can help a new language learner get a sense of
how a language is structured and help them be able to make connections and learn
new words and phrases more easily.
2.3 Lexicology
Lexicology is the study of words and therefore includes elements of many other
aspects of linguistics that we will discuss in this module. When we study words in
lexicology, we look closely at how words are formed, what makes them different
from other words, uniform rules that affect usage and/or conjugation, and the
different connotations and meanings of synonyms. All of these ideas will help your
students move from understanding the sounds that make up the English language
to understanding the words that make up the English language. Here is an
overview of some of the basic principles of lexicology and its associated
vocabulary:
2.3.1 Basics of lexicology
To understand lexicology, it is important to break it down into its smaller parts to
look at how each works to create the overall study of lexicology. A clear
understanding of lexicology and its basic principles and terminology will help you
and your students find more success by easing their understanding of words and
their function within a sentence.
Lexeme: A lexeme is a lexicological unit of linguistics, which, for the most part,
refers to a root word. The lexeme is the part of a word (even if that is the whole
word) that imparts the most meaning, with conjugation or prefixes and suffixes
added to adjust the meaning. In other words, the word “snow” is a lexeme, and all
iterations of that word, such as “snows,” “snowed”, or “snowing,” all share this
same lexeme. By breaking down words to their roots, students can better break
down new words, connect to a word’s etymology, or even find a cognate they can
relate to.
Lexical items: Whereas a lexeme is the root of a word, a lexical item is the
entirety of a word or phrase that imparts meaning. In our previous example, we
mentioned that “snows,” “snowed,” and “snowing” all have the same lexeme,
which is “snow.” In that example, all of those words are different lexical items. A
lexical item can also be a combination of words, such as “class work,” or a phrase,
such as “in the way.” Essentially, lexical items are the units in a sentence that have
separate meaning.
Word forms: The term “word forms” encompasses all the iterations of a similar
lexeme. In other words, some word forms of the lexeme “go” are “goes,” “went,”
and “will go.” This term is used to describe the different conjugations of a verb, the
different tenses of a word, or the different forms of a word based on amount.
Another important idea that would be helpful to know is that lexicology also
encompasses lexical structure, which deals with the structure of words and their
parts. Let’s take a closer look at lexical structure:
Lexical structure: Lexical structure refers to the internal structure of lexemes as
well as the structure of the lexicon of a language. The “lexicon” is just a fancy term
for all of the words in a group.
Paradigms: Differences in meaning that rely on the substitution of words. In other
words, if you look closely at a phrase, such as “Bill ran to his truck,” making a
paradigmatic change would require a substitution. This would result in a different
phrase, for example, “Bill ran to his wife” or “Frank ran to his truck.” These
changes completely change the meaning of the sentence because different subjects
and objects can be substituted.
Syntagms: These are differences that result from the positioning of words in a
phrase. In other words, to make a syntagmatic change in a sentence, you would
change the order of the words to adjust the meaning of the sentence. For example,
if the sentence “Johnny threw the ball to Mary” is changed to “Mary threw the ball
to Johnny,” then the difference is syntagmatic.
Co-text: We will discuss semantic ideas in detail later in the module, but this term
is relevant to both aspects of linguistics. The co-text of a word is the linguistic
context, which means that it is the linguistic meaning of a word or the meaning that
a word inherently carries with it.
Context: Context is another semantic term but also a concept that even laymen
know. The context of a word is the words and sentences around it that give it
meaning. Whereas co-text covers the various meanings that can be attributed to a
word, the context refers to the specific meaning of the word that is intended based
on the surrounding words and sentences.
2.4 Syntax
Now that we have learned about how sounds and words are created, it is time to
discuss how sentences are formed. Syntax is the set of rules that govern the
grammatical construction of sentences in a language. For English, these rules are
fairly complicated, but let’s take a close look at some of the basic ideas behind
English grammar and syntax.
2.4.1 Basics of syntax
To understand syntax, we have to look more closely at all of the parts that make up
a sentence. The first step is to understand how sentences are classified:
Clausal sentence (simple sentence): A clausal sentence is a simple sentence that
contains only one clause or one complete proposition (subject and predicate). For
example, the sentence “Gloria is going to the store” contains only one clause,
which includes a subject (“Gloria), a verb (“is going”), and an object (“the store”).
Compound sentence: A compound sentence is a sentence that consists of more
than one clause (known in this case as coordinating clauses because they work
together to complete an idea). For example, the sentence “Maryann went to the
mall and got a new shirt” is a compound sentence containing the clauses “Maryann
went to the mall” and “got a new shirt.” In the second clause, the subject
(“Maryann) is implicit.
What about the words that make up these clauses? The English language has
innumerable rules for how words should be structured and organized within a
sentence. The first categories you need to know to understand these rules, though,
are the parts of speech.

· Noun: A noun is word that describes a person, place, thing, or idea.

· Verb: A verb describes an action or a state of being.

· Adjective: An adjective is a word that modifies a noun.

· Adverb: An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another

adverb.
· Preposition: A preposition is a word that describes the relationship between a
verb and its object.
· Pronoun: A pronoun is a more general word that takes the place of a specific
noun.
· Conjunction: A conjunction is a word that links two coordinating clauses
together.
Now that we know the parts of speech, we can begin diagramming sentences. Here
is an example of a sentence with all of the parts of speech labeled:
Lei quickly ran down the dark street to find and catch his dog.

While it would be impossible for us to cover every single syntactical rule in the
English language, here are a few more that are directly relevant to your students
who are learning English for the first time:
· Every sentence needs at least a subject and a predicate. The subject of the
sentence is the noun that is acting or being. The predicate is the phrase that
consists of the verb and the object (not every sentence needs an explicit
object).
 · The verb and the subject of the sentence need to agree, meaning that if you
are using a plural noun, you need to use the plural form of a verb.
· For the most part, the best way to frame a sentence is in active rather than
passive voice. This means that the sentence “Sammy threw the ball to Jane”
is more grammatically sound than if it were passive and written “The ball
was thrown to Jane by Sammy.”
· Verb tense needs to agree throughout a piece of writing or spoken language.
If the first verb you use is in past tense, then all subsequent verbs with the
same intention should be past tense.
2.5 Semantics
We have successfully worked our way up to understanding how sentences are
structured, and now it is time to discuss words again, but this time we will look at
the connotative and complex meanings that they carry. Semantics is a branch of
linguistics that involves the study of words and their meanings.
2.5.1 Theories of semantics
Typically, the concept of semantics is divided into three theories of semantics:
formal semantics, lexical semantics, and conceptual semantics. Each of these
types of semantics delves into the true meanings of words and will help your
students understand the intricacies of the English language.
Formal semantics: Formal semantics is a very mathematical theory that strives to
understand the meaning of words by forming exact mathematical principles and
ideals that speakers and writers can use. People who subscribe to the formal
semantics theory look for the relationship between how language forms and the
world in which it forms to try to understand how people create meaningful
discourse.
Lexical semantics: Lexical semantics is a theory that the meaning of a word is
understood by looking at its context. In this way, sentences can be broken down
into semantic constituents or words and phrases that carry meaning and context.
This theory promotes the analysis of how words and phrases play off each other to
build meaning.
Conceptual semantics: Conceptual semantics is a theory that highlights the
importance of the internal structure of words. Theorists believe that the best way to
understand the meaning of a word in a sentence is to look at the word itself, its
internal structure, and how it combines different, smaller elements.
2.5.1 Extending word meaning
Truly understanding the English language means understanding the complexities of
the language that allow speakers of the language to build different layers of
meaning in their speech. Understanding these complexities takes a strong grasp of
semantics and the ability to analyze context. When we talk about word meaning,
we can generally break it down into two categories:
Denotation: Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word. You can easily find
the denotation for a word in the dictionary. With synonyms, the denotation is
similar or the same.
Connotation: Connotation refers to the implied meaning that the word often has
because the word is used to describe something beyond what the denotation states.
Take a look at two synonyms, such as “skinny” and “thin.” If you use these two
words to describe a person, their denotations are pretty much the same, but the
connotation behind “skinny” is more negative than the connotation behind “thin.”
Thin implies someone who is at a healthy weight, while skinny implies that the
person is frail or weak. It takes true understanding of a language to get such small,
but important complexities of meaning.
Because of the complexity of language, speakers and writers can build meaning
that is implicit rather than explicit and sometimes difficult to decipher even for the
most fluent English speaker.
Literal language: Literal language is when a speaker or writer directly describes
what they mean.
Figurative language: When the writer builds meaning that goes beyond the literal
meaning. Here are some examples of figurative language:
· Metaphors

· Similes

· Personification

· Irony

· Symbolism

2.5.3 More semantic terminology

Beyond what we already described are important terms within the study of
semantics you should be aware of.
Synonymy: This word literally translates to “sameness of meaning” and is the root
of the word “synonym.” As we displayed in our discussion of connotation,
however, while two words can be synonyms, they do not necessarily mean the
same thing. If two words meant exactly the same thing, then one would be
extraneous. Synonyms are necessary because they represent the detail and
specificity of the English language.
Hyponymy: This term literally translates to “inclusion of meaning” and essentially
refers to words that belong in groups. A fork is a hyponym of silverware because it
is a member of the silverware group.
Antonymy: This term literally translates to “oppositeness of meaning,” which
means that antonyms are meant to be opposites. It is very difficult to find an exact
antonym for most words, however, so words are often paired up because they’re
close to being antonyms, much like how synonyms have similar but not exact
meanings.
Incompatibility: This term literally translates to “mutual exclusiveness within the
same subordinate category,” which means that it refers to two members of a group
that are different entities. For example, cats and dogs are both animals, so they
would fit under the purview of this term.
Homonymy: This is a term that refers to when two words sound the same even
though they have different meanings. These can be especially confusing to new
language learners because they require a strong idea of context to identify. A good
example of a group of homonyms is “there,” “their,” and “they’re.”
Polysemy: This term refers to when a word has more than one meaning. This is
different from a homonym because the spelling of the word does not change
depending on the meaning. For example, the word “close” can refer to two items
that are in near proximity to each other, or it can refer to something being shut.

Module 3: Reading
Reading is extremely important in learning a new language and requires a lot of
effort from new English language learners. To be able to read fluently, students
need to be able to recognize sounds and patterns, comprehend the words they read,
and understand how the words work together in a sentence to convey meaning.
3.1 Developing reading skills
Imagine that teaching a student to read in a new language is like building a house.
You cannot start off by building the attic; you have to work your way up from the
bottom. As we discuss how to help students develop reading skills, we will start
with the basics, move on to lower-level reading skills, such as comprehension, and
eventually discuss such higher-level reading skills as identifying purpose and
intent.
3.1.1 Beginning to read
As you begin to approach reading with your students, it is important to remember
that all of them may be coming from different backgrounds and therefore may need
different levels of instruction. For students whose original language does not share
the English alphabet, that is where you need to start. For students from all native
languages that share an alphabet with English, though, it is important that you go
over the way words are sounded out because even if the students are familiar with
the English alphabet, the sounds of this new language will likely be unique and
somewhat foreign.
Phonemic awareness: We discussed phonemes in detail in the previous module
when we reviewed linguistics, but it is important to also mention phonemic
awareness here because it is such an important part of the reading process. To help
your students improve their phonemic awareness, you will expect your students to
be able identify, understand, and manipulate phonemes. Helping your students gain
phonemic awareness will give them the ability to break down and learn new words
by themselves.
· Phonemes are unique to each language, so your students may have difficulty
adjusting to learning new ones. They will likely need help understanding the
structure of new phonemes and understanding how to sound them out.
· Your students may naturally think of the phonemes in their native language,
which could be in direct contrast with English phonemes. If you are aware of
phonemes in your students’ native languages, you can use this to your
advantage. Otherwise, it may be a good idea to try to train them to avoid this
kind of thinking.
· Making the process of improving phonemic awareness more fun and active
is an effective way to increase engagement and understanding. Try activities
that turn phonemic awareness into a game or require your students to get up,
move around, and be active.
Phonics: The concept behind phonics is that students can begin to see and
understand patterns in how phonemes relate to each other. Once they recognize
these patterns, students can more easily sound out words that are foreign to them.
This can also help them understand meaning when they begin to see patterns in
root words, prefixes, and suffixes. English is notorious for straying away from
patterns, however, so while phonics can be a helpful tool, it certainly has its
shortcomings.
Learning the alphabet: Some of your students may not need to learn the alphabet
because the English alphabet is the same as their native language’s alphabet.
However, if your students do need to learn the alphabet because it is very different
from how their native language is structured, you cannot skip this step. This makes
learning the alphabet difficult if you have a heterogeneous group of students. You
can combat this obstacle by differentiating your instruction, which requires more
preparation but provides more individualized instruction for your students. We will
discuss differentiation in more detail in a later module.
Letter/sound correlation: We will discuss this in more detail later in the module,
but whether or not your students are familiar with the alphabet, learning the
correlation between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) is extremely
important because sounds are unique to a language. Many of these sounds and
combinations of sounds will be difficult for your students to get used to, so make
sure you practice a lot.
Concepts of print: Some of the concepts of print we discuss here will be relevant
to students who come from different backgrounds, but some of these concepts will
only be relevant to students who are learning to read for the first time. It is possible
to have a student who knows a native language but has never learned to read. Your
task is a little more difficult in these cases because this adds another layer to what
you need to accomplish.
· The English language is read from left to right.

· The English language is read from top to bottom.

· Letters and words convey messages.

· When you get to the end of a line (on the right), you need to return to the
beginning of the next line (on the left).
· The illustrations in a book correspond to the words written there.

3.1.3 Advanced reading skills

Once your students have built up confidence with the basics of reading, your next
step is to help them develop proficiency in more advanced reading skills.
Summarizing: Summarizing is an extremely important skill because it helps your
students bridge the gap between understanding the words they are reading and
understanding the meaning that those words are trying to convey. The skill of
summarizing requires students to understand enough of what they have read to
explain what the text is about in their own words. To help your students learn how
to do this, you may want to layer your summary instruction, having them read text
in English but allowing them to summarize it in their native language. Eventually,
though, you should move on to having the students summarize in English.
Scaffolding your instruction like this will definitely help your students ease into
true understanding of English texts.
Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details: While
summarizing usually requires a student to understand the main idea of a text, it is
still important to discuss this separately. Once students have summarized the text,
you can ask questions that get to the main idea, for example, “What is the point
that the writer is trying to make?” Such questions allow students to move from
summarizing the entire text to pinpointing what is important. The next step can be
to ask follow-up questions, such as “How do you know that is the point the writer
is trying to make?” That requires a strong understanding of not only the overall
meaning of the words in a text but also how the different ideas in a text relate to
one another.
Sequencing: Sequencing asks students to take a step beyond summarizing the text.
Whereas summarizing the text concerns itself with simply understanding what
happened, sequencing requires students to label, categorize, and compartmentalize
what happens in the text. Students look at textual features to try to identify the
important aspects of the text, for example, the setting, the sequence of events, and
the larger context of the text, identifying how all of the parts of the text fit within
the whole.
Relating background knowledge: It is always helpful when working with
students who are trying to learn a new language that you relate what they are
learning to their background knowledge. There are a couple of different ways that
you can do this. As we mentioned earlier, you can use cognates and your students’
native phonemes to help them understand English root words and sounds. Another
way is to help your students connect thematically to the text, asking them to try to
relate what is going on in the text to personal experiences they have had. While this
won’t necessarily directly help them learn the language, it will help them make a
stronger connection with it and therefore make it more accessible.
3.1.4 Advanced reading skills
Making inferences: Once your students begin improving in their ability to
understand English text, the next step is to help them improve their ability to make
inferences. Making inferences means reading between the lines and accessing
meaning that is not explicitly stated. For example, if a man were to walk into the
room, closing an umbrella, you would infer that it was raining outside. No one
specifically told you that it was raining, but you were able to use context clues to
draw that conclusion. Once students are more comfortable understanding what they
read, working on their inferential thinking will help them learn how to see the
meaning in a text that is not explicitly stated.
Drawing conclusions: This idea goes hand-in-hand with inferential thinking. To
be able to accurately draw a conclusion, a student needs to be able to understand
the literal meaning of a text and how that literal meaning can lead to a conclusion.
Comparing and contrasting: Comparing and contrasting is the next step along
the line of textual analysis. To compare and contrast two texts, a reader needs to
understand the purpose of the text as well as the strategies that a writer uses to
convey meaning. This skill can be extremely useful, as it easily lends itself to
having students identify which text is more effective.
Distinguishing between fact and opinion: As part of the evaluative process of
reading, distinguishing between what is fact and what is opinion can be an
incredibly nuanced task. It requires your students to really understand what the text
is saying to evaluate whether the text is based on opinion or fact. This can be
difficult, especially when the text is opinionated, with a speaker who presents his
or her opinions as fact.
Self-questioning: As your students get more comfortable with reading texts on
their own, it is time to get them into the habit of reading actively. People tend to
think of reading as a passive activity because it is done quietly, but to really
understand a text, you need to constantly question what is going on. Having your
students use annotations to express their self-questioning will help them get into
the habit of asking questions as they read. This is also helpful because they can go
back to text they have previously read and easily point out the important
information.
Problem solving: While problem solving is a cognitive skill, asking our students
to solve problems in English can be complicated even for students who are natural
problem solvers. Problem solving requires true comprehension, understanding
beyond the explicit, and the ability to think critically while working with a foreign
language.
3.2 Auditory and visual discrimination
Both auditory and visual discrimination refer to our ability to perceive and
distinguish between different elements. The best way to understand these two
concepts is by looking at each one individually.
3.2.1 Auditory discrimination
Auditory discrimination refers to our brain’s ability to organize and categorize
sounds, thereby allowing us to make meaning of what we hear. While auditory
refers to sounds and reading is typically done silently, the ability to distinguish
between different sounds (phonemes) can affect our ability to sound out and
identify vocabulary. The inability to effectively access one’s auditory
discrimination can impair someone’s reading tremendously, especially when
students are asked to read out loud. If someone has trouble with auditory
discrimination, they will have trouble:
· Understanding phonemes and how they are different. This is especially true
with phonemes that are similar, as we can see in the words “forty” and
“fourteen.” The subtle changes in the structure of these words may be
difficult for someone who has poor auditory discrimination to perceive.
· Learning to read. As we have already discussed, many of the early reading
strategies rely heavily on a student’s ability to understand and distinguish
between different sounds. This can add an extra hurdle for a new English
language learner.
· Sometimes, struggles with auditory discrimination can affect students’
ability to focus on what they are reading because they have difficulty
blocking out background noise.
Just because someone suffers from an auditory discrimination disorder, however,
does not mean they cannot learn a new language. Such a disorder simply provides
a surmountable obstacle on the path to success.
3.2.2 Visual discrimination
Visual discrimination refers to an individual’s ability to distinguish between letters,
shapes, numbers, and objects. While both are important, visual discrimination is
much more impactful on an individual’s ability to read than auditory
discrimination. Auditory discrimination affects an individual’s ability to sound out
words, but visual discrimination affects an individual’s ability to recognize which
letters he or she is seeing. While it can be difficult to identify when a student has a
visual discrimination deficiency because it can mask itself as just typical
difficulties that students might have reading a new language, here are some signs
that you can look for:
· The student has trouble identifying letters and learning the alphabet. The
difficulty will be in recognizing the letters rather than being unable to
remember what they are called.
· Difficulty telling the difference between similar letters (e.g., b and d),
similar numbers (e.g., 6 and 9), and/or similar shapes (e.g., circles and
ovals).
· Difficulty differentiating between words that have similar beginnings or
endings.
Visual discrimination issues, just like auditory discrimination issues, can be
overcome, but reading is much more difficult for people with visual discrimination
disorders. Here are some potential classroom exercises that you can use to help
students who struggle with visual discrimination disorders or deficiencies.
· Using visuals that are bright and colorful to help students work on
distinguishing between clear shapes and colors.
· Using digital tools such as a laptop or tablet that can help make working on
visual discrimination fun for the students.
· Make learning about visual discrimination fun by using games or puzzles
that require the student to differentiate shapes or letters.
3.3 Forming associations
Very early on in the process of learning to read, students need to learn to form
associations between sounds (phonemes) and letters/words. This process is
paramount to a student understanding how English speakers turn sounds into words
and how English words convey meaning. Regardless of the age of your students or
their native language, you will need to help them learn typical English letter/sound
associations. Here are the basic principles behind teaching a student how to form
strong letter/sound associations:
Assessment: Every student is different, and you don’t want to assume that all of
your students are in the same place. Some students are coming to the English
language with a native language that shares many of the same sounds, while others
could be coming from a native language that uses none of the same sounds as
English. By properly and consistently assessing the letter/word association abilities
of your students, you can tailor your lesson planning to directly target deficiencies
and differentiate your instruction to address all skill levels.
Sequential and systematic instruction: While pedagogy often dictates that you
let students guide their own learning, a skill like this needs to be taught
systematically and sequentially. In many ways, basic skills like these work best
with old-school instruction, which means you teach a concept, assess for that
concept, teach another concept, assess for both concepts, and continue with this
process. Continually build on the skills and knowledge that your students are
attaining, and keep returning to the basics to make sure they don’t forget them.
Teach explicitly: Sometimes, it can be cool to lead a student to meaning without
the student really knowing where the lessons are going. When teaching letter/sound
associations, though, it is important to be explicit about your teaching. That means
you are clear with your students about what you are teaching them, what they are
learning, and why they are learning it. The more you get the student to accept the
process, the more success you will have.
Do not focus just on reading: Learning letter/sound associations is not just a
reading skill; it is multisensory. Therefore, you should treat your instruction of the
skill as a multisensory skill. Use whatever resources you have available to help
students make the necessary associations. Use flashcards, pictures, digital games,
and any other modes of learning you can think of to get the job done. In this way,
you will help your students in more than just their reading.
3.4 Decoding
Once you have helped your students form strong associations between letters and
sounds, the next step is to work on decoding, which refers to displaying those
associations by rapidly turning the written word into speech. This is an essential
part of language and is most easily displayed when your students read aloud.

3.4.1 Common questions about decoding

Why is decoding important?
Decoding is important because it is the basis for most reading comprehension
skills. An inability to decode words leads to an inability to identify and understand
vocabulary, a difficulty building fluency, and difficulty with overall reading
comprehension.
How can you tell if a student is struggling with decoding?
Students who are having trouble decoding often believe they are stuck or that
reading is something they just don’t do well. Here are some of the symptoms to
look out for to identify students who are struggling with decoding:
The student feels stuck when they need to read a lot of words because they cannot
focus enough on any one word. This is common and manifests in students who can
decode single words when they are presented but have difficulty decoding those
same words if there are too many words at once or the words are coming at them in
quick succession.
Students spend so much energy trying to decode the words they are reading and
say them properly that they are not comprehending what they read. In these cases,
students might not seem to be struggling too much when they are reading (though
they would not show complete fluency), but they would not have much of an idea
what they read when questioned.
The student complains that he or she simply “does not know” how to sound out
words. This is usually a sign of frustration at the energy it is taking for them to
decode the words that are being presented to them.
The student can identify letters and sounds and even the relationship between the
two but struggles putting them all together in a short amount of time.
Remember that these observations can reflect anything from a student struggling a
little with a new skill to a student having a learning disability that is inhibiting their
ability to decode words.
3.4.2 Common questions about decoding
How do I teach decoding to my students?
Here are some simple ways that you can help your students improve their decoding
skills:
· When you are teaching a sound, use visuals to prompt the students to
reinforce their knowledge of sounds, and ask the students to say the sound
out loud as practice. This will help the students improve the speed at which
they can decode and also stimulate more of their senses as they learn,
making it more memorable and effective.
· Use phonics to drill the students and give them more and more practice with
sounding out phonemes and building to sounding out words.
· Use relevant reading and writing assignments that relate to what you are
 teaching. If you are teaching the students a particular sound, find a written
piece that really highlights that sound so that the students can practice it in a
practical manner.
· Don’t be afraid to use methods that will ask students to use their hands.
Using manipulatives is a great way to help students learn on a higher level
and ensure that the information you are teaching makes its way to the
students’ long-term memory.
· Try grouping your student homogeneously so that you can address specific
problems or struggles in pockets of students and make your job a little
easier. This leads to more individualized instruction and ensures that all of
your students are growing and not that the children who understand the
material are constantly waiting around for the others to catch up.
3.5 Reading for purpose
Now that your students have learned and mastered the basics of reading, it is time
to move towards higher-level thinking, which means reading for purpose. Up until
this point, the purpose for reading was comprehension, but there is so much more
to being a strong reader. Strong readers do not just understand the literal meaning
of what they are reading; they also understand the implicit meaning of what they
read. Let’s take a look at some simple strategies that will help your students read
with purpose more effectively.
· Teach your students to be reflective about their own reading. Reading is an
active skill, not just a passive occurrence. If a child loves playing basketball,
he cannot expect to just sit on the court and let basketball happen; he needs
to try. The same principle applies to reading. Encourage your students to be
aware of their reading, what works for them, what helps them, and then to
have the follow-through to do what they need to do to read more effectively.
· Make sure that your students understand the purpose for which they are
reading something. If you take a passage completely out of context, it is not
going to make much sense, so give your students some context whenever
you give them something to read. Ask them to look for something specific,
give them guiding questions, or even just let them know why the piece is
relevant to the curriculum.
· Invite the students in on the process of setting a purpose. Encourage them to
question the text and really delve into it to get meaning. Then encourage
them to identify their own purpose (with proper guidance, of course). When
 students have a role in the planning process, they tend to be more invested in
lessons.
· Model active reading for your students. So many teachers like to tell their
students to annotate a piece but don’t like to show them what that means. A
good way to do this is to take the first section of whatever you are going to
have them read and go over it as a class. As you go, show them how you
would annotate the piece, what kinds of questions you would ask, and when
you would underline or highlight words, phrases, or sentences. This will
help them visualize what they are supposed to do.
If you are able to take a student who does not know English from sounding out
letters to reading actively and fluently, you’ll know you have been successful.
Module 4: Writing
Whereas reading serves as the basis for students understanding a new language,
writing gives them the opportunity to explore the new language. Now that your
students are able to comprehend the English language as they read it, it is time to
put them in charge of using that language to convey their meaning. Learning to
write in a new language can be very challenging because you need to have the
same base of knowledge as you would for reading to comprehend the words, and
you also have to be able to create those words to represent your thoughts and ideas.
In this module, we will discuss the basics of writing in English, including how to
craft a sentence, how to make words work together, and how to explore the
language through writing.
4.1 Sentence structure
In your studies of reading and comprehension, your students have developed some
basic skills in understanding the language as they come across it. Now that they
have a basic understanding of English sounds and words, it is time to help them
learn how to put those sounds and words together to create sentences that convey
meaning. We will start at the beginning and look at how sentences are structured in
the English language.
4.1.1 Basic sentence patterns
There are five basic patterns for sentence structure in English, and they differ in the
elements that are present within the sentence. Any two sentences, however, no
matter how different they are, contain two things: a subject and a verb. For a
sentence to work, there needs to be a person or thing that is doing or being
something (subject) and an action or state of being that they are committing or
portraying (verb). Here are the five basic sentence patterns that your students will
encounter in the English language:
Subject-verb (S-V): This is the simplest sentence pattern in the English language,
only containing the information that needsto be there. Here are a few examples of
sentences that follow the subject-verb pattern:
· Mark ran.

· Maria slept.

· The dog plays.

· Jimmy fell.

Subject-verb-object (S-V-O): Sentences that follow this pattern are very similar
to S-V sentences except that an object has been added to the sentence. In an
English sentence, the object is what is being acted upon by the subject. In other
words, the noun (subject) is acting (verb) upon another noun (object). Here are a
few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb-object pattern:
· Mark ran to the store

· Maria slept in bed.

· The dog plays outside.

· Jimmy fell to the floor.

4.1.2 Basic sentence patterns

Subject-verb-adjective (S-V-Adj): This sentence pattern is similar to S-V-O except
that the object is not a noun; it is an adjective. Since an object must be a noun or an
entity that is being acted upon, when the verb acts as a state of being to set up a
description of the subject, you get an S-V-Adj sentence. Here are a few examples
of sentences that follow the subject-verb-adjective pattern:
· Mark is hungry.

· Maria was tired.

· The dog looks playful.

· Jimmy seems clumsy.

Subject-verb-adverb (S-V-Adv): To the untrained eye, this sentence pattern is the

same as the previous one, S-V-Adj. The difference between that pattern and this
pattern, however, is that while that structure saw the object turning into an
adjective, this one sees it turning into an adverb. In other words, the verb no longer
acts as a state of being to set up a description of the subject, but rather the words
following the verb act as modifiers to the verb. Here are a few examples of
sentences that follow the subject-verb-adverb pattern:
· Mark ran quickly.

· Maria slept peacefully.

· The dog plays loudly.

· Jimmy fell disastrously.

Subject-verb-noun (S-V-N): As you already know, the object of a pattern has to

be a noun. Just because there is a noun following the verb, however, does not mean
that it is the object of the sentence. In this sentence structure, the noun is not the
object because, as with S-V-Adj, the words following the verb describe the subject.
Here are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb pattern:
· Mark is the store owner.

· Maria is a doctor.

· The dog was a corgi.

· Jimmy became a lawyer.

4.1.3 Clauses
Looking at the examples in the previous section, you may wonder what happens
when sentences get more complex. That can certainly complicate things, but at its
core a sentence still follows one of the previous patterns (or two of them if it is a
complex sentence). Understanding the typical sentence patterns is helpful, but your
students also need to understand the basic structures that dictate sentences in
English. To understand these basic sentence structures, though, we need to first
discuss clauses.
Clause: A clause is one of the basic units in English grammar and is a group of
words that contains a subject and a verb. Every sentence has at least one clause in
it (because the requirements for a sentence and a clause are the same). A clause,
however, does not necessarily complete a thought and therefore work alone as a
sentence. There are two types of clauses, and understanding both of them is
important for students who are learning to write in English for the first time.
Dependent clause (subordinating clause): This is exactly what it sounds like: a
clause (or group of words containing a subject and a verb) that is dependent on
other clauses. In other words, a dependent clause would not work alone as a
sentence because it needs another clause for it to make sense. An example of a
dependent clause is “because the world is ending.” The only thing that makes this
clause dependent is the word “because,” which adds the implication of cause and
effect to the sentence. We see the cause, but we need the effect to complete the
sentence.
Independent clause: An independent clause is a clause (group of words
containing a subject and a verb) that can exist by itself and be a complete thought
and therefore a complete sentence. Every sentence contains an independent
clause, and all simple sentences are made up of one independent clause. An
example of an independent clause is “They went down to the bomb shelter.” The
absence of a subordinating word (“because” in the dependent clause) makes this
sentence work as a complete thought.
If we combine the two clauses, one dependent and one independent, in the previous
example, we get a complex sentence, which looks like this: “Because the world is
ending, they went down to the bomb shelter.” This is a complete sentence, with a
dependent clause (“Because the world is ending”) marked by a subordinating word
(“Because”) presenting a cause and an independent clause (“they went down to the
bomb shelter”) completing the thought with the effect.
4.1.4 Basic sentence structure
With dependent and independent clauses under our belts, we can turn our attention
back to sentence structure and look closely at how these clauses can work together
to create and convey meaning.
Simple sentence: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that stands
alone as a complete thought. This is the most basic type of sentence and creates the
structure for more complex sentences. Here is an example of a sentence that
follows the simple sentence structure:
Bobby drove his car to the store.
Compound sentence: A compound sentence is a sentence that contains two or
more independent clauses. These clauses could stand alone if they needed to but
have been combined because they are related to each other. Here is an example of a
sentence that follows the compound sentence structure:
Bobby drove his car, and Mark read the directions.
Complex sentence: A complex sentence includes an independent clause and one
or more dependent clauses. This means that within the sentence are subject-verb
pairs that would not be able to stand alone as a complete thought. Here is an
example of a sentence that follows the complex sentence structure:
Bobby drove his car to the store to buy gum.
In this example, we have borrowed the simple sentence and added a dependent
clause “to buy gum.” The subject (“Bobby”) is implied by the independent clause,
and this dependent clause cannot stand alone and make sense.
Compound-complex sentence: A compound-complex sentence includes at least
two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses, essentially combining
the elements of a compound sentence with the elements of a complex sentence.
Here is an example of a sentence that follows the compound-complex sentence
structure:
Bobby drove his car, and Mark read the directions when they went to the store.
4.2 Grammar
Understanding sentence structure is a key aspect of grammar, but there are many
other grammatical rules that are important for your students to know and
understand. As you may already know, grammar is the set of rules for the English
language. While we do not have the time to discuss every grammar rule in this
section, we will cover the basics and make sure that your students have a good
basis of knowledge from which to work, and that they understand how to create
sentences that are grammatically correct and convey the meaning they are
intending. We have already discussed the parts of speech in a previous module, but
now we will look at those parts of speech in more detail and discuss some of the
rules regarding how to use them.
4.2.1 Nouns (1 of 3)
As we discussed in an earlier module, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Here are some different types of nouns:
· Proper nouns: The names of specific places, people, or things.

· Common nouns: General or colloquial names.

· Concrete nouns: People, places, or things that are tangible.

 · Abstract nouns: Ideas that are intangible.

Nouns can be tricky because the term encompasses many different types of words.
When using nouns, one of the grammatical rules you need to look out for most is
whether or not you should pluralize a noun and how to do so.
When is a noun pluralized?
Not every noun has a plural form because it does not always make sense for there
to be more than one of something. Count nouns refer to nouns that can be counted,
such as “cup,” “table,” and “monkey.” These nouns represent a specific object that
there can be more than one of. Non-count nouns are nouns that cannot be counted
because they already represent a group of objects or a type of object. For example,
“water” is a non-count noun because you cannot look at the ocean and count the
water.
4.2.2 Nouns (2 of 3)
How do I pluralize a noun?
The rules for pluralizing a noun are fairly simple, but since there are many nouns
that do not fit into any of these rules, the task of pluralizing can be taxing. Here is a
basic rundown of the general rules:
Most nouns are made plural simply by adding an “s.”
· Cup: Cups

· Egg: Eggs

· Joke: Jokes

· Mask: Masks

Nouns ending in “ch,” “x,” “s,” require the addition of “es” at the end.
· Bench: Benches

· Box: Boxes

· Class: Classes

Nouns ending in “f” or “fe” require you to change the “f” or “fe” to a “v,” and
add an “es.”
· Calf: Calves
 · Half: Halves

· Knife: Knives

Some nouns do not follow any rules for pluralizing, and your students will
simply have to learn them.
· Child: Children

· Mouse: Mice

· Woman: Women

Some count nouns are the same whether they are singular or plural.
· Moose: Moose

· Deer: Deer

· Species: Species

4.2.3 Nouns (3 of 3)
Possessive nouns: Because nouns represent people, places, things, and ideas, they
sometimes need to be possessive to show that the person, place, thing, or idea owns
or is in possession of something. Possession is usually marked by an apostrophe
(’) and follows these rules:
You can make most nouns possessive simply by adding an apostrophe and
then an “s” at the end of the word.
· Mark: Mark’s

· Dog: dog’s

· Boy – boy’s

When you come across a plural noun that ends in “s” or a noun that already
ends in “s,” you can make it possessive by simply adding an apostrophe.
· Boys: boys’

· Class: class’

· Dogs: dogs’

If you have one item, but you would like to express that two different people
or things own it, you would add an apostrophe and an “s” after the last
person’s name.
· Bill and Frank’s new house

· Boxer and Spot’s toy

· Sally and Ann’s car.

If the objects owned by two different people are separate things, then you
should add an apostrophe and an “s” at the end of each name.
· Bobby’s and Mary’s wedding rings are gold.

· Jill’s and Samantha’s jobs are difficult.

· Jean’s and Yancy’s tables are both oak.

4.2.4 Pronouns and antecedents

Pronouns are important in writing because they take the place of a noun to make
the writing less repetitive and choppy. To illustrate this idea, take a look at an
example of a written excerpt that does not use pronouns:
Mike grabbed Mike’s shirt and went to go find Mike’s mom to tell Mike’s mom that
Mike’s mom needed to leave right away because Mike and Mike’s mom were in
danger.
Now, let’s use pronouns:
Mike grabbed his shirt and went to go find his mom to tell her that they needed to
leave right away because they were in danger.
Clearly, the second example sounds much better and gets the point across without
reusing the original nouns.
The major point that your students need to understand about pronouns besides the
different types that exist (which we will discuss in this section) is that every
pronoun needs an antecedent or a noun that it is taking the place of. The only
exception is indefinite pronouns, which replace vague nouns, such as “all” or
“some.”
Look again at the second example above, which contains pronouns. Each of those
pronouns has an antecedent, which you can see in the first example. Let’s rewrite
the second example, but this time we will include the antecedent to each pronoun
in parentheses:
Mike grabbed his (Mike’s) shirt and went to go find his (Mike’s) mom to tell her
(Mike’s mom) that they (Mike and Mike’s mom) needed to leave right away
because they (Mike and Mike’s mom) were in danger.
When a pronoun does not have a clear antecedent, the writing becomes very
confusing, and it should distinguish who is doing what. Here is an example of a
sentence with unclear antecedents. Note how difficult it is to understand who the
sentence is truly talking about:
Mark, John, and Billy went to the mall because he needed a new shirt. When they
arrived, he ran to the clothing store, and he ran after him, trying to keep up, while
he hung back and headed to the food court.
Because the antecedents are unclear, you could not tell me which boy went to the
store, which boy chased after him, and which boy went to the food court.
4.2.5 Types of pronouns
People often have trouble understanding the different types of pronouns, so your
students may have trouble with it as well. Let’s look at the nine different types of
pronouns:
Personal: A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person. This is the most
common type of pronoun, and for it to work in a sentence, it needs to have a clear
antecedent that it agrees with (male nouns need male pronouns). Examples: “I,”
“he,” “she,” “me.”
Possessive: Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that convey ownership.
These pronouns not only need an antecedent but also need to be followed by a
noun (the thing that is possessed by the pronoun). Examples: “my carrots,” “his
book,” “their time.”
Indefinite: Indefinite pronouns can be a little complicated because they take the
place of nouns that are not exactly clear. In other words, these pronouns will not
have a clear antecedent. It is important to note, however, that if these types of
pronouns are used to show possession, they are actually adjectives. Examples:
“Everybody wants to go to the mall,” “Somebody took my juice.”
Reflexive: Reflexive pronouns usually occur at the end of a sentence or clause and
reflect back to the subject of the sentence. Examples: “I am going to get a soda for
myself,” “What do you have to say for yourselves?”
Reciprocal: A reciprocal is exactly like a reflexive pronoun except that they refer
to two subjects doing something to or for each other. The only two reciprocal
pronouns in the English language are “each other” and “one another.” Examples:
“John and Tim are in the library quizzing each other,” “Maria and Jenny are
helping one another with laundry.”
Intensive: Intensive pronouns are exactly the same as reflexive pronouns except
they can be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning or rendering
the sentence incomplete. Examples: “He is going to do the work himself.”
Interrogative: Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that are used in a question.
Examples: “Who took the candy?,” “Which door is it?”
Relative: A relative pronoun is a pronoun that connects a phrase or a clause to a
pronoun or a noun. Examples: “I am going to get whoever stole my bag,” “I am
going to take whichever door leads to the bathroom.”
Demonstrative: Demonstrative pronouns take the place of specific nouns and are
typically used when the speaker or narrator is talking about a specific object.
Examples: “This is the Captain’s wine,” “That candy belongs to her.”
4.2.6 Verbs
Along with nouns, verbs are part of the two most important parts of a sentence, so
it is important that your students know how to use them and the rules that govern
English verbs. Verbs are extremely complicated because there are so many
different little rules governing how verbs are used, but they can be generally
broken down into three categories: transitive, intransitive, and linking. We will
look at each of these types to help your students have a sense of how verbs work.
Transitive verbs: A transitive verb is a verb that exists in a sentence with an
object. The subject of the sentence is doing something to something else.
Brian hit the ball and ran to first.
Both “hit” and “ran” are transitive in this sentence because they have objects. In
the first clause, it is clear that the ball (object) has been hit (transitive verb). In the
second clause, it is clear that first base (object) is being run to (transitive verb).
Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb is a verb that does not take an object and
rather describes an action or state of being that is not acting upon something else.
Because the food was not free, she left.
While she is leaving whatever place she is in, the object does not need to be
expressed because the intransitive verb “left” is enough to describe the action.
Linking verbs: These verbs link the subject to the rest of the sentence when the
verb is not describing something being acted upon.
These avocados seem like they have not ripened yet.
The subject of the sentence (these avocados) is not acting upon anything else, so
“seem” is a linking verb, describing their relationship to the rest of the sentence.
4.4 Informative and explanatory writing
Now that your students have a decent handle on sentence structure and grammar, it
is time to learn how to write to convey meaning. In the next two sections, we will
explore the most common types of writing they will come across in their lives.
First, we will start with informative and explanatory writing, an extremely helpful
tool for individuals in a number of different professions.
Informative and explanatory writing involves researching or analyzing a topic that
is already generally accepted to be true. Unlike persuasive writing, there is no
argument but rather an exploration of why or how something is what it is. This is
why informative and explanatory is the most common type of writing that your
students will find in their careers; more careers are focused on explaining and
exploring the nature of things rather than creating an argument. To illustrate this
point, here is a brief list of the different applications for informative and
explanatory writing:
Definition: In this type of writing, your students will have to define a topic and
explain it in detail. Potential practical application: Your student works in an office,
and the sales team is going to try to land a new client that works with industrial
refrigeration parts. The boss asks your student to provide a report on industrial
refrigeration parts so that the sales team is prepared when they pitch the client.
Breaking something into parts: In this type of writing, your student will have a
topic that is generally understood but needs to be understood in more detail. To do
this, he or she can break it into parts and/or types to make it more palatable for the
reader. Potential practical application: Your student works for a team that is in
charge of creating new programs and projects for their company. The project team
comes up with an idea they need to pitch to their boss. Your student is tasked with
writing a breakdown of the project, e.g., detailing what each department will be
responsible for, how much it will cost, and how much revenue it will generate.
Describing behavior or function: In this type of writing, your student will have to
explore how something behaves and/or functions. Potential practical application:
Your student works for a zoo that is going to receive a new animal in three weeks
that they have never accommodated before. Your student is asked to write a report
on how the animal behaves and what kind of accommodations it will need.
Explaining why: In this type of writing, your student will have to explore why a
generally held opinion or fact is true. Potential practical application: Your student
works for a museum that is about to have an exhibit on dinosaurs. Your student is
tasked with writing a report for why dinosaurs became extinct so that the museum
can inform its guests.
4.5 Persuasive writing
While persuasive writing is generally less utilized in most careers than informative
and explanatory writing, it is still an extremely important genre that can help your
students in many different aspects of their life. From trying to convince your boss
that you deserve a raise to trying to convince your colleagues that a new idea will
work, persuasive writing can be very powerful. Unlike informative and
explanatory writing, persuasive writing explores a topic or an idea that is not
already widely accepted and creates an argument for why it should be. Rather than
discuss the different types of persuasive writing, we will focus this section on how
to craft an argument by focusing on the most important aspects of an argument.
Thesis: While experts will argue on where a thesis is most effective in a persuasive
argument, they will all agree that a thesis is important. A thesis statement is a short
(one or two sentences) summary of the writer’s position and serves as the main
idea for the piece of writing. A strong thesis statement provides the writing with a
focus and gives the writer a frame of reference for the rest of his or her argument.
Organization: An argument needs to be carefully organized to be as effective as
possible. This means that the writer needs to constantly think about the thesis and
how the argument is connecting back to it. Proper organization helps the argument
flow and eases the reader through the writer’s ideas.
Support: An argument is not complete without strong support. Whether the
support comes in the form of direct textual evidence, facts, or the opinions of
respected professionals, it gives the reader a reason to believe your claims. The
support serves as an assurance to your reader that you are not coming up with this
argument off the top of your head, but rather that there is evidence to support what
you are trying to convince the audience to believe.
Elaboration and Analysis: Your argument needs to explore the topic and why the
support you have provided is worthwhile and relates back to the thesis. Without
proper elaboration and analysis, your support will simply hang there limply and not
be effective in convincing your audience.
Conclusion: Your conclusion should come with a summation of the rest of the
argument to solidify your ideas in the readers’ heads as well as a call to action or a
last attempt to convince the audience to understand and/or believe your argument.
If your students can master these basic components of a strong argument, they will
find it much easier to be convincing whenever they are trying to persuade.
Module 5: Speaking
Reading and writing are extremely important in learning a language, but the real
test is speaking, where students will have to use everything they have learned up to
this point to quickly process information and speak in a language that is not native
to them. In this module, we will go into more detail about sounds and how they are
formed in the English language. We will also talk about how you can best help
your students become fluent speakers of English through reading out loud,
responding to questions, and eventually speaking about their own ideas. Once your
students are able to master speaking the language, they will be well on their way to
achieving English fluency.
5.1 Sounding out words
Although we already discussed sounds in the module on reading, we will focus
more attention on helping your students actually sound out words. We will start
with a specific overview of phonetics.
5.1.1 Phonetic symbols
As you know, phonetics is the study of sounds and human speech. What we did not
discuss earlier, is that phonetics has its own language made up of the most
common phonemes in the English language. While your students do not need to
know these phonetic symbols to be able to read or speak, it can be helpful when
trying to teach how to pronounce English words. Here is the basic rundown of
phonetic symbols:
Vowels and diphthongs:
Symbol Example
ɪ kit, bid, hymn, minute
e dress, bed, head, many
æ trap, bad
ɒ lot, odd, wash
ʌ strut, mud, love, blood
ʊ foot, good, put
iː fleece, sea, machine
eɪ face, day, break
aɪ price, high, try
ɔɪ choice, boy
uː goose, two, blue, group
əʊ goat, show, no
aʊ mouth, now
ɪə near, here, weary
eə square, fair, various
ɑː start, father
ɔː thought, law, north, war
ʊə poor, jury, cure
ɜː nurse, stir, learn, refer
ə about, common, standard
i happy, radiate, glorious
u you, influence, situation
ṇ suddenly, cotton
ḷ middle, metal
ˑ Stress mark
5.1.3 Articulatory phonetics
When your students understand the important phonetic symbols of the English
language, determining how to sound out new words will be much easier. What will
also help them learn how to sound out words is understanding how to make those
sounds. Articulatory phonetics is the study of how sounds are created, and a
working understanding of the ideas outlined in articulatory phonetics can really
help your students understand the English language.
Understanding the anatomy of speech
So many different parts of your mouth and throat are involved in the production of
speech that it can be overwhelming to try to trace sound. Let’s make it a little less
overwhelming by looking at each body part that contributes to speech.
Alveolar ridge: The gums just behind the upper teeth.
Palate: The hard palate, or the roof of the mouth within the sphere of your teeth.
Velum: The soft palate, or the roof of your mouth as it extends past the teeth,
ending at the uvula.
Uvula: The appendage that dangles in the back of your mouth before your mouth
turns into your throat.
Pharynx: The back of your throat, behind the uvula.
Epiglottis: A flap of flesh that rests below your pharynx, at the top of your throat.
Trachea: The windpipe, which is covered by the epiglottis.
All of these parts of your mouth and throat, including your tongue, lips, and teeth,
work together to modulate the sound waves that emanate from your throat. Without
these parts, we would only be able to make a one-toned indistinguishable noise
rather than complex and recognizable speech.
How do we make sounds?
Essentially, the sounds that we make are just puffs of air traveling through our
throats and out of our mouths. The sounds that these puffs of air make depend upon
all the parts listed above and how they block or change the air as it passes through.
To illustrate this process, think about the sound that would be made if you blew air
through a tube. Now think of the sounds you can make if you blow air through a
flute, which blocks and moves the air in specific ways. This is pretty much how
your voice works.
Making consonant sounds
The difference between consonants and vowels is that consonants are made when
there is much more obstruction to the air as it is passing through your mouth,
whereas your mouth generally remains open when pronouncing vowels. Consonant
pronunciation can generally be broken down into the following categories:
Stops: This is when you completely block the flow of air from your throat by
closing your mouth at some point during the pronunciation of the sound (p, t, k, b,
d, and g).
Nasals: In a nasal sound, you close your mouth just as you would with a stop, but
the back of your velum lowers, which allows air to flow up through your nose and
out of your nostrils (m, n, ŋ).
Fricatives: In this sound, you only close your mouth part way so air is forced
through a narrow passage and makes a hissing sound (F, θ, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h).
Affricates: A combination of stop and fricative sounds that are made in a similar
way (tS, dZ).
Approximants: This sound is like a fricative except that it involves less
obstruction. Sometimes, you will make these sounds by touching the tip of your
tongue to the alveolar ridge, lowering it as you release the air (l, r, j, w)
There are also voiced consonants, which refer to consonant sounds that are
accompanied by vibrations in your throat as the air passes through.
Place of articulation
Consonant sounds can also be classified based on where in the vocal tract air gets
obstructed, which is known as the place of articulation. Here are the different terms
for where consonant sounds are articulated:
Bilabials: When you close or constrict your lips.
Labiodentals: When your upper teeth and lower lip meet as you speak.
Dentals: When you press the tip of your tongue to your upper teeth as you speak.
Alveolars: When you press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you
speak.
Post-alveolars: postalveolar consonants are produced by touching the tip of your
tongue to the back of your alveolar ridge. ? t? ? and d? are postalveolar.
Palatals: When the body of your tongue touches your palate as you speak.
Velars: When the body of your tongue touches your velum as you speak.
Glottals: When you constrict your glottis as you speak.
Making vowel sounds
While vowel sounds still rely on opening and closing the mouth, we block the
airflow from our throat significantly less when pronouncing them. Many people
have difficulty explaining the difference between a vowel and a consonant, so
learning how each of them differs in pronunciation can be helpful. Generally,
different vowel sounds are made by different mouth shapes and positions of the
tongue.
5.2 Reading out loud
Reading out loud is not just a great way for your students to improve their spoken
fluency; it is also a great way to improve their overall comprehension. Let’s start
off by looking at the benefits of reading out loud.
5.2.1 Why read aloud?
Increased retention: Anytime that you can access more than one sense, you are
more likely to retain the information you are consuming. This is why the most
memorable lessons from school were the ones where you did an activity that
required you to get out of your seat and move around. Adding that extra wrinkle
made it more memorable. When we read out loud, we are not only reading, but we
are also listening to what we read.
Increased focus: When you read to yourself, it is easy for your mind to wander
and get distracted by external forces. Reading out loud creates an atmosphere of
reading and requires you to focus on every word. That does not mean that your
mind cannot wander, so you still need to keep yourself honest, but it definitely cuts
down on being distracted.
Self-correction: It is much easier to hear yourself pronouncing a word wrong
when you say it out loud. When you read a word silently, you don’t need to be able
to pronounce it to identify it. Reading out loud definitely helps you improve your
speaking fluency because it ensures that you know how to pronounce the words
you are reading (or that you learn). Self-correction is also important. If you are
aware enough of the rules of English pronunciation to realize when you have made
a mistake and fix it, you are operating at a high level of understanding.
Learn and practice intonation: As you read out loud, you can begin practicing
intonation, stressing the right syllables and delivering the lines the way they were
meant to be delivered. This is another indication of a deep understanding of the
intricacies of the language, since intonation is only implied and not explicitly
detailed in a piece of writing.
5.2.2 Strategies for reading out loud in the classroom
There are a number of different ways that you can have your students read aloud to
practice their proficiency with the language. Some of these strategies ask students
to read in front of the class, some ask the student to read in front of a partner, and
others ask the student to read out loud only for himself or herself. Each strategy
has its merits and drawbacks, but reading out loud in any form will help your
students improve their overall fluency in English.
Round robin reading: With this strategy, you make a game out of reading out
loud, and students take turns reading a certain amount of text. This is a great way
to get your students comfortable with reading out loud, but it can be difficult to
motivate struggling students to read because of the stigma of reading in front of a
group. This is also a great strategy for getting everyone involved in reading
together, but it can hinder students who are stronger readers and have to wait for
struggling readers to catch up.
Popcorn reading: Each student reads a certain amount of text out loud and then
yells “popcorn” and picks a new student to read. This can be a good way to make
sure everyone reads because the students are going to be better at keeping track of
who has read and who hasn’t than you would be, and it frees you up to monitor
and/or provide individual attention to struggling students.
Combat reading: This is similar to popcorn reading except the goal of the
students is to catch someone who is not paying attention. This can add a layer of
fun to the activity, but be careful presenting reading as a punishment. That is not
the best way to nurture lifelong readers.
Pick a name reading: This is the same as popcorn except instead of giving the
students the power to select the next reader you leave it to chance by using some
variation of a hat filled with everyone’s name.
Touch and go reading: The teacher is in control and touches a student on the
shoulder when they want the student to read.
Choral reading: The entire class, along with the teacher, read out loud together.
This strategy serves a number of different purposes. First, it helps take the stigma
away from struggling readers. Second, it gives you the opportunity to model
correct pronunciations for the students that is not combative or anxiety inducing.
Third, all students are engaged at the same time, which is a lofty goal for any
teacher.
Partner up: Have your students pair up and share the reading, each taking turns
reading a certain amount of text out loud. This is a little more difficult for you to
manage and monitor than the whole class reading, but it can help students get a
chance to read out loud in a less stressful situation.
Heterogeneous pairing: This is the same as the previous strategy except that you
intentionally partner struggling readers with readers who are excelling. The idea is
that the excelling student can help the struggling reader bridge the gap. Critics note
that this strategy does not really help the strong student very much, as slowing
down to adjust for their partners might work against them.
Teacher modeling: The teacher reads aloud to the class to model pronunciation
and fluency. This can be an effective strategy because it helps the students see how
the piece should be read as they follow along, but make sure you are closely
monitoring for engagement, as it is a type of lesson where it is easy for students to
be inattentive.
Echoing: This is similar to the previous strategy except the students echo back
whatever the teacher reads, trying to match the pronunciation, inflection, and
emotion. This can be a great way to model for students while still holding them
accountable in the classroom.
Reading buddy: Students prepare individually, each with a unique text, and then
read their piece to a buddy, trying their best to read it with no mistakes. Peers can
offer critiques and suggestions, and you can monitor many students at once.
Tape recorder: Students read into a tape recorder and play it back to themselves
as they follow along with the text. There are many different things you can do with
this, such as having the students try to get the perfect recording and then turn it in
or have the students swap recordings with a partner. This is a great way for your
students to get an idea of what they sound like, where they are struggling, and
where they are excelling. This is also a great way to help students get used to self-
correcting.
5.3 Responding to questions
As with many topics within this course, responding to questions is not
compartmentalized to speaking, meaning it is something that can help students
gain fluency in a number of different ways, not just one. There are a couple of
different ways that we can look at this topic, and each one works on a different
skill that will help build your students’ English fluency.
5.3.1 Question and response
Here are the different ways that you can question your students and expect them to
respond:
Read a question and write a response: This is one of the more typical ways that
teachers assess a student’s reading because it is easy to assess after the fact and
requires each student to do his or her own work. This strategy helps your students
work on reading and writing skills but does very little to build their speaking skills.
Listen to a question and write a response: This strategy is more rare because it
requires every student to work at the same pace, which is not always feasible in a
classroom. We will talk about such strategies in the next module when we discuss
listening in much more detail. Just like the previous strategy, this strategy does not
do much to help students learn to speak English more fluently.
Read a question and answer verbally: This strategy helps students improve both
their reading and speaking ability. It is a great strategy to use when students are
just starting off trying to speak English on their own because the question is written
in front of them and always available for reference. This is a great first step
towards speaking English without any visual cues.
Listen to a question and answer verbally: This is the ultimate test of a student’s
fluency. Not only do they have to comprehend the question as they hear it
(something we will discuss in the next module on listening), but they also have to
be able to formulate a cogent response in English. If your students are able to
accomplish this task, then they are well on their way to English fluency.
5.3.2 Question-answer relationship
One of the best ways that you can help your students respond to questions verbally
is by helping them understand how to find the answers they need. This is a great
skill to have no matter what language you speak, but it is definitely something that
can help a student who is struggling with a new language. According to the
question-answer relationship model, there are four levels of questions, each with
different expectations for where students should draw their responses.
Understanding: The answer to the question being asked is right there in the text
for the student to find. These types of questions represent a lower level of thinking
but are great for getting practice in answering orally in English. The question
requires the student to look at the text for an answer, but the answer is fairly easy,
and the student can focus on how he or she is going to provide an answer in
English.
Think, search, and find: These types of questions require a higher level of
thinking because they require students to make inferences and understand the
subtext of the piece they are reading. This is a great next step for the student who is
starting to get the hang of understanding questions and is ready for a greater
challenge. With these types of questions, the student needs to balance the higher-
level comprehension skills he or she has been developing with his or her ability to
verbalize a response in English.
Connection: These types of questions require the student to think beyond what is
in the text and make a connection with the piece. This can be more difficult for
English language learners because they cannot rely on repeating what they see in
the text. Rather, they have to synthesize what they read and create an answer that is
relevant to the piece but use their own words. Students are not only showing high
comprehension skills but also high critical thinking skills, all while making sure to
verbalize their response in a language with which they are not yet comfortable.
Creating new knowledge: These types of questions require the student to go
completely beyond the text and synthesize something else. These questions are
related to the text, but you can answer them without having to read it. This is a
great way to get your students creating new meaning and making use of everything
they have learned so far.
5.4 Presenting new ideas
The ultimate showcase of student improvement in spoken English is to present new
ideas of their own in this new language. As students build towards fluency, using
texts and responding to teacher questions are all great ways to develop their skills,
but the true test comes when they step away from source material and use what
they have learned to present new ideas. While the job of presenting these new ideas
is ultimately up to them, you can encourage and support them on their way to
success.
Continue building vocabulary: There will never be a time when any student is
done learning words, and the best way to help your students present their own
unique ideas is by giving them the vocabulary toolbox they need to express those
new ideas.
Provide a low-anxiety environment: Your student will be taking a risk by sharing
new ideas in a language they are not completely fluent in, so try to take as much of
the anxiety out of the situation as you can. Give them the space to work through
what they are going to say and then be encouraging when they are ready to go.
Give them time to practice: It might be helpful to bring back the reading strategy
that we discussed earlier and give them a recorder to record themselves and check
their own progress. Once students have progressed and are improving, it is
important to give them some control over the process and take responsibility for
their performance.
Provide honest but encouraging feedback: Even outside of TESOL, simply
saying “good job” is no longer enough to encourage a student. Be specific, be
honest, but be encouraging. If certain students are struggling with something, let
them know, but also tell them know how it can be fixed and what needs to be done
to get it better. Students appreciate honesty as long as it is presented to them in a
way that does not immediately make them shut down and not want to try.
Listen to the student: The worst thing you can do after your student has done all
that work to present a new idea to you is not listen when they present their ideas.
Of course, you would never visibly ignore the students as they present, but it can
be easy to lose focus on exactly what the students are saying. When the
presentation is over, be specific as to what you liked about the student’s idea. Show
the student that you care and that you are proud of him and her. Even if the student
struggled, just getting up and taking the risk was a big leap, so leave the critique
until some time has passed.
Module 7: Pedagogy
Pedagogy refers to the art and science of teaching and any of the methods that
teachers use to teach their students. Pedagogy is truly both an art and a science
because there are infinite strategies you can learn to use to help your students, but
there is also artistry involved in how you implement those strategies. Since you
may not be in the classroom yet, we will focus on the science side of teaching and
let you discover the artistry as you begin working with your students. In this
module, we will discuss the best ways to impart information to your students and
how to learn from your experiences and continue improving throughout your
career as an educator.
.1 Exposition
Pedagogy is such a complex topic that it could be its own course, so as we discuss
the theories that inform a teacher’s planning, implementation, and assessment,
keep in mind that we are giving an overview rather than a comprehensive study.
Here are some of the most well-known theories of education.

Considering that education in some form or another has existed since the dawn of
man, it is surprising to know there are so many different theories regarding the best
way to provide education for students. While many of these can work together to
inspire teachers in their planning and instruction, some of them directly contradict
each other and have led to debates within the profession. Here, we will cover a few
of those theories and discuss how they can inform your teaching.
7.1.1 Bloom’s taxonomy
Benjamin Bloom studied learning and concluded that learning activities could be
categorized into six segments based on the level of thinking they require. He
framed his theory into the shape of a triangle with the lowest-level thinking at the
bottom. He did this because even though the lower-level thinking activities require
less thinking, they provide the base for higher-level thinking. He believed (as many
do) that it is very hard to extend your learning on a topic if you do not understand
the topic itself. We will discuss each category in reverse order, starting with what
Bloom labeled as the lowest level of thinking.
Remember: At the base of this triangle, representing the lowest level of thinking,
is any activity that requires a student to recall facts and basic concepts. These types
of activities are extremely important in a student’s learning, since it is hard to take
the next step without first knowing the basic facts. Activities that require students
to remember include defining words, memorizing facts, listing things, and
repeating information.
Understand: At the next level of thinking, teachers ask students to comprehend
what they are memorizing and repeating. For students to explore content in any
way, they need to be able to comprehend what they are studying. Activities that
require students to explain ideas or concepts include classifying, describing,
discussing, and explaining information.
7.1.2 Bloom’s taxonomy
Apply: Once students understand the information they are learning, they can take
the next step and apply what they have learned to new situations. This displays a
higher level of thinking because the student needs to understand the concept
enough to apply it to something different. For example, a student may be able to
recite Romeo & Juliet, which shows they can remember. They may comprehend
the play enough to explain it, which shows they can understand. Now, if they can
take that comprehension of the play and use it to understand Othello, they are
applying their knowledge. Activities that require students to apply their knowledge
include implementing plans, solving problems, and demonstrating knowledge.
Analyze: True analysis of a concept requires a student to have accomplished all of
the levels of thinking that come before it. To truly delve into a topic and analyze
more than what is explicitly stated, a student needs to understand it completely.
When students analyze, they draw connections between ideas and explore
connotative and deep meaning. Activities that require students to analyze include
differentiating information, organizing information, comparing and contrasting,
and experimenting.
Evaluate: Simply the act of evaluating something does not necessarily require
much thinking; we are constantly judging things we may know nothing about. To
make an accurate judgment about something, however, you need to understand it
completely. If you ask your students if Americans were justified in fighting against
the British in the American Revolution, they will need to understand how the war
began, why each side fought, and then make a determination about the colonies’
justification. Activities that require students to justify a stand or decision include
appraisals, arguments, judgments, and critiques.
Create: According to Bloom, the highest level of thinking is when you ask your
students to synthesize what they have learned and create something new. The idea
behind his emphasis on this skill is that students need to be able to understand
something completely and have high skills to be able to now create something of
their own that is related. Activities that require students to synthesize their
knowledge include designing, assembling, constructing, and writing (something
original).
7.1.3 Behaviorism (1 of 2)
Behaviorist theory is an idea that hinges completely on motivation and how
teachers can get students to succeed in the classroom. While many thinkers
contributed to the formation of behaviorism, the ideas can be easily summed up by
the famous experiment conducted by Ivan Pavlov, who proved that a dog could be
conditioned to respond to a specific stimulus that does not inherently cause that
response. He did this by essentially ringing a bell every time before he gave a dog
food to the point where the dog began to salivate in anticipation of food. After
some conditioning with this model, he removed the original stimulus and found
that the dog continued to salivate at the sound of the bell even when it was not
followed by food. The dog had now been conditioned to feel hungry whenever he
heard the bell according to Pavlov.
To understand the educational theory, we first need to clear up a few phrases that
are often misunderstood. Since behaviorism depends heavily on response to a
stimulus, the following phrases refer to the manipulation of stimuli by an outsider
(in our case, the teacher):
Positive reinforcement: When an outsider rewards a desired behavior by
providing a desired stimulus. An example is giving a student a good grade for
working hard on an assignment.
Negative reinforcement: This is probably the most misunderstood term in
behaviorism. The word “negative” refers to removal, and the word “reinforcement”
refers to a stimulus. Therefore, negative reinforcement is when an outsider rewards
a desired behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus. An example would be
rewarding a student for good behavior by not yelling at him or her as you normally
would.
Positive punishment: This is when an outsider presents the subject with an
undesirable stimulus as a consequence of doing something wrong or not doing
something right. An example would be giving a student an F for not doing his or
her work.
Negative punishment: This is when an outsider removes a desired stimulus from
the subject as a consequence of doing something wrong or not doing something
right. An example would be telling a student that he or she can no longer sit with
friends because he or she is misbehaving.
Pavlov’s experiment displayed classic conditioning, which refers to conditioning
involuntary behavior (a dog does not choose when to salivate). B.F. Skinner
extended this idea, referring to his ideas as operant conditioning, which refers to
conditioning voluntary actions through reinforcement and punishment.
According to this theory:
· Learners are not really active in the learning process but rather passive
participants who are simply responding to stimuli.
· Learners begin as a blank page, and behavior is only shaped when stimuli
provide either positive or negative reinforcement.
· The more that a behavior is reinforced, whether negatively or positively, the
more likely the student is to repeat that behavior.
· In the same way, the more that a behavior is punished, whether negatively or
positively, the less likely the student is to repeat that behavior.
· In operant conditioning, B.F. Skinner tested the efficacy of different methods
of disbursements for reinforcement and punishments. In other words, how
often do you need to reinforce or punish behavior for it to have the most
lasting effect on the subject?
Continuous reinforcement: This is when a subject is reinforced every time he or
she performs the desired behavior. Skinner found that this did not motivate
subjects. They did not work as hard, and when the reinforcement was removed,
they quickly stopped performing the desired behavior.
Fixed ratio reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a specific
amount of times that he or she performs the desired behavior. Skinner found that
subjects worked harder with this method, and that they were less likely to stop the
desired behavior after the reinforcement was removed. However, this still was not
the most effective method.
Fixed interval reinforcement: This is when a subject is reinforced after a
designated amount of time, provided the desired behavior has been perform ed at
least once during that time. Skinner found that the subjects worked moderately
hard and were about as likely to stop the behavior as the previous model after the
reinforcement was removed.
Variable ratio reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a
random number of times performing the desired behavior. Skinner found that this
method made subjects work hard and take a long time to stop the behavior after the
reinforcement was removed.
Variable interval reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a
random amount of time has elapsed, provided that the subject has performed the
desired behavior at least once during that time. Skinner found that this worked
equally as well as the previous model, with subjects working hard and taking a
long time to stop the desired behavior after the reinforcement was stopped.
7.1.5 Constructivism
Constructivism hinges on the idea that educators need to meet students wherever
they are (in terms of skills and knowledge) and help them build on previous
knowledge. It is also a theory that seeks to help students find their own way as they
experience learning and come to their own conclusions.
According to this theory:
· The teacher takes a backseat and monitors students as they take control of
their learning. A traditional classroom is teacher centered, but a
constructivist classroom is student centered.
· Students are actively involved in the lesson. Instead of passively accepting
the work given by the teacher and completing it to receive a grade, the
student drives the lesson and works towards a goal with the teacher’s
guidance.
· The class feels less like dictatorship, which is run solely by one person, and
more like an environment that is run by the entire class.
· Teachers allow students to find their own answers rather than telling them
what answers to look for. Students are able to explore things in their own
way and come to their own conclusions instead of exploring things the way
the teacher tells them to and coming to the conclusions that the teacher
wants them to come to.
· Teachers encourage students to be autonomous, which means they
 encourage students to be independent and motivated by their own goals and
interests.
Many modern classrooms are moving towards this model or at least towards a
model that is similar, following the next theory we will discuss.
7.1.6 Student-centered learning
While constructivism was student centered, there is a movement in modern
education for a broader embrace of student-centered learning, even if it is not
technically considered constructivist. Since the ideas of student-centered learning
have already been covered in constructivism and by the clarity of the title, we will
focus this section on how theorists believe student-centered learning benefits
students.
· Research shows that student-centered learning works because a student’s
potential for learning relies heavily on what he or she already knows. This
can affect what new information is important to the student, how he or she
processes new information, and how he or she determines what is important.
With student-centered learning, students are more free and able to work at
their own pace, starting at their ability level or base of knowledge.
· One of the most important parts of learning is reflection; having students
look back at what they learned, how they learned it, and where they need to
go from here. A less teacher-centered environment allows students more
opportunities for this type of reflection on learning.
· Students who are involved in student-centered learning have reportedly been
more motivated and satisfied by the school experience. This is because they
are more likely to feel satisfied with their work than if they were simply
doing what the teacher told them to do.
· Student-centered learning is more open to differentiation, which allows all
students with developmental, cognitive, or other differences to progress. A
teacher leading the class is much more likely to need all of his or her
students to reach a specific point at the end of the lesson. Students working
independently can set their own goals.
· One of the biggest obstacles that teachers have to face is the student who is
not engaged. Studies have shown that asking students to move around,
control their learning, and take responsibility for their development leads to
more motivation and progress than in traditional classrooms.
7.2 Modeling
One of the best ways to help students understand new knowledge or grasp difficult
skills is through modeling and scaffolding, which both involve the teacher showing
students how things are done. Too often in education, teachers assume that students
already know exactly what they need to do. More often than not, this is just not
true. Students will always benefit from watching the teacher model a skill or an
activity. Students are easily influenced and will often look to the teacher for how to
act, what to do, and how to succeed. Here are some different ways that you can
model for your students:
· Model desired personal characteristics: It can be extremely beneficial to
present yourself as a role model for optimal behavior during a lesson. At any
given time in your classroom, you are asking students to be responsible,
creative, diligent, thoughtful, and respectful (to name a few). Students are
much more likely to meet these expectations if they see you meeting them as
well.
· Model a task: Let’s say you want to teach active reading and annotation
strategies to your students. You can do one of two things. You could tell the
students exactly what they should do and let them do it, or you could show
them what they should do and help them work on it. Select a piece of
reading and read it with the class, annotating it in the same way that you
expect your students to annotate. This way there will be no confusion about
what you are expecting from them.
· Model metacognitive thinking: When you are trying to help your students
become better thinkers and arrive at conclusions more efficiently and
effectively, it can help to show them how your thought process works. In
math class, this works perfectly because you can walk your students through
the process of solving a problem. In language classes, you could walk your
students through how you would break down a word for proper
pronunciation and potential meaning.
· Let the students do the modeling: Assess your students’ strengths and
weaknesses, and give them opportunities throughout the year or course to
model their strengths to the class. Not only will you be reinforcing their
success and solidifying their mastery of the skill, but you will also be letting
students learn from other students.
In whatever way you choose to use modeling, you will make a significant impact
on how well your students understand the skill or knowledge that you are working
on. Sometimes, students just need to see how it is done and not just hear how it
should be done to be successful.Planning for instruction is not an aimless
adventure where teachers decide what they are going to do as they go; it takes a lot
of forethought. To be effective as an educator, you will have to understand what
you are leading to on day one and categorically take steps to prepare your students
to reach your goal. To be an effective teacher, you absolutely have to know where
you are going, and if you want to have an impact on your students, you should also
let them know where you are going.
7.3.1 Planning for assessments
Backwards planning is an educational strategy that helps teachers make sure that
everything they do leads to student assessment. It is a pretty simple idea, though it
is fairly difficult to execute perfectly. Here are the steps you need to take if you
would like to implement backwards planning.
1. You first need to decide exactly what you are trying to do with the unit that
you are planning. At the end of the unit, what are you hoping that your
students will be able to do? These are your unit objectives and should be
created with care because everything you do during the unit will have to
work towards these objectives. When you are creating these objectives,
focus on what the students will be able to do by the end of the unit rather
than the content you want to cover. Your ultimate goal is to lead your
students to success, not to get to a specific point in your curriculum.
2. Design an assessment that is in line with the objectives you have created. If
your objectives are an expression of what your students should be able to do
by the end of your unit, then your assessment needs to assess whether or not
your students are able to do these things. Think of it this way: if you bring
your car to a mechanic’s shop and they tell you they will fix your car, you
will assess their success by whether or not your car is fixed when they are
done with it. If you say that your students will be able to do A, B, and C by
the end of your unit, you need to assess if they can do it.
3. Now that you have created objectives and designed an assessment, you need
to determine what your students will need to achieve your objectives. What
skills do they need to improve on? What knowledge do they need? What do
they need to practice? What steps do they need to take to get to the point
where they can be successful on the assessment and therefore fulfill your
objectives?
4. Design a unit’s worth of lesson plans to target the specific skills, knowledge,
 and areas that you have already identified as necessary for your students to
find success. The whole planning process is recursive. Make objectives,
make a tool for assessing whether or not students have reached the
objectives, identify what the students need to succeed on the assessment, and
design instructions that target the students’ needs.
5. After you have taken your students through the unit and graded the
assessment, it is time for you to reflect on your teaching. Your objectives
were to help your students be able to do A, B, and C. Were you successful?
Did enough students succeed that you can move ahead without worrying
about their progress? If students did not succeed, what kept them from
succeeding? How can you do things differently the next time you implement
the unit to ensure that your students are more successful?
6. There are two ways in which the previous reflection can inform your
teaching. First, redesign your unit so that it more effectively helps students
achieve your objectives. When you teach the unit next year, you should have
more success. Second, what skills did the students miss in this unit that they
will need in the next unit? Their performance in this unit should inform your
planning of the next unit. If most of your students did not get the skill you
were planning for them to hone, then it should now become one of your
objectives for the next unit. You cannot just write them off and hope for
better results next year. You need to make up for it with these students and
then adjust your instruction so that it is more effective next year.
7.4 Constructive criticism
The whole process we discussed in the previous section does not have to fall only
on your shoulders as the teacher. Great teachers make students part of the process,
asking them to reflect on their own learning and identify what kept them from
being successful. To do that, they need to receive honest and specific feedback
from you on their performance. Telling a student “good job” isn’t going to help
them improve at all. They don’t even know what they did well when you say
something like that. Honesty is important, but it is also important that you are
sensitive to the fact that excessive criticism could simply demotivate your students.
Here are some tips for providing your students with constructive criticism:
7. First of all, you need to make sure that your expectations for student work
are very clear to them. If they properly understand what is expected, you can
get a true picture of what they are able to accomplish, and they don’t feel
blindsided by your feedback. If you have the opportunity, you may even
want to provide your students with examples to show them what a successful
 assessment looks like as opposed to an unsuccessful assessment.
8. When you are providing feedback, be specific. There is nothing more
worthless than vague, general feedback. You are already going to have to
overcome the obstacle of students not paying attention to your feedback; if
you provide meaningless feedback, they are even less likely to focus on it.
This is important when you are giving feedback on what they did well as
much as it is when you are providing feedback on their weaknesses.
9. Try to balance your positive and negative feedback. Never provide just
negative feedback; there is always something good that you can say. While a
student will still be pretty upset getting overwhelmingly negative feedback,
it will definitely help that you have provided a silver lining so that they see
that their work was not worthless.
10. Refer back to your instruction. If students are struggling with something you
have not taught in the unit, then it is something you will have to discuss
with them; if it is something that you have gone over, then you will probably
have to go over it again. When the students are struggling with something
you haven’t taught, it may not be fair for you to punish them for it, so
instead provide them with encouraging feedback that identifies the weakness
and promises you’ll discuss as a class.
11. Require your students to do some sort of reflection activity that forces them
to read or review the feedback you have provided. If they do not receive the
feedback, what is it accomplishing?
Module 6: Listening
Listening is extremely important in learning a language because most of your
students are learning the language to be able to verbally communicate. Helping
your students speak in English is great, but that will not help them in a
conversation unless they can understand what others are saying. Throughout your
class, you will be easing your students into the language by speaking slowly and
giving them the chance to decode what you are trying to say. Once they go out into
the world, they will have to comprehend what people are saying no matter how
quickly they speak. In this module, we will discuss many of the strategies that your
students will need to become conversationally fluent in English, including how to
decode sounds, how to break down speech, and how to summarize ideas that others
are presenting to them.
Module 6: Listening
Listening is extremely important in learning a language because most of your
students are learning the language to be able to verbally communicate. Helping
your students speak in English is great, but that will not help them in a
conversation unless they can understand what others are saying. Throughout your
class, you will be easing your students into the language by speaking slowly and
giving them the chance to decode what you are trying to say. Once they go out into
the world, they will have to comprehend what people are saying no matter how
quickly they speak. In this module, we will discuss many of the strategies that your
students will need to become conversationally fluent in English, including how to
decode sounds, how to break down speech, and how to summarize ideas that others
are presenting to them.
6.1 Repeating what you hear or transcribing
Asking your students to transcribe speech is a great way to get them used to
understanding what people are saying. It is also a great way for you to monitor
how well they actually understand speech as opposed to how much they tell you
they understand. It is one thing to be able to get a general idea of what someone is
saying to you; it is another thing entirely to be able to transcribe the speech word
for word. In this section, we will focus on two different types of transcription, both
of which will help your students better understand the language.
6.1.1 Phonetic transcription
Phonetic transcription is a technique whereby an individual breaks down speech
into sounds and phonemes, and transcribes the speech in phonetic symbols, using
the symbols that we discussed in the previous module. We will not repeat the
symbols, so feel free to go back and review them. Instead, we will focus on what
phonetic transcription looks like and how it will benefit your students.
What does phonetic transcription look like?
Phonetic transcription can be a great way for your students to learn to decode
sounds from speech, but it is not a practical activity for them once they have
mastered the language. It is extremely helpful but can take time. Take a look at the
following excerpt and what it would look like in phonetic transcription:
Original text: Sometimes, phonetic transcription can be complicated, but once you
get the hang of it, it is actually quite easy. It will also help students get the hang of
recognizing sounds, which will make conversational English much easier.
6.1.2 Phonetic transcription
Now that you have seen what phonetic transcription can look like, let’s take a look
at the different types of phonetic transcription. Some will be helpful to your
students and some will not.
Systematic vs. impressionistic transcription
As an expert in phonetic symbols, if you were to listen to speech in another
language, you would generally be able to chart it out based on English phonetic
symbols. Obviously, this is not the best way to handle this since phonetic symbols
are going to be different in every language, but you are going to use the knowledge
you have. A phonetics expert would instead use a more universal group of phonetic
symbols to transcribe the speech. This is called impressionistic transcription
because although this is still not perfect the transcriber is charting out the sounds as
best as he or she can without knowing the language. Later, experts can take this
impressionistic transcription and revise and modify it to more accurately represent
the speech. It would be much more difficult if the speech were charted out using
more specific English phonetic symbols.
Once experts are able to analyze the speech and get a sense for the sounds of the
particular language they are listening to, they are able to revise the transcription
into a much more accurate transcription. This is called a systematic transcription or
a transcription that more accurately reflects the phonetic structure of the language
it is breaking down.
As you may have already determined, a systematic transcription is more helpful for
your students, although it could be helpful to have them use their native language
to analyze the sounds in an English recording. However, you are more typically
going to ask them to create phonetic transcriptions that more accurately reflect the
phonetic structure of the English language to ensure they are learning.
6.1.3 Phonetic transcription
Simple vs. comparative transcription
Phonetic symbols, though explicitly stated, can be left up to some interpretation.
Experts will sometimes do what is called a simple transcription, which makes the
phonetic translation as easy to read as possible without worrying too much about
everything being perfect. This kind of shorthand is sometimes appreciated by
experts since they often have to go through massive amounts of text. While this
may not be the best type to start your students with because they may not be ready
for such shorthand, it can be helpful once they become good at transcribing. You
should only allow them to take shortcuts once they are doing it to save time, not to
make the text easier to transcribe.
Comparative transcription is relevant when the sounds for different languages
match, and you are able to use a more vague phoneme to refer to the different
versions of the phoneme in different languages. This type of transcription is not
very helpful for your students.
Phonemic vs. allophonic transcription
Everything we have been discussing so far in this section has referred to phonemic
transcription, which refers to any transcription where you break down sounds into
phonemes. The other option you have with your transcription is to do an allophonic
transcription, which means breaking down the speech into allophones. If you
remember from previous modules, allophones are a phonic rather than phonemic
way of breaking down words.
6.1.4 Word-for-word transcription
When you would like to have your students practice with words rather than just
sounds, you should work with them on word transcriptions, which are exactly what
they sound like. Students listen to a person speaking (or a recording) and transcribe
the speech as it is spoken. Let’s go through the steps you should have your students
take to transcribe speech.
Select or provide a text that already has a transcription. There is no way to assess
your students unless you have an answer key. You can either hold onto the correct
transcription yourself to assess them or give it to them so that they can check their
work and self-correct. When they are working towards mastery, it is probably
better to give them the transcription, and when you are ready to assess their
mastery, it is probably better to assess them yourself.
Have the students listen to the speech once. If you are delivering the speech, read it
through once, instructing them not to write anything yet but only to listen. If the
students have a recording, instruct them to listen to it in their own once through
before they do anything.
Have your students transcribe the speech line by line. It would be more helpful if
they have a recording of the speech so that they are able to go back and listen again
when they need to. However, you may want to simply speak the text when your
students have progressed to the point where they are strong enough to handle it.
Here are some tips that might help them:
If you have the opportunity, use a digital recording so that it is easier for the
students to go back and forth and keep track of their progress.
Have the students write their transcriptions by hand to have a closer connection to
the words they are writing. Also, handwriting the transcriptions means they will
not have access to grammar and spelling software that will help them along the
way but ultimately hurt their learning.
Allow the students to use a dictionary whenever they need to. Not only will this
provide a reference piece to help them, but it will also give the students practice
looking up words in a dictionary.
Do not limit the number of times your students can rewind or listen to parts of the
recording again. Even native English speakers would have trouble transcribing a
piece word for word without listening to it more than once.
Encourage your students to transcribe the piece word for word, but then look
through their transcription to fix errors in grammar and usage even when those
errors were made by the original speaker. This will give the students practice
transcribing the piece and also give them the opportunity to practice their revision
skills and access their knowledge of grammar.
6.1.4 Word-for-word transcription
Have your students carefully check their answers (as we said before, they may be
at the point where you can assess them instead) against the correct transcription.
Have your students look at where they struggled and where they excelled, and try
to determine their strengths and weaknesses so that they can use the activity as a
learning experience.
Transcriptions are not something you can do every day since they are pretty
exhaustive, but you should try to do them every so often until your students have
demonstrated proficiency. Also make sure that you are using it as a learning
experience and have your students continually reflect on their performance to make
sure that it is worthwhile.
How is transcribing text helpful?
As we have already discussed, transcribing text can be extremely helpful to your
students for the following reasons:
It helps students work on mastering the sounds of English. Students need to be able
to get used to understanding English only from sound, and this is a direct way to
give them practice with that.
It gives students practice writing the language, and if you ask them to fix any
errors in their own transcription and the original text, they have the opportunity to
display their knowledge of grammar and practice revising it.
Because this activity is meticulous, it forces students to really delve into the text
and pay attention to every detail rather than just summarizing what is being said.
This directly prepares students for conversational English, although it takes out the
part where they respond. This is the first step towards being able to hold a cogent
conversation in English.
This is a great way to give students the opportunity to work independently. They
are able to take the time to struggle with the language without fear of peer ridicule.
Completing this activity will also give them a sense of accomplishment that they
probably would not get from a more teacher-directed activity.
6.2 Paraphrase what you hear
People tend to think that paraphrasing someone is easier than quoting them
directly, but that just isn’t true. To effectively paraphrase, you need to understand
what the person has said enough to put their words into your own words. That is
why this is a great skill for your students to practice; it will test their ability to
listen to someone speak, process the words, and then rewrite them in their own
words. In many ways, this task is much more difficult than transcription. Since
paraphrasing is such a difficult skill for your students to master, let’s take a closer
look at how you can help them develop their skills.
6.2.1 Teaching students to paraphrase
There are many different ways that you can teach your students to paraphrase more
effectively, and it is definitely an important skill to practice with them.
Start out slowly and informally. Have your students pair up (or get into small
groups) and practice paraphrasing. You can even have them start in their native
language if you want to practice the process. Give the students a simple question,
such as “What did you do this weekend?” Have the students interview each other
and then try to paraphrase what their partner tells them. This helps them work on
both speaking and listening skills.
Do it with them. When you are starting to teach the skill and process of
paraphrasing, model the activity by participating in it with them. Start by asking a
student a question and then paraphrasing his or her answer for the class. Then do
the same thing, but ask the class to help you paraphrase. By initiating the process
together, you will make your students feel more comfortable, and you will show
them how it should be done.
As you are modeling the process with the students, help them understand how to
paraphrase better by introducing four strategies they can use:
Reword: The student replaces words with synonyms whenever he or she can.
Rearrange: The student rearranges a sentence so that it sounds different but
conveys the same message. You will have to model this for them directly.
Accept: Let the students know they will not be able to change every word (nor
should they), so they need to learn to make decisions on what needs to be changed
and what should stay the same.
Recheck: Have the students read over the paraphrased version they have written
and evaluate it based on how accurate it is to the original message. If you have the
students working together, have the student who delivered the speech check the
student who paraphrased for accuracy. You can also use this as an assessment tool
and evaluate it yourself.
6.2.2 Teaching students to paraphrase
Now that your students are getting a little more comfortable with paraphrasing,
give them text to work with. You can still have them in pairs, but this time have
one student read the text to the other (once again, also practicing reading and
speaking skills), and have the other student paraphrase. Keep the texts simple
enough so that the focus of the activity is on paraphrasing skills.
As the students seem to really get the hang of paraphrasing, ask them to do it in
front of the class. Bring a pair up to the front to showcase the activity the class has
already been working on. Let students in the audience critique the performances.
Remember that this step will only really work once the students are comfortable
with the process.
If you really want to extend the assignment and challenge your students, take the
next step by giving them more and more complex texts. Even once they start to
master the language, this is a good skill to practice.
Paraphrasing is a great skill to practice even if there is no listening component.
Students can also learn a lot by reading a text silently and paraphrasing it.
Remember that anything that helps your students gain fluency in the English
language is worth doing.
We have already hinted at all the ways paraphrasing can help your students master
the English language, but we should take some time to explicitly review the
benefits of this activity.
When you use oral text for this activity, it helps your students improve their ability
to listen to and comprehend English. As we stated before, they need to be able to
recognize the sounds they are hearing, identify the meaning of what they are
hearing, and then turn that information into something new. Students need to be
able to not only translate the language but also what is actually being said to re-
create it.
This activity also works on other skills even if they are not the focus. When you
have your students read a text to each other, you also practice all of the skills
involved in reading out loud, including decoding, pronunciation, and reading
comprehension.
Learning how to paraphrase naturally will help your students when they begin
developing their conversational English. As they become more comfortable with
the language, they will need to be able to take in what people are saying, process it,
and respond appropriately. While this activity does not require the students to
respond appropriately, it definitely helps them with the rest of the conversation.
If you choose to have your students paraphrase with written text, then it does not
really help them practice their listening skills, but it certainly would help them
improve their reading skills.
Paraphrasing text helps students make connections with their own knowledge. This
happens in a few different ways:
Students make connections to their native language or cognates that helps them
understand and relay the information that is given to them.
Students connect to what is being said on a personal level and are able to
paraphrase the speech because they feel personally invested in it.
The activity takes on a much more interesting and less monotonous feel because
you are no longer asking the students to simply echo back what they have heard;
you are asking them to comprehend and create something of their own with it.
6.3 Conversational English
The next step from having your students listen to someone speak and paraphrase
their words is to have them respond to the speech with an appropriate reaction.
Whereas paraphrasing requires your students to be able to take someone else’s
speech and put it into their own words, conversational English requires them to
quickly comprehend what someone says, decide how to respond, and then
determine how to respond in English. The immediacy of a conversation makes this
one of the true tests of your students’ fluency and what they have learned thus far.
To ensure that your students are prepared for conversational English, make sure
they understand each of the following concepts (some we have already discussed):
Verb conjugation: To effectively communicate during a conversation, your students
will need to know the basics of verb conjugation, especially when it refers to tense.
The difference between “I ran to the store” and “I run to the store” may only be a
difference of one letter, but it significantly changes the sentence. Students do not
have to be experts at this yet, but they should understand the basics so that they can
participate in a conversation without confusion.
Using pronouns properly: Pronoun use is very important in conversational usage,
as it is a typical (and grammatically correct) way to take shortcuts to meaning. It is
important that you help your students by stressing to them the importance of clear
antecedents as well as proper pronoun usage.
How conversational English varies from formal English: Your students may be
fluent in formal English, but if you haven’t discussed such words as “gonna” with
them, they might find themselves very confused in a conversation. Few people
speak with perfect English or even scrutinize spoken English the same way that
they scrutinize written English. While you don’t need to teach your students all the
slang that they might hear, it would be helpful if you could give them some
information on the slang words that have been generally accepted in oral English.
Understanding English idioms: While these cultural sayings will not pop up in
every conversation that your students have in English, you should try to give them
some instruction in some of the idioms that are most commonly used. Since idioms
are so cultural, we will leave it to you to decide which are the most relevant in your
region or country.
How English differs from their language: This will require individualized
instruction, but it will be worth it. Try to provide extra practice and instruction with
your students to help them understand some of the specific differences in grammar
and structure between English and their native language. Students who speak
Spanish, for example, will have to get used to the fact that the adjective typically
comes before the noun in English. With specialized instructions in these nuances,
you can help your students be prepared for things that are most likely to trip them
up during a conversation.
6.4 Using what you hear to present new ideas
The next important step to take with your students is to help them learn and/or
practice how to take what they are hearing and use it to present new ideas. While
conversational English is great because it requires your students to reply to
speakers with appropriate and cogent responses, it is time for them to start
presenting ideas of their own. In this section, we will discuss where this will come
in handy as well as how to help them practice this skill.

In a school or business setting, it will be very helpful for students to be able to

synthesize what they hear in English and generate new knowledge from it. This is
extremely relevant since most of your students are likely learning English so that
they can attend an English-speaking school or get/maintain a job where speaking
English will help them advance. In a classroom, students will have to be prepared
to listen to English lectures and then do something to synthesize the knowledge
they have learned. In business, workers will have to be prepared to listen to what
their boss is telling them and then create something that fits the requirements. You
can help them practice this skill by giving them more assignments and projects that
mimic ones they would see in an English-speaking classroom or workplace.
This skill will definitely improve their conversational English. Keeping this skill in
mind, students will be able to carry on a conversation that is give and take rather
than simply answering and responding to questions that are asked of them. You can
help your students practice this by extending your lessons in conversational
English to account for this need.
If a student is creating something completely new, such as an invention, an
innovation, or an idea, then it would be very difficult for them to express their
ideas if they only have the ability to respond to questions in English. Students need
the tools to extend the mastery of the English language and speak about things they
have not heard anyone else say. This takes a great understanding of the basic
framework of the language, which you have hopefully provided.
Students need to be prepared to speak “off-the-cuff,” without a language safety net.
To truly demonstrate fluency and mastery of the English language, they need to be
able to improvise with the language and understand it much the same way that they
understand their native language. With the right amount of commitment from both
you and your students, you will be able to get them to this point. It will just take
patience, preparation, and follow-through.
Module 8: Lesson planning
As a teacher, lesson planning is extremely important because it helps you
understand where you are going, and it makes it easy to show the administration
that you are following the curriculum.
For the latter reason, lesson plans have become more and more formal in recent
years, and it is now more important than ever before to understand what goes into a
lesson plan as well as how your lesson plans further your objectives.
To this end, this module will review all of the components of a strong lesson plan
and how you can prepare your lessons in a way that will be most effective and
beneficial for your students.
8.1 Standards and objectives
Every time you create a lesson plan you need to create an objective and make sure
that it is aligned with a standard. We will first take some time to discuss standards,
since they should be the basis for all of your lesson plans.

8.1.1 Standards

Standards are a set of skills that students need to have by the time they leave your
classroom. These standards are not set by the teacher but rather accessed by the
teacher for use in their lesson plans. Depending on where you are teaching your
students, the skills that the standards require them to meet are going to be different.
For the sake of this module, we will focus on the general idea of standards and how
they should inform instruction. Let’s first look at the general skills that standards
usually focus on.

Reading literature: Reading literature standards cover all of the skills that are
required to effectively read a piece of literature, including poetry, short stories,
novels, and plays. These standards typically focus on literary analysis skills, since
reading comprehension skills are covered in the next standard.

Reading for information: Reading for information standards cover reading

comprehension skills that a student would need to read a piece of nonfiction, such
as an article, a biography, or an academic journal.

Writing: Writing standards cover all of the skills involved in writing, including
narrative writing, expository writing, persuasive writing, and informative writing.
Many of the standards within this category will likely focus on a student’s ability
to make a claim, support his or her claim, and explain himself or herself
thoroughly.

Speaking and listening: Speaking and listening standards focus on all of the skills
that students will need to present new ideas and attain information from spoken
sources. These standards are especially important during student presentations,
class discussions, and Socratic seminars.

Language: Language standards focus on the skills that students will need to
develop their understanding of language. As a TESOL teacher, these standards will
be extremely important, but they are also relevant to mainstream classes. These
standards focus on diction, grammar, usage, and other aspects of understanding a
lesson.
8.1.2 Objectives

Once you have a clear understanding of the standards that you need to hit within a
unit, now it is time to start thinking about the learning objectives you are going to
create. Whereas standards tell you what your students need to achieve by the end
of a unit or the end of the school year, lesson objectives detail where you want your
students to be at the end of a lesson.

It is your job as a teacher to make sure that the lesson objectives you have
throughout a unit work towards helping your students master the skills outlined in
the standards. Here are some tips for writing effective lesson objectives.

The first question that you need to ask yourself is “What do I want my students to
be able to do by the end of the lesson?” These objectives should be focused on
skills rather than content and cover skills that the students are going to develop
through the unit.
Once you have written lesson plans for your entire unit, you should review your
learning objectives to make sure they all build towards meeting the standards for
the unit.
Lesson plans need to be clear and measurable. At the end of a lesson, you should
be able to look back on the lesson and identify how many of your students met the
objectives with accuracy.
Types of objectives

There are a few different types of objectives that you can frame your lesson plans
around, so let’s review each kind.

Cognitive objectives: Cognitive objectives refer to students enriching their

knowledge, demonstrating their knowledge, and practicing skills related to the
knowledge they are enriching. In cognitive objectives, students are expected to
comprehend, apply, and synthesize their knowledge.
Psychomotor objectives: Psychomotor objectives are less common in a mainstream
classroom, as they apply to dexterity and physical coordination. These types of
objectives are more common in early education and education for students who
struggle with coordination and dexterity (disabled students or students who have
suffered an injury).
Attitudinal objectives: These objectives are rare as lesson objectives and more
purposeful when used as classroom objectives. Attitudinal objectives require
students to behave in a certain way, which is more likely a concern for the
classroom all year rather than a concern for a specific lesson.
There are rules and guidelines that govern your creation of lesson objectives, and
while they vary depending on where you are teaching, we will cover some of the
universal ideas. Remember that lesson objectives are the backbone of your entire
lesson.

Learning objectives should be focused on observable activities: To identify

whether or not your students have achieved the objective you have set out for
them, the objective needs to be observable or something that you can measure
through observation. This idea will help you keep your objectives specific and
attainable.

Learning objectives should be focused on student activities: Many teachers make

the mistake of thinking that lesson objectives should focus on what they hope to
accomplish during the lesson. This puts the focus on teaching rather than learning
and does not really ensure that the students understand the material but instead
ensures that the teacher is delivering the material. Teaching may occur, but learning
may not. Your lesson objectives should always be about what the students are
going to accomplish.

Learning objectives should be focused on student outcomes: Another mistake that

many teachers make is to create a learning objective that simply describes what the
students are going to do during the lesson. This is not the purpose of an objective
and only measures whether or not the students have complied with the teacher’s
directions. As a student, I can comply with everything my teacher asks without
reaching the true objective of improving a skill or extending knowledge. There
should be an outcome tied to each lesson objective.

Good lesson objectives:

Students will be able to make a judgment about the strength of a speaker’s

argument
Students will be able to determine which text best portrays the culture of the 1930s
Bad lesson objectives:

Students will be able to write an essay

Students will be able to hear about World War II
8.2 Following a curriculum

Depending on where you end up teaching, you may have a say in the creation of
the curriculum, but it is more likely that you will not. Gone are the years where a
curriculum was just an amorphous general idea, and here to stay is a culture where
most schools have an extremely detailed and prescribed curriculum for each of
their teachers to follow. To truly understand how to follow a curriculum, we first
need to look closely at the components involved.

8.2.1 Curricular components

Standards: As we discussed earlier in this module, all planning should start with
the standards that you want your students to be able to achieve during the
curriculum.
Essential questions: Whereas the standards are focused on what the students are
going to be able to achieve or work on during a unit, the essential question is the
thematic question that the students should be exploring throughout the unit. For
example, you may decide that you want your students to work on a standard that
focuses on using two informational texts to draw conclusions. You may want to
design a unit that covers World War II and ends with a discussion of the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You can have an essential question that asks
something such as “Should there be rules in times of war?” Then your students
could explore two nonfiction texts to draw conclusions about America’s decision to
drop atomic bombs to inform their understanding of the essential question.
Assessments: As we discussed before, the summative assessment for the unit
should assess how well the students fulfilled the standards and objectives of the
unit. However, a detailed curriculum will also include formative assessments that
help your students build skills and scaffold on their way to the summative
assessment.

Model lessons: A thorough curriculum will also provide you with exemplar lesson
plans that you can either use, modify, or look to for guidance on how you should
be framing your lessons.
Exemplar texts: Your curriculum will likely also detail the texts that you can use
for each unit. These will be texts that are vetted to make sure they fit the unit
thematically and are within the appropriate reading level for the students in your
class.

Secondary material: Your curriculum should also offer secondary sources that fit
within your units. In an American English unit plan, there are typically suggestions
of art and music to go along with the literature that needs to be covered.
8.2.2 Teaching to the curriculum

Although many school systems have adopted standard curriculums that do not
budge very much, research shows that the best model for curriculum is a plan that
is fluid. In this section, we will discuss the way curriculum should be used and
followed in the classroom, even if many schools are not necessarily listening to the
research.

The best way to use curriculum is in a cycle, where the plan is in the hand of the
teacher (or group of teachers) and within reach of their revisions. The ideal
curriculum cycle hinges on three parts:

Planning: The curriculum plan is initially created based on what the teachers and
administrators generally accept as the needs of the students. The units are designed
to address the skills that are layered in the standards while working thematically
through a focus. Everything from the “Curricular components” section above is
created, and the plan is distributed to, and reviewed by, the teaching staff.

Implementation: Members of the teaching staff design their own lesson plans to
work within the structure of each unit in the curriculum plan. They make sure that
their lesson objectives clearly address the skills outlined in the standards of the
unit, and each activity prepares the students for the summative assessment. Ideally,
teachers of the same curriculum have periodic time to meet.
Reflection: After implementation of the curriculum, teachers meet with each other
to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the plan. The teachers use data they
have collected from the formative and summative assessments and not just
anecdotal evidence to inform their discussions. Teachers share the different
strategies they used during each unit to try to identify if the struggles their students
had were because of their own unique instruction or were in line with the other
students who had different students.
Revision: This is the most important part that many schools are not giving their
teachers the freedom to use. Teachers use what they found in their reflection to
inform revisions to the curriculum. If the students had difficulties or skills they did
not attain, then the teachers rewrite unit plans to ensure these problems are
addressed. Without the revision process, the reflection process is not very effective.
Next year the teachers go through the same process and make sure their planning
and instruction are constantly improving.
8.3 Varying instruction
If there is one thing that educational theorists agree on nowadays it is that the best
way to reach the most students is by varying and differentiating your instruction.
We will begin by first discussing one of the basic ideas behind the efficacy of
varied instruction, which is the idea of multiple intelligences.

8.3.1 Gardner’s multiple intelligences

A Harvard professor named Howard Gardner penned the theory that there are
multiple types of intelligence, each valuable in its own way. If you accept this
theory, which many do, this means that the students in your class will all have
specific strengths and weaknesses that you can access through varied instruction.
Here are Gardner’s multiple intelligences:

Visual-spatial: People who are intelligent in this area are very good at
understanding their environment and reasoning spatially. They respond to any
activities that allow them to problem-solve, organize, or create with their hands.
Bodily-kinesthetic: People who are intelligent in this area are very controlled with
their body and are prone to athletic and/or dexterous tasks. They respond to
activities that require them to move, act, and learn with their hands.

Musical: People who are intelligent in this area are usually natural musicians who
understand sound and rhythm more than most. They respond to rhythmic activities
and anything that involves music or creating sound.
Interpersonal: People who are intelligent in this area have an easy time connecting
with people and love to help others. They respond to anything that involves
working in a group, participating in a discussion, or any activities that require them
to make connections with the people around them.

Intrapersonal: People who are intelligent in this area are very in tune with
themselves and are good at setting goals and keeping themselves on track to
accomplish them. They respond to much more independent and self-driven
learning because it allows them to take control of their own progress.

Linguistic: People who are intelligent in this area are very good with words. They
understand the language and how to use it to their advantage. They respond to
activities that require them to read, use words creatively, and/or solve word
puzzles.

Logical-mathematical: People who are intelligent in this area are very good at
reasoning and calculating things. They respond to activities that require them to
work logically, reason things out, and solve puzzles.
8.3.2 How to differentiate

Here is where you find a point of contention in the educational community.

Differentiation is a buzzword that politicians and administrators love to throw
around without actually helping teachers understand what it is. Teachers often fear
differentiation because they are afraid of the amount of work that idea brings with
it. Differentiation does not have to be scary however. Here are some simple steps
you can take to differentiate your instruction and appeal to students of different
abilities and learning types.

Get to know your students: There is no way to vary instruction to better

accommodate your students if you do not first find out some information about
them. There are a few different ways that you can research your students’ learning
styles. The first way is to ask the students. This strategy works better with older
students, but it often yields the most honest results. The second way is by giving
your students benchmark assessments early on in the year. This strategy can give
you a lot of information, but it can also be skewed by such things as apathy,
distractions, and poor testing abilities. The third way you can find out information
about your students is through observing them during classroom activities. You
may have guessed that the best course of action is not one of these strategies alone
but rather a combination of all of them. As a teacher, you need to use everything at
your disposal to better understand what works best for your students.
Be prepared with a toolkit of teaching strategies: Now that you have a good
understanding of each of your students and how they learn best, you need to
be able to access your vast repertoire of teaching strategies to facilitate your
students’ needs. These teaching strategies should also be very diverse,
covering a wide array of teaching styles, including:
Direct instruction: People like to discount this old-school, traditional method
of teaching, but it works in the classroom as long as it is not the only strategy
that you are using.

Cooperative learning: Cooperative learning is a very trendy teaching style

because it allows students to take responsibility for their learning, and it is
conducive to a student-centered learning environment.

Inquiry-based learning: According to many experts, this is one of the most

rigorous forms of teaching because it requires students to create their own
questions or hypotheses, research, experiment, or explore these questions or
hypotheses, and then draw conclusions based on their findings. The skills
involved in this process are very complex, and if you are able to help your
students get used to successfully going through this process, you will see
significant results.

Information-processing strategies: These types of lessons ask students to

practice and deepen their core skills to become better writers, readers, and
thinkers. Students are getting the practice they need in the skills that are most
important.
Identify which strategies will work best for your students: So you know what
your students need to succeed, and you have a toolkit full of teaching
strategies. Now it is time to put it together and match teaching strategies with
your students’ needs.

Vary your instruction: Here is the part where many teachers and
administrators slip up. People often think that varied or differentiated
instruction means that you always have your students doing group work and
working independently. Sometimes, direct, teacher-centered instruction is
appropriate. The point of varied and differentiated instruction is that you
balance different types of instruction throughout your curriculum. When it is
appropriate, you use direct instruction, and when it is appropriate, you use
cooperative learning. The point is that you use all types of instruction to
appeal to every different kind of student and to make the most impact you
can.

Assess and adjust: As we discussed when we covered following a curriculum,

you need to be able to assess your students, reflect on your teaching, and then
adjust your teaching strategies to better serve your students. Teaching is a
growing experience, and you need to constantly question and adjust your
strategies to become more effective.
8.4 Teaching strategies
Going through all the existing teaching strategies would take an entire course,
so we are instead going to focus on a few effective strategies that appeal to
students with different learning styles.

Jigsaw: A jigsaw is a great cooperative learning strategy because it gives

students the opportunity to take control of their learning, but it also is a
natural scaffold. In a jigsaw, you group your student to interact with new
knowledge and give them a short amount of time to focus on a specific topic.
Each group has a different topic, so at the end of this short period of time, you
rearrange the groups, and students become experts on their original topic. For
example, you can split your class of twenty-five students into five groups of
five students each and have each group researching a different European
country. Then you can go to each group and give each member a number from
1 to 5 and have the students rearrange based on those numbers. Now you have
five groups, each containing one student who has researched each European
country. Now the students teach each other.

Think-pair-share: This is a very versatile strategy because it can be used for a

5-minute initiation or for a class-long activity. Put simply, you give your
students something to think about, then you ask them to get into pairs, and
then you ask them to share what they came up with. This can be done as
formally or informally as you would like, and it works with all different types
of content.

Fishbowl: This is a modified Socratic seminar that asks students to participate

in a discussion and evaluate each other’s performance during the discussion.
Essentially, students are structured into two circles, one inside the other.
Inside the circle, students are given a topic, question, or idea to discuss. In the
outer circle, students are paying attention to the inner circle and evaluating
the strength of their discussion. The most effective fishbowls ask the students
in the outer circle to focus on specific parts of the discussion. Teachers can
either ask each outer student to focus on one inner student or ask each outer
student to focus on one skill, idea, or form of discussion.

Testing a hypothesis: As we mentioned in the previous section, asking students

to pose hypotheses, test their hypotheses, and then draw conclusions is asking
them to access very high levels of thinking. This does not have to be a strategy
that only works in science classes. In an English class, you might ask students
to read a selection from an author and then create a hypothesis that guesses
what another piece by that author is going to focus on. This will require the
students to understand the piece at a high level and be able to use that
understanding to make predictions about a related text.
8.5 Meaningful assessments
We discussed assessments in the previous module, so we will not discuss them ad
nauseam here. To ensure that your assessments are authentic and meaningful, you
need to make sure that they align with the standards you are trying to meet and the
objectives you have set out for your students to help them reach those standards.
To make an assessment truly meaningful, though, it needs to be reflective of
something that students might see in whatever career they end up in, and your
assessments should also give students many different ways to display their
knowledge. Here is an example of the different types of assessments you can
create:

Writing: Your writing assessments do not have to be traditional essays (although do

not discount these classics). You can find many different ways to be creative with
your writing assignments. You can have your students create such things as
storybooks, poems, and journals.

Performance: Having your students create a presentation, a performance, or

something that requires them to stand in front of the class and create something
informative and entertaining is a great way to find out how much your students
know. These types of activities are creative, entertaining, and really allow students
to have fun with their learning.

Art: Students can also display their understanding of a concept by creating

something artistic. Whether you ask your students to create an illustration, draw or
build a diagram, or create a visual project, you should allow them to access their
creativity to display their understanding of the material.

Teaching: Asking your students to teach material to a class is a great way to truly
judge whether or not they know it. As you know or will soon find out, you cannot
effectively teach something unless you understand it inside and out.
Curriculum and lesson planning are extremely important in helping your students
find success, but you also need to be able to handle a classroom to make sure you
can carry out your plans. Classroom management is probably the biggest struggle
for new teachers who are still trying to determine their style and do not yet have
the tricks that a veteran has. In this module, our focus will be on making you feel
like a veteran before you enter the classroom so that you can implement your plans
and help your students excel. No one has perfect classroom management, but we
will help you feel comfortable enough to control your classroom the way you see
fit.
9.1 Setting expectations
Students need structure to be successful in school, but that does not mean you have
to be a disciplinarian who spends most of your time punishing students for small
misbehaviors. It just means that you need to be clear about your expectations for
the class right from the beginning and carry out those expectations throughout the
rest of the year. We will start by discussing some of the strategies you can use to
set expectations for your class, and then we will review some common
expectations that teachers have found success with in their class.

9.1.1 How to set expectations

More than anything make sure that you address classroom expectations on the first
day to set the tone for the rest of the year. First impressions are important, and if
you begin the year allowing behavior that you do not want to allow for the rest of
the year, you are going to make things more difficult for yourself.

One method for setting successful classroom expectations is to use the first day of
class to have the students work together to create those expectations. Have your
students get into small groups and discuss what they expect to get out of this class,
what they expect from you, and what they expect from themselves and the other
students. After five to ten minutes, bring the class together and create a list that you
all narrow down into the final set of classroom expectations. Bringing your
students in on the process gives them the opportunity to see the importance of
these expectations, stresses them, and gives students the feeling that they are in
control. Now, when they break a class rule, they are breaking the very rules they
helped to develop.
You can also draw students into the activity by having them work together on a
class pledge or class promise. This would work very much the same way except
the pledge or promise is more personal and less quantifiable. If you would like,
you can then take the class pledge and synthesize it into a list of classroom
expectations so that you have both.

You can also take a more traditional route and create the list of expectations on
your own. If you do this, just make sure they are already posted when the students
walk into the classroom and take some time to review them with the class. Students
will notice them if they are posted on your wall, but they won’t really remember
them unless they are explicitly reviewed.

9.1.2 Common expectations for classrooms

Even if you ask your students to come up with classroom expectations, you
obviously want to make sure they will be effective. As the students make
suggestions and you generate the list, find subtle ways to steer the list towards
what you were looking for. By doing this, you can ensure the expectations are
clearer and that they encompass everything you think is important. Here are some
of the expectations you should definitely make sure are on your list:

Be respectful of others: This is probably the most classic and universal expectation
for you to set for your students. This is a great expectation because it encompasses
so many things. It refers to students being respectful to the teacher, to other
students, to the school, and to anyone who walks into the room. A respectful
environment is more conducive to learning because students feel more comfortable
to take risks and are less likely to fear ridicule.

Routines: We are not going to outline your routines here because you will come up
with them on your own, but you should try to set a routine for your students. It will
save class time throughout the school year and make your lessons flow better and
engage the students more effectively. Here is an example of some routines you may
want to outline for your students:

When the students come in, where do they get the daily paperwork? If you get your
students into the habit of looking in a specific spot every day when they walk in
the door for any worksheets or other paperwork, you will save the time of having
to hand them out and take advantage of time that you wouldn’t have in the lesson
anyway, i.e., the time they take walking to their seats.

Is there a routine or set of rules for when students can leave to go to the bathroom
and if they need to tell you or not? This seems petty, but it can prevent many
interruptions from students not knowing if they can just leave or not.

When you have class discussions, how do students participate? Do they raise their
hands and wait to be called upon? Do they just speak out and respect each other
enough to act civilly? Do you have a ball or other object that students can hold
when it is their time to talk? These types of routines really help students understand
how they should act and what behavior is not conducive to a respectful classroom.

Responsibility: All students need to display a modicum of responsibility for their

learning, but the responsibilities for which you hold your students accountable are
up to their age and your preference. Whatever you decide, though, you should be
clear and up front about the rules to ensure your students follow them right from
the start.
9.2 Respect
We briefly discussed respect in the previous section, but it is so important to the
way you will manage your classroom that it warrants its own section. Building an
atmosphere that is based on mutual respect will help you avoid most of the
problems new teachers face. Let’s first discuss how respect manifests in your
classroom.
9.2.1 Why is respect important?

Respect is a fairly small word that represents a lot and can have many different
manifestations in the classroom. Respect in the classroom does not just mean that
students listen to the teacher; it is so much more than that. There are three types of
respect you need to facilitate in your classroom:

Respect for the teacher: This is the kind of respect people usually think about when
you talk about respect in the classroom. While this is only one of three types, it is
still extremely important. Part of discovering who you are as a teacher is
discovering your teaching style. Some teachers demand specific behavior in their
classrooms and hold students accountable for acting outside of these guidelines,
while others are more laid-back in their style. Neither will work, however, if the
teacher has not gained the respect of the students. If the environment is too strict
and students do not respect the teacher, they will lash out and be combative. If the
environment is too laid-back and loose and students do not respect the teacher, they
will walk all over him or her and not listen. Regardless of what your teaching style
evolves into, your classroom environment has to be predicated upon respect.

Respect for other students: Besides direct lecturing, almost every teaching strategy
requires students to interact with each other or take intellectual risks. If your
students do not show respect for each other in the classroom, these strategies will
not work. How can you expect a student to answer a question that he or she is not
sure of when the other students in the class feel justified in disrespecting and
ridiculing him or her? If you ever want to have class discussions, work in groups,
have your students present, or do anything that involves students speaking out loud
and taking a chance, you need to be able to rely on the class treating each other
with respect.

Respect for themselves: Just as much as you need your students to treat each other
with respect for students to feel comfortable taking risks, you need the students to
have respect for themselves. You do not have ultimate control over this, but you
can do everything you can to constantly encourage them to respect themselves.
This means being encouraging of students sharing and offering them positive
reinforcement for contributing to the class.

If you can find a way to facilitate all three types of respect, you will be able to
accomplish so much more with your students.
9.2.2 How to facilitate respect

Creating a classroom environment that has its foundations in mutual respect does
not mean that you can never have fun. If done properly, it will actually give you the
opportunity to have more fun in the classroom because you will know that your
students can handle it and still do their work and progress as students. Here are
some tips on how to provide that safe and enjoyable community classroom for your
students:

Your classroom needs to be built on mutual respect, so discuss respect on the first
day and stress it throughout the year. Let the students know that they have your
respect and that you in turn require them to show you respect. Students will have a
harder time being disrespectful to teachers who have shown them respect.

This sounds obvious, but it needs to be said: follow your own rules and treat your
students with respect. Do not make them feel dumb for an answer that is wrong
and lead by example. If a student is off the mark with an answer or comment (in
terms of being correct, not in terms of being disrespectful), look for their train of
thought and give them credit for how they answered, while letting them down easy.
Students will look to you to model the behavior you are looking for from them, so
be a good classroom role model.

Whenever you are doing an activity that will require students to step out of their
comfort zone, make mutual respect a spoken goal. If necessary, attach a grade to it.
Students need to be reminded constantly about how they should act, so when you
especially need them to show respect to each other, it is worth taking a few minutes
to go over it. If you are doing an activity that requires students to critique each
other, model the behavior first to show them what constructive criticism looks like.

Handle disrespectful behavior severely. Even if you have a lenient classroom

where students feel freer to express themselves, make disrespect where you draw a
line in the sand. If you have discussed respect and the students are aware of how
they should act, treat disrespectful behavior seriously, and implement real and
meaningful consequences for disrespectful actions.

Do not be afraid to bring parents and administrators into your plans for a respectful
classroom. Disrespectful behavior should be accompanied by both a punishment
and by contact home. Students will often make rash decisions and not worry about
the in-school consequences, but if your students know they will also face
consequences at home, they are much more likely to think about their actions.
9.3 Accountability
While most discussions of classroom management focus on managing classroom
behavior, accountability is an important aspect that you can control in many other
areas of your class. It is a pretty simple idea: set expectations for your students and
then hold them to those expectations. Why is it, then, that so many teachers have
problems holding their students accountable? Here are some possible reasons:

9.3.1 Why is accountability so hard?

Why is it hard for teachers to sometimes hold students accountable? If we all admit
it is important, why isn’t it just second nature?

· Holding students accountable requires a confrontation. While teachers know

that student behavior will be better if they hold the students accountable, that
does not make putting their foot down any easier. While instinct tells you
that the right thing to do when a student acts inappropriately is to punish him
or her accordingly, it can be hard to actually do it because you know it will
 often end in an argument.
·
· When you are trying to build an atmosphere of mutual respect, it can be
difficult to know when you are overreacting and when you just aren’t being
strict enough. If a student clearly acts inappropriately, then it may be easy to
punish him or her immediately. What happens, though, when the student
toes the line of inappropriate behavior? At what point do you act, and at
what point do you let it go? This can be a very difficult decision.
·
· If you come down too hard on students, it could encourage more
inappropriate behavior rather than appropriate behavior. If students feel they
are being punished unfairly, they are more likely to act out in defiance.
·
·
· Some students are terrible at dealing with confrontation, and it can just be
easier to ignore their behavior. While this might be a good strategy with
some students as long as they are not being disrespectful and are doing their
work, it could have a negative effect on the class environment. Students do
not like it when they are held to stricter standards than their classmates, so if
you make too many concessions, you end up either making concessions for
the entire class or upsetting the students who are acting appropriately.
·
· Confrontations are stressful, and it is easier to just let something go or
pretend you didn’t see or hear it rather than make an issue of it.
·
· Every student has a different story, and when you know that one of your
students is going through a tough time or has a less than satisfactory home
life, you feel compassion towards him or her and want to cut him or her
some slack.
·
· No one strives to be the mean teacher, and as much as you want to believe
 that you don’t care what your students think about you, you will care.
9.3.2 How do you keep vigilant?

With all of these reasons to let things go, how do you remain vigilant? We all agree
that the right way to act is to punish inappropriate behavior with a reasonable
teacher response, but how do you make it easier, less stressful, and less disruptive?
There is no easy answer, but here is a strategy that might make things a little bit
easier for you:

It’s not me; it’s you: Think about it. Most of the concerns listed in the previous
section stem from being the enforcer as the teacher. So, the best way to make
things easier on you is to remind the students that they are controlling their
behavior. Instead of being the enforcer, be upset that they have done this to
themselves and will have to be punished. This shift in attitude mentally shifts the
confrontation and makes the student realize that their actions are what are causing
them problems. Of course, this only works if you have clear rules of conduct for
their behavior already in place.

As much as you may feel bad when you are doling out punishments, remember that
you are doing nothing wrong and have done nothing wrong. You are not the one
who misbehaved or acted inappropriately; they are. Put the burden back on the
student, and watch how many of them begin to check their own behavior.

When a student gets in trouble, your attitude and behavior should reflect the
following ideas:
The student is the person who chose to break a classroom rule.

The student is the person who had the choice in this situation, not you.

You are forced to punish the student because of the rules you all set at the
beginning of the year.
This is going to help your students, so let go of your guilt

When a student misbehaves, treat it like you are on their side and upset they will
now have to face a punishment. This makes the process seem like both of you are
experiencing the punishment, and you are beholden to the rules. The rules become
the enforcer, not the teacher. “Oh no, Billy. That’s the third time you had your
phone out, now you have to get detention.”
Notice how this shift in attitude helps you keep your students accountable without
making you feel the guilt you usually would. You will see this is actually easier
than letting behaviors go and seeing your classroom slowly de-evolve and break
down.
Students will begin to take more responsibility for their actions. They will realize it
is their behavior, not the teacher, that is causing them to face punishments. This
shift will help you create the classroom environment you want without making you
be the bad person or the disciplinarian.
9.4 Choosing your battles
With everything that we have said about holding students accountable and creating
a classroom environment that is based on respect and having control over your
classroom, it is still important that you choose your battles. Your goal as a teacher
is to help your students find success, and that can’t happen if you are kicking your
students out for every little infraction. This is especially true in the case of a
volatile student. This does not mean that you should let him or her get away with
anything that threatens the environment in your classroom, just that you need to
decide what behaviors are worth the fight and what behaviors are not. Here are
some things to consider when working with a child who is prone to confrontation:

What is causing this behavior? Many times the answer to this simple question will
tell you how you need to act. If the student just has a problem dealing with a
confrontation, then you can correct his or her behavior by quietly approaching it in
a way that does not make a scene. If the student needs to be able to speak to
someone when he or she is having a tough time, it might be smart to have a routine
set up so that he or she can go see a counselor or school psychologist when he or
she feels an outburst coming.

With volatile students, try to focus your attention on prevention rather than
reaction. Get used to seeing the signs of a problem, and try to head them off before
it gets to the point where you have to impose a punishment or start a confrontation.
Quietly approaching a student when he or she seems to be having a bad day shows
that you care and might compel the students to take control of their behavior.

While students do not like it when someone gets different treatment than someone
else does, you need to remember that fair and equal are two different things. Just as
you need to differentiate your instruction to account for students who struggle with
a skill, you need to differentiate your management for students who have difficulty
behaving.

Talk to the student. Ask what triggers outbursts and how you can best approach
him or her in a time of stress. Often, the student will know what will help. When he
or she does not, work together to try to come up with a set of rules and routines
that hold the student accountable while still giving him or her some breathing
room.

Enlist the help of other students, with the consent of the volatile student of course.
Does the student have a friend who can help calm him or her down in stressful
situations? If so, you can deflate tensions by giving the friend a signal to step in so
that you do not have to start a confrontation every time the volatile student acts
out. That being said, the friend is a student also, who does not deserve to bear all of
the weight of his or her friend. Use the friend as a resource rather than a crutch to
bear the weight of the disciplinary actions you should be imparting.
9.5 Unique strategies
While the best strategy for creating a positive classroom environment involves
everything we have discussed so far in this module, sometimes you need to employ
fresh tactics to encourage positive behavior. Here are some unique strategies that
can help you take confrontation out of classroom management.
Countdown: There are many strategies like this, but essentially the countdown
involves having some sort of signal to the class that they need to calm down. If you
do this properly, you can get students to modify behavior without saying a word.
When they get out of hand, simply start the timer and let them regulate themselves.
Commercial break: If you have a very loud or social group, you can set up a
routine where students are rewarded for positive and diligent behavior with a
commercial break or a period of time during which they can break from work to
get up and walk around and talk to friends socially. You will need to regulate the
time for the commercial break carefully and keep it short (two minutes is probably
best since that is the traditional length of commercial breaks).

Buddy system: Pair up your students and hold them accountable for each other. If
one of the partners missed the directions, the other is there to explain it. If one of
the partners is acting up, the other is there to try to deflate the situation. Handle
problems with one of the students as problems with the pair to keep them linked in
both reward and punishment. This will not work, however, if one student is not
compliant and always causing the problems.

Number your students: Of course you want your students to feel like individuals
and not just numbers on a sheet, but assigning each student a number can be
helpful. When you need them to act quickly, either getting into groups, presenting
ideas, or some other behavior, save time by calling out numbers. “We’re going to
have a debate; all the even numbers get on one side of the room, and the odd
numbers get on the other side.” This will cut down on a lot of the wasted time of
organizing students and will also promote compliance and classroom harmony.

Tight schedule: Building up a tight routine can really help you encourage diligent
behavior. If you create a routine of bell work and exit slips, your students know
they need to begin working immediately as class begins, and they know they are
accountable for something before they leave. This may seem very simplistic, but it
sets up a class routine and promotes appropriate behavior. Students know they need
to do this every day and come in ready to work.
You’ve learned everything you need to know, and now it is time to think about
taking the next step and getting a job in the TESOL field. Regardless of the
training you have, getting a job in any field can be difficult, so we will discuss how
you can differentiate yourself from others when you are seeking employment. In
this module, we will discuss what you need to start the process, how to build and
write an effective resume, the best interview techniques, and other skills you will
need to display your value to potential employers. Everything we have done so far
has led up to this, so get ready to start marketing yourself to the kinds of employers
you would like to build a career with.
There is much demand for qualified individuals to become teachers of English as a
second language, so the most important job we now have is to ensure that you can
find your way to the schools, companies, and organizations that are looking for
someone like you. In this section, we will look specifically at what you need to get
a job in the TESOL field, helping students who want to develop their proficiency in
English.

College degree: Most schools and organizations will look for you to have at least a
Bachelor’s Degree to become a TESOL teacher. That does not mean you need a
BS or BA in TESOL, although there are majors that are more desirable than others.
The majors that employers like to see, for example, are English, Language Arts,
TESOL, Education, and Linguistics. Again, though, the demand for individuals is
high in this field, so a BS or a BA in a different major does not count you out.

Close study of TESOL: Courses like this one give you the background that you
need to look desirable to an employer. You may be required to get a specific
certification, but many employers are looking for a background in TESOL, which
you now have.
Work experience: For many of you, this course is your first step towards becoming
a teacher or becoming a TESOL teacher, so you may not yet have work experience.
However, many organizations and schools welcome interns and volunteers at
different levels of commitment. Some of these organizations and schools offer a
track towards full employment from these volunteer or intern positions. Other
organizations and schools are looking for talented individuals to manage their
volunteering staff, which could give you good experience that you can segue into a
career as a TESOL teacher. Showing that you are passionate enough about your
future career to work for free towards it will go a long way in the eyes of a
potential employer.

A strong resume: We will discuss how to build and write a resume in the next
section.

A good interview: We will also discuss interview techniques in great detail in a

later section.
10.2 Building a resume
In this section, we will discuss how to write a great resume, but we will first
discuss what you can do to build a great resume. This means looking at the
activities, jobs, and interests that will catch the eye of potential employers and
getting experience in them. With that in mind, let’s split this section up into two.

10.2.1 What looks good on your resume?

Before you even think about sending out your resume, you should think about what
you need to have on it to make it impressive and something that will help you
stand out in a stack of viable candidates. Let’s take a look at the kinds of
experiences that employers are looking for.

Education: This does not mean that you have to run out immediately and get a
Master’s Degree in TESOL, but rather that employers want to see that you have
education that is relevant to the job. As we mentioned in the previous section, most
employers are looking for candidates who have either a BA or BS. If you don’t
have a college degree, your options may be limited, though the windows of
opportunity are not closed to you.

Employers ideally want you to have a BA or BS in a relevant field of study, though

that is not a deal breaker. If you have a degree in a related field, then that is great;
if you don’t, that just means you will have to make up for it in other parts of your
resume. This course will look great on your resume because it shows that you are
committed to learning about TESOL, and it shows you have educational
experience in the direct field in which you are applying.

Some employers might require a further certification, which depending on the

situation may require you to take an extra test or a short supplemental course.
Again, whatever you are lacking in this section, you will just have to make up in a
different section.
Work experience: Of course it would look great if you have already worked in
TESOL and have previously held a job in the field, but you are just starting out so
that is highly unlikely. If you have teaching experience, that looks great so that is
something you will want to highlight. If you don’t have either, that is all right.
However, you should look into getting some intern or volunteer experience before
you start looking for a job.

You can send out applications while you are getting the experience, but it will look
good if you have direct experience in the field even if it is unpaid (in some cases, it
will look better if it is unpaid because it shows a great passion and commitment).
As we discussed in the previous section, some of these intern and volunteer
opportunities could lead to part- or full-time employment in the field, so look
closely at the companies and schools that are offering these volunteer experiences.

Related work experience: Even if you are not experienced at all in the TESOL
field, this section is where you should display any work experience that is even
tangentially related. Have you ever worked with children? Have you ever worked
with non-English-speaking people (worked helping them, not just worked
alongside a non-English-speaking individual)? Think about what it takes to be a
TESOL teacher and if you have used any of the same skills in a different job.
10.2.2 How do you make your resume look good?

So you have all of your experiences and skills set up. Now how do you present it in
a resume that represents you well and makes you look good to potential
employers? There are some specific things you can do to make your resume stand
out.

Formatting: You will want your resume to be clear and easy to read. You want the
employer to be able to pinpoint any piece of information that he or she wants as
quickly as possible.

Use wide margins to take advantage of space, but that does not mean you should
fill every bit of space with wordiness.
Use a bulleted list to make things short, sweet, and easy to read.
Organize your experiences and skills into logical and clear sections that are marked
accordingly.
Use bold and italic print sparingly but smartly to draw the reader’s eye to the
information that you really want to highlight.
Focus on accomplishments, not job descriptions: A potential employer does not
need the definition of your current or former job; they need to know what you
accomplished at those jobs that makes you a valuable asset to their company or
school.

Mention your job title, but then describe what you accomplished and what you
worked on at that job. Were you a manager? Great. That means you led a team of
employees to . . . The point is to let the employer know you did a lot in your
previous jobs and that what you did for your former employers you can do for your
future employer.
Constantly ask yourself why the employer needs to know that you did what you are
writing. If they do, highlight what they need to know. If they don’t, remove it.
Make sure that the accomplishments that you write are yours and not just your
team’s or your company’s. The employer isn’t hiring your project team; they are
looking to hire you.

Be specific: Being able to explain your former job in a fancy way is helpful, but
that will not separate you from the field. Be specific about what you accomplished
and give the employer something quantitative to work with. How did your work
specifically improve your former workplace?

No mistakes: Read your resume over five times and have five friends read it too.
This may seem like overkill, but something as simple as a typo is enough for an
employer to toss your resume aside. This is especially true when you are applying
for a job to teach English to new English language learners. If you cannot create a
1–2 page document that is error free, how can the employer expect you to be an
effective English teacher?
10.2.3 Avoid these common resume mistakes

Even the best candidates make the mistake of submitting a below average resume
and then wonder why they don’t get a call back. Do your best to avoid these
common resume mistakes.

Being too vague: This may take a little more work, but you should be adjusting
your resume for each specific job you are applying to. Every job is different and
has different requirements, so why are you handing the same resume to every
potential employer? You should not be changing anything dramatically, but look
closely at what the employer is looking for and adjust your wording so it addresses
their needs.

Focusing on jobs instead of experience: Telling the employer that you worked as
<blank> for <blank company> does not really tell them anything about who you
are and what you are bringing to the table. What was your focus at the job? What
did you accomplish? Why were you a great employee for your former employer?
Find a way to highlight your strengths and accomplishments.
Length: The old rule that your resume has to fit as a single side of a sheet of paper
has been thrown out the window. That does not mean, though, that you should turn
in a dissertation. Studies show that employers give each resume about twenty-five
seconds of attention, so you have to make sure that your resume is tight. It is
acceptable, though, to have a two- or three-page resume but only if you have a lot
to show. Do not have a third page on your resume just to tell the employer that
your hobbies are sports and movies. Use the space you need, be concise, but do not
worry about fitting it onto one sheet of paper.
No focus: Most resumes include an objective or career summary. If your objective
is missing or vague, you may not get a second look. This could be a great spot to
tailor your resume specifically to each employer you’re contacting. Be specific and
highlight what you are looking for and what you want to accomplish.

Too busy: Make sure that everything on your resume is in a logical place and that
your resume does not appear too busy. If the employer can’t make sense of what
you are saying, they are going to move on to the next one.

Missing important information: Now is not the time to be humble. Feel free to act
humbly in your interview, but here you should be showing the employer everything
that makes you desirable. Then, when you interview, they will have all those
accomplishments in front of them as they ask you questions.
10.2.4 Final resume tips

Here are some extra tips for how to make your resume as strong as possible.
Remember that your resume is what gets your foot in the door before an employer
has even met you; make sure it is strong.

Have a purpose in mind when writing your resume. Besides being organized and
categorized effectively, your resume should have a purpose and tell a story. The
more you know what that story is, the more a potential employer will see it.
Pay attention to your diction. Look at the job listing and determine exactly what
the employer is looking for, and use keywords that will draw their attention. If you
are applying online, some employers will filter the resumes they receive using a
keyword search, so make sure yours ends up on the top of the list.
Do not be afraid to discuss the future briefly in your resume. It can sometimes be
helpful for you to let the employer know what your career goals are (as long as
they are goals that show your loyalty to potential employers and how you want to
build a career out of this job).
Use numbers and figures when possible. We discussed making your
accomplishments quantifiable earlier, so if you can provide a number that displays
your accomplishments, do it.
It could be helpful to directly acknowledge any difficulties that the employer is
facing that you could solve. Do some research, but only use this if you find
something relevant. Do not just assume that the employer has a problem when they
may not.
Whenever possible, use action verbs rather than “is” or “was.” This will highlight
your role in whatever accomplishment you are noting.
Avoid pronouns even though you would typically use them. You are the implied
subject of every sentence because it is your resume. Instead of writing, “I excelled
in my undergraduate work, earning a 4.0,” write, “excelled in undergraduate work,
earning a 4.0.” It gets more to the point and doesn’t bog down the space.
10.3 Interview techniques: what are they looking for?
Once your stellar resume has gotten you an interview, it is time to really show the
potential employer what you are about. Up until now, you have just been words on
a piece of paper, and though you obviously impressed the employer enough to
stand out, you still need to come ready to impress.

10.3.1 Interview tips

Do some research: We already suggested doing this when you were creating your
resume but look into the company or school again. Try to find out what exactly
they are looking for, what they are lacking, and what their mission is. These are all
pieces of information that will help you when you are planning for your interview.
Dress to impress: Be sure your clothes are clean and pressed. Even if you would
not have to do so for the job, dress formally, and try to look proper. While it won’t
necessarily hurt you to look a little flashy, you might be better off going with
classic color combinations. You want to look stable, responsible, and prepared.
Be prepared: Even though any good employer will have copies of your resume and
other materials on hand, bring extra copies in a folder of some sort. If you know
you are interviewing with a committee, bring enough to go around just in case. If
you know they are going to ask you about something specific, have an example
ready to go. There is no downside to being prepared, and in a best-case scenario,
the employer is impressed by your preparation.
Be enthusiastic and optimistic: It is a job interview, so it is OK to be nervous, but
you should still be enthusiastic. You should be happy to be there and optimistic
about your future with the company or school. Confidence is always an attractive
quality, so remember that you have prepared for this and that you should let
yourself be confident.
Do not be late: This should go without saying, but it is worth saying. Be early for
your appointment, and if you are travelling a route you are unfamiliar with or that
has the potential to be heavily trafficked, give yourself extra time.
Pay attention to the person interviewing you: The interviewer will certainly be
listening to your answers, so listen to their questions carefully. Not only will this
ensure that you don’t seem uninterested, but it will also help you understand what
they are looking for. You can tell a lot about what an employer is looking for by the
questions he or she asks. Pay attention to the details and try to tailor your answers
to what they are trying to get at.
Be specific: Many people come out of interviews happy with their performance
because they gave good answers to the questions they were asked. But, if you are
not specific, the employer might forget you by the time the next candidate walks
in. Answer with as much specificity as you can so that the interviewer remembers
your answers and can quantify your responses.
Ask questions: Be smart about the questions you ask, though. Many interviewers
will end the interview by giving you the opportunity to ask questions. Ask
questions that show you are interested in the job and the company or school. Do
not ask how many vacation days you get.
Be cognizant of your body language: The interviewer is going to be evaluating
everything about you, including your body language. Make sure you are projecting
confidence, passion, interest, and enthusiasm. Do not act overly comfortable, but
try to stay loose and appear that you belong there.
Anticipate questions: Many interviewers have prescribed questions to avoid legal
issues, so searching the Internet for common interview questions and preparing
answers could really pay off. You may even find that you end up with the same
source that the interviewer used.
Practice: Being prepared is important, but don’t be afraid to practice. If you have
someone who will help you out, ask him or her to run through scenarios (such as
an argumentative interviewer or an interviewer who is intentionally trying to cause
you anxiety to see how you react). It seems like a lot, but if this is the career you
want and the job you want, is there really such a thing as too much preparation?
Follow up: Lastly, follow up with the interviewer after the interview. Do not ask if
a decision has been made yet; simply thank him or her for the opportunity to
interview for the position and say that you look forward to hearing from him or
her. Be pleasant and grateful, and you will make sure your name remains in their
mind.
10.3.3 What not to do in an interview

Just as there are tips for how to act in an interview, here are some tips for how not
to act in an interview.

Try not to ramble. While you want to answer the interviewer‘s questions to the best
of your ability, keep your answers to the point. You will show that you know what
you are talking about, that you are listening to what they ask, and that you know
how to get things done.
Be friendly, but do not be too personal. It is all right to make a joke, but it has to be
a joke you would be willing to make to a stranger. The interviewer is not your
friend; he or she is likely your potential boss (or at least a boss), so act
appropriately.
Try your best not to look disinterested. If an interviewer has a group of candidates
coming in to interview, why would he or she offer the job to someone who does
not seem to want it? Pay attention to your involuntary actions and your body
language, and make sure you are projecting enthusiasm.
A common question that interviewers ask is why you are leaving your old job. Try
to avoid saying anything negative about your old employer or company. Even if
you frame it as a compliment to the interviewer or his or her company, it will still
seem that you are being disloyal, and no one wants a disloyal employee. Give a
reason that is steeped in positivity, such as you are looking to grow professionally.
Although you want to appear confident, do not bulldoze the interviewer. It is all
right if you take control of the interview at times, but always let the interviewer
know that he or she is in charge, or else he or she may be put off. Who wants to
work with someone who is just going to drown them out?
Have an opinion, a purpose, and a set of standards. You have to strike a balance
between confident and flexible. While no one wants to hire someone who is rigid
and arrogant, no one wants to hire someone who just goes along with whatever he
or she thinks the management wants.
Avoid being a cliché. The biggest cliché is answering the classic “What is your
greatest weakness?” by turning it into a strength by saying something such as, “My
greatest weakness is that I work too hard.” Your interviewer is not an idiot, and this
is not going to impress him or her. Give an honest answer, but also provide the
work you have done to improve on that weakness and how you handle your
weakness on a daily basis.
10.4 Possible destinations
While many of you are looking to teach English as a second language in your
home country, there are many opportunities for teachers who would like to travel,
see the world, and learn from different cultures. Here are some of the countries that
are looking for the most help.

· Europe

·
· Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, The Czech
Republic, Hungary, Russia.
·
· Asia

·
 · Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Turkey.

·
· Latin America

·
· Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile.

·
· Middle East

·
· Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan,
Morocco.
10.5 Preparing to join a different culture
If you are deciding to use your TESOL talents to travel to another country and
learn about another culture, make sure that you are prepared for the culture you are
about to immerse yourself in. Research your destination and try to learn as much as
you can about the culture before you get there. If you do this, you can avoid
offending anyone accidentally and ease our way into the culture much more easily.
Typically, you will likely experience this new culture in the following stages:

Beginning stage: Prepare for your journey by doing research about the culture, and
make sure you are ready for your journey and your new environment.

Initial happiness: You are in a new place, and everything is unique and cool. You
will initially feel so happy to be in this new place and excited to help the people
you meet there. Even if you have a great experience, this initial euphoria wears off.

Frustration: Once the happiness begins to wane, you are likely to begin getting
irritated with your new home. The culture is different, and much of what you loved
about your home is rare or not available to you anymore.
Adjustment: You are beginning to get used to the new customs and culture of your
new home. You find yourself less and less irritated by the things around you and
are starting to feel comfortable with them.

Adaptation: Once you begin feeling comfortable with the culture, you will start to
truly feel a sense of biculturalism, where you identify and even like the new culture
you are experiencing. Everything that was once foreign and odd to you now feels
comfortable and normal.

Reentry: When you leave this foreign culture to return home, you may find that
you go through all of these stages all over again, albeit at a much quicker pace. You
will probably always cherish your experience with another culture, but be very
happy to be home where you are more comfortable.

An incentive, a hurdle, to flaunt, defiance, stifling, intrinsically, extrinsically,

cognates, to tread, a scaffold, versed, to decipher, to assuage, to impart, iteration, to
encompass, a layman, an intricacy, constituents, denotation, similes, extraneous,
polysemy, shortcoming, an inference, surmountable, paramount, homogeneous-ly,
to annotate, tangible, intangible, antecedent, an excerpt, to pitch to somebody,
uvula, pharynx, hinder, lofty (goal), cogent, showcase, hiatus, recursive, to hone