Show, don’t tell

One concept drilled into me during my TEFL class was the need to explain grammatical points and abstract definitions through concrete examples comprehensible to learners. In other words, instead of providing a word’s definition when a learner asks, it can be more illustrative to model the word in a context to which the learner can relate.

Today the teacher in my class accomplished this beautifully. We were working on questions starting with, “Have you ever?”

I wrote the first question on the board:

Have you ever taken a trip on an airplane?

One learner asked the meaning of “ever.” My teacher pulled down the maps at the front of the room. She asked me, “Have you ever been to Texas?” To which I answered, “Yes, I have been to Texas." She proceeded to ask me about multiple locations in the United States, pointing to the map and using the "Have you ever?" questions as I answered. Through modeling the correct usage with a visual learners understood, she successfully conveyed both the meaning and usage of the word "ever." I find it challenging to think of such illuminating examples on the spot, but it probably gets easier with more teaching experience.

How will you celebrate National Volunteer Week?

National Volunteer Week, April 19 - 24, is a time to celebrate the contributions of volunteers across the nation. Here at the Minnesota Literacy Council, we applaud the myriad of literacy volunteers giving their time and skills in adult basic education programs across the state.

Thank you for empowering adult learners to reach their learning goals!

How do you plan to celebrate National Volunteer Week? Share your ideas here!

"It’s hard to identify one element of volunteering which stands out among so many. Working with adult students who are so eager to learn fills me with a sense of purpose and joy; it has been a very energizing, meaningful experience."

-Pat Harlan-Marks
MLC Volunteer Tutor - North Side Learning Center

Learning from my peers

Watching my peers teach at Neighborhood House has helped me glean strategies to augment my own teaching. My peers demonstrate a myriad of teaching strategies we’ve learned in our TEFL class; it has been helpful to see best practices incorporated into the lessons we actually teach.

I’ve observed my co-teachers calling on specific individuals by name while they are teaching. By knowing and using the students’ names, they are able to check the comprehension of quieter students and ensure that no one dominates the conversation.

Similarly, my peers elicit material from the students to use in their explanation of grammatical points. This produces material that is learner generated, resulting in high level of student interest and class participation. They ask students questions to produce vocabulary words, questions and phrases.

Many of my classmates do a fantastic job of floating while the students are working. While floating, I hear many of them handling error correction in a productive way by not just telling the students the correct answer. Many times they will ask if the student can see something that should be changed, and if they don’t, they will give them a hint to highlight the segment that needs correction. If the student is still confused, they will give them multiple choices to choose from, and at this point, most learners can self correct.

All of the practices I have observed while watching my peers lead to a very learner centered lessons; the goal of a good English teacher. It has been helpful to not only teach but to watch my peers embodying what we are learning in class.

TEFL

December marked my second year volunteering! During this time, I’ve been fortunate to have been under the tutelage of immensely skilled, nurturing teachers. Spurred by my tutoring experiences and a desire to someday teach abroad, last September, I decided to pursue my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate.

For the past five months, I have been a student in Hamline University’s TEFL program. I would enthusiastically recommend this intensive program to anyone; the curriculum, the professors and my classmates have all been superb.

An additional, tremendous benefit of this program is the 40 hour practicum included in the course. Since January, I have spent two evenings a week at Neighborhood House, located in the Paul and Shelia Wellstone Center in West Saint Paul, where I teach, observe and give feedback to my peers as we teach. We work with an intermediate class of about 20 learners, most deriving from Spanish-speaking countries, along with a few students from African and Asian nations.

I team taught my first lesson with two of my peers and was responsible for reviewing and introducing new material for a lesson related to family vocabulary. I started with a mingle activity. Students were given a grid with sentences like “I am a mother” with different family words. They had to go around asking people if they were a _______. The activity went well, but next time, I would probably just have the grid squares say “mother,” “father,” etc, because the students were capable of producing sentences themselves.

Next, I created a family tree with pictures of my own family and used that to review family words. This worked well and got the students engaged in asking questions about my family. I introduced using have/has by asking the class questions about my family tree: “How many sisters do I have?” I demonstrated has by asking students questions about their families: “How many sisters does Mario have? Mario has three sisters.”

To me, this lesson emphasized the importance of teaching grammar in a contextualized setting. By utilizing visual aids, I found that learners are able to engage with the subject matter in a tangible way. Soliciting answers from the students about their own families encourages language production and builds community within the classroom as learners share about themselves. While my lesson was by no means perfect, it was illuminating to see the importance and value of teaching in this manner.