My pilot study into the characteristics and pedagogical techniques of ESL (English as Second Language) Teachers is in full swing. I have conducted four interviews with local teachers and am in the transcribing, member checking and coding process now. The transcribing is becoming difficult as elementary teachers tend to be more rushed and have the capacity to communicate a lot of information in a very short time, thus turning my 4.5 minutes for transcribing each minute of the interview into a 7:1 ratio. Thus, a 17 minute interview is taking two hours to type out.
However, I am gathering great information and developing a number of significant codes. Working with 21 right now, which fall into five categories, but feel that the number of codes will flesh out to 40-50 after I complete the transcription process.
After the class presentation on December 7th, I will certainly aim to post some highlights of the study. Of course, there are issues of maintaining the anonymity of the participants, who I am indebted to for their assistance. Their love for the job is obvious and the energy with which they talk about their students is infectious.
There are a couple of items which I can probably address right now. First, I did not realize how important such a study could be for this region at this time. Granted, a pilot study only clips the top off the iceberg, but I am becoming aware that a more in-depth type of study, especially for a dissertation, could assist a number of school leaders not just here, but in other regions where the ESL program is in its infancy stages. I am seeing the challenges that come when such a program is put into place. There are issues of teachers earning the necessary endorsement, the balance between how often the ESL students should be included in regular education classrooms, testing and accountability, and certainly a number of sensitivity issues, which lead to the larger topic of cultural competence.
At this time, I don't have the answers. But, to mimic a recent Anderson Cooper show commercial, I am developing the questions, and this current study is helping me a great deal to view the larger issues with a keen lens.
A blog dedicated to the community sports of the Virginia Peninsula. The continuation of my former weekly column with the DAILY PRESS and Virginian Pilot. VPS includes posts from my work with RecruitNoVA/757.com and MileStat.com, and other journalistic outlets. Please join me and send your stories of hope and triumph to jfmcgrath65@gmail.com.. My sports journey continues...please feel free to share the ride...
PHONICS: A Large Phoneme-Grapheme Frequency Count Revised – Was Fry Right?
Recently, I was looking back at an article that I reviewed a
few years ago. Written by Edward Fry for The Journal of Literacy Research and published in the spring of 2004. Fry aims to retrieve previous data gathered by
academics such as Hanna et al (1966), Thorndike and Large (1944) and to
simplify this data and make it more usable. Fry’s research centers around two
questions:
- What
are the most useful (highest frequency) phoneme-grapheme correspondences?
- What are
the most frequent ways of spelling these phonemes?
I found the author’s research to be well prepared and well
presented. By using data from over a half-dozen
studies covering a sixty year period, Fry brings a wealth of
data to the table. He can divide his study between vowel classification and
consonant categories, One interesting note about the former comes from the
tidbit that Merriam Webster dictionary’s vowel classification system went from
33 vowel sounds to 22 to facilitate their original algorithms.
The consonant section gets more technical with multiple
phonemes and consonant digraphs mentioned at the forefront. Fry points out the
differences among the studies while focusing on certain items – such as the
digraph TH and how it is used in high frequency words (i.e. this, that, these),
but only used in 411 different words. I was surprised by the intensity of the
findings and how the author attempts to make sense of such a plethora of
information.
It surprised me at the beginning of my English teaching career
to learn how little I knew about phonics. I gained a new respect for the remarkable
work that reading teachers accomplish on a daily basis. Working with their
students is like detective work, in that the teacher employs different
techniques to find the problems while simultaneously developing solutions to
the specific problem. When I first read this piece, I looked forward to using some
of the methods myself to help reading students, but in a sense, I felt like the
student. In summary, Fry makes a compelling argument.
A Soldier's Request Yields 9,000 Golf Balls
My most recent article for the Town Square - Newport News section of the DAILY PRESS (10/20/2011). Somewhat amusing, but a good example of how a mother's love and some old fashioned elbow grease can do wonders. I'm still not sure if the 9,000 golf balls have arrived in Kuwait, but feel free to continue reading and learn how they got sent in the first place.
The initial request from the young soldier stationed
in Ali-Al-Saleem, Kuwait was simple enough.
Army Specialist/then PFC Louis Adams was lamenting
over the inability to keep his golf game in tune, mainly because of the lack of
equipment, particularly in the golf ball department. Being August, the young
man was eager to get out and hit some balls. On a whim, he e-mailed his mother
Sandra Wilkins, who works in the material management department at the Newport
News Shipyard. Louis knew of her connections with his sister’s cheerleading
board and decided to approach from that angle.
“Hey Mom, can you ask your friends if they or their
husbands play golf? If so, could they spare some golf balls for me and my
buddies?”
It seemed like an odd request, but Wilkins
diligently went to work. Looking to be
“a good Mom,” she started asking her friends from the cheerleading board.
One of these friends was Sherri Bush. Wilkins had
previously worked with Bush’s husband Darryl at the shipyard but was unaware of
his special connections. One of these connections was Joey Maben, golf coach at
the Apprentice School. Maben set into motion a chain of events which turned
Louis Adams’ request into a full blown mission, one which succeeded in
procuring over 9,000 golf balls for the soldiers in Kuwait.
Maben’s search developed into a two-pronged plan of
action. First, he approached his athletic director, Keisha Paxton. Paxton was
in tune with Maben’s initiative to “give something back” to the troops
overseas. Together, they met with Everett Jordan, director of the Apprentice
School. Jordan was eager to jump on board, and immediately approved a plan to
send a shipment of Titleist golf balls. However, one does not simply call the
company and order a dozen boxes of balls. According to Maben, “the thing I
remember is that the required order was a strange number.” Strange indeed. The
order to be placed had to be for 504 dozen balls. In layman’s terms, that
totals 6,048.
But Jordan was interested in knowing what more could
be done for the soldiers. In the end, he directed an effort to prepare another
care package, complete with plenty of knick-knacks, including Apprentice School
memorabilia and apparel.
With the wheels turning on the one end, Wilkins
looked toward her contacts in Newport News. Sheri Crocker was one of those
friends and she was also willing to lend a hand. Crocker went to her boss and
presented a simple question. “With regard to the city owned golf course, what
does the city do with their used golf balls?” As it turned out, they toss the
balls out, and were about to renew the process of replacing all of their range balls.”
With good timing on their side, the city was happy to donate 1,500 balls to the
cause.
Over at the shipyard, Maben wasn’t finished working
through his contact list. Thinking of his team’s practice facility, the coach
made a call to William Carson, owner of the Peninsula Golf Center. Carson added
to the cache by donating 1,800 more gently used balls. The total was now over
9,000.
This presented one previous overlooked problem. Says
Maben, “I thought, how are we going to get these balls to Kuwait?” Thinking of
his own close military connection, Maben placed a call to his daughter Amanda,
who works with the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Ft. Bragg, NC.
Although members of her outfit were about to be deployed to Kandahar,
Afghanistan, the younger Maben had time to get the word out. This led to a
connection with Chief Warrant Officer Jason Milligan, who was stationed on the
Army ship Gross. Milligan agreed to take the balls overseas, as long as they
could be delivered before his deployment on September 10. Mission half
accomplished.
Now the problem became more immediate. How does one
get 9,000 golf balls to a ship? Says Wilkins, “my feeling was that if the Army
was willing to take this shipment all the way to Kuwait, I was going to find a
way to get these balls to them.” Like the others, she turned to the military
and found another helping hand, this time in the form of John Belkers, head of
Community Services for Langley Air Force Base and Ft. Eustis. Belkers
“responded very quickly” and offered to get the golf balls on the ship,
provided that they could be delivered to Ft. Eustis. Now thinking outside of
the box, Wilkins agreed.
With the help of a friend, the determined woman
removed the seats of her minivan and made the ball pickup rounds, until her
vehicle was loaded to the top with little white balls. Happy with her
accomplishment, Wilkins successfully made the trip to Ft. Eustis and completed
her drop.
All checkpoints were reached and at this moment, the
golf balls are floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on the Charles P. Gross.
School Discipline - A Look Back
I must be in a reflective mood. Last weekend, I visited my old high school, Bishop Ireton, in Alexandria, VA. This time, it was for Homecoming, but also to present my cross-country and track teammate, Sam Imhof, for induction into the Ireton Athletic Hall of Fame. The weekend was great fun, celebrating the 30-year celebration with Sam's Class of 1981 (our 30th reunion is next year).
This weekend, I'll be at one of my other alma maters, Wagner College. I haven't been to Wagner in a shade over 20 years, and it will be totally different this time since I'm going for our first meeting as elected members of the National Alumni Board of Directors. Seeing as we also had a reunion of the Class of 1978 for St. Mary's Elementary School at Kathy Sutton's house back in May, it looks like the trifecta has been completed for 2011.
Anyhow, I found an earlier writing about my thoughts on classroom discipline with youngsters and figured that today would be a good time to re-display these thoughts from a few years ago. Guess the walk down Memory Lane is going to last a few more days.
XXX
My childhood experiences with discipline, at home and at
school, have had a great impact on the philosophies of classroom discipline and
management of children which I believe in and use today.
My early educational experience was in a very liberal situation.
I began school at the age of four at the now defunct Chichester School in
Alexandria, VA. I don’t have lucid memories of my two years there, except that
it was a much different setting that what I found later in parochial school.
The teachers at Chichester probably followed the discipline models of that time period, but I
remember it was a very nurturing atmosphere and very laid back. I don’t recall
ever being disciplined at Chichester. In fact, I only spent a week or so as a
first grader, and got bumped up to second grade. Fortunately, my parents
re-enrolled me into second grade at my next school, St. Mary’s Elementary, also
in Alexandria.
Discipline was taken more seriously at St. Mary’s and to a
small degree I bucked its presence. At school, I wasn’t really a problem child,
but grew up in an environment of problem children. The kids from my
neighborhood were different from the children I went to school with. Suffice it
to say, I usually knew the curse words before my classmates, hung around with
people who had started smoking before my classmates, and knew people that went
to detention center or jail, unlike the St. Mary’s students. I do remember not
enjoying the few times I was disciplined at St. Mary’s. However, instead of
making me stop, my first thought was always that I would never be this mean and
cruel to somebody else. That remembrance has had a large impact on my
discipline philosophy. For the record, a lot of these mean and cruel thoughts were mirrored by my classmates at our May 2011 reunion.
After seven years with the sadist nuns, I graduated from St.
Mary’s with most of my pride in check. My next stop was Bishop Ireton High
School, and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The Oblates are a religious
order dedicated to teaching. Their teaching methods were very avant-garde and
laid back. The year before I arrived, they were still working on a class
schedule which they called (E.A.), or Education by Appointment. The classrooms
were mostly study coves and students made appointments to meet with their
teachers a few days a week. Most assignments were self-taught and the teachers acted
more as facilitators at the one-on-one meetings. To some extent, students
roamed the halls and worked on assignments at their own pace. There was little
formal discipline in this environment, and it lingered throughout my high
school years. We did have a formal disciplinarian for a principal, and for our
dean of students. Unlike St. Mary’s, my memories of being disciplined at Ireton
are not bad ones at all. When I think of going to detention, I recall being
able to get out early by answering one of our dean’s trivia questions, such as
“Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?”
These experiences have influenced my feelings about
discipline and managing children. I know that my dealings with children involve
a good deal of two-way communication and letting them have some input into what
we do in class. If I raise my voice or discipline a child, it usually draws
attention because it is unlike my normal demeanor. Of course, in that case, I
do it for effect because it does get attention. When my students see me angry,
they know that I am really upset because it happens so rarely. They also know
that they can talk with me about school related problems, or anything else.
Fortunately, I had parents and many teachers who listened to me. I try to
remember that when dealing with children at school.
Meeting the "Steeler Lady"
Two weeks ago, I had the unique pleasure
of meeting one of the more interesting people I have encountered in some
time. Barbara Caffacus is known around these parts as the "Steeler
Lady" and the moniker is fitting. As noted in the accompanying aticle, she
met me at her front door attired in Steelers garb - shirt, watch, necklace,
etc...Guess the next question becomes - "What is a diehard Redskins fan
doing at the home of a MORE diehard Steelers fan?Fortunately, I drew the assignment
for the Daily Press, more specifically the local section, which is called HR
Town Square. It comes out every Thursday and there is one for Newport News
(ours) and another for Hampton. It wraps around and becomes the front page of
the paper.To my
surprise, Barbara's story was deemed worthy of the front page of the Town
Square section, so for Newport News, it was front page news last week.
I couldn't find the article on the
website and her pictures were sent directly to the paper, so I am missing some
visuals. But, I will work on locating something. In the meantime, here is the
version I sent in (a bit different then the final edited copy). Thank you
Barbara for a most interesting afternoon and certainly for the cookies you
made. They have been awesome!!
Clad
in a Steelers t-shirt, necklace and watch (“what did you expect me to wear?”),
Barbara Caffacus is the formal name of the woman also known to neighbors and
business owners in her Hidenwood neighborhood as “The Steeler Lady.”
Approaching her 74th birthday
next month, Caffacus is a ball of energy, much more active and spirited than
people half her age. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, she, husband Robert
and three children relocated to Newport News in 1968. But from looking through
the pictures in the “Champions Book,” which sits on the coffee table of the
home’s “Steelers Room,” it is obvious that her love for sports started while
living in the Keystone state.
“I had a ticket to the Mazeroski game,” says
Caffacus in a moment of reflection. In that seventh and deciding game of the
1960 World Series, Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates hit a game-winning home run
which clinched the championship for Pittsburgh. “But I had to work and couldn’t
go.” Flipping through the pages of the book, there is also a picture of Jack
Nicklaus.
“I
saw Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer at the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont,” referring to
the fabled golf match which was held in Pennsylvania. Also included are tennis
pictures, including several from the ten-hour marathon at last year’s Wimbledon
between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.
Why
tennis?
“There
are a bunch of us who play. Some of us are in our 70’s, 80’s, a couple are in
their 90’s. But we play some serious tennis.”
The
group has expanded its interests beyond the field of sport.
“We’re
a singing ministry. We go to various hospitals and charity events to sing.
Please don’t forget to mention this, it is important.”
Helping
others has been a staple in Caffacus’ life. She retired from the Newport News
school system after 28 years as a teaching assistant at Palmer (“my daughter
teaches there now!”) and Yates elementary schools, then went to work as a
substitute teacher at Hidenwood.
Friends
are especially important to Caffacus. Her Steelers room is adorned with many
knick-knacks, several dating back decades. There is the large stain mug from
the 1974-75 season, noting the team’s first Super Bowl win with all the
games and scores, the books by owner Dan Rooney, Tony Dungy (a Steeler alum)
and Terry Bradshaw, and Super Bowl picture collages. A more recent addition to
her collection is a football signed by Newport News native and Steeler coach
Mike Tomlin. However, this football was signed by Tomlin at a tailgate party
following the Steelers Super Bowl 27-23 win over Arizona in 2009. Many of her
collectibles, including the youth football picture which included Tomlin as a 7th grade player, were donated by friends
and family. “They know how much I love the Steelers and gave me these items to
put in here. It really is a group effort.” Says Caffacus, this is a “love room.”
One
of those friends is Pat Hawkins. High school classmates from Western
Pennsylvania and friends for over 60 years, both Caffacus and Hawkins now live
in Virginia, with Hawkins settling in Lynchburg. Among the shared stories is
one of how the two have to travel to each other’s house whenever the Steelers
make it to the Super Bowl (three times in last six years). “Of course, people
usually want to come here because of the room.”
Caffacus
has no one favorite Steeler. “There are four and you see that I have pictures
of all of them on the wall.” Surely enough, one wall of the “Steelers Room”
includes smaller Fathead-model photos of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Heath
Miller, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward. One special picture in the “Champions
Book” includes Ward sporting a Polamalu-like mop of curly black hair,
reminiscent of the shampoo commercial featuring baseball player Joe Mauer
mimicking the All-Pro strong safety, known as much for his dark mane of locks
as his stalwart playing ability.
In
spite of the Steelers 2-2 start this season, the Steeler Lady remains
optimistic. “Last year, we didn’t have Roethlisberger for four weeks and look
what happened. We made it to the Super Bowl.”
Successful Methods and Pedagogical Techniques Used by ESL Teachers in the Classroom; A Pilot Study
Kicking around an idea for this semester's pilot study leading into my dissertation topic. Still looking at cultural competency, but looking more through the lens of the successful ESL teacher. Here's what I have so far. Let me know what you think.. work in progress..always is :)
Abstract
The purpose of this
pilot study is to identify successful strategies and pedagogical techniques
used by ESL teachers in their classrooms. In greater detail, this study is
designed to investigate specific methods which ESL instructors incorporate as
part of their lesson planning to engage their students. The research gathering strategies
used for this study will consist of interviews with teachers and students,
observations, and a short narrative from each teacher describing their favorite
strategy. This study will be based on the constructivist design while applying
the framework of critical reflexivity, which requires teachers to examine how
their past experiences have shaped their ideas on their roles and
responsibilities as teachers. This framework has been shaped by several prominent
educational researchers.
Research
Problem
Classrooms
across the United States are becoming more diverse. While a number of cities,
such as Miami, Los Angeles, El Paso, and Phoenix have enjoyed a long transition
into diversity, some areas of the country are not. One such area is the Hampton
Roads region of Virginia. While other northern regions in the state enjoy
diverse learning communities, the percentages of Hispanic and Asian students in
Hampton Roads schools are still low. For example, the most recent demographic
of the Newport News school system shows only 9.9% Hispanic students, and 2.9%
Asian (2010). By comparison, in the city of Alexandria, these percentages are
30.7 and 5.0, respectively (2010).
However, the percentages of minority students
in the Hampton Roads region are rising and will continue to do so. To continue
preparing for this change in demographics, school systems in southeastern
Virginia will need to hire more ESL teachers in the near future. Currently,
there are very few ESL teachers in the area. An inquiry to one school system
with four high schools, seven middle schools and 24 elementary schools elicited
a response that there were 3-4 ESL teachers currently employed in the entire
system – one for each level.
At this time, it is not
believed that any research has been conducted on the expected growth of
Hispanic and Asian students to this region. There is also little evidence of
any planning for this shift in demographics at the regional level. The
intention is to examine the situation in one school system. By examining a locality
with only several teachers, I intend to capture the essence of what is working.
These results will be compared to results in a larger study, which will be
conducted in a larger school system, probably in Northern Virginia. By
identifying the successful methods and techniques which are brought into the
classroom by ESL teachers in more diverse regions, the objective as a
researcher is to make comparisons to the methods and techniques used by
teachers in the Hampton Roads and determine which methods and background techniques
are working successfully. This information can be presented to school
administrators who will be in the position to seek and retain successful ESL
teachers in the next several years.
ispanic, Asian Hiper
Purpose
Statement
Ladson-Billings
(1995) notes the importance of cultural competency in the classroom by stating
that “not only must teachers encourage academic success and cultural
competence, they must help students to recognize, understand, and critique
current social inequities.” (p. 476)
Studies have shown that because of the
conflict with language understanding, literacy can be gained with ESL students
by making the topic in literacy relevant to the student’s life and interests (Smallwood,
1998; Singleton, 2000). Keeping the participatory approach conceived in the
Frierian model of ESL curriculum in mind, other educators have developed
multi-step plans to help ESL language learners develop better command of the
English language (Rominski & Vazquez, 1997; Frederick & Huss-Lederman,
1998). Some of these techniques have been emulated at the school system level
(NYCBE, 1997).
Some
of these programs and techniques concentrate on the reading aspect of learning
English, while others make the transition to putting the newly learned material
into writing form. As noted by Bello (1997), “by integrating writing with
content at every level of instruction, teachers help learners find their own
voices in their new language and develop the ability to communicate effectively
in different contexts and with different audiences.” (ERIC DIGEST, p.5). While
translating to a new language, it is imperative to note that teachers are responsible to be aware of their
students’ perceptions of what
helps them progress and somehow to incorporate these perceptions into their
teaching (Diab, p. 40).
While ESL teaching is unique, many
of the methods and techniques used by these teachers could fall under the
larger framework of cultural competency. According to Ladson-Billings (2008), “culturally
relevant teaching must meet three criteria: an ability to develop students
academically, willingness to nurture and support cultural competence, and the
development of a sociopolitical or critical consciousness.” (p.
483)
My
previous research has focused on topics relating to cultural competency issues
for teachers, and the culturally competent characteristics exhibited by high
school coaches. My intention with this study is to identify positive methods
used by ESL teachers to communicate with their students.
Research
Question
My
main research question for this study will be:
·
What are the personal and pedagogical
characteristics specifically focused toward teaching ESL students? (compared to
a traditional classroom teacher)
Interview
Questions
Questions to be used for each teacher
(8-10) will include the following:
- · Tell me why you became an ESL teacher. (Warm-Up – should provide some personal background)
- · Describe a typical day in your school (Warm-Up – might help to shed light on how school system/Title III funding affects one’s job)
- · Describe the classroom methods or strategies that you use to teach ESL students?
- · What role does resources play in helping you develop lesson plans to teach ESL students?
- · How do you use the resources available to you to teach ESL students in your classroom?
- · Do you think your school system properly provide you with the necessary resources to work in an ESL classroom? (is improvisation important?)
- · Do you think there are differences between the classroom needs of ESL students and students for whom English is a first language?
- · Do you think that your cultural and social background plays a role in the classroom? Why or why not?
- · What is your favorite lesson to teach to ESL students? (can ask…might be more for background)
- · What is the greatest challenge you face as an ESL teacher?
- · What are some of the ways you work to overcome this challenge?
- · What are some of the ways that you utilize the course curriculum? Is there room for creativity and thinking “outside of the box?” Give me some examples.
- · How would your students describe you as a teacher?
The
data gathered from the answers to these questions is intended to lead to potentially
relevant follow-up questions and provide the subjects an opportunity to reflect
before making further comments, either in oral or written form. Because this is
a pilot study, I will probably not have follow-up questions.
The
other part of my fact-finding strategy is to conduct a 30-45 minute observation
of each teacher in class. The purpose is to see him/her put the methods
described into practice.
References
Bello, T. (1997). Improving ESL Learners’ Writing
Skills, ERIC Digest. Washington, DC:
National Clearinghouse for ESL Literary
Education.
Demographic statistics (2010-2011), Alexandria City
Public Schools, Retrieved from
Diab, R. (2005). Teachers’
and students’ beliefs about responding to ESL writing: A case study.
TESL Canada
Journal, 23, 1, pp. 28-43.
Frederick, C. & Huss-Lederman, S. (1998). The
Participatory Approach to Workplace and
Vocational ESL. Washington, DC: Center for
Applied Linguistics.
Hoang-Thu, T. (2010). Teaching Culture in the
EFL/ESL Classroom. Presented at The Los
Angeles
Regional California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages,
Fullerton,
CA.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant
pedagogy. Theory
into Practice, 34, 3, pp. 159-165.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2008). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American
Educational Research Association, 32, 3, pp.
465-491.
New York City Board of Education. (1997). STARS for
ESL. Strategies, Techniques and
Resources:
Meeting Higher Standards in Grades 6-8.
Rominski, C. & Vazquez, M. (1997). Improving
Reading and Writing Skills of Mainstreamed
ESL Students. M.A. Research Project, Saint
Xavier University and IRI/Skylight.
Singleton, K. (2000). Teaching Literacy Students in
Your ESL Class. Presented at the Virginia
Adult
Institute for Lifelong Learning – English as a Second Language (VAILL-ESL)
Conference.
Smallwood, B.A. (1998). Staff Training for
Alexandria Head Start in ESL Methodology.
Alexandria
Early Childhood Commission.
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