Some thoughts on Chapter 5
A sector of Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance of building background information before classroom discussions. By doing so, students will come up with more thorough answers. More students will be included in the conversation as well.
This reminds me of one time when I taught in China. It was an English writing class of about ten students. Two of them had been to American high schools as exchange students before and the rest had never studied abroad. At one point I briefly mentioned Lord of the Flies as an example of the controversial topic of human nature. The two students, who had been to American high schools before, could relate to the reference since they probably already read the novel as part of their high school curriculum. There was one other student who had read a translated version before and he was able to comprehend after a moment. The others were at a loss. The discussion around the topic, of course, only involved those three and other students were not able to participate. Think back to the lesson, I would have done a better job by providing my students some introduction to the novel, even if it is just a synopsis.
This is very likely to happen in a Canadian classroom as well, especially when there are so many ELLs in schools nowadays. The teacher can certainly enrich the classroom conversation by using anecdotes and references from literature, political events or pop culture, but he or she must do so cautiously because many students may not be able to understand. Various methods can be used to solve this. The teacher can encourage students to watch more television, listen to radios, and read newspapers. He or she can also provide students materials related to the main topic before the class when applicable. Students may pair up or form groups in which native students can communicate with ELLs and help them be more familiar with the English culture. The most important thing for teachers to keep in mind is that classroom discussions not only cultivate students’ academic skills, but also build their confidence to succeed in schools.