Chapter 6 & 7
Chapter 6: Academic Listening and Speaking in Small Groups
I really like the coloured strips that Chelsea handed out to us in class for our discussion on our language experiences. The phrases on the coloured strips helped to facilitate conversation because they provide the starting point. When I read about the connective phrases that students could use to improve discussions on page 143 of Zwiers’ chapter, I thought about adapting the coloured strips to facilitate content-based conversations. I also like the point about how teachers need to make conversations more academic by “[modelling] for students how to turn an informal conversation into a more formal, academic one.”(145). A good strategy is to use discussion cards that contain organizational phrases to remind students to use them in discussions. Another strategy is to use MOPKAL (my role, other role, the problem, the knowledge that need to role-play, what we need to do or accomplish by talking, language to use) in role plays (149). Role-playing increases the level of interest, engages students, and enhances learning through negotiation of meaning in the process. In our EDUC 450 seminar class, a group did their presentation on performative inquiry and it was fascinating to see how engaged people were when the actors on stage were the students themselves. By directing the spotlight away from the teacher and refocusing on group activities that involve role-playing, students are able to find a new way of learning the content.
Chapter 7: Language for Academic Reading
I really liked the example of putting fingers of one hand under the palm of the other to make a table as a way of showing evidence to make an argument stand. One piece of evidence is one leg, so the less number of legs (pieces of evidence), the weaker the table (argument). I also notice that I myself am able to focus more on what I’m trying to say when I accompany my speech with body language (gestures, movements of the body). Of course, excessive gestures or movements (especially if they are quickly done) may become a source of distraction to the students.
The analyzing the text strategy is especially for ELL students when they are prepping for tests. They must become familiar with the language of the test in order to do well. When I was an ESL student in high school, I didn’t do well on the exams because I didn’t understand the questions being asked. Gradually, the phrases that appear on the exams become internalized and I was able to do better on the exams.
The Have You Ever strategy (189) can be pretty useful for tackling vocabulary in the reading. By placing difficult words within a question that starts with “Have you ever…” the student could provide answers based on their personal life experiences, as opposed to having the teacher make up random sentences that are irrelevant to the students’ own contexts. I can see this as a practical strategy to make new vocabulary more accessible and relevant for the students.