Fiona's ESL Blog

Email & laser tag: edtech baby steps to team-building

2012-01-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

When Jax* told me her students didn't have her email address, I think my mouth dropped open a little. I might have spluttered something about maintaining boundaries and then went back to my marking. In the back of my mind, though, I was musing about dinosaurs and rotary phones.

Jax is an engaged, smart, witty, and hard working teacher. She's well-read, well-travelled, well-spoken and totally dedicated to her students. So why isn't she in email contact with them?

I have to confess I only started communicating with my students electronically about 2 and half years ago but I could never go back to the way it was before. For one, my students find it helpful - they can ask a quick question, send in their homework, or share something personal that they might not be able to say in class. For another, I find it helpful - it helps me stay organized, is easier for marking written assignments, and most of all, helps me get and keep my finger on the pulse of my class.

In an adult multicultural ESL classroom, one of the most difficult challenges is team-building, getting the students to work together in a way that benefits them all. By starting a term off with a collective, connective email, you set the stage for communication and collaboration. Mid-term? Laser tag. Trust me. You'll never use a rotary phone again.

No excuses - debunking email/DM myths:

I'm worried about protecting my privacy and my students' privacy!
There are many platforms and programs that conceal email addresses and other sensitive information. You never have to use your personal email and your students sure won't use theirs.

It's not very professional to send emails to my students.
Almost every single communication is now acceptable via email. If you conduct yourself in writing as you would in the classroom, then it's up to you how professional you are.

It's so time-consuming.
Limit the tasks and correspondence to what you can handle. Alert: students have lives too and don't spend every waking moment wanting to email or DM their teacher.

If email is your edtech-baby step, then it's time to take it.

*might be her real name, might not

'Tis the season to be jolly - jajajajaja jajajaja (or "the laugh seen around the world")

2011-12-09T10:36:00.001-08:00

A chicken sounds like what??!! I was trying furiously not to laugh as my students starting making all manners of sounds. Who knew Japanese cows sounded like that? Or Chinese chickens. It was one of those odd but happy accidents in the ESL classroom when I discovered yet another thing I didn't know: different languages have different sounds for their animal uttterances. That day, the multicultural mix of my Canadian ESL classroom created a cacophony of the strangest noises ever heard by English or otherwise ears. It was hysterical.

A similar dawning of new knowledge has been slowly stretching over me as I embrace digital communication with my students. I teach adults and therefore don't struggle with some of the privacy fears and issues my colleagues have with communicating with their students via Facebook, email, or text. I share messages, updates, announcements, encouragement etc...with my students using whatever method of communication they feel most comfortable using and with which they are most engaged. It's fantastic. It was on Facebook that I first started to notice:

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

and

jajajajajaja

and the mysterious

^^

or even

~~~

Huh?

Ok, I'm not so slow that I didn't figure it out. My students are laughing! In text! In different letters or characters than in English! And not the dreaded and dreadful lol fake-laugh! Also funny: I make kkkkkkkkk and jajajajaja sounds in my own head as I laugh along with them.

Of course, there's cool linguistic stuff here too: Spanish speakers and their "ja ja", Greek speakers and "xa xa" - small clues into the sounds of their languages (and sometimes how those sounds affect their English pronunciation!) - and the Japanese "~~~" or Korean "^^" - western keyboard equivalents for the Chinese character 笑 (laugh). Just can't explain that kkkkkk.

And so I will live to learn and laugh another day. Thank you, my friends.

p.s. Blessed with these real AND Facebook friends who responded quickly to my plea for more examples of international laughs in text:

Alice & Janine (Swiss) - hehe or hihi
Daniel (Spanish) - jaja
Luanna (Brazilian Portuguese)- kkkkkkk
Hiroko (Japanese) - ~~~ or ^^
Hani (Arabic) - kkkkkkk
Grace (Tagalog) - nyahaha or hehe or hihi
Louis (Korean) - ^^
Dino (Chinese) - ^^
Aoy (Thai) - 555
Christine & Terry (Greek) - xa xa
Santa (North Polian) - hohoho

Please add comments or any other laughter from around the world! Happy holidays.

Is the textbook dead?

2011-11-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

We all know the book is dead. Thank you iPad, Kindle et al...Well, the book appears to be dead except for all those stats that say it isn't. The ebook it seems has, ahem, re-kindled a passion for reading, so guess what: people are buying ebooks AND good old-fashioned "print" books. Video has not killed the radio star. Yet.

But what about textbooks? Our feelings about these mass-produced and mostly dull tomes are decidedly much less sentimental and affectionate. In fact, rather than defend the back-breaking beasts, most of us would be happy to slay them ourselves, and quickly. Most textbooks are out-dated, generic, barely relevant, and expensive.

It came as no surprise then to read online that a "group of three Minnesota math teachers got together over the summer to write their own textbooks", textbooks that hopefully reflect the school's curriculum more accurately and that supposedly saved the school district pots of money. The materials also conveniently now reside "on the web in the form of an easily updatable online textbook." Could this be the beginning of the end for the traditional textbook? Probably. Am I overjoyed? Well, yes, and no.

Having spent the last six years creating current and relevant materials for students and teachers, I think it is obvious that I was disillusioned with the traditional textbook and its limitations. In my view, engaging learners is first and foremost and third and fourth editions of a 70's era textbook are not the stuff of inspiration or motivation. So I spiced things up a little, with real life and real time content, online and in print. Just like the Minnesota crew. So what keeps nagging at me?

You see, the Minnesota project is, in essence, self-publishing, and this fast-growing industry is fraught with its own problems and limitations. The 3 R's are not in the same category as a zombie novel, the latter of which you could write and self-publish to your heart's content, with or without an editor, or a peer review, or even spell check for that matter. Your readership, if disgruntled, although out a few dollars, would not otherwise be adversely affected. The same cannot be said for an eighth grader whose school-published math book contains errors. Traditional textbooks are out-of-date partly because it takes time to thoroughly edit, fact-check, and cross-reference what has been written.

The other issue with self-published textbooks is that there is often no set standard, be it a linguistic register or a consistent template. Should materials be added or updated at later stages by someone else, the approach or language used could vary significantly. How to handle this across disciplines? On one hand, this could add diversity of perspective (the absence of which is another danger of single-authored/self-published texts). On the other, it could cause confusion.

The final little niggle for me is, oddly, the online component. Odd because I adore #edtech-everything. I tweet, implement, and research #edtech. I heart #edtech. That said, I sometimes feel that in our rush to embrace all things tech in education, we neglect to see that some of that old-fashioned stuff not only works just fine thank you but is still essential in our learners' learning experiences. There is a reason why print books are still selling, just as there is a reason we still have televisions. Different formats appeal to different people at different times. No matter how much tech I incorporate in my classroom, my students still want to write something down with an ol' ball point pen or circle something in their textbook or add notes in the margins. Perhaps one day, everything will indeed be done digitally and perhaps one day, the textbook will evolve itself out of existence. By all means, include a digital copy, but I'm fairly certain learners are not quite ready to say goodbye to hard copies all together.

None of these concerns take away from what is a brave new step in an innovative direction - current, specialized, specific, and relevant materials are the stuff of teachers' and learners' dreams and more reasonably priced textbooks the stuff of adminstrators' dreams. Let's just dream with both eyes open.

Oh, and just for old time's sake, here's "Video Killed the Radio Star":

Recalling Nunan: Action Research & A Grain of Salt

2011-11-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

I have no doubt he had done this drill before - it was so well-executed. The purposeful transition from transcript-to audio-to video. He had us hooked. The resulting collective arrival at understanding a certainty for him - both an eye-opener and aha! for us. As they say, David Nunan had it going on.

In those early days of my teaching career, the idea that I would willingly analyze, evaluate, and (egads!) criticize my own teaching seemed foreign...and terrifying. I was just trying to find and keep a good teaching job and not screw up TOO much. What Nunan showed us in his seminar that day, that teachers are imperfect, that he was imperfect, and that it was worthwhile, even vital, to explore these imperfections was frankly, beyond me.

Fast-forward fifteen years or so and those early insecurities have long been quashed by the thousands of classes I have facilitated and the students I have taught . That's not to say I don't get the occasional butterfly or sinking feeling of impending pedagogical disaster but, generally, I like to think I'm on pretty solid ground in my classrooms and with my students.

What happened a few weeks ago, while not shaking the ground exactly, was a gentle Nunan nudge, a reminder that what I may perceive as a well-run classroom stuffed with great learning and instruction, may indeed be a dud, or worse, a missile with no target - set to explode in the wrong place at some inopportune time.

I was subbing for a colleague, off for some long-put off and vital dental work. My colleague is a pistol and she knows her stuff but within minutes of starting the class I knew the students had turned on her. Throughout my lesson, there were furtive looks and an undercurrent of energy that smelled like excitement. Predator on prey. I can't explain why I knew this bloodlust wasn't about me. I can't explain why I wasn't surprised when I was pulled into the office later and told that there had been a mutiny after my lesson and that they were demanding my colleague's pretty head on a stick.

This all made me feel quite sick.

My years teaching ESL to adults have taught me many things, including: 1) ELT is a minefield like no other teaching field - with cultural, racial, individual, financial, and political overtones of every sort 2) ELT professionals are sometimes treated by students and administration alike as if they are dispensable, disposable (the "you speak English therefore you can teach it" mentality) 3) A successful classroom is sometimes not about skill and experience but a "good match" 4) Adult ESL students can be fickle.

Never in a million years would I imagine a mutiny in a college Physics class. Or a university German course. Why does criticism seem so much more accessible in ELT? Most of us in ELT embrace Nunan's action research philosophy with gusto. Perhaps too much gusto. Perhaps we haven't asserted ourselves and established our profession as a profession. How else can I explain a group of adult language learners demanding a different instructor for no other reason than they thought they were missing out on something?

I do know what happened that day and I don't need any formal action research to explore it - my personality and approach were better matches to the students' perceived needs. I was no "better" or "worse" a teacher than my colleague. They simply believed that my approach was better-suited to their needs. They believed. Is perception everything?

As I said to my colleague that week, while she kicked herself over and over, the one piece she could own, the single thing some action research might have revealed is: why didn't the students talk to her about their concerns?

My colleague is an exemplary teacher. What her students thought they had missed from their coursebook and lessons had been well-supplemented with more current, relevant, and interesting material. As students, they couldn't recognize that. And they shouldn't have. That's the teacher's job.

Nobody's perfect. Definitely not me. Not you. Not Nunan.

That said, we are educated, gifted, progressive, reflective, intuitive, experienced, creative, and skilled educators, facilitators, guides, and mentors. It's time to own what we know.

Cheating: not just for students!

2011-09-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in the Canadian media, there was much ado about the so-called disproportionate number of international students in Canadian universities caught cheating and plagiarising. The headlines were typically sensational and smacking of the Us vs. Them isolationist rhetoric that is being spewed in certain quarters in the U.S. and Canada.

However uncomfortable I am with the rhetoric, as an ESL teacher, I cannot deny that some of my students and yes, some cultures (how can I say this delicately?) seem more accepting of the concept of cheating than I ever was when an undergraduate student. Below is a summary of a U.K. survey by the Higher Education Academy detailing various reasons for cheating and plagiarism. The summary and larger report are both interesting and unsurprising. I recommend anyone in ELT read the report, if only to reflect on the issue and perhaps develop your own, informed approach to managing cheaters.

As for me? Well, the article was well-timed. Turns out I have my very own cheater in my midst. Trouble is, it's not a student, but a colleague. Worse, the colleague is plagiarising ME! Worst, the colleague is also a friend. I know, I know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...blah blah blah. It doesn't feel like flattery though, it feels like betrayal.

In our tech-age, so much is available at our fingertips and even I admit that many of the faceless contributions online seem almost anonymous. Note to World: they are not! Someone has worked hard and spent time to research, source, write, and contribute whatever bit of information it is that you are cutting and pasting in a millisecond. Credit him. Tweet her. Remember this old-fashioned word: CITE! Second note to World: it is a small world.

Now, in my case, it wasn't a simple act of plagiarism but complete and exact copies of sections of a copyrighted and isbn'd textbook I authored stuffed into the template of "new" curriculum designed for a local college. It was by pure chance that it came across my desk. A last-minute contract. Imagine my surprise.

Perhaps cheating and plagiarising is less cultural than individual. Perhaps we all are guilty of some measure of intellectual theft. Perhaps sometimes the dance at the photocopier in the morning is less than legit.

Perhaps students and teachers are not so far apart.

Oh, and, ok,um, I'm a little bit flattered. BUY THE AMAZING ESL BOOK THAT IS WORTH PLAGIARISING right HERE (it's actually legally reproducible too - just don't say you wrote it!)

Stuff to read and share on cheating and plagiarising (extremely well-cited of course!) - your students will thank you for sharing it with them:

from "Overcoming the cultural issues associated with plagiarism for International students"

Authors: Dr. Charles Juwah, Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen; Dr David Lal, Dept. of Business and Management, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen; Ahmed Beloucif, Dept. of Marketing, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

What cultural factors impact how students understand the concept of plagiarism?

Respect for authority	25.6 %
Language problem	20.9 %
Previous educational experience on referencing conventions	27.9 %
Cultural misconception (Plagiarism does not matter)	20.9 %
Individual values (Personality trait)	4.7 %

Why do students plagiarise?

Lack of awareness of referencing conventions	19.61 %
Cheating	17.65 %
Lack of awareness of plagiarism	15.69 %
Time	9.8 %
Lack of confidence/self-worth	7.84 %
Language problem	7.84 %
Laziness	7.84 %
Lack of subject knowledge	5.88 %
Carelessness: forgetting to reference	5.88 %
Pressure to write to academic standard	1.96 %

from the Globe and Mail: Why many international students get a failing grade in academic integrity

Arab Spring Maybe but It's a Saudi Summer in Canada

2011-06-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

It was a violent and tense spring in much of the Arab world and in Syria and Libya in particular, it promises to be a hot, even more tenuous summer.

With so much of the Middle East flung into a tempest of revolution and counter-revolution, many are wondering why the citizens of the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia aren't throwing their hats into the ring.

In fact, there are those, especially in the so-called western world, that aren't just wondering, but encouraging Saudis to join their Middle Eastern compatriots in revolt against their oppressive dictator. Barack Obama has even been criticized by Americans and others for his seemingly passive attitude towards Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah.

In the same vein, thousands have taken up the cause of Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi woman made both famous and infamous (depending on your geography) by the online publishing of a video of her driving a car in Saudi Arabia. The video was filmed by Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a prominent Saudi feminist who made a similar video of herself in 2008. Not surprisingly, a Facebook group or several have sprung up in support of al-Sharif and her bid to have women permitted driving licences in Saudi Arabia.

I get all of this, especially the driving bit, but as they say, perspective is everything. My perspective, well, it's widening.

Did you know that in 2005, King Abdullah introduced a foreign Scholarship Program for his citizens to study at post-secondary institutions overseas? Did you know that three months ago, not only did he pledge more money for the Program but he offered grants to those who were already studying here and paying their own way. Did you know that this year, 2011, will see more than 45,000 Saudi men AND women come to study in the U.S.? While the numbers in Canada are elusive, my boots on the ground suggest they are significant and comparable.

And before you go somewhere spectacularly weird and conspiracy-minded, these Saudi students are not enrolled at flight-training schools, nor are they all under-30 males. In fact, this immense student body is made up of men and women, some wives and husbands, some sisters and brothers, even young families, and they are studying everything from English as a Second Language to medicine to journalism. Egads. Education? For men and women? Overseas? King Abdullah, exactly what kind of dictator are you?

I'm not suggesting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is perfect, nor that it doesn't violate some of the basic rights we westerners consider non-negotiable. I am just conceding that perhaps my western perspective is just that: mine, and western.

You see, this summer I've returned to teaching after seven years and my initiation has included a class full of Saudi students. Male and female. Young and medium. Niqab-ed and not. They are smart and funny and engaged and, while they feel uncomfortable discussing current affairs in Syria, are eager to share their culture and language.

They're not embarrassed that they don't vote. They're not mad that my city bans smoking but not short skirts and booze. They laugh uproariously when the textbook instructs them to repeat: Q: How often do you eat ham? A: I sometimes eat ham. But they repeat it nonetheless, in their best Canadian accent. Perhaps it is the indoctrination.

Saudi Arabia or King Abdullah's record may be questionable and perhaps I am ignorant to the human rights abuses that have supposedly been perpetrated but the King has sent his serfs forth and they seem about as oppressed as I am. My widened perspective comes from the front row and not the front page.

There is a chance that Obama is not hedging nor dodging but instead marvelling at King Abdullah's war on terror. This dictator is educating his people and winning hearts and minds, home and away. This is my kind of revolution.

The Fabulous Functionall Resource Review #2

2010-11-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

One of the goals of this blog is to help you sort through the overwhelming number of language resources available to choose the materials that are right for your language learning or teaching journey. As I've mentioned before, not only is there a plethora of resources, they don't come cheap (except, of course, Functionall Books' incredible downloadable e-lessons). Let this old hat do the research and save you time and money. Lord knows, we teachers need more of both! - Fiona

for more information about my reviewing approach click here

Book for Review: Jason's World

Author: Gerry Luton

Resource Review @ a Glance:

In Depth Resource Review:

Before I get down to the nitty-gritty, I have to confess that I ADORE Jason's World. Author Gerry Luton and I are kindred spirits when it comes to a real language approach, a teacher- and student-friendly format, and relevant, current contexts.

Now to business: Jason's World is first and foremost a listening course, an 8-episode audio soap opera for intermediate ESL students to be exact. The text is accompanied by a CD that includes tracks of each episode plus corresponding vocabulary review listening exercises.

The introduction includes notes on methodology, teaching tips, and activity guides. Each unit or Episode includes:

Introduction to Vocabulary
Finding Meaning From Context
Vocabulary Practice
Before You Listen
Listening Comprehension Worksheet
Class Discussion Topics
Vocabulary Review Listening Exercise

Some units also include various activities such as, Find Someone Who..., Personal Opinion Survey, Crossword Puzzle, Word/Definition Matching Exercise, and Trivia Game to get the students up and moving while reviewing and reinforcing the vocabulary in a fun way. In addition, the book offers a glossary, transcripts, a "parts of speech" table AND a website with supplementary exercises: jasonsworldonline.shorturl.com

The assignments and activities are somewhat standard but the content is certainly not. The contexts and vocabulary are so authentic and natural that it is impossible for teachers and students not to relate to it on some level; this is a lively dialogue excerpt from Episode 2 - "Cheated":

Jason: What the hell is going on here?

Layla: Cool it, Jason. It's no big deal. We were only kissing.

Jason: Only kissing! What do you mean, only kissing? I thought you were my girlfriend.

Layla: Yeah, well, you don't own me, you know. I can kiss who I want to.

Go on and blush, Betty Azar.

The format is clean and well-organized with clear instructions, although the images are few and not-so-fabulous. The book itself is spiral-bound, so it is very easy to handle (read: flip through, search, and generally manhandle in a loving way).

There is really not much I don't like about this listening course. I have to confess that I didn't get access to the audio CD in time for this review but I have been told by colleagues that it is of very high-quality and that their students love it as much as they do. If I were pressed to find one flaw with Jason's World, it would probably be that there isn't more of it. It is worth being fleshed out as a fully integrated textbook including grammar, pronunciation, reading, and all the other bells and whistles. That I would like to see.

Teachers, even if you don't have a listening lab or other audio capabilities to use this as a listening book, it still has great value on its own as a vocabulary and discussion text. If you are an ESL or EFL student reading this review, go right now and ask your teacher or school administrator to order it for your class! Click for more information about Jason's World (or its high-intermediate sister book, Judy's World).

Please leave comments below and especially if you have used Luton's book, let us know what you or your students liked. Please also feel free to suggest another title for my next review. Thank you to Christy Sebelius for this great recommendation!

The Fabulous Functionall Resource Review

2010-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Provoking Thought: Memory and Thinking in ELT by Hall Houston

As promised, here is the first installment of my new ESL/EFL resource review. One of the new goals of this blog is to help you sort through the overwhelming number of language resources available to choose the materials that are right for your language learning or teaching journey. As I mentioned before, not only is there a plethora of resources, they don't come cheap (except, of course, Functionall Books' incredible downloadable e-lessons). Let this old hat do some research and save you some time and money. Lord knows, we teachers need more of both!
-Fiona

Before I share my thoughts on Hall Houston's title, I think it is important to acknowledge two things:
1) my "angle" is one of usefulness and practicality; teaching is one of the most time-consuming professions in the world and a text that can educate both teacher and student in the most effective, engaging, and efficient way is a great gift to the world of language teaching. The "star rating" reflects this philosophy.
2) one teacher or student's textbook treasure is another's junk; just like movies and novels, what makes one person jump for joy may make another shake his or her head. I endeavour to consider the global appeal of a language resource and hope that my reflections help both treasure-seekers and junk collectors.

Without further ado, here is:

Followed by:

Provoking Thought opens with a general introduction to the whole concept of thinking, which in turn leads to a brief presentation of Benjamin Bloom's "taxonomy of thinking skills" and Anderson and Krathwohl's updated version of the same. Houston also touches briefly on error correction, focus on form, and reflective teaching. It is a concise, practical introduction that offers good theoretical reminders for both new and experienced teachers.

The five chapter's in Provoking Thought are organized as such:

Chapter One: Thinking
Chapter Two: Memory
Chapter Three: Creativity
Chapter Four: Critical Thinking
Chapter Five: Organizing Ideas on Paper

and each chapter follows the same formula: a brief introduction and discussion of the Chapter's chief focus, followed by 20 or so classroom activity/lesson outlines or plans. Each chapter also ends with a short essay or interview from a language expert or two.

My first impression is that there is great value, both pedagogically and monetarily, in Houston's resource. It certainly belongs on the shelves of most resource rooms I've been in:

It offers a good balance of theory, pedagogy, and practical exercises.
It explores and presents activities in a straightforward and accessible manner.
It clearly defines the aims, time, and preparation required for each activity or lesson.
The lessons and activities are student-centred.
The lessons and activities mostly involve little preparation.
It has an index (although page numbers would be useful).

My confession is that I will probably never tap this wealth of theoretical and practical information because of its format and all those darn words. As a visual learner, I am also a visual teacher and frankly, all that text just puts me off. You do have to read through each activity even to get a sense of its purpose and flow. On my resource room or a bookstore shelf, I would likely mistake it solely for a theoretical text and leave it well enough alone until my next PD day or TESOL conference. But as I said, that would be a mistake because there is some great classroom material here as well as some pedagogy to help you brush up. Worth a look.

So there you have it! One down, 5 billion to go. Please leave comments below and especially if you have used Houston's book, let us know which activities were most successful in your classroom. Please also feel free to suggest another title for my next review. Thank you to Eric Roth for this great suggestion.

Coming with the next review: Do your own Review @ a Glance for any ESL/EFL language learning or teaching title with a Review @ a Glance Form.

ESL/EFL Resource Review: Coming Soon!

2009-10-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well, judging by the date of my last post, it seems I've been a bit of a blog-slacker. That's all going to change with the launch of my new and improved Functionall Books fabulous book review blog-a-rama! Ok, that sounds a little goofy, but I have decided to pepper my already-fascinating ESL teacher tips and observations with reviews of current ESL/EFL teaching and learning resources. Not only is there a plethora of resources, they don't come cheap (except, of course, Functionall Books' incredible downloadable e-lessons). Let this old hat do some research and save you some time and money. Lord knows, we teachers need more of both!

Email me or post below the title and isbn# (if you have it) of a resource you love, hate, or really want to know more about and I'll take a closer look. Look for the first review in my next blog post. In the meantime, click the links on the left under "Stuff To Think About", to read previous posts on all kinds of fascinating teaching and learning topics.

Being Yourself

2008-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

It’s usually a quick one hour lecture out of the hundreds budding teachers endure. Um, I mean enjoy. The lecture is a platform for rule-setting – for the teachers, that is. Don’t do this. Don’t say this. Don’t wear this. Sometimes Power Point images of stick figures with low-cut blouses and g-string underwear are involved. A few giggles. A few women (and the men beside them) quickly glance down their necklines to make sure they are “classroom-worthy”. Giggles and surreptitious looks aside, there is always a serious undertone and understanding that, particularly in the hyper-culturally-sensitive environment of an ESL classroom, PROFESSIONALISM is the word of the day. However, while professional dress codes may seem, ahem, clear cut, professional conduct falls under a far more arbitrary umbrella.

Let’s face it, only in the last decade or so have TESL/TEFL and TESOL (Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) members and institutions acquired any semblance of academic or “official” recognition as true educators. There are still locales that will take any EFL teacher, biology degree and all, but for the most part, we’re finally bona fide! That said, there is a grand grey area where professional boundaries are concerned.

Student-teacher relations, for example, and particularly those in an adult learning environment, may be bound by a strict zero-contact policy. Yet, just as likely, some institutions may encourage extra-curricular involvement such as pub trips, potluck parties, and sports activities. Regardless of the “rules”, most adults are aware of what crosses the ever-shifting line and behave accordingly. But what about what teachers believe? What about what teachers say about their beliefs in the classroom?

Oh sure, we teach all “the skills”: grammar, listening, reading, writing, etc…but in what context, under which cultural or political influence? Well, SURPRISE! Our own. Just as writers write what they know best, teachers teach from their own experience. What else would we do? Ironically, teachers are often considered community leaders, wise and influential, yet we are cautioned in our initial training and further PD to be culturally, politically, every-ally neutral in the name of professionalism. In some cases, it seems teachers are trusted only to regurgitate the curriculum, not truly educate from a position of knowledge and experience.

I certainly agree that in order to be respectful to all students and colleagues, one should be thoughtful and diplomatic when expressing personal opinions but I believe it imperative that teachers show their true colours. Recall your favourite or most influential teacher. Unbiased, dispassionate, and predictable are likely not the words that best describe your memories. An impartial, “neutral” educator is not the stuff from which inspiration blossoms. Share your passions. Be yourself. Wear full-bottomed underwear. The learning and growing will follow.

Mentoring & Learning

2008-08-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

When Bill emailed and asked if I knew of anyone who could offer a materials development internship for one of his MATESOL candidates, I racked my brain and came up with one or two lame possibilities. Bill politely mused on my suggestions and showed his characteristic patience and humour while I stumbled into the most obvious solution and the real reason Bill had asked me at all. Me.

While mentoring or sponsoring an intern or practicum student is a great opportunity to guide a new, enthusiastic soul through the maze of your profession (and also, hopefully, your passion), it is also a journey of self-exploration. Such a journey, as most of us know, is both inspiring and painful. My inspiration came in the form of a young woman named Rachael, an enthusiastic and creative intern. Inspiring because she came equipped with the newest in language pedagogy...a side of PD veterans often let slide in the pursuit of "teaching"...and the excited energy of one discovering her niche in the world. Painful because, in order to be a worthwhile and purposeful mentor to her, each choice, suggestion, or path I offered had to be supported by something meaningful and legitimate. In other words, not only was it necessary for me to re-evaluate my teaching philosophy, but I had to hit the books myself, again...

Over the four or so months we worked together, using email, Skype, IM, and (egads!) the telephone to cobble together our individual and collective visions, I learned a great deal about my strengths and my limitations. Most significantly, Rachael reminded me of how hard one will work, and overcome, to show she has got what it takes. Hats off to you Rachael!

Some sponsors or mentors might imagine an internship in which the student is like a little bird, mouth open and wings atwitter, ready to swallow whatever bologne you feed it or fly off to complete whatever goofy task you assign it. A mentor may see his or her efforts as glorious acts of noblesse oblige, or perhaps a colossal waste of time. The reality of mentorship is quite different. It is not something grand or self-sacrificing, nor is it fruitless or futile. It is not the dawn of something new, nor is it a continuing of the status quo. It is a hybrid; it is a negotiation; it is a compromise. It is a relationship.

It’s NOT About You!

2008-03-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

I’ll never forget the words of an early mentor at the beginning of my teaching career: “The students will learn in spite of you.” She said this to reassure me, to give me the freedom to screw up and not beat myself up for it. I took it to mean: whatever mistakes you make, the students will still learn something. It did reassure me.

Over the years, though, her words have come back to me with my own various twists of interpretation. My students will learn in spite of me because my good methods always outweigh my missteps. Early years. My students will learn in spite of me because they are self-motivated enough to wade through the muck that is English language learning. Later years. My students will learn in spite of me because they are younger, smarter, and worldlier than me. Recent years. My students will learn in spite of me because their learning is not about me, it is about them. Now. Epiphany. Students will take what they need when they need it. No less. No more (unless unintentional!).

I suspect this is what my early mentor had actually meant but sometimes we can only hear what we need to hear. My husband often talks about “taking himself out of the equation” in business dealings, about just listening to the client’s needs, forgetting about his own if even just for awhile. A teacher taking himself or herself out of the equation means all the obvious things and more: a student-centred classroom; a relevant curriculum; a needs-based syllabus; less “teacher talk”. There is another aspect of stepping back and out that we teachers often forget, however many times it came up in our theory studies: not getting trapped in the students’ affective filters.

Remember that term? I’m certain you do. All the things that can get in the way of learning. Family. Health. Stress. Culture. Fear. Money. Work. Um, life. An endless list that can lodge itself in a student’s brain and block his or her openness to learning. Basically any adult has an affective filter as thick as the Bible. Perhaps it is my recent work with adult immigrants but it seems that suddenly, it’s not “get a life”, but “hey, got a life and am just squeezing you in” or “have no life ‘cause I’m cramming English to jump through some hoops”. Either way, it’s got nothing to do with me. The missing homework assignments. The falling asleep in class. The absences. The attitude. Even the good stuff: the perfect grammar score; the impeccable essay; the creative journal entries; the animated presentations. My doing? Not so much. The reasons for both the good and bad results are countless, and none of my business. I’ve stopped sweating my students’ affective filters.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a call to inaction or worse, apathy, but rather a reminder to relax. Teachers can offer, inspire, and support. Students? Well, students will do what is necessary, to and for themselves. The future is not ours to see. Que sera sera.

It's not right just because you googled it!

2007-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

It is never good when your parents tell you you have done something wrong; it's worse when you're 30-something and it's a professional error they have so constructively drawn your attention to. You can imagine I was pretty embarrassed when my Mum emailed the other day to point out a typo on a recent newsletter I had sent out (yes, I send out my stuff to everyone!). Here I am, a supposed English teacher and writer, making minor boo-boos in my professional communications! As the Brits say, it's just not on.

The only thing that makes me feel better is that I'm not alone and not only am I not alone, but I have heaps of company: basically, everyone who has ever contributed to that wonderfully fluid and written history that is the Internet. Well, this makes me feel better on an I-was-too-much-in-a-hurry-to-edit-what-a-loser level, but as a teacher, it brings me darn near panic. Who is monitoring all these language errors? Who is perpetuating all these language errors? Why hasn't Google found a way to demerit these sloppy writers? Just who is in charge here?

I feel like a frustrated lexicographer in London, circa 1476. Too many spellings to choose from. Eenee, meenee, mainee, mo... While the advent of the printing press "froze" English spelling (for better or for worse), the Internet is spewing out old words with a vast array of new spellings. The Internet is melting the rules. The implications are mind-boggling.

As a language geek, the thought that anything goes both excites and terrifies me: vive la révolution! Even as I write this, though, I wonder how far we can go before easy comprehension is lost, before the natural flow is staunched; how many misspellings away are we from the tower of Babel?

As an ESL teacher, it is a daily battle. "But, teacher, I read it on the Internet". "I googled it!". In the old days, students would simply say, "My teacher in ______ told me that...". My stock response was always that perhaps he or she had misunderstood what the teacher had said. Not now, nooooooooooo. Now, the student has a print-out of the article, or blog, or random googled sentence. My only defence is this: It's not right just because you read it on the Internet.

As a businesswoman, it is vital to me that my clients take me seriously and particularly because my "stuff" is the stuff of language, I cannot afford mistakes. I have yet to find an error-free website for any business I've sought out online. The errors always make me pause, make me consider the professionalism of the organization. It seems website content editing is not a valued service. It should be. I just hired my Mum. Cheap for me. You? You'll have to buck up.

It goes without saying that it is so much easier to google what we need to know than walk down to the library or bookstore and hope we can find what we need in, say, less than ten hours. I'm certain I don't need to point out that the world of the Web and the popularity and ease of self-publishing allow all and sundry to put their thoughts in both concrete and cyber-black and white. Of course, no one is in charge; the sane and the insane are running the asylum.

My kingdom for an editor. Don't even get me started on texting.

Language Debate

2007-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago, a dear friend and colleague took me to task on the grammatical correctness of an utterance; in other words, she thinks I've got it all wrong! Please support poor misunderstood Fiona by choosing the correct form below:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Why Study English?

2007-11-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

April 2010
from MacLean's Magazine: "French is out of fashion in Rwanda" by Kaj Hasselriis

When Governor General Michaelle Jean visits Rwanda next week, she might have to bite her tongue about the country's new language policy. After a century of close ties to France and Belgium, the East African nation is phasing out francais and embracing English. "English is becoming more and more dominant in the world,," says Arnaud Nkusi, anchor of Rwanda's state-owned TV news. It's all about business. You have to move with the rest of the world." Full story here.

June 2010
From antimoon.com: "Why Learn English?"

What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Today's media — such as the Internet, television, and the press — give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all, we live in the information age, don't we?

There's only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English. Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English:

Most pages on the Web. That's over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It's amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.
Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever you're interested in, you can read about it in English!
The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don't have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune!
Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997, 95% of the articles in the Science Citation Index were written in English. Only about 50% of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain.
News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world.
Communicate with people. We like to call English "the language of communication". Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other. About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it.
75% of the world's letters and postcards are written in English.
Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English.
Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association. Read more here

From from The Economist, March 7, 2009:
Language and trade (Letters)

SIR- Charlemagne lamented the fact that English has arisen as the main language that Europeans choose to learn while Anglophones remain monolingual (February 14th). In his gloominess, Charlemagne missed an important point: the linguistic unification of Europe can yield economic returns in addition to the cultural and social ones enjoyed by those of us who speak English, whether or not it is our first language.

In a recent paper, we found that bilateral trade between European countries depends positively on the probability that two randomly chosen individuals, one from each country, would be able to communicate with each other in english. We predicted that if knowledge of English in all European countries increased by ten percentage points, European trade would rise by 15% on average. Bringing all European countries up to the level of English proficiency enjoyed by the Dutch could increase European trade by up to 70%.

This comes close to the gains reckoned to accrue from adopting the euro. But unlike joining the euro and having to give up your currency, you need not give up your own language to use English. Our analysis does not hinge on English enjoying official-language status across Europe, only that Europeans are able to speak it well.

Jan Fidrmuc
Senior Lecturer in economics
Brunel University

Jarko Fidrmuc
Professor of political economy
University of Munich

So what's wrong with "milking it"??

2007-10-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

"Milk it for all it's worth!" A great refrain and one a teacher should never feel guilty for uddering....uh, I mean uttering. O.k. corny joke aside, it is true there are usually two types of teachers that love to stretch a lesson or theme or activity as far as it will go: a new teacher who is accidentally inadequately prepared, and an experienced teacher who is intentionally inadequately prepared or, in other words, perfectly prepared.

As experienced teachers know, the fabulous news is that as long as your students aren't snoring and drooling on their desks, "milking it" is exactly what a good teacher should be doing! Now, exploring a lesson to its full potential does not mean desperately clinging to every last related thread but truly allowing students to learn, practice, and review practical and relevant language points. In this day of instant-everything, you and your students know that language learning is often a slooooooow journey with many dimensions.

Not tooting my own horn or anything but one favorite lesson for students and teachers is from my Function-all 1: Unit 2 "Checking Understanding". I think it's popular because students find it very relevant to their lives and it uses very practical language. I've taken that unit and created a 15-hour lesson plan that "milks it" in a fun and effective way. Below is 1) a model of the basic steps in building context and 2) a 15-hour lesson plan with the fabulous Unit 2

Check out the materials at the website and give yourself a break and your students a fantastic language journey!

The Language of Facebook

2007-10-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

The language geek that I am sees teaching possibilities in almost everything I see or do (Like how CSI would make a great context for modal perfects), so it makes sense that my new Facebook addiction has me wondering about its classroom application. Now, I’m a newbie and what I don’t yet know about Face or FB or Crackbook (as my son calls it; due to its addictive properties I assume!) and all its associated applications is extensive but what I do see is a great opportunity for language learning. Because I’m not currently in the classroom, I can only imagine how FB can be utilized but I see it something like this:

Step 1: At the beginning of each term, create a “group” for each new class. Students can decide how much personal information they want to share or they can even make stuff up for the purpose of the group! Hey, they can even be mystery identities and by the end of the term, everyone can guess who is who based on their postings/profile/etc…
You can dissolve the group at the end of the term or leave it and see what happens.

Step 2: Have students use FB and add applications and exchange posts and pokes and generally do what everybody else does!

Step 3: If they “facebook” every night (or a couple times a week), they can orally report happenings the next day. Teachers can expand from there with related topics, be it grammar, functions, reading, writing…anything!

Check out the wealth of mixed verb practice and other grammar!
Where I’ve travelled/Cities I’ve visited/Superpoke: present perfect
Status Updates: present continuous, adjectives
News Feed: simple past, present perfect, passive
Horoscopes: simple present, future
My questions: any tense!
Moods: adjectives
and so many more…

Well, really, there are all the language elements of conversation and reading and writing here (with idioms galore!) and in a context most students can relate to…because it’s about them!

I know that some of my colleagues are already using Facebook in the classroom to great success. I would love to hear about some effective activities or anything that others have done with it. Leave comments here, so others can benefit from your experiences!

In Context

2007-09-05T19:04:00.001-07:00

If you have been in my classroom, hung out in the teacher's room, snooped around my desk, or used my materials, you would never wonder what my teaching philosophy is; I may as well tattoo it on my forehead: IN CONTEXT.

As a recurring motif in all things pedagogical in the TESL/TEFL world, contextualized language teaching seems such an obvious approach. Ask any teacher of ESL or EFL whether he incorporates context into his lessons plans and I'm certain the reply will be something along the lines of "Well, duh". However, I'll also bet that if you probe a little further, that same teacher may be unable to explain how he builds context into a lesson; even more likely is that you'll discover while he may have a "theme" (holidays, travelling, health...), there is very little actual context-building going on. Now, I'm not just saying all this because my texts are context-based (well, that's kind of why). I'm flogging this particular horse because, while there is an overwhelming consensus that context-based teaching is an effective method, few teachers seem to do it.

A theme can be, of course, a form of context. Teachers will often work within a theme and practice vocabulary and dialogues with relevant readings and listening activities. Many textbooks are already designed for thematic lessons. Grammar and functional gambits, however, are often left to their own devices. True, some worthy attempts have been made to create contextualized grammar lessons (Grammar Dimensions and Focus on Grammar are two series that come to mind) , but overall and with particular attention paid to the greatest selling grammar series of all time, the Azar series, grammar is rarely taught in context. Worse, functional gambits are still being filtered through the likes of Functional American English and the basic, Gambits 1, 2 & 3. I've been told that functional English has fallen from favour, but really only the labelling has changed. "Situational English", even "ESP" embody the functional
approach. It goes without saying that grammar has never fallen from favour, it just went underground for awhile. So why the lack of context-based grammar and gambits lessons? I have my theories.

One possibility is that the context-based grammar texts that do exist are boring as heck. They are often simply not relevant to the students' lives. Another is that, without a textbook, building context is just too much darn work. Teachers have big piles of work. As far as gambits go, aren't they contexts unto themselves? Uh, no, not really. Handing students a list of gambits is not building a meaningful context.

From my first textbook, Function-all 1: Intermediate Plus, teachers have used and built upon several successful contexts that their students have not only enjoyed immensely but have acquired some useful language in the process! Among these are: "Guessing: Stereotypes"; "Likes and Dislikes: Smells"; and a particular favorite: "Checking Understanding: Jargon". I'm not suggesting I have the key to all language success but I'm working on it!

If you need a process for context-building, email me: fiona@eslenglish.ca and I would be happy to send on some materials used in our English in Practice workshops.

If you have built some fun and successful contexts in your ESL/EFL classroom, I'd love to hear about them: fiona@eslenglish.ca . Join the mailing list at www. eslenglish.ca and I'll send you a free unit!

Description vs. Prescription: Finding the Balance

2007-05-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

As I learn this new art of self-promotion, I find myself doing things out of my comfort zone. Waaaaaaay out of my comfort zone. My web designer suggested I join some ESL/EFL online forums, so I reluctantly signed up to a few, certain all manner of wackos would suddenly show up on my doorstep or worse, nothing would happen; it would all be just a colossal waste of my time.

Actually, one wacko did show up in my inbox, but what also happened was that I got addicted, addicted to answering questions about English, addicted to that high that teachers get when they feel they are genuinely helping someone. Although I am "a member" on a few sites, one is particularly active and I sometimes find myself there when I should be doing a million other things.

The great thing is, of course, that I can pick and choose the questions that interest me and that are in my field of knowledge. The downside is that, more often than not, one of my threads will become this relentless back-and-forth of "expert" opinion and some poor student who just needs an answer to last week's quiz is completely tossed aside like a cheap paper cup. The underlying issue in almost all of these wayward threads is prescriptivism.

Don't get me wrong. I love rules as much as the next prescriptivist; they make me feel secure and fuzzy and warm. I have sometimes been referred to as a grammar geek and what grammar keener doesn't embrace boundaries. The problem I see here is my esteemed online colleagues are overlooking the students' needs. Teachers of language quickly realise that there are "textbook" rules and then there are the "usage" realities in language practice; throw in regional and dialectal differences and a simple question about the present perfect becomes a cauldron of debate.

I am a teacher first and a linguist second and although the latter clearly informs the former, I try to recognize that when an ESL student is trying to sound like his native-speaking peers when ordering a beer at the pub, he is not interested in a lecture on the use of the subjunctive!

Books for Africa

2006-11-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

When I first founded Functionall Books, my husband was full of advice and classic business axioms, some of which I heeded, other bits, not so much.One piece, however, I squirreled away and have since come to embrace: start the way you intend to finish. This, of course, can mean a multitude of things. For me, it has meant: don’t cut corners; end-point visualize; be true to yourself; keep learning and growing…and so on. Most importantly, though, it has meant: be philanthropic. From the start. Embed it in your business plan, in your corporate culture. Don’t wait until you’ve made it to spare your buddy a dime. However little I make in the beginning, a part of my profits will always be earmarked for something more significant than lil’ ol’ Functionall Books or lil’ ol’ Fiona. Hence, Books for Africa and, hopefully, other mutually beneficial partnerships down the road.

In the words of Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary-General:“Books for Africa is a simple idea, but its impact is transformative. For us, literacy is quite simply the bridge from misery to hope”.

Our Books for Africa Bookraiser and bookband Launch in May, 2009 raised over 300 books and almost $800.00 for shipping costs. Thank you friends and colleagues!