Teaching language in context: Pedagogical tools for teaching ESL Humanities

by Daryl Culp

Teaching ESL students is a particular challenge, especially when they are trying to express abstract ideas in a second language. The standard ESL teaching techniques don’t always translate well into a content-based course. However, teachers can use ESL pedagogy to provide a framework for achieving a basic fluency in a more advanced level of linguistic competence. In Stephen Krashen’s influential theory, “a second language is most successfully acquired when the conditions are similar to those present in first language acquisition: that is, when the focus of instruction is on meaning rather than on form; when the language input is at or just above the proficiency of the learner; and when there is sufficient opportunity to engage in meaningful use of that language in a relatively anxiety-free environment” (Crandall).

A content-based course like Humanities is the perfect place to put his theories into practice since it provides "meaningful interaction in the target language" (Krashen 1). In this project, I will present strategies to teach conceptual content to ESL students. Focusing on some basic cognitive skills can help ESL students understand what goals they are trying to achieve in a content-based course. Often their educational background has encouraged rote memorization. The Western style of critical thinking can be as foreign as the vocabulary of content-based courses. See the appendix for an introduction to the course that emphasizes the thinking skills that they will develop in the course.

Capabilities:

John Bean says that “teachers can make more progress with at-risk and second-language students if they focus on the content, organization and development of papers, aiming to teach the kind of writing and critical thinking skills that the instructor values”(Bean 41). Focusing on some basic cognitive skills can help ESL students understand what goals they are trying to achieve in a content-based course. Following are the essential learning skills that I aim for in my course (adapted from Bloom’s taxonomy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_of_Educational_Objectives):

Summary

Explanation

Response

Hinkel notes that ESL students tend to use the first stage (knowledge telling): "'telling' about personal experiences or opinions represents the easiest form of writing production that is accessible to practically all language users" (Hinkel 11). He proposes that instructors work to move them to a higher level: "Knowledge transforming necessitates thinking about an issue, obtaining the information needed for analysis, and modifying one's thinking" (Hinkel 12). I have developed reading guides to help students understand the textbook (see appendices). I include some questions that aim for both levels (starting with questions for understanding and moving on to questions for reflection).

I have developed worksheets on basic study skills that can benefit ESL students (see the appendices). I realize that these are often taught in supplementary workshops but I find it helpful to introduce them in the Humanities course. Sometimes I do a quick presentation summarizing these skills with a short exercise (rather than handing out the worksheet which can act as a reference guide online).

ESL students are often overwhelmed by the task of writing in a content-based course. They can benefit from instruction that breaks this task down into smaller steps. Jeff Zwiers has a multitude of suggestions in his very helpful book Building Academic Language. He argues that "We must function as translators, or guides, who help our students shape their new ideas into the language of the discipline" (Zwiers 113).

Thus, the following tasks can be emphasized in order to make clear what is expected:

Write a paragraph in your own words describing the main ideas discussed in a lecture or the textbook.

Extend the implications of an idea (give examples or extend the argument).

Do you agree or disagree? Why? Make an argument.

See the appendix for a sample reading guide that gives sample questions of this sort for the students to consider as they read the appropriate selection in the textbook.

In order to think critically, Loretta Kasper suggests, the student “must be able to function on an autonomous level, synthesizing information from a variety of sources and weighing the importance of the different pieces of information they have found” (Kasper 8). The student should be able to summarize ideas clearly (using the most pertinent details). Further, he or she should be able to comment on their implications or relations to other concepts. Paragraphs should be carefully organized with ideas following each other in a logical order. The student needs to respond to ideas from their own perspective, making arguments that give good supporting evidence.

Techniques:

ESL students require different techniques to teach ideas because they are just starting to learn English. Ideas require rather abstract linguistic abilities and so ESL students need to be “boot-strapped” up to a higher level. Following are three modes of activity that can be done in the classroom.

Engage

Study

Activate

Starting the class with a story or a newspaper headline engages the students’ interest right away. They need to be motivated to learn. Starting with a fun activity (even a joke) can set the tone for a class and let the students feel like they are going to enjoy the ride!

Asking questions is a good way to involve students in the presentation of content. This models for the students their own journey. Rudolph Bernard (in his essay “Reflecting on Commentary”) suggests that it is important to "generate students' confidence in the merit of their own questions" (Pally 202). Start with easy questions (about facts or obvious points in the reading) and move on to more reflective thinking questions.

A clear explanation of the idea that the students are going to focus on is absolutely necessary. The students need to see the idea broken down into easy-to-understand steps. This helps them to apply it to other contexts because it allows them to process the information step-by step. Lois Meyer calls this “lightening the language load” (Meyer 232) and illustrates how this process can be necessary even before seemingly rudimentary tasks such as brainstorming (which is actually quite a complex activity for those only starting to learn the language).

Tools:

Exercises can activate the knowledge that the students have just learned. They need to practice using the ideas and expressing them in their own words. Zwiers suggests that these be used as scaffolding: "providing high levels of language support in the early stages of learning and gradually taking the support away so that the learner develops independence" (Zwiers 48). Applying the ideas to new scenarios can help them to “think outside the box.” Using visual organizers (like charts) can give students multiple ways to process the information (Kasper 9). Teachers can help students by giving lots of visual aids that "supply the extra-linguistic content" (Krashen 55).

I find it useful to think of the lecture as a performance. It is important to speak dramatically, to vary the pitch and volume of your voice. Tauber and Mester suggest that it is often useful to use humour as well as surprise in order to captivate students’ attention. Facial expression can help communicate meaning (and often a positive context for the information helps it to “go down” better). I have also portrayed characters in the classroom in order to make the content more entertaining. Props can also help (I use balloons to illustrate the planets when I discuss heliocentrism).

Organizing the information into a coherent framework can help the student. Of course, they should be doing this themselves in order to learn and retain, but the teacher can model this and encourage different strategies. I often give out a table that students are supposed to fill in as the lecture progresses. When I review for a test, I help students construct mind maps that diagram the way the information is related. Tony Buzan argues that these pictures help use both sides of the brain to store the information. David Sousa gives many helpful varieties in his book How the Brain Learns.

Appendices

In the sample materials following the bibliography, I include examples for use in planning lessons.

Guide to Success in the Humanities (handout for students)

Reading Guide (handout for students)

Sample reading guide for one reading

Discussion exercises

Skills bingo (worksheet for first class)

Worksheet: reading

Worksheet: note-taking

Worksheet: writing

Sample test questions

Works Consulted

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking and Active Learning in the Classroom. Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Beckett, E. Carol and Perry Kay Haley, “Using Standards to Integrate Academic Language into ESL Fluency,” Clearing House, v74 n2 p102-04 Nov-Dec 2000. http://www.jstor.org/pss/30189650

“Benchmarking First-Year English: An Analysis of the Language Proficiencies Required for Entry into First-Year English Composition: A Project Summary” http://www.bccat.bc.ca/pubs/esl.cfm (full report: http://www.bccat.ca/pubs/ESL-Benchmarking-1st-yr-English.pdf).

Buzan, Tony. Use Both Sides of your Brain. Plume, 1991.

Crandall, Joann. “Content-Centered Language Learning.” http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/cranda01.html

Crandall, JoAnn and Dorit Kaufman, eds. Content-Based Instruction in Higher Education Settings. Alexandria, Va.: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2002.

Echevarria, Jana et al. Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners: The SIOP Model. Boston, MA : Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Ellis, Rod. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding Language; Scaffolding Learning. Heinemann, 2002.

Hinkel, Eli. Teaching Academic ESL Writing. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Kasper, Loretta et al, eds. Content-Based College ESL Instruction. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.

Krashen, S. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon. 1982.

Krashen, Stephen D. and Tracy D. Terrell. The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom. Hayward, California : Alemany Press, 1983.

Meyer, Lois M. “Barriers to Meaningful Instruction for English Learners” (Theory into Practice 39:4 Autumn 2000). http://www.jstor.org/pss/1477342

Marcia Pally, ed. Sustained Content Teaching in Academic ESL/EFL: A Practical Approach. Boston, MA; Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Reiss, Jodi. Teaching Content for English Language Learners: Strategies for Secondary School Success. New York : Longman, 2005.

Smythe, Kevin and Jane Halonen, “Applying Assessment Strategies in Psychology: Using the New Bloom's Taxonomy to Design Meaningful Learning Assessments.” http://www.apa.org/ed/new_blooms.html

Sousa, David. How the Brain Learns: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide. Corwin Press, 2001.

Tauber, Robert T. and Cathy Sargent Mester, Acting Lessons for Teachers: Using Performance Skills in the Classroom. Greenwood, 2007.

“Taxonomy of Educational Objectives” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_of_Educational_Objectives

Zwiers, Jeff. Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms. Jossey-Bass, 2008.

Guide to Success in the Humanities

by Daryl Culp

This course is designed to give you critical thinking skills. You will learn how to process information, not just memorize it. Your ability to solve problems and analyze situations will be improved by coming up with your own ideas and responses.

My office is H439. If you need help, make an appointment to see me. I can be reached by email at daryl.culp@humber.ca (I will try to respond to your email within a day, although on the weekend it might take longer). If you need to contact me by phone, my office extension is (416) 6756622 ext. 8938. Please call only in emergencies (like missing a test).

Email is the best way to contact me. Make sure that you use complete sentences when you write an email. This is a professional communication. It doesn’t look very impressive when a student writes a message with short forms like “u” and “pls”!

Resources

Humber College has a lot of support for you. The writing centre (GH 202 North; F201 Lakeshore) can help you with assignments. The Peer Tutoring centre (H217 North; H201 Lakeshore) will pair you up with a student who has taken the course before. They also run study skills workshops.

The Humanities textbook has a CD-ROM that provides lists of important words (complete with definitions) and summaries of the main ideas presented in the book.

Study strategies

1. When you read the textbook, identify the most important vocabulary. Look in a dictionary for the meaning of the words that you think are the key concepts.
2. Take notes in class. Don’t copy everything that is presented to you. Identify the main idea and summarize the key details explaining that idea. This skill is tremendously important because it indicates how well you understand the information that is being presented to you.
3. Ask questions. If you don’t understand something, put up your hand and ask. Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t express yourself very well. My job as a teacher is to help you.
4. Study for tests by thinking through the information that you have received. Write it down in different formats such as charts or diagrams. This will help your brain to remember the ideas in a variety of ways.

Humanities Reading Guide

by Daryl Culp

Studying the humanities involves you, the student, in a great conversation. The ideas in this course are intended to stimulate you to discover how others think but also to formulate your own opinion. The following reading guides are intended to help you to summarize the main ideas discussed in the textbook and to start you thinking for yourself about the big issues that every human being confronts.

Keys for understanding

There are some basic tasks that you can do in order to understand these ideas better. First, look up the most important words in a dictionary. Don’t look up every word. You have to learn to identify the key words that are central to the topic. Then find a good, complete definition. Sometimes a concept requires several sentences to explain. Try a good online dictionary like the Oxford Dictionary (oxforddictionaries.com).

Summarize and paraphrase

Understanding ideas means linking them to other ideas in your own head and in the larger culture’s discussion of these ideas. In order to do this, you have to be able to express these ideas in your own words. Identify the main ideas and the basic supporting details that explain these ideas. You can do this in point form in order to remember them more effectively. You should also be able to write an explanation in your own words in a paragraph.

Respond

Thinking about these ideas requires you to ask questions. Some sample questions for reflection will be provided, but you should also come up with your own. There are an infinite number of questions that arise when thinking about these ideas. Questions enable you to consider the implications of these ideas. In other words, think about what the writer has left out. What can you add to this discussion? Maybe you have another example (a situation that the writer has not thought about). Perhaps you have some background knowledge that can help analyze this issue. The most important thing is to think from your own perspective. Contribute your own thoughts and join the conversation.

HESL 024 Reading guide: The individual

Main ideas

1. Why is everybody unique?
2. Is our mind different than our brain?
3. How do our unconscious impulses and our genes shape who we are?

Vocabulary:

Dualism

Nature

Nurture

Genes

Behaviour

Determinism

Vocabulary exercise (for the “Introduction to the Student”)

1. ___ individual a. what others think that you should do
2. ___ unique b. below the surface of the mind
3. ___ expectations c. different than anything else
4. ___ unconscious d. something that prevents movement or change
5. ___ constraint e. the self (a person)

Match the word with the correct definition from the reading (pages 2-8):

1. ___ neurology a. a being or object

2. ___ behaviourism b. a theory proposing two different substances

3. ___ dualism c. something that we can sense (an event)

4. ___ entity d. study of the brain

5. ___ phenomenon e. a theory of the self studying its actions

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word from the words below:

analyze, personality, perspective, innate, dualism, identity, continuity, conclusively, benevolent, far-fetched, veracity, appraisal, introspection

My _____________ is based on who I am, what my parents have given me, and what I have learned from society. I see the world from my own ____________. Through _____________ I can think about my own reality. Some of my characteristics are probably ____________ since they are part of my biological heritage. I don’t believe in ___________ because I don’t think that the mind has a mysterious invisible reality. If we can ____________ the brain through scientific techniques, we can figure out who we are.

Discussion exercises

1. Multiculturalism scenarios
1. You are at a baseball game at the Rogers Centre. Somebody climbing up the stairs beside your seat suddenly spits on the stairs, almost hitting you. What do you do?
2. You are at a party and somebody mentions that their father has a second wife in another country (where it is legal). He is trying to get her to immigrate but is having problems with Canadian immigration. What do you say?
3. You are in a class having a discussion about marriage. Somebody makes a comment about the purpose of marriage being to have children. Somebody else says that it is to have a son to carry on the family line. What do you say?

HESL 024 Talk Show

You are a guest on "The Daryl Culp Show," which features intense discussions on fascinating topics. Today, the topic is "Does science agree with religion?" Imagine you are one of the following personalities and come up with more reasons for your view.

Priest

The universe displays the creativity of God in its wonderful design. Although design doesn't prove God, it supports faith in a creator of the universe.

Atheist

The universe is governed by beautiful laws, but they exist because of mathematics. The universe just exists, and there might be many of them that have different mathematical structures.

Scientist

Science doesn't tell us anything about issues like the meaning of life. This universe is the only one we know and we can only know its laws. Certainly there is a lot of pain and suffering involved in life, which makes you wonder why God would create it this way.

Poet

The universe is so beautiful it could not exist without an artist to paint it. The meaning of life is indicated by the beautiful discoveries of science, but they only have meaning because human beings think so.

Worksheets

I have developed a number of worksheets to help students learn how to learn. For example, the following task outlines how to do read critically for content:

Here’s an exercise to help students understand the course syllabus:

Fill in the blanks or circle the correct answers. The first group to get four boxes in a row wins!

We will be reading _____ articles in the textbook.	The title of the first article in the textbook is “____________.”	You (can / cannot) attend another section of the Humanities class.	You (do / do not) need to inform the teacher if you miss a test.
Test 2 will be on which day? ___________	What percentage of your assignment do you lose if you hand it in one day late? _____	The page numbers of the articles that you need to read are found on the ______.	You can get extra help with ideas and concepts at the ________.
The makeup test is on which day? ____________	Which classroom is the class in on Thursdays?____	The percentage weight of each test is found in the ______.	The lowest test score (will / will not) be dropped.
It (is / is not) possible to write a makeup test for a failed test.	How much is the third test worth (as a percentage of your total mark)? _____	The textbook includes a ______ in the back that has more information.	The name of your professor is __________.

Reading exercise

There are 5 steps to reading in order to extract information from a text.

1. Survey

2. Question

3. Read

4. Recite

5. Review

We’ll do these one at a time.

1. Survey: Look briefly at the text for any hints about the main ideas. Are there any headings or titles? Are there diagrams that illustrate the ideas? If none of these helpful guides are there, look at the first line of each paragraph (it often introduces the main idea).

What does your survey tell you is the main idea? ___________________

2. Question: Make up a few questions that you want answered when you read this text. What information do you want to know? What ideas do you want to explore?

Write two questions: _______________________________

_________________________________

3. Read: When you read, concentrate on identifying the main ideas and the facts or arguments that explain or support those ideas. Don’t get distracted by vocabulary you don’t know (if necessary, write down the words that you will have to look up).

4. Recite: Say to yourself (or write down) the main idea of the text. If you found the answers to your questions, write them down here.

Write down the main idea: _________________________

What details explain the idea? ____________________

_____________________

5. Your memory of what you have read will be strengthened if you review your notes a day or two later. Look at the text again to remind yourself what you need to remember and say it to yourself. Don’t just memorize; think about what you have read and wonder if it is true!

Note-taking

Notes taken from lectures or from a book should emphasize the main ideas (using titles or headings) and then fill in the details.

Here are two styles that you could use:

Chart

Main idea	Details
The mind-body problem	-dualism means that two substances important for human nature: …
Human genome project	Are we determined by our genes?

Outline

Main idea

1. definitions

2. details

3. questions that you have

The mind-body problem

-dualism means that two substances are important for human nature

-mind (invisible ideas) and brain (physical body)

Human Genome Project – it’s just the brain

“personality traits are determined by genetics” (5)

“How is it possible for a purely mental, non-physical mind to interact with an entirely material, physical body?” (5)

Writing exercise

When you read a text that contains information, you need to be able to understand and explain those ideas. Writing a summary in your own words shows that you understand the concepts, but you also have to explain the implications of these ideas. When you write, emphasize the significance of the information that you are talking about. What other ideas are connected to this? What does it mean for people in real life? If you can answer these questions, you not only understand the meaning of what you have read on the page, but you also understand the way that the ideas or facts go beyond the printed page and take on a life of their own in our society.

Here are some helpful hints for writing:

1. Brainstorm: Take 30 seconds or a minute to write down anything that comes into your head about this topic. Don’t think; just dump whatever is in your brain on the page.
2. Prioritize: Look at your list of pieces of information and identify which are the most important (circle them, number them in order of importance).
3. Outline: Write a brief outline in point form, listing the most important points and giving a few more details about the ideas (the supporting facts or arguments)
4. Write a paragraph for each point. Each paragraph should start with a sentence identifying the main idea. Then explain the facts or arguments (the supporting details). Conclude with a sentence summarizing the significance of the ideas.

Brainstorm:

________________ _____________________

________________ ____________________

Prioritize:

1.

2.

3.

Outline

1.

a.

b.

2.

a.

b.

3.

a.

b.

Writing exercises

Definition: Plagiarism is the act of using words or ideas from an author without acknowledging the source of that information. It is an academic offense because it means that you are not doing the work that should show how well you understand what you are studying (it’s like copying another student’s work). This is a form of cheating and you can get kicked out of Humber because of it.

Exercise 1: Paraphrase a sentence in your own words and include a citation in brackets at the end of the sentence to illustrate how to avoid plagiarism.

Exercise 2: Now write a paragraph using the following outline:

1. Topic sentence: introduce the theme that you want to address.

2. Write a sentence including the quote (direct quotation) or paraphrase it (indirect quotation). Include a citation at the end of the sentence.

3. Explain the meaning in your own words. Extend the implications of the idea (give an example or analyze the practical consequences).

4. Concluding sentence (say something striking--summarize this issue by alerting the reader to why it is important, or what larger context this fits into).

Here’s an example of a paragraph using a quotation properly. I have cited the source from which the information came in MLA format.

How are we changing as human beings in our interactions with computers? Nicholas Carr argues that we have a shorter attention span and don’t reflect as deeply today because we rely on the Internet for quick access to information in small bites. He argues that “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles” (Carr 88). He notes that the brain changes as it experiences the world and it is re-wired by these experiences. It changes the way we think!

Works Cited

Nicholas Carr; “Is Google Making us Stupid?” in Clive Cockerton and Melanie Chaparian, eds. The Human Project. 5^th edition, (Pearson), 2010.

Sample test questions

Part I: Circle the most accurate answer and write it and the question number on the paper provided.

1. Descartes tried to find something certain by
1. trusting what he experienced through his senses
2. believing what religious authorities said
3. accepting what the philosophers of his time thought
4. doubting everything that he thought he knew
2. The superego, according to Freud, is
1. the internalized set of rules from our family and culture
2. the desires and instincts of our animal nature
3. a part of the mind that has no influence on our behaviour
4. our capacity to think
3. The human genetic code
1. does not force us to behave in certain ways.
2. contains information that results in our physical characteristics
3. can be used to cure all mental and physical diseases.
4. will not result in new techniques for having children.
4. Behaviourists argued that
1. the self can be changed through conditioning
2. we cannot change the way that we act
3. the mind is a separate substance than the body
4. we should focus on our internal mental states
5. Nietzsche thought that most people
1. are leaders
2. follow the crowd
3. are courageous
4. like to make their own moral rules

Part II: Answer TWO of the following questions. (5 marks each; 1 or 2 paragraphs each)

1. Explain why Descartes thinks that the mind and body are different. How did he come to this conclusion?

2. Explain Freud’s technique of psychoanalysis. Do you think that it would be effective? Why or why not?

3. Describe one of the difficult problems that genetic information can produce. What do you think is the best response to this problem?

4. Explain why the behaviourist methods for changing people are not always effective. Use an example to show why conditioning sometimes does not work.

5. How does Nietzsche suggest that humans should act? Do you agree? Why or why not?

6. What does Phineas Gage’s accident tell us about the way the brain functions? How can this help us?