Dear EAL Professionals,
It is great to see our online community growing to 136 members! The T.E.N. is all about collaboration and learning from one another; take a look in the events section to see what people learned at the CO12 conference. Share your learning. This month our challenge for you is to add one idea for learners to practice their English skills outside of the classroom.
News from T.E.N.
Getting Started: For those who have just joined our network, we have created a Getting Started box suggesting the steps to take to get around T.E.N.
Top content of the month: In this block we highlight the top discussions, blog posts and resources for you to review and comment.
Events: Valeria Palladino from NorQuest College, Alberta agreed to give a 75- minute online presentation/webinar about the potential of online tools as presented and explored by the Professional Development Promising Technologies (PD-PT) Project at NorQuest College. The webinar will be held online (in WiZiQ), on Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 10:50 a.m (Winnipeg time). This class is open to EAL/ESL instructors who click this link on March 3, 2012. Don’t forget to indicate your participation in this event on T.E.N. For more information, contact Natalia.
Teaching EAL/ESL in a multilevel class
Everyone who has ever taught English to a group of students with wide range of levels, from beginning to advanced, would agree it’s a DEMANDING JOB! Addressing the varied needs of those learners is a big challenge and requires a vast amount of time and preparation. According to various resources and experts in teaching multilevel EAL/ESL classes, the key elements of a successful multilevel class are as follows:
- Learner needs assessment
Tests/surveys/interviews/ observation/discussions/portfolios and other alternative assessment tools:
- Alternating group/pair work with independent activities
- Planning the lesson with all levels and learners in mind (takes more time but pays off in the long run)
- Getting and giving feedback
If your class has access to a computer lab, some of the Web 2.0 tools might be very helpful. Explore various exciting ESL activities your learners can do online, whether in groups or individually:
Even though all this might seem overwhelming and time consuming, it is important to focus on the advantages of a multilevel ESL/EAL classroom. The multilevel classroom creates a perfect environment for developing/enabling self-directed and cooperative learning skills in students. Those two are highly important to become a lifelong learner.
And one more thing… Let’s not ‘reinvent a wheel’ by replicating each other’s work. Let’s share instead! If you have or find great resources, activities or lesson plans, online or in print, share it with your colleagues. Join our Teaching multi-level EAL classes group to support each other and help save time and energy! Remember, it’s all about collaboration. |
