Marc Roberts's Blog
Posted by Marc Roberts
I have been teaching advanced ESL writing classes for nearly a decade, and the one "trick" I share with my students which always (and I mean "always") guarantees them better grades on writing assignments is this: When you have finished writing your paper and taken it through all of the useful peer review and dialectical revision processes that make your ideas appear clear and organized to a reader, print out a copy of your paper and circle all of your verbs.
Invariable, more than 80% of the verbs used will be of an inactive nature: be, have, feel, appear, seem, etc; and while these verbs are useful and seve their own very practical purposes, by recommending to my students that they replace the majority of these verbs with "active" verbs that express more closely the meaning they intended, I have seen the marks they receive on written academic assignments increase considerably.
Of course, some professors will point out all flaws in ESL students' grammatical structure, including errors in article and preposition usage, but the change brought about by the replacement of forms of the verb "be" with other verbs that seem to bring a sentence alive can make a big difference in the perception of a student's overall writing ability.
As ESL instructors, I believe that we have a responsibility to make it clear to our students that the continuous strengthening of their word "power" will prove to be a significant part of their success in learning the English language.
Posted by Marc Roberts
Several years ago I designed an advanced ESL reading course for an ELI program that aimed to introduce the students in my class to the spectacular moment in American culture called "the 60s." For most of the international students in my class, this period in American history was extremely interesting and they were curious to learn about it.
Incorporating some rather challenging native-speaking reading materials at the start of the course, I found that the students began to "turn off" (not Leary's intention) in relation to the prominent ideas of that time, so I immediately made a drastic change to the style and structure of the course.
Turning to "reading" materials that included stories, poetry, and song lyrics, I began to recognize not only a change in their attitude toward the subject at hand, but also an improvement in their ability to articulate their understanding and critical interpretation of the topics we discussed. We also spent time searching the internet for images of the period, which went a long way to providing them with visual meaning and insight. In fact, some of the students pointed to some fashion styles that were popular in their countries at the time our class took place - thirty years later!
However, the key element that made the course a success was the music. Choosing some songs from popular collections of 60s music, I discovered that many of the songs were actually pretty well known by the students, at least the "tunes" anyway, and they loved learning the lyrics and coming to understand some of the references important events of the time embedded in the lyrics.
Do you like music? You might consider sharing your interest with your students.
Posted by Marc Roberts
ESL teaching is hard work. Daily interaction with students at any level keeps a teacher's mind engaged 24/7. Teachers try to grasp the reasons behind a successful class so that they might make the magic happen again, and they reflect on classes that did not goes as planned in order to avoid falling into the same trap in the future. And teachers think about their students- the thirty, or forty, or fifty or more students that demand significant chunks of their time and energy. Where's the ME time? Sadly, for some teachers it doesn't seem to exist.
Personally, I do not view my career in education as a one-way street. I design lesson plans that allow me to learn from my students as much as the lesson aims to instruct them in some new way - a recent grammar exercise required students to rewrite (see Copying exercise) sentences that expressed less commonly known aspects of their cultures. To be sure, I learned some new things, but I also left the class feeling that I had attained a reasonable balance between what I "give" as a teacher and what I "receive" in return as a person interested in learning about other cultures.
Maybe I'm just selfish to think that I deserve get something out of my teaching experience beyond a paycheck and an often vague notion that I'm doing some good in the world. I really dont know, but I'd be glad to hear what you think about it. Feel free to respond to this blog and start a discussion.
Posted by Marc Roberts
Although many publishing companies spend a lot of time trying to find and present the kinds of topics that will sincerely engage ESL students in writing and conversation, the topics they choose tend to be very general. ESL teachers must be willing to keep and open mind about the kinds of topics that their students are interested in and be prepared to redesign lesson plans accordingly.
So what's a teacher to do? If the textbook and supplementary materials are not a perfect fit, then the teacher needs to spend additional time preparing new lessons, right? Not necessarily. Some ESL instructors (myself included) find it useful to let the students determine particular aims of the course by having them suggest topics that will prove interesting to the whole group.
A good exercise that I have used is to let the class know that they will have to figure out which topics might be good for writing or conversation for everyone (or at least the majority) in the class. Set the students on the task of learning as much as possible about their classmates interests, field of study, favorite books, TV shows, movies, etc. Have them take notes like reporters. When they are finished, have them come to the next class prepared to propose some topics that might be interesting to their peers.
Posted by Marc Roberts
Like all publishing representatives ESL reps have a specific goal in mind, which is to get their products into your and your students' hands; however, while many teachers will wave off a rep's visit to their office as an imposition or nuisance, others have learned that maintaining good relationships with reps from various companies can lead to greater access to materials, more opportunities for training in technology, and the chance to enhance one's career through writing and reviewing projects.
The fact is that the publishing world is extremely competitive, and publishers' reps will do everything they can to win your confidence (aka: your business), so ESL instructors should feel comfortable taking advantage of the opportunites offerered by their friendly, if persistent, educational counterparts.
Educational counterparts, you say?
Sales reps want you to use the products their company has to offer as much as you want your students to utilize the language instruction that you impress upon them, and why shouldn't they? The authors, editors, and designers that these reps support often care as deeply (in many cases more deeply) about the potential success of students as the students' own instructors do. In fact, it is oftentimes the reps who will report back to these editors and designers the comments and interests of instructors regarding particular books so that they can produce the best materials possible.
Not every rep is going to be your cup of tea, but keep the door to your office open - opportunity doesn't always knock twice.
Posted by Marc Roberts
I believe that one of my finest characteristics as an second-language instructor is the fact that I never doubt the native intelligence of my students, but at the same time I try to keep in mind that their experience with English as a second language (especially in writing) will always require an ongoing development of "finesse" as it pertains to writing sentences.
Some of my most orally fluent students have stumbled over basic sentence patterns, and even when I have made audio transcriptions of their near-flawless speaking patterns, ideas would get "lost in translation" as they traveled from mind to paper. As I am not a researcher, I cannot speak to the reasons this may be, and my only recommendations to these students is to read their papers aloud prior to turning them in to their instructors, but regardless of how clear the general concepts expressed within the writing may be, the individual sentences can still be a bit of a bumpy ride.
If I could, I would gather together all of the English-speaking professors and business managers and anyone who holds second-language learners accountable for minute grammatical "errors" and help them see the meaning and not just the meter, so to speak.
But I can't.
And until the day arrives when the meaning behind what an ESL student writes becomes the valued communication rather than just the way it is written, I will not abandon my students' need to meet the standards and expectations of others who play an important part in their lives.
Posted by Marc Roberts
HAVE YOUR ESL STUDENTS EMAIL ME WITH SUGGESTIONS...
There is only so much that can be accomplished in two or three hours of weekly classroom contact time, and office hours seem to pass by in a blur, so when our ESL students begin to seek more personal attention or more rigorous exercises, our best bet is to get them involved with self-study websites on the internet.
I really believe that the sooner ESL students become self-sufficient when it comes to solving basic grammar questions or confidently making decisions regarding word choice and sentence patterns, the greater their overall language learning experience will be.
As I expand the Suite101.com English as a Second Language site to include student-centered articles that will connect to useful websites that offer reviews of grammar concepts, writing suggestions, pronunciation practice, etc, you will have a place to send your students to study on their own.
I encourage you to email me with recommendations of good websites.
And feel free to have your students email me with suggestions on how I can make this site more useful for them as well (I will email them!) - and what a wonderful opportunity for them to communicate with a native speaker (writer?) on the internet.
Posted by Marc Roberts
I'm probably overstating it a bit, but the fact is that by using a democratic approach to teaching grammar, as opposed to the traditional "drill and kill" method built on primarily on textbook exercises and strict memorization of rules, I seem to have created a "healthier" learning environment.
I'm all for competition in business, sports, etc., but when it comes to grammar study, competition can be debilitating for some students, and the particular strengths of each student can be utilized in a way that favors the entire group.
For example, an initial step I take when teaching a grammar class is to introduce a copying lesson, a writing practice that asks students to write a variety of sentences on one idea - "Pizza is my favorite food," "I like pizza more than any other food," "No food satisfies me more than pizza," etc.
From here I allow my students to share their sentences, rank their favorites, comment on how to make others better, and then give them a chance to revise their work based upon some standard grammar rules that I introduce after their initial creative impulse. I'm a great believer that form follows function, and I think it is essential that students be given the opportunity to see a philosophy behind the grammar structures they choose to use.
Now my grammar classes look and feel more like meetings of professional editors and writers, my students seem more confident about expressing their opinions and receiving feedback - both positive and negative - about their own work, and absenteeism is extremely low.
We'd love to hear about ideas you have for turning the often dreaded ill-feeling of grammar class into a healthier learning environment, so take a minute or two to start a discussion.
Posted by Marc Roberts
When I was new to teaching ESL grammar classes, I often fell into the trap of assuming that the students in my class needed to be "filled" - as Paolo Freire would say - with explicit rules prior to having the skills to think critically about how and what they wanted to communicate.
But I learned, and I improved my method of instruction. Yet there are still those days...
I blame it in part on a lack of planning, or even better a lack of time for planning. And I sometimes fault my students who often seem more interested in simply being "programmed" so that they can use English grammar "right" (whatever that means) in order to satisfy other instructors' hyper-focus on form over function, on quality of writing over quality of critical or creative thinking.
But there are those days...
I come to class with the goal of "teaching" grammar. The grammar trees I learned in junior high school come charging into my mind and I feel that today, today is the day my students will finally "master" the use of the subjunctive. I convince myself that a straightforward list of rules and examples, a recitation of forms and example sentences, and a follow-up quiz will do the trick. It's as though I cannot control myself. Is it my grammar alter-ego? (please read about some ideas from the real ME in my article on grammar and philosophy)
Am I alone in this? Is their anyone who finds herself or himself sometimes drift or lapse into an outdated method of teaching grammar? Why do we do it? What comes over us?
It would be great to read about your experiences.
Posted by Marc Roberts
I've encountered many students who firmly believed that writing, any writing, was of no significant or practical value to their future lives or careers. Most of the time, however, these students completed their writing assignments on time and fulfilled the requirements of my classes.
I would do my best to present opportunities for them to write - see ESL Reading and Writing - in ways that allowed me to make an argument for the usefulness of their work - both in process and in outcome, and while I often appealed to their sense of reason, many of these students still upheld their original position that writing in English was not so important for their future, at least not as important as speaking and listening in English.
One breakthrough for me came when I began to apply the practical theory I had learned in studying the methods used in native-speaker composition courses (i.e English 101). I was taught to make student writing the main "text" of the courses I had designed, and by doing so, student writing would not only become a vital part of the course, but a significant part of the lives of the students. Whatever the students write, their classmates read. Papers don't just get pressed into the teacher's grade book for some vague review and grading process.
Do you have any experiences using student writing in your ESL classes? Feel free to share your experiences and suggestions. Or you might want to respond to the following prompt: Do you think that having the opportunity to read their classmates' writing will have any effect on those students that believe that writing is not useful for them? I'd be glad to hear what you think. Email me if you like.
Posted by Marc Roberts
As I mentioned in my ESL Letter Writing Exercise article, some ESL students can learn many of the key requirements of a typical writing class through the process of letter writing, for letter writing, just as writing essays, requires organization, clarity, a focus on word choice and general tone, and a careful attention to detail (i.e. editing). And there are a lot of different kinds of letters ESL teachers may choose to have their students write:
- fan letters to entertainment or sports personalities
- political letters to national or international organizations
- letters of praise or complaint
- letters to past acquaintances (like ESL teachers!)
What else? Typically I encourage my students to come up with their own lists of potential letter-writing scenarios so that they will become more invested in the process. But maybe you have some ideas that you would like to share with your ESL colleagues.
Many of you will surely have other letter writing ideas, or perhaps you have some suggestions on how ESL teachers can engage their students in writing that will have convincingly practical outcomes related to their future careers.
Please feel free to post your thoughts, and don't hesitate to have your students send me an email with questions about their English studies or language schools - I'll be sure to respond!
And as always, email me your thoughts.