It is very difficult to teach and assess listening because listening is demonstrated through speaking and writing. Listening is a skill that needs to be taught and not expected. "Listen to the story" is not sufficient. We need to explain how to listen and how to demonstrate that we have listened.
What does listening look like?
Sitting up straight with your eyes focused on the speaker.
What does listening sound like?
When you are listening you are quietly comprehending what the speaker is saying.
How can we demonstrate that we have listened?
When the speaker is finished, you can demonstrate that you have listened by restating what the speaker said and asking your own question. "I heard you say that you like to baseball afterschool, why do you like playing baseball." This shows that you heard what the speaker was talking about and you are trying to understand more.
Another way to demonstrate you have listened is by writing a response. After the speaker is finished, write a response that retells what you heard and gives your opinions on the topic.
This is a simple way to teach your ESL students to listen and to teach them how they can show you that they are practicing listening. So next time you ask your students to "listen" explain to them how you want them to listen (looks like, sounds like) and how you want them to demonstrate (speaking or writing) that they have listened.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Effective Reading Instruction in ESL
Labels:
reading,
reading comprehension,
reading consistency
Reading Instruction in the ESL classroom can be daunting. How do we know the students are actually reading, how do we know they are improving? We need to have a way to monitor our students reading and their comprehension when they are reading.
I use two things in my classroom to monitor my student's reading, Reading Logs and Conferencing. My reading logs look like this:
My students are required to fill out their Reading Logs every time they read, which is twice a day, I tell them that this is their way to keep track of their reading. Each day they need to be read between 45 - 60 minutes each day. Every week I check their reading logs and make sure that they are reading, but that is not enough.
During conferencing is when I get to see if my students are truly reading and if they really understand what they are reading? Everyday I give my students time to read independently in class, they read between 15 - 20 minutes each day. During Independent Reading, I conference with 8 to 12 students each day. By the end of the week I have conferenced with each student at least 2 times.
During the conferences, I look at my student's reading logs and ask them questions about the books they are reading. I am also looking to see if my students are reading and if they understand what they are reading. If I ask a students what did you read about last night and they cannot tell me, there are only two possibilities ... 1) they did not read or 2) they did not understand. It is my job to determine which possibility is applicable to that student. Also during conferences, this is a good time to adjust your students reading levels and give them new books to try.
Take advantage of the time when your students are reading independently, conference with your students and make sure they are using their reading logs. This will help you monitor their reading frequency and comprehension.
I use two things in my classroom to monitor my student's reading, Reading Logs and Conferencing. My reading logs look like this:
My students are required to fill out their Reading Logs every time they read, which is twice a day, I tell them that this is their way to keep track of their reading. Each day they need to be read between 45 - 60 minutes each day. Every week I check their reading logs and make sure that they are reading, but that is not enough.
During conferencing is when I get to see if my students are truly reading and if they really understand what they are reading? Everyday I give my students time to read independently in class, they read between 15 - 20 minutes each day. During Independent Reading, I conference with 8 to 12 students each day. By the end of the week I have conferenced with each student at least 2 times.
During the conferences, I look at my student's reading logs and ask them questions about the books they are reading. I am also looking to see if my students are reading and if they understand what they are reading. If I ask a students what did you read about last night and they cannot tell me, there are only two possibilities ... 1) they did not read or 2) they did not understand. It is my job to determine which possibility is applicable to that student. Also during conferences, this is a good time to adjust your students reading levels and give them new books to try.
Take advantage of the time when your students are reading independently, conference with your students and make sure they are using their reading logs. This will help you monitor their reading frequency and comprehension.
A Balanced ESL Classroom
In your ESL classroom you need to have balance. There are four necessary areas that we need to be addressing everyday - reading, writing, listening and speaking. These four areas are essential components in the ESL students mastery of English. You can incorporate all four skills into one activity - the Read Aloud.
Every period there should be a Read Aloud. A Read Aloud is a piece of literature that is read out loud to the students. You can read picture books, comics, articles, poetry, etc. Choose something that will be interesting for your group of students and something that is a little higher than their reading level. Since you will be reading the story to them you can help them understand what is going on.
While reading, the teacher needs to model good reading strategies. For example, when you come to a difficult word stop and sound it out. During the read aloud the students are practicing listening. Stop in the middle of reading and ask students to turn and talk to the person sitting next to them, talk about what you think will happen next. This allows each student time to practice speaking in a non-threating environment. Read a few more pages stop and ask the students to write down what has happened in the story so far. This gives students a chance to practice writing.
Once you are finished with the read aloud you can send students back to their seats to read their own book and practice one of the skills you modeled during the read aloud (skills - retell, prediction, make a connection, compare and contrast). This time, of course, will give students practice reading.
As much as you can incorporate these four skills into your daily routine. Try to avoid spending a whole period on writing or a whole period on reading. Make the class an interactive approach to learning English through these four skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Every period there should be a Read Aloud. A Read Aloud is a piece of literature that is read out loud to the students. You can read picture books, comics, articles, poetry, etc. Choose something that will be interesting for your group of students and something that is a little higher than their reading level. Since you will be reading the story to them you can help them understand what is going on.
While reading, the teacher needs to model good reading strategies. For example, when you come to a difficult word stop and sound it out. During the read aloud the students are practicing listening. Stop in the middle of reading and ask students to turn and talk to the person sitting next to them, talk about what you think will happen next. This allows each student time to practice speaking in a non-threating environment. Read a few more pages stop and ask the students to write down what has happened in the story so far. This gives students a chance to practice writing.
Once you are finished with the read aloud you can send students back to their seats to read their own book and practice one of the skills you modeled during the read aloud (skills - retell, prediction, make a connection, compare and contrast). This time, of course, will give students practice reading.
As much as you can incorporate these four skills into your daily routine. Try to avoid spending a whole period on writing or a whole period on reading. Make the class an interactive approach to learning English through these four skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening.
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