Videos

on 22 Apr 2008 at 3:22 pm1 Mary Kuykendall

Brain Research is one of my favorite topics. I have been in the field of education for almost 4 decades and I am amazed by how much we have learned about the brain that is immediately applicable to classroom instruction. Auditory processing turns out to be a major factor for reading ability. Knowing this has really helped me to work with students struggling with reading and writing.
on 22 Apr 2008 at 7:29 pm2 Laura menendez

Congratulations to Malena for this interview! ESL program is one of our fastest growing programs not only at CEC but in the general education perspective. As a State we have faced in California 2 centuries of diverse languages and ethnicities, a few states could say that like us are so open to adapt and welcome language diversity. English as a second Language is definitely more than a Basic Skill, one of the main skills for student success in Education.
on 23 Apr 2008 at 2:55 pm3 Gabriela Menendez

Very interesting interviews. I just have a point that I would like to express because it seems like teachers, because of the growing lack of respect to authority in general and other factors, are forgetting their real power.
“Motivation is the key for success”, said Jennifer. “Teachers are facilitators”, said Stew. Teachers are more than facilitators. Teachers are the reason of our dreams and our very own nightmares. Being a perpetual student I know that today I’m not into Math because a teacher killed my love for that class (and I loved math!). But I also know that many many teachers forged my love for school, my discipline, and many other skills that I use in a daily basis.
Teachers need to remember that they are the reason for the student to be there, especially talking about adult education. Teachers: We look up to you! You are the reason, you are the motivation. From my first day of preschool, and up to this day, the teacher has been the main reason to achieve, to perform, and to challenge myself.
Don’t give up teachers. I’ve seen students enter a class not knowing anything and excel after all because of the teacher. It is absolutely important to teach reading and writing skills, and to teach the language. For that you get paid. But for your care, attention, for being our motivation to be better people, for knowing each one of us by name, even after work, or with kids at home, bills to pay, etc, etc… for that, you can’t be paid enough. That is PRICELESS. And you know it, right?
on 23 Apr 2008 at 5:32 pm4 Malena Copeland

This is a very insightful comment. We are so lucky that we have so many dedicated teachers that really and truly care about the students and long to inspire every student. What special activities and lessons do you do to show students that they are important to you? What kinds of things do you say to your students? How do you inspire them?
on 26 Apr 2008 at 10:44 pm5 Mary Polychrome

Thank you for these videos. I particularly enjoyed Rob Jenkins interview. One of the things I am benefiting from in all this basic skills work is getting to know the other teachers at our site. Every time I go to a workshop, or read and comment on the blog or view the videos I learn the names and background of other teachers. This had not happened for me before. I am tremendously impressed by how many other places our part time teachers work. They work in 2 and 3 other schools and programs. Many of them have long history in adult education. This project rocks!!
on 10 May 2008 at 11:11 am6 Gina Mariani

I was very encouraged and inspired by Gabriela’s blog . Thanks so much!! I am sure I am speaking for many others as well. This week as I was giving a reading/writing lesson to my class, I wrote a sentence that illustrated the concepts but my content was about how much I loved my students and I elaborated on that. They were very responsive and seemed very touched by it. I just thought this might be of help to someone else as Malena had asked for sharing ideas that relate to communicating our positive feelings to our students.
on 12 May 2008 at 6:41 pm7 Susan McClellan

I enjoyed Malena’s interview with Nilo Lipiz. It’s good to hear from our dean the direction the college is taking with the Basic Skills Initiative and how it will impact our students and the instructors. I’d like to learn more to learn more about the Math Lab and how we can help our beginning level students catch up in math.
on 18 May 2008 at 1:00 pm8 Rebecca Tamondong

Rob Jenkins, in the interview by Tim Vo, certainly covered a lot of topics that are very useful to new and experienced teachers. He expounded on the importance of knowing our students, as a tool in helping us teach them better. I like the comment about making “100 new friends per semester” which illustrates how much he believes in establishing a positive relationship with our students. The use of focused listening and developing the students’ confidence in the use of English as an alternative to translating in the student’s primary language is a technique that are definitely helpful. Rob made a strong point in distinguishing between language learning and language acquisition, that it is worth taking a second look at the way we teach our students. Our goal as ESL teachers is not simply to help them learn the language, but to actually acquire it, be able to use it and make it part of their everyday communication. A useful tool toward this goal is the use of contextualized learning practices, or “bringing the outside world” into the classroom.
on 20 May 2008 at 4:02 pm9 Rebecca Tamondong

Here a few additional ideas I gleaned from the Rob Jenkins interview video which I feel are well worth sharing:
1. Include/discuss cultural issues in our lessons whenever possible because learning English is part of acculturation and vice versa.
2. Warm-up ideas: Talk about what students like; question them about what’s happening in their lives; do an application activity of the previous day’s lesson either through group work reporting to each other or doing a task together as a group. Always start on time.
3. Grouping strategies. Group students in 4’s or 5’s (the ideal number). Give each group member a responsibility. Divide the tasks in parts to make it doable. Mix students of varying levels so they can help one another. This encourages “family spirit” and/or “community building” in the classroom.
4. Teaching vocabulary. Always do this in context. Lower level students can learn 10 words a day; higher level students, 20.
5. Task-based learning. Students need to do something with the language they learn. Prepare them for this goal.
6. Spelling and pronunciation. It is important that students spell correctly ( so spelling tests are in order). Pronunciation is important, but not central or critical in learning a language.
7. Contextualized learning. Show the connection between what students are learning in the classroom and what’s happening in the real world outside of the classroom in order to make learning meaningful.
8. Structure in lesson presentation. Always come prepared. Have a systematic way of presenting the lesson. Be specific as to what you are trying to accomplish from that lesson for that day. Conduct/instruct your class so that students know what to expect.
9. Student goals. Students should not lose sight of why they are in class. Always reinforce what they have learned and what they know, this way persistence goes up.
10. Variety. Not all students learn in the same way. Provide a variety of activities that are engaging to students.
11. Computers. Instead of canned programs, use computers to bring the outside world into the classroom. Examples: mapquest, weather, news
12. Homework. Yes. This is important. This gives students a chance to practice and review what they have learned.

Thanks Rob, for a wealth of ideas from a truly experienced ESL Beg. 2 teacher.
on 10 Jun 2008 at 10:43 am10 Denise Dowling

Grace,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share resources with us on video! Very helpful and informative.

Great ideas and reminders about what helps our students the most. Those materials look so inviting!

Thanks again.
– Denise
on 12 Jun 2008 at 1:04 pm11 Karen Dennis

Since we have started the Skills for Success Program on June 2, we have been advertising the reading/writing classes, the math classes, Orientation to College, Skills for Success classes, and GED to our students. We have hosted refreshments in the quad area and by the bookstore at CEC, and the Outreach staff have explained the logistics of how to enroll to prospective students.

It is exciting to have a math class that intermediate ESL, Adult Basic Education (ABE), and high school subjects students can take. They just go to B-100, and a counseling assistant will schedule an assessment and time for the student to talk to a counselor.

We encourage you to tour the 5 rooms with the new tables and chairs, plus the learning library from 2:00 to 5:00 when classes aren’t in session. Please see Melanie Mowrer, Jolene Shields, Sue Mendizza, Julia Vercelli, or me and we’ll give you a tour. We are so proud of what we are doing for our students.

If you have an intermediate ESL class on campus, contact me and we’ll arrange for a class tour for you.
on 12 Jun 2008 at 6:07 pm12 Malena Copeland

I recently took a tour of the 5 rooms. I found them very impressive. I loved the lending library. I think that the ability for students to get their hands on reading materials that are at the appropriate level will make a profound difference.

There will be a video of a tour posted on the blog within the next week or so.