Ma Vie en Paris

About three months ago, my mom and I sat down to discuss our plans -or lack of there of- for the summer. She forbade me to stay at home moping around and suggested I came to Paris as a language student. Merci beaucoup mama.

I arrived on Sunday, took a shower and a nap to recuperate from my fourteen hour trip, ten of which were spent in flight. I woke up energized, eager to explore the neighborhood. I was also hungry and went out to buy groceries. Nothing was open, except a Chinese restaurant a block from the house. So for my first meal in Paris I had Lo-mein and Sesame Chicken which I ordered in French to a Chinese girl.

My host mother is the lovely Madame De Lastrade. I have my own room with a bathroom sans the toilet. I was excited to meet Kaci and Brooke, two fellow students who are staying in the house. They are both from the USA; and of course, I was happy to be able to communicate with them in Enlgish. We have agreed to practice as much French with each other as possible, but that seems like a tall order. Sometimes it's just refreshing to understand and be understood. My brain keeps on mixing English, Spanish, and French into my own creole language.

I left the house at quarter to eight so as not to be late to my first day of class. Needless to say traveling in a new city can be a daunting task even without the language barrier; so I got lost and arrived half an hour late to the school to find it closed since today was a holiday. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day so I spent it exploring the 17th arrondissement. C'est la vie!

PS. Check out my pics.

Mindful Listening in Coach Carter

I wrote this paper as a course requirement for a class I was taking on Interpersonal Communication.

Julia T. Wood begins the chapter on Mindful Listening with a quote by Zeno of Citium. As I sat down to write this paper, I also wished to begin with a proverb. So I went to Thinkexist.com to find one to begin this essay. To my surprise, I found more than four thousand sayings from different times and cultures related to listening. For the purposes of this short essay, I would like to intertwine the concepts explained by Wood in chapter six of our textbook with the movie Coach Carter, and perhaps a few of the sayings I found to further illustrate some points.
“To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also.” This quote by Igor Stravinsky illustrates the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing, as Wood explains, is purely a physical act; listening is a process which requires a conscious effort from the listener. In the movie one of the ways that Coach Carter promoted the shift from just hearing to listening was by requiring his basketball players to sit in front of their classes. Seating in front of class would help reduce external distracters, or noise, that may hinder the student’s listening.
Message overload, message complexity, and noise comprise external obstacles to effective listening. To counteract these obstacles, Wood mentions strategies such as taking notes, asking questions to clarify and grouping material to organize in order to make the process of remembering easier at a later date. She also mentions the use of mnemonic devices as a viable strategy for recalling information. Coach Carter used mnemonic strategies to help his players learn the needed defensive and offensive plays. He used women’s names and created a cohesive back story for the students to remember the specific characteristic of that play based on the personal characteristic of the woman he mentioned. Candy, Diane, and Linda were just some of the women’s names that became an integral part of the team’s playbook.
“My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that's what she said.” This anonymous quote serves a nice segue to nonlistening. At the beginning of the movie most of the students practiced various forms of, what Wood characterizes as, nonlistening. Many of them engaged in pseudolistening when Coach Carter spoke of the contract rules and the consequence of breaking them. Also, although it is not explicitly shown in the movie, it is safe to infer that they practiced pseudolistening and selective listening as well in classes and basketball practice.
Other nonlistening forms that are present throughout the movie are the aspects of monopolizing conversations, defensive listening, and ambushing. These forms of nonlistening mostly took place in interactions between Coach Carter and different adults in the movie. For example, defensive listening was clearly taking place when the teacher stood up during the School Board Meeting scene. He mentioned that Coach Carter was telling the teachers that they were failing to do their jobs because he was asking for progress reports. Coach Carter only intended to use the progress reports to see if the team players were upholding their end of the contract by keeping a 2.3 GPA, and attending and sitting in the front row the classes. He would not be able to hold the team accountable without the teachers’ support. However, the teacher interpreted the request for frequent progress reports as a way to keep tabs on his performance as an educator.
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” Robert McCloskey may not have been experiencing listening for ambushing purposes but was able to convey the idea nicely in this quote. In the movie, ambushing was evident when Coach Carter became irritated with the failure to receive support for his tactics from the school’s principal. Coach Carter would take advantage of words said by the principal that painted a grim picture of the students’ future and used them to throw the problem back at her. On one specific occasion she said “Your job is to win basketball games, Mr. Carter. I suggest you start doing your job.” To which he immediately quipped, “And your job is to educate these kids. I suggest you start doing yours.”
“The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says, but rather to what he does not say.” Kahlil Gibran sums up the idea that communication goes beyond what is literally being said. During one of the earlier scenes, when Coach Carter is trying to decide whether to take the coaching job or not, he engages in what seems to be literal listening. However, because communication goes beyond content and includes creating meaning through relationships, Coach Carter’s girlfriend, Tonya, was able to discern that what he really meant. After giving all possible reasons on why not to take the coaching position, Tonya asked “So when do you start?” What seemed to me, the viewer, a literal interaction, had an extra layer of meaning that I could not understand because I lacked the insight knowledge of the relationship between Coach Carter and his girlfriend.
“Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.” Saint Benedict understands the importance of listening with your whole being. In the movie, mindful listening through dual perspective took place was in the scene when Damien Carter, Coach Carter’s son, finally convinces his dad to allow him to transfer school and play basketball for him. The coach listened to his son and was able to understand what playing basketball in Richmond meant for Damien.
“If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” Although a fluff in someone’s ear may be an external obstacle to listening, I’d like to use this Winnie the Pooh quote as a metaphor for internal obstacles to effective listening.
Out of the five inner barriers that Wood mentions that hinder mindful listening, the movie clearly touches upon two: prejudgment and reacting to emotionally loaded language. When the team first meets Coach Carter, they dismiss his coaching style because they prejudge whatever message he is trying to convey based on the way he looked, spoke, and carried himself. Timo Cruz says mockingly, “Are you some country church nigga, with your tie on and all that?” Obviously, Cruz is referring to the coach’s dressing style as well as his demeanor. The students’ reacted by laughing and sneering, indicative of a dismissive attitude towards the coach due to pre-conceived ideas of who Coach Carter was based on his physical appearance. On the other hand, Coach Carter refrained, at first, from reacting to Cruz’s emotionally loaded assertion. It wasn’t until the student continued to taunt Mr. Carter by using the word “nigga” and calling him an “uppity Negro” that Mr. Carter, finally tells Timo that he is “a very confused and scared young man.” This emotionally loaded statement finally escalates the verbal altercation between Coach Carter and Timo to a physical confrontation. Both Carter and Timo reacted to each other's emotionally loaded language resulting in a complete breakdown in communication.
In conclusion, Sue Patton Thoele says “Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.” Coach Carter practiced what Wood called listening to support others. He wanted his team to beat the grim statistics, not only in basketball but in the game of life. He was able to see past his students’ literal words and tough exterior. In turn, the students’ were able to push through their fears and realize that they were “powerful beyond measure.”

Wood, J.T. (2006). Mindful listening. In Interpersonal communication: Everyday Encounters. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Wadsworth Publishing.

Strategies for Vocabulary Development (Part III)

The books Classroom Instruction that Works (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001) and Building Academic Vocabulary (Marzano & Pickering, 2005) present a six step process on teaching academic vocabulary. In addition Marzano and Pickering (2005) suggest five preliminary phases to determine the academic terms that are to be taught. Since these phases were originally designed for use within a school system context, I have taken the liberty of modifying them to fit our population of L2 educators and material developers.

Phase 1: Decide the target number of words to be taught at each ability level.

Phase 2: Create a rank ordered list of words considered important for the ability level and specific goals of your L2 learners.

Phase 3: Determine how many terms should be taught within an allotted time frame.

Phase 4: Generate the final list of terms for each ability level.

Phase 5: Create materials to teach and reinforce the terms.

Once the words have been selected we move to the explicit teaching of the terms. The Building Academic Vocabulary (BAV) program offers six specific steps for the systematic instruction of the selected vocabulary. First, provide a brief description or explanation of the word (comprehensible input). Then, have students paraphrase the explanation of the term (speaking and writing practice). Third, have students create a non-linguistic representation of the word (divergent thinking). Fourth, engage students in activities to increase and extend their word knowledge (graded readers, word sorts). Step five, ask students to discuss the terms with one another often (communicative tasks, cooperative learning). Lastly, create games where students can regularly play with the words (Word Bingo, Jeopardy, Charades). (Adapted from Building Academic Vocabulary, Marzano & Pickering, 2005, p. 14-15)

Although the strategies proposed are not exclusively aimed at L2 learners, Marzano (2006) found highly significant differences between English Language Learners using the BAV program versus the control group.

“The positive effect of the BAV program appears most pronounced for ELL students, even though it exhibited highly significant positive effects with FRL (Free Reduced Lunch) students as well as the overall sample of students.” (Marzano, 2006, p.16)

Most of the discussion so far has focused on the use of reading and explicit vocabulary instruction to enhance student word knowledge. But what can an educator with a task-based approach to teaching and learning do for vocabulary development? Is it possible to increase a student’s word knowledge through a communicative approach to L2 learning? Newton (2001) addresses these questions in his duly titled article Options for Vocabulary Learning Through Communication Tasks. He points out that, L2 learners will most probably encounter new vocabulary as they practice communication. He argues that a task-based approach, through the use of cooperative learning, and pre-task, in-task, and post-task strategies as proposed by Skehan, will result in improved management of the delicate balance between comprehension and effective communication for L2 learners in an authentic environment.

Newton (2001) mentions seven basic strategies targeting each phase of the communication tasks. For the pre-task phase you may have students: (1) brainstorm a list of words based on the lesson’s topic; (2) create a cooperative dictionary search; or, (3) create a matching game where students hold half of the words and half of the definitions of a list and take turns reading and deciding on the matching word from their peer’s list. In-task activities include: (4) create a glossary of new terms; (5) create an interactive glossary where students are given the vocabulary in the form of flashcards and try to guess the definition and then check for meaning; (6) encourage students to negotiate meaning among themselves using each other as a resource.
In the post-task phase we find the seventh, and in my opinion, the most powerful alternative. This is to have students keep a personal dictionary of newly learned terms (Newton, 2001). A student’s personal dictionary or vocabulary log can be easily assembled and allows students to take responsibility for their learning. The student’s vocabulary notebook can be used as the student progresses from one level to the next. In the same way, the notebook becomes a record and a reflection of the student’s deeper and increasing word knowledge (Marzano & Pickering, 2005).

It seems that material developers for L2 learners have a difficult challenge ahead of them. Although much research has been done in the field of vocabulary development, appropriate materials to achieve this goal are not easily found. In the United States the availability of graded readers is mostly limited to elementary school interests. Furthermore, that which is available seems to focus mostly in Language Arts, not academic content. Also pre-created materials, though useful and time-efficient, should still be modified to address the specific needs of different L2 learners. Finally, it is clear that a systematic, comprehensive, and balanced approach to vocabulary development, with just the right amount of incidental and explicit instruction, would provide the scaffolding necessary to ensure an L2 learner’s success within an academic environment.

References:

Marzano, R. J. (2006). Supplemental report on the effects of the ASCD program for building academic vocabulary on students classified as eligible for free and reduce lunch (FRL) and students classified as English language learners (ELL). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved on March 25, 2007 from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/Building%20Academic%20Vocabulary/bav_report_2.pdf

Marzano, R. J. & Pickering D. J. (2005). Building academic vocabulary: Teacher’s manual. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Newton, J. (2001). Options for vocabulary learning through communication tasks. ELT Journal, 55(1), 30-37.

Strategies for Vocabulary Development (Part II)

Following the suggestions of Hunt and Beglar about using graded readers material developers must now create graded readers. Rob Waring in his article Writing a Graded Reader (2002) breaks down the process for us. Not only does Waring concur with Hunt and Beglar’s proposal of using graded readers as stepping stones for L2 students, he provides: (1) an overview of different types of graded readers, (2) guidelines on how to use them in the language classroom, (3) arguments in favor of their usage along with supporting research, and (4) points to consider for potential authors of graded readers.

Waring (2002) mentions two different ways to approach the writing of a graded reader. The first is to write a good story without simplifying the language with the assumption that any necessary abridgement can be done at a later time. The second is to consult people with experience in EFL/ESL, and ask them to write for a particular audience and ability level. All things considered, he stresses that the story should be the most important consideration when writing a graded reader. He argues that a good graded reader should indeed be a good read regardless of the level of simplicity needed for a specific L2 audience to understand it.

In addition to guidelines on how to write a graded reader, Rob Waring pairs up with Paul Nation to review the connection between L2 reading and vocabulary acquisition. In their article Second Language Reading and Incidental Vocabulary Learning (2004), they discuss how many words a student needs to know in order to be an effective reader in L2; the rate of vocabulary attainment and permanence; the number of times a student should encounter a word before learning it; and the preservation of newly learned words.

Investigations cited in the article suggest that, in order for a reader to have adequate comprehension of a text he must have a coverage rate of at least 95% of the words encountered. Furthermore they explain that for a student to read effectively in English they should have knowledge of around 5000 word families. It must be noted that both the coverage rate and the range of vocabulary words needed for satisfactory understanding of a text increases with the heavy cognitive burdens of academic texts (Waring & Nation, 2004).

They also discuss a review of studies on vocabulary growth derived from reading in L2. The review supported the idea that students can acquire new vocabulary through supplementary readings. However, a student may need to encounter a word 20 or more times for adequate word knowledge to take place (Waring & Nation, 2004).

Once again we find that students must be exposed to materials that are easily accessible and at their ability level in order to promote new vocabulary learning (Hunt & Beglar, 1998; Waring & Nation, 2002). Thus Waring and Nation’s (2004) article supports the creation of materials based on the ability level of the L2 learners being taught, which can be in the form of graded readers as suggested by Hunt and Beglar (1998) and Waring (2002).

On the other hand investigations by Hustijn; and Zahar, Cobb, and Spada have shown that explicit exposure to vocabulary is more effective for vocabulary development than incidental learning (Waring & Nation, 2002). Therefore explicit vocabulary development, as well as the use of graded readers, should be an essential component for efficient vocabulary development.

Next to come, strategies on explicit vocabulary instruction.

References:

Waring, R. (2002). Writing a graded reader. The Language Teacher, 26(7).

Waring, R. & Nation, P. (2004). Second language reading and incidental vocabulary learning. Angles on the English-Speaking World, 4. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~waring/papers/waring%20120304.pdf

Strategies Proven to Help Accelerate Vocabulary Acquisition in ELLs

One of the biggest challenges that I have had as an ESL Teacher is how to accelerate and guarantee the acquisition of new vocabulary of my students. Even though the acquisition of new vocabulary is already difficult for an L2 learner to perform adequately in highly contextual everyday conversations, acquiring new vocabulary becomes a formidable task within the context reduced, cognitive demanding academic environment. In the next few posts I will give a brief overview and review of seven sources that propose strategies to guide ESL teachers and materials developers in their creation and choice of resources for English Language Learners.

In the article Current Research and Practice in Teaching Vocabulary, Hunt and Beglar (1998) give an overview of three main approaches to developing vocabulary: incidental learning, explicit instruction, and independent strategy development. In addition, the article offers seven basic principles that material developers should apply when creating materials for L2 learners.
Hunt and Beglar (1998) argue that most of the vocabulary acquired by both L2 and L1 learners is through incidental reading. They propose the use of graded readers (books leveled by reading ability) to strengthen the vocabulary of beginning learners and to scaffold their reading and vocabulary acquisition, until the students are able to read more authentic materials. Furthermore, they recommend that instructors use corpus linguistics inventories, such as West’s General Service List, and Xue and Nation’s University Word List, to swiftly and explicitly develop a student’s working academic vocabulary. They suggest the use of vocabulary flash cards and dividing vocabulary into increments of 5-7 words per lesson. Moreover semantic maps, cloze activities, and crossword puzzles are among the activities recommended to expand student’s word knowledge of previously learned vocabulary. They also mention helping the student develop fluency through timed and paced readings as well as sight vocabulary drills. As a final component they advise that students have opportunities to experiment using context clues as a means to independently develop word meaning (Hunt & Beglar, 1998).

Next to come: Rob Waring's article Writing a Graded Reader.

Reference:
Hunt, A., & Beglar B. (1998). Current research and practice in teaching vocabulary. The Language Teacher, 22(01).

Back to Basics: Cognitive Apprenticeship

School as we know it is a fairly modern invention. Apprenticeship was the most common method of learning back when school was for an exclusive few. The word apprentice summons up the idea of the blacksmith and shoemaker in the Middle Ages, or even, Mickey with Merlin in Disney’s Fantasia. Apprenticeship was a way to prepare the next craftsman for the trade. The master gained a helper ensuring an increase in production, more clientele, and cheap labor. On the other hand, the apprentice, usually, not only gained an education and expertise of the craft from the master; but also, housing and food along with the hope of becoming a master craftsman himself and owning his own shop one day. It was a win-win situation for both.

Nowadays, schooling has become part of the culture of mass production of our society. The master-apprentice bond has shifted to a teacher-student acquaintance. The teacher is supposed to impart knowledge to as many students as possible. The master was to impart wisdom and expertise to his few apprentices because his craft, name, and reputation were at stake.

Rojewski and Schell argue that if the goal of education is to prepare students to ultimately transfer the knowledge gained in school to a work setting, then the best way to reach that goal is through cognitive apprenticeship. They contend that school is detached from real-world situations and that most of the skills being promoted do not necessarily transfer as easily, as quickly, or as noticeably to a real-life setting. Cognitive apprenticeship would take advantage of the master-apprentice relationship of old and apply it to the craft of thinking. Through cognitive apprenticeship, learning would be embedded within a workplace setting where students would see the concrete and contextual relationship of the skills learned as applied to real life.

Rojewski and Schell’s article reminded me of Lynn Langer Meeks and Carol Jewkes’s “Literacy in the Secondary English Classroom”. Austin and Meeks state that the terms learning and acquisition, as defined by Krashen and Terrell in 1998, are closely related but very different. Learning is a conscious and formal process; whereas, acquisition is an unconscious and informal one. Rojewski and Schell’s cognitive apprenticeship provides a framework for both learning and acquiring skills and knowledge pertinent to both school and the real world, thus creating an optimal learning environment for students.

Moreover, cognitive apprenticeship has many of the characteristics proposed by Brian Cambourne’s Conditions for Learning; as well as, Lauren Resnick’s Principles of Learning. Cambourne’s and Resnick’s work although similar, came from two different theoretical frameworks. Cambourne’s conditions are based mostly on linguistic research, specifically second language acquisition; while Resnick’s principles are based on cognitive and social psychology. Austin and Meeks combine the Conditions and Principles to create a working model of literacy learning environment for second language learners, similar to the cognitive apprenticeship model proposed by Rojewski and Schell. Furthermore, Cambourne and Resnick’s work echoes many of the basic concepts of learning.

In addition, the cognitive apprenticeship model re-establishes the teacher-student relationship to that of a master craftsman-apprentice. The first rule of real state: “Location, location, location!” could be altered to the first rule of teaching: “Relationship, relationship, relationship!” A student is more likely to want to learn from a teacher that he/she respects and admires, and ultimately would like to emulate. On the other hand, a teacher would more likely want to teach a learner who admires and respect him/her. The result is a symbiotic association between the learner and the teacher where both gain respect and knowledge from one another.

Finally, I’d like to point out that the word teacher, maestro, and learner, aprendiz (pl, aprendices), in Spanish are direct derivatives of the master-apprentice connection that existed in the Middle Ages. Accordingly, we must not forget that we have always been maestros preparing aprendices to continue forth our crafts. At the end of the day, it has always been our name, reputation, and future at stake.

Knowing to Know Best

One of my biggest frustrations in life was proving to my mom that I was a good student. Not because I didn’t do well in school, but because anything I would do wasn’t good enough.

Let me illustrate. I would proudly come home with an eighty nine, the best grade in the class, without studying! Her usual response, “You could have done better...had you studied.” For my high school graduation, as a joke, I told her I wasn’t graduating with honors. She started to cry and pleaded with my brother to not disappoint her like I did! Anyhow, while I did graduate with honors, it still wasn’t good enough for her.

I didn’t get it! I did not drink or smoke. I was the VP of my graduating class. I was in the volleyball team. Furthermore, to top it all off, I was consistently, and easily, getting straight A’s. I was an exemplary student. Nothing seemed to satisfy my mother; except my straight-A-didn’t make-mom-cry-nerdy-little brother. But I'll deal with that issue on my shrink’s couch.

The point of the matter is that, by any other standard, any parent would want their child to not struggle. Doing well in school came to me effortlessly. I didn’t have to do homework or study to be at the top of my class. Paying attention in class was enough for me to get an A. Nevertheless an easy A was not enough for my mom. She wanted me to study. She wanted me put forth my best effort. She actually wanted me to learn something!

In her infinite wisdom, Mom knew that it was better to learn with effort than getting an A without it. She knows that mastery of the material is really what matters in learning. I, on the other hand, focused on performance.

Carole Ames confirms my mom’s viewpoint. In her article Classroom: Goals, Structures and Student Motivation, Ames differentiates between mastery goals and performance goals. When a student is concerned in learning for the sake of learning, he is focused on mastery. Conversely, when a student is concerned about how well he did compared to others, he is focused on performance.

A mastery goal is one that focuses the learner’s attention and effort to his ability to acquire knowledge. It is a goal that helps the student become intrinsically motivated to learn, either the material or skill, based on a set of absolute standards. Mastery goals are criterion based. They increase the quality of the student’s engagement, and how much effort the student is willing to put forth to achieve. Mastery is about persistence and attitude towards learning. It fosters problem-solving and helps the student deal with adversity. It encompasses not only acquiring knowledge, but also, increasing the student’s confidence in school, which in turn helps build up his self-esteem. Mastery is learning for the sake of learning. Learning is the means and the end.

On the other hand, a performance goal is one that focuses the learner’s attention in how well he did compared to others in class. The student is extrinsically motivated to perform not so much to gain success but to avoid failure. Performance goals are normative based. They link the student’s self-esteem to how well they have done in contrast to his peers. Performance based goals are a double edge sword. They can either promote a student’s self esteem if the student has apparent success with little effort; or stifle the student’s self-worth and later performance, if he feels he can’t do any better no matter how much effort he has put into the task. It rewards student’s aptitude and natural ability. Performance goals focus on what comes easily, without effort. Furthermore, they can give students a false sense of confidence, thinking that everything in life can or should be easily attainable. Studying and learning are just the means to show what the students can do; it has nothing to do with achievement.

Now, I understand what Mom meant by, “You could have done better.” She knew there was a bigger lesson to learn. As long as I do my best, the result would be much more satisfying because my confidence and self-esteem would have increased regardless of what anyone else did -even my little brother.

My worth is not measured by other’s standards, but only by my own. Who I am has never been defined by how use the talents that I have been given to get ahead, but how I used them to develop and make up for the abilities I lack. She knew that taking the easy road would not prepare me for life, but exerting myself to do my best -always, regardless of outcome- would help me endure whatever situation might arise. Mom does know best!