ELL University Orientation Handbook Project
This project was started in the E526 TESL/TEFL Methodology course with two other TESL/TEFL M.A. candidates. It shows an understanding of the importance of involving ELLs in the community to increase their learning and decrease conflict. It also shows that I recognize that when cultural factors are respected and incorporated into resource material, student achievement can increase.
Overview of the Project
Our group wanted to work in the local community and create a product that fulfilled a practical need. INTO CSU expressed a need for new orientation material to better consider the cultural and linguistic diversity of their new international students, and more volunteers to work with Basic students to raise their English proficiency and connect them to the on- and off-campus community. Therefore, we combined this need to form an updated orientation handbook based on comprehensible input research, student participation, and student feedback of a pilot-test.
Project Goals
Project Description
Objectives:
Participants: Project members team-taught twice a week for three weeks from 8:15am-9:15am, which amounted to six total hours of contact with students. Students were enrolled in CSU’s INTO Program in a Basic Speaking & Listening class. There were a total of 13 students; ten L1 Arabic speakers and three L1 Japanese speakers.
Procedure: This project was a joint collaboration between INTO Basic Speaking & Listening teaching staff and the INTO Program administrators. The project consisted of two main parts: 1) classroom teaching, and 2) product creation.
Part One: Project members collaborated with the classroom teacher to ensure that the goals of the project were aligned with classroom objectives and curriculum standards. The theme of the class focused on the availability of resources on the CSU campus. Students were taken on field trips to visit and collect information about: the Lory Student Center, the Health Center, Morgan Library, the Recreation Center, the CSU Police Station, and the Bus Transit Center. Students asked questions about resources, gathered information about resources, and interacted with native English speakers.
Part Two: Project members partnered with the Academic English Coordinator, Curriculum Supervisor for the Basic INTO classes, and the Collaborating Classroom Teacher to recreate the original campus resource orientation material to be more ELL-friendly. The original handbook that ELLs were given upon arrival to CSU was beyond the proficiency level of most incoming INTO students. By working with a Basic class, project members gathered specific feedback about relevant information, confusing words, and the best format for readability.
After collecting feedback from students in Week 1, using ELL appropriate dictionary resources, and our own teaching knowledge, project members produced a more comprehensible resource handbook for INTO CSU. It is scheduled to be incorporated into new international student orientation in 2014.
Overview of the Project
Our group wanted to work in the local community and create a product that fulfilled a practical need. INTO CSU expressed a need for new orientation material to better consider the cultural and linguistic diversity of their new international students, and more volunteers to work with Basic students to raise their English proficiency and connect them to the on- and off-campus community. Therefore, we combined this need to form an updated orientation handbook based on comprehensible input research, student participation, and student feedback of a pilot-test.
Project Goals
- Develop a CSU resources handbook for the Academic English Program to be used and administered in new student orientations
- Gain English as a Second Language teaching experience in the classroom
- Foster students’ speaking and listening skills through cultural exchange and conversation
Project Description
Objectives:
- Debrief the international students on their experiences and concerns at CSU in order to assess their needs as newly immersed beginner ELLs
- Create a communicative link between resources available at CSU and the beginner ELL’s knowledge and awareness of that availability
- Foster cultural awareness between international students and CSU community representatives via community integration
- Develop a CSU community resources booklet for the Academic English Program to be used and administered in the Spring 2013 New Student Orientation for all ELLs
Participants: Project members team-taught twice a week for three weeks from 8:15am-9:15am, which amounted to six total hours of contact with students. Students were enrolled in CSU’s INTO Program in a Basic Speaking & Listening class. There were a total of 13 students; ten L1 Arabic speakers and three L1 Japanese speakers.
Procedure: This project was a joint collaboration between INTO Basic Speaking & Listening teaching staff and the INTO Program administrators. The project consisted of two main parts: 1) classroom teaching, and 2) product creation.
Part One: Project members collaborated with the classroom teacher to ensure that the goals of the project were aligned with classroom objectives and curriculum standards. The theme of the class focused on the availability of resources on the CSU campus. Students were taken on field trips to visit and collect information about: the Lory Student Center, the Health Center, Morgan Library, the Recreation Center, the CSU Police Station, and the Bus Transit Center. Students asked questions about resources, gathered information about resources, and interacted with native English speakers.
Part Two: Project members partnered with the Academic English Coordinator, Curriculum Supervisor for the Basic INTO classes, and the Collaborating Classroom Teacher to recreate the original campus resource orientation material to be more ELL-friendly. The original handbook that ELLs were given upon arrival to CSU was beyond the proficiency level of most incoming INTO students. By working with a Basic class, project members gathered specific feedback about relevant information, confusing words, and the best format for readability.
After collecting feedback from students in Week 1, using ELL appropriate dictionary resources, and our own teaching knowledge, project members produced a more comprehensible resource handbook for INTO CSU. It is scheduled to be incorporated into new international student orientation in 2014.