Author: drcowinj

As a Professor for TESOL, I am immensely proud to feature outstanding candidate work from our TESOL Certification Program. New York’s classrooms are some of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the country. Our TESOL certificate program prepares NYS-certified teachers to provide responsive, comprehensive education to students of every background. 

The TESOL Certification at Touro University is a 15-credit program including five courses—each with carefully designed fieldwork experiences—that emphasize both academic content learning and English fluency for English Language Learners.

We explore contemporary theory and research-based instructional strategies for multicultural education, methods and materials for second language acquisition, and best practices for teaching ELLs in specific subjects. We give you the tools to ensure that your students meet the latest performance standards of PreK-12 curricula in both private and public schools.

Courses are offered evenings and Sundays, and online to accommodate our students’ diverse scheduling needs, and you’ll receive personalized guidance based on your current work and career goals from highly qualified and experienced professors.   

Upon completion of the program, you’ll be eligible for the New York State Advanced Certificate in ESOL. All courses are transferable to the master’s degree program in TESOL at Touro University.

Kayla Challenor is currently enrolled in a TESOL certification program at Touro University and has recently accepted a position as a Reading Specialist within the Huntington School District. Having completed a Master’s degree in Reading and Literacy (K-12), she is dedicated to continuing education and applying this knowledge to support learners in achieving success.

Below is Kayla Challenor’s contribution to our discussion board on Comprehensible Input:

1. What is the relationship of language, teacher speech, expression, gestures, wait time etc. to make content comprehensible?

The relationship between language, teacher speech, expression, gestures, and wait time is crucial in making content comprehensible for students. Language is the primary means of instruction. Teachers must use language that is appropriate for the students’ proficiency level. For example, when I taught third grade, I would simplify complex concepts when introducing new topics in Science and Social Studies. Once students understand a newly learned concept, such as immigration, students practice using the vocabulary words and can connect it to their background knowledge. Educators should be as explicit as possible, using clear and concise language. 

Just as the language a teacher uses should be concise, the classroom should display comprehensive language. Visual representations in the room can provide an alternative way of conveying information and can be especially helpful for ENL/ML learners who are more visually oriented. Rand (2022) suggests that instead of using traditional word walls that organize vocabulary words as a dictionary would, educators should align with instruction and be arranged to show relationships/schemas. Rand uses these two unfamiliar language examples to show the comprehensible differences:

(Rand, 2022)

The way an educator speaks is crucial. They should articulate clearly, speak at an average pace, and use the proper intonation. Teachers should also be mindful of their tone and ensure that it’s engaging and supportive. Expression involves the teacher’s facial expressions, body language, and enthusiasm. Expressive teachers can convey their passion for the subject or topic, making it more engaging and easier for students to understand. Vogt shares that wait time can differ in various cultures; “In U.S. classrooms, the average length of wait time is clearly not sufficient” (2017, p. 166). English learners are processing ideas in a new language and will need additional time to enhance their interaction with peers.  

Non-verbal communication through gestures can reinforce student understanding as well. Teachers can use gestures to illustrate concepts, demonstrate actions, or emphasize key points. This visual component can provide additional context and support for learners. I can connect to this need during my American Sign Language classes that I am currently taking for foreign language credits. The professor signed a short story using her hand gestures and expressions during the story. Our class has not learned many of the hand signs yet but I was able to understand the bulk of the story because of her expressions. Her lesson was to show how helpful non-verbal communication can be when learning a foreign language. 

What is one take-away from the Stephen Krashen video and how might it impact your teaching?

One take-away from Stephen Krashen is that anything that helps input more comprehensible helps language acquisition. Talking is not practicing language. Language is acquired by experiencing and listening to comprehensible input – not by speaking. Speaking and using language comes as a result of comprehensible input. It impacted my view on how it’s the educator’s responsibility to provide comprehensible input. If a student is not acquiring language skills, it is not because they are an ENL/ML — it is because they are not able to comprehend the information being taught in the classroom. 

Lesson analysis p 116. Explain your rating on each of the Comprehensible Input Features. (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J. J., & Short, D. J. (2017). Making content comprehensible for English learners. (5th ed.). Pearson: New York.)

Figure 4.2 Comprehensible Input Component of the SIOP® Model: Mr. Dillon’s Lesson

In the Mr. Lew scenario, it says he “was careful to make sure students not only knew the meaning of content vocabulary, but also knew the meaning of words associated with academic tasks, such as predict and calculate” (Vogt, 2017, p. 115). Mr. Lew told the students to watch as he demonstrated before beginning the lesson making the instructions more comprehensible. The students listened but also watched what they were being asked to do. He spoke slowly and avoided idioms, being concise and explicit. I scored his language a 4 for being careful and appropriate for ENL/ML learners. I scored his academic tasks a 3 because he did model the instructions, but I think he stopped another group and asked one student to stand and explain the steps of what they were doing. Rather than this, he could have had pictures to accompany the directions on the board. His lesson includes various techniques, but I rated this part a 3 because playing a video could have been very useful for all learners and given more background knowledge. 

Why is collaboration an essential element of productive work in the ZPD?

Collaboration allows individuals to work together, with one person often being more knowledgeable or skilled than the other. Some students in a group may take on the role of being the presenter, some students are more skilled in writing or researching. This enables what Vygotsky referred to as “scaffolding” or “gradual release of responsibility” (Vogt, 2017, p.130). A more knowledgeable person, teacher or peer, can provide support, guidance, and assistance to help a learner perform tasks just beyond their current level of competence. Effective teachers also incorporate instructional approaches that provide procedural scaffolding. Using an instructional framework, such as the ‘I do, we do, you do’ method includes explicit teaching, modeling, and guided and independent practice. Through interaction with others in small group instruction, learners can engage in discussions, debates, and knowledge-sharing. Students practice a newly learned strategy with another more experienced student, scaffolding each other as a teacher would. (Vogt, 2017)

Content Objective/Language Objective Write 2 corresponding content/language objectives for one of YOUR lesson plans that YOU are going to teach.

References

Comprehensible Input Demonstration. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2023,       from 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=189&v=x7c429g-cu8&embedsreferring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftouro.instructure.com%2Fcourses%2F107257%2Fmodules%2Fitems%2F3363635&source_ve_path=MTM5MTE3LDEzOTExNywyMzg1MQ&feature=emb_title.

Hamza, T. (2016). Stephen Krashen: Language Acquisition and Comprehensible

Input. (Video). YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnUc_W3xE1w

Rand, M. K. (2022). Interactive Word Walls in Early Childhood Education. YouTube.

The Positive Classroom. Retrieved October 11, 2023, from

Vogt, M., Echevarria, J. J., & Short, D. J. (2017). Making content comprehensible for English learners. (5th ed.). Pearson: New York.

DB Contributions

A.,

I enjoyed reading your post this week. Stephen Krashen’s point about understanding messages stood out to me too. Sometimes, the ENL/ML students in my fieldwork can be shy because they feel timid when asking to repeat a question or if they are having difficulty understanding, they prefer to stay quiet. This video resonated with me and I can see how our teaching methods can facilitate rapid language acquisition by using the right strategies. I agree that it is more important for ELL students to get the overall idea of the lesson. When collaborating and scaffolding with peers, summarizing skills and grasping the overall message will be more effective than using grammar rules. Great post!

J.,

It sounds like you have a very engaging lesson planned soon! I am sure the students will love explaining their cultural traditions with their peers. It would be interesting to see how many of them celebrate the same traditions and how they may celebrate differently with their families. Your lessons are student-centered and encourage them to share a part of their identity. I can see how their language objectives will be useful in the real-world and also remind them of home. I would love to teach a similar lesson. Great post!