Tag: #Grammar #TESOL #studentwork

Jasmeet Kaur, Touro University, TESOL Candidate on Analyzing Text Complexity

As a Professor for TESOL, I am immensely proud to feature outstanding student work from our MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program. New York’s linguistic diversity demands teachers who can find common ground and effectively communicate with students from different language backgrounds. Academically rigorous and practice-intensive, the 33-credit program includes 50 hours of fieldwork and supervised student teaching experiences. Candidates who complete all coursework, fieldwork, and student teaching requirements are eligible for recommendation for ESL certification.

EDDN 637: Students will become acquainted with and practice effective approaches, methods, and strategies for teaching and evaluating English language learners in the content areas (ELA, Social Studies, Math and Science). Throughout the course, students will explore the impact of culture and language upon classroom learning. Special challenges in teaching and assessment in each content area will be discussed. Examination and analysis of curriculum materials and instructional strategies for creative teaching and learning in grades Pe-K-12. Includes content-specific lesson planning that addresses the New York State Student Content Learning Standards with emphasis on English Language Arts, English as a Second Language, and content area instruction. Course content includes demonstrations, simulated activities, and field observations in Pre-K-12 classrooms. The course also examines how the teaching of English to non-native speakers can be integrated with the teaching of cognitive skills in all content areas. Students will be offered a variety of methods and materials to integrate ESL standards throughout all content areas for classroom use. Includes 15 hours of fieldwork.

Jasmeet Kaur graduated from York College in Childhood Education Grades 1-6 with honors in 2022 ( Summa Cum Laude). Currently, she is working as a Substitute teacher and pursuing a Master’s in TESOL from Touro College. Her goal is to inspire Bilingual/ Multilingual and the next generation to have confidence in their abilities and use those skills towards their success.

“Touro provided me with insight into how being Bilingual/multilingual is an asset that opens the door for opportunities and cultivates tolerance and respect for other cultures.”

Jasmeet Kaur, Touro University, TESOL Candidate

Here is the second discussion board for Module 2/EDDN 637 by Jasmeet Kaur:

Credit source: Google image

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Touro University’s TESOL Candidate Crystal DeMarco’s Fieldwork Observations on Phonics for Multilingual Learners

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

New York is a state that speaks many languages. We need teachers who can find the common ground. The MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program helps NYS-certified PreK-12 teachers more effectively teach and communicate with a diverse student population. Academically rigorous and practice-intensive, the 33-credit program includes 50 hours of fieldwork and supervised student teaching experiences. Candidates that complete all coursework, fieldwork, and student teaching requirements are eligible for recommendation for ESL certification.

Crystal Demarco

Crystal DeMarco is a candidate in the TESOL Graduate Program at Touro University. She completed her undergraduate degree at the College Of Staten Island, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education in Social Studies. Crystal shares, “I love learning new innovative ways to create an engaging curriculum for my students!”

Educators pave the way for students to achieve their academic goals with the help of students understanding the tools they need to succeed when learning a new language. Like anything else in life, acquiring a new language is a difficult task for both the teacher and the student learning. Therefore, teachers need to understand the importance of phonetics and sounds to help support students effectively while teaching them new words. Teaching students the fundamentals of “Phonetics” is a great way to prepare students to understand the difference between target language and sounds.

Crystal DeMarco, candidate in the TESOL Graduate Program at Touro University.
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Beatriz Martine, Teacher Candidate at Touro College on Prepositions and Articles

11102782_10152791417766381_2687658104203970642_nBeatriz Martine is a certified 7-12 Mathematics teacher currently working in the Roosevelt Union Free School District. She has had the experience of teaching in the 7th and 8th grades for four years and is looking forward to teaching many more. Beatriz has found a love in working with ENL students because of the predominantly high ENL population in her school district. She is currently pursuing her Masters in TESOL at Touro College to better support her students. Beatriz is hoping to continue her studies and work towards her Bilingual extension after graduating with her Masters.

Here the questions for the Discussion Board of our Touro online learning environment with Ms. Martine’s answers. Ms. Martine has given express permission to use her discussion board postings in my blog.

Why do you think learning correct prepositions, articles and when a noun needs an article or not takes so long to learn? Is this also true for native speakers?  

I think the reasons why learning correct prepositions, articles and when a noun needs an article or not takes a long time to learn is that the rules are complex, have many exceptions, and in certain situations interchangeable. Most of the time, practice is the key to learning these grammatical components. Tara Arntsen explains in Gerund vs. Infinitive, that “it takes a lot of practice to recognize which words this applies to and there is no rule to help,” referring to specific words that must be followed by infinitives or gerunds (2011). Prepositions are hard to learn because they have multiple meanings. Take the preposition on, for example, we can use this for different situations: to be in physical contact with something (on a shelf) or to participate in something (on a team). There are also instances where depending on where you are geographically, prepositions are used differently (standing in line vs. standing on line). Prepositions can also be interchangeable. When someone is waiting inside a restaurant, they can be in or at the restaurant.

Create a short worksheet requiring your students to demonstrate their proficiency in the use of prepositions, infinitives and/or gerunds. Post this on the discussion board for your colleagues to address.
I would use this as a Do Now for a succeeding lesson on when to use gerunds or infinitives. 

Name: __________________________     Date: ________   Period: _____

Gerund vs. Infinitive

Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct gerund or infinite

 

1. I enjoy (play)  ________________  hide-and-seek with my friends.

2. My teacher always says, “Keep (try)  ________________, next time you’ll get it right!”

3. I need (clean) ________________ my room this weekend, it’s a mess.

4. I don’t like (go)  ________________ to the store with my mom, she takes forever!

5. When my mom walks in my room, I pretend (sleep)  ________________ but I’m really on my phone!

Post two, thoughtful and insightful questions about grammar proficiency for your colleagues to discuss.

1. Does anyone have a good classroom resource for practicing gerunds and infinitives?

2. Matthew Lubin explains, “It’s easier to explain to an ESL class that gerunds sound more natural than infinitives when used as subjects or complements of a sentence” (2017). How would you model this to your students?

References:

Arntsen, T. (2011, August 22). Gerund vs. Infinitive: How to Explain the Difference. Retrieved from https://busyteacher.org/4123-gerund-vs.-infinitive-how-to-explain-the.html

Arntsen, T. (2016, October 30). How To Teach Prepositions Of Place (8 Simple Steps). Retrieved from https://busyteacher.org/3630-how-to-teach-prepositions-of-place.html

Lubin, M. (2017, July 27). How to Teach Gerunds and Infinitives to ESL Students Without Confusing Them. Retrieved from https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/esl-gerunds-and-infinitives/