Tag: #Grammar #TESOL #studentwork

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/