20th century novels are still relevant and can provide ESL students opportunities for developing 21st century critical thinking skills. This presentation focuses on student and teacher reflections on Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby in a college composition course. Teaching materials and lesson ideas are provided.
The jury is in! Converging research calls for stand-alone English Language Development (ELD) for all ELs up to proficiency. But what does this mean? What does it look like? How do you start? We’ll look at research, resources, and approaches to bring about this seismic change in what we do.
How has our understanding of BICS/CALP and time needed for academic achievement by second-language learners changed over the last 3 decades as we have learned more from new waves of immigration and new research findings? In this session, this foundational information will be updated and re-examined based on current research and teaching practices.
This presentation outlines a framework for motivating language teachers developed by Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014) which highlights the concept of vision as a powerful motivational force for change and development. Vision-based strategies in the form of specific activities that can be used by teachers and teacher educators will be featured.
Conversation exchanges between students who are learning each other’s native language help students gain authentic skills in the target language, and provide invaluable linguistic and intercultural learning. This presentation examines best practices for establishing and growing a successful conversation exchange program at an academic institution.
Teaching in today's society has become a complicated and often discouraging business. Through reflection and discussion, participants will reconnect to the most meaningful aspects of their teaching life and find ways to bring the joy back into their daily work. This workshop is based on the presenter's own experiences and the book "The Courage to Teach" by Parker Palmer.
Increasingly rigorous adult ESL classes are a reality, and one area of focus is academic language. Do adult ESL teachers know how to integrate academic language at all levels of instruction? This session focuses on promising practices for teaching academic language from beginning through intermediate levels of adult ESL.
This panel discussion presents the experiences of several elementary and middle school ESL teachers as they work with students and colleagues to apply SFL and a genre-based pedagogy to language instruction. The discussion presents successes and challenges, strategies, students’ responses to the approach, collaboration experiences, and student performance data.
The jury is in! Converging research calls for stand-alone English Language Development (ELD) for all ELs up to proficiency. But what does this mean? What does it look like? How do you start? We’ll look at research, resources, and approaches to bring about this seismic change in what we do.
How has our understanding of BICS/CALP and time needed for academic achievement by second-language learners changed over the last 3 decades as we have learned more from new waves of immigration and new research findings? In this session, this foundational information will be updated and re-examined based on current research and teaching practices.
This presentation outlines a framework for motivating language teachers developed by Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014) which highlights the concept of vision as a powerful motivational force for change and development. Vision-based strategies in the form of specific activities that can be used by teachers and teacher educators will be featured.
Conversation exchanges between students who are learning each other’s native language help students gain authentic skills in the target language, and provide invaluable linguistic and intercultural learning. This presentation examines best practices for establishing and growing a successful conversation exchange program at an academic institution.
Teaching in today's society has become a complicated and often discouraging business. Through reflection and discussion, participants will reconnect to the most meaningful aspects of their teaching life and find ways to bring the joy back into their daily work. This workshop is based on the presenter's own experiences and the book "The Courage to Teach" by Parker Palmer.
Increasingly rigorous adult ESL classes are a reality, and one area of focus is academic language. Do adult ESL teachers know how to integrate academic language at all levels of instruction? This session focuses on promising practices for teaching academic language from beginning through intermediate levels of adult ESL.
This panel discussion presents the experiences of several elementary and middle school ESL teachers as they work with students and colleagues to apply SFL and a genre-based pedagogy to language instruction. The discussion presents successes and challenges, strategies, students’ responses to the approach, collaboration experiences, and student performance data.
Presentation about "Native Vs Non-Native Accent" delivered by the students of MA in Linguistics at Manouba University: Salah Mhamdi, Rabeb Bouzazi and Sihem Chalouati on Tuesday, February 6, 2018.
To what extent can the use of a modified version of Readers' Theatre improve secondary ELs' use of pausing and prominence to signal thought groups within English speech production? Could non-native speakers of English become more intelligible and comprehensible through explicit suprasegmental instruction and repeated reading experiences that were relevant?
For ELLs to succeed, ESL teachers must wear three hats. They must provide systematic English language development, content support, and be advocates and experts. This session will explore all three roles, offering practical tips and resources for each.
Pragmatics in the EFL classroom: An introductionJerry Talandis
Here are the slides from my presentation at the JALT 2013 national conference, in Kobe, Japan on October 27th. Here's the abstract:
If pragmatic competence is indeed a crucial part of successful communication (Murray, 2009), it follows that language learners need both instruction of pragmatic routines and awareness raising in order to achieve proficiency in a second language (Charlesbois, 2004). The field itself is quite broad, however, encompassing areas such as speech acts, discourse organization, sociolinguistics, and conversational structure, implicature, and management- all areas not traditionally addressed in language teaching curricula (Bardovi-Harlig & Mehan-Taylor, 2003). For English teachers in Japan largely unfamiliar with pragmatics yet interested in learning more, guidance is needed in exploring its many benefits for improving oral communication skills. This workshop will therefore aim to make pragmatics more accessible and practical by defining the field in lay terms, making a case for its inclusion within an oral communication curriculum for low-intermediate and above learners, and providing specific ideas on which aspects to focus upon and how to teach them. Participants will have an opportunity to experience and reflect on various activities that introduce, practice, and assess progress in building pragmatic competency. Space will also be included for participants to discuss their teaching contexts and exchange ideas on how to effectively introduce pragmatics to their students.
References:
Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Mehan-Taylor, R. (2009). Teaching pragmatics. English Teaching Forum 2003(41:3).
Charlebois, J. (2004). Pragmatics: The heart and soul of linguistic proficiency. The Language Teacher, 28(4).
Murray, N. (2009). Rethinking pragmatics pragmatics for the classroom: A deductive approach. PAC7 at JALT2008 Conference Proceedings.
Native English Teacher or Non - Native English Teacher?Self-employed
The contentious issue of (non)nativeness remains unanswered.
Nowadays, being an NNEST or NEST should not count but rather teachers' professional capabilities.
The presentation provides a forum for reflection and discussion about NNESTs.
We should value professional and personal qualities over ‘nativeness.’
The skills and qualities that make an effective language teacher are the most significant.
Both ‘NESTs’ and ‘NNESTs’ are expected to be competent teachers, each with excellent professional skills.
What can non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) perform better?
What can native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) manage better?
Problems of teaching and learning english in indiaRitaDabhi1
Teaching and learning English in India
has always been a challenge, both for the teachers
and the taught. Widely spoken throughout the world
English took over Indian languages with the coming
of the colonial rule.
This ethnographic analysis of Bhutanese students enrolled in a community college is a cultural translation of samaj (community). Student experiences inside and outside the classroom are examined through interviews, observation, and participant observation. Responses from community college instructors are also analyzed leading to a necessary call for change.
Presentation about "Native Vs Non-Native Accent" delivered by the students of MA in Linguistics at Manouba University: Salah Mhamdi, Rabeb Bouzazi and Sihem Chalouati on Tuesday, February 6, 2018.
To what extent can the use of a modified version of Readers' Theatre improve secondary ELs' use of pausing and prominence to signal thought groups within English speech production? Could non-native speakers of English become more intelligible and comprehensible through explicit suprasegmental instruction and repeated reading experiences that were relevant?
For ELLs to succeed, ESL teachers must wear three hats. They must provide systematic English language development, content support, and be advocates and experts. This session will explore all three roles, offering practical tips and resources for each.
Pragmatics in the EFL classroom: An introductionJerry Talandis
Here are the slides from my presentation at the JALT 2013 national conference, in Kobe, Japan on October 27th. Here's the abstract:
If pragmatic competence is indeed a crucial part of successful communication (Murray, 2009), it follows that language learners need both instruction of pragmatic routines and awareness raising in order to achieve proficiency in a second language (Charlesbois, 2004). The field itself is quite broad, however, encompassing areas such as speech acts, discourse organization, sociolinguistics, and conversational structure, implicature, and management- all areas not traditionally addressed in language teaching curricula (Bardovi-Harlig & Mehan-Taylor, 2003). For English teachers in Japan largely unfamiliar with pragmatics yet interested in learning more, guidance is needed in exploring its many benefits for improving oral communication skills. This workshop will therefore aim to make pragmatics more accessible and practical by defining the field in lay terms, making a case for its inclusion within an oral communication curriculum for low-intermediate and above learners, and providing specific ideas on which aspects to focus upon and how to teach them. Participants will have an opportunity to experience and reflect on various activities that introduce, practice, and assess progress in building pragmatic competency. Space will also be included for participants to discuss their teaching contexts and exchange ideas on how to effectively introduce pragmatics to their students.
References:
Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Mehan-Taylor, R. (2009). Teaching pragmatics. English Teaching Forum 2003(41:3).
Charlebois, J. (2004). Pragmatics: The heart and soul of linguistic proficiency. The Language Teacher, 28(4).
Murray, N. (2009). Rethinking pragmatics pragmatics for the classroom: A deductive approach. PAC7 at JALT2008 Conference Proceedings.
Native English Teacher or Non - Native English Teacher?Self-employed
The contentious issue of (non)nativeness remains unanswered.
Nowadays, being an NNEST or NEST should not count but rather teachers' professional capabilities.
The presentation provides a forum for reflection and discussion about NNESTs.
We should value professional and personal qualities over ‘nativeness.’
The skills and qualities that make an effective language teacher are the most significant.
Both ‘NESTs’ and ‘NNESTs’ are expected to be competent teachers, each with excellent professional skills.
What can non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) perform better?
What can native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) manage better?
Problems of teaching and learning english in indiaRitaDabhi1
Teaching and learning English in India
has always been a challenge, both for the teachers
and the taught. Widely spoken throughout the world
English took over Indian languages with the coming
of the colonial rule.
This ethnographic analysis of Bhutanese students enrolled in a community college is a cultural translation of samaj (community). Student experiences inside and outside the classroom are examined through interviews, observation, and participant observation. Responses from community college instructors are also analyzed leading to a necessary call for change.
English Learner (EL) students can concretely demonstrate their understanding of literacy standards by creating media on their iPad devices. The Apps my students have used to show their learning reinforce listening, speaking, reading, and writing. I will explain the process and Apps the students in my classroom use to support language proficiency.
2015 Legislation enacted world language proficiency certificates and bilingual and multilingual seals to provide ALL Minnesota students the opportunity to earn college credits. What are they? How are they awarded? How can you prepare and support your students? This presentation aims to answer these and other participant questions.
Do you have questions about how to best implement WIDA’s ELD Standards in your school? Would you like to hear how WIDA assessments and standards have been put into use in other districts? This presentation will share the results of research stemming from interviews with twelve different districts across the state.
This presentation will discuss questions teachers can use to focus on in academic text. These questions help students interact with the information in the text, the author’s purpose, and the text’s organization. Participants will examine text samples, example questions, and student work from elementary and secondary contexts.
A summary from the TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit, Washington D.C. June 21-23, 2015. Facts and news from the Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education; a brief legislative overview including most current news on ESEA reauthorization; the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), US Department of Education and their development of a new toolkit; how is NEA working on advocacy for ELLS?; teacher advocacy for ELLs - a useful text; Capitol Hill and meetings with legislative aides.
Intensive English Program students are ever-changing in language background and origin. Recently, additional differences have more commonly surfaced, including learning disabilities, academic learning gaps, and increased lower English proficiency-level students. This session will increase awareness of these issues and discuss resources and ways to understand and develop strategies to address them in the ESL classroom.
For ELLs to succeed, ESL teachers must wear three hats. They must provide systematic English language development, content support, and be advocates and experts. This session will explore all three roles, offering practical tips and resources for each.
Although we have a strong body of best practices with English Learners (ELs), inequities continue to prevail. How do we create a heightened sense of urgency and increase stakeholder sensitivity to ELs’ school experiences? This session will focus on creating instructional tools to gauge the presence and strength of evidence-based instruction as used in daily practice. Participants will consider specific actions that lead to improved student outcomes and systemic access and equity for ELs.
SLIFE may not have much experience with literacy and academic knowledge, but their oral cultural background has equipped them with certain affordances, or strengths, which can and should serve as the basis for creating effective SLIFE instruction. In this session, I will present two particularly SLIFE-suited approaches, with a research-based rationale and examples of their use with SLIFE and all students. Participants will engage in hands-on activities designing and implementing each approach.
Three elementary ESL teachers explored ways to enhance their instruction of academic language in inclusion settings in primary grade language arts, social studies, and science classes. They will share the sources and ideas they used and will provide suggestions for supporting elementary ELs' growth in academic language.
This session will offer a new and different approach to teaching the traditional type of American culture seminar class. Attendees will be able to take away simple and creative ways to implement this approach in their own programs.
This ethnographic analysis of Bhutanese students enrolled in a community college is a cultural translation of samaj (community). Student experiences inside and outside the classroom are examined through interviews, observation, and participant observation. Responses from community college instructors are also analyzed leading to a necessary call for change.
There is a trend in education to make use of crowdfunding. Different platforms will be compared to highlight specific advantages and disadvantages. The presenter successfully ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to fund a music project. She can give useful tips on aspects that make a crowdfunded project successful. A discussion will follow the presentation.
Thinkers’ Alchemy: Using “The Alchemist” to Stimulate Critical ThinkingMonique Senseii
This paper presentation seeks to encourage teachers to no longer view literature as something not practical for ESL/EFL students, but as a necessary part in building students’ English skills. Teachers will learn how to feel more confident in their ability to help students use modern literature, such as “The Alchemist,” to express personal thoughts and listen attentively to others. This session will enhance teachers’ capacity to more easily comprehend their students’ personal experiences as it relates to the novel’s young protagonist coming of age during a travel adventure.
MRA2014 Facilitating Choice Within Curriculum Constraints PresentationJillian @heisereads
Slideshow from "Facilitating Choice Within Curriculum Constraints" session by Jillian Heise & Sarah Andersen at the Michigan Reading Association Convention, March 15, 2014
Using comic books and graphic novels to teach academic subjects is one of the many potentials that the medium of comics has. This presentation highlights the benefits of using such material in class, using as an example English Language as a subject.
The driving principle of this session that oral language development is so critical to concept attainment that essentially the person in the classroom that does the most speaking, does the most learning. Intentional design for oral language interactions all day long, creates the space for multiple voices, perspectives and more learning.
The driving principle of this session that oral language development is so critical to concept attainment that essentially the person in the classroom that does the most speaking, does the most learning. Intentional design for oral language interactions all day long, creates the space for multiple voices, perspectives and more learning.
While the yearly ACCESS score gives us a starting point, language assessment should happen throughout the school year. With assessment data, teachers can create language targets to accelerate student growth. Join an EL Coach on her journey for creating district-wide assessments that fit within the WiDA framework, support English Language Development, and empower EL teachers at the collaborative table.
An opportunity to explore pedagogical technology theories that undergird integration decisions at the classroom level, including 8 examples of revisions designed to deepen student learning, application, and meet differentiation needs. Attendees will also be able to share ideas; emphasizing the empowerment of informed teacher choices about technology integration decisions.
2015 Minnesota legislation for world language proficiency certificates, bilingual and multilingual seals provides ALL Minnesota students the opportunity to earn college credits. Assessing languages without ACTFL-based assessments presents a challenge to schools and teachers. This session provides resources and guidance for development of ACTFL-aligned assessments for those languages.
“Heuristic” knowledge, the awareness of how a system functions, is a prerequisite for effective navigation within school systems, including access to language services. The Spanish-speaking parents interviewed in this study believed this lack of navigational understanding to directly impact their ability to support the education and success of their children.
Google My Maps is an easy tool for creating personal maps with descriptive pinpoints. This demonstration will show how students of different levels can use Google My Maps across the skill areas to create and share work. Ready-to-go projects will be shared that will increase student motivation, awareness, and autonomy.
Participants will be provided with research, sample sentence frames, teacher and student feedback and a map for how to effectively implement sentence frames into classroom instruction. The goal is to encourage participants to take on a leadership role and advocate for more explicit language instruction throughout the school day.
English learners are a diverse group entering our schools with a wide range of backgrounds and needs. Many of them readily develop the necessary language skills, are able to access grade-level subject area content knowledge, and progress satisfactorily in school. However, there are other English learners for whom school presents major challenges, who do not progress smoothly, and who are at high risk. While there are numerous reasons why some English learners struggle, I argue that for many it is not only the new language and unfamiliar subject area content, but also – and more critically – the nature of formal education itself that is the barrier to their success. I outline the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP®), a culturally responsive instructional model that builds bridges to formal education for struggling English learners. MALP® promotes academic achievement by helping these students access the literacy practices and academic ways of thinking of our schools while honoring and respecting their own learning paradigm.
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
How to Split Bills in the Odoo 17 POS ModuleCeline George
Bills have a main role in point of sale procedure. It will help to track sales, handling payments and giving receipts to customers. Bill splitting also has an important role in POS. For example, If some friends come together for dinner and if they want to divide the bill then it is possible by POS bill splitting. This slide will show how to split bills in odoo 17 POS.
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Clements_Tichich Using 20th Century Books to Teach 21st Century Skills
1. Using 20th Century Books to
Teach 21st Century Skills
Emily Tichich
Catherine Clements
Minnesota English Language Program
University of Minnesota
2. Using “classic” novels with ESL students
Questions we ask ourselves…..
● Is the story relevant? Are the characters engaging?
● Is the story accessible? Can students overcome any lack of historical
context to engage in the novel?
● Are they enjoyable to read?
● Is the reading level appropriate?
● Does the story provoke students to ask “why?” (critical thinking)
3. Presentation Overview:
WHAT? Teaching The Great Gatsby (TGG) and Of Mice and Men (OMAM) in an
IEP with high advanced learners
WHY? Student and teacher feedback
HOW? A wealth of lesson ideas giving students the opportunity to engage in
critical thinking skills
4. WHAT: Teaching context
High advanced reading/ composition course taught at an IEP at a university
in the Twin Cities.
Our students have:
- various academic goals
- often not ever read a novel in English before
- a wide variety of nationalities
- busy lives
5. WHAT: Program learning outcomes
● Analyze and evaluate written material
○ Independently compare and contrast multiple readings and/ or authors
● Engage in extensive reading
○ Increase reading fluency
○ Demonstrate critical thinking in response to reading
○ Make connections across readings
○ Prepare for and participate in group and class discussions about books
Students must achieve an “S” to pass their courses (≥ 70%)
6. WHAT: What are 21st century critical
thinking skills?
“Critical thinking involves not only discovering meaning in a work but also
substantiating an interpretation by carefully reading and weighing the “evidence”
in the text, by analyzing that evidence in a logical manner, and by drawing well-
reasoned conclusions from the material.” (Esplugas et al)
Critical thinking skills include the ability to summarize, synthesize, narrate,
& respond.
7. WHAT: Novels taught in the program (examples)
Montana 1948 Larry Watson
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby F.Scott Fitzgerald
A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah
The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky
8. Why: Teachers’ views
● A classic is a classic for a reason
○ Themes are timeless, characters are interesting, plot is engaging
● Through stories students can become aware of the L2’s important “cultural
narratives” (the “American Dream”)
○ No one would deny the need for Spanish majors to know the Quijote, or Classics majors to
learn the Odyssey in their original languages.
● A teacher’s enthusiasm can be catchy
9. WHY: Students’ views
Survey (October 2015)
1. What is your opinion of reading John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men
a. Please explain your response to the previous question
2. Do you think Of Mice and Men is a good choice to read in this course? Why
or why not?
3. Do you think Of Mice and Men was appropriate for your English reading
level?
a. Please explain your response to the previous question
4. Is there anything else you would like to tell me about your experience
reading this novel?
10. Why: Is the story relevant? Are the characters engaging?
● “Liked it- I think it’s really interesting because it teaches us about
friendship and loyalty”
● “Loved it- Good story! Good characterization! Good description!”
● “Loved it- Second, I was completely attracted wonderful story.
Every character has the meaning, and so we can read and think
about the theme combining story outline, character's personality
and their meaning.”
● “Loved it - the relationship is warm but the end is surprising.”
11. WHY: Is the story accessible? (context)
● “Yes! This is a great novel and is not too hard to read.”
● “Liked it because everyone’s character is obvious. And it’s a
surprise and dramatic ending. I can learn American culture
from this book.”
12. WHY: Are the novels enjoyable to read?
● “Yes, the way the writer wrote this novel makes it
enjoyable to read.”
● “It is the first novel I have read yet. The vocabulary,
description and organization are very excellent.”
13. WHY: Is the reading level appropriate?
● “Even though it has many dialects, it doesn’t influence my
understanding about its theme”
● “Some words are so old.. but it doesn’t affect us to understand
this story.”
● “We can learn a lot of writing skills and improve the reading
skill by reading it.”
*Formative and Summative Assessment results showed students met the
program outcomes
14. WHY: Does the story provoke students to ask “why?”
● “It made me surprised a lot because I thought they would
be happy at the end. But it’s a sad story.”
● “The story kind of ended in a strange way.”
Critical thinking is addressed through various assignments...
15. HOW: Critical Thinking Lesson Ideas
Sample Essay Question #1:
Both Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby have characters and situations that
demonstrate morality or immorality. Make a comparison between two
characters from the novels and why you consider them moral or immoral based
on their actions and the decisions they make in the stories. Use specific
examples to support your ideas and make sure you connect the two novels in
some way.
16. HOW: Critical Thinking Lesson Ideas
Sample Essay Question #2
In The Great Gatsby, Nick states that Gatsby “turned out all right at the end; it was
what preyed on Gatsby…” (p.2). This statement suggests that Gatsby was a
victim of his environment or society and although his heart was good, he was
unable to be a good person in his society. Discuss this idea with specific
examples from the book and make an argument about one character in Of Mice
and Men who was also a good person but unable to be so because of the society
or environment he/ she lived in.
17. HOW: Critical Thinking Lesson Ideas
Sample Essay Question #3
Fitzgerald and Steinbeck both develop the following themes in their novels:
1. The optimism and futility of the American Dream
2. Powerlessness (social, economic, intellectual)
3. Discrimination (sexism, racism, ageism)
4. The insincerity of the elite
Choose ONE of these themes and make an argument that describes how the authors develop the theme
in their novels. Discuss characters and/or events and use specific examples to support your claim. Be
sure to draw a connection between the novels.
18. HOW: Critical Thinking Lesson Ideas
In-class discussion: If George & Lennie/Gatsby lived now in your home country.
● Who would they be?
● Who would their bosses be?
● Where would they live?
● Why would they do what they do? What circumstances would have led them
to their current location?
○ Gatsby as a drug dealer in the USA
○ Gatsby as a factory owner in China
19. HOW: Student Teaching Possibilities
Students teach a class, illuminating one of the themes from the book. (Themes
can be teacher- or student-provided)
● Women in the 20s
● Bootlegging and Prohibition
● Cars in the 1920s
● The Stock Market Crash
20. How: Critical Thinking Lesson Ideas
Summarize the book in a few key scenes/pictures.
● Use a comic generator for this.
○ I like ComicLife, but many free comic generators exist
● Great for disengaged students (e.g., young men)
○ How it’s done:
■ Download a variety pictures from the movie.
■ Put them into a shared folder.
■ Tell students to use ~6 pictures to summarize the story.
○ Make sure only crucial narrative images are used in final product.
○ These visual summaries are then used to write longer summaries.
21.
22. HOW: Other Tech-Based Lesson Ideas
Teachers should embrace the wealth of resources available on-line for these
books to enrich lessons.
● Of Mice and Men in Context
○ BBC video about John Steinbeck’s California
● Gatsby Background
○ Rich resource including interviews, Reader’s Guide, Teacher’s Guide, more
Ask students: What elements of the authors’ upbringing do you see in the
novels? (Compare and contrast)
23. Other Tech-Based Lesson Ideas
Audio Books are a huge help -- use these in or out of class
Very helpful with OMAM for vernacular
● Ask students: whose speech is “best”? Why/how? What does this tell you
about the characters?
Bring CD to class for students to download, or put MP3 files in a shared folder
24. Final thoughts
● Using “classic” novels with ESL students provides them with a rich source of
content which helps them meet their learning outcomes.
● The themes and stories can provide them with an opportunity to become
aware of cultural narratives (e.g., migratory workers, American Dream)
● More quantitative and qualitative research must be done to assess the
effectiveness of these and other novels in meeting program learning
outcomes.
26. Thank you
Catherine Clements cleme050@umn.edu
Emily Tichich tich0017@umn.edu
Shortlink to this presentation: http://bit.ly/1PsGFkY
27. References
Esplugas, C. and M. Landwehr. 1996. “The Use of Critical Thinking Skills in
Literary Analysis”. Foreign Language Annals. 29 (3). 449-461.