Hello everyone, here is the website I will be reviewing:
"Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader: Strategies for Teaching Literature in the ESL Classroom"
http://busyteacher.org/6504-strategies-teaching-literature-esl-classroom.html
"Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader: Strategies for Teaching Literature in the ESL Classroom"
http://busyteacher.org/6504-strategies-teaching-literature-esl-classroom.html
This website offers strategies for teaching literature in an
ESL classroom, applicable to our context, since much of our EL pedagogy works on the basis of an ESL or ESL-like environment (judging by our QUE and QCE readings, at least).
Three ideas from website:
1. Start small, then work to a more complex level. The
website suggests using short stories for a start, moving on to novellas and
novels, instead of starting with a classic work of literature.
2. Review fundamental literary terms and explain them, so
that students will have the vocabulary to talk about their ideas and
observations.
3. Cultivate controversy to create occasion for speaking
practice, writing practice, and reading practice in class.
My Review:
1. I concur with selecting short stories over poetry for the
first phase of teaching as these may be more approachable. Humorous short
stories like those from Saki (H.H. Munro) could arouse student interest; they
are also written simply, so even students with a semi-competent grasp of English
will understand enough for discussion.
2. I agree with the underlying reason, though I wonder if
there is a more engaging way to review literary terms. I feel that students
starting out with literature may need constant reminding about these terms,
which could seem abstract to some. It is worth spending time to reinforce their
learning.
3. Controversy can be generated within clearly demarcated
boundaries in the form of a classroom debate e.g. over whether a character/event
should have been different in a story, whether it is the strongest/weakest
point in the narrative etc. Debating
gives good written and oral argumentative practice.
(Word count for review: 147 words)
(Word count for review: 147 words)
RE: Review for Point 3
ReplyDeleteAs a former debater, I agree with the debate format and how truly can give one excellent practice and both oral and written argumentation. My ability in writing essays really improved greatly when I joined the debate society in my secondary school. However, in a classroom context it might be a bit difficult to involve everyone in debates. Time is a factor – there may not be enough of it; and some students are simply less inclined to speak up. As a potential add-on activity to this debate, those who are less inclined to speak up can perhaps be called upon occasionally (it is still good to compel them to leave their comfort zone at least once or twice) to act as judges for the debates, writing down their analyses of the debate and points of view in reflections.
Hey Damien, this website is very interesting, there's loads of teaching and instructional tips and resources for teachers to learn from and implement in the classroom so thank you for introducing it!
ReplyDeleteI think you and Edward have already discussed and dissected the majority of information that can be gleaned from your review of busyteacher.org. So instead, I'll look at some of the instructional resources provided by the website and attempt to relate it to our context as Literature teachers.
In one section (http://busyteacher.org/12285-how-to-check-answers-7-great-ways.html) what I found particularly helpful in "How to check answers with students in the classroom" was the tip to "Wait Before Confirming if an Answer is Correct".
All too often, we teachers just chug away and drag along our students in the class with our momentum and energy without stopping to see if they have learnt anything from us or are just agreeing with us for the sake of agreement without true understanding. One way to overcome this issue is as busyteacher.org recommends, to slow down and just allow a brief moment of reflection and contemplation to solidify the students' ideas and thoughts about a certain issue or text before we carry on with our lesson.
1. Between short stories and novels, might short stories be more difficult at times, being more complex and having more unsaid? Compared to where there is a plot to follow in a novel? Could poetry be more interesting - defamiliarization at work here - to get students involved?
ReplyDelete2. I think experience is important. It helps to review the terms but they need to be constantly saturated in examples and students' experiences of these examples.
On our educational system, it is a weird mix of ESL and EFL and teaching English to "native" speakers. Perhaps why it is so tough.