Tonight at WR, I met Harriet, a middle-aged teacher (50's, 60s) and co-teacher/Literacy Contact, Guy. There were eight l earners tonight, four men (Romuald, David, Silvio and Ernesto) and four women. Overall, the group was more talkative (less restrained) as compared to yesterday's noonday class of 16. Perhaps it is because of the "personalities" of the learners (see Janine/Jeannette's interview) or just b/c the class size was small enough to make for a workable "English Cafe" class (see Lisa and Janine's observations).
The composition of the class is: 3 Colombian (1 age 78; Ernesto, age 64), 1 Guatemalan (age 51, Lourdes), 1 Pole, 2 Brazilians (1 age 60, Elida), and 1 Indian woman (age 78). I will interview Elida and Ernesto and his wife. Elida and I will meet at her house on Sun. 10/24 at 4 pm. Ernesto and his wife (who normally comes
and this is his first class) will meet with me on Fri. 10/15 at 4:30 pm.
The lesson was very well-received by the class. They all agreed that they really NEEDED this lesson on "ed" endings, PLUS Guy had a handy worksheet with the actual rules on it--I have never seen a sheet quite as good as this one. At first, Harriet had the students try and identify the proper ending based on the rule sheet on their own (I might suggest a paired approach so students can collaborate ini English for their answers, later reported in the group). The students themselves expressed to her that this approach was not as good for them. So they asked Harriet to read the words aloud (for the proper pronunciation) and then they would write down the /t/, /id/, or /d/ sound. Guy also did a great supporting co-teaching job of describing how each rule works. Finally, students could tell why they arrived at their answers. In this class I noticed he was much more involved in the teaching of the lesson than he was with Trina. The worksheet came from the website, englishforeveryone.org
There was a great conversation at one point in the class about English word origins: moonshine, monkeyshines, cowboys, rednecks, hillbillies (cowboys and rednecks were discussed in a previous class, and Guy added hillbillies). Elida then asked about "white trash" and what it means. A pretty lengthy explanation ensued stemming mostly from Harriet but also guy as to its meaning. It was a very good example of the "give and take" aspect mentioned first by Myra (NOR teacher). This discussion made for a great way to teach American culture!
While describing "moonshine," I mentioned "till" as the word we use to describe the container in which it is fermented. The word, I later found out, is whisky "still." I believe this is what Guy called it in class.
The other cultural part of the class was the explanation from Guy about Ebonics (from the words 'ebony' and 'phonics.' A question from Elida asked about the vernacular of African Americans and why they speak English so differently than non-African Americans. It was pointed out that AAE (African American English) is a dialect. Ruth, another student, asked about Haitian Americans and how she has a tough time understanding them at work. Elida said that their native Creole "sounds like a drum beating." Harriet added how she feels about Southern dialects--that the sound of their dialects is "uneducated." This conversation tied into the question about "white trash, " and the negative social connotations.
There was a brief discussion about hand gestures and their meaning, i.e., how talking over the phone is difficult b/c for many ELLs b/c they cannot see the facial expressions and hand gestures that go along with our communications. But Ruth brought up how Skyping with a web camera (as can thenew video phones) can change that! She and I had a side conversation about the wonders of technology. Guy then said that he has considered setting a phone up in the back of the room and having a practice session with students in class.
I found Harriet's pace very good (as was Trina's), and she provided plenty of oral pronounciation practice once the learners told her how they wanted her to proceed.
I think it would help if the teachers encouraged those with the same first languages to sit next to one another, or at least encourage that & facilitate that for the (older) learners who may be coming for the first time (see Myra's interview). I thought is was great that Shaila sat right next to Harriet--I wonder how long Shaila has been coming to class...
Harriet's own age is conducive to learning for the older learners (see Myra). I found her to have empathy for them and therefore, she allowed for questions for clarification from the students and she repeated key points for them.
I found her style to be most like Lisa's and also a little like Myra's though she hasn't got the same length of relationship that Myra has (hasn't taught as long?).
The interaction and "give and take" in the class revealed that teacher and learners were very clearly collaborating together to build meaning (constructivism). Principles of andragogy were in play such as respecting the adult learners' own experience as a springboard for learning. Also the style of instruction was clearly nonformal and relaxed-- where mistakes are not only accepted, but also expected.
The feeling of a "support group" for learning was apparent too. I heard students expressing their fears and challenges, e.g. Ruth when she talked about her work as a nutritionist where she has co-workers whose English is difficult to understand, e.g. Haitian Americans. Elida too who said that she had a tough time understanding the English of African Americans and later, 1:1, she told me that it is not easy finding people who are willing to be patient with her and talk with her. her onw husband is American but lived in Brazil for 20 years. So his English is not too good; therefore, they speak Protuguese all the time. Elida does work f.t from 9-5, M-F, but I am not sure for how long she has worked there yet & what languages she is practicing.
Suggestions:
-Try some paired practice and small group collaborative work.
-Try some music with lyrics for students to decipher.
-Encourage students to talk about their fears and challenges in class, first as a way to relieve stress but also as a way to bond and begin to see them as "opportunities" (as Harriet would prefer me to call them).
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