Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies

 

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LLSS 482

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Spring 2004
La Mesa Elementary School
Tuesdays -- 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Instructor:
Holbrook Mahn
Hokona 212
277-5887
hmahn@unm.edu

Homepage
Office hours:
T & Th 12:30 ­ 1:30

WebCT Login Page: Click Here

WebCT Help Page: Click Here

Course Goals/Objectives --

1. To help students gain a knowledge base in the methods of teaching a second language and to develop a teaching philosophy integrating prior knowledge and experience with class readings and discussions.

2. To share teaching ideas and gain experience by class demonstrations, tutoring, and lesson planning.

3. To discuss the implications of major approaches and supportive theories for teaching methods and activities.

4 To examine the implications of second language literacy acquisition theories for pedagogical approaches as they are applied to students learning English as a Second Language.

5. To provide guidelines for planning effective lessons using both thematic units and content-based subject matter.

6. To develop a unit plan (a combination of lessons) in a cohesive, well-written paper.

7. To gain an understanding of the Federal and State laws that govern the rights of English Language Learners.

8. To become familiar with the implications of the No Child Left Behind legislation for English Language Learners.

Course Requirements:

1. Attendance & Participation: Because of the interactive nature of the class, attendance is mandatory.

2. Tutoring: Each student will be assigned or will select an appropriate second language learner to tutor once a week for 10 weeks. A 2-3 page reflection paper on the experience will be due 4/27.

3. Group Discussion: Students will participate in an online discussion with other classmates. A weekly contribution is required. To access the discussion group: Click Here. If you are experiencing difficulty, get help Here.

4. Lesson: Each student will prepare and implement a lesson with our own class of ESL students drawing from lessons suggested in Making it Happen or other class readings.

5. Lesson Plan Critique: Students will find an ESL lesson appropriate to their grade level and write a critique of it using some of the criteria we have developed for effective ESL lessons. See Here.

6. Unit Plan: All students will prepare a unit plan/paper which will: 1) have a short (3-4 page) introduction which describes the theoretical/philosophical foundation for the unit; 2) provide an overview of the unit describing the context (the course, the students -- age, proficiency levels, backgrounds etc.) and the major concepts and skills to be taught; 3) briefly justify the methods and types of activities to be included tying them to the introduction; 4) develop a unit that will last approximately a week (it can vary depending on the age level and the content); 5) include a lesson plan for an activity that will be part of the unit plan.

Grading:
Attendance and Participation 10%
Tutoring 20%
Class Lesson 15%
Critique of Lesson 10%
Group Discussion 15%
Unit Plan 30%

Additional Requirement for Graduate Students :
Graduate students will be required to complete a project for this class, in addition to the requirements for undergraduates. This project will be a review of two online articles other than those on the syllabus.

Required Text -- Richard-Amato, P. (2003). Making it Happen: From Interactive to Participatory Language Teaching (Third Edition). New York: Longman.

Selected online articles throughout the semester. (Some of which require Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded by clicking on this link: Download Acrobat Reader

Individuals with special needs
Students with special needs should contact me as soon as possible to ensure that appropriate academic adjustments are met in a timely manner.

Resources:
James Crawford's Homepage

Stephen Krashen's homepage

Daves ESL Café

Extensive List of useful ESL Links

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition

TESOL Homepage

TESOL Standards

New Mexico State Resources for Educating Linguistically & Culturally Diverse Students

Bueno Center

Kenji Hakuta's Homepage

Course Schedule

Week One: January 20
Introduction of students, course, and instructor. Explore links above under Resources

Week Two: January 27
Theme: Who are English Language Learners and what are the laws that protect them?
Reading Assignment: "Struggling English Language Learners: Keys for Academic Success," Freeman & Freeman;

Week Three: February 3
Theme: Traditional Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Intro., Chs. 1 & 2
The Five Standards of Effective Pedagogy

Week Four: February 10
Theme: Interactional Approaches and TPR
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Chs. 3 & 8;
What is TPR


Week Five:
February 17
Theme: Sociocultural and Political Approaches
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Ch. 4 & Related Reading 1

Week Six: February 24
Theme: Second Language Literacy Acquisition
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Chs. 5 & 13
Supplementary Reading: Language Minority Learners I: Models of Bilingual Education and Literacy Instruction


Week Seven: March 2
Theme: Affect and Second Language Acquisition
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Chs. 6 & 14

Week Eight: March 9
Theme: Assessment, Standards & Accountability
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Ch. 7 & Related Reading 2
Supplementary Reading: Assessment and Evaluation &
Articles on Accountability

Week Nine: March 16
SPRING BREAK

Week Ten: March 23
Theme: The Natural Approach & Making it Fun
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Chs. 9, 10, 11 & 12

Week Eleven: March 30
Theme: Special Education and the ESL student
Reading Assignment: "Effective Instruction for Language Minority Children with Mild Disabilities" &
"A Guide to Learning Disabilities for the ESL Classroom Practitioner" Christine Root

Supplementary Reading: Special Education & English Language Learners

Week Twelve:
April 6
Theme: Teaching the Native American Student
Reading Assignment -- "And Then I went to School" Joseph Suina;
Teaching Native American Students

Week Thirteen: April 13
Theme: Laws and Legislation and the ESL Student -- No Child Left Behind Act
Reading Assignment: Crawford NCLB --Guide to Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act
"Leaving English Learners Behind" by Bob Peterson
"The Bilingual Education Act 1968 - 2002" by James Crawford

Week Fourteen: April 20
Theme: Parents, Community & Culture
Reading: Language & Culture and
Parent & Community Involvement
(Choose one article from each site and be prepared to share an important lesson or insight with your peers.)

Week Fifteen: April 27
Unit Plan Presentations
Theme: Planning & Classroom Management
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Ch. 15 Theme: Unit Plan Presentations
Tutoring Reflection Due

Week Sixteen: May 4
Unit Plan Presentations
Theme: Resources and the Content Areas
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Ch. 16 & 17
Unit Plan/Final Paper Due

Finals Week: May 11
Unit Plan Presentations
Theme: Different ESL Programs
Reading Assignment: Making it Happen -- Chs. 18, 19, 20 (Choose the chapter applicable to you.)
Evaluation
Papers Returned