Building Language Awareness Module2

          I absolutely loved this video!  The video consisted of an all class skit about the pilgrims who came to the US many years ago.  This was followed by a  guided discussion of their own experiences of when they came to the US and how they felt about their journey.  This touched upon very serious things, such as, how they felt when they left.  Then, the students worked in groups using real travel brochures to create a travel plan of their own, a great way to use comprehensible input with authentic material.  The teachers, aids, and vocabulary was posted around the room to provide the necessary language support/awareness for the students.

          This activity was created to develop language awareness.  We ask ourselves, what does it mean to know a language feature?  It is not enough to know the basic form; Rules, exercises, memorization.  The more effective way is to selectively use the language within a given context, such as the activity on the pilgrims.  The successful learner must know the multiple meanings in a variety of contexts.  In all, these students were the conscious participants in their own learning.

A Revolution of Values

          I decided to read, "A Revolution of Values" by Hooks.  This chapter really hit home for me because it talked about the social injustices we see everyday.  It is so hard to listen to his story because it breaks my heart.  He finally attended his first high school reunion, but this time the reunion was not going to be segregated.  He explains, that during his high school career,  the Black folks had to get on the bus an hour early to go to school so they would not be with the White folks. How sad!   He further explains that people think that this segregation is not alive anymore.  But, in reality, it is.  Take a look at North Lawndale high school in Little Village.  Blacks and Hispanics hold their own; This means that they do not mix with one another.  The district decided to build this high school to include both Hispanic and Blacks to come together and settle their differences.  So far, stats say that it is working.

          A quote that really made me think was as follows: " Our solidarity must be affirmed by shared belief in a spirit of intellectual openness that celebrates diversity, welcomes dissent, and rejoices in collective dedication to truth.  He explains that we should rejoice the dedication to truth.  Truth hurts.  Change hurts.  If we keep distancing ourselves from reality, how are we going to dedicate ourselves to the truth?  It is time to celebrate diversity!  I truly believe if we introduce our students to the truth and that change needs to be done, these students at an early age will not even be able to form stereotypes.  We need to introduce them to the social injustices in our world to overcome them.  As Hooks says, "We cannot despair when there is conflict."  We must attack it!

Autonomy in an ELL Classroom

          Chapter 6 of the Kuma book, "Promoting Learner Autonomy" clearly identified what it is to be autonomous.  The best definition that I took from the chapter was that being autonomous is grounded in a human tendency to seek control over one's life.  Kuma also states, "In a rapidly changing world where instant and informed decision making is a prerequisite for  successful functioning, helping learners become autonomous is one way of maximizing their chances of success."  This success not only means academically, but also psychologically; Basically to be a hard working citizen in society.  


          On pages 139-140, Kuma gives some opportunities for what learners can do to be autonomous, two of which really caught my eye.  The first one is reaching out for opportunities for additional language reception or production beyond what they get in the classroom and taking advantage of opportunities to communicate with competent speakers of the language.  This can be achieved by participating in social and cultural events.  When I read this I was so pleased!  Stephanie and I are actually setting up a workshop for students at the English Language Institute to be a part of a broadcasting opportunity.   By the end of all the workshops, the students will be able to clearly identify broadcasting roles, language discourse in broadcasting, and finally, make new friends.  This opportunity goes hand in hand with what Kuma said about what learners can do to enhance their learning autonomy.  I am very excited to be a part of this opportunity!

We are the consumers of the products based on the curriculum.

          The article, "Curriculum Design and Materials Development" left me with unanswered questions.  I did like however, the way she distinguished between curriculum and syllabus.  Curriculum is a framework or set of guidelines for the teaching of a subject area.  Syllabus is a more particularized document that addresses a specific audience of learners and teachers, a particular course of study or a particular series of textbooks. But, this is where I am feeling confused.  If the curriculum is a framework I am suppose to follow and put in my syllabus, using a particular series of textbooks, how am I suppose to trust the the textbooks when I do not know if these "paraprofessionals" have ever been in a classroom?

          The article describes customers, consumers, and stakeholders.  Language teachers are usually not the actual "customers" of the curriculum, but they certainly are consumers of the products based on the curriculum.  Who then is the major customer of the language curriculum?  "Probably the textbook writers or the course and materials developers, test developers, and program evaluators."  Who are these people,  though?  Have they been in the classroom prior to writing these textbooks?  If not, I believe that the author himself/herself should collaborate with the teacher when creating the materials.  So many teachers trust these textbooks and lesson plans, but are teachers modifying their syllabus to meet the students' needs?  I understand that a textbook cannot and will probably never be perfect, but I do believe that if an author of a textbook collaborates with a teacher/ an or teachers/principals, students (all the stakeholders) the textbook itself can be more legitimate.  I am a pre-service teacher so I am not sure about these textbooks, but I do know for a fact that the learner-based curriculum is a great approach because it places the learner and his/her needs at the center of planning, thus gradually developing the syllabus from loosely planned guidelines based on the learners' needs, and will change throughout the course.

Activating Intuitive Heuristics in Math

          I really enjoyed this chapter because it talks about heuristics.  It refers to the self-discovering on the part of the learner.  As I look back at my mathematics classes in elementary school I feel as if there was no intuitive heuristics that took place.  My teachers used the deductive teaching strategies in that they gave us the rules and we applied them in our work.  Although deductive teaching strategies have there advantages, such as multiplication facts (memorization), it did not always work for me when solving word problems.  So, I created a personal theory of my own to activate heuristics in my prospective mathematics classroom.

        If the teacher first introduces mathematical symbols such as, ‘-’ , ‘+’, and ‘=’ and asks the students to write what they think that these symbols mean in 5 different ways, then the teacher is not explicitly giving the rules.  Rather, the teacher is giving the students the opportunity to come up with their own meaning.  According to Carpenter, “With opportunity and encouragement, children construct themselves strategies that model the action or relationships in the problem” (Carpenter, 1999, p. 3).  Therefore, the teacher need not explicitly give the rules because with opportunity and encouragement children will able able to construct strategies by themseleves.  Students can create their own meaning to the symbols, then as a class, the students could share their responses to their peers and the teacher. 

After the symbols are introduced, word problems could come next with the use of manipulatives.  If the teacher gives every student a certain amount of blocks and writes a word problem on the board, the student can use the manipulatives to come up with the answer.  In the book,  Children’s Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction, the author states that “Children do not have to be taught that a particular strategy goes with a particular type of problem” (Carpenter, 1999, p. 3).  An example of this is a student named Jose who came up with counting strategies all by himself.  The word problem read, “Eliz has 3 dollars to buy cookies.  How many more dollars does she need to have 8 dollars?”  Jose solved this problem by counting on his fingers.  Prior to this, Jose was never taught how to count, it just came naturally to him.  Therefore, Carpenter is correct; children do not have to be taught that particular strategy goes with a particular type of problem.

If the students are coming up with answers to various word problems, the easier it will be for the student to create  a number sentence.  As I said, if the teacher first introduces mathematical symbols and asks the students as to what they all mean, the student will have the ability to identify certain phrases or words in word problems that are equivalent to mathematical symbols.

Students do what comes naturally, and teachers work as facilitators to prompt students to explain how they come about getting the answer. With encouragement, children will feel self-confident in sharing ideas about what certain mathematical symbols mean.  After, students will do what comes naturally when solving word problems, and then finally, will be able to write number sentences by looking at words and phrases in the world problems.