CATESOL April 2008 Laurel Leonard Napa Valley Adult Education

1. CATESOL April 2008Laurel LeonardNapa Valley Adult Education Using Children’s Literature in Adult ESL Classes

2. Laurel Leonard ESL Instructional Supervisor Napa Valley Adult Education 707-259-8568 lleonard@nvusd.k12.ca.us

3. AGENDA • Program overview • Materials • Family Literacy Lesson Plan (WIPPEA) • Early Production Method • Demonstration • Book list • Parent-child reading/activity log • Closing questions/comments

4. Program Overview • Eight Community Based English Tutoring (CBET) classes • Use CBET materials in onsite program • Morning and evening classes • Market the class to families with elementary and middle school children • Offer tutoring at most locations • Babysitting at no charge

5. Materials • Tubs contain: Children’s books Binder that includes lesson plan and handouts Big book Teacher input

6. Family Literacy Lesson Plan Follows lesson plan cycle with focus on backwards design- an instructional design method developed by Wiggins and McTighe Madeline Hunter’s lesson plan • Warm up • Introduction • Presentation • Practice • Evaluation • Application Planning objectives and evaluations- together

7. Early Production Method • Research-based instructional technique based on Stephen Krashen’s "comprehensible input" hypothesis • Suggests that learners acquire language by taking in and understanding language that is slightly beyond their current level of competence • New information builds off prior knowledge and is therefore comprehensible • The Natural Approach, like TPR, is regarded as a comprehension-based approach because of its emphasis on initial delay (silent period) in the production of language. Focuses on exposure to input.

8. Level 1: Pre-Production Stage (Silent Period): Minimal comprehension, no verbal production. • Level II: Early Production Stage. Limited Comprehension; One/two-word response. • Level III: Speech Emergence Stage. Increased comprehension; Simple sentences; Some errors in speech. • Level IV: Intermediate Fluency Stage. Very good comprehension; More complex sentences; Complex errors in speech.

9. “Classrooms that are fully engaging, nonthreatening, and affirming can have a direct effect on the student’s ability to learn by increasing motivation and encouraging risk taking.”

10. Setting the tone Class agenda on the board: • Prepares students for lesson to follow • Demonstrates manageable learning objectives • Helps students monitor progress

11. Warm up • Teacher and tutor hand out the books.

12. Introduction • Teacher gauges prior knowledge.

13. Presentation A • 1) Teacher says the phrase and students listen. • 2) Teacher hands out the pictures and students point to or say the name of the student holding the picture named by the teacher

14. Presentation A • 3) Teacher asks “yes” “no” questions to gauge comprehension. • 4) Teacher gives two options. • 5) Teachers asks, “What is this?” and students produce the correct response.

15. 6) Teacher shows students the written words/phrases to accompany the pictures

16. 7) Students match the sentences with the pictures

17. Teacher explains new vocabulary. • Teacher demonstrates new grammar.

18. Practice A • Teacher explains the practice handout and adapts the activity to the multi-level needs of the class • Students complete the handout. • As early finishers complete the activity, the teacher provides an “extension.”

19. Practice B • The teacher reads the big book aloud, one time through in “chunks.” • Teacher acts out the story to improve comprehension. • The teacher reads the book again and talks about the pictures as a parent would with his/her child.

20. Students read the book in pairs.

22. Closing • Questions/Comments

23. Research-based instructional technique • Stephen Krashen’s "comprehensible input" hypothesis, which suggests that learners acquire language by "intaking" and understanding language that is a "little beyond" their current level of competence offering new information that builds off prior knowledge and is therefore comprehensible. • The Natural Approach, like TPR, is regarded as a comprehension-based approach because of its emphasis on initial delay (silent period) in the production of language. Focuses on exposure to input instead of grammar practice, and on emotional preparedness for acquisition to take place • Level 1: Pre-Production Stage (Silent Period): Minimal comprehension, no verbal production. • Level II: Early Production Stage. Limited Comprehension; One/two-word response. • Level III: Speech Emergence Stage. Increased comprehension; Simple sentences; Some errors in speech. • Level IV: Intermediate Fluency Stage. Very good comprehension; More complex sentences; Complex errors in speech. • Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis is another concept that has found wide acceptance with both researchers and ELL instructors (Krashen, 1981; Krashen & Terrell, 1983). This theory suggests that an individual’s emotions can directly interfere or assist in the learning of a new language. • According to Krashen, learning a new language is different from learning other subjects because it requires public practice. • Classrooms that are fully engaging, nonthreatening, and affirming of a child’s native language and cultural heritage can have a direct effect on the student’s ability to learn by increasing motivation and encouraging risk taking.