flip your classroom tech in elt-challenges and remedies
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Flip Your Classroom:Deploy ‘Search and Share’ Homework
Activities to Build ELL Fluency
Eric H. Roth
Master Lecturer
Technology in ELT: Challenges and Remedies
Gujarat, India
November 23, 2013
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English Language Learners (ELLs) Need to Speak
ELL Students Need to Speak More in Class• Many standardized exams still exclude speaking skills• Many reports from many countries have documented the gap in
speaking and listening skills among ELLs • Speaking skills often determine perceived language competency
Many ELL Students Want to Speak More in Class• Many surveys and studies document widespread desire to speak
more English• Many surveys and studies have indicated widespread student desire
to speak more English in English classes
“Do you Grammar English?”
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What are some traditional solutions? Create More Speaking Assignments• Adding presentation components to current lessons• Adding discussion components • Creating new lessons to increase student speech
Encourage Student Participation• Push, nudge, cajole students to speak • Praise in general (and criticize in particular)• Build rapport• Ask for more student questions
Use Communicative Methods and Tasks• Give them tasks that require collecting information• Learning English is not a spectator sport. • Participation remains essential to becoming fluent
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How Can We Encourage Students at Home?
Flipping Classrooms• Educational reform movement started in India• Quickly spreading in the United States• Many education specialists have extremely high hopes• Influential in K-12 systems
Many American Students Find School Boring • Perhaps keep children interested• Perhaps build curiosity and develop self-confidence• Maybe technology can help inspire/retain enthusiasm
Is Flipping a K-12 education fad? Perhaps
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Yet Flipping Addresses Essential ELL Classroom Challenges – And Uses Technology as a Remedy• Allows students to see and hear instructor off campus• Allows ELLs to replay lectures numerous times• Helps individualize instruction
New Twist on Old Homework Challenges • Audio and video records go beyond the printed word• Introduces materials and concepts off campus• Repackages homework for 21st century students
Technology Opens New Classroom Possibilities • Allows students to bring their questions • Encourages students to solve problems in class (math/engineering)• Requires more student participation in small groups• Opens up collaborative learning and communicative tasks
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What Does Flipping the ELL Classroom Mean?
ELLs Spend More Time in English• Students can watch professor’s lectures many times• Professors can record lessons • Professors create recorded lessons one time• Teachers and Professors focus more on “live” interactions with
students during class
‘Search and Share’ is Flipping Classrooms 2.0 • Asks/requires students to participate• Asks/requires students to help co-create the class• Makes classes more lively (and less predictable)• Creates authentic communication tasks • Builds fluency • Re-enforces central themes with repetition from multiple sources
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Which English Class Would You Prefer to Join?
Large lecture hall• 40-50 adult English language learners• One teacher at the podium• One source of information on preparing for job interview• 2003 Santa Monica Community College English Class
Large classroom with Small Tables• 40-50 adult English language learners• One teacher circulates around the room• 45 students bring information to class• Small groups of 4-5 students sharing – speaking • New discussion group every 20 minutes
Strength Through Diversity
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ALI 245: High Intermediate Writing Skills • Reading About Your Hometown • Identify a Significant Trend in Your Field• Share a Profile of a Significant Figure in Your Field• Advice on Writing Resumes and Cover Letters• Explain an Important Map/Graph/Chart• A Significant Problem in My Country/Field• American Academic Expectations/Norms • Movie Review• Product Review• Illumin: A Review of Engineering in Everyday Life
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ALI 254: Advanced Speaking Skills • Introducing a Significant Figure in My Field • A Significant Trend in My Field• Advice on Job Interviews• Pronunciation Advice for Farsi/Chinese/Russian/Spanish Speakers
of English• Term Definitions • Movie Recommendations• Product Review• Infographics • TED Talks• This I Believe • How to Conduct Informational Interviews
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What are ‘Search and Share” Activities?
• Simple, flexible technique to turn homework into speaking exercises• Professor still sets the agenda, introduces materials• Professor establishes the particular topic/theme• Worksheets require students to locate, organize material• Students bring relevant, authentic sources to class• Students become hunters and gathers of information• Students must select the material• Students must summarize the content• Students must evaluate the material• Students introduce the material to classmates in small groups• Classmates listen and ask at least one question each• Students develop speaking and listening skills • Students learn by doing• Students can work in pairs or small discussion groups
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‘Search and Share’ Assignments Remain Flexible
• Warm up exercise• Multiple levels• Supplemental Assignemnts• Core lesson • 10-120 minutes of class work• Can be used in English classrooms • Can be used in many academic high school, community college,
university, and graduate courses• Can be used in multiple disciplines
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Students Summarize• Provide basic information for written/video sources• Author/publication/date• Can add length, illustrations, number of sources• Identify the main idea• Use distancing phrases: “According to” “The author notes”• Use reminder phrases: “The host also suggests”
“the article concludes”
Students Evaluate • Identify audience• Highlight strengths• Note limits/weak points• Compare to other sources • Share evaluations (fair, balanced, nuanced?)
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How Do Students Practice Sharing Information?• introduce material of their own choice• Consider audience • Lead academic discussions• Share personal interests• Speak their mind • Support their opinions with examples• Answer peer questions• Build stronger personal relationships• Experience some success in communicating in English• Learn to ask questions• Become co-creators of course content• Build fluency skills in English classrooms
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What Does the English Teacher Do ? • Teacher can circulate around the room taking notes• Teachers can join in the small group discussions• Teachers can videotape student discussions• Teachers can sit in the front and work one on one with students• Teachers can collect and evaluate worksheets and original text• Teachers can set up a discussion board on a learning management
system (LMS) where students post their brief reviews and links• Teachers can join the online discussion, monitor student comments,
and evaluate the online contributions and comments• Teachers can still grade and provide written and oral feedback
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Illumin: A Review of Engineering in Everyday Life• Award winning website written and edited by USC Viterbi School of
Engineering students (undergraduates)• Documents pervasive role of engineering • Used by many high schools, community colleges, and universities• Celebrates science and technology • Illumin• http://illumin.usc.edu/150/leonardo-da-vinci-the-engineer/• http://illumin.usc.edu/32/talking-to-your-computer/• Bamboo
• Themes emerge: dates matter; technologies evolve; some big ideas fail – and engineering makes our life better
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TED Talks: Technology, Entertainment, Design
• “Riverting talks by remarkable people” • “ideas worth spreading”• Match student interest and respects their intelligence• Authentic listening material• Highlights global audience for English speakers• Intelligiblity, not perfection• Two worksheets • USC student reaction has been very positive • TEDxUSC in Spring too
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TED Talks: Technology, Entertainment, Design
TED Worksheet #1 Find a short video on a topic of particular interest to you. Although lectures can be seen as a one-way conversation, the best TED talks show us how to share specialized information in a comfortable, effective, and friendly manner. You will probably want to watch and listen to the talk two times before answering these questions. Finally, be prepared to review the TED talk for your classmates in a series of one to one online conversations. Please answer the following questions to start preparing your review: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/70http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html
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The Flipped Classroom Approach: Students First• Matches Communicative Models for ELL Classrooms • Gives students more responsibility for learning material• Emphasizes the need for students to communicate
Do Active Students Often Learn Better?• Extends traditional ideas of good students• Also challenges some traditional roles
How Do Students Become More Independent?• Practice makes progress• Encourage good mistakes • Require students to do more on their own• Active students are more likely to become active citizens
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What is Your Favorite Movie? Why?
• Movie reviews allow personal opinions • Gives students practice common social topic• Includes research • www.imdb.com
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What Do You Believe? Why?
• This I Believe created in 1950s by Edward R. Murrow• Nobel Prize winners, authors, prime ministers, university presidents • Revived on National Public Radio • Thousands of personal essays and hundreds of podcasts• used in high school, community college, and university• www.thisibelieve.org
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I Believe ‘Search and Share’ Works in ELL Classrooms
Students Speak More English in Class• Count the minutes• Learn by doing • Creates positive, authentic communication experiences
Students Bring More Enthusiasm to Class• More students complete the homework• Students hold lively discussions
Students Feel Heard and Understood • Course evaluations consistently very positive• Students often express gratitude
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Some Limits and Concerns• Requires students have some access to internet outside class• Some inappropriate materials might be introduced• Assumes that students will develop critical thinking skills• Works better with high intermediate and advanced students• Asks teachers to speak less and listen more • Asks students to become active participants• Shy students may need additional attention• Might be “too American” for some international classrooms • Students might select stronger, better materials than the teacher• Can create time pressure on teachers• Can be over-used • Just one communicative technique in ELL classrooms
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Thank you for listening
A special thank you to: • ALI 245 students• ALI 254 students• CHARUSAT - Charotar University of Science & Technology• Dr. Gevind Dave • Pushpendra Sinora• Bhaskar Pandya• ELT Weekly • Technology in ELT: Challenges and Remedies conference
organizers• Tarun Patel• Carl Kuzmich• The USC Center for Scholarly Technology
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Recommended Sites
• www.Educause.edu • www.Edutopia.org • English Proficiency Index. http://www.ef.com/epi/downloads/• www.Illumin.use.edu• http://www.imdb.com• www.Thisibelieve.org• http://compellingconversations.com/worksheets.php
