Recent Research Trends in ELT: A Look at TESOL Quarterly

Part of the work of the TESOL Research Professional Council (RPC) is to identify research trends in teaching English as an additional language. Published research is one area where these trends can be identified, with a review of recently published full-length articles and brief research reports in TESOL Quarterly pointing to topics, contexts, and locations that have been in focus over the past few years. Since the start of 2018, 157 full-length articles and brief research reports have been published in the regular issues of TESOL Quarterly or as online versions of record (i.e., early view). Each of these articles and reports was coded for this blog post, with similar codes gathered together to uncover common trends.

Topics

Common topics in TESOL Quarterly over the past 3 years have been related to the areas of

• writing,
• vocabulary,
• content and language integrated learning,
• speaking, and
• translanguaging

In particular, content and language integrated learning, or English-medium instruction, and translanguaging appear to be emerging trends. Representative findings related to those two topics include Kim et al.’s (2021) study that found scaffolding supports content and language learning, and Goodman and Tastanbek’s (2021) study that concluded teacher educators can benefit from specific instruction on translanguaging pedagogy.

Contexts

In relation to educational contexts, most of the reviewed research in TESOL Quarterly since 2018 has taken place, respectively, in

• postsecondary institutions,
• K–12 schools, and
• teacher education or development programs.

A few examples include how flipped classrooms can result in higher scores, increased enjoyment, and greater engagement in a university context (Lee & Wallace, 2018). In K–12 settings, Blair et al. (2018) identified English-medium instruction in an elementary school as having the potential to promote asset-based understandings of students.

Geographic Locations

There were about 30 countries represented in recently published articles and reports in TESOL Quarterly; the top five locations included

• the United States,
• China,
• Japan,
• South Korea, and
• the United Kingdom.

A couple of examples representative of these locations include a study in the United States which found that nonverbal communication plays a role in conveying meaning in English as a lingua franca settings (Matsumoto, 2018), and a study at a Japanese university which determined that video-based interactions may support the development of listening skills (Saito & Akiyama, 2018).

As the field of TESOL looks toward the future, it is important to examine trends and identify where more research and scholarship needs to be done, what issues and groups remain underrepresented, and which priorities can inform future research endeavor. In upcoming blog posts, the RPC plans on looking at trends in other journals, such as TESOL Journal and various TESOL affiliate journals from around the world.

References

Blair, A., Haneda, M., & Nebus Bose, F. (2018). Reimagining English-medium instructional settings as sites of multilingual and multimodal meaning making. TESOL Quarterly, 52(3), 516–539. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.449

Goodman, B., & Tastanbek, S. (2021). Making the shift from a codeswitching to a translanguaging lens in English language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 55(1), 29–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.571

Kim, E. G., Park, S., & Baldwin, M. (2021). Toward successful implementation of introductory integrated content and language classes for EFL science and engineering students. TESOL Quarterly, 55(1), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.594

Lee, G., & Wallace, A. (2018). Flipped learning in the English as a foreign language classroom: Outcomes and perceptions. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 62–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.372

Matsumoto, Y. (2018). “Because we are peers, we actually understand”: Third-party participant assistance in English as a lingua franca classroom interactions. TESOL Quarterly, 52(4), 845–876. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.430

Saito, K., & Akiyama, Y. (2018). Effects of video-based interaction on the development of second language listening comprehension ability: A longitudinal study. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.362

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/recent-research-trends-in-elt-a-look-at-tesol-quarterly/

4 Activities to Practice Simple Past and Present Perfect

English has 12 tenses: the simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive forms of past, present, and future. Fortunately, the students in my intermediate speaking classes can communicate their ideas clearly with only seven: three simple, three progressive, and present perfect.

Unfortunately, out of those seven tenses, there are two that those students often forget to use in conversation: simple past and present perfect.

Therefore, I focus on those two tenses in my intermediate classes. We review how they are used, and then practice using them with activities. Here are four activities I like to use: Mystery Movie, Fortunately/Unfortunately, Find Someone Who Has… and Never Have I Ever.

1. Mystery Movie

This exercise gives students the opportunity to practice the simple past. In groups of three to four, students take turns telling the stories of popular movies in past tense without using names of characters or actors. After 30 seconds, their partners can start to guess which movie it might be.

“Watching a blank screen” by Kenneth Lu CC-BY-2.0. Question mark added.

Once the name of the movie has been guessed, the next student in the circle tells the story of a different movie. Play continues until everyone has had a turn to tell a story.

If no one guesses after 90 seconds, the teller reveals the movie title and play passes to the next student. If students are familiar with the movie, but don’t know the title in English, they can give more details about it until it is clear they are talking about the same one.

Example

José: There was a girl and her rich boyfriend and her mother. They got on a big boat to go to the United States. The rich boy gave the girl a big diamond necklace. The girl didn’t want to marry the rich boy and thought about jumping off the boat. Then she met a poor artist who drew a picture of her. She fell in love with him.

Li Jing: Is it Titanic?

José: Yes!

2. Fortunately/Unfortunately

In this activity, which also uses past tense, all the students sit in a circle and tell a story together. The first speaker makes a statement that establishes the name of the story’s main character and their location. (This information can also be brainstormed by the class as a whole.) The student on their left adds a sentence about that character starting with “Unfortunately.” The next player continues the story starting their sentence with “Fortunately.” The story-building continues around the circle with sentences alternating between “Fortunately” and “Unfortunately” until the story reaches the second speaker again; that player can decide to start a new story or continue with the first one.

Example

Marthe: Jane walked her tiny dog, Rex, in the park.

Lissette: Unfortunately, a much bigger dog ran towards them.

Marc: Fortunately, the big dog was very friendly and just wanted to play.

Miguel: Unfortunately, it was so big that when it jumped on Jane, she fell down.

Jung-hoon: Fortunately, she fell onto a pile of leaves.

Adjusting for Online Classes: Rather than a circle, make a list showing the order of students in the chat window.

3. Find Someone Who Has…

This version of the popular “Find Someone Who” game helps students practice present perfect and past—it’s also a great ice breaker. Give students a handout that says, “Find someone who…” on the top. Below that, the sentence is completed with a list of nine to 12 descriptions of people. For instance,

Find someone who…

… has met a celebrity.

… has exercised in the last 3 days.

… has been on a plane for more than 9 hours.

… has received more texts today than you.

The goal is for students to find all people on the list by questioning other students. I usually limit them to one list item per student to encourage them to practice with everyone. Students should speak in complete sentences, and once both players have matched their partner to an activity, they should move on to other students. Once a player has found all the people on the list, the game is finished, and they are the winner. If you run out of time, the student who has found the most people is the winner.

Model the activity with a student before play begins.

Example

Teacher: Sonja, have you ever been on a plane for more than 9 hours?

Sonja: No, I haven’t. My longest plane ride was 4 hours.

Teacher: Have you received any texts today?

Sonja: Yes, I have. I’ve gotten 9 so far.

Teacher: Awesome! I’ve only gotten 5, so I will write your name by that description.

Sonja: Teacher, have you exercised in the last 3 days?

Teacher: Yes. I swam yesterday.

Sonja: Thanks.

Teacher: Now that we both have found a person on the list, let’s separate and see who else we can find.

Adjusting for Online Classes: If you have a recent version of Zoom, you can create breakout rooms and allow students to choose which one they want to join. That way, they can move between rooms and find partners they haven’t talked to yet.

4. Never Have I Ever

This fun, simple game uses present perfect in a formulaic way, which makes it great for practicing past participles. Students sit in a circle, holding up all 10 fingers. The first student tells the class something that they have never done—but something they think others may have done. Any student who has done that thing must put down one finger. Those who have not keep their fingers up.

Players who have done the action must put down a finger.

The play continues clockwise, with each student making a “Never have I ever” statement. Every time a player has done the action described, they must put down another finger. Gameplay continues until everyone in the circle has played or one student has put down all their fingers, whichever comes first. The winner is the person with the most fingers still up.

Examples

Nancie: Never have I ever swum in the ocean.

Vlad: Never have I ever cheated on a test.

Ming: Never have I ever eaten an insect.

Max: Never have I ever been stuck in an elevator.

Kim: Never have I ever seen a sloth in real life.

Adjusting for Online Classes: Rather than a circle, make a list showing the order of students in the chat window. Make sure that students’ hands are visible.

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Those are just a few activities to practice past and present perfect tenses. Do you use others? Please share in the comments!

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/4-activities-to-practice-simple-past-and-present-perfect/

Teach English Online More Effectively Using TPR Strategies

This blog post is sponsored by VIPKid.

While these three letters—TPR—might sound very mysterious, you have probably found yourself using this instructional strategy at some point in your life without even realizing it. That’s because TPR, total physical response, is actually a very simple and intuitive way to support language learners and communicate through language barriers.  In this article, we’ll break down how TPR works and how to use it strategically in your lessons to achieve lasting results with young language learners.

TPR is a teaching method based on the coordination of physical movement and language. While using TPR, teachers give instructions to students in the target language using corresponding body movements, and students respond.  The “R” in TPR is the key, because in order to be effective, students and teachers should be using it together. Students should “respond” by repeating the teacher’s movements while simultaneously verbalizing the newly learned vocabulary.  This process enhances learning and helps encode the new information by linking it to previously understood concepts.

There are two types of TPR most commonly used in online language learning:

Instructional TPR:  English language learners often need visual support in order to understand the teacher’s instructions, such as circling an answer or prompting a response to a question. Teachers who use instructional TPR are providing support necessary for student success. At VIPKid, teachers often employ instructional TPR by turning their head and putting their hand to their ear in the universal “I’m listening” signal, whenever it’s the students turn to speak rather than asking them to respond using additional, and possibly unfamiliar, language. This makes classroom interaction much more clear-cut, especially for early language learners.

VIPKid Teacher Hillary using instructional TPR in class.

Educational TPR:  Mostly used for new vocabulary, educational TPR can be implemented to help students grasp new concepts. For example, if you were teaching the word throw, you would perform the action while saying the word, and get the student to perform the same action and say the word with you.

VIPKid Teacher Hillary using educational TPR in class.

Why Is TPR Important for Language Acquisition?

TPR is based on the natural, innate way that children learn to speak from birth.  When parents teach babies their first words like mama or dada, they physically point to the person they’re naming while saying the word to build the association. That physical word association is naturally present in immersive language acquisition, especially for learning a first language. Teachers who use TPR to teach second languages online are implementing a fast-tracked version of the same concept.

Why Do We Use Educational TPR?

There are four reasons we utilize TPR strategies in English language lessons at VIPKid:

1. To establish meaning: When introducing a new word, the action serves as the definition.
2. As a comprehension check: If the student performs an action with the word unprompted, you know they have made a connection between the word and the meaning.
3. As a prompt: If the student forgets a new word, teachers demonstrate the action for that word. Ideally, this will trigger their memory and allow them to produce the word. As a bonus, this also cuts down on teacher talking time.
4. To make class more fun and engaging: The more the student is moving, the more engaged they will be in the lesson.

TPR may not come naturally to some teachers who, as adults, have learned to speak and communicate without using physical movement. But in the online classroom, the more dramatic and pronounced a teacher’s movements, the more memorable the experience for the student.

Keeping students’ attention during online instruction can be a challenge! Using TPR can make teaching English online easier, more fun, and more engaging for everyone. For more helpful tips for teaching online from the largest community of online teachers in the world, check out the VIPKid blog.

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/teach-english-online-more-effectively-using-tpr-strategies/

ESL Year-Long Lesson plans| ELD Teacher Resource Bundle is for all Language Levels!

Attention ESL Teachers… Here it is! ESL Year-Long Lesson plans| ELD Teacher Resource Bundle is for all Language Levels! All in one bundle of year-long ESL Curriculum that provides ELD resources for all English Language Learner (ELL) levels. The activities in this month-by-month ELD bundle provide your English Language Learners the opportunity to acquire and practice English to improve fluency, parts of speech, vocabulary, and grammar.   The best part is that we have done the heavy lifting for you! This bundle requires minimal PREP on your end! Each week gives your ELL students the opportunity to learn and practice targeted parts of speech and vocabulary. It’s the bundle every teacher of ELLs needs. ESL Year-Long Lesson plans| ELD Teacher Resource Bundle is for all Language Levels! ELL Newcomers Beginners/Early intermediate English Learners Intermediate ELLs Early Advanced and Advanced English Language Learners The games and activities in this bundle are great practice for all your English language learners. Use these engaging resources in centers, independent work time, whole class, or small groups. LEARN MORE BY READING THROUGH OUR FREE CURRICULUM GUIDE: ESL & ELD K-5 Curriculum Map – a FREE year-long pacing guide! ESL Year-Long Lesson plans| ELD Teacher Resource Bundle is for all Language Levels! Each month features: All the ESL resources that are suggested in the curriculum guide for that month for each language level Lesson Plans for each resource Monthly Word Walls Writing Activities Parts of Speech focus resources Games and Activities And much more Grammar: Nouns & Articles Pronouns ❥Possessive ❥Reflexive ❥Indefinite ❥Demonstrative Verbs ❥Regular Past Tense – 3 sounds of ed ❥Irregular Past Tense ❥Past Participle ❥Phrasal Verbs – informal and formal Vocabulary Prepositions Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Thematic Units feature: ESL Lesson Plans Games ELD Songs and Chants Activities Units for each ELL language level Language Functions Language Forms ( grammatical forms, sentence patterns, sentence starters) Pictures Thematic Vocabulary Idioms Vocabulary Development Lessons: Cognate Word Wall and Journal Academic Vocabulary Expansion Math Vocabulary units: ❥Number Sense Vocabulary ❥Addition ❥Multiplication ❥Measurement ❥Fractions ❥Number Sense Formal and Informal Language Semantic Gradients Number Prefixes Word Walls: Back To School Community People MLK President’s Day Valentine’s Day Dolch Words Pre K – 3rd Grade End of the Year Father’s Day You will also love: Gameboards Graphic Organizers Tongue Twisters Reading Strategy Songs Learning Centers Made Simple Songs and Chants for ESL Punctuation Flip Books for numbers 0-19 and skip counting St Patrick’s Day Idioms Sentence Starters ESL Year-Long Lesson plans| ELD Teacher Resource Bundle is for all Language Levels! Excellent curriculum for classroom teachers, ELD teachers, speech therapy, and intervention. Buy it here:

Why Choose Fun To Teach? Fun To Teach is a small family business.  We offer bilingual elementary math games for kids in English and Spanish. We offer an assortment of fun and educational math, grammar, reading, Spanish, ESL, and ELD games, activities, products, and materials. These simple games and activities include lesson plans, activities and games, worksheets, and more.  Best of all they are easy to assemble and easy to play. All Fun To Teach math games are bilingual elementary math games and are available in English and Spanish. … … …

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Happy Teaching,

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2021/03/ESL-year-long-lesson-plans.html

Assessment Equity for ELs: Put Students Before Data

As the time for assessing K–12 English learners (ELs) with an English language proficiency test approaches, many teachers and parents are concerned by COVID-19 health considerations during the administering of standardized tests. ELs  in over half of U.S. states are taking either the WIDA ACCESS or the ELPA-21. For both of these assessments of English language proficiency, students are required to go into school to take them. According the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19. Most ELs and their families fall into these high-risk categories.

Directives From the U.S. Department of Education

In a letter to chief state school officers on 3 September 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) noted the importance of collecting data from statewide assessments, which includes the English language proficiency assessments. The department noted that states should not anticipate the USDOE waiving the assessment requirements for the 2020–2021 school year. The argument for this stance, outlined in this USDOE Fact Sheet (18 January 2021), is that

statewide assessments are at the very core of the bipartisan agreement that forged the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). They are among the most reliable tools available to help us understand how children are performing in school. The data from assessments can help inform personalized support to children based on their individual needs and provide transparency about their progress.

U.S. President Biden’s new administration has not changed this point of view. The Fact Sheet Addendum has underscored that testing will take place:

Research shows that school closures this past spring disproportionately affected the most vulnerable students, widening disparities in achievement for low-income students, minority students, and students with disabilities. Almost every student experienced some level of disruption. Moving forward, meeting the needs of all students will require tremendous effort. To be successful, we must use data to guide our decision-making.

Teachers Agree That English Learners Have Not Had Equal Access to Education During the Pandemic

Many teachers in a recent #ELLCHAT discussion on this topic felt that testing ELs in school is not equitable because many of our students have not had the same opportunities during the pandemic as others to make academic progress. Some have not had the same access to devices, internet, or support of an adult family member to have equitable access to education from home.

According to an article by Beth Skelton and Lydia Breiseth on the Colorín Colorado website, “ELs may also not have had access to regular progress monitoring or assessments of their language skills. That’s why embedding instruction focused on students’ language skills across the curriculum and in all learning environments is so critical as we think about the rest of this school year and beyond.” Those teachers who favor the testing this spring with the WIDA ACCESS or ELPA21 do so because they feel ELs who are ready for exit from ESL programs will not be able to exit.

Teachers Concerned About English Learners’ Social-Emotional Well-Being

Educators are most concerned about their ELs’ social-emotional well-being during the testing period. In the aforementioned #ELLCHAT discussion, teachers cried, “Enough!” They are angry on the decisions made and feel unheard. This is exacerbated by the fact that ELs are obligated to take all of the tests that the general education students take as well as the English language proficiency test.

Additionally, because ELPA21 and WIDA Access assessments have not provided an English language proficiency test to ELs that can be taken remotely, students will need to go into schools physically to take the test. It’s important for educators and EL families to see that school districts will provide accommodations so that students will be safe when they come to school to take the test.

Standardized Testing of Academic Knowledge Will Also Be Assessed in the Spring

Although the USDOE has announced that standardized testing in reading and math will take place this spring, some states, like New Jersey, have applied for a waiver. Teachers want to spend their time instructing students in the content areas. The state’s largest teacher’s union, the New Jersey Education Association (2021) has said: “In a year filled with challenges and disruptions, the last thing our students need is to lose a single minute of instructional time to take a test that would not yield valid and reliable data or support their learning.”

TESOL Also Issued a Statement  on WIDA ACCESS Testing.

TESOL’s statement included the following:

TESOL recommends that state education agencies, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education, postpone testing until a later date in the 2021 school year or waive testing requirements all together. Additionally, TESOL advocates can remind parents or guardians that participation in the ACCESS for ELLs exam is optional and that they have the right to opt their child out of the exam without any negative consequences.

Put Students Before Data!

Because ELs have double the work with two major standardized tests during the spring, state and national departments of education should be thinking of how this will affect their social-emotional well-being during the testing period. They should be putting students first.

I think that there are additional ways that ELs who are ready to exit can be informally assessed this spring:

• Teachers of ELs and/or classroom teachers know who is ready to be exited from programs and can make an informed recommendation.
• ELs’ academic grades can be added to the mix.
• There is also the option to test ELs when they return to school in the fall of 2021.

Let’s make a decision that is best for our ELs. Put students before data!

References

NJ.com.  (2021, February 19). N.J. school standardized testing should be waived this year due to COVID, state tells feds. https://www.njea.org/nj-will-apply-to-waive-standardized-testing/

Skelton, E., & Breiseth, L. (2020) Teaching ELLs online: How to develop students’ language skills. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/ells-language-online

TESOL International Association. (2020, December 21). TESOL statement on WIDA ACCESS for ELLs testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.tesol.org/news-landing-page/2020/12/21/tesol-statement-on-wida-access-testing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

U.S. Department of Education. (2020, May 18). Fact sheet: Providing services to English learners during the COVID-19 outbreak. https://oese.ed.gov/files/2020/07/covid-19-el-factsheet.pdf

U.S. Department of Education. (2021, January 18). Fact sheet: Providing services to English learners during the COVID-19 outbreak: Addendum. https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/01/English-Learner-Fact-Sheet-Addendum-01-18-2021.pdf

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/assessment-equity-for-els-put-students-before-data/

ESL Program Vocabulary and English Language Learner Terminology

Must know ESL terms and terminology when working with English Language Learners ELLs

Hello everyone,

Have you ever been confused after having a conversation with a colleague or administrator about one of your English Language Learners (ELLs)?  Did some of the English as a Second Language (ESL) acronyms or phrases confuse you when teaching, discussing, and/or sharing information about English Learners?  

You are not alone.  

There are so many terms in education and they are constantly shifting. 
I have compiled a list of terms to help wade through the confusion.  This is just a beginning ELL glossary, so to start with, here are some must-know ESL terminology.

Terminology when referring to students:

English Language Learner (ELL) ~

refers to students who are learning English as a second language.  It includes anyone who doesn’t speak English fluently or who is still acquiring English.

Limited English Proficient (LEP) ~

refers to a student’s language level.  LEP was employed for years to label children as English Learners. Now replaced by terms like ELL.

Early Childhood English Language Learner (ECELL) ~

refers to a student below age 5 who is acquiring English as a second language.

Language minority (LM) ~

refers to a student from a family where a language other than English is spoken. It does not signify how well the student speaks or understands English.

Terminology when referring to programs:

Content-based E.S.L. ~

refers to a model of language education using content curriculum, activities, study skills, and strategies of second language learning to teach English. 

English as a Second Language (ESL) ~

refers to English language programs (push in and pull out) that focus on instruction in English to English Learners. 

English to Speakers of Other Languages(ESOL) ~ 

refers to language courses at the elementary and secondary levels.  It can be also used with Adult ESL classes. 

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) ~

refers to instruction in or the learning of English for a certain segment of business or a particular career.  

Immersion Method ~ 

refers to a  program model where children are submerged in English.  The English learner is put in English classes without a model, program, or any structure in place to learn English.  The English learner is to learn English by being surrounded by or immersed in the language.

Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) ~ 

refers to a method of teaching and learning English using a variety of technology and electronic media.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) ~ 

refers to a teacher training program for teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)  ~ 

refers to teacher education programs to teach English as a Second Language.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) ~ 

refers to specific education for teachers who teach English language learners.  This can also refer to the professional tests to certify a teacher in ESL. 

I hope this list will help you out in your next conversation about English Language Learners or ESL programs!

Happy Teaching,

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from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2021/03/esl-program-vocabulary-and-english.html

Language Learning With Among Us

This month, I had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State’s Regional English Language Office in Belgrade Serbia to deliver a series of talks on games and learning. Teachers from around the world shared games they found to be effective activities and which students enjoy playing in the classroom. A game frequently mentioned during our talks was Among Us, a social deduction game that is a hit with players and great for the language classroom.

What Is Among Us?

Among Us is a popular social deduction game that can be played on computers, mobile devices, or video game consoles. Social deduction games are games where a player, or players, have a secret goal that is hidden from the other players. As the game progresses, a player will work toward completing their secret goal before the other players discover their hidden identity.

This simple premise is what makes Among Us so popular. In the game, four to 10 players play the roles of cartoonish aliens on a spaceship who are tasked with a series of chores to complete. While the team works, one player is “the imposter” whose goal is to eliminate the other players. As the game progresses, players can call emergency meetings to vote on who they think the imposter is. The game continues until the imposter has been eliminated, or the imposter eliminates the rest of the crew.

The social deduction premise makes it tremendously fun and opens up opportunities for students to practice modals of possibility, conditionals, and argument structures. To get started using Among Us in the classroom, I recommend reading James York’s excellent primer on using the game in the language classroom.

Similar Games

The great aspect of social deduction games is that they use a simple premise and only a few mechanics. As a result, there are a variety of games just like Among Us that can be used, depending on the resources you have available.

If lack of technology is a concern, there are a variety of card-based games that have the same premise, such as The Resistance, Coup, or Werewolf. The instructions for each of these games can be found online and could be used to create modified versions of the games that are tailored to your students’ language levels.

          

Teachers lacking the resources for card games can still play an entirely spoken version of the game called either Mafia or Werewolf. For distance classrooms, Anjuan Simmons has a great explainer on how to play Werewolf over videoconferencing software.

The Mafia/Werewolf game has all the same elements as Among Us but can be played verbally or can be supplemented with index cards or sheets of paper to help students keep track of the game to discover the imposter before it is too late.

I hope you get a chance to try out one of these social deduction games in the classroom— and if you do, be sure to share your experience in with us in the chat.

Until next month, play more games!

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/language-learning-with-among-us/

5 Guidelines for Planning Writing Lessons

Though most teachers probably had to write formal lesson plans during their academic studies and practicum experiences, many of us stopped doing so as we became more expert in our work. In one sense, it’s logical that experienced teachers would not write out extensive lesson plans, given that we know our context and our content well enough to think through a lesson and predict how it will likely work for our familiar students. In this blog post, however, I want to encourage writing teachers to make an effort to write out a formal lesson plan once in a while.

Whatever format you use, even experienced teachers benefit from making detailed lesson plans from time to time. After 25 years of teaching in various contexts, I find it helpful for checking that my approach to teaching and my intentions for the lesson still align with what my students need and want to learn.

One reason is that formal lesson plans help you think explicitly about your student learning outcomes (SLOs) and larger goals. When you have to articulate what your students will be able to do, you can identify what you need to teach so they can get there. In addition, formal lesson planning helps you see where you need to provide more support or where you don’t really need as much scaffolding.

Here are five guidelines for planning your writing lessons.

1. Set Clear Expectations From the Beginning

Writing is a skill that benefits greatly from backwards planning because in most cases, there is a final written product toward which a curricular unit or entire course is aimed. In backwards planning, you start with the final assessment, whether that is a timed essay or a multitext portfolio. Identify the genre (more on this in the next section):

• What type of text is this?
• Who is the intended (real or imagined) audience?
• How are texts of this genre usually structured?
• What variations exist?

Then think through what students need to be able to do in order to create polished texts. Identify the language demands: What language structures and vocabulary do students need to know in order to write this type of text? In addition to SLOs related to the content and product of the lesson, consider writing explicit language objectives. Rather than relying on textbook suggestions, find model texts within the genre and determine what types of sentences, what verb forms, and what word families were used by the authors. Also take into consideration what students already know of the language and genre, both from what you’ve already taught in your class and what they can reasonably be expected to know from prior learning.

2. Incorporate Genre Study

A useful way to structure a writing class is through genre study. Choose several model texts of the genre that are accessible to your learners and support students to analyze those texts, keeping in mind the core idea that texts within any given genre will share certain features but also differ from each other. You might start the lesson with whole class analysis: What features are common across all texts within the genre? Where are there variations? For a writing class, genre study aims to give students an understanding of how texts are structured and what choices authors make in developing those texts (Tardy, 2019; also see example lessons in Gilliland & Pella, 2017).

The next step might be text deconstruction and reconstruction, a stage in the Systemic Functional Linguistics Teaching and Learning Cycle (de Oliveira & Schleppegrell, 2015). Working on the board, guide students to pull apart the text and identify the way each section and sentence were constructed and for what purposes. Then work with the students to create a new text in the same genre, following the structure and language you identified from the model texts.

3. Provide Scaffolded Practice

At this point, students could work together (in pairs or small groups) to collaboratively write more texts in the genre. Depending on their readiness and language proficiency, you could give them more or less scaffolding, such as graphic organizers or worksheets where they can practice the sentence structures or vocabulary they need. Writing games may help them generate new ideas or choose appropriate words.

4. Set Students Up for Successful Independent Writing

The end goal of most writing lessons is independent writing, where students work individually on their own texts. In a formal lesson plan, the prompt for an assignment is important. Prompts should clearly state all the information needed for accomplishing the task: audience, expectations, requirements (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014).

Set students up for success, allowing them to write with fluency and confidence. Students benefit from having options for brainstorming, planning, and drafting, including being encouraged to draw on all their language resources (their home languages and other languages) and multiple modalities (some students may find talking through their ideas or drawing images helpful). Unless they are preparing for a test that doesn’t allow it, let students access resources, including dictionaries, their peers, and information online.

5. Provide Timely and Appropriate Feedback

Throughout the lesson plan, build opportunities for students to receive feedback on their developing texts. Peer, teacher, and self-response should be integrated at multiple stages during the writing process, with the goals of helping writers improve their texts toward achieving the lesson’s SLOs. Provide students with a copy of the rubric or grading criteria from the start. You could discuss it as a class and possibly negotiate some of the rubric criteria. The criteria on the rubric should reflect the SLOs of the assignment as well. Feedback ought to support writers to revise and learn, rather than feel discouraged.

Finally, whenever possible, design writing assignments so that writers can share their texts with audiences beyond the classroom.

References

de Oliveira, L. C., & Schleppegrell, M. J. (2015). Focus on grammar and meaning. Oxford University Press.

Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. S. (2014). Teaching L2 composition: Purpose, process, and practice (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Gilliland, B., & Pella, S. (2017). Beyond “teaching to the test”: Rethinking accountability and assessment for English language learners. National Council of Teachers of English.

Tardy, C. M. (2019). Genre-based writing: What every ESL teacher needs to know. University of Michigan Press.

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/5-guidelines-for-planning-writing-lessons/