Playing Hardball

Not really, but you had an interest in and imagined some things about what you might read, didn't you? That's because you know what playing hardball means, besides baseball.

Last week, while working with one of my students, who has very good vocabulary within a limited scope (primarily his vocation) but not so much when it comes to real life conversations, I used a book in the Slangman series: Slangman Guide to Street Speak 3, by Slangman David Burke. I chose this particular book because there are 2 chapters on slang derived from sports, and my student, who is male, is completely unfamiliar with sports as well as the slang we use that are sports allusions.

I went with my gut for my lesson plan.  I knew the topic was necessary and would be useful, but I wasn't sure if my very serious student would realize that although we would be dealing with slang, that slang is a part of most conversations, whether the boardroom or the coffee shop.  My student studied a lot of British English in school in his native country. Very British English.

You can't imagine my delight, after convincing him that the slang is part of everyday life (not gutter talk), when he lit up with enthusiasm for hearing, reading and then understanding what occurrence in what sport inspired  each expression we learned.  The cherry on top (we will have to use food slang in the future!) was when he said to his wife, who is also a student of mine, "This is why I can't understand what anybody is saying when they speak English!"  He was eager to learn and understand how to use the terms we covered.  

Although the learning of slang expressions came out of left field, he liked it right off the bat. I'm sure  he's going to tackle this new aspect of English and be much more comfortable with the English speakers around which he finds himself. (I think my gut knocked it out of the park.)

Check out the Slangman series.

Easy English News

In my local public library, I picked up a copy of Elizabeth Claire's Easy English News for the month of November.  I think it's going to be a great resource for both of my ESL students, which is great, considering their English levels are disparate.

The articles are adult, and by that I mean, they are in simple language but on topics that matter to adults, such as holidays during the month of November, the recent government shut down, the anniversary of the JFK assassination, unusual pronunciation of "t" between 2 vowels (which may confuse a new English listener), consumer scams, how insurance premiums and coverage generally work, idioms and some humor.  There are also articles on shopping for food (whether bought by the pound, or some other unit) and kitchen measure. 

This small newspaper is going to be a staple in my tutoring.  It will stimulate discussion as well as inform my students.  I'm thankful for such a handy and useful aid. If it, or something like it, is available in your local public library,  check it out.  You may find it as useful as I do.

Survival Skills Resources

Today, while working with one of my ESL learners, medical office terminology was one of the topics we discussed.  I used a new patient information sheet that I downloaded last year from my endocrinologist's web site. The medical history lists and questions offered us plenty of vocabulary and discussions.  We want to continue discussing medical situations. 

I have requested a book from a network library, on the topic but in the mean time, I have found 3 books in my local branch, that will we will use both for medical terminology/scenarios as well as other life circumstances.  That's Life is a series by New Readers Press. In 2 of them (Introductory and Low Beginner), I found chapters about doctor visits.  I also borrowed a book called English Interplay, Surviving,  which I will use in addition to the aforementioned ones, in preparation for next week's meeting.

I like these books because the crucial words are contained in the short, simple. realistic stories. There are pictures and very short workbook style pages. They're perfect for a learner who wants to be prepared for medical encounters.

Strength and Determination

The courage and strength of English learners is something to which I never gave a thought until I took ESL tutoring classes. My only recollections of  being unable to communicate were in some Spanish classes, when I was in Jr high and high school.  I was fortunate enough to have a Spanish teacher despised by most students, but an excellent language instructor.  He never spoke a word of English in class.  i have a musician's ear and am an aural learner.  I was also raised with a maternal grandmother in our home who spoke pigeon English mixed with Polish and a pair of paternal grandparents who didn't spare us Sicilian lingo, so I had heard and liked the sound of other languages. I never faced having to cope with speaking a new and  foreign language at a hospital or bank. I have such respect and admiration for people who forsake comfort for opportunity by coming to the United States and trying to integrate into society, business, places of worship, schools and every other walk of life.

My students have been here for a while, but they still have some significant linguistic needs.  Some are practical, and day-to-day kinds of things and others are extremely specialized.  

The best advice I can give tutors is to be warm and informal, but being certain to be appropriate. These students need to feel comfortable trying to express with what they think they need help and they need to be able to freely convey the order of importance and priority for those things. It will not always be easy for them to tell us what they need, but we must not impede them by our comportment, tone, impatience or haste. 

Although I have not been working with my students for long, their success is of paramount importance to me. It's my job  and joy to balance what they need and how best to lead them through their growth and understanding of how we use English in the United States.  

New Student Tomorrow

I will meet a new ESL student tomorrow morning. She is Korean. It's a sweet irony that her husband is a Pastor and I am planning to offer an ESL class at our church, beginning some time in 2014. I understand her husband is also on the ESL list, so perhaps I will work with him, or a small group from his church. 

Over the past few weeks I sat in on the ESL tutor class I took over the summer, just as a refresher. I didn't hear anything new, but being a musician, I recognize the effectiveness of repetition. The primary benefit I derived, was once again, I heard about the contents of an array of books in the ESL collection. I had combed through them over the summer but had not been back.

I have also done a little research on Korean customs, gestures, social practices and so on.  I certainly don't want to make my student uncomfortable by doing something inadvertently offensive.  

Here's to a great learning experience for both of us!

Short Reviews

I've been spending time reading various ESL tutoring books that are available at my public library, in their ESL collection.   I have been impressed with a few of them:

Real Basics by S E Treadgold is just as its title suggests, extremely basic. Every time I find a book that I think I will use over and over, my first impulse is to purchase it, but I resisted.  The library has it, and unless I can find a used copy for a penny, as I was able to do with the  7th edition of Tutor, I'm going to resist the urge. This looks like a book any ESL tutor can use.  It's heavily illustrated.

Teaching Adults, An ESL Resource Book, Developed by ProLiteracy America (ISBN 9781564201300) harkens back to my training classes. It expands on various teaching techniques for cultivating oral and written skills.  Although the slant is for working with a class, the concepts are easily modified for one on one tutoring.  

From Sound To Sentence, by Raymond C. Clark ( ISBN 9780866472517) looks like a wonderful resource. It is accompanied by 3 audio CDs. It's phonics based, with heavy emphasis on subtle differences in sound and the meaning of similar words.  There are look, listen, say exercises as well as writing and numeric ones.  This is a book that can be employed at various stages of a learner's progress.  

Under Construction

I have been fiddling with blog buttons for this blog and my others. I will add them as soon as possible.  Here is the image for this ESL blog. I don't yet know which size I  will use.  I know this is a boring post, but I need to park the images somewhere on this blog, so in a post will do.

Anticipation

I'm in receipt of my certificate for completing the tutor training course I took during June and feel well-prepared to begin tutoring.  Since the first ESL tutor training class, I have become aware of things I encounter everywhere, that may be useful with an ELL (English Language Learner). The Ramsey Library has contacted me about a student on their waiting list who sounds like a good match because she is a native Spanish speaker and I speak Spanish.  While they make the necessary contacts and arrange for our first session, I have been continuing to compile resources such as:

• more photos for my picture files
• brochures that might be helpful
• "traditional" teaching aids
• "non-traditional" teaching aids

Among the above are a flier from the Post Office about Lottery Scams, foam numbers and math symbols to assist tactile learners, a few excellent iPad apps (Oxford Picture Dictionary Unit 1, Idioms, USA Learners 1, ESL Tests), and magazine photos of action scenes to add to my "What Are They Doing?" folder.  I also picked up some spiral notebooks for 50¢.  I found a great resource book  on  Amazon for 1¢ plus shipping.  It's one edition older than the current version, but much of its material is the same as the newer one.  Although I have and can borrow the current edition from the ESL collection at the Ramsey or Westwood Libraries, having my own copy, though older,  at home may be very helpful.

 

Under Construction

This blog will be offered to my ESL students and all English learners. It is currently under construction.