Skip to main content

Sifting Through the Noise: A Sceptic's Guide to ESOL Teacher Groups

 

While reading this week’s material, I was naturally drawn to explore Facebook. As an ESOL teacher, I have been looking for new ideas on the internet for years, but never much on social media. Here is a summary of my observations:

Teaching English as a Second Language is somewhat specific. Most students will never need it, while it is crucial for those who do. Furthermore, in terms of social media, the concept of an ‘ESOL teacher’ can be as broad or as narrow as one chooses. For example, there are many ESOL teachers whose only qualification is the fact that they were brought up in an English-speaking country. Add to that the scores of passionate non-native teachers and you get a digital landscape that is incredibly varied. And so, because the barrier to entry in online spaces is so low, social media easily becomes flooded with spam and low-quality material.

How does an ESOL teacher find a group to support their growth?

On Facebook, there are over 50 different groups for ESOL teachers of mostly dubious quality. Yet, hidden among them are a few private groups, such as Adult Ed ESL Teachers, and NYS ESL Network by Teachers for Teachers. I chose to join both, but I am still waiting for my approval for the Adult Ed ESL Teachers group.

My initial experience: I am glad that I looked and signed up. The NYS ESL Network group is filled with helpful links. I dare say that within my own institution, I am a very well-informed teacher. However, the resources I have been able to find so far have exceeded my expectations and truly energized me. Different ESOL teachers’ blogs, practice-oriented articles and showcases of student work make me believe that I have found a group of like-minded people.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can Digital Badges Usher in a New Era of Adult Education?

If you are interested in implementing micro-credentials in your teaching, be sure to read this article by Dennen, Arslan, and Bong (2024), in which the authors discuss the implementation process of micro-learning challenges at a large public university in the United States and their subsequent findings. In short, microlearning is a way of enabling a learner (student) to self-direct their learning through accomplishing small-scale educational challenges, which then earn them digital badges.  One of the findings was the fact that those students who earned their badges did so because of their educational, rather than "bragging" value. Additionally, because micro-challenges were optional, only a portion of students (about 21%) achieved digital badges.  As a teacher of IET (Integrated Education and Training) Introduction to Healthcare, I can see potential in using micro-challenges in adult workforce education. As the authors state, students recognized that by accomplishing micro-...
2 comments
Read more

Language Apps for Adult Learners

Salomon (2016) discusses the fact that while technology can provide information, it cannot transform it into knowledge. He then proceeds to differentiate between the affordances that technology offers and the actual realization of its use. Coincidentally, this week, when I was evaluating language apps, I stumbled upon a similar question: To what extent does a language app make use of its mobile affordances? I was shocked to find out that from among the four apps that I was evaluating (Duolingo, Mango Languages, Busuu, and Burlington English), only one (Busuu) made use of the benefits traditionally offered by SNSs.  If you are wondering why that would be beneficial, think how many hours you spent on Duolingo trying to learn a new language. The problem is that most language apps not only ignore the development of productive skills (speaking and writing), but also their mobile function (recording, time and place fluidity). In reality, this means that most language apps are just a litt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blogging as a Low-Stakes Writing Tool in Adult Esol Classroom

Writing is traditionally the least enjoyed part of adult English classes. While much of the time is devoted to listening and reading skills, and some, although not enough, to speaking, writing is often left neglected. However, writing is more than just a mechanical stringing of words into sentences, which often creates anxiety. It supports critical thinking and problem-solving skills, grammar and spelling development, and metalinguistic awareness.  Most adult learners experience language writing anxiety even when they type a sentence in a chat box. The fear of making mistakes can be paralyzing for some students. The irony is that their desire to be perfect too quickly often slows their learning trajectory. If we want to lower our students' affective filter, they must experience low-stakes practice on a regular basis.   Blogging seems to be one of the least threatening solutions to the problem of teaching writing. First, it offers learners greater control over thei...
2 comments
Read more