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Kit A. Nadado TESOL 430 Portfolio Reflection Paper Practicum Introduction The TESOL 427 class offers various opportunities to apply the principles and strategies we learned in teaching speaking across proficiencies and levels. The two main practicum opportunities this semester are the Evening English Exchange and the tutoring assignment. This document is a record of both practicum opportunities which includes lesson plans used, journal entries, and reflections.

I.

Evening English Exchange

The Evening English Exchange is an amazing opportunity for TESOL majors and EIL students to get together, socialize, and learn the English language in an enjoyable and stress-free environment. The Evening English Exchange occurs every Wednesday, 8 to 9 PM.

Evening English Exchange Lesson Plan

Lesson Prepared for Evening English Exchange Prepared by: Kit, Tanya, and Sesi Prepared: 2/1/2014

Class/Student(s): EIL Students Proficiency Level: Intermediate to Advances Implemented: 2/6/2014 Materials: Premade name tags Colored wooden blocks Prezi Presentation (http://prezi.com/5ebura5p clyx/?utm_campaign=share& utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0s

Language Objective: Students will have the opportunity to be in a social environment to practice the language. Students will have sufficient practice formulating and articulating questions that require yes or no answers Students will have practice using

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prepositions in a variety of situations. Students will practice speech improvisation.

hare ) Online Timer

Overview: Introduction Who am I (Tanya) Speaking Relay (Kit) One Word Story (Sesi) Wrap-up (Evaluation) Time: 5-10 minutes

Introduction: Welcome English Exchange Students Prayer Speech Lab Announcement Mike Kang First Activity Who Am I? Short discussion and demonstration of yes or no questions. Instructions: Each student will be given a name tag out of the three categories: profession, food, and animal. Their tags will be taped on their backs and will be unknown to them. Their main goal is to find out who they are by asking yes or no questions to other students who can see their tags. They have to walk around asking each person a maximum of two (2) questions. This activity will last for 10 minutes or until everyone has found out their identity. Demonstration of the activity Tanya, Kit and Sesi Activity Begins Short review and discussion if time permits. Second Activity Speaking Relay A short lesson about prepositions (Prezi slide) Instructions: The class separates into groups of four. Each member would either be a builder 1, a builder 2, a runner, or a watcher. Builder 1 and builder 2 will be given a bag of wooden blocks with identical number and colors. Builder 1 and builder 2 are not allowed to see each other and will be seated far from each other. Builder 1 will construct a house using the blocks in a step by step fashion. The watcher is the only person allowed to see builder 1s blocks. The watchers job is to describe to the runner exactly what builder 1 is creating. The runners job is to run to builder 2 and deliver the watchers message. Builder 2 will then create a

10-12 minutes

1015 minutes

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10-15 minutes

house based on the runners instructions. Tis process will continue until all the blocks are used. Each round will end with both builders revealing their houses. The team who has identical houses will be the winner. Demonstration- Sesi, Kit, and Tanya Activity Begins Short review and discussion if time permits

Third Activity One Word Story Instructions: The students will sit in a circle. A theme will be given as a controlling factor in the story. The teacher begins the story with a sentence. The next student will then follow using only one word. The next student will continue the sentence using the same process, contributing one word at a time. The teacher can either finish the sentence by saying period or full stop, or continue the story by contributing a conjunction or a clause marker. Demonstration of the activity Sesi, Kit, and Tanya Activity begins Short Review and discussion if time permits

Total: 50-60 minutes Transcript and Evaluation: Preparation: Tanya and I were in Room 179 around 7:30 to prepare for the Exchange. Tanya arranged the chairs into a semi-circle to encourage interaction and equality among students. I set up the Prezi presentation in the computer. A Welcome to English Exchange title page was projected on the screen. Tanya and I reviewed the contents of the presentation to make sure that everything is fine. The props for all the activities are were ready as well. We did some minor modifications with the presentation before the first batch of students came. The first student came around 7:50. Sister Johnson came in around 8 PM. Everything was ready when the students came. Strengths: I believe that we were sufficiently prepared to conduct our chosen activities as

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planned. We had all our materials prepared and we also had the technology component of our lessons set-up and running. I learned the importance of being armed and ready before teaching. Being ready involves preparing the lesson plan, the necessary materials, and coming early for set-up. I learned that being ready contributes to your confidence as a teacher. Five minutes before our designated time, Tanya and I were greeting students as they come. This activity had a positive effect on the students. I assume that they felt that we were prepared and excited to meet them. We shook their hands one by one as they came in and led them to their seats. We also had some small chat with them while waiting for the others. One principle that I learned from our speaking class is to appreciate noise. This type of noise is the purposeful and meaningful buzz of learning signifying that students are enjoying each others company and are comfortable with the environment. This type of noise is very apparent in our English Exchange Classroom. The activities went well. I would attribute this success to the time we took explaining and repeating the instructions to students before they commence any speaking activity. Our instruction giving method was to have the text of the rules visible on the screen while we orally explained the instructions. We then demonstrated the activity to clarify the instructions. We then asked the students if they needed us to iterate a part of the instruction they did not understand. We can say that this method of giving instructions is effective. Our activities ran smoothly with less delays. I learned that in giving instructions, teachers should take their time. Using manipulables in a speaking activity is a great way to keep enthusiasm. Manipulables allow students the tactile experience to go with the activity. I saw that our use of blocks in our second activity enhanced the speaking experience for our students. They were more into the activity with the manipulables. I learned that the speaking teacher should always consider using manipulables in a variety of ways relevant to the goal of the lesson. Challenges: Sesi, one of our members had some personal concerns she needed to settle that night.

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She had to leave at the middle of the activities. Since she was in-charge of the last activity for that night, we were forced to take over her responsibilities. This was a challenge because we were not prepared to handle her activity. We tried to our best to introduce and handle Sesis activity but felt that we could have done better if we had contingency plans ready. This challenge is a learning opportunity in itself. I learned that in teaching, breakdowns are natural occurrences

II.

Tutor Sessions We were given the opportunity to be partnered with EIL 343 students for 60

minutes of tutoring. The focus of these sessions is to introduce clauses and ways to use clauses effectively in academic and casual speech.

Tutee Introduction My tutee is Spencer Forrest, a freshman from the islands of New Caledonia in the Pacific. Spencer is one of my good friends. This made planning for Spencers lesson a lot easier since I know how he speaks. Spencers native language is French. Spencer speaks English as his second language fluently. He will finish the EIL program this semester and will be eligible for English 101 next semester. Lesson Plan

Prepared by: Kit Nadado

Prepared on the 18th of February To be used on the 4th of March

Lesson Objective(s) The students will be able to identify the differences between restrictive (essential) and non-restrictive (by the way) adjective clauses. Overview Review the differences between dependent and independent clauses. The lesson will then focus on discussing about adjective clauses and the

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differences between restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses. Review/Development, and Time A. Review ( 11-12 minutes) 1. What is a clause? (2 minutes) Review definition of a clause. Give examples (1 min) Allow student to give examples as well (1 min) 2. Independent and Dependent Clause (3 minutes) Independent clause definition and examples of independent clauses (1.5 min) Dependent clause definition and examples of dependent clauses (1.5 min) 3. Clause Markers (4 min) Review the clause markers commonly used for each type (3 min) Entertain questions (1 min) 4. Review Clause marker specific to adjective clauses (2 min) B. Lesson (20 minutes) 1. Commas in Adjective Clauses (5 minutes) With adjective clauses, commas can be tricky. We have to decide if the adjective clause is necessary for the understanding of the sentence (restrictive), or if the adjective clause only adds by the way information (nonrestrictive). Consider these two sentences: The man is a doctor. The man is sitting on the chair. The man is a doctor. Who is sitting on the chair. Technology Component Laptop Microsoft Word

Change the second the man to who:

Combine the two sentences: The man who is sitting in the chair is a doctor

This sentence contains two clauses: The man is a doctor is the main clause. Who is sitting in the chair is an adjective clause. Who is sitting in the chair describes or identifies the man.

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2. Identifying restrictive versus non-restrictive using commas (10 minutes) Consider: Men are happy. Men love their jobs. Men who love their jobs are happy.

Men wear neckties. Men are physically stronger than women. Men, who are physically stronger than women, wear neckties.

This sentence has no commas: Men who love their jobs are happy.

This sentence has commas: Men, who are physically stronger than women, wear neckties.

Why the difference? Men who love their jobs are happy. In Men who love their jobs are happy, the clause who love their jobs identifies which men. It tells us exactly which men. Without the clause, we dont know which men we are talking about, and the sentence doesnt make much sense: Men are happy. (This sentence is grammatically correct, but the meaning or purpose is strange.) EXPLANATION: The clause who love their jobs identifies men. The clause is necessary. The clause has no commas. The clause is restrictive.

Men, who are physically stronger than women, wear neckties. The clause who are physically stronger than women does NOT identify which men; it only gives additional

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information. The information in the clause is interesting and useful, but it is NOT NECESSARY to understand the sentence. The clause who are stronger than women does NOT identify men. The clause is interesting, but NOT necessary. The clause has commas. The clause is nonrestrictive Restrictive adjective clauses are necessary to the understanding of the sentence. Restrictive adjective clauses appear with NO commas. Non-restrictive adjective clauses are NOT necessary to the understanding of the sentence. The information that they provide is just extra, or by the way. Non-restrictive adjective clauses appear with commas.

3. Restrictive and Non-restrictive defined (5 minutes)

C. Assessment

1. Assessment through examples Let us look through the examples in the slides. Let us decide if the sentence is corre4ct based on their adjective clauses. Example sentences: 1. 1. Women who are usually smaller than men have the major responsibility of raising children. (incorrect. The clause is nonrestrictive. We need commas to separate the clause to the rest of the main idea.) 2. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. (correct) 3. Honor code rules which every student should follow are included in the handbook. (Incorrect. The clause is non-restrictive. We need commas to separate the clause to the rest of the main idea) 4. Church leaders who do not have

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testimonies should not be allowed to represent the Church.(correct) Philosophical Justification Adjective clauses are potentially difficult. Providing ample examples will ease the learning process. Contingency Plan More examples on adjective clauses incase additional questions will be asked.

Reflection Spencer came prepared for the lesson. He told me that they just learned adjective clauses this morning in EIL 343. He said that this tutor session would be a great way for him to review and remember the clauses well. He seemed very eager and enthusiastic in learning the clauses. I was very pleased with his enthusiasm. I decided to devote the first part of the tutor session in reviewing the basics of restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses. I believe that teaching adjective clauses in speaking will be easier if the learner has the necessary background knowledge on the nature of adjective clauses. I have also taken in consideration the fact that Spencer just learned this concept in class but I was not sure as to what extent Spencer learned regarding the clauses. This lesson plan will also serve as an assessment lesson for me to know how much Spencer understood adjective clauses. I believe that I was successful in explaining the adjective clause. Given his background knowledge about the clause, I reinforced this knowledge by starting from the very basic: phrases, then clauses, clause markers, dependent and independent clauses, and then to adjective clauses. I introduced the clauses this way to avoid any confusion. I assume that Spencer knows this but I wanted to be sure that we would not miss anything. Another reason why I believed that the explanation was clear was because of Spencers answers to the assessment questions. He understood the functions of commas in an adjective clause and he was able to justify his answer.

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Our activities are focused on a lot of sentence merging to form adjective clauses. Because this is a speaking activity, I encouraged Spencer to articulate what he learned about adjective clauses in class. I also gave him time to create examples of sentences with adjective clauses using pictures from the PowerPoint that we used. He delivered these examples through speaking. Our 30 minutes session was more like a 30 minutes conversation about adjective clauses. I asked him to explain the reasons why he chose a particular sentence to be restrictive or non-restrictive and he was very eager to articulate his reasons. Spencer is really smart and he was able to produce answers that were appropriate and logical. I prepared a lot of examples to go with the lesson and I believe that these examples helped him as well. I learned that in teaching a complicated subject such as adjective clauses, giving students a lot of examples will help. I noticed that after I gave Spencer a number of examples, he was able to produce his own examples by himself. I felt that the activities I planned for this session were appropriate. Knowing Spencer personally made the planning of these activities easier and at the same time relevant for him. I learned that it pays to know your student well. This knowledge gives you the opportunity to personalize your instruction based on the needs of the students. I learned that integrating grammar instruction in speaking is essential in developing learner accuracy. As important as teaching students correct pronunciation, teaching grammar in a speaking class is essential to improve learner intelligibility and accuracy. I would definitely integrate grammar instruction to speaking in my future classroom. One of the challenges we encountered during the session was a blackout that happened halfway our first activity. We were in the library and a two minute blackout occurred. This was much unexpected and I was unprepared for it. This phenomena could be considered as a lesson breakdown. I learned that these breakdowns are natural occurrences and a good teacher should always be prepared for these things. If I would do the session differently, I would prepare more challenging assessment items for Spencer. He breezed through the questions really fast and I believe that my assessment items were below his level. I should have also asked Sister Bronson about their

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lesson on clauses so that I could be better prepared tailoring my lesson plan based on what Spencer already knows. I also would include a fun activity that included manipulables since our session was spent looking at a PowerPoint presentation of adjective clauses. In conclusion, this teaching opportunity is truly a learning experience for me. I learned the importance of being prepared in everything that could happen in a lesson. This means that teachers should always have a Plan B or a Plan C for a breakdown that could happen in a lesson. I also learned that a lesson with no interesting material that a student could enjoy would not be as memorable as lessons with meaningful activities. I commit myself to be a better tutor the next session.

Tutor Session 2 Prepared by: Kit Nadado Prepared on the 24th of February To be used on the 11th of March Lesson Objective(s) The students will be able to use both restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses in conversations. Overview 1. Review restrictive and non-restrictive clauses 2. Taboo Game (link: http://www.slideshare.net/phricee/powerpointtaboo ) 3. Name that Superhero (The Avengers Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIR8Ar-Z4hw ) Review/Development, and Time D. Review ( 5 to 7 minutes) PowerPoint from last Meeting 1. Show examples of restrictive clauses 2. Answer some assessment items 3. Show example of non-restrictive clauses 4. Answer some assessment items E. Taboo Game(7 to 10 minutes) 1. Instruction: Students will get into pairs. The students goal is to describe the entity on the PowerPoint without using the words displayed. The student has to use adjective clauses to accomplish this task. The PowerPoint and the taboo words Technology Component Laptop PowerPoint The Avengers trailer (YouTube:

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will only be visible to the student. The other student will guess the entity based on the description of the other student. The switching will occur after every 2 minutes or until the other student guesses the entity. 2. Review and evaluation of the activity What challenges did you encounter doing this activity? F. Name that Superhero 1. Show The Avengers trailer 2. Warm-up questions Do you have a favorite superhero in the trailer? If you could have any superpowers, what would it be and why? 3. Restrictive clause activity Write descriptions of the superheroes using adjective clauses with the superheroes as objects. Ex. The superhero who has the Bat Mobile is Batman. 4. Non-Restrictive clause Use the same characters and use them as subjects to form non-restrictive adjective clauses. Ex: Batman, who wears a black suit, rides the Bat mobile. Philosophical Justification Since we established the definition, uses, and forms of adjective clauses in the last meeting, I believe that doing activities that would reinforce these concepts in an enjoyable way will be better. Contingency Plan Do Combine the Sentences activity (http://eslgrammarpractice.blogspot.com/2011/10/usingrelative-pronouns-and-adjective.html )

Reflection Since last weeks tutor session was information heavy, I decided to make our last tutor session upbeat and enjoyable for Spencer. I brought in some snacks for us to eat during the activity (eating during a speaking activity may not be the best idea). I tried to make our activities look fun and appealing. I had my laptop screen display the Avengers trailer with the food by the table. Spencer saw the arrangement and he relaxed. I told him that we will have fun using adjective clauses today.

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We reviewed the last few slides of the PowerPoint we used last week to refresh Spencers memories about restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. We went through some assessment items and once again, he breezed through them. Confident of Spencers adjective clause knowledge, we proceeded to the activities. Our first activity was the taboo game. I explained the instructions and demonstrated a few slides to him. He tried two slides himself for practice before we did the actual game. I believe that Spencer enjoyed the activity. Although he had trouble with some slides, he managed to describe a lot of them with great skill using adjective clauses. We had a lot of laughs describing the slides especially the Obama and the Coke slide. I think the activity went well. We were running out of time for our last activity and so we decided to skip watching the movie trailer since he knew the superheroes in Avengers anyway, and went straight to the non-restrictive superhero activity. He told me that he does not have trouble using restrictive clauses but had some confusion using non-restrictive adjective clauses. We had to do this for the remaining five minutes of our time. I explained the instructions and demonstrated a few items. We did the activity interview style where I gave him the name of the superhero and he gave me the distinguishing qualities of that superhero using nonrestrictive adjective clauses. He did struggle in some parts distinguishing the meaning of the non-restrictive clause he made. Through repetition, he was able to get used to the nonrestrictive adjective clause. I reminded him throughout the activity to pause in the commas when he speaks. I could say that the activities I chose were practical and at the same time interesting for Spencer. The themes of the activity were very current and Spencer had prior knowledge of them. The repetitiveness of the activities was very useful for review and for fluency. At the end of the activity, Spencer was comfortable using adjective clauses, especially the nonrestrictive clauses which he had trouble using at the beginning. This confidence is evidence in itself that Spencer improved. These sessions taught me that grammar instruction in speaking should not always be rigid and boring. The teacher should also be creative in helping the students understand

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and apply these grammar concepts. Activities that are enjoyable and at the same time meaningful are always effective in the classroom. One of the challenges that we encountered was lack of time and perhaps lack of time management. I guess we were spending too much time in one activity and could compress some of the time used to make room for more activities. If I could do it again, I would use a timer for each activity so that our time is controlled and well-managed. I would also use some time for evaluation and feedback. I wanted Spencer to give me feedback but we did not have enough time to do that. These tutor sessions were amazing learning opportunities for me as a future teacher. Theory alone is pointless and so these tutoring sessions provides us with opportunities to apply the principles that we learned in speaking.