ESL Spokane WA - Keynote Presentation

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ESL Spokane Regional 2010 Happy 20th Anniversary!

Elena Smith, Ph.D. Intensive American Language Center

Washington State University, Pullman, WAE-mail: essmith@wsu.edu

Challenges and Triumphs in the ESL Profession

Quiz: Choose the right answer

1. English is a number __?__ native language spoken in the world.

c.Three

d.Four

e.Five

Answer

2. Which one of the languages listed below is

number 3 in terms of the number of its native speakers in the world?

a.Mandarin

b.Arabic

c.Hindu/Urdu

d.Spanish

e.Russian

Answer

3. What is the percentage of the GDP (gross domestic product) for the world’s economy of the countries where English is the first language?

a.35.5%

b. 28.2%

c. 22.8%

d. 20.2%

e. 10.9%

Answer

2.9%Italian

3.4%Portugues

4.2French

4.9%German

5.4%Spanish

5.6%Japanes

22.8% CHINESE

28.2%ENGLISH

The percentage of the global economy (GDP) accounted for by world languages

ESL Speakers

• 583,000,000 ESL speakers

in the world

• 36,000,000

ESL speakers

in the U.S.A.

According to the

British council over

1,000,000,000 people are currently learning

English world wide.

•5,500,000 ESL students in the USA today

• ESL students are US fastest-growing population and are expected to make up

one out of every four students by 2025.

Challenges

Three Major Challenges

1. ESL Instructors Work Conditions

2. The English Language Teaching Problems

3. The Role of Technology in ESL Instruction

ESL Instructors Work Conditions

Elena’s Illusion

ESL Instructors Work ConditionsChallenges

1. Job Security

2. Salary Equity

3. 12-hour/week work load

4. Paid 60-day annual vacation

5. Release time to design

in-house materials

5. Professional development

funding

The English Language Teaching Challenges

1. Which English Language to Teach?

2. Which Professional Terminology to Use?

3. Which Grammar to Teach? Or Not?

Which English Language to Teach?

Grammatically Incorrect

but Becoming a Norm?

Between you and I.

Grammatically Incorrect but Becoming a Norm?

I seen that.

Which English Language to Teach? Grammatically Incorrect but Becoming a Norm?

I’ve drove there.

I’ve boughten it.

Irregardless

A large amount of students.

There’s six new students.

Ten items or less

This room is bigger then that one.

I borrowed you ten dollars yesterday.

An agreement was reached between several countries.

• Lack of education?

• Pop culture?

• Regional differences between

oral and written English?

• Dialect intermingle?

• Foreign language interference?

• Electronic language invasion (“Internet English”)?

ESL instructors usually tell their students:

• You’ll hear it a lot, but please don’t say it.

• People use it incorrectly, but you must use it correctly.

• This is how it is

in real WORLD,

but this is how

you should use it

in your TOEFL exam.

The English Language Challenges

• Terminology

in textbooks

among instructors

on the Internet

Terminology

affirmative sentences vs. positive sentences

Terminologysubject verb agreement vs. subject verb concord

Terminologybare infinitive vs. “base” form of the verb

Terminologydeterminers vs. possessive adjectives

Terminologyhanging participle vs. dangling participle

Which Grammar to Teach? Or Not?• To teach grammar

or not? If not - how?

• If yes-how much

& how?

Keith False, “Focus on

only critically vital

grammar points.”

The English Language Challenges Grammar Instruction Is Vital

Which Grammar to Teach? • Orient curricula to only vital grammar

points?

• Create grammar books oriented at students with different language backgrounds?

(Ex: “articles” for Spanish speakers and Russian speakers)?

• Standardize ESL grammar terminology?

The English Language ChallengesWhat Our Students Write:

What Our Students Write

“I love the movie Gone with the Win. If you win, you not lose.”

“Americans very busy and never have intercourse.”

“Some men are love eating as same as anything.”

“I want to go New York to see the woman of freedom with a torture.”

The Use of Technology

The Use of TechnologyFOR AGAINST

1. technology is “stuff”

2. technology is motivating and educationally effective

3. technology-based teaching is superior to traditional teaching

4. learning through technology is fun

1. technology is 5% “stuff”

and 95% “what to do with stuff?”

2. technology is expensive, fragile and stupid

3. the principles of effective teaching are timeless regardless of the medium

4. learning is hard work

Keith Hopper, 1999

Internet Learning Is Fun???

Astrophysicist Clifford Stoll,

"Most learning isn't fun. Learning takes: Work , Discipline and Responsibility

I’d rather see a student learn how

Shakespeare processed words than how

Microsoft does."

(The Great Technology Mania, 1999.)

The Use of Technology

• Since teachers often lack the technology use knowledge needed, students may get stuck doing meaningless exercises. Apparently, these machines can become a waste of time, if not in the hands of the right user.

(Jessy Norman, Negative Effects of

Computers in Classrooms, 2000)

3D Virtual Avatar Classroom?

Ancient Greek Philosophy

“If we disregard due proportion by giving anything what is too much for it; too much canvas to a boat, too much nutriment to a body, too much authority to a soul, the consequence is always shipwreck.”

Today’s Triumphs at Workplaces• Master’s in TESL is required

• Full-time jobs

• Benefits

• Higher salaries

• Non-native English speakers

- instructors

• Technology improvement

Our Biggest Triumph Is Our Students

• Survive

• Overcome

• Excel

• Achieve

Two Pieces of AdviceBill Bowerman, Legendary University of Oregon Track

Coach and a co-founder of Nike rightfully stated,

“A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils.”

I’d like to add:

“A teacher is never too smart to learn from his/her peers.”

CelebrationHappy 20th Birthday ESL Spokane

Regional!!!

References• Hughes, Anthony Online English Grammar

http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/grammar_topics.

• Bowerman, William J High-performance training for track and field. Champaign, Ill.: Leisure Press (1991).

• Cahill, Thomas & Nan A. Talese Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter, An Imprint of Doubleday, NY, 2003.

• False, Keith Great Writing: Less Grading, Smarter Grammar, More Vocabulary, WAESOL 2009, Des Moines, WA

• Hamilton, Edith The Greek Way, W. W. Norton & Co., NY, 1993.

• Hopper, Keith Mastering the Invisible Technologies in Education: Who are the Real Technology Prodigies Among College Teachers? Educational Technology Magazine, January-February 1999, p. 50

• Norman, Jessy Negative Effects of Computers in Classrooms

http://courses.wcupa.edu/fletcher/.htm

• http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/terms.htm

• http://www.englishlab.net/teflblog/category/statistics/esl-statistics/http://esl.about.com/od/englishlearningresources/f/f_eslmarket.htm

• http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-english-next.pdf

• http://www.ivstatic.com/files/et/imagecache/636/files/blog_articles/avatar-for-women-LIST_0.jpg

Thank You