MInneTESOL/WITESOL Journal, Volume 25 (2008)
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MinneWITESOL is a professional association of teachers of English as a Second Language in Minnesota and neighboring states dedicated to the education and support of students acquiring English at all levels of public and private education.
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Item MinneWITESOL Journal Volumes 1 – 24 Table of Contents(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008)Item A Review of: Teaching Content to English Language Learners: Strategies for Secondary School Success by Jodi Reiss(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Huebsch, KathrynItem A Review of: The Basic Oxford Picture Dictionary(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Clements, CatherineItem A Review of: Sam and Pat 1: Beginning Reading and Writing by Jo Anne Hartel, Betsy Lowry & Whit Hendon(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Schachter, ParthyItem A Review of: Step Forward Introductory Level: Language for Everyday Life by J. K. Santamaria(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Petree, RhondaItem A Comparative Review of Recent Literacy-Level Textbooks(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Lazaraton, Anne; Baker, AndrewItem Classroom Strategies and Tools for Differentiating Instruction in the ESL Classroom(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Dahlman, Anne; Hoffman, Patricia; Brauhn, SusanDifferentiated Instruction is a relatively widely used instructional approach across instructional contexts. It has proven to be successful in the general education context where studies have found that students exposed to Differentiated Instruction strategies consistently outperform other students (Tomlinson, 2001). Yet, there is a huge gap in professional literature that addresses the use of Differentiated Instruction in the ESL context. It is the aim of this paper to provide the reader with practical Differentiated Instruction strategies and tools for the use in the ESL classroom as well as the mainstream classroom with ELLs. We suggest three steps in implementing Differentiated Instruction, a) beginning with ensuring high quality curriculum that clearly articulates meaningful learning outcomes, both language and content, without which differentiation is not possible, b) moving onto carefully understanding student needs, their readiness, interests and learning profiles, based on systematic pre- and formative assessment, and finally c) implementing effective Differentiated Instruction strategies in the classroom to maximize the learning of all students. We provide multiple examples and useful tools to clarify each of the three steps.Item Conversations about Inclusion: Connecting Mainstream and ESL(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Simons, Lisa M. BoltIn the past few years, inclusion or collaboration has become the English as a second Language (ESL) model used by several schools and districts, including the St. Paul Public Schools, which has increasingly closed the achievement gap for its ESL population. Though there are drawbacks and potential problems with this model, the author and her colleagues have found its application successful in their elementary school. Examples of how inclusion works in various elementary classroom settings end the report. The following is based on a presentation given by the author and her co-worker, Becky (Bonertz) Gibson, at the 2006 MinneTESOL Conference, as well as at a 2007 meeting for the University of Minnesota’s TEAM UP (Teaching English Language Learners Action Model to Unite Professionals) development program.Item Learning Strategies and Low-Literacy Hmong Adult Students(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Reimer, JuliaThis article describes a short-term classroom-based study on learning strategy use and strategies instruction to low-literate adult Hmong students with no prior formal education. Data on strategy use was collected through classroom observations and interviews with 11 Hmong students. Results showed that participants were using a number of strategies successfully, and could benefit from more focus on metacognitive, compensation, and social strategies. Seven strategies instruction sessions were provided to the class.Item “Maestra! The letters speak.” Learning to Read for the First Time: Best Practices in Emergent Reading Instruction(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Vinogradov, PatsyYoung adult and adult students with little or no literacy in their first languages are tackling a double challenge: acquiring English while learning to read for the first time later in life. There is a considerable lack of research in this area of ESL, but the available research and professional wisdom can guide our practice. Five general principles help us create vibrant, successful classrooms for our low-literacy students: keep lessons contextualized, combine bottom-up and top-down approaches, cater to a variety of learning preferences, tap into students’ strengths, and nurture their confidence. This report outlines these principles and connects them specifically to serving adult emergent readers.Item The Early Days of the Journal(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Landa, MarkItem From the Editors(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2008) Anderson, Mike; Swierzbin, Bonnie