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Module 2

Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms. Module 2 . Module 2 overview. 2. In this module, we: i ntroduce the theories of language, learning and teaching that underpin the course d evelop our understanding of the relationship between

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Module 2

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  1. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  2. Module 2 overview 2 In this module, we: • introduce the theories of language, learning and • teaching that underpin the course • develop our understanding of the relationship between • text and context and the implications for our • classrooms • examine a teaching and learning cycle that allows for • language to be a focus in an integrated and scaffolded • approach. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  3. Context Text Text in context 3 Whenever we interact with someone, whether through spoken or written language, we have certain expectations about what we will hear or read. This is because the context in which language is used helps us to predict the text that will result. Similarly, we can make predictions about the context from the text. The aim of this session is to explore the relationship between a text and its context. We can represent this in the following way. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  4. Introducing the functional model of language 4 Context can be seen at two levels: the broader context of culture and the more specific context of situation. Context of culture We have seen that there is a relationship between any text and its context. We will now move into a more nuanced understanding of both context and text through the functional model of language. Context Context of situation Text Language A text can be seen as one set of choices from the language system. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  5. Using the functional model of language 5 Sample text for Scenario 1 D: Good morning, Mr Jones. P: Morning, Doctor. D: How can I help? P: Well, I just got back from a school camp and I’ve been feeling pretty terrible since. D: Tell me more about that. P: I’ve been feverish and I’ve been vomiting and I’m a bit worried because several students who went to the camp have been diagnosed with hepatitis. D: Oh, I see. And have you had any other symptoms? P: Well, I’ve had diarrhoea. D: Okay, it could be hepatitis, so we’d better do some tests to be sure. Hop up on the bed and we’ll have a closer look at you. What is the cultural activity here? What name do we give it? When we name these patterned cultural activities, we are considering genre. Genre Doctor–patient consultation Genre Context of culture Let’s consider a text and ask a series of questions dealing with context and language. Context of situation Language Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  6. Using the functional model of language 6 Scenario 1 D: Good morning, Mr Jones. P: Morning, Doctor. D: How can I help? P: Well, I just got back from a school camp and I’ve been feeling pretty terrible since. D: Tell me more about that. P: I’ve been feverish and I’ve been vomiting and I’m a bit worried because several students who went to the camp have been diagnosed with hepatitis. D: Oh, I see. And have you had any other symptoms? P: Well, I’ve had diarrhoea. D: Okay, it could be hepatitis, so we’d better do some tests to be sure. Hop up on the bed and we’ll have a closer look at you. If we ask—What is this specific doctor–patient consultation about?—we are identifying its field. Genre Doctor–patient consultation Genre Context of culture Field A doctor and her patient establishing the problem, the symptoms and possible action. Context of situation Field Language Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  7. Using the functional model of language 7 Scenario 1 D: Good morning, Mr Jones. P: Morning, Doctor. D: How can I help? P: Well, I just got back from a school camp and I’ve been feeling pretty terrible since. D: Tell me more about that. P: I’ve been feverish and I’ve been vomiting and I’m a bit worried because several students who went to the camp have been diagnosed with hepatitis. D: Oh, I see. And have you had any other symptoms? P: Well, I’ve had diarrhoea. D: Okay, it could be hepatitis, so we’d better do some tests to be sure. Hop up on the bed and we’ll have a closer look at you. If we ask—What roles are being taken up by the people involved and the nature of their relationship? —we are identifying its tenor. Genre Doctor–patient consultation Genre Context of culture Field A doctor and her patient establishing the problem, the symptoms and possible action. Context of situation Field Tenor One is taking on the role of doctor, asking questions and giving commands, and the other a patient, responding. The relationship is professional with some social distance reflecting status and infrequent contact. Tenor Language Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  8. Using the functional model of language 8 Scenario 1 D: Good morning, Mr Jones. P: Morning, Doctor. D: How can I help? P: Well, I just got back from a school camp and I’ve been feeling pretty terrible since. D: Tell me more about that. P: I’ve been feverish and I’ve been vomiting and I’m a bit worried because several students who went to the camp have been diagnosed with hepatitis. D: Oh, I see. And have you had any other symptoms? P: Well, I’ve had diarrhoea. D: Okay, it could be hepatitis, so we’d better do some tests to be sure. Hop up on the bed and we’ll have a closer look at you. If we ask—How is the message being conveyed and how spoken or written is it?— we are identifying its mode. Genre Doctor–patient consultation Genre Context of culture Field A doctor and her patient establishing the problem, the symptoms and possible action. Context of situation Field Tenor One is taking on the role of doctor, asking questions and giving commands, and the other a patient, responding. The relationship is professional with some social distance reflecting status and infrequent contact. Mode Tenor Language Mode It is face-to-face, and is very spoken with some accompanying action. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  9. Using the functional model of language 9 Scenario 1 D: Good morning, Mr Jones. P: Morning, Doctor. D: How can I help? P: Well, I just got back from a school camp and I’ve been feeling pretty terrible since. D: Tell me more about that. P: I’ve been feverish and I’ve been vomiting and I’m a bit worried because several students who went to the camp have been diagnosed with hepatitis. D: Oh, I see. And have you had any other symptoms? P: Well, I’ve had diarrhoea. D: Okay, it could be hepatitis, so we’d better do some tests to be sure. Hop up on the bed and we’ll have a closer look at you. Any set of these three variables— field, tenor, and mode—is called the register. Genre Doctor–patient consultation Genre Context of culture Field A doctor and her patient establishing the problem, the symptoms and possible action. Register Context of situation Field Tenor One is taking on the role of doctor, asking questions and giving commands, and the other a patient, responding. The relationship is professional with some social distance reflecting status and infrequent contact. Mode Tenor Language Mode It is face-to-face, and is very spoken with some accompanying action. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  10. 10 Sample text for Scenario 3 <school address> <school phone number> <school email address> Dear Parents and Caregivers I write to inform you that a number of students and one of the teachers, Ms Kahma, who attended the recent Grade 3 camp, have contracted hepatitis. Attached to this letter is a fact sheet from the Health Department regarding hepatitis. As it is a highly contagious virus, you are strongly advised to consult your family doctor if you or anyone in your family has been in contact with anybody who attended the camp. Ms Kahma will be absent from school for at least two months and Mr Bruno will be replacing her as class teacher of Class 3P. If you have any questions regarding any of the above, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the above number or email address. With kind regards <school principal> What is the genre? How does it unfold? School–home communication following an incident: begins with address then salutations, then the incident, details about the health effects, implications for the school, and offer to clarify … What is the field of the text? What language choices show this? The people involved in the incident (‘a number of [Grade 3] students’, ‘one of the teachers, Ms Kahma’) and those reacting to it (‘principal’, ‘parents’, ‘Health Department’, ‘family doctor’, ‘Ms Kahma’, ‘Mr Bruno’), the incident (‘attended the recent Grade 3 camp’, ‘have contracted hepatitis’), actions taken (‘I write … this letter’, ‘a fact sheet’, ‘absent from school for at least two months …’), an offer to be contacted (‘don’t hesitate …’). What is the tenor of the text? What language choices show this? One has the role of principal, of being in charge, informing and advising; the others of recipients who could take action (‘I write to inform you’, ‘consult your doctor’). The relationship is professional (‘with kind regards’) with significant social distance reflecting authority and the grave situation (‘strongly advised’). What is the mode of the text? What language choices show this? It is written on a letterhead as a stand-alone text (‘I write’, ‘this letter’, ‘any of the above’, ‘contact me …’). Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  11. Understanding the register continuum 11 Field everyday concrete technical abstract We can see in the field continuum that we move from everyday and concrete fields to highly technical and abstract fields. We have seen that the register is made up of three variables: the field, tenor and mode. In educational contexts, it is very helpful for us to see each of these variables along a continuum. Tenor In the tenor continuum, we move from contexts which are marked by informality to contexts which are marked by formality. informal personal novice formal impersonal informed Mode In terms of mode, at one end we have texts that are highly spoken and accompanying action and, at the other end, we have texts that are highly written, where language constitutes the text. most spoken ‘here-and-now’ language accompanying action most written generalised language constitutes the text Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  12. Plotting texts on the register continuum 12 doctor–patient consultation email to friend principal’s letter insurance claim covering letter Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  13. Plotting texts on the register continuum 13 everyday concrete technical abstract informal personal novice formal impersonal informed most spoken ‘here-and-now’ language accompanying action most written generalised language constitutes the text doctor–patient consultation email to friend principal’s letter insurance claim covering letter Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  14. Plotting texts on the register continuum 14 everyday concrete technical abstract formal impersonal informed informal personal novice most spoken ‘here-and-now’ language accompanying action most written generalised language constitutes the text We will now use the register continuum to plan what we teach and the order we teach it. Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  15. 15 Register continuum technical/abstract everyday informal/novice formal/informed Field spoken written Tenor Mode Setting the context Activities planned in a unit of work The teaching and learning cycle allows us to provide a scaffolding framework for students as they work through these activities to develop control of any given genre and its register. We can represent this diagrammatically in the following way. Developing control Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  16. 16 Register continuum technical/abstract everyday informal/novice formal/informed Field spoken written Tenor Mode If these activities are to scaffold the students, then we need to ensure that the shift in register from one activity to the next is not too great. This shift will involve moving backwards and forwards, or ‘shunting’, across the register continuum. As we move through the teaching and learning cycle, we engage in a range of activities, each with its own set of registers. Setting the context class talk talking about ‘arguments’ preparing to report to the class Activities planned in a unit of work reporting to the class researching their arguments talking about texts modelling and text deconstruction joint construction writing a discussion Developing control Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  17. 17 Register continuum technical/abstract everyday informal/novice formal/informed Field spoken written Tenor Mode Setting the context Effective classrooms have been shown to have two broad levels of scaffolding: macro-scaffolding and micro-scaffolding. class talk talking about ‘arguments’ preparing to report to the class Activities planned in a unit of work reporting to the class At the macro-level, we scaffold students through our choice of activities in a unit of work and through the careful sequencing of these activities. researching their arguments macro-scaffold micro-scaffold talking about texts modelling and text deconstruction • Macro-scaffolding requires that teachers: • have clearly established goals • identify the knowledge, skills and language demands of • these goals • know their students’ current level of understanding and what • they may be able to contribute to the learning situation • plan and carefully sequence tasks designed to develop the • knowledge, skills and language required to achieve the goal. joint construction writing a discussion Developing control Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

  18. At the micro-level, we scaffold students through our interactions with them at each step along the sequence. 18 Register continuum technical/abstract everyday informal/novice formal/informed Field spoken written Tenor Mode The potential of these interactions to move students to new levels is optimised when they occur within a broader macro-scaffold, where the teacher has a clear goal in mind and an understanding of the language demands of that goal. This enables the teacher to recognise and seize opportunities within their interactions with students. Setting the context Activities planned in a unit of work While both levels of scaffolding are important and cannot be omitted, the main role of the macro-scaffold is to create opportunities for micro-level interactions. In this way we are scaffolding language and scaffolding learning. micro-scaffold macro-scaffold Developing control Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms Module 2

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