Idiom

New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

http://www.nystesol.org

Collaborative Conversations

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hat effective collaboration benefits students (and teachers alike) is affirmed by the well-deserved attention it has received most recently in the professional literature (see, for example, DelliCarpini, 2008, 2009; Honigfeld & Dove, 2010; NACTAF, 2009; NEA, 2009; Pawan & Ortloff, 2011) and in the TESOL educational community (e.g., themes of 2011 New York State and Kentucky TESOL conferences). Acknowledging the importance of collaborative exchanges among teachers is not a completely novel idea, though. Close to three decades ago, Judith Warren Little (1982) examined the differences between more and less effective schools and found that the more effective ones had a greater degree of collegiality. She noted four unique characteristics of collegiality (or collaboration) in successful schools, where teachers participate in the following activities: • Teachers engage in frequent, continuous, and increasingly concrete and precise talk about teaching practice.

• Teachers are frequently observed and provided with useful critiques of their teaching.

• Teachers plan, design, evaluate, and prepare teaching materials together.

• Teachers teach each other the practice of teaching (pp. 331–332). Consider what Warren Little’s (1982) frequently quoted four key ideas could mean for ELLs in today’s schools. What if we translated her seminal fi ndings into a contemporary framework of four Cs, in which “collaborative” serves as a defi ning adjective, followed by a key activity or desired teacher behavior necessary for improved student learning?

• Collaborative Conversations: Through enhanced communication, all teachers have the opportunity to develop ownership and shared responsibility for ELLs’ learning.

• Collaborative Coaching: Through an encouraging school climate and supportive framework, teachers offer and receive feedback on their teaching practices.

• Collaborative Curriculum Development: Through curriculum mapping and alignment and collaborative materials development, teachers match both their longterm and dayto-day instructional goals and activities.all the outside cash: Walker had a nearly eightto-one advantage.

Fall 2011

This Issues Theme:

Conversations

Contents Collaborative Conversation Conversations in Support Acting Resources for the Common Core Talking is learning Small Talk Conversation Table

1 3 4 6 10 14 24

Regular Features/ Special Announcements Promising Practices

Book Review SIGs and Regions Members Only Website Editorial Notes Upcoming Idiom Themes Calendar and Announcements NEW Membership Form

8 12 17 18 22 22 22 23

NYS TESOL Executive Board Meetings and General Information Members are welcome to attend Board meetings. For information, contact: NYS TESOL Box 185 Teachers College, Columbia University 525 W. 120th Street New York, NY 10027 Tel./Fax: (212) 678-3074 E-mail: nystesol@nystesol.org Web site: http://www.nystesol.org

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Vol. 41, No. 3

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New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Offi cers and Executive Board 2010-2011 President, Nanette Dougherty NYC Public Schools First Vice President, Rebekah Johnson LAGCC, CUNY

From the

President’s Desk

Second Vice President, Christy Baralis South Huntington School District Second Vice President Elect, Olivia Limbu Pace University

Dear Colleagues,

Past President/TESOL Liaison, Constance Dziombak Mount Vernon City Schools

I hope you have been enjoying a happy, healthy and restorative summer. I would like to update you on some changes and challenges facing educators. On July 13, I attended the Bilingual/ESL COP (Committee of Practitioners)meeting at Teachers College, Columbia University. The most major changes include the New Evaluation Law for K-12 teachers and principals:

SIG Coordinator, Laura Van Tassell South Huntington School District SIG Assistant Coordinator, Jennifer Scully Consultant Regions Coordinator, Tina Villalobos Hicksville Public Schools Assistant Regions Coordinator, Lynn Ellingwood Brighton Central School District Membership & Marketing Chair, Patricia Juza Baruch College, CUNY Assistant Membership Chair, Drew Fagan Teachers College, Columbia University Curriculum and Standards Chair, Maria Dove Molloy College Assistant Curriculum and Standards Chair Position Open Professional Concerns Chair Porfi rio Rodriguez, East Ramapo CSD Professional Concerns Assistant Chair Position Open Publications/Technology Chair, Fran Olmos Yonkers Public Schools Idiom Editor, Cara Tuzzolino Werben Nassau Community College Dialogue Editor, Sue Peterson St. John’s University Webmaster, David Hirsch New York City Business Manager/Treasurer L. Jeanie Faulkner, Cornell University Certifi ed Public Accountant Jim Stotz

NYS TESOL Executive Board Meetings and General Information

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Members are welcome to attend Board meetings. For information, contact: NYS TESOL Box 185 Teachers College, Columbia University 525 W. 120th Street New York, NY 10027 Tel./Fax: (212) 678-3074 E-mail: nystesol@nystesol.org Web site: http://www.nystesol.org

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1. Annual evaluations for all teachers and principals 2. Clear, rigorous expectations for instructional excellence, prioritizing student learning 3. Multiple measures of performance 4. Multiple ratings: Four performance levels to describe differences in teacher effectiveness 5. The new system should encourage regular, constructive feedback and ongoing development 6. Significance: results are a major factor in employment decisions.

You can view all documents discussed at the COP Meeting at the following link: http:// www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/BilingualESLCOP.html. For more information about the Common Core Standards, please consult the website at: http://www.corestandards. org/ and see the article in this issue.

Though it was not considered at this meeting, the 14 Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Centers (BETACs) across New York State closed permanently on June 30, 2011. This puts both our schools and our LEP/ELL populations at risk of not having the appropriate resources to meet their educational and programmatic needs over the next fi ve years.

Our new Commissioner of Education, Dr. John B. King, Jr., may not be familiar with the importance of the resources offered by the BETACs. You may e-mail him directly at: jking@mail.nysed.gov. In addition, you may email the NYS Board of Regents on this issue at: RegentsOffi ce@mail.nysed.gov.

At the Melville Marriott October 28-29th, I will be passing the gavel to our incoming President, Rebekah Johnson. I would like to thank the many wonderful members of my Executive Board and the many SIG and Region Leaders for their service to the organization. Special thanks to Cornelia Randolph, a constant support and inspiration, and Fran Olmos, for her guidance.

You will be receiving ballots for the Executive Board slate in the mail shortly. Thanks to our Nominating Committee, led by Cornelia Randolph and Terri Brady-Mendez, for their time and efforts. Members, please do not forget to vote for your new leadership in our organization by returning your ballots. As always, please continue to keep in touch with issues, concerns, and ideas on how our organization can best serve you. Best wishes for a great school year to all.

Peace and blessings to you, Nanette Dougherty, President, NYS TESOL P.S. We’re so very excited to be launching our new Members Only website - please read more about it in this issue and log in soon to check it out. Please contact us with ideas!

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Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Short Stories Conversations in Support of High School ELLs

by Victoria Pilotti

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dolescent ELLs are second language learners who are still developing their proficiency in academic English. Moreover, they are learning English at the same time they are studying core content areas through English. Thus, English language learners must perform double the work of native English speakers in the country’s middle and high schools. At the same time, they are being held to the same accountability standards as their native English-speaking peers (Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007, p. 1).

Conversations with ELLs and colleagues are viable ways for ESL teachers to help their students navigate academic challenges. My short time at Jamaica High School has been fi lled with conversations that have driven my instruction to best support the ELLs in my charge.

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Curriculum Experiments Based on Conversations with ELLs At Jamaica High School, an ESL support class is offered zero period, 7:22 to 8:06 a.m., to provide intermediate ELLs with additional targeted interventions. September 2011 will be the third year I am teaching zero period, and each year is an ongoing curriculum development action research experiment. I conduct the course as a combined resource room and advisory class model. Based on daily conversations with my students about their challenges, I provide homework help; teach problematic topics in mathematics, science, and social studies; and assess and teach diverse skills necessary for academic success. The first year of the experiment, my curriculum included mathematics symbols and word problems; the living environment topics of scientifi c method, evolution,and organ systems; social studies topics of feudalism, estates, and analysis of political cartoons; English language arts topics of idioms, formal versus informal language, and

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dictionary/glossary skills; and academic readiness in test-taking strategies, study skills, time management, notebook organization, public speaking skills, and computer skills. I also taught graph skills across the disciplines. This class was one of a select few Jamaica High School English and ESL classes that benefi ted from TeenBiz3000 (Empower3000), a Web-based individualized reading program by Achieve3000.

Conversations with ELLs form part of the data collection that drives my curriculum changes. Several fi rst-year students (participants in Experiment I reported the lessons and activities helped them pass content-area finals and New York State Regents examinations. When asked how the support class could be improved for the following year, ELLs suggested that I allot more time to science, continue teaching math and social studies, and retain computer instruction on TeenBiz3000. One student, who was particularly resistant to my teaching anything but ESL all year, later admitted he benefitted from content-area instruction by his ESL teacher. All students expressed a deep appreciation for the bilingual content area glossaries I provided.

In the second year (Experiment II), I spent less time on dictionary/glossary skills; did not teach idioms; and, upon careful review of recent livingenvironment Regents exams, added an ecosystem unit, a lesson on pH, and group activities on bar and line graphs. I replaced the formal versus informal English lesson with daily academic English and everyday English explanations and defi nitions. Students assessed their multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983; Gardner, 1993, 2996; McKenzie, 1999), and learning styles (Dunn & Dunn, 1993; Dunn & Griggs, 2003, 2004, 2007; Missere & Dunn, 2005). I added native-language translations of key content vocabulary to my student notebook grading rubric. Groups researched continents and explorers and presented their PowerPoint slide shows to ELLs in other classes. TeenBiz3000 was replaced by Study Island, Web-based instruction built on New York State standards, that provided all Jamaica High School students practice for English, mathematics, science, and social studies Regents exams; and for national Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Based on requests from Experiment I participants for Internet resources for speaking practice, I created lists of Web sites and links with podcasts and speaking exercises.

As I gear up for Experiment III in the 2011-2012 school year, I plan to devote more time to dictionary skills, such as alphabetizing, and contentarea textbook structure, with special attention to textbook glossaries and indices; the participants in Experiment II were lacking in dictionary/textbook research skills and did not make optimum use of these resources. I provided a list of Web sites and links for Regents practice and bilingual glossaries, and will again provide copies of bilingual glossaries in Experiment III. I have decided to step up test-taking strategies and content writing practice in the zero period support class beginning in September.

Conversations with Families Individual writing conferences often involve reinforcing

and Dunn Learning Style Model high school assessment Learning in Vogue: Elements of Style (LIVES) (Missere & Dunn, 2005) and suggested indi- vidual study and homework strategies. My students had critical conversa- tions with their families about their personal preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement. Some students discussed their need for a quiet, cool, and brightly lit place to study and complete homework assignments. One student, who was not a morning per- son, discussed her need for an alarm clock to wake her so she could arrive to class on time. Sadly, her family did not want to be disturbed by the sound of an alarm clock so early in the morn- ing and the student’s guidance coun- selor suggested dropping her from this support class.

Conversations with Colleagues My fellow ESL teachers, bilingual guidance counselor, and department supervisor met regularly to discuss parent outreach, truant students, mis- placed students, overcrowded classes, credit accumulation, and NYSESLAT scheduling, among the numerous challenges facing our ELLs. These conversations led to solutions and consensus on major decisions and new initiatives. Colleagues who shared students would (a) discuss division of language skill focus—one would emphasize the writing process, vo- cabulary, and grammar, while the other would provide readings of a broad range of literary genres, teach literary terms and vocabulary, and emphasize listening and speaking, (b) collaborate and share data for each student before making arrangements to call parents on each other’s behalf—each teacher relayed messages of both teachers, and (c) preview and review each other’s lessons so we could reinforce what was learned in each other’s classes.

Much to our dismay, we discovered that students often did not transfer learning between ESL classes and teachers—somehow, the learning re- mained in the classroom environment and was forgotten in a new setting.

Conversations with mainstream English colleagues centered on imple- mentation of TESOL strategies to meet the needs of transitional and post- ELLs. Conversations with mathemat- ics, science, and social studies assis- tant principals and teachers helped me focus on topics that they found were the most problematic for ELLs. As the ESL teacher component in a collaborative team teaching mathemat- ics class, daily co-teaching experienc- es and collaborative conferences led to differentiated tutoring and small-group instruction. I reinforced basic math skills to the students who did not know simple addition, subtraction, multipli- cation, and division, while my math colleague reinforced higher-level math skills and concepts.

Conclusion These conversations take time and energy. High school teachers of ELLs may find they, too, are performing double the work to support adoles- cent ELLs in meeting the challenges of second language acquisition in an academic environment. This increased responsibility, however, may prove worthwhile when the resulting conver- sations lead to targeted instruction and interventions as teachers collaborate in assessing ELLs and planning instruc- tion for their students.

References Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1993). Teach- ing secondary students through their individual learning styles: Practical approaches for grades 7-12. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Dunn, R., & Griggs, S. A. (Eds.). (2003, 2004, 2007). Synthesis of the Dunn and Dunn learning-style model research: Who, what, when, where, and so what? Jamaica, NY: St. John’s University’s Center for the Study of Learning and Teach- ing Styles.

Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001).

Guiding readers and writers grades 3-6: Teaching comprehen- sion, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligenc- es. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1993, 2006). Multiple intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Basic Books.

McKenzie, W. (1999). Multiple Intel- ligences Inventory. Retrieved from http://surfaquarium. com/MI/in- ventory.htm Missere, N., & Dunn, R. (2005).

Learning in vogue: Elements of style (LIVES).

Retrieved from www.learningstyles.net Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007).

Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adoles- cent English language learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Washington, DC: Alli- ance for Excellent Education.

Victoria Pilotti, Ed.D., is an ESL teacher at Jamaica High School. A former Region 3 secondary schools mentor, NYC Department of Educa- tion, she has taught TESOL method- ology graduate courses at St. John’s University and Hunter College. <vpilotti.TESOL@gmail.com>

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

the student’s strengths and discussing specifi c areas in need of improvement (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001). I had conversations with each student about his/her multiple intelligences and learning style profi les generated from the Dunn.

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All the World’s a Stage: Ways in Which Teaching Is Like Acting

by Elizabeth Fonseca Acting is a sport. On stage you must be ready to move like a tennis player on his toes. Your concentration must be keen, your refl exes sharp; your body and mind are in top gear; the chase is on. Acting is energy. In the theatre people pay to see energy.

-Clive Swift Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.

-Gail Godwin If “acting is energy,” teaching is many things: a combination of knowledge, experience, awareness, expertise, and care. It is also the energy we, as language instructors, bring into the classroom that absolutely affects the order of the day. As a theater lover and past occasional performer, I have often thought about the parallels between teaching and acting. Here are a few that come to mind.

You’re on stage. All eyes are on you. You’re the initial focal point of attention. Your presence shifts the energy in the room.

Sometimes, you literally have a podium, with desks arrayed in rows before you like patrons at a theater. There is noise, chatter, laughter, shuffl ing in the room until the lights dim. Curtain up! Enter stage left, the professor. Cell phones get put away, or at least discreetly placed to the side. Chitchat dies down. The room is hushed a moment, the pause of anticipation before the first words of dialogue are spoken.

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

All eyes are on you. An actor uses her body to convey information about her character before she even speaks. So do you. How are you dressed? Does what you wear convey some message about your position in this play, your role, your persona as teacher, leader, or facilitator of the energy in the room? How do you walk in? Are your eyes downcast, refl ecting your students’ spent energy at the end of a long week, or do they sparkle? Do you walk in the room with pizzazz, transmitting vital energy to them, to create the cycle of give-and-take necessary for effective language learning?

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Do you use gestures, winks, and nods to convey information, emotion, even comedy? These are things worth thinking about, because one of the most important ways you are like an actor is in this all-important function. Your energy and presence set the tone.

Just as audiences must have faith in actors and suspend their disbelief to fully enter into the world the actors are creating, your students must agree to the unspoken contract of trust that bonds them to you in a vulnerable learning situation. Your ability to create that atmosphere of trust is important; your dynamism helps your class generate energy that in turn feeds you and helps the learning environment be dynamic. This is important for learning as well as for the teacher’s ability to sustain energy and passion both within a class and over her entire run.

Actors use their voices as tools, relying on not just word choice but inflection, intonation, varying volume, and the judicious use of pauses to capture the audience’s attention, rivet them, spellbind them, draw them forward in their seats wondering “What’s next?” You too can use your voice itself as a tool that weaves the bewitching spell of energy, dynamism, and trust that makes for a lively and effective learning environment.

The show must go on. There are days when you can’t imagine generating that energy at all. On those days, you have to “act as if ”: put on your teaching persona as an actor dons a mask or stage makeup, preparing herself to go before the lights. If you don’t show up, or show up without energy, you might fl op.

This leads us to the all-important teaching persona. As an actor slips into a role through preparation, curiosity, and the desire to share emotion and information with an audience, you can slip into your teaching persona, comprised of your sincere and genuine self with a soupçon of public-role poise, strategic sass, and teacher’s tools you’ve learned throughout your teaching days that help you on the way.

Is your persona the classic scholar? Do you have a little playful clown thrown in?

Are you the compassionate guide, leading students to the knowledge they already

possess? Can you switch hats to that of the taskmaster, pushing for and demanding the very best? It can be useful to think of the teacher role as composed of these different personae that serve useful functions in the various processes of learning, including enabling you to reach students of different backgrounds, needs, and learning styles. Even if you are not like that, your alter ego, “Professor Picky”, can be. Although you are more lenient, “Scholar Strict” can be called upon as necessary to whip an underachieving class into shape. Being a teacher is a public role that requires daily public speaking; why not train for it and find useful tools and approaches that may aid in maintaining your interest, creating a positive learning environment, and aiding inefficient classroom management? If you think some training might help you focus your body as instrument and help you channel energy more efficiently and effectively in the classroom, here are some suggestions to get you started: • Take an acting class. Learn how to use body language, breath, and voice to create energy and atmosphere.

• Take a public speaking class. Learn relaxation techniques, visualization techniques, and tips for effectively conveying a message.

• Join a group such as Toastmasters International, where you’ll learn tips for public speaking.

• Listen to and read poetry aloud. Learn about cadence, rhythm, and volume to use your voice more effectively—and to save it from too many of those hoarse, raggedy, “I’ve-spoken-too-much” days!

• Similarly, take a vocal or voice training class. Learn specific breathing exercises to strengthen your voice and to become expertin effectively and effi ciently using and saving your voice. Here is a website to get you thinking about your own parallels between acting and teaching: http://www/ jbactors.com/actingphilosophy/ actingquotations.html.

References Godwin, G. (1974). The Odd Woman. New York: Ballantine Books. http://www/jbactors.com/actingphilosophy/actingquotations.html Elizabeth Fonseca is an avid traveler who has taught ESL/EFL in such countries as Italy, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Her work has been published in the Arabia Review and the Traveler’s Tales series, among others. Her interest in acting stems from high school and community theater days, as well as more recent poetry readings. She currently teaches at Nassau Communit College in New York. <Elizabeth.fonseca@ncc.edu>

by Diane Garafalo The Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) have been adopted by dozens of states. The NYS Board of Regents adopted the new P-12 CCLS for ELA, Literacy, and Mathematics in January 2011; it will be phased in over the next year. Beginning in school year 2012-13, NYS assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics will measure student achievement of the P-12 CCLS. Find New York State’s complete CCLS timeline at www.usny. nysed. gov/rttt/docs/ccsstimeline.pdf.

The initiative began in the spring of 2009 and was coordinated by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSO). The advisory group for the initiative comprises Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), and the State Higher Education Executive Offi cers (SHEO).

The Common Core State Standards Initiative released a draft of the math and language arts content standards for public comment in September 2009, and the individual K-12 grade-level content standards in these subjects were released for public comment in March 2010. Both sets of content standards were finalized in 2010.

Criteria for Development This process differed from past standards initiatives because it was state led and had the support of educators across the country as well as prominent education, business and state leaders’ organizations. The standards were developed by the following criteria:

• Inclusive of both content and the application of knowledge through high-order skills; • Built upon strengths and lessons of current state standards and standards of top-performing nations; • Realistic, for effective use in the classroom; • Informed by other top-performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; • Evidence and research based (Quay, 2010); • Application of the Standards for English Language Learners.

Common standards can potentially provide a greater opportunity for states to share experiences and best practices within and across states that could lead to an improved ability to serve ELLs. The K-12 English-language arts and mathematics standards do include information on the Application of the Standards for English Language Learners, located at http://www.corestandards.org/assets/application-forenglish-learners.pdf.

NYS TESOL Remembers Jeanette D. Macero

by Vel Chesser

The field of ESOL has lost one of its most revered members, Jeanette D. Macero, who died May 9, 2011. Jeanette was passionate in her dedication to non-native speakers of English as exemplifi ed by her teaching, mentoring and participation in professional organizations.

Jeanette, one of the founders of NYS ESOL BEA (now NYS TESOL—see note below), was a leader in that organization nonstop until her retirementfrom Syracuse University in 1998, as associate professor of English and TESOL coordinator of languages, literatures and linguistics. She moved to Medfi eld, MA to be near her family.

Many NYS TESOL members will testify to the mentoring they receivedfrom Jeanette, who held leadership positions in the organization for her entire career. Jeanette graduated with a BA in English from Barnard College, an MA in linguistics from Columbia University, and did doctoral study in linguistics at the University of Michigan. She was president, second vice president twice, and chair of various TESOL committees: publications, paper selection,awards and nominations.

Twice, she received the NYS TESOL Distinguished Service Award.

• Aligned with expectations for college and career success;

In addition to Jeanette’s full-time teaching at Syracuse University, she published skill books for beginners of English through Laubach Literacy (now known as ProLiteracy), as well as a number of scholarly papers and addresses, edited books of readings, and acted as consultant to many groups.

• Clear, so that educators and parents know what they need to do to help stdents learn;

All those who knew Jeanette are aware of her many accomplishments in professional organizations and her skillful teaching, but those closest to her will remember most her kind and compassionate manner to all she met and worked with, her hearty laugh, and her engaging personality. Jeanette’s friends and colleagues have lost a treasure.

• Consistent across all states, so that students are not taught to a lower standard just because of where they live;

Vel Chesser, retired from Syracuse University, can be reached at <vfchesse@syr.edu> Editor’s note: With thanks to NYS TESOL historian George Morris: The very first organization was called NY TESOL (No “S” for State), then NYS ESOL BEA. The founding date is 1970 (hence our 40th anniversary in 2010).  The split into NYS TESOL and NYSABE was in the early 1980s.

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Resources for Implementing the Common Core for ELLs

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One segment of the Application of ELA Core Standards recommends that to help ELLs meet high academic standards in language arts it is essential that they have access to: • Teachers and personnel at the school and district levels who are well prepared and qualifi ed to support ELLs while taking advantage of the many strengths and skills they bring to the classroom; • Literacy-rich school environments where students are immersed in a variety of language experiences; • Instruction that develops foundational skills in English and enables ELLs to participate fully in gradelevel coursework; • Coursework that prepares ELLs for post secondary education or the workplace, yet is made comprehensible for students learning content in a second language (through specific pedagogical techniques and additional resources); • Opportunities for classroom discourse and interaction that are designed to enable ELLs to develop communicative strengths in language arts; • Ongoing assessment and feedback to guide learning; • Speakers of English who know the language well enough to provide ELLs with models and support; • Need for English Language Proficiency Standards.

The Common Core did not spell out how the standards applied to specific levels of English proficiency. It was left up to states to create English Language Proficiency Standards that align with the Core Standards or to explain how specifi c standards can best be taught to students depending on their level of English profi ciency. In her July 12 blog at Education Week, “Learning the Language,” Mary Ann Zehr recognized this need by reporting that Stanford University has received a $1 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to create English Language Proficiency Standards for the states’ Common Core Academic Standards. Dr. Kenji Hakuta, a professor of education at Stanford University, a member of the Common Core Validation Committee, and a longtime expert on ELLs; and Maria Santos, the former director of programs for ELLs for the New York City school system, are co-chairs of this national effort to write standards for ELLs to parallel the Language Arts and Mathematics Standards of the Common Core, as well as the Science Standards that are expected to be developed. This grant award fi lls the gap in the process of implementing the Common Core for ELLs (Zehr, 2011). The grant, which lasts for two years, is called “Building on Common-Core Standards to Improve Learning for English-Language Learners.”

“The effort is to think about the content areas in the common core that offer strategically fertile areas around which language instruction can take place,” Dr. Hakuta explained.

“The standards will elaborate on what ELLs should know and be able to do in the content areas at different Englishproficiency levels,” he added. (Zehr, 2011).

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Preparing ELLs for the Common Core—A Webinar On May 5, 2011, Dr. Hakuta presented a webinar at www.teachscape.com called “Research to Practice: Preparing ELLs for the Common Core.” He offered his thoughts and ideas during the webinar under the topic of planning for the Common Core, including: • Recognize that language is necessary to teach, learn, and demonstrate understanding in school subjects, and that this is true for all students, but especially for ELLs; • Engage in the idea that excellence in instruction and assessment around content revolves around the idea of rich language use;

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• Build the professional development around the idea that language instruction is the domain of all teachers, not just English Language Arts and ESL teachers; • Identify your objectives, assessments, and best practices in classrooms and ensure that you’re making progress toward those objectives; • Use the Common Core to recognize and amplify the opportunity for rich language development for ELLs and for all students (Hakuta, 2011). According to Dr. Hakuta, there are some key elements for ELLs regarding the Common Core, including: • The Common Core provides a strong incentive to examine the role of language in content instruction and in assessment; there is a role for leadership to take advantage of this opportunity; • Even though the Common Core says nothing about the English Language proficiency expectations of ELLs, there is Skills provided in the ELA Some Helpful Resources -Common Core Curriculum Maps: www.commoncore.org/free/ -Common Core Standards and English Laguage Learners:nwww.colorincolorado.org/educators/ common_core -Common Core State Standards Initiative Web site: www.corestandards.org -Common Core Standards Work for ELLs: The Importance of Linking English Language Proficiency Standards to the Common Core Standards www.colorincolorado.org/powerpoint/ELLELPStandardsPPT%20Slide.pdf -K-6 Units in ELA Aligned with Common Core Standards: www.elementarytests.com/blog/k-6ela-common-core/ -P21 Common Core Toolkit www.p21.org/images/p21_toolkit_fi nal.pdf -www.thejournal.com/articles/2011/08/02/ common-core-toolkit-aligns -standards-with-21stcentury-skills-framework. aspx Websites of the members of the advisory board to the Common Core Initiative: Achieve, Inc.: www.achieve.org ACT: www.act.org The College Board: www.collegeboard.com National Association of State Boards of Education: www.nasbe.org State Higher Education Executive Offi cers: www.sheeo.org

there is a requirement that English language proficiency be aligned to the Common Core; • There will be more commonality across states in the identifi cation of students because there will be more common proficiency tests;

Criteria for Writing Common Core Curriculum Materials Last summer, the nonprofit group Common Core issued a set of free curriculum maps. The maps are designed to give an understandable sequence of thematic curriculum units that connect the skills provided in the ELA standards with recommended student objectives, texts, and activities.

Examples of these thematic curriculumunits include: Grade 1: The Amazing Animal World; Grade 3: The People, the Preamble, and the Presidents; Grade 6: Folklore: A Blast from the Past; Grade 9: Literary Elements of a Short Story; and Grade 12: European Literature: Renaissance and Reformation. Common Core is working with schools and districts in different states to implement the maps. Arizona and North Carolina are using them statewide to help districts put the standards in place (Gewitz & Robelen, 2011).

Two writers have recently crafted documents outlining Common Core curriculum criteria. Working under a contract with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a strong supporter of the standards, David Coleman and Susan Pimentel, co-authors of the Common Core Standards for ELA/Literacy, wrote two documents highlighting the key ideas of the standards and describing the qualities of instructional materials they consider an accurate reflection of them (Gewertz, 2011).

Common Core Assessments and PARCC According to the National Governor’s Association/CCSSO, the Common Core State Standards will also ultimately be the basis for a system of high-quality assessments. New York State is a governing member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which was awarded Race to the Top Assessment funds in 2010. The PARCC Web site can be viewed at http://parcconline.org/. Over the next few years, New York and 25 other states will develop a set of English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments, which will be fi nalized in 2014-15 (NYSED, 2011). Common Core Standards Assessment Resources are located at http://education northwest.org/resource/1331.

Idiom will work to keep readers aware of all the upcoming changes.

References August, D., Cortese, A., La Fonde, S., Leos, K. (2010). Making Common Core Standards work for ELLs: The importance of linking English Language Profi ciency Standards to the Common Core Standards. October 21, 2010. AFT Educa Colorin Colorado (2011). Common Core Standards and English Language Learners. Reading Rockets. WETA Learning Media. http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/common_core/ Gewertz, C. (2011). Common CoreWriters Craft curriculum criteria,July 22, 2011. Education Weekly.http://www.edweek. org/ew/articles/2011/07/21/37curriculum.h30.html?tkn= UPSFLpcFv4ebJmsg2qZx2C7B8rKm7AL%2FiacG&cmp=c lp-sb-ascd Gewertz, C., & Robelen, E. (2011).Curriculum maps aim to bringELA Standards to life. July 25,2011. http://blogs.edweek. org/edweek/curriculum/2011/07/the_nonprofi t_group_ common _cor.html Hakuta, K. (2011). Webinar: Researchto practice: Preparing ELLs for theCommon Core, Teachscape, May5, 2011. http:// marketing.teachscape.com/K12KenjiELLMay2011WebinarAccess.html Lopez, E. (2010). ELA Standards:Shifting the focus to the CommonCore comments, standards andcurriculum, NYS TESOL, October2010. http://www.nystesol.org/curriculumstandards/standards.html Nagel, D. (2010). Feds award $330million to fund alternatives tohigh-stake bubble tests. The Journal,September 2, 2010. http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/09/02/feds-award330-million-to-fi nd-alternatives-tohigh-stakes-bubble-tests. aspx?sc_lang-en NYSED (2011). FAQs—CommonCore learning standards. http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/ faq.html NYSUT (2011). Educational Resources for English Language Learners.http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/ k12_13765.htm Quay, L. (2010). Higher standards for all: Implications of the CommonCore for equity in education. CivilRights Research Roundtable onEducation, Berkeley Law, April2010. http:// www.law.berkeley.edu/fi les/Education_Roundable_Standards_Brief_ 4_10.pdf Washington State School Board (2010). Common Core Standards—Process FAQs. http://www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/ FAQ%20Common%20Core%Standards%20Process.pdf Zehr, M. A. (2011). Conference: Implementing Common CoreStandards for ELLs, Learning theLanguage Blog, August 11, 2010.Education Weekly. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/ learning-thelanguage/2010/08/conference_implementing_common.html Zehr, M. A. (2011). Stanford to lead creation of ELL standards for“Common Core” Learning theLanguage Blog, July 12, 2011,Education Weekly. http://blogs.edweek.org/ edweek/learning-thelanguage/2011/07/stanford_to_lead_creation_of_e.html Diane Garafalo is a former ESL teacher --at Oswego City School District. Shewas also a secondary English teacher,with a total of fi fteen years of public school teaching experience.

Diane’sprevious positions include working asan adjunct professor of written communicationsfor ITT Technical Instituteand a human resources and trainingmanager for a variety of Fortune 500companies. Currently, Diane is an HRand workforce literacy consultant forDRG Associates.<dgarafalo@earthlink. net>

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

• The Common Core has the potential to move ELL performance/proficiency both across schools and across the country (Hakuta, 2011).

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Promising Practices explanations, I stay off to the side and will assist only if the situation calls for it; I have even done this activity remotely via Skype when I was home sick in bed. Having the students in charge of this activity made it quite manageable. It can also act as a springboard for all kinds of culture- related discussions.

Piece of cake! Idiom activities and the importance of proper intonation

by Andrew Edison Schneider dioms pop up everywhere in Eng- lish media, often met with confused looks by our students. Even more ad- vanced students have difficulty using them with any degree of competence, especially if the idioms are culturally different from their own (Irujo, 1986). Given their importance, more attention should be paid to teaching idioms in ESL settings (Cooper, 1998). It is up to teachers to help students not only learn idioms, but also to encourage their usage in an intelligible manner. How can we incorporate idioms into classroom settings in a relaxed, communicative, and student-centered way?

More important, how can we teach the intonation of idioms to achieve stu- dents’ maximum inteligibility? I have found the following three activities to be helpful for my students.

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Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

BYOI—Bring Your Own Idiom Each student chooses one idiom to “teach” the class. They may choose from any source, and learn it well enough to be able to explain it in front of their classmates.

This is a great warm-up; it’s studentcentered and exciting, since they have chosen these idioms themselves based on their own interests. Don’t be surprised if a number of idioms come from Gossip Girl or Glee, American television pro- grams centering around high-school students, so idioms relating to dating and shopping tend to surface quite often (i.e., It’s on me; She’s into him; Those shoes are totally you). During the students’

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Where Is the CHAnge?

A major obstacle facing our stu- dents is intelligibility, especially when using idioms.

While pronun- ciation may be a factor, an equally important factor is proper intonation.

As the pitch in our voices rises and falls, these changes in intonation are processed by the listener (Crutten- den, 1986). If you have ever studied Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese, you may be familiar with the inextricable link between the proper tone and com- munication.

In English as well, when language is given the correct intona- tion, communication can be greatly enhanced. To emphasize this point with my students, I imitate the “wa wa” teacher from Charlie Brown. I walk around the class, lock eyes with a student, raise my hand, and slowly say “Wa, wa wa Wa?” What I am actually saying is “Hi, how are You?” Students inevitably guess correctly and are quite surprised that they can understand what I am saying. Once they have caught on, we can then cre- ate contextual situations and apply the proper intonation. A mini-dialogue I might have with a student in front of the class, in which my role would be B, is as follows: A: What are you doing this weekend?

B: This weekend? Nothing special. I’ll probably just hang OUt. A: OK. Give me a call.

B: Alright.

After the classmates have heard the dialogue, I will ask them, “Where is the change?”

Hopefully, they will hear “OUt” on the first try. I will then mark it on the board. The rise in pitch at the beginning of “OUt” rather than on the word “hang” is essential to the intelligibility of the idiom as well as to the rest of the dialogue. Teachers play a vital role here. Once an idiom is presented, either the students or the teacher should provide/elicit the prop- er intonation and then mark it. This marking system is especially impor- tant for non-native-English-speaking teachers who may be unfamiliar with the proper intonation of idioms. The good news regarding idiom- atic phrases is that there are general intonation patterns. In an emphasized two-syllable word, such as “brainer” in the expression “no-brainer,” the word tends to receive a higher tone or pitch on the first syllable. It’s a no- BRAIner. In the case of a one-syllable word, such as “cake” in the expres- sion “piece of cake,” there is a higher tone on the first half of the word: It’s a piece of CAke. In either case, the rising intonation at the beginning is then followed by a falling intonation. Saying the idiom in front of your stu- dents in slow motion can really help to clarify this, and it is also good for a laugh. When students know the proper intonation, communication can be achieved even with less-than-perfect pronunciation. This is good news for our students, as it is generally much easier to change the pitch of a word than to pronounce the word properly.

Mini Dialogues The mini dialogues written by the students, followed by an in-class role play, are not only a lot of fun but practical and effective exercises for ESL students (Nunan, 2003; Scott & Ytreberg, 2000). They could be done as homework or in class indi- vidually, in pairs, or in groups. These dialogues supply the context neces- sary to achieve natural usage and effective communication (Nippold & Martin, 1989). The task is to write mini dialogues, where each dialogue contains at least one idiom from class, either from our text or

from one of the students’ BYOI. There should be just enough context (4-6 lines) for the exchange to be meaningful (Nippold & Martin, 1989).

Make sure the students understand that even though these dialogues are being written down, they should be striving for spoken and not written English. I also ask them to consider the roles of the speakers as in the fol- lowing student dialogue (the professor is putting on her coat as her student enters the office):

Introduction from the new Idiom Editor, Cara Tuzzolino Werben

A: Excuse me. Professor? Are you busy?

B: I’m running LAte, actually. I’ll be here tomorrow.

A: Ok, thank you.

B: Alright.

This exchange meets the criteria in that it is a spoken dialogue, the roles are defined, at least one idiom is used, and the idiom is marked with the prop- er intonation. Once their dialogues are done, I collect, correct, and return them. Afterward, I circulate, taking student questions on my corrections. Then, I have each pair practice and perform at least one of their dialogues in front of the class. Eye contact, body language (students must sit facing each other), and voice management should be emphasized during practice time. Be sure to circulate, as some students will simply read the dialogue together. I walk around with a blank sheet of 81⁄2 x 11 paper, which I use to cover up the dialogue they are working on. This forces them to look up and, hopefully, at each other. The students then perform at the front of the class. I act as the director, yelling “Action!” and opening/ closing my cell phone like a director’s slate. The class listens for the idiom used in the dialogue. This is always fun, as students enjoy watch- ing their classmates perform. I like to supply props/wigs to spice it up. Be prepared for the cameras to come out! I also quiz them on the idiom and the intonation right after each dialogue.

Conclusion English continues to be a global language. Proper knowledge and us- age of idioms are powerful tools for anyone requiring English in daily com- munication. By focusing on the proper intonation for our students to achieve maximum intelligibility, we are better equipping them for the English-speak- ing world. It is important for us as teachers to go the extra mile.

References

Greetings Idiom readers, I am delighted to combine my background in publishing with my love of TESOL as the new editor of Idiom. Thank you to my predecessor, Julie Dziewisz, for her great work and help with a smooth transition. I also thank the column editors, copy editor, NYS TESOL leadership and members for the warm welcome.

My career began with a B.A. in journalism from NYU. After I switched to marketing, and later fundraising, I volunteered in an ESOL classroom and loved it. I en- rolled in Teachers College, Columbia University, graduated with an Ed.M. in TESOL, and began working as an adjunct at Pace, CUNY, and Columbia.

Presently, I work in an intensive English program at Nassau Commu- nity College. We focus on improving students’ skills through an integrated, holistic approach, so that they can exit our program and be prepared for collegelevel work. I also instruct and mentor aspiring TESOL teachers at the Literacy Assistance Center.

I welcome the chance to meet with interested writers during the Annual conference in October. See you there! --Cara <idiom@nystesol.org>

Cooper, T. C. (1998). Teaching idioms. Foreign Language Annals, 31(2), 255-266. Cruttenden, M. (1986). Intonation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni- versity Press.

Nippold, M. A., & Martin, S. T. (1989). Idiom interpretation in isolation versus context: A developmental study with adolescents. Journal Speech & Hearing Research, 32, 59-66.

Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English teaching. New York: McGraw Hill.

Scott, W. A., & Ytreberg, L. H. (2000). Teaching English to children. New York: Longman.

Andrew Schneider has been teaching ESL/EFL for 20 years, having taught in Japan, Spain, and the United States. He currently teaches medical students in Kanazawa, Japan. <Andrew@med. kanazawa-u.ac.jp>

Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Irujo, S. (1986). Don’t put your leg in your mouth: Transfer in the acquisition of idioms in a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 287-304.

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