The Pedagogical Challenges for Western ESL Teach- ers in Asiacontact.teslontario.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ContactFall2002.pdf · The Pedagogical Challenges for Western ESL Teachers

InsideThe PedagogicalChallenges forWestern ESLTeachers in Asia

Back to School

Vo lume 28 , No . 4Fa l l 2002

Teaching ESLthrough ASL

Tips to CatchPlagiarists

Pub l i ca t i on number 40038620

(cont'd on p. 3)

RomanianLanguage Profile

Access toProfessions andTrades inOntario

The Pedagogical Challenges for Western ESL Teach-ers in Asia

Abstract

This paper discusses the main pedagogical differencesbetween two Southeast Asian countries (South Korea andChina) and North America in the teaching of English as asecond or foreign language. Difficulties in exporting Westernteaching methods, i.e. Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) to these environments are outlined and various sugges-tions for dealing with the difficulties that may arise in theseunique situations are proposed.

A constantly increasing demand for English teachers inSoutheast Asia over the past several decades is the result ofits engagement in cultural, technological, and business ex-changes with other countries (Wu, 1983). To meet this highdemand, governments and private institutions have beeninviting foreign teachers to travel to their respective countriesto teach ESL. The offers are appealing. Candidates are drawnby higher salaries combined with the opportunity to attainmore prominent positions than they would in their homecountries. Overseas offers are particularly tempting for re-

cent graduates because many of the jobs require little, if any,teaching experience.

The adventurous nature and distinctive rewards of thejob can make teaching abroad the opportunity of a lifetime.On the other hand, this opportunity is not without itschallenges. Due to the very different settings in which theyare placed (i.e. cultural, economical, political and social),foreign teachers often face contradictions and frustrationsin their jobs abroad.

The term culture has no commonly agreed-upon defi-nition, but in essence it describes some system of meanings,customs, values, attitudes, goals, laws, beliefs, morals, etc.(Bee, 1939, p. 4). Culture shock, a term we often hear, doesnot only affect the foreign teacher�s relationship with his/her students, but embarrassment, frustration, or feelings ofalienation can affect him/her in many ways outside of theclassroom. Anyone travelling to another country with theintent of integrating into the daily life of the culture woulddo well to educate his/herself as much as possible on the

2 Contact, Vol. 28, No. 4, Fall 2002○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

EditorBrigid Kelso

Editorial SupportCommitteeBob CourchêneUniversity of Ottawa

Jill Doherty

Jacqueline Jeffers

Contact, the officialnewsletter of theTeachers of English as aSecond Language ofOntario, is publishedthree times a year. It isavailable through mem-bership only. To join seethe membership form atthe back of this issue.

Contact welcomes copyof general interest toassociation members,including announcements,reports, articles, calls forpapers and news items.Contributors shouldinclude their full name,title and affiliation. Copyshould be preferably e-mailed to the editor [email protected] Windows '97 RichText format, or mailedon diskette to the Editorc/o The TESL Associa-tion of Ontario, 27Carlton Street, Ste. 405,Toronto, Ontario, M5B1L2, (416) 593-4243,Fax (416) 593-0164.Deadlines are January30, April 30 and June 30.

Inquiries regardingmembership or changeof address should beaddressed to theMembership Secretary c/o the above address.

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Send in Your Contact Submissionsto the Editor at

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From the EditorFrom the Editor

Greetings, ESL professionals, and welcome backto another school year. For those of you who werefortunate enough to take some time off, I hope youkept cool. And for those of you who worked through-out the summer, remember the old saying, �A changeis as good as a holiday.�

I spent the summer teaching international stu-dents in Toronto � something I hadn�t done in a while,and I was reminded of the different needs of this groupand of ESL learners. EFL students are often as com-mitted but expect less serious topics than thosedesired by immigrants and refugees whose goal it isto assimilate into Canadian life.

Speaking of the different expectations of interna-tional students, in this issue, University of Ottawastudent, Jacqueline Reed talks about what Westernteachers should be prepared for when they teachEFL in Asia.

Popular in teaching any learners are games toreinforce and teach vocabulary. Shalva Shapbshvili,a teacher from Georgia, the republic of the formerSoviet Union, offers us numerous vocabulary games.

Our regular contributor, Cathy Haghighat, pro-files Romanian in this issue. Sadly, this will be Cathy�sfinal language profile; we thank her for providinguseful insights into other languages and how theycompare with English over the years. Cathy hopes topublish all of the profiles she has developed so far.

In addition, we are happy to publish a paper onteaching ESL using American Sign Language.

John Allan, who regularly tells us how we areaffected by and can use technology in our classroom,advises in this issue on how ESL professionals candetect plagiarism in our learners� work.

As we have recently passed the first anniversaryof the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, weare publishing two poetic reflections on the impact ofthe event by learners of Toronto teacher, EstelleBerry.

As always in our Back to School issue, we includeour auditor�s report and conference registration pack-age. Remember that if you are presenting at this year�sconference to please be prepared to submit a write-up of your presentation or paper for publication in ourJune 2003 conference proceedings issue. The dead-line for this is April, 2003, but we certainly welcomepapers submitted before that.

As a last note, in our June 2002 conference pro-ceedings issue, we named Arush d�Silva as the authorof the presentation, Reflections on Cultures and Tal-ents. We�d like to mention that it was co-authored andco-presented with Lesline Smikle and Yunhua Zhang.

See you in November.

Brigid KelsoContact Editor

Contact, Vol. 28, No. 4, Fall 2002 3 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The most salientfeature of the CLT

classroom is itsrealistic use of theEnglish language;both the activitiesemployed and the

materials usedshould aim to be asauthentic as possi-

ble.

Education in Koreaand China has beenstrongly influenced

by Confuciantraditions, as have

many other aspectsof Eastern societies.

J. Scovel summarizedthis reality in his1983 publication:

“EFL continues toexist in a Neo-

Confucian traditionwhere the broader

goals of facilecomprehension andcommunication aresubordinate to the

narrow goals ofgrammatical accu-

racy in reading andwriting.”

host country and its culture before departing. Adapt-ing to the local culture is crucial to job performanceas well as being essential to the enjoyment of theoverall experience. Naturally, being away from allthings familiar can bring on both anxiety and resent-ment. A foreign teacher must learn to deal with his/her loneliness, to adapt to new surroundings, tocreate a new lifestyle, and cope in the native languageof the host country.

This paper deals specifically with the difficultiescreated by culture shock inside the classroom. Penner(1995) labels this situation �classroom culture shock,�and she reiterates the importance of learning aboutthe educational culture of the host country to ease theteacher�s transition into the new classroom environ-ment.

Turning to the discussion of pedagogical differ-ences between the East and the West, I would like tobegin by examining the important role of education inChina and Korea. Education in general has a criticalrole in the social structure of Southeast Asian coun-tries. In fact, in Korea, education has practicallybecome a national obsession. According to Ferguson(2001), �it is an accepted belief that the only way tosucceed in life, or better one�s station in life, is througheducation� (p. 19). In Korea, children are in school 14hours a day, 230 days a year, whereas in the UnitedStates they attend only 180 days a year (Hedges,1988). Competition for college slots begins in el-ementary school, with four annual exams, for whichchildren as young as 11 study late into the night. Thepressure to succeed academically is staggering. Incontrast, education in North America essentiallydoes not become this serious until the post-second-ary level. Our belief tends to be that children shouldplay after homework and go to bed before nine. Thesetwo educational ideals are remarkably contrary.

With specific reference to the teaching of for-eign languages, pedagogical difficulties arise in largepart from opposing theoretical assumptions aboutlanguage learning between Asia and North America.The differences in perceived teacher and studentroles in the classroom, the motivation for languagelearning, class size, time constraints, and resourcesavailable also contribute to other differences in thetwo pedagogical perspectives.

Whereas Communicative Language Theory(CLT) is the predominant approach to teaching ESLin the West, it is not easily transferred to China andSouth Korea. These EFL countries have been tryingfor years to implement CLT in the hopes of improvingtheir communicative abilities, but the task poses

certain problems. It will become clear that the expor-tation of teaching methods is not always appropriate.

The most salient feature of the CLT classroom isits realistic use of the English language; both theactivities employed and the materials used aim to beas authentic as possible. The CLT approach viewslearning as the development of a skill (Penner, 1995)which strongly focuses on communicative functionsand meaning. CLT theory insists that students learnthrough experimentation and genuine use of the lan-guage; and therefore errors are viewed as educa-tional. Popular interactive activities include simu-lated conversations, role playing, group discussions,creative writing, peer correction of errors, guessingvocabulary meaning from context, songs, and prob-lem solving (Defeng, 1998; Penner, 1995). Theseactivities are designed to develop communicativecompetence: a balanced combination of grammaticalcompetence, sociolinguistic competence (involvingsociocultural and discourse rules for communica-tion), and strategic competence (Canale and Swain,1980). To further facilitate learning, communicativelanguage teachers attempt to create a secure, non-threatening atmosphere.

Education in Korea and China has been stronglyinfluenced by Confucian traditions, as have manyother aspects of Eastern societies. J. Scovel summa-rized this reality in his 1983 publication: �EFL con-tinues to exist in a Neo-Confucian tradition where thebroader goals of facile comprehension and commu-nication are subordinate to the narrow goals ofgrammatical accuracy in reading and writing.� MostAsian teachers still use a traditional language instruc-tion approach that has remained unchanged forcenturies (Jiaying, 1990). The most evident differencebetween this approach and our Western one is that,in Asia, importance is placed on knowledge of gram-mar, rather than on communication, through meth-ods referred to as Audio-Lingual or Grammar Trans-lation. Language is taught through the use of mechani-cal drills, the memorization of rules and vocabularylists, repetition, habit formation, and translation(Defeng, 1998; Penner, 1995). In this environment,errors remain negative and are not viewed as alearning opportunity. In addition, much of the discus-sion that takes place in the classroom is in the stu-dents� native language. Campbell and Zhao (1993)describe the results of this rote learning as follows:�even the most diligent students with the most re-sponsible teachers often cannot communicate effec-tively with the target population, even after 10 yearsof studying English.�


Western languageteachers expect theirstudents to be activeparticipants. Con-versely, in traditionalclassooms, it is theteacher who takesalmost full responsi-bility for the learningthat occurs.

Research byCampbell and Zhaoshowed that stu-dents and teachersalike in China agreed“the teacher shoulddominate theclassroom whilestudents listenpassively andengage in exerciseson command. Ateacher who doesnot dominate theclassroom is seen aslazy or incompetentby all concerned.”

Burnaby and Sun (1989) interviewed 24 experi-enced Chinese teachers of English regarding theappropriateness and effectiveness of Western lan-guage-teaching methods for use in Chinese contexts.Interestingly, it was found that communicative activi-ties are seen as games to Chinese teachers andstudents, rather than as serious learning. Teachersargued that teaching grammar, literature and linguis-tic analysis carried greater prestige than teachingstudents to speak the language for real communica-tive purposes. A similar study by Defeng (1998)reports the position of South Korean secondaryschool English Teachers, regarding the difficultiescaused by the differing theories of South Korea andthose of Western countries. Those teachers who hadtried CLT methods in their classrooms had alsoencountered tremendous difficulties.

A seemingly unavoidable obstacle in using com-municative activities in a foreign language classroomconcerns the few opportunities that students have tocommunicate with native speakers of English. Ac-cording to Canale and Swain (1980), the learnersshould have the opportunity to take part in meaning-ful communicative interaction with highly competentspeakers of the language �to respond to genuinecommunicative needs in realistic second languagesituations� (p.27). This is a rather simple task toaccomplish in the ESL teaching contexts of Canadaand the United States, but in Korea and China thereare simply not enough native speakers of English toallow opportunities for students to communicate.

In a CLT classroom, the teacher�s role is as afacilitator. The students learn how to learn, and as aresult they take responsibility for their own learning.Western language teachers expect their students tobe active participants. Conversely, in traditional class-rooms, it is the teacher who takes almost full respon-sibility for the learning that occurs (Penner, 1995).Teachers wield an authoritative sword, transmittinginformation to the students with little two-way com-munication. Research by Campbell and Zhao (1993)showed that students and teachers alike in Chinaagreed �the teacher should dominate the classroomwhile students listen passively and engage in exer-cises on command. A teacher who does not dominatethe classroom is seen as lazy or incompetent by allconcerned� (p. 5). Furthermore, Campbell and Zhaoexplain that teachers are under pressure to stick tothe textbook and use their authority in order to beregarded as competent and committed professionalsby their administrators and colleagues. The unchal-lengeable authoritative role of the teacher is in con-

flict with many CLT activities, particularly debates.

In Canadian university classes, when professorsare asked questions to which they do not know theanswers, there is usually no awkwardness in admit-ting this. It is perfectly acceptable that professorsmake a note to look it up and bring the answer to thefollowing lecture. However, in traditional classrooms,this approach is not acceptable. It is consideredlosing face if the teacher admits that he/she does notknow the answer to a question. A Korean teacherinterviewed in Defeng�s study (1998) held, �In Korea,when you can�t answer all of the students� questionsright away, you cannot be a teacher.� In otherinterviewee reactions, teachers admitted that theygot very embarrassed if they could not answer aquestion and expressed fear that they would lose therespect of their students (p. 687).

Teachers who participated in both the Burnaby& Sun and Defeng�s studies worried about not beingable to answer spontaneous questions regarding thetarget language culture. These types of questionsnaturally occur in the CLT classroom. The Koreanand Chinese teachers expressed concern for theirlimited linguistic, sociolinguistic and strategic abili-ties in English that are required for CLT to be trulyeffective. Since the majority of Chinese teachers haverarely, if ever, had the opportunity to speak to aforeigner, much less travelled outside of China, thelack of direct knowledge of Western culture cancreate a void in building a communicative environ-ment (Burnaby & Sun, 1989). North American teach-ers may be surprised by the seeming lack of responsein their classrooms as students are not encouraged toask questions, or doubt the teacher�s knowledge inAsian classrooms. Unquestioning cooperation, whichis in fact a cultural form of respect, may be interpretedas boredom or lack of interest by the foreign teacher(Boyle, 2000).

In comparing the language teaching methods ofAsia and North America, it is important to considerthe students� motivation for learning in the two differ-ent contexts. North American students are not underany great pressure to learn foreign languages toincrease academic relations with other countries.While this has been true for Canada and the UnitedStates with regard to economic or diplomatic inter-national relations (Burnaby and Sun, 1989), this situ-ation is slowly changing as a result of globalization.Obtaining a high exam score is a secondary goal andthe enthusiasm for learning foreign languages in NorthAmerica is mainly for the purposes of travelling, orsimply for pleasure.


These very technicaltasks require almost

no communicativecompetence, render-

ing the CLT ap-proach awkward andoften unwelcome by

Asian students.

Above and beyondthe initial hurdle ofobtaining high test

scores, manyprofessionals,

particularly in China,must master skills for

analysing Englishgrammar, in order to

perform tasks likeunderstanding

technical articles andtranslating docu-

ments.

Motivation for learning English in Asia is generallymore pragmatic. Most EFL students must pass na-tional or international examinations, such as TOEFLand TOEIC, in order to be accepted by a universityor to obtain a particular job. In contrast to the NorthAmerican model, Burnaby and Sun (1989) highlightthe importance of test scores as achievement inChina; countries like Canada are �affluent enough toallow access to higher education without the neces-sity for rigid gatekeeping systems of examinations(compared with those of China) to screen candidatesfor such opportunities.�

Considering the importance of these examina-tions, students and university administrators put pres-sure on Asian teachers to tailor their courses to helpstudents pass the TOEFL. These exams test gram-matical knowledge and vocabulary, not communica-tive skills. The pressure on Asian students whenpreparing for English examinations, and the nature ofthe educational system itself, render students ex-tremely partial to an exam-oriented approach. It isdifficult for them to accept the different goals of theCLT approach to learning.

Above and beyond the initial hurdle of obtaininghigh test scores, many professionals, particularly inChina, must master skills for analysing English gram-mar, in order to perform tasks like understandingtechnical articles and translating documents (Jiaying1990). These very technical tasks require almost nocommunicative competence, rendering the CLT ap-proach awkward and often unwelcome by Asianstudents.

Class size is another integral part of the CLTapproach. In most North American ESL classrooms,the maximum number of students is rarely more than20. This facilitates CLT by making group work andindividual attention possible. However, Chinese EFLclasses hold between 50 and 70 students (Penner,1995). With these conditions, as teachers inter-viewed in Burnaby & Sun�s (1989) study expressed,control over group activities is difficult, and individualattention is out of the question. Large classes alsomake it difficult for each member to participateactively in class. Additional concerns of these teach-ers were centred on using communicative methodswith so many students given the pressure to cover thecurriculum effectively in just three hours a week.

Penner (1995) makes an important observationwhen she outlines implications for the teacher�s useof time outside the classroom when preparing CLT

lessons. Because of the shortage of English teachersin China, their schedules consist of many contacthours and little preparation time. Teachers expressedanxiety and concern for the �extra time and energyrequired to create a variety of authentic student-centred materials� (p. 11). Creating student-centredand individualized activities are crucial to the CLTapproach and require familiarity with authenticmaterials. This is contrary to the Asian teachingreality.

An additional challenge in using Western methodsin Asia results from the limited resources generallyavailable in these contexts. Audio-visual equipment,computers, listening labs, videotapes, and other in-teractive resources are an essential support in theCLT method. What is more, authentic materials suchas radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, and real-lifedialogues are the foundation of the communicativecurriculum. In Korea and China, authentic texts aresimply not as readily accessible. Textbooks used inKorean EFL classrooms are often published in Korea,and show English in a Korean context, rather than innative English situations.

In his 1986 article, Hofstede mentions an articleby Schkade et al. (1978) that explains the significantdifferences that exist in the degree to which peoplefrom different societies process information. Theimplications here hint at the influence of the broader,more deeply rooted influence of culture on the teacherand the learner, that cannot be manipulated as quickly,nor nearly as easily, as mere classroom culture. Thissuggests another source of pedagogical difficulties inexporting language teaching methods � namely, thatlearners from different cultures process informationand experience the act of learning differently. In thiscase, classroom adaptation techniques, which wouldnormally be used by the CLT teacher entering a moretraditional teaching environment, might not be com-prehensive enough to tackle these cultural gaps.

Elaborating on earlier work (1980, 1983b),Hofstede�s 1986 study explores what some of thesedeep-rooted cultural characteristics may be, howthey can affect the classroom, and ways in whichteachers can address them. He used questionnairesanswered by 160,000 individuals from 40 countries,and compared the answers across nationalities. Inparticular, Hofstede examined the mutual role ex-pectations for interaction between individuals withintheir native cultures. These conventional roles ofteacher and student are in large part shaped byfundamental values rooted in their respective cul-


A collectivistsociety is tightlyintegrated; anindividualist societyis loosely integrated.

Inequity existswithin any culture,but the degree of itthat is toleratedvaries between oneculture and another.

tures. For example, the manner in which students canacceptably contradict authority, or demonstrate in-dividualism.

Hofstede developed a four-dimensional model topresent his findings. Two of these dimensions, indi-vidualism and power distance, are of special interestwhen comparing Canada and the United States withSouth Korea and Hong Kong:

1) Individualism as a characteristic of a cultureopposes Collectivism. Individualist cultures as-sume that any person looks primarily after his/her interest and the interest of his/her immediatefamily. Collectivist cultures assume that any per-son through birth and possible later events be-longs to one or more tight �in-groups,� fromwhich he/she can detach his/herself. The �in-group� (whether extended family, clan, or or-ganization) protects the interests of its members,but in turn expects their permanent loyalty. A

collectivist society is tightly integrated; an indi-vidualist society is loosely integrated.

2) Power Distance as a characteristic of a culturedefines the extent to which the less powerfulpersons in a society accept inequality in powerand consider it as normal. Inequity exists withinany culture, but the degree of it that is toleratedvaries between one culture and another (p. 307).

The following two tables, reproduced fromHofstede�s 1986 article, show the interaction differ-ences that teachers and students may encounterwhen they come from cultures that are different intheir levels of individualism and power distance. Thetables help us to focus on specific points that differ-entiate opposing cultural structures, all the whilesolidifying the global dynamic between the Americanclassroom and the Asian classroom.

Differences in Teacher/Student and Student/Student InteractionRelated to the Individualism versus Collectivism Dimension

Collectivist Societies(e.g. Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong)

� Positive association in society with whateveris rooted in tradition

� The young should learn; adults cannot acceptthe student role

� Students expect to learn how to do

� Individual students will only speak up in classwhen called upon by the teacher

� Individuals will only speak up in small groups

� Formal harmony in learning situations shouldbe maintained at all times

� Neither the teacher nor any student shouldever be made to lose face

� Education is a way of gaining prestige in one�ssocial environment and of joining a higherstatus group

Individualist Societies(e.g. USA, Canada)

� Positive association in society with whateveris �new�

� One is never too old to learn; �permanenteducation�

� Students expect to learn how to learn

� Individual students will speak up in class inresponse to a general invitation by the teacher

� Individuals will speak up in large groups

� Confrontation in learning situations can besalutary; conflicts can be brought into the open

� Face-consciousness is weak

� Education is a way of improving one�s eco-nomic worth and self-respect based on abil-ity and competence


Rather, foreignteachers should

educate themselvesabout the classroom

culture of the hostcountry and enter

with a realisticassessment of thesituation. Westernteachers going to

Asia must be awareof the conflicting

teaching andlearning contexts.

Once in the hostcountry, Wurecommends thatforeign teachers relyon their nativecolleagues forassistance.

Differences in Teacher/Student and Student/Student InteractionRelated to the Power Distance Dimension

Small Power Distance Societies(e.g. USA, Canada)

· Stress on impersonal �truth� which can inprinciple be obtained from any competentperson

· A teacher should respect the independence ofhis/her students

· Student-centred education

· Teacher expects students to find their ownpaths

· Students allowed to contradict or criticize theteacher

· Effectiveness of learning related to amount oftwo-way communication in class

· Outside class, teachers are treated as equals

· In teacher/student conflicts, parents are ex-pected to side with the student

Conclusion

To bridge the gap that occurs in cross-culturallearning contexts, Hofstede (1986) proposes twopossible solutions: (1) To teach the teacher how toteach, and/or (2) To teach the learner how to learn.For North American teachers abroad to be mosteffective, he asserts, the former is imperative, even ifdoing so means they have to �adopt methods which athome they have learned to consider as outmoded orimpopular� (p. 316). Reverting from �new� to �old� inany domain feels unnatural. So, for North Americanteachers, educated in CLT, using audio-lingual orgrammar translation methods in a language class-room can feel contradictory and backward. How-ever, as Boyle (2000) explains, it is a mistake for theforeign ESL teacher to judge the traditional instructionalmethods as inferior. Although the latest Westernmethods have proved effective in Canadian andAmerican classrooms, to employ them in Asia whileignoring the cultural context guarantees their failure(Campbell & Zhao, 1993).

Rather, foreign teachers should educate them-selves about the classroom culture of the host coun-try and enter with a realistic assessment of the situ-

Large Power Distance Societies(e.g. Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong)

· Stress on personal �wisdom� which is trans-ferred in the relationship with a particularteacher (guru)

· A teacher merits the respect of his/her stu-dents

· Teacher-centred education

· Students expect teacher to outline paths tofollow

· Teacher is never contradicted or publiclycriticized

· Effectiveness of learning related to excellenceof the teacher

· Respect for the teacher is also shown outsideclass

· In teacher/student conflicts, parents are ex-pected to side with the teacher

ation (Wu Jung-yu, 1983). Western teachers going toAsia must be aware of the conflicting teaching andlearning contexts. Penner (1995) suggests talking topeople from the host culture about their classroomexperiences, and learning about the educational mi-lieu from comparative education articles. Once in thehost country, Wu (1983) recommends that foreignteachers rely on their native colleagues for assist-ance. The article reinforces that neither ignoring thehost context nor giving up certain ingrained princi-ples and practices learned in the West is the correctattitude. Instead, Wu offers hope that, �throughgradual and sensitive introduction of learner-centredmethods [students] will come to accept a radical shiftin their classroom role.�

Communicative methods do appear to be appro-priate for Asian students when these students plan tovisit, work, or study in English-speaking countries. Inother words, as Burnaby & Sun (1989) concluded,exporting CLT methods may be more relevant tostudents of English as a second language, as opposedto students studying English as a foreign language.Perhaps now, we should turn our attention awayfrom the battle of the methods and focus on student


Perhaps now, weshould turn ourattention away fromthe battle of themethods and focuson student motiva-tion.

In doing so, we mayhelp to resolve otherpedagogical chal-lenges, such asavailable resources,class size and timeconstraints, andpotentially, toovercome embeddedstudent and teacherrole expectations.

motivation. In doing so, we may help to resolve otherpedagogical challenges, such as available resources,class size and time constraints, and potentially, toovercome embedded student and teacher role ex-pectations. Attentive research matched with socialsensitivity and patience will help the foreign teacherto be effective in his/her classroom and overcome theobstacles of classroom culture shock.

References

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Boyle, J. (2000). Education for teachers of English inChina. Journal of Education for Teaching, 26(2),147-155.

Burnaby, B. & Y. Sun (1989). Chinese teachers� viewsof western language teaching: Context informsparadigms. TESOL Quarterly, 23(2), 219-238.

Campbell, K. P., & Y. Zhao (1993). The dilemma ofEnglish language instruction in the People�s Re-public of China. TESOL Journal, 2(4), 4-6.

Defeng, L. (1998). �It�s always more difficult than youplan and imagine�: teachers� perceived difficul-ties in introducing the communicative approachin South Korea. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), 677-703.

Ferguson, M. R. (2001). Inside the Korean culture.International Educator, 10(2), 16-23.

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Hofstede, G. (1983b). Dimensions of national cul-tures in fifty countries and three regions. In J. B.Deregowski, S. Dziurawiec and R. C. Annis(eds.), Expectations in cross-cultural psychology.Lisse Neth: Swets and Zeitlinger.

Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture�s consequences: Interna-tional differences in work-related values. BeverlyHills: Sage.

Jiaying, Zhuang Howard (1990). Instructional Meth-ods and Materials. In Thomas, R. M. (1990),International Comparative Education: Practices,Issues, & Prospects. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd.

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Penner, J. (1995). Change and conflict: Introductionof the communicative approach in China. TESLCanada Journal, 12(2), 1-17.

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Sampson, G. P. (1984). Exporting language teachingmethods from Canada to China. TESL CanadaJournal, 1(1), 19-31.

Schkade, L.L., S. Romani & M. Uzawa. (1978). Humaninformation processing and environmental com-plexity: An experiment in four cultures. ASCI Journalof Management, 8, 56-63.

Scovel, J. (1983). English teaching in China: A histori-cal perspective. Language Learning and Commu-nication, 2(1), 105-109.

Scovel, T. (1983). The impact of foreign experts,methodology and materials on English languagestudy in China. Language Learning and Communi-cation, 2(1), 83-91.

Wu, Y. (2001). English language teaching in China:trends and challenges. TESOL Quarterly, 35(1),191-194.

Wu, J. Y. (1983b). Quchang Buduan � A Chinese viewof foreign participation in teaching English inChina. Language Learning and Communication,2(1), 111-116.

Yu, C. C. (1984). Cultural principles underlying Eng-lish teaching in China. Language Learning andCommunication, 3(1), 29-39.

Jacqueline Reed is a student in the B.A. Program inSecond Language Teaching at the University ofOttawa. She has worked with international studentsin the English Intensive Program at the SecondLanguage Institute as a Conversation Monitor andCoordinator of Social Activities.


Teaching ESL through ASL

signed exactly word for word is taught to Deafschool children in the public and separate schoolsystems but outside of these school systems ASL isthe most favoured form of Sign Language usedamong Deaf people. Deaf children who are able toattend a school for the Deaf, such as the schoolslocated in Belleville, Milton, or London, would betaught using ASL. When asked, most Deaf peopleseem to agree that this exact translation of Englishis boring and takes too long to sign. ASL has its owngrammar structure and offers more unique ways totell, for example, stories or events than Englishcould ever offer. It is important to note that non-manual signals play a large role when using ASL andwithout them, stories and events would seem dulland their meaning would be misunderstood. Non-manual signals can include: lowering or raisingeyebrows, various mouth formations, using directeye contact, widened eyes, head tilt, and leaning ofthe body. When a hearing person begins to learnASL they are taught the importance of non-manualsignals right from the beginning. Charlene Leblanc(personal communication), a member of the Deafcommunity, and an experienced Sign Languageteacher at Carlton University and Algonquin Col-lege, says that if someone signs without using non-manual signals it is very hard to read and under-stand that person. She goes on to state that it is alsovery boring to watch and would be the same assomeone in English speaking non-stop in a mono-tone voice. Leblanc states that it is impossible tounderstand a statement properly if non-manualsignals are not used.

ASL Background

When Julie was less than one year old, she hadASL instruction once a week for six months from aDeaf teacher. Julie had already learned some ani-mal signs, such as CAT and DOG, and knew hercolours. She could also fingerspell a few letters andsign small words like: MILK, MORE, AGAIN,THANK YOU, NOW, HUNGRY, THIRSTY, andTIRED. When I started teaching Julie it did not takelong to refresh her memory and she quickly beganusing these signs again, shortly after we had re-viewed them a few times. I have translated anysigned expressions or sentences that I have used inmy lessons into English since many of these ASLexpressions written down may not make sense to

This summer I had the opportunity to teachEnglish to a three-and-a-half-year-old girl who ispartially Deaf. I will not go into many details abouther history, at her family�s request for privacy buther situation is a unique because some days shecould hear fairly well (at approximately 60-70 %),and other days she could hardly hear at all. Eachtime I taught her, her hearing ability was different.I was able to keep my teaching methods fairlyconsistent, and her hearing ability did not affect anyday-to-day changes in these methods. I will call thegirl Julie to protect her privacy. The purpose ofteaching Julie was to improve her English skillswhile also improving her American Sign Language(ASL) skills. This was a unique teaching situation forme as I needed to learn ways of incorporating twolanguages when teaching a young child.

Preliminary reports from the classroom hadindicated that ESL/English students with specialneeds can benefit from both the methodology andthe teaching techniques that we use with regularESL students � focus on meaning, contextualizedpractice, authentic material and contexts, realistictasks, and a silent period, to mention a few. Heart-ened by this evidence, and supported by my knowl-edge of both the theory and practice of ESL, Iaccepted teaching this child of English-speakinghearing parents English using ASL. In the first partof this paper, I will present a brief history of ASL,followed by a description of my teaching programwith Julie and, finally, a note concerning the paral-lels between learning ESL and ASL.

A Brief History of American SignLanguage

Many people incorrectly believe that ASL isEnglish expressed through signs. Lentz, Mikos, andSmith have pointed out that many people wronglybelieve that it is a word-for-word translation ofEnglish, that it can only express concrete informa-tion, or that there is one universal sign languageused by Deaf people around the world (1998, p.3).Linguistic research has shown that ASL is similar incomplexity and expressiveness to spoken languages.ASL is not a form of English but has its own distinctgrammatical structure, which must be learned andaccomplished in the same way as any other lan-guage (Lentz et al., 1988, p. 3). English that is

ASL is not a form ofEnglish but has itsown distinct gram-

matical structure,which must be

learned and accom-plished in the same

way as any otherlanguage.

It is important to notethat non-manual

signals play a largerole when using ASL

and without them,stories and events

would seem dull andtheir meaning would

be misunderstood.Non-manual signals

can include: loweringor raising eyebrows,

various mouthformations, usingdirect eye contact,

widened eyes, headtilt, and leaning of the

body.


hearing people unless they have had experiencewith a Deaf person.

As soon as I began learning ASL, I learnedthat facial expressions are an important part of thelanguage. Now I use them without even thinking.Julie would have already been exposed to theseexpressions from her Deaf teacher and I continuedto unconsciously use these expressions when Itaught Julie.

I have read over and over again that youngchildren should not be expected to make a signperfectly and took this attitude when teachingJulie. In an article titled, Teaching Your Baby Ameri-can Sign Language,VanLaanen-Smit states, �Chil-dren pick up signing easily and quickly�Continuesigning the �right� way and they will sign that waywhen they are older� (1999, p. 2). The author goeson to explain that this type of baby signing is theequivalent to �baby talk� for a hearing child.

How did I go about trying to teach thechild?

This summer I focused on seven main topicsthat were repeated through various activities. Thesetopics included:

1. Food2. Animals3. Colours4. Shapes5. Numbers6. Alphabet7. Reading

I tried to teach these topics by incorporatingsome of the qualities of the methods Bill Vicar hasfound useful when incorporating English and ASL(see website in reference list for a complete list).Some of the principal qualities include:

1. Highly interactive.

2. Engaging. No more than a few seconds go by inclass before the students have to engage theirbrains and either respond or be ready torespond.

3. Personal. The questions elicit real answersabout people�s life circumstances.

4. Bilingual. Supplying both English vocabularyand ASL.

5. Informative. Students are constantly requiredto provide comprehensible answers. You are

highly aware of whether students understandwhat is going on or not. If a student answers aquestion incorrectly you know immediatelythat you need to clarify certain concepts.

I found these methods the most useful whentrying different teaching approaches with Julie.Some of these features, such as # 3 (personalizingof content and experience), occurred naturallyduring the lessons. Julie always liked to tell mestories that included some of the new words thatshe learned that day.

Food

For this topic I used Julie�s toys which includedvarious pieces of plastic food. All of the food wouldbe laid out on the table. I would sign a certain foodand then she would hand it to me. For example, Iwould sign, � Mmm ... I�m hungry. I want to eatchicken.� When she handed me the chicken Iwould pretend to eat it. Simple gestures like thismade it more of a game for her and therefore shehad more fun playing with the food. Then I wouldreverse the situation and ask her what she wouldlike to eat. She would sign a food to me and I wouldhand it to her. Sometimes we would pretend to gogrocery shopping together. Julie would walk aroundwith her grocery cart and sign an item of food thatshe wanted. I would hand her the food after shecompleted the sign and she would put it in hergrocery cart. The more interactive this topic was,the better, so we would always pretend to eat thefood together.

Words that were consistently used over thesummer included: BANANA, APPLE, ORANGE,PEAR, GRAPES, CARROT, CHICKEN, BEEF,COOKIE, CAKE, PIZZA, HOT DOG, HAM-BURGER, MILK, BREAD, SOUP and SANDWICH.

Animals

Julie had a large picture book full of differentanimals. She would point to a certain animal in thebook and I�d sign it for her, then we would sign ittogether. Then I would switch it by pointing to ananimal and asking her, �What is the sign for this?�Many times Julie liked to imitate an animal, so wewould act out together what the animal might do.For example, if the animal was a bird, Julie wouldpretend to fly around the room. I also noticed thatshe liked to tell me about any experiences that shehas had with any of the animals that she recog-nized. I always encouraged these types of activities

Sometimes we wouldpretend to go groceryshopping together.Julie would walkaround with hergrocery cart and signan item of food thatshe wanted. I wouldhand her the foodafter she completedthe sign and shewould put it in hergrocery cart.

Many times Julieliked to imitate ananimal, so we wouldact out together whatthe animal might do.For example, if theanimal was a bird,Julie would pretendto fly around theroom. I also noticedthat she liked to tellme about anyexperiences that shehas had with any ofthe animals that sherecognized.


for I have noticed that Deaf people like to becreative when telling stories to make them moreinteresting. It is normal in the Deaf culture to makereal world connections between the text (in a book)and the child�s experience (Schleper, 2000, p. 2).

Colours and Shapes

I cut out various shapes such as circles, stars,triangles, squares, rectangles, and diamonds oncoloured construction paper. I would place all ofthese shapes into a basket and then Julie would pickthem out one at a time. Since Julie is so young, Ifound that a simple task such as this seemed like agame to her because it was exciting for her to pickout the different shapes without knowing whichone she was going to pick. Once she had picked outa shape, she would sign the colour of the shape tome and then outline the shape for me using herfingers in the air. When outlining shapes in ASL, theless dominant hand stays on one point and thedominant hand traces the shape in the air, endingup beside the less dominant hand. After doing thisactivity for the first few visits, Julie also started totape these shapes onto a piece of cardboard tomake pictures. She knew that she was only allowedto tape the shapes onto the paper after she signedthem correctly. Julie loved this activity so it was afun way for her to learn her colours and shapes.

Numbers

Julie was already able to count from one to tenusing ASL. I had the numbers one through tenwritten on a large piece of paper so I would eitherpractise pointing to a number and having Julie signthe number or physically place my hand on thenumber while signing it at the same time. I includedcounting in almost every activity that we did. Whenreading a book we would, for example, count theanimals, the number of red shirts in a book, or thenumber of pink squares from the shapes. We alsoplayed a game of Snakes and Ladders which incor-porated the use of colours and counting the num-bers on a dice and counting the squares on theboard with Julie�s sister and caretaker.

Alphabet

When I started teaching Julie she knew a littlebit of the alphabet, the letters A-H, when I promptedher. I had a chart with the alphabet listed on it. Wewould follow the alphabet chart together and signalong with the letters. Julie would also point tocertain letters and I would sign them for her. Julie

knew the first letter of her family�s names, as wellas her name and my name. We also practised fingerspelling her name while reading her name printedon paper. Sometimes I would place the signedletter physically on the paper, on the letter that wewere signing. I would also sign a certain letter andshe would point to it on the alphabet chart. Whendoing any activities involving food or animals thatshe had known from earlier lessons, I would ran-domly ask her for the first letter of certain itemsand, if she didn�t know the first letter, she wouldalways pay close attention to me when I signed itto her. Julie always enjoyed getting my attentionand making sure I knew how to do the lettersproperly by showing me how she could sign a letterand get me to copy her! This was a great reassur-ance for me to know that she was learning herletters!

Reading

Julie and I had the most fun reading together.ASL has many creative options when reading. Ialways had at least eight different books for Julie tochoose from. I would lay the books out in front ofher and have her pick which book she wanted toread first. For the picture books, I would sign outwhat was happening during the stories. Whenreading books containing text, I would sign my owntranslation of the English words. When translatinga particular sentence, I would point to it for her tofollow along and sign at the same time. SometimesI would place the signs right on the book to makesure that I had her attention. I always allowed extratime for her to study the text, observe the pic-tures, as well as watch me sign. I found eye contactand touch to be an important key when signingstories to her because it kept her attention longer.Julie was always very curious about the books andwould frequently point to certain items in a pictureand have me sign what the object was, the colour,count the number of particular items on one page,and/or explain a funny situation that was occurringin the picture through ASL. I usually signed extrainformation for her benefit that would help furtherexplain the situations that were occurring. I wouldalso ask her questions like, �Where is the blue hat?�If she struggled with her comprehension, I wouldprompt her but she was usually accurate withthese types of questions.

In the Deaf culture, it is normal to touchsomeone on the arm, bang on the floor with yourfoot, or hit the table with your hand to get a Deaf

In the Deaf culture, itis normal to touch

someone on the arm,bang on the floor with

your foot, or hit thetable with your hand

to get a Deaf person’sattention.

When reading bookscontaining text, I

would sign my owntranslation of the

English words. Whentranslating a particu-lar sentence, I would

point to it for her tofollow along and sign

at the same time.Sometimes I would

place the signs righton the book to make

sure that I had herattention.


person�s attention. I have learned this from beingaround various Deaf people and my sign languageteacher has always stressed how important thesegestures are and that they are not considered to berude in the Deaf culture. I consistently used thesemethods with Julie and, of course, they alwaysworked. In the article, Reading to Deaf Children: ALook at the Research, Schleper ( 2000, p.2) de-scribes the six main strategies used by Deaf moth-ers while reading to their children ages three to fiveyears old:

1. Sign placement (signing phrases on the bookor with the book)

2. Text paired with sign demonstration (point-ing to text, elaborating with ASL explana-tions, then to text)

3. Real world connection between text andchild�s experience

4. Attention maintenance (tapping shoulder orlap, elbow nudging, and moving book

5. Facial tone and body posture demonstratingcharacter chances

6. Non-manual signals as questions (nose-twitch, lowered and raised eyebrows, andmouth movement)

It should be noted that Schleper contends thatthese six strategies may promote higher readingabilities in Deaf children.

How did the child respond to othermembers in the family?

When involving other members of the family inthe lessons, the situation varied from time to timedepending on the number of people at home thatparticular day. After my first few visits, the familyand I both felt that I should always do some one-on-one with Julie first. I noticed that she gave me herfull attention when we worked one-on-one. Everyvisit was different. Sometimes she really wantedher sister to stay and learn with her and would beproud to show her sister all the signs that she knewand wanted to have her sister there when we readthe books together. Sometimes Julie wanted hermom or her dad to stay and sign with us but manytimes she would only sign and learn English whenit was just the two of us. Since Julie is three and ahalf years old, I found her attention span to lastapproximately 50 minutes per visit which waslonger than I originally expected. For our first few

visits we did various activities in her playroom butfor the rest of my visits she sat in her high chair withme at the kitchen table. Her parents and I both feltthat this worked the best and helped to keep herfocussed. It was also easier for me to keep herattention through eye contact, arm touching, orpointing at particular items that we were workingon when she was close by.

As I have begun to learn more about the Deafin the last few years I have noticed that manyhearing people feel uncomfortable asking a Deafperson what it is like to not be able to hear. Peopleare unsure if it is okay to ask a Deaf person whythey do certain things or how they live their livescompared to hearing people. An issue of ERICDigest explains that people need a �safe� environ-ment that they can ask questions in and that somany hearing people are uneducated about theDeaf (Wilcox & Wilcox, 1991, p.2). It is importantfor people to know that the Deaf feel stronglyabout their culture and that they do not seeDeafness as a disability. The ERIC Digest states,�The bilingual-bicultural approach does not sup-port mainstreaming Deaf children in regular edu-cation programs. Many Deaf adults have sharedtheir stories of isolation and academic deprivationwhile attending schools for children who can hear.The bilingual-bicultural approach holds that cogni-tive, linguistic, and social competence are bestachieved in environments that provide full commu-nicative access to the curriculum� (Baker, Baker,1997, p. 1). Through my various experiences overthe last few years I have learned that parents ofDeaf children have many difficult decisions to makewhen educating their children and it is importantfor people to know as much as possible about allthe opportunities that are available to them.

How did the child respond to me?

For my first few visits Julie was shy around me,and it usually took about 15 to 20 minutes beforeshe felt comfortable signing with me and partici-pating in activities. Various members of the familywould sit with me and start signing and/or playingsome of the games with me while Julie was nearby.I noticed that Julie would pretend to hide her eyesand ignore us but while we were signing she wouldconstantly be watching my fingers and facial ex-pressions. Eventually she never wanted to be leftout and would join us in whatever we were doing.As Julie began to remember me and feel morecomfortable around me during my visits, she would

After my first fewvisits, the family andI both felt that Ishould always dosome one-on-one withJulie first. I noticedthat she gave me herfull attention whenwe worked one-on-one. Every visit wasdifferent. Sometimesshe really wanted hersister to stay andlearn with her andwould be proud toshow her sister all thesigns that she knewand wanted to haveher sister there whenwe read the bookstogether.

Various members ofthe family would sitwith me and startsigning and/orplaying some of thegames with me whileJulie was nearby. Inoticed that Juliewould pretend to hideher eyes and ignoreus but while we weresigning she wouldconstantly be watch-ing my fingers andfacial expressions.Eventually she neverwanted to be left outand would join us inwhatever we weredoing.


take only a minute or two to start signing with me.I always taught Julie in the mornings because herfamily and I both found that she was not as tired,could pay attention longer and had more patienceto try and learn new words. I could always tellwhen Julie had learned enough for the day becauseher attention span became shorter and she wouldbecome restless. I always made her sign FINISH, IWANT OUT (of her chair) NOW, THANK YOU.

Conclusion

Baker & Baker have pointed out that withoutfluent language models, Deaf children�s languageskills will be developed neither optimally nor natu-rally, and I was glad that I could help with a smallpart of Julie�s education (1997, p. 3). Another issueof ERIC Digest stated that some Deaf studentsreach high school age without learning to read andhave developed behavioral problems through long-term frustration with inappropriate placement(Eccarius, 1997, p.2). It is also stated that ASLpromotes a healthy view of who a Deaf person isas a human being and increases a Deaf person�sself-esteem and confidence in his/her own per-sonal abilities (1997, p.2). It was exciting for me tosee how quickly a young child learns a language.Some days Julie would not sign much and justwatch me and look at the books or colours orwhatever I happened to be using. Then, on my nextvisit, she would always surprise me by showing methat she knew how to appropriately sign text,colour etc. This made me feel that my efforts wereworthwhile and I was glad to physically see that shewas learning both English and ASL. Another posi-tive sign that Julie was learning the language oc-curred when a member of the family told me thatone night when they were reading to her in bed shestarted signing the different colours in the bookwithout being prompted. I can only hope thatJulie�s curiosity with ASL and English will continueto grow and expand!

From my experience teaching Julie this sum-mer, from what I have learned in my L2 teachingclasses and from my volunteer experience as wellas from my own experiences learning ASL, it hasbecome evident to me that ESL and ASL have a lotin common in terms of both techniques and meth-odology. Students need to be taught in stimulating,relevant contexts using authentic materials an-chored in the context of their experience. Deafchildren experience that same world as hearingchildren only in a different way. Before ESL/ASL

learners can produce language, they need to expe-rience it (a silent period), and construct a map ofform and meaning that will allow them to talk aboutthemselves and their experiences. The acquisitionof ASL is similar to the acquisition of ESL in that itis a developmental, non-linear process that re-quires intense doses of comprehensible input.Learning language is not an osmotic process; learn-ers need to play an active role in the acquisitionprocess whether they are learning by means ofsigns or the spoken medium.

As ESL/ASL teachers, we have a lot to share andto learn from one another!

Erin Searson

Erin Searson is a student in the B.A. Program inSecond Language Teaching at the University ofOttawa. She is also studying American Sign Lan-guage at Algonquin College in Ottawa.

References

Baker, Sharon & Keith. (1997). Educating ChildrenWho Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Bilingual-Bicultural Education. ERIC Digest #E553.Reston, VA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabili-ties and Gifted Education.

Eccarius, Malinda. (1997). Educating Children WhoAre Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Assessment. ERICDigest #550. Reston, VA: ERIC Clearinghouseon Disabilities and Gifted Education.

Leblanc, Charlene. Sign Language Teacher.

Lentz, Ella M., Mikos, K., Smith, C. (1998). SigningNaturally: Student Workbook, Level 1. SanDiego: DawnSignPress.

Schleper, David R. (2000). Reading to Deaf Children:A Look at the Research. Washington, DC:Gallaudet University Laurent Clerc NationalDeaf Education Center.

VanLaanen-Smit, Jennifer. (1999). Teaching YourBaby American Sign Language. http://www.mangomamamaui.com/asl.html.

Vicars, Bill. http://www.lifeprint.com/as1101/pages-layout/teachingas111.htm.

Wilcox, Sherman & Phyllis. (1991). Teaching ASL asa Second Language. ERIC Digest. Washington,DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages andLinguistics.

Baker & Baker havepointed out that

without fluentlanguage models,

Deaf children’slanguage skills will

be developed neitheroptimally nor

naturally, and I wasglad that I could help

with a small part ofJulie’s education.

Another positive signthat Julie was

learning the languageoccurred when a

member of the familytold me that one night

when they werereading to her in bed

she started signingthe different coloursin the book without

being prompted. I canonly hope that Julie’s

curiosity with ASLand English will

continue to grow andexpand!


Vocabulary Practice Games

Games are an important part of a teacher�srepertoire. Although they are recreational activi-ties, their purpose is to reinforce language that hasalready been taught. In the course of the game,learners are directed into an enjoyable and chal-lenging activity with a clear goal � practising differ-ent language areas through play. They are soinvolved in playing the games they often do notrealize that they are practising language.

Games practise one of the key language areas �vocabulary. They provide initial or further practiceor periodic revision of new words in an enjoyablecontext, thus making classroom activities amusingand satisfying for teacher and students alike. Hereare several games the teacher may use to workwith words.

Memory game. One student begins by saying asentence and the next student in turn adds anotherword to the sentence, repeating what was saidbefore in the same order, e.g. S1: I went shoppingand bought a jacket. S2: I went shopping and boughta jacket and a cap and so on. Anyone who cannotadd to the list or makes a mistake in ordering thewords must drop out of the game. The last playerremaining is the winner. This game may be usedwith words related to any topic.

Guessing game �What�s it called in English?� Theteacher divides the class into small groups, asksone student from each group to come up to him/her and whispers one of the words just presentedor related to a certain topic to them so that theothers in the group may not hear. The playersreturn to their groups and draw, mime or point tothe object. They must not say the word. Whensomeone guesses correctly, this student goes tothe teacher and whispers the word. If it is correct,the teacher whispers another word to him/her.The student acts out the word, and this way thegame continues. This game can be used for furtherpractice of a wide variety of lexical units.

Word Association. The teacher asks students toname all the words they know associated with anylexical area, e.g. with the classroom. One studentsays a word, e.g., chalk. The next student must saya word which comes immediately to mind. Thenext student continues with another word and soon round the class, e.g., S1: chalk S2: bag S3:

recorder S4: ruler and so on. Anyone who can�tthink of a word immediately has to drop out of thegame.

Apart from the activities above, the teacher canorganize games that put students into a situation inwhich they have not only to practise or revisevocabulary, but also to practise other language(structures and functions). Games of this kind,distinct from the above games that provide learn-ers opportunities only to practise or revise vo-cabulary, are more communicative activities. Someof them are played with the whole class, often withthe students divided into teams, while others canbe played in pairs or small groups.

Guessing Games involve learners trying to findout something they do not know through guessing.For example, after students have put the wordsinto groups referring to food, clothes, furniture,etc., the teacher can organize the game �Guess thepicture.� The teacher has a set of flashcards withsome pictures of food, clothes, furniture, etc. He/She chooses one card, but does not show it to theclass. They must guess what it is by asking variousquestions: Is it a �? Is it made of �? Is it big or small?Where can we see it?, etc.

The game �Guess the word� provides a goodopportunity to develop students� habits and skillsin defining and paraphrasing words. For this gamethe teacher puts the students in pairs, facing eachother, and gives each pictures of separate items orcards with a word written on it, asking them not toshow each other their pictures or cards. Student Ain each pair has to describe the item representedin the picture or to define the word given on thecard as clearly as possible without saying it andstudent B must guess what the item or the word is.When student A has described the item in thepicture or defined the word on the card andstudent B has guessed it, the latter can then de-scribe the item in his/her picture or define theword for student A. If student B cannot immedi-ately guess the object he/she does not continue thegame. It is usually clearer if the teacher demon-strates to the class the way of describing an item ordefining a word first. For example, It�s a place whichcan help us know more about history. This game is anenjoyable way of reviewing lexical sets on different

In the course of thegame, learners aredirected into anenjoyable andchallenging activitywith a clear goal –practising differentlanguage areasthrough play. Theyare so involved inplaying the gamesthey often do notrealize that they arepractising language.

They provide initialor further practice orperiodic revision ofnew words in anenjoyable context,thus making class-room activitiesamusing and satisfy-ing for teacher andstudents alike.


topics: school life, articles of clothing, the place welive in, furniture, electrical machines, tools, jobs,etc., and if done regularly, can give students valu-able practice in paraphrasing and defining words bydescribing items.

For the guessing game �Build up a description,�the teacher puts students in small groups andassigns each to choose an object (e.g., a variety ofanimals at the elementary level, a variety of sports atthe intermediate level) and write some descriptivestatements about it. The statements must rangefrom the general to the specific, e.g., It�s a wildanimal. It�s big. It�s black and yellow, etc., for build-ing up a description of an animal. You can play thisoutside. This is a team sport, etc., for building up adescription of a sport. Then the students in eachgroup take turns reading out one sentence reveal-ing the animal or the sport gradually, while theother groups try to guess the name of the animal orthe sport.

In �Guess who it is,� one of the students de-scribes someone in the class and the others have toguess who it is. They may ask him/her questions toclarify some details.

The game �What tool is it and who uses it?�enables students to practise the lexis of tools andjobs or occupations. The teacher places separatecards on the table, each only indicating what sometool is used for (e.g., It is used for making holes inmetal or wood) and divides the class into twoteams of equal number. Students on one team picka card, read out the purpose of the tool written onthe card, and say what tool it is. A student from theother team names the job or occupation whichuses the named tool, e.g., S1: It is used for makingwood smooth. It�s a plane. S2: A carpenter uses aplane. S3: It is used for painting walls, doors andwindows. It is a paintbrush. S4: A decorator uses apaintbrush and so on. If a member from one teamcan�t name a tool, then a member from the otherteam has to guess it. The team gets a point fornaming each tool and the corresponding job oroccupation.

The game �What machine is it and how did peoplemanage without it in the past?� helps studentspractise the names of modern machines and appli-ances, facilitating our standard of living. After thestudents have matched the words with the pic-tures of modern conveniences and the operationsthey perform, the teacher asks one of the studentsto choose silently one of the machines or appli-

ances in the picture and say what it is used for,calling on another student, who then must saywhat machine it is and what people used to dobefore they had it, e.g., S1: It is used for cleaningcarpets and floors. Clare. S2 (Clare): A vacuumcleaner. People used to sweep carpets and floors byhand. This student now chooses another piece ofequipment in the picture, says its purpose, namesanother student and so on.

�What�s the problem?� can be organized to prac-tise vocabulary for making complaints about faultygoods. The teacher prepares pictures of everydayobjects (e.g., jumper, plate, record, gas lighter,book, hair-dryer, etc.) and places them in a box. Inturn, students pick a picture, think of a complaintappropriate to the item in the picture and say whattype of goods they have bought without namingthem or showing the picture to the class, e.g., I�vebought an article of clothing; I�ve bought dishes; I�vebought an electrical tool; etc. The other studentsask questions, using �damage� words to guess whatthe complaint is, e.g., Is it torn?; Is there a spot on it?;Is it chipped?; Is it cracked?; etc. If they fail to guessit, the student who has bought the faulty goodsshows the picture to the class and tells them aboutthe complaint.

Miming can be considered a kind of guessinggame. This �wordless� activity leads learners �totalk� quite naturally: someone mimes an action andthe others try to guess it by asking questions withinone structure or a variety of structures, e.g., aftermatching either the occupations with the defini-tions (explanations) or people to what they are incharge of, teachers can suggest the guessing game�What�s my job?� In this game, one student choosesa job and mimes a typical activity which it involves.The others try to guess the job by asking eitherabout the activity or the job, e.g., Do you workoutside (in an office, �)? Do you wear a uniform (usea tool, �)? Do you have to talk a lot (to travel, �)?Do you need to be imaginative (physically fit, �)? etc.This kind of guessing game provides further prac-tice of a wide variety of lexical units and thedevelopment of oral ability in an enjoyable way.

Mime can also be used at higher levels. Afterthe students have labelled the parts of the car withthe words in the list and put the steps involved indriving a car (turning the steering wheel, puttingthe key in the ignition, getting in, putting your footon the clutch, unlocking the door, starting the car,releasing the handbrake, putting the car in first

In ‘Guess who it is,’one of the students

describes someone inthe class and the

others have to guesswho it is. They may

ask him/her questionsto clarify some

details.

What’s the problem?’can be organized topractise vocabulary

for making com-plaints about faulty

goods.


gear, pulling out, putting your foot on the accelera-tor, turning on the indicator, etc.) into the rightorder, teachers may suggest the game �Start a carand back out.� The teacher calls each student in turnto the front and whispers an instruction to start acar and back out. Each student performs a mime ofthe action and the others try to guess what he/sheis doing by asking Yes/No questions.

The game �Guess the clue� practises verbs de-noting gestures and movements when used withthe name of a body part, e.g., to prick up one�sears, to clap one�s hands, to snap one�s fingers, topoke someone in the ribs, to shrug one�s shoul-ders, to close one�s eyes, to nod one�s head, toshake hands, to blow one�s nose, etc. The teachertells the class that he/she is going to call outsentences, each containing a clue to the gesture ormovement of the body. One student has to mimethe appropriate action and another student has tosay the corresponding phrase, e.g., T: You do this asa way of saying �Yes.� S1: (nods his/her head). S2: tonod one�s head. T: People do this if they don�t knowthe answer. S3: (shrugs his/her shoulders). S4: toshrug one�s shoulders. T: An impolite way to attractattention in a restaurant. S5: (snaps his/her fingers).S6: to snap one�s fingers, etc. After this, the teachermay ask students if they can think of sentences andcontexts to use these verbs in.

The teacher can organise the game �What hu-man sound is it?� while working with verbs express-ing human noises, e.g., cheer, cough, cry, howl,hum, scream, shout, sing, whisper, whistle, grum-ble, mumble, groan, etc. He/She gives the classsituations in which people make noises and asksstudents to make the sound corresponding to eachsituation as well as pay attention to the action, e.g.,T: You are in a choir. S1: (sings). S2: He/She is singing.T: You don�t want the others to hear what you aretelling someone. S3: (pretends as if he/she is whisper-ing something to somebody). S4: He/She is whisper-ing. T: You are in great pain or very angry. S5:(screams). S6: He/She is screaming, etc. This gamecan be used after the students have defined whatkind of sound these words express � loud or quiet,high- or low-pitched � and grouped them accord-ing to the following categories: happiness, pain,sadness, disapproval, annoyance, fear, excitement,or boredom. At the end, the teacher may getstudents to suggest new sentences and contexts inwhich to use these verbs.

The game �Suggestion chain� reviews vocabu-lary of leisure activities and making suggestions.

For this game, students make a list of leisureactivities. Afterwards one student suggests some-thing on his/her list to do in the evening or nextweekend, e.g., S1: Let�s go to a concert. The nextstudent has to disagree with the suggestion andchange it to something different, using anotherway of making a suggestion, e.g., S2: No, not aconcert. What about going to a nightclub?/Why don�twe visit Alec?/ Why not go for a drink?/ We could playsports./Shall we have a game of cards? Studentscontinue the game until they have used all thepossible ways of making suggestions. Anyone whocan�t think of anything to do or repeats the leisureactivity that has already been mentioned, does notuse another way of making a suggestion, or gets thewrong verb form is eliminated from the game.

The aim of the game �Make a request� is topractise phrases which may be used for making arequest for an appropriate situation. The teacherdivides the class into two teams and tells studentsthat he/she is going to call out a situation and thata student from either team has to make a requestappropriate to the situation, choosing someone inhis/her team to respond. For example, T: In a bank!S1: Could you change my euros into dollars? S2: Yes,certainly. How much would you like to change?, etc.If the request is appropriate and the response iscorrect, the team gets a point. If not, the memberof the other team makes that request. The follow-ing situations may be useful: in a shop, at a ticketoffice, at a post office, at a hotel reception, in arestaurant, at an airport, on an airplane, etc.

The game �Give advice� helps students practisethe vocabulary of illnesses. The teacher distributesseparate pictures representing people with someillness (e.g., a man with a high temperature (a cold,a cough, a sore throat, etc.) or feeling faint (dizzy,etc.) or with a sore leg (back, eye(s), etc.) amongthe students so that they have one each (Theteacher may collect these pictures from textbooksand photocopy them). Students take turns sayingwhat�s the matter with the person in the picture,e.g. S1: He/She has a cold, and the student sittingnext to him/her has to suggest what he/she thinksthe person in the picture should or shouldn�t do,e.g. S2: He/She should lie down, and so on.

The game �Shopping for goods in containers pro-vides practice of the �containers� vocabulary withwhich the learners have difficulties. For this gamethe teacher prepares two sets of cards: �containercards� with the name of the container written on

The game ‘Guess theclue’ practises verbsdenoting gestures andmovements whenused with the name ofa body part, e.g., toprick up one’s ears, toclap one’s hands, tosnap one’s fingers, topoke someone in theribs, to shrug one’sshoulders, to closeone’s eyes, to nodone’s head, to shakehands, to blow one’snose, etc.

The game ‘Giveadvice’ helpsstudents practise thevocabulary ofillnesses. The teacherdistributes separatepictures representingpeople with someillness (e.g., a manwith a high tempera-ture (a cold, a cough,a sore throat, etc.) orwith a sore leg (back,eye(s), etc.) Studentstake turns sayingwhat’s the matterwith the person in thepicture,


each (e.g., a tube) and �goods cards� with the nameof the goods with their price (e.g., glue= 1 pound)and divides the class in half. Students in one halfpick �container cards� and students in the other halfpick �goods cards.� One student reads out thecontainer written on his/her card, e.g. S1: a tubeand the other student with �a goods card� namesthe corresponding goods which can be packed inthe container called, e.g. S2: a tube of glue. After-wards the student with �a container card� asks:Could I have a tube of glue, please? The student with�a goods card� replies: Yes, certainly, and then thefirst student goes on to ask: How much is it? Thesecond student replies: It�s one dollar. Anotherstudent then reads out �a container card� and so onaround the class. Apart from the �containers� and�goods� vocabulary, this game involves practice inasking for things and the price.

The aim of the game �Match them� is to practiseusing collective nouns (e.g. a pack, a bunch, a crew,a bundle, a flock, a herd, a swarm, a school, etc.)with other nouns (clothes, sailors, bees, keys,cards, rowers, cattle, sheep, grapes, lies, fish,flowers, deer, etc.). For this game the teacherneeds two sets of cards. One set contains cardswith a collective noun written on each and theother set contains picture cards showing objects,the denoting nouns which are used with collectivenouns. �Word cards� are placed downwards and�picture cards� are placed upwards on the table.Each player in turn takes a noun card first and thenmatches it with the corresponding picture, sayingthe phrase, e.g., a bunch of flowers. (If there aresome pictures that might be matched with onenoun, the player takes one of them.) If the phraseis correct, the player has to make a sentence. Astudent gets a point for each correct phrase andsentence.

The technique described for the game �Matchthem� may also be used to practise using nounsexpressing small quantities (e.g., a drop, a frag-ment, a flash, a dash, a lock, a scrap, a blade, a chip,a pinch, a grain, etc.) with other nouns (salt, rain,hair, paper, lightning, grass, pepper, sand, wood,vase, etc.) and to practise verbs expressing thesounds the animals make (chirp, moo, roar, neigh,bark, buzz, cluck, miow, hiss, hoot, howl, bleat,caw, bray, grunt, croak, etc.), only with the differ-ence that the teacher places picture cards withanimals downwards and verb cards upwards onthe table.

The game �Social expressions� involves practis-ing expressions that could be used on many occa-sions in day-to-day interactions. In advance, theteacher makes a list of expressions equal to thenumber of students in each team and �responsecards� on separate pieces of cardboard or paper intwo sets. He/She divides the class into two teamsof equal number and hands out the cards of eachset among each member of each team. (Theremust be only one possible response to each ex-pression.) The teacher calls out one of the expres-sions on his/her list, e.g., Excuse me! And a studentfrom either team has to answer appropriately, e.g.,Yes, can I help you? The team member who givesthe correct response first wins the point. If theresponse is wrong, the chance goes to a memberof the other team. The game continues until everyexpression on the teacher�s list has been matched.The winning team is the one whose membersrespond correctly most often.

After this, the teacher gives students differentsituations and asks them to use these expressionsin an appropriate situation, e.g. What expressionswould you use in the following situations: You aregreeting each other informally (formally); You areasking somebody how he/she feels; You are sayinggoodbye to each other; You are going to bed; You areleaving on a Friday afternoon or evening; You aretrying to get somebody�s attention, for instance, in ashop; You are thanking someone for something; Youare drinking to celebrate an occasion; A guest feelsuneasy in your house; Someone is going on holiday;Someone has won something (got married, or had ababy); Someone is taking an exam; Someone is sneez-ing; etc. Students use expressions appropriate tothe situations and respond to them.

For the game �Notices and warnings� the teacherneeds two sets of cards. The cards in the first setcontain different kinds of notices, giving peopleinformation, telling them to do or not to do certainthings or giving them warnings, and the cards in thesecond set contain the names of places wherepeople would see or hear each notice. The teacherdivides the class into two teams, distributing theset of �notice cards� among the students of oneteam and the set of �place cards� among the stu-dents of the other team. Then he/she gives stu-dents clues to the notices and asks the members ofone team to read out the corresponding notice ontheir cards and the members of the other team toname the place where they would hear or see it,e.g. T: Based on the clue, say what notice is possible

The aim of the game‘Match them’ is to

practise usingcollective nouns (e.g.

a pack, a bunch, acrew, a bundle, a

flock, a herd, aswarm, a school, etc.)

with other nouns(clothes, sailors, bees,

keys, cards, rowers,cattle, sheep, grapes,

lies, fish, flowers,deer, etc.). For this

game the teacherneeds two sets of

cards.

The teacher givesstudents different

situations and asksthem to use theseexpressions in an

appropriate situation,e.g. What expressionswould you use in thefollowing situations:

You are greetingeach other informally

(formally); You areasking somebody howhe/she feels; You are

saying goodbye toeach other; You are

going to bed.


and where you would expect to see or hear it, e.g. anotice giving information that there are no tickets left.S1: Sold out. S2: Outside a cinema. S3: Outside atheatre. T: A notice telling you not to leave a car atthis place for a time. S1: No parking. S2: In a street.T: A notice warning you to be careful that there arepeople here who will steal things from your bag orpocket. S1: Beware of pickpockets. S2: On the subwayand so on. A student gets a point for each correctresponse. After this, the teacher assigns studentsto think of some possible notices of their own thatthey could put in one of these places: a hospital, anairplane, a highway, a library, a school, a hotel, apark, an airport.

The game �Report the statements spoken� aimsto practise verbs which report the essence ofdirect speech, and not every word, e.g., advise,promise, explain, refuse, accept, warn, suggest,agree, etc. Students tend to report word-for-word, using the verbs �say� and �tell�. This gameallows students to get into the habit of using theseverbs appropriately, of reporting the idea, not theactual words. For this game the teacher preparestwo sets of cards of equal number: one set of cardswith a direct speech sentence on each and theother set of cards with a reporting verb (theteacher should restrict this set to verbs the stu-dents already know) and hands them out to thestudents so that they have either a sentence cardor a verb card. Then he/she asks someone with thesentence card to read out the direct speech sen-tence. The student who has a card with the corre-sponding reporting verb, which describes the ac-tual words spoken, reads the verb aloud and thenreports the sentence, e.g. S1: Why don�t we go fora coffee? S2: Suggest. He/She suggested going for acoffee and so on. The teacher should pay attentionto how the students are using verb patterns whichfollow certain reporting verbs (e.g., advise (re-mind, warn) + object + infinitive, offer (intro-duce) + two objects, accept (refuse) + object,agree (refuse, promise) + infinitive, explain (agree,complain) + that + clause (suggest + ing form,apologize + preposition + ing form) and try tokeep the pace as fast as possible.

As a follow-up activity the teacher may givestudents different situations which describe a con-versation between two people based on differentlanguage functions: inviting/accepting or refusing;making a suggestion/accepting or rejecting; askingfor a suggestion/making a suggestion; making arequest/agreeing or refusing; offering/making a

decision, agreeing or refusing; making a complaint/apologizing; making a complaint/giving advice;warning/accepting and asking them to performcorresponding conversations with each other, us-ing the actual words spoken, e.g. T: You invited oneof your friends to go with you to an outdoor concert onFriday. He/She accepted the invitation. S1: Wouldyou like to come with me to the outdoor concert onFriday? S2: Great! I�d love to come and so on.

The game �Exaggerate� gives students the op-portunity to practise base and strong adjectives. Itinvolves answering questions using strong adjec-tives: enormous, delicious, fascinating, horrible,marvelous, astonished, furious, terrified, etc. Forthis game the teacher prepares cards, each witheither a tag question (e.g., He is funny, isn�t he?),negative (e.g., Wasn�t she surprised when sheheard the news about their engagement?) or Yes,No question (e.g., Did you have a bad day?), placesthem on the table and calls on someone. Thisstudent picks a card, reads out the question andcalls out the name of another student, who thenhas to answer the question using an appropriatestrong adjective, e.g. S1: They serve very tasty dishesin that restaurant, don�t they? Bob! S2 (Bob): Tasty?They serve delicious dishes there! This student nowpicks another card, reads out the question, calls onanother student and so on. A student who uses thewords yes or no and a base adjective while answer-ing is eliminated. It is best to use this game after thestudents have matched adjectives with theirstronger equivalents and the teacher has clarifiedsome difficulties connected with the use of inten-sifying adverbs (very, quite, rather, really, abso-lutely) with them.

The game �Complete the definition� would beuseful for further practice of compound adjectiveswhich are formed on the following patterns: adjec-tive + noun + -ed (old-fashioned), adjective oradverb + past participle (clean-shaven, well-dressed), adjective or noun + present participle(good-looking, fun-loving). In advance, the teacherwrites a number of adjective definition starters ona sheet of paper and prepares an equivalent numberof definition ending cards with a compound adjec-tive on each in two sets. The teacher divides theclass into two teams and distributes the adjectivecards among students so that each member of bothteams has one. He/She then reads out one of thedefinition starters on the sheet, and a student fromeither team who thinks he/she has the concludingadjective reads out his/her card, e.g., T: Someone

For Report thestatements spoken’the teacher preparestwo sets of cards ofequal number: one setof cards with a directspeech sentence oneach and the other setof cards with areporting verb andhands them out to thestudents so that theyhave either a sentencecard or a verb card.

The game ‘Exagger-ate’ gives studentsthe opportunity topractise base andstrong adjectives. Itinvolves answeringquestions usingstrong adjectives:enormous, delicious,fascinating, horrible,marvelous, aston-ished, furious,terrified, etc. For thisgame the teacherprepares cards, eachwith either a tagquestion (e.g., He isfunny, isn’t he?).


who always dresses in nice clothes is � S1: well-dressed. T: Someone who always sees both sides of anargument is � S2: open-minded. T: Someone whoaccepts criticism easily is � S3: thick-skinned and soon. The team member who completes the defini-tion with the correct adjective first wins a point. Ifnot, a member of the other team continues. Thegame is complete when the students have workedthrough all their �adjective cards.� The winningteam is the one that gets the most points. Afterthis, the teacher assigns students to group adjec-tives on their cards according to what they describe:appearance (face, body), character and abilities, e.g.,T: Which adjectives on your cards describe one�sappearance (character, abilities)? S1: good-looking(easy-going, English-speaking). S2: broad-shouldered(well-behaved, hard-working). S3 Bald-headed (warm-hearted, quick-thinking), etc. At the end, the teacherasks individual students to use some of theseadjectives to describe someone they know.

The game �Contradict� aims to get students topractise forming opposites of the adjectives withthe use of prefixes un-, in-, im-, irab- and il-. Theteacher writes a list of adjectives on the blackboardand asks one of the students to make a statementusing one of the adjectives on the blackboard andcall on another student who then has to respond bygiving a contradictory sentence with an oppositeadjective. Then this student makes another state-ment, calls on another student and so on, e.g. S1:Her room always looks tidy. Helen! S2 (Helen): Tidy?I don�t think so. It always looks untidy. His sister ispolite (patient, friendly, kind, modest). Jane!, etc.Students should be prepared for this activity. Theteacher should provide initial practice in formingopposite adjectives, pointing out to the studentswhich of the prefixes is used with which adjectivesto form an opposite. After providing a certainframework, the teacher may move on to this gamefor further practice.

The game �What kind?� can be used to practiseadjective-noun combinations: opposites with whichlearners have difficulties. They often incorrectlyuse adjectives in relation to some nouns that maybe the result of mother-tongue interference. Forexample, intermediate level students commonlyuse the adjectives �light�, �weak�, �heavy�, �strong�inaccurately: �light coffee� instead of �weak coffee�,�weak smell� instead of �faint smell�, or �a strongsmoker� instead of �a heavy smoker�. Under theinfluence of their native language, students alsomake such inappropriate or unacceptable colloca-

tions as �a heavy job� and �a light job� instead of �ahard job� and �an easy job�. The incorrect use ofadjective-noun collocations may also be the resultof contrasting an adjective with its opposite, e.g.,contrasting �sour� with �sweet� students use �sourwine� instead of �dry wine�. The word �dry� in a verygeneral sense means �not web, damp� as in a �dryday�, being a contrast to �wet�, but when collocatedwith the noun �wine�, the meaning changes � �drywine� being the opposite of �sweet wine�. A lot ofexamples could be given showing how the sense ofan adjective can be changed when collocated withdifferent nouns (�a right hand� in contrast to �a lefthand� and �a right answer� being opposite to �awrong answer�. Since there are no �rules� for thesecollocations, in our opinion, it is best to practisethis type of adjective-noun combinations in termsof contextual opposites through the game �Whatkind?� For this game the teacher selects adjectivesrepresenting opposite meanings, writes each ofthem on a separate piece of paper and gives one toeach student. The teacher then says a noun andone student calls an appropriate adjective on his/her card that might be collocated with that noun.The other student in turn calls out the opposite ofthe adjective. The teacher says another noun andso on. If the collocation is correct the student getsa point.

After this, the teacher may provide communi-cative practice, assigning the students to ask eachother questions, using the adjectives written ontheir cards, and answer them using correspondingopposites, e.g., S1: Would you like dry wine? S2: No,I�d like sweet wine and so on.

After the students have grouped adjectivesaccording to what they describe � personal opinionor object, size, age, shape, colour, origin, materialof an object, the teacher may explain the game�Expand the sentence� to practise placing a series ofadjectives in the right order. He/She starts bygiving a sentence and a student, in turn, has toexpand each preceding sentence with an adjective,putting it in the right place, each time repeatingwhat has gone before, e.g., T: She bought a jacket.S1: She bought a black jacket. S2: She bought a long-sleeved, black jacket. S3: She bought a long-sleeved,black, woolen jacket. The teacher starts with an-other sentence and so on. He/She should not letstudents combine more than two or three adjec-tives before a noun as it is unusual in speech. Aplayer who cannot think of an adjective or puts itin an unacceptable position must drop out.

The game ‘Whatkind?’ can be used to

practise adjective-noun combinations:

opposites with whichlearners have difficul-

ties. For example,intermediate level

students commonlyuse the adjectives

‘light’, ‘weak’,‘heavy’, ‘strong’

inaccurately: ‘lightcoffee’ instead of

‘weak coffee’, ‘weaksmell’ instead of

‘faint smell’, or ‘astrong smoker’

instead of ‘a heavysmoker’.

After this, the teachermay provide commu-

nicative practice,assigning the stu-dents to ask each

other questions, usingthe adjectives written

on their cards, andanswer them using

correspondingopposites, e.g., S1:Would you like dry

wine? S2: No, I’d likesweet wine and so on.


The game �Which preposition?� helps studentspractise using prepositions after certain verbs andadjectives. The teacher writes a list of subject +verbal predicate phrases on one side of the board(The list will depend on what prepositional verbsor adjectives the teacher may wish to get studentsto practise) and a list of prepositions on the otherside. S1 starts by calling out a subject + predicatephrase, e.g., The doctor operated � (Are you inter-ested �), S2 continues by choosing an appropriatepreposition, e.g., � on (� in), S3 completes thesentence, e.g., �the patient. (�modern art?) andstarts with another subject + predicate phrase andso on.

The game �Chain cards� practises compoundnouns. The teacher prepares chain cards which canbe linked together to form compound nouns, e.g.,paper / driving, license / press, conference / ash,tray / wall, etc. He/She gives students the cards andasks them to decide which can go together. As afollow-up activity, the teacher may assign studentsto give the explanations of compound nouns formedby them and guess what the words are, e.g. S1: Thepiece of paper that means you can drive a car. S2: Adriving license. S3: Where smokers put out theircigarettes. S4: An ashtray. S5: What you put on thewalls of your house when you decorate a room. S6:Wallpaper, etc.

The game �Word pairs� practises words whichgo in pairs with �and�, �or�, �but� such as �pros andcons�, �sooner or later�, and �slowly but surely�. Forthis game, the teacher prepares three sets of cards:A: cards with the first word in the phrase, e.g., ins,B: cards with the conjunction, e.g., and, and Ccards with the last word in the phrase, e.g., outs.The A and C cards are placed face-down on thetable, and the B cards are face-up between the Aand B cards. Students in turn pick an A card and aC card. They must decide if the two cards gotogether and which conjunction should be used tocomplete the phrase. If they make a correct phrase,they get a point, and take the A and C cards. If acorrect phrase cannot be made, they return thecards face-down and continue.

In the game �We collocate�, for students prac-tise verbs and adjectives with similar meaning,collocating them with nouns, e.g., make/do, rent/hire, waste/spend, revolve/circulate, roar/bellow,break out/start, tall/high, heavy/strong, strange/odd, common/plain, big/great, fast/quick, etc. Thecollocability of these words is restricted, the use of

one of the words of the pair is determined by thenoun it collocates which creates most difficulty forstudents. It is difficult for learners to becomeaware of why he/she must say a tall building and ahigh wall. For them �tall� and �high� mean the same;it does not matter to them which of these adjec-tives is used with which noun.

For this game the teacher prepares two sets ofcards for each pair of words. One set containsseparate cards with a verb or an adjective writtenon them and the other set contains as well separatecards with a noun that may go with these verbs orwith these adjectives. The teacher places both setsof cards face-down separately on the table and askseach student to select a card from each set and seeif the words written on them collocate. If the playerpicks cards with words that go together (e.g., torent a room or fast food) he/she has to make asentence with this collocation. If the words writtenon the cards do not collocate, he/she turns themface-down and the next player takes his/her turn.The selected cards are returned to the correct setsand shuffled. After the students have made allpossible combinations out of one pair of verbs oradjectives and nouns given on both sets of cards,the teacher places other sets of cards with otherpairs of verbs or adjectives and nouns and so on. Astudent wins a point by saying each accurate collo-cation and a correct sentence.

The game �Who does or makes these in yourhouse?� provides a good opportunity to get stu-dents to practise make/do + nouns collocationswhich students form incorrectly. For this game theteacher prepares cards, each with one of thehousehold activities (the shopping / the cooking /the cleaning / the bed(s) / the dishes / cakes / thedecorating / the most money / the ironing /a mess/ most of the decisions) and places them face-downon the table. Students in turns go up to the table,turn up one of the cards and say who does or makesthe thing written on the card in their house. Apartfrom the practice of make/do + nouns collocations,this activity revises the �household activity� vo-cabulary.

The game �Accusations� would be helpful forpractice in collocating verbs of spoiling with nouns.This game can be used after the students havechosen which of the verbs (mark, scratch, spoil,stain, soak, crack, tear, ruin, break) can be usedwith which noun. The teacher asks students indi-vidually to write a list of different items: personal

The game ‘Whichpreposition?’ helpsstudents practiseusing prepositionsafter certain verbs andadjectives. Theteacher writes a list ofsubject + verbalpredicate phrases onone side of the board(The list will dependon what prepositionalverbs or adjectivesthe teacher may wishto get students topractise) and a list ofprepositions on theother side.

The game ‘Who doesor makes these inyour house?’ pro-vides a good opportu-nity to get students topractise make/do +nouns collocationswhich students formincorrectly. For thisgame the teacherprepares cards, eachwith one of thehousehold activitiesand places them face-down on the table.


clothing, furniture, dishes, or household accesso-ries (e.g., jeans, an armchair, a carpet, a vase, thecurtains, etc.). After making a list, students inturns, read out an item and their partner respondsby making an accusation using a suitable verb ofspoiling, e.g., S1: jeans S2: You�ve stained my jeans.The student who responds is the next person tocontinue the game.

The game �Find the correct ending� involvespractising groups of words that share the samegeneral sense (e.g., refuse/reject, extend/increase/expand, rush/hurry, etc.) and may be interchange-able in a limited number of contexts but generallythe use of one of these words is determined by acontext (e.g., Come to our party and don�t forgetto bring a bottle of wine.). For this game the teachermakes a list of sentence starters on a sheet of paperand an equivalent number of corresponding sen-tence starters on a sheet of paper and an equivalentnumber of corresponding sentence endings onseparate cards in two sets. While preparing thismaterial a) for each group of these words theteacher should devise sentences in which only oneof them can be used, not replaced by any word ofthe group, e.g., We are going to // extend the kitchenby ten feet this year. We want to // increase our salesby ten feet this year; b) he/she should break thesentence at a suitable place; c) there should be onlyone possible sentence ending. The teacher dividesthe class into two equal teams and distributes thesentence-ending cards among the students of bothteams. He/She then reads out one of the sentencestarters on his/her list and a student from eitherteam who thinks he/she has the correspondingsentence ending reads it out. The team memberwho gives the correct ending first gets a point. Ifnot, the chance goes to a member of the otherteam. The activity continues until every sentencestarter has been completed. The winning team isthe one whose members win the most points.

The game �Word versus word� is useful whileworking with words that are often confused, e.g.,cook/cooker, lend/borrow, rob/steal, expect/waitfor, lie/lay, rise/raise, etc. The procedure for thisgame is as follows: the teacher places separatecards with a pair of words, e.g., rise - raise face-down on the table. In turn, students pick up a card,read out the pair of words and make two sen-tences, using both words of the pair. A student getsone point for each correct sentence. This game canbe organized after the teacher has highlightedthese word confusions, clarified any difficulties and

misunderstandings connected with them, dealtwith possible errors and the students have donethe exercise: Choose which word out of the pairsof words is correct for each sentence.

The games included here are by no means anexhaustive selection. We have only tried to present�some nuggets� for the teachers to try out in class.They are designed to be integrated into the generallanguage syllabus of any coursebook and, in ouropinion, they are an important way of practisingvocabulary for learners of all ages: ��relaxationand enjoyment are important to all learners, andthe most serious adults can become completelyabsorbed in cooperating with colleagues in orderto win a game.�* In addition, they can be used atdifferent levels. If the actual examples we provide,do not allow the teacher to use this or that gamein his/her teaching situation, he/she may adaptthem to the knowledge of his/her class simply bychanging the target lexis. The teacher may alsomodify any game to suit different teaching environ-ments. But most important of all, we hope thismaterial may act as a catalyst to trigger furtherideas of teachers for creating games of their own.

Shalva Shaptoshvili

Shalva Shaptoshvili teaches EFL in the formerSoviet Republic of Georgia.

* Edge, J. 1996. Essentials of English LanguageTeaching. Longman.

The game ‘Find thecorrect ending’

involves practisinggroups of words that

share the samegeneral sense and

may be interchange-able in a limited

number of contextsbut generally the useof one of these words

is determined by acontext (e.g., Come to

our party and don’tforget to bring abottle of wine.).

The game ‘Wordversus word’ is

useful while workingwith words that are

often confused, e.g.,cook/cooker, lend/borrow, rob/steal,

expect/wait for, lie/lay, rise/raise, etc.This game can be

organized after theteacher has high-

lighted these wordconfusions, misun-

derstandings con-nected with them,

dealt with possibleerrors and the

students have donethe exercise: Choose

which word out ofthe pairs of words is

correct for eachsentence.

22 Contact, Vol. 28, No. 1, Winter 2002○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Tips to Catch Plagiarists

Cheating is nothing new. What is new is that itis much easier for your students to find, acquire,alter and submit work that is not theirs. There arecountless Internet �Paper Mills� or �Research Serv-ices� that offer to sell academic papers for anominal sum. Surprisingly, there are also web sitesthat offer term papers at no cost. Generally, mostteachers find that plagiarism in the ESL environ-ment consists of the students copying and pastingtext from Internet web pages. The following tipsoutlined below should help locate plagiarized pa-pers.

Look for the (ridiculously) Obvious

At the top and the bottom of a submitted paperlook for a Uniform Resource Locator. The URL orweb address is easily recognized by its location onthe page, its smaller character size, bold or italicsand the prefix http://. At the top of the page, alsolook for a banner that may or may not be relatedto the student�s topic. There have been severaloccasions over the past few years where teachershave brought such cases to the attention of mycolleagues.

On the last page of a purchased or downloadedessay, some companies place a credit line such as,�This essay is from www.freepapers.com�. Somestudents may be in such a hurry to submit theircomposition they may miss this footnote. Teach-ers should get into the habit of looking for thisaddendum.

It may save the instructor time to locate copiedor borrowed papers by requiring that studentssubmit an electronic copy of their essay or paper.If the paper has the file extension .htm or .htmlthen there is a good chance that it was initiallyborrowed from the Internet. Also, if the teacherhas some skill using MS Word, formatting issuesthat cannot be resolved simply, will possibly ap-pear. Bulleting, paragraph spacing, and paragraphindenting are samples of problematic crossoversfrom HTML documents to word-processed docu-ments.

A quick scan of the essay�s reference sectionwill allow the teacher to recognize the origins ofthe citations. If they are all from books not availablein your school or all from another country then itis clear that the paper has been plagiarized.

If the essay is not exactly on topic, it mayindicate that the paper has been stolen. The stu-dent may have borrowed an essay related to thesubject area but locating a perfect-fit is quitedifficult. It may be a good idea to ask the student torewrite portions of the paper to meet the goals ofthe assignment. Students will have to producecontent demonstrating their ability to produce thequality consistent with the rest of the essay.

Look for indications that the paper is dated. Ifthe student�s paper refers to the great potential ofthe Soviet Union or if all of the latest references ina paper are from 1983, then there is a good chancethat it is a second-hand essay. (Also, note shifts inregister, style or form in a paper.)

Search Engines

Again this may sound simple but it is effective.If teachers suspect work is copied from an Internetsource, it is recommended that they spend time ona search engine. Google or Teoma are suggestedsearch engines. Type the title of the essay into thesearch text box. Click on the Search button. Thistechnique reveals students who are lazy but knowhow to copy and paste content into a word-processing document. If no matches appear in thetop ten results then try the following. Open asearch engine and type the first five words thatappear in the document. In my personal experi-ence, this has been a very successful means oflocating liberated text from the web. An alterna-tive is to look for a key phrase in the paper andinput this into a search engine.

Web Internet Paper Sites (Resources)

There are hundreds of Internet term-papersites available to our students. These range from anunorganized heap of papers at some sites to sub-ject-specific term paper sites. At these sites,databases are available in a variety of convenientstructures. After all, it is a business.

At some sites the papers are provided for free.There is usually some catch however. It is generallyrequired that the student register before theydownload a paper. The quantity of papers at thesesites is not as comprehensive as the exchange orpay sites. As you would expect, the quality of the

The URL or webaddress is easilyrecognized by itslocation on the page,its smaller charactersize, bold or italicsand the prefix http://.At the top of thepage, also look for abanner that may ormay not be related tothe student’s topic.

If teachers suspectswork is copied froman Internet source, itis recommended thatthey spend time on asearch engine. Open asearch engine andtype the first fivewords that appear inthe document. In mypersonal experience,this has been a verysuccessful means oflocating liberated textfrom the web. Analternative is to lookfor a key phrase in thepaper and input thisinto a search engine.

Contact, Vol. 28, No. 1, Winter 2002 23 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

papers at these sites is also questionable. Theyrange from extremely well-written essays stolenfrom other sites to fragmented misspelled works.Many do not include any bibliography.

The next step up in the world of the WebInternet Paper is the exchange site. These sitesrequire that the student send a paper to the sitebefore providing one to the student. These sitesare common, but it seems like too much work fora person to take the time to send in a paper to getanother. It is more than likely that a student willsend a borrowed paper to one of these sites toacquire a paper that they desire from a paperexchange site.

Membership sites allow unlimited access to adatabase of academic papers. Students are billedon a per-page basis. Credit cards are acceptedmedium of payment. This can range from one toten U.S. dollars for a formatted page. Email orsnail-mail deliveries are options, although the mailoption usually adds a premium onto the final price.A few sites will charge an outrageous fee to writeyour paper for you if they do not have the paper onsite.

A teacher can use the paper mills themselves tolocate specific papers. However there are hun-dreds of paper sites on the web. The site at http://www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htm offers the user150 sites that provide essays for free, exchange orpayment. Prevention seems to be the most effi-cient means of combating web cheating.

Prevention

With all of these issues in mind educators maywish to take preventative measures with theirstudents by counselling them on how to avoidplagiarism. Discuss a definition of plagiarism interms of the target culture (Canada) in relation totheir home culture. Many teachers will be sur-prised by students� views and honesty. Discuss thedifferent forms of plagiarism. Varieties of plagia-rism vary from buying a complete paper from apaper mill to omitting source information for aparaphrased sentence. Visit a paper mill with yourstudents to point out that many of the papers arenot researched or well written. Inform them thatthe papers that they will download are papersalready written for another purpose.

To avoid plagiarism the teacher should outlinethe essay topic clearly and then require that a draft

with documented sources be included before afinal copy will be accepted. If there is time, thestudents may start their assignment by locatingpossible bibliographic sources and submitting thelist with a brief comment on each source.

It may be advisable to create new assignmentsrather than recycle the same ones each year.Students do pass on old assignments to theirsuccessors. Also it may help prevent cheating if thestudents are limited to resources specified by theinstructor.

Finally, the teacher should require that stu-dents submit their papers in electronic format.They may be emailed to the instructor, uploadedto a central hard drive or submitted on a floppy orCD.

Software Plagiarism Detectors

There are service sites and software programsavailable to help detect plagiarized papers. Takethe tour at the web site Turn-it-in.com to see thefeatures of a service that will help you detectplagiarized papers. Plagiserve.com also boasts theability to detect plagiarized papers with the claimthat they monitor all new submissions to papermills.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the loser is the student. Theydo not acquire the knowledge or skills as a result ofwriting an assignment or essay. The papers inarchives at most of these sites are usually out-of-date and of dubious quality. Teachers are alsolosers in the plagiarism game since they have tospend time gathering evidence in order to defenda failing grade. Teachers can use on-line detectorsor some of their own manual techniques but pre-vention seems to be the most efficient means ofcombating plagiarism. If teachers are informed ofthe new methods of plagiarism, then they canprevent some instances by running short aware-ness sessions and structuring their assignments toprevent cheating.

John AllanAbu Dhabi Men�s Higher College

U.A.E.

A teacher can use thepaper mills them-

selves to locatespecific papers.

However, there arehundreds of paper

sites on the web. Thesite at http://

www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htmoffers the user 150

sites that provideessays for free,

exchange or payment.

There are service sitesand software pro-

grams available tohelp detect plagia-

rized papers. Take thetour at the web site

Turn-it-in.com to seethe features of a

service that will helpyou detect plagiarized

papers.Plagiserve.com alsoboasts the ability to

detect plagiarizedpapers with the claimthat they monitor allnew submissions to

paper mills.


Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario

ESL instructors meet chemical engineers, phar-macists and other foreign-trained professionalsfrustrated by Ontario�s licensing requirements,They can help through language training and infor-mation and support.

These are also the people that the Ontariogovernment�s Access to Professions and TradesUnit (APT) help every day � though they rarelymeet face-to-face.

Following are some APT initiatives that helpnewcomers find work in Ontario. These APTresources can be used by ESL instructors as theysupport their learners through their initial stepstoward employment.

Access to Professions and TradesObjectives

The Access to Professions and Trades Unit ismandated to work with regulatory bodies, em-ployers, community agencies, and educational in-stitutions on initiatives to expedite skilled immi-grants� entry into Canada�s labour market. Existingbarriers, such as lack of information about licensingrequirements, the need for Canadian experience,language training, and exam preparation, are ad-dressed through these partnerships.

Access to Professions and TradesInitiatives

The Access to Professions and Trades Unit hassponsored the development of several programsand resources to reduce the gap between skilledimmigrants and employment.

Occupational Fact Sheets provide new andprospective immigrants with comprehensive, up-to-date information on entry-to-practice require-ments and labour market conditions for specificprofessions and trades in Ontario. Some of theoccupations are automotive service technician,electrician, engineer, tool and die maker, medicalradiation technologist, midwife and teacher. Theycan be obtained either by calling the Access toProfessions and Trades Unit at 416-314-326-6260 or on the i r webs i te http://www.equalopportunity.on.ca/english_g/apt/occfact.html.

A web-based fact sheet is also now available.This electronic fact sheet (e-factsheet) the infor-mation provided in the other Occupational FactSheets through direct hyperlinks to informationand resources. The first e-factsheet is available athttp://www.newontariopharmacists.com. An e-factsheet for nurses and one for engineering tech-nologists and technicians will be launched later thisyear.

The Occupational Fact Sheets function as ref-erence materials for both instructors and learners,and as occupation-specific reading materials foremployment-related lessons.

Sector-Specific Terminology, Information andCounseling (STIC) are teaching manuals for use byorganizations planning to deliver sector-specificprograms. Through the use of STIC, organizationscan help newcomers learn what it will take topractise their profession in Ontario, understandthe terminology, and make informed career deci-sions. There is a STIC manual for each of thefollowing four sectors: accountants, engineering,health care and automotive service. Administra-tors considering new occupation-specific program-ming and ESL instructors teaching ESP in theseareas will find these curricula useful.

An accompanying Competency Matching Tool,available on CD-ROM, allows newcomers to as-sess their status against Ontario expectations.

The STIC Curricula and the Competency Match-ing Tool are both available from the Access toProfessions and Trades Unit. Organizations inter-ested in the materials can request copies by email,[email protected], or by calling 416-314-6817.

World Education Services (WES), Canada com-pares educational credentials from outside Canadawith Ontario qualifications in order to help for-eign-educated individuals enter the job market.Their website contains clear instructions, frequentlyasked questions and a sample evaluation, all ofwhich can provide the basis for an Internet re-search activity for employment preparation classes.For information visit them at http://www.wes.org/ca.

Occupational FactSheets can be ob-tained either by callingthe Access to Profes-sions and Trades Unitat 416-314-326-6260or on their websitehttp://www.equalopportunity.on.ca/english_g/apt/occfact.html.

The first e-factsheet isavailable at http://www.

newontariopharmacists.com.

An e-factsheet fornurses and one forengineering technolo-gists and technicianswill be launched laterthis year.


WES is currently pilot testing a World Educa-tion Database, a series of comprehensive profilesof worldwide educational systems and their On-tario equivalents. Instructors or counsellors canaccess this database by registering online. Theinformation about education systems in other coun-tries provides insight into various educational back-grounds, and if used as in-class reading material,offers an interesting subject for discussion.

The Bridging Project Fund helps organizationsdevelop programs to assist immigrants along thepath to licensure, certification, or accreditation foremployment and building on the skills that immi-grants bring with them. Bridging projects bringoccupational regulatory bodies, community col-leges, universities, employers, private training in-stitutions, and career counselling services togetherto offer foreign-trained participants language train-ing and practical experience needed to meet On-tario standards, without duplicating learning gainedelsewhere.

The CARE for Nurses Project helps interna-tionally trained nurses become licensed to practisein Ontario. CARE includes orientation to nursing inOntario, nursing theory and clinical practice re-view, job shadowing and employer placements.For information on eligibility and upcoming regis-tration contact the CARE office at 416-406-6166,or visit their website http://www.care4nurses.org/

The International Pharmacy Graduate Program(IPG) is a joint project of the Ontario College ofPharmacists and the Faculty of Pharmacy at theUniversity of Toronto. It offers foreign-trainedpharmacists the knowledge and skills required tomeet Canadian pharmacy practice standards andpractice requirements. Participants have success-fully completed the Pharmacy Examining Board ofCanada�s Evaluating Examination and meet theCollege of Pharmacists� language requirements.For more information on eligibility and registrationcontact the College of Pharmacists at 416-962-4861.

Several new bridging projects are underwaythroughout Ontario. These projects will be devel-oped and tested over the next two years, and areexpected to be in operation and accepting stu-dents by the end of 2004. They are:

1. Access and Options for Foreign-trained HealthCare Professionals

2. Access to Midwifery Pre-registration Program

3. Alternative Teacher Accreditation Program forTeachers with International Experience http://educ.queensu.ca/~ataptie/

4. Bridges to Employment for Precision Machin-ing and Tooling Tradespersons

5. Health Informatics and Financial Services Bridg-ing Project: George Brown Computer Diploma

6. Preparation for Apprenticeship, Trades andTechnology

7. Preparation for Registration for Medical Labo-ratory Technologists

8. Three Choices: New Options for Foreign-trained Nurses Seeking Employment in On-tario

9. Vitesse Biotechnology Bridging Program forForeign-trained Professionals

Many bridging projects are incorporating Ca-nadian Language Benchmark descriptors in theirlanguage components, resulting in the use of acommon language to describe language compe-tency across several sectors.

For more details on these bridging projects,see the announcement at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/nr/02.04/bg0403.html

Access to Professions and TradesAchievements to Date

Through these initiatives skilled immigrants toOntario can put their skills and knowledge towork. These projects acknowledge immigrants asvital people, contributing to our economy, andhelp the community at large acknowledge them assuch.

For more information on the Access to Profes-sions and Trades Unit visit the APT website athttp://www.equalopportunity.on.ca/english_g/apt/

Information compiled by Andrea StrachanPolicy and Program Consultant

Access to Professions and Trades UnitMinistry of Training, Colleges and Universities

(416) [email protected]

A World EducationDatabase, a series of

comprehensiveprofiles of worldwide

educational systemsand their Ontarioequivalents, can

access this databaseby registering online.

The informationabout educationsystems in other

countries providesinsight into various

educational back-grounds, and if used

as in-class readingmaterial, offers an

interesting subject fordiscussion.

The CARE forNurses Project helps

internationallytrained nurses

become licensed topractise in Ontario.

CARE includesorientation to nursing

in Ontario, nursingtheory and clinical

practice review, jobshadowing and

employer placements.For information on

eligibility andupcoming registra-

tion contact theCARE office at 416-

406-6166, or visittheir website http://

www.care4nurses.org/


Let Me In

Open the door,

Let me in,

Hold my warm hands.

I bring you beautiful flowers.

Wipe the tears off your face,

Forget annoying things in the past.

Tell me

That is over.

Open the door to your mind,

Let me in,

Hold your hands.

There are so many words we need to say,

Believe that we can understand.

Although it is cold outside,

The snow has not melted,

But winter will be over

When the warm memories recover.

Open the door to your heart,

Let me in,

Look into my eyes.

You can read the passions through the window,

You can feel the warmth when my heart beats.

Do not suspect anymore,

Do not hesitate any longer,

The spring will come

When our hearts touch together.

by Fuxing �Hap� Pang

Student Writings

The last light of the dusk shined on her, thebreeze of Summer blew her messy hair and alsoher plain dress.

She was always pretty, even with this mud andsweat on her face.

Standing there under the great oak tree, watch-ing the cotton fields of Tara in front of her, hermind became clearer and stronger to Scarlet.

�As long as I have this land, I can live and I willlive, no matter how difficult it will be.

Tomorrow, tomorrow will be another newday!�

by Ling �Janet� Li

Ling Li and Fuxing Pang are in Estelle Berry�s Level7 class in the TDSB�s Parkdale Library LINCprogram.


Board Candidates

We are very pleased to present to you the slate of candidates for TESL Ontario Board positions forthe year 2002/03:

President Elect Barbara Krukowski

Public Relations & Issues Chair Jacqueline Jeffers

Technology & Research Chair Sharon Rajabi

Certification Chair Sophie Beare

Member at Large Namita Aggarwal

Member at Large Abai Coker

OTF Representative James Polley

Barb Krukowski � President Elect

Barb Krukowski is Manager of LINC and ESL for The Centre for Skills Development & Training, adivision of Halton District School Board. Her experience with adult ESL programs began in 1989 asan instructor. She completed her ESL Specialist and has continued to be an avid supporter of Profes-sional Development for ESL professionals. She has been on the executive of P/H/E TESL in thecapacity of Member at Large, Membership Secretary, President, Past President, Treasurer andAffiliate Director. She is completing her third term on the executive of the Ontario Association ofContinuing Education School Administrators (CESBA).

Sharon Rajabi � Techology and Research Chair

Sharon Rajabi has been involved in the field of ESL for over 15 years. She works for the TorontoCatholic District School Board as a Computer Program Administrator and her interest is in the roleof computers in education. In addition to the LINC 4 and 5 Curriculum Guidelines, Sharon co-authored CALL: A Software Guide for the LINC Classroom and coordinated the Train-the-Trainerproject to train LINC instructors on the use of the LINC software in Ontario.

Sharon is a regular presenter at the conference and has also presented at TESOL and TESL Canada.For the past number of years, Sharon has been active at the local affiliate as the TESL TorontoNewsletter Editor. Having served as TESL Ontario Conference Chair, Sharon has also coordinatedthe TechnologyFair for the past three years. Since 2000 Sharon has served as Technology andResesarch Chair.

Jacqueline Jeffers � Public Relations and Issues Chair

Jacqueline Jeffers has been involved with TESL since 1995. She was one of the founding members ofTESL Durham and has held several positions on the executive.. She is part of the editorial committeeof Contact and has served as Public Relations and Issues Chair for the last two years. Having begunteaching ESL and LINC classes for the Adult and Continuing Education Department, Jacqueline nowteaches English and ESL in the secondary panel. She is indebted to Susan Blakelock for the photo-graph.


Sophie Beare � Certification Chair

Sophie Beare has began her ESL teaching career at the age of 22. She taught ESL to elementary,high school, and adult learners. Since 1983, Sophie has been an active TESL Ontario member. Inthe 80�s she was elected TESL Ottawa President for two terms and the TESL Ontario AffiliateDirector for three years. Then again, in 1998 she was elected TESL Ottawa President and then ayear later TESL Ontario Affiliate Director and stayed in that position until spring 2002. Since1988, Sophie has been involved in TESL training. She is the founder, teacher and coordinator ofthe TES/FL program at Algonquin College in Ottawa. One of Sophie�s goals is to help ESLteachers gain full recognition of their professional qualifications in both the ministry of educationand in educational institutions.

Jim Polley � OTF Representative

Jim Polley has been an instructor in ESL in both Canada and abroad for more than 15 years. Hehas also been greatly involved in curriculum development and managerial aspects of ESL. Theteachers of his school have been a bargaining unit of OSSTF for more than 2 years, and he hasheld the post of President for that period. In addition, he has been the Vice chair of OSSTFEducational Support Staff Sector, Instructors� Sub Group for the past 2 years. They work toadvance issues of interest to ESL instructors in both non-credit adult education programs and theprivate sector as well. Jim is interested in pursuing this post not only in order to further advanceour interests, but as well to gain through sharing, the knowledge and experience of all membersof TESL Ontario.

Namita Aggarwal � Member at Large

Namita Aggarwal works as a Program Manager with the Continuing Education department forthe West Region of the Toronto District School Board. She began her career in ESL with theEtobicoke Board of Education in 1990. She has taught all levels of ESL including employment andcomputer skills. As a program administrator, Namita actively participated on Action Teamsincluding Professional Development, Hiring, Professionalism and was chair of the AccountabilityCommittee. She co-authored documents in the areas of placement testing, quality standards,statistical data collection, instructor self-evaluation, volunteer training and was a member of thewriting team that was assigned to critique the first draft of the Canadian Language Benchmarks.She has also been a presenter at CESBA mini-conferences in the areas of accountability andpersonality type indicators.

Abai Coker � Member at Large

Today, Abai Coker is ESL Outreach Programs Administrator with the Ottawa Carleton CatholicSchool Board, with responsibility for 22 sites, comprising Day and Night School programs. Hecontinues to make meaningful contributions to the community. Abai is the author of the reporton multiculturalism, �Diversity Training in the Children�s Aid Society a step toward organizationalchange� and the recipient of the 2000 Award of Excellence for Enhancing Police/Community RaceRelations. He is currently President of Canadian-African Solidarity and has just started his secondterm as President of The National Capital Alliance on Race Relations where he continues to workin the area that is dearest to his heart � equity, antiracism, employment for newcomers/immi-grants as they go through the transitional phrase of settlement and integration.


Book Reviews

Cole,Tom. The Article Book: Practice toward mastering a,an and the. AnnArbor:The University of Michigan Press,2000. 114 pages.

For those of us who are faced with the persist-ent problem of article use, T.Cole�s revised editionof The Article Book is a welcome resource. Intendedfor intermediate to advanced levels, this is a handytext to be used either in individual study or accom-panying a core text. There are six basic chapterswith a quiz and comprehensive test at the end ofeach. There is a great variety of original exercises(cloze gap, readings, maps, quick check) thatcreate an awareness of just how these tricky littlewords are used. Cole mentions that there areabout 50 rules and 15 exceptions to them, butthese are presented in such a manner that they areentertaining rather than overwhelming. I person-ally tried a few of the excersises on a middle-intermediate group of Chinese and Korean college

ESL students. They tried the excersises and gaveme positive feedback. One reading was aboutPeking Man and the comprehension questionsrequired articles in their answer. We had a livelydiscussion on this and there was quite an improve-ment in their article usage. The book concludeswith a comprehensive test incorporating all therules and exceptions and has a useful appendix. Itis especially helpful for students whose mothertongue does not have articles (e.g. Korean, Manda-rin) and can be used quite well in the classroomsetting. It is accompanied by software for IBM orMac, Fish Trek: An adventure in Articles. This isperfect for use by students on their own. All in all,The Article Book is a practical, comprehensive textthat is wholeheartedly recommended.

Vasie Kelos is an ESL professor at the ELI, Seneca College. Having taught ELS for over 25 years, she isinterested in classroom research, current trends in ESL , methodology and generally anything to do with herchosen field.

There is a greatvariety of originalexercises (cloze gap,readings, maps, quickcheck) that create anawareness of just howthese tricky littlewords are used. Colementions that thereare about 50 rules and15 exceptions tothem, but these arepresented in such amanner that they areentertaining ratherthan overwhelming.

One reading wasabout Peking Manand the comprehen-sion questionsrequired articles intheir answer. We hada lively discussion onthis and there wasquite an improvementin their article usage.


Review of Software. Fish Trek: An Adventure in Articles. Tom Cole: The Univer-sity of Michigan Press, 2000. ISBN 0-472-00299-6.

ized archive of mistakes made during the session.Students needed little assistance with the gameafter a brief introduction.

Although the promotional material advertises a�test generator,� I learned through communica-tion with the publisher that this feature is onlyavailable on Macintosh computers, not on thepersonal computers we all have in our LINC labs.This is only a minor glitch in an otherwise enjoyableand autonomous learning activity. I would recom-mend the software for adult ESL levels from highbasic to advanced. It will form a useful item in thebill of fare offered in any ESL computer lab. Theability of the software to tailor the exercises to theneeds of the user makes it superior to the book onthe same subject.

About the fish... The player starts out with 5fish and one is devoured by a huge fish each time anerror is made. When there are no more fish, thegame is over. Now you know.

This software will resonate with all who haveused The Article Book by the same author. Thesame fifty rules concerning the use of articles,incorporating examples and exceptions, have beenrendered in a game format which can be used withor without the book. Some of the �rules� seem atouch hairsplitting; e.g., �Do not use the withordinal numbers when referring to names of prizes.�Who can argue with this? But did we really need arule about it? The game consists of 10 levels, whichcorrespond to the levels used in The Article Book.A player may choose to practise at each level ineither a comprehensive (the exercises will spiralmaterial from all earlier sections) or focused (ques-tions are restricted to new rules presented in thespecific level) manner. Playing the game providesinstant feedback, access to the appropriate rule,expanded context for the example if needed, andbest of all, a review of errors before the playerquits the game. The player can print any or all of therules, examples, exercises, and even a personal-

Susan Vogl Blakelock has taught adult ESL in Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa, for Durham DistrictSchool Board for the past 20 years. She is a computer ignoramus.

“Do not use the withordinal numberswhen referring tonames of prizes.”Who can argue withthis? But did wereally need a ruleabout it? The gameconsists of 10 levels,which correspond tothe levels used in TheArticle Book.

About the fish... Theplayer starts out with

5 fish and one isdevoured by a huge

fish each time anerror is made. When

there are no morefish, the game is over.

Now you know.

Documents

The Pedagogical Challenges for Western ESL Teach- ers in Asiacontact.teslontario.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ContactFall2002.pdf · The Pedagogical Challenges for Western ESL Teachers