LanguageLearnerCaseStudyReportLING685

2012

PatrickMose
Introduction Learner case study project is collaborative partnership between an MA linguistics teacher student, Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) students and Reading and writing Instructor. This project is upheld by mutual interest of both the teacher students and OPIE learners. The teacher student benefits from the fact that by imparting acquired knowledge, they will be fulfilling the requirements of the course while the OPIE tutees benefit by improving their reading and writing skills from the guidance they receive throughout the entire process. The aim of this project is to apply theoretical knowledge acquired in class to practical hands on experience. As a trainee of reading and writing, I have developed an urgent need of exploring ways of meeting the needs of reading and writing learners with a more strategic and convenient methodology. For a relatively long time, ESL/EFL teachers remain unaware of the many new approaches to teaching second language reading and writing Mikulecky (2011). Moreover, the advent of new internet technology calls for teachers to embrace the need of discovering how to apply technology in teaching the two fields. Instructional skills is something that does not develop just at once, novice teachers acquire it step by step as they perfect the act. My goal is to embrace different approaches suggested by scholars in the field. Hedgcock (2002) explains that development of effective instructional skills for the L2 composition classroom relies partly on an explicit awareness of the fundamental precepts that guide prevailing beliefs and practices in the field. I would like to believe that this element appears to be lacking in our current situation. Therefore, knowledge of formally articulated paradigms, theories, models, and precepts enables teachers to discover and
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build on their theories (Grabe & Kaplan, 1997). A considerable number of teachers appear to be limited with the skills of inculcating these ideas into their teaching. Reading and writing skills are two fundamental skills that teachers really need to succeed in imparting knowledge to language learners. It is therefore a worthwhile effort for me to engage in reading and writing in both capacities of being both a student and a teacher student. Actually, to me it is a very authentic learning environment where am able to see the end product both as a student and a teacher student. Mikulecky (2011) reiterates this by describing how teachers continue teaching reading and writing based on their own experiences. Most teachers assume that reading skills transfer automatically from their first language. This is a thought that appears to have also occupied my thinking. A discussion of Mikulecky (2011) benefits of reading is my motivating factor when aiming my reading and writing goals. Among the benefits listed by Mikulecky are as follows: An increased awareness of the language (metalinguistic awareness) Models for improving writing in English Skills needed for success in academic studies Resources for improving vocabulary Increased cultural background knowledge Opportunities to transfer first language reading skills A lifelong habit of reading in a second language

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As a language teacher I need to address the needs of my ESL/EFL learners by presenting them with tailor made materials that answers their needs. In their text, Ferris & Hedgcock (2005) have presented overviews of research related to ESL writing and opportunities to reflect on, develop, and practice the teaching skills needed for writing. By and large, learners needs are often overlooked by scholars and teachers by providing them with incoherent help or feedback. Probably, this could be an opportunity to have hands-on practice experience in addressing the needs of my learners. Another important element that will be crucial is the production of teaching resources. As novice teachers, we still lack the capacity and skills of creating writing teaching resources. Ferries & Hedgcock (2005) discusses a number of theories that could help teachers focus in creativity and development of complex skills entailed in second language writing. By the end of this project, I look forward to have equipped myself with relevant reading and writing skills. Use of authentic resources in training teachers is rarely mentioned by many language experts. By and large, second language classes are filled with theoretical explanations of handling a learner in regard to reading and writing. This might be a reason why a number of teachers continue to apply outdated approaches in teaching writing. Sasaki (2000) argues that theories play an important role in teaching reading and writing but their application should lay more emphasis on practice, planning, and assessment. As a teacher, I am faced by the problem of lacking a platform to practice my learnt skills; but this learner case study project provides us with an opportunity for applying our practical skills. Moreover, dealing with learners from OPIE presents us with the already emphasized authentic language-teaching environment.

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As a result of this, the following is a highlight of my goals in reading and writing learner case study project. My Goals: 1. Use of technology in teaching reading and writing 2. Acquisition of reading and writing teaching methodology 3. Learning from my peers on different perspectives of teaching 4. Replenishing, and or adding onto my teaching resource bank 5. Exposure to a variety of creative collaboration skills of reading and writing My Learners Goals 1. To improve in reading speed and comprehension 2. To expand knowledge in academic vocabulary 3. To perfect essay writing skills 4. To pass TOEFL examinations

Learning activities Meeting 1 (in class) My learner in this project is named Abdullah, an OPIE student from Saudi Arabia. His major is to study electric engineering. Our first meeting was very interesting because we took time knowing one another. I noted he had a great outgoing personality that would favor our

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learning activities. Our discussion was overall based on academic goals, he expressed his need to pass TOEFL and become an OPIE part-timer while studying electrical engineering. From our discussion, he clearly knew his area of strength and weakness. He self-reported that he doesnt have a problem with listening and all he wanted to improve was reading for information. He admitted that his reading speed was low, a range of 140-160wpm depending on the text registers. His main goal in this project was to improve his reading speed and expand his knowledge in vocabulary. His major weakness was lack of familiarity with academic vocabulary and I thought this was a major reason for his lack of extraction of important information in reading. Activity 1 This was our first meeting and so I had not prepared any activity for this meeting. However, we discussed what he knew about skimming and proceeded to a scheming exercise. I asked him to skim Mikuleckys (2011p.69) exercise Go ask Alice: A Real Diary. He managed to identify the main idea but with some difficulty in getting the meaning of most words. We concluded our meeting by exchanging contact information and setting up time for the next meeting. Meeting 2 (out of class) Following the results of our first meeting, I decided to come up with a plan of action. First, to expose my learner to common collocations in academic writing, and secondly to discuss with him a formula hell use to familiarize himself with a pamphlet of the most frequently words used in English I copied from the book.

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Activity 2 Discussion of common collocations used in academic writing. We mainly discussed collocations of explaining or describing, time, giving examples, adding a new idea, contrasting, cause effect, and talking about work or research. I opted to begin with this activity because it might be the only way a student may learn how to identify key information within a short time. I thought that a clear familiarity with signal words would enhance his ability to skim or scan a text in a much faster way. As a result I gave my learner a handout to use as a guide in most of his exercises. Exercise 1 and 2 I tasked my learner to identify and underlining academic collocations in sentences. After underlining the collocations, I guided him in discussing the meaning of those collocations and I actually went further to asking him to give collocation that could be used in the place of the give one. For the homework, I gave my learner two extra assignments of identifying academic collocations from a text/paragraphs. Assignment of daily activity I advised him to review at least ten words every day from the list of the most frequently used words in English Meeting 3 (out of class) My learner self-reported that the most frequently used words in English and academic collocations list was really helpful to him. He further described that after reviewing a minimum

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of ten words per day he could identify most words in his reading. However, he was quite honest to say that he did not attempt the ESL Moodle speed reading exercises I had given him. Our agenda for the day was writing. My student expressed that he had limited time before sitting for his exams and so he wanted more of writing guidance and activities. He brought with him some essays he had worked on and so we briefly went through some of them. Generally, I was impressed because there little grammar issues and so this allowed me to focus on how he could connect his ideas. To achieve this, I shared with him a document with a number of midpositioning adverbs and common linking verbs. Additionally, I used one of his essays to explain to him a broader picture of how an essay should look like. I engaged my learner in a loop-writing activity, thanks to the presenters who covered it the previous day. This activity is about creativity and control, where writers have a broad and narrow subject at hand, students are instructed to keep the topic in mind as they free-write. My learner chose a topic (transportation) and started writing on it. This was a timed exercise, so after 5 minutes I asked him to stop writing. I asked my learner to read his text and give a single sentence summary. The results worked perfectly well because his summary sentence mentioned the importance of transportation. From that instance, it was easy to explain to him he could make the sentence a topic sentence and then supply supporting ideas in the process of his writing. Although we had a limited amount of time I was able to introduce him to quizlet.com. Quizlet is the largest flash cards and study games website with over 11 million free sets of flashcards covering every possible subject. It's the best place to play educational games, memorize vocabulary and study online. I showed him how to create his own flashcards in case he didnt want to use the available sets. From my observation, I though he enjoyed interacting
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with this tool. With this tool, a learner can also play very interesting games aimed at strengthening his vocabulary ability and connection of ideas. Meeting 4 (in class) This was an in class meeting day. My learner was not aware that we were meeting this particular day as a class. Nevertheless, he had an essay he was supposed to write and he had not started it. Since he is an electrical engineering major, he wanted to write an essay on video games. Activity 1: Cubing This activity came into my mind immediately thanks to my colleagues who had discussed it as a glossary entry. This is a prewriting exercise that allows students to think about a topic from different angles. I explained to my learner to imagine his topic as a cube; where each side represented a certain way of thinking about the topic. I then let him answer questions about the topic for each of the six sides: 1. what is it? How would you describe it? 2. What is it similar to/different from? 3. What are its constituent elements? 4. What do you associate it with? 5. How can you use it? 6. What positions can be argued in favor it? Against it? I thought that he enjoyed the activity because after six or so minutes of writing one minute per side, he had ideas of what he was going to write in the essay. I chose this activity

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because it was a prewriting activity that prepared him to write his essay in an organized way where all themes appeared Meeting 5: (out of class) Activity 2: Quizlet.com This was the most relaxed meeting we have ever had so far. This particular day my learner looked tired so I had to look for a fun activity. I chose to explore Quizlet.com; Quizlet.com is the largest flash cards and study games website with over 11 million free sets of flashcards covering every possible subject. It's the best place to play educational games, memorize vocabulary and study online. In this website, we played a game involving linking verbs and most common academic collocations. However, because his ambition is electrical engineering, he also played with some electrical engineering vocabulary flashcards. I showed him how to make study flush cards, and to find relevant and reliable materials for more language exercises. My learner found it interesting and fun, within no time he had reviewed a lot of vocabularies. Meeting 6: (In-class) This was the last meeting of having a combined class. At this period, my learner was also winding down most of his work because he was also preparing for TOEFL exam. This time he had something he wanted us to work on. My learner came with an essay, which he wanted us to go through it together. Interestingly, we had done a prewriting cubing activity in our fourth meeting. It was encouraging to hear from him that he benefited from our last cubing activity. I told him to read to me his essay aloud. In the process, he identified and self-corrected striking

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errors. What followed next was working on what seemed to be technical to him in terms of grammar, punctuations, linking suggestions, and worked particularly on his conclusion. In order to do this, I shared with him the following document, proofreading strategies. https://www.dropbox.com/s/0e8a35xu2rizvi8/proofreading%20strategies.pdf. Because it was our last meeting, I asked him if he had other problems before his TOEFL exams, he should feel free to contact me. Conclusion Reading and writing course has been a culmination of interesting activities over the entire quarter. One fact that I must acknowledge is the wealth of knowledge that I have acquired within this short time. Contrary to the prior beliefs and perceptions I had that reading is not interesting, my perceptions have changed positively in many ways. I can possibly guide someone to be a successful reader or writer. In the beginning of this course, I thought my expectations were very high when I listed several goals that I expected to meet. I would like to think that I met most of my goals despite the fact that time was a limiting factor. In regard to the use of technology in teaching reading and writing, I think the course had a lot to offer. For instance, use of programs like piratepad, Google documents, speed reading software, wordle.com, and Quizlet among others. I feel like this goal was achieved per my expectation. When I interacted with these technologies together with my learner, our experiences were positively motivated and quite often we found ourselves enjoying learning. In future I will integrate technology in my reading and writing classes. Reading and writing teaching methodology has been like an unsolved puzzle to many pre-service and novice teachers. Throughout this course different approaches to teaching reading
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and writing were discussed conclusively and practiced in class. The previous knowledge in regard to teaching and writing is what I now equate to what Mikulecky (2011) mentions as a traditional way of thinking where a teachers teaching is based on their personal experiences and assumptions of transferring first language reading skills to the target language. My teaching foundation has been greatly strengthened after being guided through several teaching skills. Consequently, this has seen my learner benefiting from skills like cubing, loop-writing, scanning, skimming, book conferences, speed reading exercises among others. My third goal was to acquire as many teaching resources as possible. True to my expectation, I met this satisfactorily. I now have a replenished resource depository at https://www.dropbox.com/s/gmlefc60pljsyv5/Reading%20and%20writing%20activities.pdf. In the process of accumulating these resources, I learnt the importance of team-work, collaboration and creative. A creation of Google document saw everyone contributing to this very important resource depository. Also, most of our class activities were most of the time focused on picking these activities and practicing them in class. This is the reason why most of the time I met my learner I did not have any problems of choosing or varying activities because I had a big pool to choose from. Although I had not mentioned motivation as one of my goal, it naturally crept in slowly on my way. I was really encouraged by my learners high motivation levels. Our sessions were always energized with a desire to learn and perfect our skills. Honestly speaking, I believe that I was lucky because I had no issues with my learner, because he had a good self-drive to do anything. It was regrettable to hear from my classmates that some of their learners lacked motivation. One important lesson I learned from my learner is motivation. The same applies to

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any kind of learning, if learners lack both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; learning becomes a difficult exercise. This learner case study project was built on the basis of mutual benefit between the learner and the teacher. Our gains were symbiotic in nature, because we all gained simultaneously. On the part of my learner, a list of most frequent words used in English language text worked well for him. My learner had formed a habit of reviewing at least ten words per day. Honestly, I cannot tell how sincere he reviewed the list but after two weeks he self-reported that he had a clue of all words and their meaning something that was impressive to me. Essay writing was one of my learners main problems from the beginning. Basically, his problem was on idea organization and connection. Grammar was the least of my learners concern because he relatively good considering his level of study. A fairly good number of our sessions were occupied with content organization activities. My learner liked cubing and loopwriting activity because within a very short time, he could identify things like topic sentences, supporting ideas, and examples. Similarly, cubing activity was helpful in giving him a critical mind. The end products of these two activities was immediate, a factor that always motivated my learner to begin with pre-writing first before proceeding to the actual writing. Another goal of my learner was to pass TOEFL exams. In order to achieve this goal we took an all-inclusive approach of integrating or synchronizing to fit all goals. Because he had mentioned having problems with academic vocabulary, I thought that the list with academic collocations worked well for him. For reading, I asked access for TOEFL online reading exercises from one of my classmate. He self-reported that the website was helpful and he thought that he had improved fairly from the exercise; a claim that I cannot substantiate. Interestingly,
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my learner had other strategies to his TOEFL goal; he formed a group study with like-minded classmates in order to work as a team. Generally, I feel like we both met our goals in a mutually collaborated way. In my opinion, this serves as a good lesson of how student-teacher cooperation could have gains in learning. Also, it is a true pointer that when two individuals set clear goals and expectations on something, working towards their attainment is never a daunting task. Most importantly, motivation should always be a guiding factor in this venture. In other words, if one party does not have clear goals and expectations, failure will be inevitable. Summarily, learner case study is a very important activity to both pre-service and novice teachers. Similarly, experienced teachers can also benefit immensely with case study activities bearing in mind that learning is a dynamic process. With changing trends in technology, teachers have no option other than to keep up sharpening or improving in therr delivery skills. In my opinion, case studies should be part and parcel of teachers professional development dose. However, because of time limitations, the activity can be cumbersome therefore causing execution challenges to many teachers. But beyond reasonable doubt, I find it a worthwhile activity to accomplish in any academic field.

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Reference Ferris, D., & Hedgcock, J. (2005). Teaching ESL composition: Purpose, process, and practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R. (1997). The writing course. In K. Bardovi-Harling & B. Hartford (Eds.), Beyond Methods: Components of second language teacher education (pp.187-203) Boston: Heinle. http://call.ohio.edu/moodle20/course/view.php?id=25 Mikulecky, B. (2011). A Short Course in Teaching Reading: Practical techniques for building power (2nd ed.). Pearson. Sasaki, M. (2000). Towards an empirical model for EFL writing processes: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9, 259-291.

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