Teaching English as a Second Language

“actually, ewk s-rgified it”

“i think i had a good lesson plan yesterday, but my teaching demonstration did not go as well as i hoped. didnt have my thoughts organized well enough, but the instructor seemed to think i didnt do too bad. teaching grammar (the diff between past simple and past continuous in this case) is difficult”

“It's really quite easy. If you were simple in the past, you're quite likely to be simple in the future. I'll pop in from time to time and help you guys out:)”

“Well, I didn't say I HAD to learn spanish. I would like to learn so I feel a closer part of the community where I work. Besides, The Chiquita's dig it when a hombre habla's.”

“how about they feel closer to the country they are living in?”

“that'd be the 'chicas' jackstraw - not the banannas.

LOL”

“and you want to "hablar", not habla's


gotta get the conjugation correct if you wanna have a chance to conjugate, mi amigo!
last edited: 7/18/06 3:26:49 PM”

“SEE!! RA I need serious help!! LOL”

“dont worry, ewk. it is my goal to teach everyone in the world english so that you may be more comfortable”

“49/50 on first graded assignment (take-home test)

getting ready to write observation report”

“dont worry, ewk. it is my goal to teach everyone in the world english so that you may be more comfortable”
crash bang
4:46:41 PM
7/18/06

I am comfortable, as I pass by someone speaking another language I go "eh" ;)”

“if jackstraw wants to learn spanish, good for him. canada is multilingual with two national languages, and i dont hear any of the petty whining about things printed in french like i hear in the states about spanish”

“I don't know if I would call Canada totally multilingual. Yes French is spoken but most of it is in the Province of Quebec. When I was in Toronto I never heard French, when I got to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City I heard it constantly.

Remember Quebec is the Province that keeps threatening to go out on its own as a country because of a few they do the rest of the country doesn't do. Language being one of them.

Now if all the Mexicans want to stay in Texas then that will be fine. They can speak Spanish all they want.

Crash, what you have a hard time understanding is that most of the ESL is/was designed for all the illegals Mexicans that came into this country. If someone is taking ESL at a private school (like you are hoping to teach at) they are paying for it (hopefully). In Public schools the taxpayers are paying for it.
last edited: 7/21/06 10:19:12 AM”

““It's really quite easy. If you were simple in the past, you're quite likely to be simple in the future. I'll pop in from time to time and help you guys out:)”
Nimblefoot
11:27:24 AM
7/18/06


LMAO!!!! Helpfull Nimble is the man!”

“maybe they have alot of esl in public schools in tennyC, but ive never seen it where im from in indiana, and we have alot of mexicans too.

and yes, canada is mostly english. i never said that the ratio was even. but a significant portion does speak french, including some in ontario.”

“Been to Upstate NY Ewker? We've got some highway signs and some hiking trail signs that are bilingual in the North Country. I think Canada is planning an invasion. ;-)”

“Crash, what you have a hard time understanding is that most of the ESL is/was designed for all the illegals Mexicans that came into this country.

anyways, i doubt the accuracy of this statement. do you have anything (articles, numbers) that backs this up?”

“lz, yes I have. I noticed the signs all the way down I-87 to Plattsburgh. Then took the ferry over to Burlington. That was a nice ride. Lots of history on Lake Champlain.


BTW it is Tennessee and you're going to teach English??
last edited: 7/21/06 10:35:10 AM”

“Crash, what you have a hard time understanding is that most of the ESL is/was designed for all the illegals Mexicans that came into this country.

anyways, i doubt the accuracy of this statement. do you have anything (articles, numbers) that backs this up?”
crash bang
10:33:13 AM
7/21/06


prove me wrong!! Think about it. You never heard of ESL until the invasion from Mexico.
last edited: 7/21/06 10:37:19 AM”

“BTW, I like that scene in “Canadian Bacon” where John Candy and crew hijack the garbage truck and paint it with anti-Canadian slurs. They get pulled over by the cops because it’s not written in both French and English.”

“mexicans have been sneaking over the border alot longer than esl has been around.”

“I agree with that. But mostly it was single people not whole families..hence the need for ESL”

“i just dont see a connection. i would look into it right now, but im busy writing my report that is due in 3 hrs. youll have to do the homework”

“then get busy with your report and quit wasting time :)”

“TESOL Inc was founded in 1966 and has corporate headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. TESOL Inc. has more than 13,000 members in more than 120 different countries. TESOL Inc. is designated an NGO under the United Nations Department of Public Information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TESOL_Inc.”

“wot %age of public schools in the united states teach esl? to mexicans? to asians? please turn your homework in to me in essay form by monday morning”

“do I look like your student? I am bping this weekend.”

“take a laptop”

“go work on your assignment plus I don't have a laptop. Now if you want to buy me one, go ahead”

“report is almost done. one more supporting paragraph plus conclusion, then im done”

“Git-R-Done


last edited: 7/21/06 11:47:38 AM”

“Ewker - ESL has been taught in Florida ever since the Cubans invaded the place. At that time the Mexicans did not need it, since they were mainly located in fields in California. Then, later, colonies started forming in large cities, like Chicago. That was when a real need for ESL developed for them.

One of my ex's taught ESL. She was a natural for it, since English was her second language! I substituted for her and discovered that the class had few people from Mexico. Most were from Europe, a few were from the mid-east and a few were from Asia.

Cuban American
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American”

“i think NS just pointed out to Ewker that he's racist!”

“Not really, Roam Around. I was just trying to point that ESL has been around longer than he seems to realize.”

“My grandmother took it in the 50's in PA. She is german”

“Roam, not sure what you read that made you think that.

Paul, thanks for the info. I stand corrected on when it started. Fact still remains it was started. I have to guess it was still funded back then by the taxpayers not them paying their own way to learn English.”

“Foamy chimes in on the topic:

http://www.illwillpress.com/”

“We have ESL in our public schools. They're small classes, geared toward the Indian and Arabic/ Caldean kids. There aren't too many Mexicans who don't speak English around town.”

“I was going to comment about the Arabic kids in my classes who were taught ESL.

Its interesting to me that very few of us acutally come from this land, yet there are so many complaints about new folks coming into our country. In know my ancestors were from Europe. They came here, and had to learn how to function in this world. Unless your ancestors came from England, they likely had to learn a new language. What's the difference between the folks who came here hundreds of years ago, and those who are coming now?

I'm glad our educational system is set up now to help these folks learn the language. Sure, the taxpayers are paying for it, but I guess I think we should be. America is the Melting Pot, and we should be welcoming those who make an effort to learn our national language.

Kinda goes to that whole thing about all men are created equal....

JMHO.”

“At all the places that I've seen ESL being taught, tuition has been charged. I do not know of any govenment support for these classes.

jackstraw - "Fontana Regional Library, Knowledge At Your Fingertips

Access to this web page is being filtered due to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). For more information, please read the Library's Computer Usage Policy.

Reason:
The Websense category 'Adult Content' is filtered."
last edited: 7/22/06 8:39:01 AM”

“Thanks NS I'll check it out”

“jackstraw - I, only, was saying that I can't reach that link from the library here at Bryson City, NC.
last edited: 7/22/06 9:13:05 AM”

“What SG said! Nor is the "perception" that immigrants don't want to learn our language a new thing. Forget the fact that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn, some just suck at learning new languages. Especially adults. My paternal parents didn't speak it very well. My Professor/Mentor, brilliant molecular biologist, came over from Taiwan in the 1960's and was the worst speaker I have yet to meet. And in DC, I've seen many people struggle with English. You can see the frustration in their expressions.”

“NS, all public schools offer ESL to any student who needs it.”

“blam! sg said it best”

“Of course the fun thing is the school systems that want to teach EBONICS or other wierd types of english...as a primary language.”

“wow. i havent heard that sentiment voiced by every other white person over the age of 30 before ~rolls eyes~

im pretty sure that issue is long dead. why people keep bringing it up is beyond me”

“Gee Crash I guess it is the fact that we had an Assistant Principal who spoke on it publically a few months ago...of course her english was somewhat poorer than Larry the Cable Guy”

“Gee Xl are you a linguist? id like to hear your "expert" opinion”

“as a person who HAS studied language, who HAS studied linguistics, and is currently involved in the field of language, i would have to say that ebonics is close to being a dialect, altho the variance from the parent language may not be great enough. defineitely not its own language, tho
last edited: 7/23/06 9:02:17 PM”