Unit 4 - Assignment 3: Adaptation or Creation of ESL Materials - TESL 0150


Assignment 3: Adaptation and Creation of ESL Materials
Introductory Paragraphs


Profile of Target Learners
Learner Type: International Students
Age: 18 and up
English Level: IELTS 5
Goals: To prepare students for future College programs and courses
Specific Needs: Academic English, Knowledge of essay writing, Note Taking
Proficiency with Technology: Students MUST have a laptop and internet access to participate in the class.
Learning Objectives
This course is designed to develop academic reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The students will learn relevant grammar to write strong sentences, paragraphs and essays. They will develop effective oral communication skills in order to listen and speak in common academic scenarios. Students will expand their academic vocabulary to assist them in future college programs and courses.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, the learners should be able to:
§  Identify ‘hooks’ and thesis statements.
§  Write simple thesis statements
§  Be able to explain the structure of a thesis statement
§  Write simple hook statements
§  Be able to identify and explain several ways to grab reader’s attention
§  Understand the basic structure of a five paragraph essay

Adapted Materials

https://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/Sample/Advanced/unit1/u1_l1a_1.htm
https://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/intropgph.html
The materials above have been adapted into a more accessible and visually stimulating PowerPoint. The full PowerPoint can be accessed via google docs. The materials above follow the ‘instruct and model’ method as well as some ‘guided practice.’


After the PowerPoint is presented, the students will be presented with additional online practice in the form of a short quiz that I have developed based on the materials in the presentation. This quiz would be an informal formative assessment.
https://testmoz.com/2049755
  

Rationale

To what extent are the materials related to the wants of the learners?
To what extent are the materials likely to stimulate emotional engagement?
Does the material achieve impact (attractive presentation)?
Materials provide opportunities for outcome feedback?
Provides opportunities for individual practice?
Provides opportunity for technology use?

I believe that the materials above are suitable for my learner’s and lesson objectives. Considering the context, it is necessary for my students to know paragraph structure and how to write effective introductions as it will be used for academic writing in the near future. The materials provide the learner with background information that is formatted as an attractive presentation. The materials are likely to stimulate some emotional engagement as the power point provides points of discussion and practice throughout. As stated by Tomlinson, ‘affective engagement is… essential for effective and durable learning.’ Providing the students with opportunities to interact with the power point throughout will lead to more affective engagement. The materials are strongly related to the wants and needs of the learners. These materials will be used after a needs assessment has been completed, however, in my classroom I agree with Graves (1996) in that needs assessment should be viewed as an ongoing process. This could be done by involving the students in some of this material development, such as having the students make up the questions for a ‘testmoz’ quiz and having them test one another.
The quiz and the power point provide opportunity for outcome feedback; the power point could lead to feedback on the effectiveness of the learner in achieving their objectives (Tomlinson, 2014) while the online quiz provides instant feedback on the accuracy of their output. Finally, these materials provide extensive opportunity for technology use. In this specific context, students are required to have computers in the classroom. Opening up and following along with the power point provides one opportunity and the second is taking the ‘testmoz’ quiz. It should be noted that all of the students in this context should be proficient with technology prior to their admittance to this course. The materials are almost exclusively presented via technology and online.
Overall, I believe the above materials are suitable and provide a comprehensive and effective introduction for academic writing. The materials are likely to achieve some impact and provide affective engagement. The materials are related to the lesson objectives and the learners wants. The quiz and the PowerPoint both provide opportunities for feedback and the use of technology is suitable for this classroom. 



Copyright License

Materials Adaptation by Clarke Wainikka is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
I chose this copyright license so that other instructors will be able to access and use these materials in their classroom. The materials can be adapted by those instructors to ensure that they meet the needs and objectives of their class. I would still like to be acknowledged for this work. I would not like it to be used for commercial purposes as these materials were made for educational purposes.

Tutela Link

https://tutela.ca/GroupFiles?organicgroup=22966




References
Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (4th ed). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.
Introduction Paragraphs. (n.d.) Mesa Community College: Paola Brown's English Spot. Retrieved from https://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/intropgph.html
Parts of the Introduction.(n.d.) University of Victoria: Division of Continuing Studies. Retrieved from https://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/Sample/Advanced/unit1/u1_l1a_1.htm
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2013). Developing materials for language teaching. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic.



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