In the second EC class, I again achieved my learning goals; however, an issue cropped up that is a caution for future efforts to teach English at Saaraketha. The language levels of the students in the class is a little too broad. One student, Kasun, can read the novel I am reading and is simply bored with the level of the class. Kasun came to me after class and said that he really wants to improve his English but he needs a more challenging class. The students in a single class need to really be within a band of the same level or some of them aren’t learning. This is obviously a consideration in forming classes in the future. I am going to design an independent study course for Kasun, which I will post on the blog later on, but most of the teachers I am working with do not have the time or resources to work independently with individual students. I am also going to give some extra instruction to the two lowest level students but, again, that is not realistic in a normal situation.
In the lesson today, I gave them a few sentence models and a list of descriptive adjectives (colors, taste, textures, shapes). Then I sent them out on the Farm in groups and told them to pick objects and write paragraphs describing those objects. I also had them draw a picture of the object and write the Sinhala word. When the students came back, I made every student stand in front of the class and present one of their pictures. One girl resisted but I pushed her so even she presented with help. Their English is basic but they were all able to use the sentences and vocabulary to do the assignment, and they all did give little public talks. This encourages me that I can get them ready to make videos about things on the Farm in 6 more weeks of classes. It also encourages me that project based learning is more exciting than more traditional grammar intensive focus.
I don’t know how the students felt about the presentations, but they seem willing to take risks, are focused in class through 2 days, and so I am confident that I can use the project to give them some vocabulary and grammar structures that will encourage them to communicate.
Friday, July 2, 2010
conference table
The conference table in the Learning Center is really a problem. I am forced to sit at the head of the table on the side that has no opening for my legs, which is very uncomfortable, because otherwise I am too far from the students. As a result, I had to move the whiteboard to this side of the room which blocks the main light source coming from the reception area. It also puts the back of the board to the reception area which will be unsightly. At some point after I leave, someone really should take off the long base support and just add some legs.
school visit #2
I visited Saman’s school, grades 1-13 in a much more rural area of Wilgamuwa. This school, unlike the first school I visited, offers English to students beginning in Grade 1 (the other school only offered English beginning in Grade 6). Unfortunately, teachers with no English training are the instructors for students below Grade 6.
I observed a Grade 4 class that had 70 students in one classroom because one of the teachers was out sick. When I walked in, the students were eager to communicate with me, understood me when I spoke, and jumped to answer my questions. If I asked them what their favourite hobby is, every student wanted to tell me the answer. And they all answered in sentences. After I talked with them for 30 minutes, Saman read them a story book which had about 10 new vocabulary words for them. Despite the fact that it was so noisy from outside noise that I could not imagine how anyone could hear Saman, and though Saman was speaking exclusively in English, the children seemed to have total comprehension of what he was saying. He asked them questions about the pictures on each page, the students made predictions, then Saman taught them words and asked the students to read the story to him. (Each page had one sentence written in large print.) The students seemed to read the story with no difficulty, though they may have heard the story before. I was pleased to see students leaning over to see the pictures and actively speaking and participating. And these students do not have a teacher with ELL training. This suggests that the students in the region are eager to learn English and can be given a proper foundation even without the best conditions. However, few schools seem to have a program to teach English in Grades 1-5 so this situation is unusual.
When we later went to talk to Grade 12 students , who had not had instruction in English until they started Grade 6, and whose instruction was primarily grammar and rule based as opposed to communication based like the Grade 4 students I saw, the Grade 12 students were hesitant to speak to me, would not answer my questions and did not have any questions to ask me. I gave them a speech for a few minutes, one girl asked me several questions, and that was it.
Saman feels that these students did not have a proper foundation in English and so are too shy to use their language. He also told me about how poor the students are, how many miss school for a month around harvest time twice each year, and that the parents are unsupportive of the school’s education efforts and unable to help or encourage their children. Obviously, there are exceptions and some students do well despite these obstacles. Still, though the instruction I saw was again excellent, the social and out-of-school barriers are overwhelming and will stymie efforts of the district to improve the standard of living.
Saman is also the IT teacher at the school, which he does with no budget or training but because there is no one else to do the job. He showed me the computer lab, 13 computers, and some students do get instruction in programming in addition to word processing. However, the school does not have resources to upkeep the lab and Saman often comes to school 90 minutes early to try to do maintenance. There is an air conditioner in the lab but the school cannot afford to run it.
Also, it seemed to me like there were a lot of students who were unsupervised during the day. Older students were in rooms alone studying in groups, groups of younger students seemed to be wandering around the school campus, and at least one room had a class of students sitting at desks without a teacher in the room. Again, it appears like there is a teacher shortage that is affecting the long-term academic prospects of the students.
All things considered, I was impressed with the job that the teachers I met were doing, with Saman’s teaching, and with the enthusiasm of the students I met.
I observed a Grade 4 class that had 70 students in one classroom because one of the teachers was out sick. When I walked in, the students were eager to communicate with me, understood me when I spoke, and jumped to answer my questions. If I asked them what their favourite hobby is, every student wanted to tell me the answer. And they all answered in sentences. After I talked with them for 30 minutes, Saman read them a story book which had about 10 new vocabulary words for them. Despite the fact that it was so noisy from outside noise that I could not imagine how anyone could hear Saman, and though Saman was speaking exclusively in English, the children seemed to have total comprehension of what he was saying. He asked them questions about the pictures on each page, the students made predictions, then Saman taught them words and asked the students to read the story to him. (Each page had one sentence written in large print.) The students seemed to read the story with no difficulty, though they may have heard the story before. I was pleased to see students leaning over to see the pictures and actively speaking and participating. And these students do not have a teacher with ELL training. This suggests that the students in the region are eager to learn English and can be given a proper foundation even without the best conditions. However, few schools seem to have a program to teach English in Grades 1-5 so this situation is unusual.
When we later went to talk to Grade 12 students , who had not had instruction in English until they started Grade 6, and whose instruction was primarily grammar and rule based as opposed to communication based like the Grade 4 students I saw, the Grade 12 students were hesitant to speak to me, would not answer my questions and did not have any questions to ask me. I gave them a speech for a few minutes, one girl asked me several questions, and that was it.
Saman feels that these students did not have a proper foundation in English and so are too shy to use their language. He also told me about how poor the students are, how many miss school for a month around harvest time twice each year, and that the parents are unsupportive of the school’s education efforts and unable to help or encourage their children. Obviously, there are exceptions and some students do well despite these obstacles. Still, though the instruction I saw was again excellent, the social and out-of-school barriers are overwhelming and will stymie efforts of the district to improve the standard of living.
Saman is also the IT teacher at the school, which he does with no budget or training but because there is no one else to do the job. He showed me the computer lab, 13 computers, and some students do get instruction in programming in addition to word processing. However, the school does not have resources to upkeep the lab and Saman often comes to school 90 minutes early to try to do maintenance. There is an air conditioner in the lab but the school cannot afford to run it.
Also, it seemed to me like there were a lot of students who were unsupervised during the day. Older students were in rooms alone studying in groups, groups of younger students seemed to be wandering around the school campus, and at least one room had a class of students sitting at desks without a teacher in the room. Again, it appears like there is a teacher shortage that is affecting the long-term academic prospects of the students.
All things considered, I was impressed with the job that the teachers I met were doing, with Saman’s teaching, and with the enthusiasm of the students I met.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Phones w/Internet
I spent a good part of today searching through Colombo to find places selling phones so that I could get a sense of what kinds of smartphones are available, what their costs were, and what kinds of data/phone plans were in place.
Now, there's absolutely a chance that I was getting a different price from what a native Sri Lankan would have been quoted, and I can factor for that. In general, I was simply looking to see what hardware was available and how different the costs would be. The shocking thing was the lack of available devices and the utter consistency with which they were priced. I was repeatedly quoted the same (or very close) price for the same hardware from store to store. Perhaps I didn't find the stores that would truly offer the deals, but I wasn't sticking to any one location, so I figured I got a pretty good sample of what's available - which, at the end of the day, I can safely say isn't much in terms of devices that will allow internet access.
Now, there's absolutely a chance that I was getting a different price from what a native Sri Lankan would have been quoted, and I can factor for that. In general, I was simply looking to see what hardware was available and how different the costs would be. The shocking thing was the lack of available devices and the utter consistency with which they were priced. I was repeatedly quoted the same (or very close) price for the same hardware from store to store. Perhaps I didn't find the stores that would truly offer the deals, but I wasn't sticking to any one location, so I figured I got a pretty good sample of what's available - which, at the end of the day, I can safely say isn't much in terms of devices that will allow internet access.
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