Kelley Bratcher

FL 694
K. Angus
September 13, 2016

1st Journal Installment

Entry #1
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Pre-Practicum Self-Analysis
My name is Kelley Bratcher and I currently teach adult ESL students at Wilkes
Community College in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. My beliefs and ideas about
teaching stem from informal experience as a learner and instructor, and through my
bachelor and master's degree programs. Quite simply, I love sharing my passion for
language and cultures with others in the hopes that their world becomes a little better and
a little brighter along the way. Like others, I have chosen a few of the questions on the
syllabus to delve into now while saving others for future journal entries.
First of all, as a teacher, I am creative in terms of my lesson plans and use of
resources, and gently demanding in terms of what I expect from my students and myself.
Like most teachers, I try to use encouragement and positive reinforcement to motivate my
students. One of my most used strategies involves scaffolding. Like Vygotsky, I believe
that students can successfully acquire a foreign language through scaffolded instruction.
I seek to organize my learning environment in ways that contribute to the success
of the student. By this, I mean that I try to make sure that there is a purpose behind

everything that we do in and out of class. Whether it is the organization of the syllabus or
the organization of the classroom, I firmly believe that, "There should be a place for
everything and everything a place." I try to cut out any superfluousness in order to best
reach short-term and long-term goals. For example, in decorating my classroom, I tend to
pause before each poster I hang or bulletin board I create in order to ask myself, "Is this a
good use of my time? Will this benefit my students? If so, how?" The same thing goes
with the syllabus. As teachers, I think we can get caught up in a list of topics to cover and
materials to check off. This often leads to a confusing set of goals and a hodge podge of a
curriculum. I like to have a clear, yet flexible organization in terms of lessons, units and
overall curriculum.
My typical strategy for handling errors involves correction of errors only if they
impede communication. I generally do not 'call students out' for minor mistakes whether
they be in spelling, grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation. If I see a consistently repeated
error, I take time to provide individualized or whole-class instruction where appropriate.
I believe I have a high level of rapport with my current adult students, though I
have only taught them for four weeks. I cannot however, say the same of the high school
or middle school students I taught several years ago. At that time, my age, lack of
classroom experience, and other factors, made my first two years of teaching fairly
miserable for most everyone involved. That couple of years was the learning experience I
needed in order to be the more well-rounded teacher I am today. I am more confident and
comfortable in the classroom and delivering instruction. I believe my current adult
students love the fact that I can relate to their struggle in learning a second language,

since I am a non-native Spanish speaker, and are willing to give me the benefit of the
doubt at this point, which is always nice.
I enjoy communicative language instruction and try to incorporate such strategies
in my classroom daily. Honestly, I don't consult the standards for second and foreign
language learning as much as I should. I feel that they are helpful guidelines for
developing classroom instruction, but I try not to overcomplicate the natural ability of
humans to learn a language with verbose and vague standards.
Finally, I believe that foreign language teaching involves a healthy does of
humility and passion. Being able to laugh at yourself or know that there is so much that
you don't know are keys to being humble and approachable in the classroom. A passion
for the language and the society that speaks it is another key, along with a passion to help
students reach their goals.

Entry #2
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Today I would like to reflect on what was, is, will, and should be going on in my
classroom. In the past, two teachers, Eyda and Tammy, have run the English Language
Acquisition (ELA) program at Wilkes Community College. For the past decade, the
program was housed in various locations such as high schools, churches and community
centers, but has recently moved to a much nicer modern building from which other Adult
Education and Basic Skills classes are based. The program has been in existence for
about 10 years and operates on the most part through state and federal money and grants.
Continuation of grant money is dependent upon the progress of students, as measured

through standardized testing, as well as attendance and enrollment. I have been a teacher
with the program for only a couple weeks and I teach intermediate-advanced ESL.
The program offers English language courses to Wilkes County residents in
Wilkesboro, North Carolina and the surrounding counties. The majority of students in the
ELA program are Latino from Mexico and El Salvador, however other nationalities from
the Middle East and Asia exist. The main industry in the town is a Tyson chicken
processing plant and most adults in the program are lower income immigrants. There is a
varying range of education level, however. I have some students who do not have a high
school diploma (in the U.S. or otherwise) and others who have earned post-secondary
degrees in their country. One student in particular is a lawyer in El Salvador who
immigrated here to follow his family. He says he prefers to live here because of the safe
environment.
The program is generally well run, but lacks some of the newer approaches in
language instruction and assessment. Neither of the two other teacher have formal
training in ESL though they each have several years of experience. Evening and night
classes are offered with a total of about sixty enrolled students in the program. Fifteen
students are enrolled in my intermediate-advanced.
I have taken some time over the past couple of days to consider what I can bring
to this program and my goals for the students and myself. I believe that I can bring
theoretical knowledge, as well as, classroom experience to the program. I hope to gain
experience teaching ESL since I have only taught ESL for about two year total. For my
students, I hope to develop communication skills so that they can show progress on
standardized tests, in their everyday lives, and in their personal goals. Together with my

program director and my students, I have developed the following goals that should guide
my classroom instruction:

Develop lessons with a focus on workplace preparedness, continuing education,

naturalization exams, or high school equivalency/GED certificate completion.

Create a welcoming learning environment where students are encouraged to

follow their individual interests and set personal language learning goals.

Foster a sense of inquiry through creative and socioculturally appropriate lesson

plans.

Focus on authentic texts and communicative practice.

It is my hope that through a strong teacher-student rapport, positive encouragement and

quality lessons, students will be able to progress in the language learning experience. I
will try to take each day as it comes, learn from my mistakes, and continually search for
ways to improve my instruction and self.

Entry #3
Monday, August 22, 2016
Chapter 2: Sharing time
The idea of the "egocentric speaker," or narrator, caught my attention the most in
Chapter 2 of Cazden. Often times, the egocentric speaker, or one who does not take the
audiences needs into account, can catch a teacher off guard. Though I dislike the
negative connotation of the word egocentric speaker it nonetheless serves its purpose in
this discussion. For example, an egocentric speaker may often pick a rather vague point
to expand upon while the rest of the class loses interest. The teacher is stuck in the

position of trying to not be rude by ending the conversation prematurely and shifting the
direction of the narrators monologue in order to include the entire class.
Many times the narrator may be unaware of their classroom faux pas due to
cultural differences. As Rosen explains, ". . . however universal our human bent for
narratizing experience we encounter our own society's modes for doing this. There is no
one way of telling stories; we learn the grammars of our society, our culture" (Cazden,
2001, p. 19). For some cultures, precision and linear storytelling strategies are valued
while in other cultures, a shifting and nonlinear fashion of storytelling is prioritized.
How can we validate one student while continuing to provide an educationally
interesting and challenging atmosphere for all? As a teacher, I have often found
participation to be dominated by a handful of students. Whether these students have high
confidence or high skill levels, they tend to stomp out the participation of others. How
can we make these students feel heard, while also including the shy or lower level
learner?
I believe that in order to not stifle individual expression while also maintaining
whole-class involvements, narrators should be encouraged to include others by speaking
clearly and putting information into words, instead of relying on (potentially nonexistent)
background knowledge (p. 20). For example, my classroom includes a diverse group of
students in terms of age, gender, nationality and backgrounds. One student may be very
aware of current U.S. politics having lived in the U.S. for decades, while another students
may be newly adjusting to life in the U.S. If a discussion about American politics
emerges, those who are more familiar with the political parties, governments operations
and key politicians are likely to dominate the conversation. In order to include all

students, I could prompt narrators to explain the process while listeners ask questions or
compare the political process of the U.S. to their own country.
Furthermore, alternative models of communication should be made welcome
while also equalizing the status of all students. Those who tend to express themselves in
more non-linear ways can be encourage to explicitly relate ideas to clearly convey
meaning, while still maintaining autonomy in their manner of discussion. More linear
speakers could be prompted to use images to convey meaning and add creativity to their
narration.
I like the idea of having a "Share Time" in my class, even though it is with adult
learners. This could be a good time to build community and understanding of different
cultures. For example, one week, students could be encouraged to bring an interesting
news article from a local newspaper, another week could involve bringing an artifact that
represents their childhood, another week could be a cultural object. Just tying this and I'm
getting excited about possible, future lessons!

Entry #4
August 30, 2016
Chapter 3: Traditional and nontraditional lessons
Chapter three focuses on the distinction between traditional and non-traditional
classroom discourse. As Mehan notes, classroom discourse are the, "negotiated
conventions--- spontaneous improvisations on basic patterns of interaction" (p. 39).
Especially in the foreign language classroom, the cultural elements of classroom
discourse can be rather interesting to analyze. For example, in my ESL classroom there

are students from Central America, Asia and the Middle East. Each student has their own
culturally established norms of communications that may vary from others in the
classroom. Negotiating these conventions can be a challenge for both student and teacher.
My class is mainly composed of 25-50 year old learners who have generally
participated in a very traditional classroom. The teacher was the source of all knowledge
and shared this with the pupils who in turn, talked only when called upon and rarely
collaborated with peers. My classroom is much more student centered and I try to
incorporate the maximum amount of students-talk time. In the beginning, students were
shy about sharing their opinions orally or directing the class from the white board. This
timidity has started to die down a little as they see my classroom as a place of interactions
among all learners, including myself. I try to make myself as accessible as possible by
admitting to mistakes, asking for advice, allows all opinions to be expressed, and
welcoming questions.
With this being said, I do see the value of teacher control in the classroom in
order to guide the topic and progress with the objectives. As Well states, this allows the
teacher to, "check the status of knowledge, awareness, and attention of students by
calling on individuals and posing particular questions" (p. 47). I believe that teachers
must find a balance between the two.
I have found that students tend to enjoy lessons in which they take on roles of
explorers and leaders. They feel a sense of accomplishments when their group completes
tasks independently. I found this more so with my high school students, who wanted little
to do with teachers. I find this less so in my adult ESL classes where the learners
typically want to know what exactly they need to study in order to advance. Nonetheless,

I am attempting to incorporate more inquiry based learning into my unit plans. For
example, tomorrow I plan to have my students complete a dictogloss activity using the
song, "You Look Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. They will be asked to formulate
rules for the conjugation, spelling, negative sentences, do/does questions and answers,
and usage of the present tense.
This will be their first dictogloss activity and my first filmed observation for the
class. I'd like to view how the students interact in groups, how well they are able to
follow my instructions, and their overall comprehension of the target grammar and
vocabulary. This will be the third day that we have discussed the present tense, so I am
hoping that this will help them to understand the activity itself and not get lost in the
instructions too bad. Perhaps later, I can use this lesson plan template for completely new
grammar. I don't want to scare them off with this strategy though, so we'll start with
something they're already familiar with and can hopefully succeed with.

Entry #5
September 2, 2016
Today I am going to reflect upon my first three weeks as an adjunct ESL
instructor at Wilkes Community College. I am enjoying my colleagues, especially my
director. She is openly encouraging and extremely helpful. She has been kind enough to
email me about a particular instructional time that she had enjoyed witnessing. I am also
extremely fond of my students. They are hard workers, both in and out of the classroom.
They are interesting and we tend to have deep conversations about culture, politics, world
news, and our lives in general. They are eager to learn, which I find as a huge relief after

teaching Spanish at the high school level. I am learning as much from them and they are
hopefully learning from me.
The recording for Analysis A was super helpful as I was able to notice personality
traits in myself and my students that both hinder and help our respective classroom roles.
I took this position to see whether ESL teaching and teaching at the college level were
more to my liking than Spanish and high school level. So far so good, but it is still early
to tell. Selfishly, I feel teaching my adult ESL students is very rewarding to me. They are
so appreciative and accepting. They are fairly happy to try new games and activities,
though somewhat hesitant at the same time. They lack the general angst and moodiness
found in the halls of public high schools. Overall, I feel more satisfied as a teacher and I
believe that I can relax more, and therefore, be a better teacher. I am much more laidback and comfortable in this atmosphere compared to the score-driven life of a high
school teacher. I love the autonomy that my director gives me and feel treated as a
professional instead of a 'never quiet good enough' young teacher.
My translation services have also been needed within the department for various
reasons, and I love to be able to use my Spanish language skills in this capacity. The
other day, I helped enrolled a Spanish-speaking young lady in the high school
equivalency program and I have also helped my students with green card and
naturalization processes over the phone.
Although the one hour drive is not super ideal, I am learning that this is a good
time for me to get my thought together, relax by listening to an audio book, connect with
family back home via phone and reflect on my teaching experience.

Entry #6
September 5, 2016
I thought I would take the opportunity this entry to reflect upon some of the
questions that I didn't get to in the pre-practicum self-reflection. First off, the level of
activity in my current class is medium. I have only taught my current students for a
couple weeks and I am trying to analyze what they are used to doing, what they are
comfortable doing and what will work best for them. I love games and activities, but I am
sensing that they are not as open to this as I would have hoped. Interaction with their
previous instructions was very T-S-T centered and very tradition. I am hoping that this
can change without disrupting their comfort level.
Next, I believe that the biggest gap between theory and practice is the lack of
regard for the spontaneity necessary in today's classroom. For example, my adult class
does not have a mandatory attendance policy. This means that students may skip days or
only stay for half of the class. Where are the strategies for incorporating differentiation in
the ESL classroom due to unpredictable attendance?
Furthermore, I wish I encountered more instruction in the MATL program that
involved the use of learning stations to teach a foreign language, as well. I believe this
would be one way to combat discrepancies in knowledge based on class attendance.
Some of my students are so shy that I am going to try to visit the idea of small group
centers to facilitate communication and confidence. This may also be a good way to
differentiate instruction due to missed classes. How do you help the students who missed
catch up though? What if they missed a whole week? Do you just move on without them
and hope they do some study in their free time (yeah, right, I know lol)? Do you teach in

a less traditionally linear way? If so, how does this work? This may be a good topic for
my Action-Research Project.
Finally, I attempt to equalize student participation by using positive reinforcement
and offering ample amounts of group/partner work. I find that a combination of these
strategies raises student confidence and provides the most opportunities for active
participation. Though well intentioned, these strategies may not be enough to balance the
participation in my class. I have a few students who are very outspoken and others who
seem to flinch every time I say their name. The education level in their native language of
some of my students makes me wonder how they even made it to the intermediateadvanced level class at all. How is it that no matter where I teacher, Korean private
schools, Tennessee high schools or North Carolina community colleges, there always
seems to be one or two students who have slipped through the cracks and although they
cannot form complete present tense questions, have made it to the advanced classroom?
This angers me. I place most of the blame on the test administrator, guidance counselor
or teacher who passed them along in order to skew the numbers in some way or pass the
buck to the next instructor. It does an injustice to the student and to the classroom
teacher; both of whom are left feeling frustrated. To combat this problem in my own
classroom, I plan to work with individuals who have slipped between the cracks in an
effort to help them seal the gap or at least to let them know I care and their learning is my
number one priority.

Entry #7
September 9, 2016

Unfortunately, at this point, I believe that my students could benefit from more
inquiry-based learning that I currently offer. I have heard the yawns and seen the
stretching. They are in their seats too much. I would estimate that about fifty-percent of
the class time is currently dominated by my instruction. I hope to employ more
techniques that allow for less teacher talk and more student talk and exploration. This
may also be a topic that I may consider for my Action-Research Project.
Although the Nieto and Bode textbook is highlighting ways to create respectful
interactions, I feel that it is not offering activities to engage, challenge and empower
students. The book is primarily theory. I would like it more if it presented contextualized
activities and example strategies in an easy to follow format instead of anecdotes placed
in between lengthy paragraphs. I am gaining a great deal of knowledge from the initial
chapters, but I would wish for more clear guidance and real-life examples that can be
used immediately.
With that being said, I have noticed some lack-luster performance in my
classroom. Students may be getting a bit jaded with the grammar lessons, so I am trying
to incorporate games which seems to animate them more. We did a fun activitity today
where students wrote down their favorite color, animal and city, and gave three reasons
why for each. In the end, I revealed what each topic meant about their personality.
Another game we tried a couple days ago was a type of Pictionary. Once we got through
the rules, the game went well and everyone learned a little bit more about adjectives and
nouns.
Another aspect that some of my students show little enthusiasm for is homework.
I know, I know. Who likes homework? I get it. At the same time, I have others who find

it helpful. I offer the homework, as optional, but I believe that they feel pressure to
complete it regardless. I also asked them to complete a written practice test. I explained
that it served to monitor their progress and could help them identify areas of strength and
weakness. They had a 3-day weekend to complete it, yet I had only one student submit
their completed test. I don't know how they believe they can master a language through
classwork alone. Is it worth my while to assign outside work? If so, I can I increase
participation and belief in the purpose of the assignment?

Entry #8
September 10, 2016
Yesterday we had a departmental training that I would like to reflect upon today.
This was a great time for me to network with other ELA professionals across a three
county area. It was also very informative on the goals of the department, the direction of
community colleges in North Carolina and ways to improve my performance.
Throughout different sessions of the day, I made a list of activities that I could
incorporate into my classroom. I would really like to include more guest speakers and
community involvement in my lessons. Perhaps this could be a trip to a local museum or
coffee shop. Maybe I could get a local government official or service organization to
make a presentation. Not only would this improve listening and speaking skills in an
authentic environment, but it would also increase civic involvement which is a big push
of our program. Since we rely on federal and state funds/grants, progress is evaluated
based on language ability, civic involvement and workforce preparation. So, in my
classroom, I hope to add more community and job related lessons.

I also want to include more craft making activities. The fall time is the perfect
opportunity to explore crafts. This would lend itself well to a lesson on commands, 'Fold
the paper. Cut along the line.' Crafts could be displayed in a public area, like the
commerce center. We could also include kid-friendly crafts that students could do with
their own children.
The training session also included information on the North Carolina Basic Skills
and Adult Secondary Education standards. This is something I hadn't even known
existed. I have been modeling my lessons on language-based standards, but now
understand that these BSE and ASE standards are important to consider while developing
my lessons plans.
Throughout the day, we were also given opportunities to reflect on the art of
teaching as well. We created posters and shared stories about what teaching means to us
and memorable times in our teaching careers. This was a great way to refocus and
revitalize about minds. I enjoyed hearing the inspirational stories of others and also
enjoyed having the time to remember and think about my own success stories throughout
the years. It (again) made me realize the importance of reflection. I would like to
incorporate more reflection time in my classroom. Maybe I can give my students 10-15
minutes each days to pause and reflect on what they have learned, how they feel about
their learning, a memorable moment of the day, or what they still feel they need help
with.
Overall, this had to be one of my favorite training experiences throughout my
career because I felt that it was immediately applicable, informative, and enjoyable. On

that note, I am now going to send an email thanking my director for such an awesome
training day!

Entry #8
September 14, 2016
In chapter four, the authors discussed how the words spoken in classrooms affect
learning. As an example, they compared the interaction of a mother and child in the early
reading stages. Throughout such a process, a mother continually models reading
strategies, poses questions to engage the child, expands upon the childs observations,
rephrases text to an appropriate level and encourages the child to participate as much as
possible. I believe that these same fairly naturally occurring steps used in building
reading skills should be incorporated into the classroom. Like a mothers spoken words,
the teachers instructions, explanations and feedback play a central role in classroom
discourse and the learning of a language. Language students benefit from repetition in the
same way that a child learns from the rereading stories and having a bedtime ritual of
story time. Students increase their language skills through persistent practice. Students
are like young readers in that they can gradually overtake much of the mothers, or
teachers, initial roles.
This type of scaffolding strategy is one of my favorites to use in class. I guide my
students through activities designed to slowly release control from the teacher and allow
the students to take the lead. I am a fan of dictogloss activities, similar to the example on
page 65-66. One way in which I scaffold instruction using sentence strips is through
song. Today my students listened to the song, Summertime sung by Billie Holiday.

Before listening however, we discussed the title, possible topics and our perspectives of
summertime. I also provided vocabulary that they may not know and we discussed the
world. After this, I read the lyrics which they took notes. We summarized what they had
heard afterward. Finally, while listening they pieced together the strips of lyrics. As
homework, they are to summarize the song and identify present continuous grammar. We
will continue with the lesson and activities tomorrow. I feel that scaffolding a lesson like
this gives the learners confidence in their abilities.
Lastly, I believe that variation is key to successful learning. Children love to read
new stories or hear a new spin on a classic. Likewise, the motivation and attention of
language students is increased through innovative activities. My students love to listen to
English songs as a means to understanding grammar and vocabulary. We often liven up
the classroom with kinetic games or visual activities. In summary, I was interested to read
about how these strategies are employed in other classrooms and the theory behind
discourse through scaffolding.

Kelley Bratcher
FL 694
Dr. Angus
10/02/2016
Reflection Journal: Second Installment
Entry #9
September 19, 2016
My classroom right now is presenting plenty of great opportunities for me to
introduce fun ideas that I have always wanted to try. My director is very relaxed, which
allows me to get creative and take risks that I hadn't previously been able to do at the
hands of strict department heads and ever looming evaluations. I feel so much more
relaxed to actually teach. Not 'teach to the test' or follow the high school department's
guidelines. Actually, teach. Experiment. Learn from my mistakes without too much
stress. Apply theories from my MATL research. Get to know my students more.
The program is funded by student 'seat-time' and language progress as measured
on state and national assessments. As long as my students continue to make progress, the
Dean is happy and we can continue. And how could my students not make progress when
they help set the objectives for the week, they help choose topics they are interested in for
readings, they watch BBC 'Lingohack' and discuss real life problems? I just wanted to
reflect on how happy and content I am in this type of teaching situation and how it would
be hard to ever go back to a classroom where administrators are peering over my
shoulder, students are packed into tiny classrooms and discipline issues are unfortunately
the major concern.

Another idea, that of reconceptualization, is what I would like to further reflect

upon today and specifically, how the role of reconceptualization in my current classroom.
First of all, teachers can be some of the most manipulative people out there.
Reconceptualization is a tool that I use daily to enrich classroom learning. For example,
asking a student to be a guard in contrast to asking the student to, stand still. I feel that
teachers must come up with creative ways to motivate students.
One of my most clever reconstructions in the classroom is called, Magic Trash.
This activity takes place in a messy classroom and works best with elementary age
students. Simply tell the students that you have chosen one piece of magic trash and that
the student who finds it and throws it away is the winner. No other prize is necessary. Its
brilliant! Students will clamor to find the magic trash all the while, cleaning the room of
debris. Moms and dads around the world are no strangers to such tactics. In my current
classroom, I use more sophisticated techniques. Ill disguise vocabulary within a song,
dance, piece of artwork, video clip or game. Afterward, Ill ask students to summarize
what they learned and the results are amazing. Commands taught through what they
believe to be a simple dance of the hokey-pokey or cha-cha slide. Currently in my
classroom, I am preparing my ESL students to begin an essay or poem related to life-long
learning. Throughout the unit, they will be reading, writing and speaking in English. The
obvious goal is producing a product to enter into the competition, but my underlying
object is to teach grammar, vocabulary and communication skills.
Entry #10
September 20, 2016
Today I am going to begin planning for the National Career Development

Center's National Poetry and Poster Contest. According to their website the project is,
"designed to highlight the importance of life-long career development and the personal
empowerment of all people. Events and activities should be planned to help examine
lives, careers, and the alternatives available to increase everyones personal success and
happiness." Since my position is within the Basic and Secondary Education Department
of Wilkes Community College, career development is a central focus. National Career
Development Week is November 14-18 and I plan to have daily lessons themed around
occupation exploration, life skills and career goals. The contest guidelines state that
judging will be based on originality, creativity, and development of the national theme.
This activity is also perfect for my ELA students because they will be evaluated based on
poetic form, execution, spelling, grammar, appropriate use of media, lettering, and basic
principals of art. The projects are not due until November 14th, so I plan to spend 30
minutes on the project twice a week until then. This will give us about 10 periods or five
instructional hours to spend on the project.
This years theme is The Joy of Working: Positive Approaches to Work, Career,
& Life. The theme itself is very open and I will encourage students to reflect on what
work means to them. Perhaps we can read other poems loosely related to this topic or
explore current posters that the NCDC uses for marketing purposes. Before doing any of
that though, I think it would be good to have students write a short paragraph explaining
what work means to them. Next class I plan to present them with the prompt, "When I
think about my work, I think about____." We could then share. For the second class, we
could look at poem and poster examples that are loosely related to the topic. During the
third class, we could delve into the contest rules and previous submissions. Finally, on

the fourth class, we could start working on the first draft of a poem/poster.
My students have some background knowledge that is relevant to this project.
Many have created poems and posters while in the ELA program. For instance, we have
read the poem "Knoxville" by Nikki Giovani and they have created posters featuring
information on their native countries. To increase their understanding of the contest, I
will have them spend some time looking through the 2015 winners. Although the theme
is different this year, they can gather some ideas and inspirations. Prize money is also up
for grabs, which provides additional incentive. We will take time to read through the
contest rules and guidelines. We can also spend time completing the application form.
Both of these activities are excellent English and job prep lessons --- completing an
application and reading a document.
I hope the students enjoy this context-based project and learn more about
themselves. Looking forward to seeing the results!

Entry #11
September 21, 2016
Cazden chapter 5: Variations in discourse features
The first page of Chapter 5 caught my attention in that the author expressed that,
No change has value for its own sake. Throughout my relatively short teaching career, I
have had to adapt to several new ways of thinking, lesson planning, questioning, grading,
providing feedback, etc. It seems like every day, publishers and legislators are devising
new ways to stimulate student achievement. Unfortunately, as the quote describes, just
because something is new doesnt mean it is efficient. Case in point, the Shirley Method

craze within the 1990s English classroom. Teachers went to Shirley Method training,
schools invested in books, publishers made millions, Im sure. I remember singing songs
and memorizing jingles in my 4th grade classroom. Did this help me to communicate
better in the written language? Most likely, not. It did however help me to rote memorize
prepositions and other parts of speech. Change without deliberate and tested results
should not be forced upon educators who are already struggling to meet the demands of
the 21st century educational system expectations. I try to be deliberate in my classroom
while also being innovative. Some of the tried and true methods are still used in my
classroom while I continually throw in some variety and newness. For example, in my
current classroom, I feel that some of my more visual learners benefits from seeing a
conjugation chart written out on the white board. This isnt my only method however.
Students are also tasked to explore, discover and question through games, music, art and
real-world tasks.
Another topic of interest to me in Chapter 5 was the role of speaking rights. In my
experience, I have not found talking sticks useful. I dont like to monitor conversation
in such a rigid way, discourage communication since only one person can have the stick
at a time which leaves no room for side discussions for clarification or spontaneous
communication. Anyway, I rarely have the problem of having too many people speaking
at once. Instead, I am usually seeking participation. I feel that cold calling strategies are
also detrimental. It puts the teacher in control and the students at the edge of their seat,
anxiously awaiting their turn. I appreciated the strategies given starting on page 88. One
strategy I will attempt to employ is to avoid eye contact with the speaker in an indirect
way of deferring conversation away from me and toward other classmates. Often times I

find that I am quick to finish my ESL students sentences therefore, I am going to steer
away from revoicing for the time being as suggested on page 89. I understand its role, it
just isnt the best tactic for a talkative person like myself. I will say though, wait time is
something I am a queen at employing. Once students realize that they have plenty of time
to gather their thoughts and that I am prepared to wait it out, conversation can become
more fruitful for everyone involved. In my current classroom, I have a few students who
tend to participate very well and a few others who tend to sit back and let the others do
the talking. I would like to improve this dynamic and balance participation. One way I
did this today was by doing more partner work. In this way, the less vocal students had
more of an opportunity to speak and more feedback from a classmate. I also try to sit
whenever possible so that I am at the same level as my students. I feel that this creates a
more discourse friendly group since we are seated in a circular way. Teacher and student
gaze can be distributed more evenly.

Entry #12
September 23, 2016
Chapter 7: Differential treatment and cultural differences
The focus of this chapter was the idea that classroom discourse [is a] drama of
teaching and learning with speaking parts for all (p. 164). I found this chapter super
informative since, like most teachers, I have a range of abilities, ethnicities, ages, social
groups, and cultural backgrounds in my classroom.
I myself can attest to the fact that in elementary schools, students are often
tracked within classrooms in small homogeneous reading groups. As a former reading

tutor, it was easy to tell which group was the low group and which group was the high
group. This is one of the biggest conundrums in my classroom. Do I place those with
similar skills levels together or do I mix skills levels up in groups? Am I doing a
disservice to the high student by placing them with a low student, and vice versa? One
way to counteract differential treatment is to establish group norms in which each
member has a responsibility, incorporate tasks that require multiple skills, and publicly
recognize low-status students. I see this all the time, so-and-so doesnt want to work with
so-and-so because they arent smart enough. I will try to incorporate these strategies in
an effort to combat student-initiated differentiation.
Another point Id like to reflect on is the discussion on feedback. I was not
surprised to learn that, Immediate correction depressed both childrens self-correction
and their accuracy (p. 144). This is something I need to keep in mind while my students
are reading. Too often, I find myself correction their pronunciation before theyve even
had a chance to get it all out. They then become dependent on me and look at me for help
on every other word in the text. Instead, according to the author, I should focus on
encouraging the childrens self-corrections. I should also not let the decoding aspect of
reading interfere too much with the focus on meaning. Often times, an ELL student is so
caught up in their pronunciation that they forget to listen to what they are reading. They
are nervous if they are reading aloud and often cannot give even the most obvious of
responses to the text. My students specifically lack some general foundation knowledge
due to their low level of formal education. They must get past learning to read and
benefit from reading to learn. Like Cazden states, It is doubly unfortunate if attention
to understanding such larger meaningful units is most neglected during instruction for the

very children who need it most (p. 144). Though I dont teach children, my adult
learners need just as must reading comprehension skills to increase their knowledge of
the world.
Feedback was also discussed in its relation student questions. Teachers should
take time to affirm student questions as, important cognitive works and quality
contributions to learning (p 150). Praising a student who asks a substantial question is
key to promoting further quality participation from that student and others. I believe it
empowers them to take charge of their own learning. This is yet another tactic that I am
going to try to employ more in my classroom.

Entry #13
September 25, 2016
Today I am going to reflect on the sentence from Cazden in Chapter 7 that read,
Of all educational resources, our own behavior as teachers is the most precious (p.
145). I completely agree with this. We teachers are a crucial role model to the actions and
thinking of our students. If we provide an example of acceptance, respect and kindness,
our students are more likely to carry these traits with them into the world. I have seen the
most aggressive teenage boy become putty in the hand of an understanding school
teacher. When students enter my class, I want them to not feel judged. I hope that are not
scared to make mistakes or worried about what other think of them. I want to empower
my students to be the best version of themselves that they can be. To welcome mistakes
and learn from their experience. To see hope in their future and possibility in the world.

One student, Andrew (not his real name), has taken time off of work to attend
English classes. Every day, he is on time and if I assigned homework, he has it
completed. He participates fully in class and looks forward to taking the U.S. citizenship
test once he completes the required residency. For him, I hope to provide him with a
wealth of resources that he can utilize in and out of class. He is very self-motivated and
does well with outside reading, website work, writing, etc. For Andrew, I want to provide
him with a sense of purpose and hope.
Another student, Mary (not her real name), worries me. She does not seem to
have a normal functioning ability. I am not sure if she can read or write in her native
language. She is so shy in class, but every now and then will surprise me with the
cleverest of responses. For Mary, I hope that she does not feel slighted by me. I often
avoid eye contact with her because I do not want her to feel pressured to speak aloud in
class. I try to make up for this by doing more one-on-one work with her. I hope to
provide Mary with a friend and a teacher who she can depend on, trust and learn from.
Finally, Id like to think on Stephen (not his real name). Stephen works as a cook
at a local restaurant and is only 20. He is very shy around me, but seems to be much more
talkative with the guys of his own age. I really dont know much about Stephen come to
think about it. He can only come to class about once a week due to work, but he is always
attentive during class and tries his best. He doesnt seem to have a firm grasp on English
yet, and Im not sure how he has made it into my intermediate class. I would like to get to
know Stephen more and understand his goals and dreams. Perhaps, knowing this, I can
tailor more activities to his learning style and life objectives.
Entry #14

September 27, 2016

Managing engagement
This reading came on the heels of an unhappy classroom management issue in my
class. Unfortunately, I didn't read this text before because it could have saved my
students and me a little frustration. To summarize, I spontaneously enacted a classroom
management technique I had read about in my previous coursework without thinking
about how my students unique personalities may make this an unproductive strategy.
What happened resulted in feelings of frustration from the students and disappointment in
myself from me.
The situation was like this....I have two students in class who are very vocal in
their native language. They have begun to talk over classmates and me, have side
conversations so loudly that it is disruptive, or correct others in a non-constructive way.
To combat this, today I said that each time you speak English, you will be given a
paperclip. The person(s) with the least amount at the end of the day will win a prize.
I explained that with Thai, Arabic and Spanish speakers in class, we must work
together to explain terms, questions, etc. I am aware that a native language can help to
learn the target language, but this exercise was to help everyone become more
knowledgeable of how much of their native language they are speaking in an effort to
refocus attention on English. Also, all students must feel welcome. One language should
not become the defacto language and overrun all others.
Apparently, this did not sit well with those particular students. One of whom, left
early for the first time ever. All the others however, openly said they appreciated this

'game' in order to practice English and be able to hear better without interference of side
conversations.
I have read about this classroom management strategy as a way of managing a
student who is monopolizing participation in class. My mistake is that I should have done
this more privately or have given paperclips to everyone and silently taken them away
instead of it being more obvious when I gave a clip to someone. Then they felt punished
and the focus was lost. Feelings were hurt and this was not my intention.
I read in the text that, "teacher often [make] spontaneous classroom management
decisions according to what seem[s] to be right for their class at a particular time" (p.
341). I now know that this is probably not the best route for me. I should take more time
to consider the affective behaviors and personality traits of my students before jumping
onto an ill planned classroom strategy. I do not currently have what Senior calls,
"intuitive understanding of group development processes and principles' as far as this
class is concerned (p. 342). Whereas my high school students of the past, would have
laughed off such a form of discipline, these two students obviously thought I was picking
on them and being unrealistic.
I feel like the classroom management techniques given in the text may work well
with middle/high school students, but for my adult students, there is not an option to
'reseat' them as Appel suggests (p. 346). They would balk and simply leave. Therefore, I
believe I am going to have to come up with a more clever way of separating the two
students who are causing the problems instead of such direct methods such as the
paperclips. I learning that subtly is huge here.
Entry #15

September 30, 2016

Classrooms as multidimensional contexts
I can't attest enough to the fact that, "Social relationships in the classroom
orchestrate what is made available for learning, how learning is done and what we
achieve" (p. 91). This is such a true statement. In my own classroom, we are able to
discuss political ideas, sensitive current events and personal opinions is an open and
honest way because of the strong social relationships. I can't take credit for this at all. The
teachers before me have developed a strong bong between students and teachers. They
seem to feel very comfortable sharing and discussing topics that may be off limits in
other classroom. I love that I teach adults, as well.
So many topics seemed to be too mature for my high school students. Not that I
wanted to talk about anything vulgar, but I felt that we had to keep topics on a PG level,
which rules out difficult issues like the war in Syria, ideas on women's rights or
alternative fertility options. This last topic isn't one that I typically discuss with my adult
classes either, but it wouldn't be awful if it came up in conversation whereas my high
school students wouldn't have been able to appropriately discuss the topic. Therefore, I
feel like we can discuss more authentic topics in my adults classes, which I absolutely
love! It seems more genuine, engaging and helpful.
Similarly, I feel that my classroom is jointly constructed and immediately
significant. As defined by Breen, my class is one is which the, "teacher and students
construct and reconstruct knowledge in lessons" and "the day-to-day interpersonal
rationalisation of what is to be done in classrooms, why and how gives the culture
immediate significance to participants who invest in it as it unfolds" (p. 97). I am having

so much fun with my adult classes because of these features. The students are interested
in topics such as the Presidential election of 2016, the issue of migrants, the citizenship
exam and more; so that is what we study. The program is very proactive in asking
students what they want to learn and listening to their ideas.
We are able to have an interactive and collective classroom culture, as well.
Students are able to benefit from personal and communal learning/teaching activities
while being involved in verbal and non-verbal interaction. It makes everyday flexible and
fun. Today, for example, students played games where they were out of their seats and
moving around. They also role-played conversations, brainstormed ideas with a partner
and 'instructed' the class via the ELMO. The relatively small size of my class, today 10
students, makes this easier to do than when I taught 30+ students at the high school level.
I love teaching in the community college!
Another way in which I found the reading applicable to my classroom now was
through the section on 'Classrooms as ecologies.' Gaises states, "...the classroom is the
crucible--the place where teachers and learners come together and language learning, we
hope, happens...The learners bring with them whole experience of learning and of life in
classrooms, along with their own reasons for being there, and their own particular needs
that they hope to see satisfied" (p. 101). As adults, my students have such rich and
various life experience, educational backgrounds, perspectives and needs. Unlike in a
high school class, where students are 'forced' to be there, my students see such purpose in
learning a language. I don't have to force feed them the reasons why learning another
language is beneficial; they already understand and have a real-life, immediate
connection to the issue. One thing this quote reminded me to evaluate is my understand

of my student's educational beliefs and backgrounds. I would like to conduct a simple

survey about their formal education in their native language, their ideas about classroom
interactions and the role of the teacher, their feedback on my class in general, and other
comments they have regarding our little eco-system ;)

Kelley Bratcher
FL 694
Dr. Angus
10/27/2016
Reflection Journal: Third Installment

Entry #16
October 3, 2016
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Postmethod pedagogy. In Understanding language teaching:
From method to postmethod
At first, this reading was difficult to grasp. I was uncertain of several things
despite my initial research of the terminology of 'method' and 'postmethod' and how these
terms were represented by Kumaravadivelu and in the field language acquisition as a
whole. Scott Thornbury's article, "Methods, post-method, and mtodos" article helped to
clarify. He said, "Rather than subscribe to a single set of procedures, postmethod teachers
adapt their approach in accordance with local, contextual factors, while at the same time
being guided by a number of 'macrostrategies'." (Thornbury, 2009). This seemed to
clarify the difference between method and postmethod and support something I have
been doing myself for years--using theory, research and common sense to form strategies
for my own classroom. From this article I learned that as Richards noted, 'studies of the
effectiveness of specific methods have had a hard time demonstrating that the method
itself, rather than other factors, such as the teachers enthusiasm, or the novelty of the
new method, was the crucial variable' ( (Thornbury, 2009). Therefore, method alone

cannot account for language acquisition. A variety of factors are present in the classroom
which shape language learning.
Kumaravadivelu discusses three postmethod themes that attempt to respond to
provide alternatives to the concept of method. These alternatives offer options and
principles to guide the teacher in their own location-specific pedagogies. first explains
that the objective of his writing is to, "focus on some of the attempts that have recently
been made to lay the foundation for the construction of pedagogies that can be considered
postmethod in their orientation" (p. 185). He begins by exploring Stern's threedimensional framework by breaking it down into the intralingual-crosslingual dimension,
the analytic-experiential dimension, and the explicit-implicit dimension.
Kumaravadivelu then goes on to discuss Allwright's Exploratory Framework in
regards to its principle, practice philosophy and global and local concerns. I felt that the
seven steps in Allwright's Exploratory Practice are of immediate use to me as a begin my
Action Research Project. The steps are clear and simple, and provide ways of reflecting
upon particular puzzles, monitoring the situation and taking action in order to achieve
mutual development among the teacher, learners and profession.
Finally, Kumaravadivelu discusses his own macrostrategic framework in terms of
its general planning and objective. Kumaravadivelu states that he believes this
framework, "strikes a balance between giving teachers to guidance they need and want,
and the independence they deserve and desire" (p. 213). He explains that macrostrategies
are the guiding principles of L2 learning and teaching based on research and theory.
Teachers use macrostrategies to create their specific microstrategies. These
microstrategies involve classroom-specific strategies. For example, the macrostrategy of

fostering language awareness can be applied through the use of microstrategies such as
discussing informal/formal language usage or examining doublespeak (p. 210-211).
Overall, I feel that this reading helped solidify my belief that good teachers use
the knowledge that have at their disposal combined with a healthy amount of their own
logic as determined by the situation. I will definitely be using Allwright and
Kumaravadivelu's information as I prepare for and conduct my Action Research Project.

Entry #17
October 10, 2016
Woodward, T. (2001). What can go into a lesson? In Planning lessons and courses:
Designing sequences of work for the language classroom
In this reading, Woodward discusses the various topics that can go into a L2
lesson. Her intent is to provide teachers who are stuck thinking, "What can I teach," with
several ideas. Woodward offers different possibilities including language skills, study
skills, literature and culture.
One of my favorite sections was the lists she provided on institutional knowledge
that an ELL student may need to learn. Whether a student is transferring from the
elementary to the middle school or they have recently arrived from their native country, it
is important that they have a good sense of the conduct, territory, clothing, time and
resources in their new school. They should be knowledgeable of where to go for help and
the daily routines they will be expected to participate in. I believe that knowing and
understanding these topics can help an ELL student become comfortable with their new
situation in order to focus on learning. It also helps them to become acquainted with their

surrounding, classmates and school faculty/staff. They are able to feel more connected
with their school and form a community. In my experience, personal interactions with
students help build rapport and form a sense of responsibility through belonging in the
student.
For example, if Juan, a new student from Guatemala, learns the names of the
office staff at his school he has a place to go if he needs help. Vice versa, the office staff
can now form a relationship with Juan. If he skips school one day, they are more likely to
phone home or ask him if everything if okay the next time he comes to school. I really
enjoyed reading Woodward's examples of basic things to include in a 'First Day' lesson
for ELL student in a new environment.
I also really enjoyed reading the section on 'Exposure to language.' I believe it is
vital for students to be able to take charge of their own learning. In this section,
Woodward gives ideas of how to help ELL students notice, learn, use and refine the
language they are exposed to. She says, "...rather than trying to arrange for prolonged and
detailed focus on each of thousands of words, phrases, patterns, functions and sentence
and discourse types, the main idea in many classes is for the teacher to help students to
adopt useful strategies for working with the language they are exposed to" (p. 85).
As teachers we must provide our students with the tools they need to succeed
without us. It is impossible to try to teach every word or grammar pattern, instead we
should focus on creating self-sufficient learners who are able to analyze the world around
them in order to expand upon their language knowledge. Woodward suggests providing
students with a variety of media outlets to support their language knowledge. She also

states that students should be taught how to use resources such as dictionaries or
glossaries to facilitate their learning.
I will definitely be using Woodward's text when brainstorming lesson topics and
ideas. Great information for return to again and again!

Entry #18
October 17, 2016
Cazden, Chapter 6: Talk with peers and computers
The beginning of this chapter included an explanation of the title to be talking
together with peers by means of computers. This helped me to make sense of the
objective of the chapter as the title was a bit confusing. I found the term, "socially shared
cognition" especially interesting in this chapter. Cazden described a field trip in which
the students were later asked to detail their experience. Using their teacher, the textbook
and the help of classmates, the students were able to construct a description using their
shared memories, background knowledge and language knowledge. In my current
classroom, this happens on a daily basis. Students ask for help and respond to each
others request for help. One of the problems lies in judiciously employing native
language use. Native language use seems to be rampant in a handful of my students. I
believe that they are sometimes hindered in their language acquisition because they are
constantly relying on their native language. At the end of this section, I was left
pondering, where is the line between good native language use and bad? How can
teachers help students judiciously employ native language?

It was interesting to learn about the project with Denis Sayers called de Orilla a
Orilla and how it increases language exchange, encourage bilingualism and positive
cross-language experiences. This is such a cool idea. They ended up with important
bilingual products including a newspaper. Another way in which talk through computers
enable communication is through the Leoki bulletin board system in Hawaii. The system
helped combat the deterioration of indigenous languages on the island. It also helped to
make the Hawaiian language part of the 'real-world' of students. Supporters said, "In
order for Hawaiian to feel like a real living language like English, it needs to be seen,
heard and utilized everywhere, and that includes the use of computers" (p. 128).
Lastly. I really enjoyed Cazden's insight on social relationships among students.
Though student-led discourse and diffusion of individual expertise are common in the
non-traditional classroom, Cazden notes that there exists complex factors in such social
relationships. As Addison Stones says, "In short, implementing the classroom discourse
practices intended to create a 'community of learners' or a 'discourse community' or a
'thinking curriculum' is not for the faint-hearted" (p. 131). Teachers must be
knowledgeable about the dynamics of such relationships and capable of managing them.
For example, in my current class, a handful of more advanced speakers often
dominate group projects. My attempts to define roles within the group and selectively
create groups has had a minor effect, but a few dominating students continue to take the
lead leaving the others to sit by patiently while the group work is completed for them. My
interventions have been spontaneous and loosely monitored however. The results are not
surprisingly lack luster. Therefore in my Action Research Project, I am going to use
Allwright's method to monitor, theorize and implement strategies in a uniform way.

Entry #19
October 22, 2016
Chapter 8: New contexts for students' language development
Chapter 8 introduce the concept of 'exploratory talk' to me. Exploratory talk is
"speaking without the answers fully intact" (p. 170). This is common when children or
adults try to explain something. Our utterances are not always well articulated due to
what Cazden calls the, "cognitive load" (p. 170). I often engage in exploratory talk when
trying to describe a computer problem. I find myself saying, 'the thing, uh, you know, I
clicked it, but nothing happened. The computer froze and I, uh, tried to..." My utterances
are initially incomplete, but later come together to form more coherent statements.
Likewise, my students engage in exploratory talk. They may begin a story and then say to
themselves, "Como se dice...." in an effort to remember to correct vocabulary word or
grammatical pattern. Cazden states, "Just as first drafts are an important beginning
toward an eventual more complete and coherent final written text, so opportunities for
exploratory talk, and for subsequent help toward oral fluency and completeness, are
important in speaking as well" (p. 170). Teachers should explain to students that their
speech does not have to be perfect or complete. We all undergo exploratory speech
whether we are using our native language or a second language. Understanding this fact
may help students become more comfortable making mistakes, taking their time, using
incomplete phrases and navigating language.
Cazden continued her discussion by explaining accountable talk. Accountable
talk includes more complete, well-formulated utterances that contribute to the whole

learning community. Students are accountable of their knowledge, reasoning and the
learning community. They use accurate knowledge and provide evident to back up their
arguments. They use rational strategies to present information. Finally, they are engaged
in talk by actively listening, questioning, responding, clarifying and expanding upon their
classmates' talk. This is probably what is most lacking in my own classroom. My students
are quick to talk over one another and not let others' finish their statements. They lack the
ability to engage in conversation by actively listening and responding the their
classmates. I feel that they are so eager to talk, that they sometimes do not work within
the discussion instead they diverge on their own topic without expanding and relating to
other's ideas.
This section allowed me to ponder ways in which students can be taught how to
socially interact and engage in conversation with their peer in a second language. Perhaps
more use of what I call 'Circle Discussion' in my classroom would be useful. I tried this
the other day for the first time. Circle discussion is when a speaker gets one,
uninterrupted minutes to share on a specified topic. The next student must summarize the
previous student's ideas in 30 seconds before relating their own ideas. This continues
around the room until we are back to the original speaker who has one final chance to
speak for one minute until the floor is opened for discussion. In this way, students must
actively listen to their peer in order to summarize their statements and formulate their
own ideas and/or counter arguments. I researched this a bit more and came upon this site
which includes several ways in which students can actively engage with multiple peers
for discussion: http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/inside-outside-circles.

Entry #20
October 27, 2016
Last classroom reflection
Today I would like to reflect upon the development of my class since I began
teaching at Wilkes Community College in August. In regards to rapport, I feel that my
students and I have developed a better sense of community in the classroom. I would still
like to experiment with ways to manage some of my more dominant students during the
Action Research Project, but I believe that they are learning to allow the less advanced
students more opportunity to participate in class. The only strategy I have employed so
far is leading by example. I have made a point to call on my more introverted students
more. If a dominant student tries to answer for them or interrupt, I just ignore and
maintain eye contact with the initial student. I have also made sure that project work is
more evenly divided. This requires more supervision on my part that I would prefer. I
enjoy getting into the project with the students, but in order to monitor participation, I
must take a more supervisory role. This seems to be fairly effective, but I feel that more
intervention is necessary. Next Tuesday, I will begin implementing strategies from my
ARC in class and hope to see better results.
In class we are currently working on a few different project. The first is the
NCDC's Poem and Poetry contest. This project has been quite difficult to implement.
Although I felt like I designed plenty of lessons to introduce my students to the topic of
poetry and the theme of "The Joy of Work: Positive Approaches to Work, Career and
Life," several still give me the 'deer in the headlights' look when I ask them to continue
working with their poems. We looked at the poem "I Hear America Singing" by Whitman

and another poem by immigrant Tishani Doshi called, "The Dream." We brainstormed
ideas and analyzed the pros and cons of different advertisement posters. We probably
spent five class periods just building up to the actual project. Still, when we started on the
actual writing, it was like pulling teeth. I believe the limited formal education of many of
my students and the concept of abstract thinking as opposed to more concrete
assignments just blew them away. In the end, I think it has just taken time. Finally, last
class period, we seemed to make some real progress. I passed out an Alphabet Poem
worksheet and another worksheet to prompt students to write. Those that were struggling
to come up with something seemed to gravitate toward working with one of the
worksheets. Others however are doing a terrific job. I have a handful of students who are
getting really creative with their poems/posters. I plan to spend one more class working
on their projects and completing the final versions. Fingers crossed that a few place in the
state or national competition!
Finally, we are gearing up for an Autumn Celebration on Monday. This will
include a presentation by my students on the Day of the Dead that they present to the
GED/high school students. My Burmese student is also creating a poster about a Karen
holiday where they celebrate ancestors in some ways similar to the Day of the Dead. We
will also be having a pumpkin carving contest. Students will have to correctly order
sentence strip directions, before carving a pumpkin. Finally, my colleague in the GED
program has created a Kahoot trivia game for students to test their knowledge on the
holiday of Halloween. Fun times to come!

Works Cited
Thornbury, S. (2009). Methods, post-method, and mtodos. Retrieved October 2, 2016,
from BBC Teaching English: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/methods-postmethod-m%C3%A9todos