UNIT 2 reflections

Unit 2: Evaluate Resources

In this  Unit I learned  about the process of material evaluation and usage of authentic materials.

And now I able to:

- develop criteria for ESL  Criteria selection
-  to apply evaluation criteria for the selected ESL resources
- chose the right course book and authentic resources  for ESL classroom

I tried to apply my knowledge doing  my Material Evaluation Assignment.

If you are Tutela member  you may  read it  by clicking this  link:

https://tutela.ca/DownloadAreaShared?downloadarea=34790&group=syn_downloadarea_sharing34790

Or you may  review  my completed assignment  in this post below:

 

 

 

Assignment 2: ESL Materials Evaluation 

Sergii Prymachok

Department Teaching English, University of  Manitoba

TESL 0150: Resource  Development and Integration

Dr. Tatiana Galetcaia

April 26, 2020

 

 

  

Abstract

The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate my skill in evaluating ESL resources. My target learners are newcomers to Manitoba with an English level CLB 3-4. Most of them came from post-Soviet Union countries and they can speak and understand Russian language. The average age is between 30-45 years old. Professional background: experienced truck drivers.

Their goal is:


- to find a job as a truck driver on the local market as quickly as possible


- to overcome a speaking barrier


- to develop and improve their basic writing skills


- to be able to understand basic conversations and professional instructions


- to read authentic professional texts.




These people are mostly proficient in smartphones and communication through chats, phone calls and social media.

Chosen resource

South Eastman English & Literacy Services.(2020, January 20). English for Daily Life.  Employment. Unit 6. Retrieved from https://tutela.ca/Resource_33586 

Brian Tomlinson (2014) in his book describes a three-step evaluation process: pre-use evaluation, whilst-use evaluation, and post-use evaluation.  For my assignment  I will use a pre-use evaluation method proposed by Rustamova, Z. (2016), as we are not going to try out the materials or receive a post-use evaluation from students.

 Analysis

Tomlinson (2014) suggests first analyzing the materials – “an analysis focuses on the materials and it aims to provide an objective analysis of them. It ‘asks questions about what the materials contain, what they aim to achieve, and what they ask learners to do’ (Tomlinson, 1999, p. 10).”

What the materials contain?

Photocopied handouts:


- Manitoba job Market worksheet


- Classified ads section of the local newspaper


- Questions to answer


- Job application form


- Application form vocabulary vocabulary


- Vocabulary word and definition


- Resume worksheet for each learner


- Job Interview worksheet


- Job Interview practice worksheet


- Ben’s Traffic Trouble worksheet for each learner


- Ben Had Traffic Trouble worksheet for each learner


- Could you … worksheet for each learner


- A Pay Stub worksheet for each learner


 - Pay Stub samples for each learner

What the materials aim to achieve?

Manitoba Job Market


- to introduce Manitoba job market basics;


- to introduce the content and layout of classified advertisements;


- to become familiar with employment classifieds in the newspaper;


- to skim a text for important information;



Job Interview


- to introduce the format and style of a job interview


- to reinforce and practice a job interview



Employment Review


- to either introduce or reinforce occupation names


- using the simple present tense in questions and answers


- to practice the third person ‗s‘


- to introduce actions associated with various occupations



Ben’s Traffic Trouble


- to talk about feelings related to the first day of work


- to review simple past verbs.



Could You . . . (Specific to Work)


- to use could as an alternative to can when asking favours


- to learn vocabulary specific to workplaces



A Pay Stub


- to learn vocabulary related to a pay stub


- to find information on a pay stub



What do the materials ask learners to do?

• Brainstorm 
• Discuss in groups 
• Share their own experience, stories and ideas 
• Critical thinking 
• Project type tasks in groups and pairs 
• Presentation in front of the class 
• Ask questions 
• Understand the meaning of feeling adjectives 
• Understanding the vocabulary used in the materials 
• Fill in the blanks 
• Practice to use Present Simple and Past Simple grammar constructions. 
• Listen to the teacher’s instructions, reading and pronunciation.

1. Content-related criteria.

#	Evaluation criteria questions	Answers
1.	Do the materials have authentic elements?	Yes,  these materials have elements of authenticity. Sample of the local newspaper and paystub.
2.	Are the materials culturally and politically sensitive?	No,  this unit materials do not touch sensitive topics.
3.	Are the topics likely to promote cultural awareness?	Yes, newcomers are introduced to the local job market and it specifics.
4.	Are the topics relevant to the students?	I believe the topics are relevant. Students will learn general information about the job market in Manitoba.  It does not touch specifically the trucking industry though.
5.	Do the tasks have a real purpose?	In my opinion, many activities in this Unit were designed for active language practicing and indirect teaching.
6.	Are the topics likely to be affectively engaging to students?	I assume these topics are engaging and challenging for this group of students.

2. Language related criteria.

#	Evaluation criteria questions	Answers
1.	Are the grammar points presented in context?	We see some grammar materials presented such as Present Simple, Past Simple,  feeling adjectives, word “to be”,  Could.. questions.
2.	Do the materials encourage students to notice the grammar points in use?	Yes, Activities 4-7 emphasize proper grammar usage.
3.	Do the materials match the vocabulary and grammar level of the students?	I  believe so,  sometimes it may look a bit overwhelming.  But going through some pressure helps to learn. (Tomlinson, 2014, p. 10)
4.	Do the materials adequately balance the four skills?	I do not think so.  In this particular Unit,  most materials are focused more on the development of speaking and writing skills and less focused on reading and listening.
5.	Do the materials encourage communication?	Yes, materials in this Unit encourage the development of communication skills through discussions, presentations, sharing personal opinions, and ideas.
6.	Do the materials provide opportunities to develop pronunciation skills?	I found that only  Activity 5  has some emphasis on pronunciation from the teacher’s  side.  But  I did not notice any opportunities given to students to practice their pronunciation.

3. Student related criteria.

#	Evaluation criteria questions	Answers
1	Do the materials provide opportunities for output feedback?	Yes, author of the Unit says “  The teacher should elicit feedback from learners, ensuring that all of the above points were covered in their group discussions” on page 3 & 7
2.	Do the materials cater to different learning styles?	In my opinion, these materials do not cover all learning styles. The main activities in this Unit are: brainstorming, discussions, filling the blanks.
3.	Are the instructions easy to follow?	Yes,  as to me the instructions in this Unit are clear and simple to follow.
4.	Are the materials student-centred (do they give students choices and opportunities for personalization)?	Yes, this unit gives students a lot of opportunities to express their own opinion, experience and ideas.
5.	Are the activities varied in topics and processes?	Yes, each topic has different activities.  They may look similar, but processes vary.
6.	Are the materials likely to make the learners feel at ease?	I believe not all learners will feel at ease during this lesson. Especially immigrants from Slavic countries they are afraid to speak. But it depends on the teacher how he introduces each activity to the students and level of encouragement.

4. Teacher-related criteria.

#	Evaluation criteria questions	Answers
1.	Are the materials easily adaptable?	I  believe yes,  you can easily change one handout to another and use different activity.
2.	Are the materials easy to supplement?	Yes, if necessary you can add extra stuff and activities to this Unit. And the author mentions these options as well in the Extention section.
3.	Are the materials easy to use?	Yes,  these  materials are very  simple, easy for distribution and copy.
4.	Does the Unit have sufficient associated practice materials?	Yes,  this  Unit  was  built for practical usage of  English language
5.	Does the Unit  review and recycle language?	Yes, it does.  It is planned in activities 4 and 5.
6.	Is the unit logically structured?	Yes, this Unit is well planned.  We have a table of contents on the first page and separately each activity contains a list of goals on the left side of the teacher’s guide.

Conclusion

The materials in this  Unit are well structured even course book is not used.  Most activities are made to practice English language output (speaking and writing).   The students are less exposed to the input of the English language (reading and listening). Mostly reading is supposed to be done by the teacher and students getting input language from the teacher. If the teacher is not a native speaker, this is not going to be an authentic source for students.

The materials are very simple, photocopied handouts are not colorful. 

Technology related materials are not used at all, but in the job interview extension section the idea to film each other was mentioned.  I would use some activities which require to use smartphone apps and social media. I would also add to this lesson more audio-visual materials: colorful pictures and videos. For example, it could be a sample video of a job interview. 

In my opinion, these activities are still difficult for students with English level CLB 3 and 4.

But in general,  the structure and materials of this  Unit are good, variable and action-based  for the target group fo students.  It only needs some adaptation and improvements.

References

Tomlinson, B. (2014). Chapter 1: Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson. Developing materials for language learning. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic.

South Eastman English & Literacy Services.(2020, January 20). English for Daily Life.  Employment. Unit 6. Retrieved from https://tutela.ca/Resource_33586 

Rustamova, Z. (2016). Pre-use evaluation. Retrieved from http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/te714zr37/2016/03/10/pre-use-evaluation/

Marie-Elyse Gautier( 2019, February 21). Overview of CLB and NCLC competency levels. Retrieved from https://www.language.ca/overview-of-clb-and-nclc-competency-levels/

About  authentic  material  in less  than 2 min:

 How and when we  can  use authentic materials  on our ESL lessons: