TEACHING ESL TO ADULTS: CLASSROOM APPROACHES IN ACTION (VIDEO SERIES) BY M.A. FLOREZ AND B. PARRISH
Florez, M.A., & Parrish, B. (2011). Teaching ESL to Adults: Classroom Approaches in Action (video series). Newtonville, M.A.: New American Horizons Foundation. List price: Free online at: http://www.newamericanhorizons.org.
Reviewed by
Nima Salehi
Teacher trainers and educators in adult ESL programs will be excited to see the new teacher training videos available free online or at a low cost in DVD format from the New American Horizons Foundation. This series provides adult educators with a visual understanding of what it means to teach language skills to US immigrants and examples of best practices in learner centered ESL instruction.
Educators new to the field of adult ESL instruction can see the realities of multi-level classes and what a beginning adult ESL student can absorb in one language lesson, both difficult concepts to understand without firsthand experience. They can observe the effectiveness of repetition within scaffolded or easy to complex learning activities, and watch how instructors elicit learner language to assess comprehension and reinforce acquisition.
The series includes a total of eight video segments, which can be viewed online or purchased in DVD format as volumes 1-3, with several lessons in each volume. Video segments are about 30 minutes long and each one shows how an instructor implements a particular type of lesson. The video is narrated alternately by the teacher and one of the project team leaders who explain the structure, purpose, skill or content focus for each class. Scenes follow teacher facilitation and instruction while exhibiting student responses to activities.
Volume 1 includes two videos on how to teach life skills to beginning learners within the contextual framework of personal experiences. Examples include a lesson built around a class trip to the hardware store, where the instructor uses structured to open ended activities and pictures taken with students at the store to reinforce language learning. Another lesson on simulated phone calls models the whole-part-whole approach to language instruction and how repetition can enhance oral and written language acquisition.
Volume 2 includes three video segments on how to teach beginning, multi-level and intermediate learners, a common range of learners served in adult education centers. Skill areas highlighted are vocabulary development using total physical response activities, how to teach multi-level classrooms and how to use pre, post and extension activities to enhance listening skills.
Volume 3 includes three videos that highlight techniques on the instruction of grammar, reading and writing skills to intermediate learners. A variety of strategies and approaches are illustrated which emphasize student centered contextual learning (such as developing individual life timelines and incorporating graphic organizers to develop job interview skills). Examples are provided for pre and post lesson activities, and group and individual language learning activities.
This series of eight video lessons provides a rich understanding of the array of teaching strategies implemented by instructors within one lesson framework. Videos could be used by ESL teacher training programs to supplement and enhance curriculum, or by individual educators who may wish to refresh their understanding of adult teaching theory and practice.
An additional series of six theme-based videos is currently under production, and will include topics such as giving feedback and assessing learning, developing critical thinking skills, and teacher-student interactions, all drawn from the raw footage of the original eight classes.
Betsy Parrish and Mary Ann Florez, long time contributors to the field of adult ESL teacher training, team up with Barbara Allaire, director of the New American Horizons Foundation, and video producer Federico Muchnik to produce this excellent video series. ESL instructors and the adult education programs in Minnesota, Washington D.C., and Virginia where videos were taped are listed on the website.
The result is a professional, well developed series of teacher training videos that is highly relevant to the field, yet accessible and affordable for learning centers and teacher training programs for adult ESL educators nationwide.
REVIEWER
Nima Salehi holds an M.A. in ESL from the University of Minnesota. She has taught ESL/EFL since 1980 at the K-12, adult, and university level. She co-teaches a course for ESL educators on Technology Enhanced Language Learning at Hamline University, as well as ESL courses on Business English and Academic Speaking for the Minnesota English Language Program (MELP) at the University of Minnesota.
