THE ESL TEACHER

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Of interest to teachers around the world - and to those who are thinking about a teaching career overseas.

March 2001

Publisher: Sunbridge Institute of English

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ATTENTION: You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to it, indicated an interest in one of our courses or because someone recommended that you might be interested in its content. If you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please see the instructions at the end of the newsletter. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy.

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I THIS ISSUE

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1. A Note from the Publisher

2. Berne University Update

3. Tips for Teachers: Praiseworthy

4. Writing English for Academic Purposes (WEAP)

5. Lesson Plan – Get to Know Someone

6. Behavior of the Month - The Attention Demander

7. Classified Ads

8. Teaching Positions

9. Subscription Management

10. Contact Information

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1. A Note from the Publisher

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A new archive of back issues of this newsletter is now available on our website. If you missed an edition, you can read it or download a copy whenever you want to do so. There is a link to the archive from the page that features the current edition.

<http://www.teachesl.org/ezine.htm>

Last month our usual mailing method was disrupted so quite a few people did not receive the February 2001 edition. If you missed it, it is available in the archive. You can get to it directly at:

<http://www.teachesl.org/Feb2001.htm>

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2. Berne University Update

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Berne University has a campus in Nevis/St. Kitts in the West Indies and an administration office in New Hampshire, USA. Berne is accredited in the USA for student loans as well as in Ontario, Canada. Until recently they offered distance learning Master’s Degrees in Education or Master of Arts in Education. In fact, these were also available as combined Master’s/Doctorate programs. Unfortunately, they have temporarily discontinued the Master’s program. In corresponding with Dr. Kingsley, their new head recently, he indicated that they had plans to reinstate a Master’s of Education with the qualifier that registrants would have to hold a current teacher’s license. We have asked Dr. Kingsley to keep us informed and will pass the information

along to our subscribers.

Another Berne feature is that they offer a substantial reduction in tuition to people living/working in a developing country and being paid in local currency. If you are interested in what Berne U currently has to offer, their web site is:

<http://www.berne.edu> and their email address is <[email protected]>

Sunbridge is not connected with Berne but that university recognized the value of our TESOL certificate program as meeting their TEFL course prerequisite. We shall keep you posted if we set up agreements with other universities.

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  1. Tips for Teachers: Praiseworthy
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Though we seldom do it intentionally, we as teachers sometimes overlook praising students when they show little improvements or even for volunteering an answer in class. Students appreciate it when the teacher tells them that they are doing well - and they’ll take the praise home with them to let their parents know that "my teacher said my English is really improving!"

It doesn’t cost us anything to add a few ‘attaboys’ and ‘attagirls’ yet it can make a student’s day. For younger kids, you can buy little rubber stamps with cartoon pictures on them – stars, smileys, cuddly bears, etc. Kids love to get these stamped on their homework. They’ll work harder to get that stamp if they didn’t earn it this time.

Suggestion: Write a note in your lesson plan book:

"Who did I praise today?"

"Who haven’t I praised lately?"

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4. Writing English for Academic Purposes (WEAP)

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Because our February mailing did not go as it was intended, we wanted to mention our new WEAP course again. "Writing English for Academic Purposes" is a distance learning course designed to teach English writing skills. It is ideal for:

- students who are either about to enter college or university,

- students already in college or university who want to improve their writing skills,

- teachers who will have to instruct a writing course,

- anyone who wants to write better essays or other papers

- anyone who wants to learn to write better English.

WEAP is for ESL students and native speakers alike. Being proficient in the English language does not necessarily make everyone a good writer - that is an acquired skill and this course teaches you how to do that.
 

For complete information, go to our web site:

<http://www.teachesl.org/weap.htm>

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5. Lesson Plan – Get to Know Someone

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Here is a great lesson plan that encourages students to go out and collect information, put it into a paragraph and then come back and tell the class about it. It is called "Get to Know Someone".

The idea is for each student to talk to someone they may have seen but haven’t really spoken with other than perhaps saying ‘hello’. This could be one of the people who takes care of the school, someone in administration, a student from another class who is not a friend, a local shopkeeper, crossing guard, security guard, teacher who does not teach this class, or any other appropriate person.

The object is to find out all as much information as possible about that person: How old they are. Are they married? Ado they have children, brothers or sisters? Names and ages? Is this a friendly or unfriendly person? How long have they been doing that job? Where do they live? Find out something interesting about that person. What does his or her job entail?

You can add whatever questions you want to the list. Give the students a deadline and suggest that they work in pairs. They’ll find it easier to approach someone if they have a friend with them. You can use this as a writing project, speaking presentation or both.

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6. Behavior of the Month - The Attention Demander

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We recently mentioned a great web site that provides information (FREE) on how to handle 117 different behaviors. Here is one of them: The Attention Demander

I. BEHAVIOR:

Specific attitudes and actions of this child at home and/or at school.

  1. Usually loud.
  2. Responds negatively to authority.
  3. Tries to force his/her way into peer groups.
  4. Frequently late to class.
  5. Late in getting materials ready and assignments turned in.
  6. Frequently out of his/her seat.
  7. Picks on other students.
  8. Usually asks unnecessary questions.
  9. Often tries to be nonconformist in order to gain attention.
  10. Says the wrong thing at the wrong time.
  11. Often wears unusual or attention-getting clothing.
  12. May use profanity or crude language.
II. EFFECTS:

How behavior affects teachers, classmates, and parents in the school learning environment and the home family situation.

  1. Teacher is forced to give additional time to this student.
  2. Concentration of teacher and class is often broken.
  3. Teacher is antagonized.
  4. Teacher often loses track of what he/she is trying to say in class presentations.
  5. Peers may react by excluding the attention demander from student groups.
  6. Classmates may begin putting the attention demander down or avoiding him/her at every opportunity.
III. ACTIONS: Primary cause of misbehavior: Primary needs being revealed: Secondary needs being revealed:
  1. Create a visibility or leadership role for this student.
  2. Give him/her additional responsibilities.
  3. Take time for an individual student conference to discover the real problems and insecurities that the student may feel.
  4. Bolster the student’s confidence at every opportunity—in a quiet way. You must find a constructive way for the attention demander to meet his/her need for attention. Above all, attention cannot be denied, or he/she will go to extremes to get it.
  5. Seek help from psychologists and counselors as well as parents to reinforce changes in this behavior, not only at school but at home.
  6. Be consistent in the way you handle situations with all attention demanders.
  7. Be kind, polite, and firm at all times.
  8. Model the behavior you want. Speak softly and quietly.
  9. Reinforce appropriate questions when the attention demander asks them. This will help the attention demander and other students to realize which questions are constructive and relevant.
  10. Don’t cause the student unnecessary embarrassment when he/she asks to go to a counselor, nurse, or the restroom. Asking publicly, "What for?" or "Is it necessary?"—even in a gentle way—can be very embarrassing and even traumatic for some students because their need can be urgent.
  11. Watch for improvement. Then, relate how pleased you are with the improvement in behavior.
  12. Make weekly checks to ensure you are recognizing all students, even if it’s just with "Good morning." Use the class roster and make a check next to the name of each student with whom you have interacted; you may find you go a whole week without talking to some students. Correcting this situation may prevent misbehavior.
  13. Be constantly aware of the times you give attention to the attention demander. Be aware of this student’s strong need for attention and provide it for positive actions—not just for disruptions.
  14. Never exclude this student.
  15. Never make the student anxious, or the behavior will become worse.
IV. MISTAKES: Common misjudgments and errors in managing the child which may perpetuate or intensify the problem.
  1. Assuming that the attention demander doesn’t have the skills to do the job, when he/she really does.
  2. Ignoring the behavior.
  3. Failing to listen carefully to what the student is saying.
  4. Making hasty and inconsistent judgments about this student.
  5. Trying to anticipate the kinds of situations that will cause the student to get what he/she needs by misbehaving.
  6. Assuming that you can generalize and understand this student and the real motivations for his/her behavior.
  7. Failing to comprehend the importance of his/her message.
  8. Trying to keep him/her from getting any attention.


Having a problem with a particular student? Go to <http://www.disciplinehelp.com>

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7. Classified Ads

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Many well-known multinational companies are now using a process called "Action Learning" to solve their problems. It is a technique that uses reflection and that seeks to identify the right question before trying to find the solution. On our management side, Sunbridge offers a certificate course called "Principles of Action Learning". The process is just as valid in education as it is in other fields. To learn more about this course, please go to

<http://sunbridge.8m.com/action.htm>

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Our distance learning courses mean that you can complete the course wherever you are in the world - and at your own pace. Click on the following link to go right there:

<http://www.teachesl.org/TESOL.html>

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The Sunbridge Affiliate Program is FREE TO JOIN. You are under no obligation to refer our TESOL course, WEAP course, or our management courses but if you know someone who might be interested, why not get a finder’s fee for telling them about it? Go to our web site for complete details:

<http://www.teachesl.org/income.htm>

Link to our Management Courses: <http://sunbridge.8m.com>

Download the Agreement Form, complete it and fax it to our toll free number: 1-800 282-6299 (US and Canada) or mail it to us. We'll allocate an IEC number and you will be all set to start earning extra pocket money!

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The Canadian School of Management offers pre-graduate, graduate and post-graduate level diploma programs. Graduates of the Sunbridge TESOL course can apply their certificate towards a graduate level course. Web site: <http://www.c-s-m.org>

Contact: <[email protected] >

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8. Teaching Positions -

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Where in the world interests you? Here are some current ESL openings:

Africa (1), Albania (1), Argentina (2), Australia (7), Azerbaijan (1), Bosnia (1), Bulgaria (1), Brazil (5), Brunei (1), Canada (6), Chile (2), China (35), Colombia (3), Costa Rica (2), Czech Rep. (6), Dominican Rep. (1),East Europe (1), Ecuador (1), Egypt (1), Estonia (2), Finland (1), France (12), Germany (14), Georgia (1), Greece (1), Hong Kong (36), Honduras (1), Indonesia (7), Italy (35), Japan (56), Kazakhstan (1), S. Korea (48), Kuwait (2), Lebanon (2), Libya (1), Luxembourg (1), Malaysia (1), Mexico (10), Mid East (2), Moldova (1), Mongolia (1), Morocco (1), Nepal (1), New Zealand (3), Oman (1), Pakistan (1), Poland (27), Portugal (2), Qatar (2), Russia (8), Saudi Arabia (10), Singapore (3), Slovakia (3), Spain (35), Switzerland (1), Taiwan (37), Thailand (38), Turkey (17), UAE (5), UK (27), Uruguay (1), USA (51), Vietnam (3), Volunteers (6), Worldwide (9).

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9. Subscription Management

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10. Contact Information

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Sunbridge Institute of English

115 Front St. East, Suite 160

Toronto, ON Canada M5A 4S6

Tel/Fax: 800-282-6299

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.teachesl.org

In the US, contact us at:

Sunbridge Institute of English

161 W. Springcreek Pkwy, # 601

Bow No. 155

Plano, TX 75075-8806

Tel/Fax: 800-282-6299

Email: [email protected]

In Asia Pacific, we may be contacted at:

Sunbridge Institute of English

302/120 W. P. Central Condominium

Latphrao Soi 1

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 Thailand

Tel: (66-1) 854-7846

Fax: (662) 513-1110

Email: [email protected]
 

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