One of my first impressions about this CATESOL conference is how much nicer the platform is and it seems a lot more organized then the one I attended virtually last May. However, there were definitely a few things that stuck out to me from that day because the presenters worked hard to make the content especially applicable to the new online format. Another thing I really enjoyed about this new format was that there were also some “teaching tips” that had been recorded in advance so they were a little more asynchronous and perhaps allowed teachers who were busy (like me) a few more chances to engage with the material. I scrolled through a few of the teaching tips and found a few that I enjoyed. Here are a few things that I learned from the teaching tips:
We can help students understand the reason that it’s important to translate ideas rather than a direct translation of words by comparing proverbs from different cultures (note picture above). For example, the speaker OkHee Ann compared these two proverbs and showed that they would be used in the same way:
Why jump in the water before the ship turns over. - Chinese proverb
Don’t cross the bridge until you come to it. - English proverb
Another session I attended with Kathy Koupai and Angel Pablico-Kobayashi they talked about some games to use online to help students engage. For example, you could introduce a topic and introduce some key vocabulary using a word search at the beginning of class. This would allow the teacher to see which words the students already know and also introduce any words they didn’t understand yet. I’ve used word searches before but usually at the end of a lesson as “review.” I’m not sure I found them very helpful so I’m excited to use this new way.
I also thought the session on using Aesops fables (also by Kathy Koupai) was interesting because I’ve been studying Aesops fables or fairy tales with my Arabic tutor recently. I’ve really enjoyed learning new vocabulary and coming to a deeper understanding of sentence structures this way because it’s helped me see that I can understand the meaning from a 10 minute story and also emphasizes the context of the words. Professor Koupai suggests interacting with the story in a discussion board and asking questions that the students wouldn’t understand without reading or watching the story in order to challenge them to engage with the story.
I still wish they had followed a few tips from this blog using Ted Talks to illustrate ways to engage the audience without being able to collaborate or interact: 7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring Ted presenters We’ve been discussing these methods in the English 101X class at Mesa so I guess I was thinking a bit more critically as I engaged with the material.
Lastly, I know I mentioned in class last week how much I enjoyed Dr. Krashen’s talk last Spring so I took some time to watch it again and here are a few of my key takeaways:
One of Dr. Krashen’s key points was that optimal input is one of the most important things for language learning. It sounds like he is still in the process of studying how much optimal input is needed and how teachers and students can pursue optimal input. One way he mentioned was to read a lot of books. Probably because we tend to be a largely print-based society so without books it is hard to get exposure to a wide array of topics. He also thinks that self selected reading tasks are crucial for this. When we are motivated to learn something it is easier to ignore that we are working so hard to read a foreign language and thus may spend a lot more time pursuing a topic.
He believes that “anyone who receives optimal input makes the same level of progress” so “when the input is right there is no such thing as language learning differences.” I thought these ideas were fantastic! I will definitely be watching his upcoming research to hear more about how best to help myself and others achieve optimal input. One idea he had was that it’s better to read a lot of easier things that you are interested in rather than trying to attempt a higher level topic or reading level. I guess I have a good excuse to find children’s books and movies in other languages now! Part of this is something he mentioned later during the Q/A session: comprehension is not enough you need rich and interesting input to be sufficiently motivated and excited about the learning.
The 2nd part of this talk was about writing. Some of the things he mentioned during this session last Fall really stuck with me. For example, that in order to be a good writer we need to be exposed to a great deal of good writing! It isn’t through the practice of writing that we necessarily become good writers it is through reading. On the other hand, writing is all about thinking. So we can learn more about things, become inspired, or solve problems when writing. He believes there is a balance between starting the writing process as a way to focus on a topic and taking time to do everyday tasks so that your brain can catch up with what you’re writing.
In the last section he talked about our ability to learn an accent. That perhaps subconsciously we may not want a “perfect” accent in another language because we don’t want to turn fully away from our identity. I totally agree that because accents mark individuals as from a particular place or background it’s a beautiful thing to keep an accent as long as we can be understood. On the other hand, we may sometimes have better accents when we’re not trying because our output filter and affective filter block us from speaking well. We may get too nervous about who is listening and struggle to pronounce things clearly.
I know I’ve referenced a few things that he said, please note that I am not sure I got the quotes 100% correct, but I wanted to share a few of his key ideas. Even 4 months later I’m still thinking about them! I think that if you log in to the CATESOL website with your member ID you would still be able to access it here: https://www.catesol.org/krashen-three_talks.php. I am looking forward to finding his most recent talk once they post it and I hope some of you got to see his talk on Saturday afternoon and I can’t wait to read what you have to say about the CATESOL conference!
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