March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

ESL Newsletter Guilford County Schools

Mayra Hayes ESL Director

March 2011

The Brain and Second Language Learning

An understanding of how the brain works can help ESL

teachers be more effective in the classroom.

Brain research with animals is providing clues about the ways human beings learn. There is evidence that the functions of brain regions are continually shaped by experience and learning.

Experiments have shown that rats of all ages have greater growth in brain synapses if they are raised in a complex environment. Other research shows that after a learning experience rats have greater brain involvement when they perform tasks involving motor skills.

Experts think these findings have implications for human language learning. They say that language teachers should never give up, even on older language learners, because the brain's mapping can be changed by an enriched environment and by learning experiences.

In This Issue

3

5

6

7

Jokes  Can  Help  ESL  Students  Learn  English  

Reading  Aloud/Tips  for  Reading  Aloud  to  Your  Class  

Why  Help  Students  Learn  English?  The  Top  10  Reasons  

Teacher  to  Teacher  

The Brain and Second Language Learning...continued on page 2

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

2

An interesting finding, revealed by brain imaging, is that being bilingual actually causes structural changes in the brain. Dual language speakers have denser gray matter than people who speak only one language. Their denser brains give them an advantage in various abilities and skills. Those who become bilingual before age five have the greatest advantage.

Researchers have also discovered that knowing a second language has a continuous impact when reading in one's native language. It is never possible

to completely "turn off" a second language when reading in one's first language. Knowing both languages speeds up the brain's activation of cognates.

A study published in March 2009 reported the case of a bilingual man who suffered brain damage. Interestingly, his ability to speak his native language, Arabic, was far less impaired than his ability to speak his second language, Hebrew. This suggested to researchers that the first and second languages were represented in different areas of the man's brain.

Sources

Association for Psychological Science (2009). Study shows bilinguals are unable to "turn off" a language completely. Available at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130435.htm

Genesee, F. (2000). Brain research: implications for second language learning. Available at http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0012brain.html

Hiti, M. (2004). Being bilingual boosts brain power. Available at http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20041013/being-bilingual-boosts-brain-power

Paddock, C. (2009). Second language represented in different parts of the brain, single case study suggests. Available at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156880.php

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

3

Jokes Can Help ESL Students Learn English

Jokes not only bring smiles to students'

faces, they also help students learn

American culture, English vocabulary

words, and the idiosyncrasies of the

English language.

HOMONYMS: words with the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings

Q. What has many keys but can't open any doors? A. A piano.

Q. What do sad fir trees do? A. They pine a lot! Q. Why do cows wear bells? A. Because their horns don't work!

HETEROGRAPHS: words that sound alike, but have different spellings and different meanings

Q. Why did the bald man paint rabbits on his head? A. Because from a distance they looked like hares! Q. Why are Saturday and Sunday strong days?

A. Because they are not weekdays!

CAPITONYMS: words that change in meaning when capitalized, e.g. China, an Asian country, and china dishes.

Q. Why was everyone so tired on April 1st? A. They had just finished a March of 31 days.

Here are some examples of the types of jokes you can use to teach...

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

4

PUNS: phrases that exploit confusion between similar-

sounding words

I was arrested at the airport just because I was greeting my cousin Jack! When I saw him I shouted," Hi Jack!"

***

One day a man went to visit Mozart's tomb. When he got there, the tomb was open and Mozart was sitting there tearing up pieces of paper. The man asked: "What are you doing with all of your great works of music?" Mozart replied, "I'm decomposing!" Q. What are twins' favorite fruit? A. Pears! Q. What do you call a film about mallards? A. A duckumentary!

Jokes...continued

VERBS

Teacher: Today, we're going to talk about verb tenses. So, if I say, "I am beautiful," which tense is it? Student: Obviously it is the past tense.

*** Teacher: Tell me a sentence that starts with an "I." Student: I is the.... Teacher: Stop! Never put "is" after an "I." Always put "am" after "I." Student: OK. I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.

*** One day an English teacher was looking sad. A student asked, "What's the matter?" "Tense," answered the teacher, describing how he felt. The student paused, then continued, "What was the matter? What has been the matter? What will be the matter...?"

PUNCTUATION

An English teacher wrote these words on the board: woman without her man is nothing. The teacher then asked the students to punctuate the words correctly. A boy wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." A girl wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

5

Tips for Reading Aloud to Your Class

Read aloud to students often. When teachers regularly read aloud to their ESL students, they can expose them to more challenging concepts and language than they are capable of reading for themselves. Regular read aloud sessions can also expose students to a wide variety of genres which are read aloud differently from one another.

Involve students in "interactive" read aloud sessions. In an "interactive" read aloud, the teacher stops reading periodically to involve the class. The teacher may ask the class a question or prompt them to respond in another way such as jotting an answer on paper or sharing a response with a partner.

Use reading aloud to help students with research. When students have found materials on an assigned research subject, the teacher can read the more difficult materials aloud to the class, inviting them to say "stop!" when they hear a key idea related to the research topic. This aids in comprehension, since students' listening skills may exceed their reading skills.

Reading Aloud Reading aloud gives ESL students an enjoyable way to practice their pronunciation skills. One suggested approach is to first have the teacher read the selection aloud to the class. This provides an opportunity for students to practice listening skills and to observe the way the teacher groups words as she reads. The next step is to divide students into pairs or groups so they can practice reading the same text to one another.

In general, read aloud materials should be short, and at a lower reading level than students' silent reading level. This helps avoid processing problems. Speeches, answering machine messages, news transcripts, and announcements are excellent read aloud choices because they are authentic read aloud materials. That is, they were originally written for the purpose of being read aloud in a certain setting.

Fifteen downloadable read aloud worksheets are available at http://www.elcivics.com/worksheets/reading-aloud.html

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

6

Why Help Students Learn

The Top 10 Reasons

10 Hollywood films and (many believe) the best pop and rock music in the world are produced in English.

9 English is the official languages of the European Union, the United Nations, NATO armed forces, and most international athletic organizations, including the Olympic Committee.

8 By international treaty, English is the official language for aircraft, airport, and maritime communications.

7 English is the ecumenical language of the World Council of Churches, and the international language of diplomacy, business, and banking.

6 Five of the world's largest broadcasting companies —CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC, and CBC—transmit in English.

5 About 80% of the information stored in the world's computers is in English.

4 English is the key that unlocks the world of science. More than half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are written in English.

3 Most Web pages—over a billion—are written in English.

2 Of the world's more than 2,700 languages, English has the richest vocabulary. There are more than 500,000 English words. When technical and scientific terms are added, the total comes to about 1,000,000 words.

1 English is more widely spoken and written than any other language in the world. About 1,500,000,000 people already speak English and another 1,000,000,000 are learning it.

Sources http://www.framtak.com/english/facts.html http://www.antimoon.com/other/whylearn.htm http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2007/10/18/lifefocus/18963932&sec=lifefocus

?

Guilford County Schools ESL Program 134 Franklin Blvd.

Greensboro, North Carolina 27401

March 2011 Volume 6 Number 3

TEACHER TO TEACHER

On asking students how they feel after they've had a successful day... "I can’t remember where I first read about this strategy, but it certainly works, especially with students who have self-control issues or difficulties staying focused. I find that helping them become aware of more positive feelings they’re experiencing when they’re doing well is much more effective than asking them why they’re doing what they’re doing when they are not doing well."

--Larry Ferlazzo

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/04/18/maintaining-a-good-class/