Making lessons accessible for English language learners - Essay Example

After observing the teacher deal with the topic of ‘Response Writing’ in the I felt that I could modify it to make it comprehensible and accessible to the English language learners. As the purpose of this learning activity is to make the students exercise critical thinking and analysis it becomes all the more necessary to make a lesson plan that would help the non-English speaking students really understand the essence of the lesson and therefore make progress in it. Before beginning with the lesson the teacher must be sure about the goals and the learning objectives.

In this case the goals consist of i) helping the non-speaking English students overcome their lack of confidence in giving proper expression to their views in response to a given topic or issue in English language ii) knowing how to begin with critical approach iii) being able to convey their views to others iv) helping them avoid summarization. The whole process of teaching this particular lesson would help in reinforcing their analytical thinking (Schneberger). The modifications I find most essential to be done for specifically the English language learners is in the topic on which they are to write in response.

I would like to bank on the visual sense as I believe it is the most effective way of getting a response. Therefore I would present a descriptive picture before my students and ask them to write down a few lines on what they see in the picture. At this point I think it is important for the teacher to explain the meaning and importance of ‘Response Writing’ to the students as they are not so familiar with the English language. They are also to be made aware of the stages of ‘Response Writing’ (Schneberger).

I feel that it would be needful to ask the students to share their observation with the rest of the class. They are to be asked to read aloud individually. This would not only help the teacher check upon their reading skill but also whether they have got down the points correctly or not? The teacher should then ask them to note down the similarity in the points between each other (Schneberger). After listening to the students, the teacher is to write the word ‘summary’ on the board (Schneberger) in order to point out specifically the difference between ‘critical response’ and ‘summary’.

It is always better to write out than tell while teaching. By writing down the difference and definitions the students get a better understanding of the meanings. The teacher should distinctly point out to the students that what they have written is the summary of what they have seen. He should then introduce the second part of the activity. He asks the students to write about their feelings and thoughts of what they have seen. They are given the liberty to take a standpoint to make any assessment.

Once again the students are told to read what they have written. At this point the teacher keeping in mind the need of the students includes an interactive session between all the students. This interactive session provides the English language learners the scope to understand their strengths and weaknesses in writing and speaking. On the other hand it not only helps the teacher to assess their progress but makes the students confident.The teacher writes ‘Critical Response’ on the board and explains that the second writing exercise is a form of critical response where they express their personal feelings and opinions about the object.

The teacher, by drawing examples between the two forms of writing explains the differences and also the requirements of each form. It is important that the teacher checks the write ups of all the students to see their individual attempt and understanding of the lesson taught. Without an assessment the lesson plan remains incomplete as the assessment acts as the medium of student feedback. The teacher must be certain that the lesson is successfully taught to the students as well as they have thoroughly got the grip of it.

Work CitedSchneberger, M. Oreo Response Writing. 2003. Retrieved 10th March 2009 from http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0218.html