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English as a Second Language

English is the language of liberation

LANGUAGE LIBERATION
WORD POWER and ACCESS

Remember: What's Personal is Political

American English, is the language of the first modern anticolonial power, which is now transforming the world, especially via its creation, the Internet. The idea of the internet was born out of the 1960's hippie movement in Berkley, CA a culture who valued civil rights, equality, people power and the expansion of conscienceness.

80% of everything posted on the Internet is in English.

LITERATURE - Online stories and activities.

Learn about Netglish and the Origin of English

American English is the language of liberation worldwide.

With this one language, everyone has access to the information, technology, culture, and history of all of world civilization.

FREEDOM

Americans have always used their First Amendment rights frame and discuss the issues of liberty vs. security, freedom vs. responsibility, the individual vs. society.

Liberty definded by Americans in 1776

Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

American Government For Free People

Two Constitutions

(1) Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (1781)

(2) Present Constitution (1787). The Preamble to the Constitution of 1787 set out the national purpose of the new United States:

"WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Bill of Rights

They followed that up two years later with ten amendments to the original Constitution to set out the world's first Bill of Rights.

Article I of those Amendments proclaimed:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Guidelines for Writers of ESL/EFL Web Pages

Interesting Things for ESL
This web site is for people studying English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL). There are quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Jim Cummins Welcome to Dr. Cummins' ESL and Second Language Learning  - A no-nonsense voice in the world of second-language acquisition, during the past three decades, Cummins, now a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, has touched the life of many an English as a second language teacher, inspiring thousands with a thoroughly grounded iconoclastic approach to the pedagogy of language. Jim Cummins Demolishes NCLBs Ideology and Practice

Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab
serving language students around the world. These self-grading JavaScript listening quizzes will help you check your listening comprehension skills in English. At least one new quiz is added each week. Do you have a good idea for a new quiz

ESL CAFE
Dave Sperling's site dedicated to learning English as a second language; designed to be fun for teachers with lots of opportunity for interaction and loads of shared ideas.

ESL Literacy Research

Adult ESL Literacy Databases / Directories The Center for Applied Linguistics provides online access to the following databases and directories.

Center for Applied Linguistics
General Questions on Bilingual Education What is the need for instructional programs that can teach limited-English proficient (LEP) children? Why is bilingual education so important?
Years of linguistic research have shown that it takes five to seven years to master "academic" English, regardless of whether the student is taught through bilingual education or all in English. Academic English, which allows a student to succeed in school, should be distinguished from conversational or "playground" English, which can be learned in a year or two.

Literacy and English as a Second Language
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING DIFFICULTY IN HONG KONG SCHOOLS:“ AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF THE HONG KONG CONTEXT WITH PROPOSED SOLUTIONS”

Language Learning Theory Second Language Acquisition

Courage? Follow the Yellow Brick Road
By MICHAEL WINERIP Published: June 14, 2006
DIANA SENECHAL is a first-year teacher of immigrant students at I.S. 223, a middle school in Brooklyn, and maybe, if she'd been more experienced, she would have known better than to have her students perform "The Wizard of Oz" when they were so new to this country and spoke so little English.
They arrived at I.S. 223 talking 24 different languages and not knowing a soul. About the only thing they shared was a shyness of speaking English aloud.
Ms. Senechal figured, what better way to give them confidence than to have them sing and dance in an hour-and-a-half-long musical, for three performances at the end of the school year, in the big auditorium, before a thousand strangers?
Her students weren't so sure. As Shamsul Huda from Bangladesh, the Tin Man, said, "I'm scary to do it."
Rehearsals started in January, and it was slow going. Sergio Sanchez, from Mexico, the lead Munchkin, was so shy, he kept running away. "The funny thing about Sergio, he loved running away," Ms. Senechal said. "We were rehearsing in my room and he just stood outside for an hour; he wouldn't come in."
In the auditorium, he hid behind the curtains. Still, Ms. Senechal did not give up. "It's a positive pattern," she explained. "He hides but wants to be here."
Laura Fronczak of Poland Glinda the Good Witch kept refusing to sing her big solo. She'd have a giggling fit and announce, "Miss, I can't sing today," and it was like Greta Garbo wanting to be alone; there was nothing Ms. Senechal could do, except wait, for weeks. "When Laura finally sang," Ms. Senechal said, "it was such a big event, I called her parents."
Some complained that Yasser Arafath, the Cowardly Lion, was mumbling. But Ms. Senechal said: "He'll be fine. Yasser has a very, very quiet spirit. He seems shy but is very strong and steadfast."
Camila Tavarez, from the Dominican Republic, didn't want to be the Wicked Witch of the West, so Ms. Senechal cut a deal. "I said, 'You don't have to be an ugly witch, you don't even have to be green, you can be a beautiful wicked witch.' "
Several girls wear scarves for religious reasons, and Ms. Senechal chose one, Asfara Begum, from Bangladesh, to be Dorothy.
Dorothy with a head scarf? "Did you notice her smile?" Ms. Senechal said. "She has a radiant nature."
Rehearsals went on daily for five months, using the 37.5 minutes that usually gets spent on test prep and tutoring. The principal, Gertrude Adduci, got it right away. "The Wizard of Oz" it's about them," Ms. Adduci said. "If you're new to this country, you need courage."
THEY did. In mid-May, the two chorus lines were still banging into each other during "Ding-Dong, the Witch is Dead." It was obvious that Jesse Canete, a member of the Lollipop Guild, had never been a dancer back in Mexico. "Jesse, start on your right foot," Ms. Senechal pleaded. "No, no, this is your right foot," she said, wiggling a right foot at him.
The day before the premiere, she still had one Munchkin and one Winkie costume to sew. In dark moments she wondered if she'd taken on too much, but she never let the students see that. What they saw was how much she cared. "Miss talks to us like we're relatives," said Shamsul the Tin Man.
People who teach English classes for immigrants aren't required to speak other languages, but if, like Ms. Senechal, they do, it helps them understand how a new language is acquired.
Ms. Senechal is 42 and not a typical first-year teacher. She has a doctorate from Yale in Slavic languages, is fluent in Russian and Spanish, speaks French and Dutch, and has studied Lithuanian, Croatian, Latin and Greek. She came to I.S. 223, in the Borough Park neighborhood, through the city's Teaching Fellows program, which recruits people who have had other careers.
"One way I pick up language is through memorization of music and poetry," Ms. Senechal said. "For me, the arts are an important inroad into a language." The Wizard also gave her a perfect story line. Sergio the Munchkin said moving from Mexico to Brooklyn, "it's like we come over the rainbow."
Education is a big reason their families sacrificed. The Tin Man's father owned two stores in Bangladesh; here, he's a laborer. The Wicked Witch's mother was a lawyer, and cleans houses here.
Students interviewed said this school was better than the ones they had attended in their native lands. "This is a high education place," the Tin Man said. "A lot of more satisfactory things than in Bangladesh."
Ms. Senechal sees a school that takes poor children 100 percent get free lunches and provides opportunity. This is why she has no faith in the federal No Child Left Behind law, which labels I.S. 223 a failing school. While I.S. 223 students in every racial and ethnic subgroup made their testing goals in English, math and science, the law requires 95 percent to be tested, and on the English exam, the school was 7 students short. "That makes us a failing school?" she said. "Nonsense. Remarkable things happen at this school."
Ms. Senechal watched her students working together to get the English words right for the play.
"Emeny?" said Laura the Good Witch.
"Enemy," said Yestak Haq, the Scarecrow.
"Emer-rolled City?" Laura said.
"Emerald," said Shahwar Bibi, the lead Winkie.
The teacher saw signs of Americanization right before her eyes. On the afternoon of opening night, Asfara sporting a blue gingham pinafore, ruby slippers, a stuffed Toto and braids decided not to wear her head scarf. "This is quite a development," said Ms. Senechal, who made her call home before the performance.
"My mother says, 'All right, it looks nice, I can do for a day, that's O.K.,' " Asfara reported back.
The show started at 8 past the hour, just as on Broadway. Ms. Senechal was stationed in front of the stage, and to avoid distracting the audience, crawled between the sound board stage left (she'd put microphones on several actors, including Yasser the quiet-spirited lion) and a laptop stage right that projected a huge image of Mohammed Tanim, the Wizard.
If the truth be told, the beginning, in Kansas, was flat, the students' accented English hard to understand. But the moment Asfara, her braids swinging in the air, looked her stuffed dog in the eye and said, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more," the play soared, the singing and dancing carrying the show.
At the end there was tons of applause, woo-woos, cameras flashing and two curtain calls. Dorothy gave Ms. Senechal a bouquet of flowers, and then the cast and director gathered for juice and cookies.
Ms. Senechal knows this Brooklyn stage is the closest most will get to Broadway. But that was never the point. Like the great and powerful Oz, she gave them a peek at what they are made of. The Tin Man hopes to use what he discovered to become a scientist, the Lion a computer specialist, and Dorothy an engineer.

The TEFL

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The Internet TESL Journal For Teachers of English as a Second Language
For Teachers of English as a Second LanguageArticles, Research Papers, Lessons Plans, Classroom Handouts, Teaching Ideas & Links

BUILD A BRIDGE FROM THE HOME LANGUAGE TO THE STANDARD

NATIONAL CHILDREN'S FOLKSONG REPOSITORY The Historic Electronic Online Archive of Children's Folksongs. The Public Folklore Project built by the children of the United States.Integrate Literacy, Music, and Technology into the classroom.
DOWNLOAD AND WATCH THE STREAMING VIDEO

You can help create and capture our collective heritage in the nation's online archive called the National Children's Folksong Repository. Empower Children who are the unknown culture makers by recording their Voices and sharing their cultural heritage. Empower the lay public by generating new excitement about their history created by a heightened awareness and interest in the larger community that is retained in the cultural landscape. The NCFR project is net centric, embedded in cyberspaceby breaking the meatspace boundaries of neighborhood.

A pilot study: the effects of music therapy interventions on middle school students' ESL skills. Kennedy R, Scott A.
The University of Georgia, USA.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music therapy techniques on the story retelling and speaking skills of English as a Second Language (ESL) middle school students. Thirty-four middle school students of Hispanic heritage, ages 10-12, in high and low-functioning groups participated in the study for 12 weeks. Pretest to posttest data yielded significant differences on the story retelling skills between the experimental and control groups. Chi Square comparisons on English speaking skills also yielded significant results over 3 months of music therapy intervention. A variety of music therapy techniques were used including music and movement, active music listening, group chanting and singing, musical games, rhythmic training, music and sign language, and lyric analysis and rewrite activities as supplemental activities to the ESL goals and objectives. Comparisons of individual subjects' scores indicated that all of the students in the experimental groups scored higher than the control groups on story retelling skills (with the exception of 1 pair of identical scores), regardless of high and low functioning placement. Monthly comparisons of the high and low functioning experimental groups indicated significant improvements in English speaking skills as well.