INTERLINK Curriculum Guide

Classroom Contributions CS4

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Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = College Class Visits
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As a prelude to the sheltered course in C/S 5, we had level 4 students visit several individual ISU classes and had several guest speakers this term. The students were given the general topic of the lecture and were encouraged to find some background information before attending the class. Those who did so remarked that this was a helpful strategy. They were expected to take notes. One of the lectures (about young adult relationships) was followed by a group discussion, and the other two were followed by quizzes. In the case of one of the guest speakers, a county prosecutor, students used their notes and worked in groups to make a flow chart of the United States justice system. The quizzes were intended to make the students see the importance of taking good notes, but this did not seem to be effective. The discussion and the flow-chart activity had much better results.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = Visitation Project
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As an alternative core task, students visited different ISU classes which met during our regular class time. Some of the classes we visited were in the Biology, Sociology, and Psychology departments. The students took notes on the lecture, and the next day they took a quiz I had prepared. It was an excellent way for students to be introduced to an American university class and was good preparation for the Level 5 sheltered course. It also gave them extra listening and notetaking practice.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = ISU class and lecture visits
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term C/S 4 visited two ISU classes and attended two campus lectures. The two classes were criminology and linguistics. The linguistics class was especially interesting for them, and they were able to come back to their ILC class and make tree diagrams based on their notes. They also attended a "Safe Sex" lecture given to incoming freshmen and a lecture later in the term on gender stereotypes. The second one produced a good follow-up discussion on the speaker's purpose and stereotypes in general. We also had an officer from the Campus Police, whom the students found quite interesting, as a guest speaker. He included the students in his discussion by asking them questions related to the police and safety in their countries. By the end of the term, several students commented that they had improved in their ability to understand English speakers other than their classroom teachers.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = idiom inventory
Center = CSM
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Patricia Rassuli
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The first twelve idioms were done in class. The remainder was assigned as an out of class assignment. The student was to ask three native speakers what the idioms meant and if they used them. They were to ask a person older than themselves, a person their age, and a teenager. They were to tabulate the results, and if the person did not use the idiom they were to find out what idiom they used that meant the same. They found that the idioms were known and used by older people 50 and above, less half were known but not necessarily used by contemporaries, and teenagers did not know the meaning or use over 70% of them. It was a difficult assignment to complete in a short period of time. If the module is offered again as a four week course, I would divide the class into two groups and have them research usage in only half the idioms, and then spend a class session going over the results of their survey.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = ISU Class Visits
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As they have been done for several terms now, CS 4 students visited different ISU classes. We went together to two general education courses which the students had selected: sociology and psychology. They observed the classroom behavior as much as the lesson being taught that day. They enjoyed the sociology class because the teacher invited the students to speak. They felt somewhat negatively towards the psychology class because the students were talking among themselves and not listening intently to the teacher. Then the students chose two classes according to their personal interests. They were required to submit a one page report in writing and tell their classmates about what they observed, learned and thought about the class.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = High School Visits
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Johnson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = School Visit This task was tied to the debate task in that we interacted with the Golden High School forensics class. First we invited 4 members of their class to perform a debate at INTERLINK. All ILC classes watched the debate, but CS4 took notes, watched the video tape, and discussed what happened. We then made predictions about what their class was like and what their strategies were in preparing for debates. The following week, we visited their 2 hour class at GHS. Ss were put into small groups with the high school students and allowed to discuss freely and then rotated from group to group. We then came back together as a large group and group members volunteered what they had discovered about each other.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = High School Visitation
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = John B. House
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = My class visited the local public high school. It was the first time for one of our classes to visit this particular school, but everything went very smoothly, and the students enjoyed the trip immensely. Prior to that visit, we discussed in class our expectations regarding what a typical American high school would be be like in terms of the facility itself, the number of students, the behavior of the students in the classes, and the subjects that are covered. Each student had to prepare at least two questions based on that discussion so they could ask the assistant principal who was going to meet us the next day. Upon our arrival at the school, we were indeed greeted by one of the assistant principals, and he had planned a tour for us, followed by a visit to a classroom. The tour was comprehensive, and the students were impressed by the size of the school itself, as well as by the numerous facilities. My students had opportunities to ask their questions, and although they could not understand all that was covered in the tour, they were able to catch the main ideas. The highlight of our visit, however, was the visit to a senior government class. The teacherwas very welcoming, and after my students introduced themselves, the class was divided into groups, and one of my students joined each group for a question- and-answer session. I was impressed by the accommodating nature of the American students. They were polite and respectful, and engaged my students in active discussions about their countries. I moved from group to group to lend assistance if needed, but everyone was doing fine on their own. Finally, at the end of the class, we decided to eat lunch there, and were taken to the faculty lunchroom, where the school treated us to a meal. The assistant principal enjoyed our visit, and invited Interlink to send future classes there. The follow-up discussion was interesting in the many observations that my students had made. Each one of them the had to prepare and give a short speech about what was most interesting or surprising about the visit.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = High School Visitation
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = K. Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We visited Bell Middle School since we were unable to visit the high school. Before visiting, we made predictions about what our visit would entail. We also remembered and shared what life was like when we were in middle school. We observed a 2-hour geography class that was studying the Middle East. ILC students helped small groups in working on a project. Reflection after the visit revealed that many of the ILC student predictions did not hold true and the visit was quite different than they had anticipated. The differences were discussed at length.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = Elementary School Visitation
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I organized an all-day activity at Flint Lake Elementary School for all INTERLINK students; this activity took place on Friday, December 7, from 8:45 to 12:30. Flint Lake, which opened in 1993, is one of eight elementary schools in the Valparaiso Community Schools. Because this was an all-day activity for all of our students, CS and RW classes did not meet on this day; as a result, students who did not attend this activity were counted absent. Students taking INTERLINK and VU classes were not required but encouraged to attend. Twelve students participated in this activity. Because I organized an all-day activity at St. Paul Elementary School, a private Catholic school, during the Fall I term, the Flint Lake visit gave the students the opportunity to visit a public elementary school.

We met with Candace Swanson, Flint Lake's principal, at 8:45 a.m., and she gave us a brief introduction to the school and then passed out maps of the school. After Mrs. Swanson spoke with us, the students went to their assigned classrooms and gave their presentations. The students gave presentations to twelve classes: one kindergarten class, one first grade class, one art class, one fourth grade class, four third grade classes, and four fifth grade classes. There were five groups, and each group presented to two or three classes; consequently, I chaperoned the groups to their classes with the help of Becky, the ILC-VU director, and Diane, the administrative assistant. Although the sessions were initially scheduled for 30 minutes apiece, many sessions ran longer because the students needed more time to give their presentations and answer the students' questions. I scheduled an hour break between each presentation just in case our students needed more than the scheduled 30 minutes. During their breaks, our students were encouraged to visit and observe other classrooms; furthermore, I required that my CS4 students observe classes and bring a notebook and pen to write down their observations.

Because each teacher preferred particular activities, the students had to prepare specific activities for each presentation. I prepared an activity sheet for each student; each student received a handout that identified their fellow group members and class presentation schedule and outlined what they were required to present in each class. To prevent confusion, the handouts were color-coded; for example, students in the same group received the same-colored handouts. Furthermore, each INTERLINK instructor helped the students prepare for their presentations in their CS classes. Many of the presentations were similar or identical. A typical presentation included the following requirements: tell the children your name and where you are from, tell the children your native language, write your name in your native language, write the children's names in your native language, tell the children about traditional holidays, observances, festivals, fasts, and/or feasts from your country, tell the children about going to school in your country, and bring something to show from your country. Each of these requirements were discussed in greater detail on the handouts.

After the visit, I had my CS students give four to five minute presentations concerning their presentations and observations of the school. The students had to answer the following questions in their presentations: How many classes did you visit? What grades did you visit? Approximately how many students were in the classes? Approximately how old were the students? How did the students respond to your presentations? Did they seem interested or disinterested? What did you present that the students liked the most? What were the students most interested in learning from you? Did the students have any comments or questions? Did you have the opportunity to talk to any of the students and/or teachers individually? If so, what did you talk about? What was your impression of the students and teachers? What did you learn from the students and/or teachers? Describe the school. What did it look like? How would you describe the general atmosphere? What did you learn about the American elementary education system?

The response from the principal, teachers, and students at Flint Lake was overwhelmingly positive. Some teachers at Flint Lake expressed interest in having our students visit their classes again in the spring. As a result, individual INTERLINK classes will look into regularly visiting these teachers' classes during the spring terms. The response from our students was likewise extremely positive. The day after the visit, I had all of the students complete a feedback form regarding the school visit. Almost all of the students thoroughly enjoyed the visit and recommended that INTERLINK visit the school again in a future term.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = School Visitation
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I organized an all-day activity at Washington Township School for all INTERLINK students; this activity took place on Friday, February 15, 2002, from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Because Washington Township is a K through 12 school, our students visited a variety of grade levels. Because this was an all-day activity for all of our students, CS and RW classes did not meet on this day; as a result, students who did not attend this activity were counted absent. Students taking INTERLINK and VU classes were not required but encouraged to attend. Twelve students participated in this activity.

Diane Warren, the school's guidance counselor, contacted the instructors to see if they wanted our students to give presentations to their classes. Because each teacher preferred particular activities, the students had to prepare specific activities for each presentation. I prepared an activity sheet for our students; the handout identified their presentation schedule and outlined what they were required to present in each class. Each INTERLINK instructor helped the students prepare for their presentations in their CS classes. The students gave presentations to the following classes: a high school geometry class, a fifth grade class, a high school World History class, an eighth grade Spanish class, a high school Spanish class, a first grade class, a high school Current Issues class, two third grade classes, and a high school cooking class. Warren paired our students with members of the student council; I made a handout before the visit for our students that identified our students' hosts. The student council hosts were responsible for taking our students to all of their classes when our students were not assigned to do classroom presentations. Warren and the student council hosts met me and our students at the main office at 8:15 a.m.; our hosts escorted me and our students back to the office at 12:30. Our hosts made maps of our students' countries and displayed them in the main office. The student council members also accompanied our students to the cafeteria and chatted with them over lunch; furthermore, the school provided lunch free of charge.

After the visit, I had my CS students give four to five minute presentations concerning their presentations and observations of the school, and we discussed the visit as a class. The students had to answer the following questions in their presentations: How many classes did you visit? What grades did you visit? Approximately how many students were in the classes? Approximately how old were the students? How did the students respond to your presentations? Did they seem interested or disinterested? What did you present that the students liked the most? What were the students most interested in learning from you? Did the students have any comments or questions? Did you have the opportunity to talk to any of the students and/or teachers individually? If so, what did you talk about? What was your impression of the students and teachers? What did you learn from the students and/or teachers? Describe the school. What did it look like? How would you describe the general atmosphere? What did you learn about the American education system?

Almost all of the students enjoyed the visit and recommended that INTERLINK visit the school again in a future term. The day after the visit, I had all of the students complete a feedback form regarding the school visit. The responses from the teachers and students at Washington Township were positive as well. As a result, Warren invited us to visit the school again in a future term.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Community Involvement Task
Core Task = Class Visitations
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = University Class Observations: This report will be a compilation of ideas for activities based on class visitations. At ILC/ISU we visit university, rather than high school classes in level 4. Over the past two terms, the students and I have visited 2 anthropology classes, one world civilization class, one criminology class, and two linguistics classes. The first anthropology class concerned 3 periods of Japanese culture - Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun. The day following the visit, I divided the students into three groups. Based on the notes they took in class, they made big charts on brown paper using words and pictures to describe each of the periods. Then each group presented their combined information to the rest of the class orally. The second anthropology class dealt with hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and the Kung San culture in Africa. To assess their comprehension and note-taking skills, I again divided the students into three groups. As a team, each group made up questions for a quiz bowl on one section of the notes. Then each team asked its questions in turn, and the other teams answered to score points. The subject of the world civilization class was decolonization. The professor talked about British India, Viet Nam, and Africa. For the follow-up activity, I had the students combine the information on the three regions (using their notes) and make one timeline on large paper to get a world perspective. Then they presented this information orally. In the criminology class the lecture concerned the functions of the police and their enforcement styles. For the next day's activity, I prepared discussion questions based on the main points of the lecture plus the students' views of the police in their native countries. I divided the students into mixed country groups and designated a leader and a recorder. Each group was responsible for completing the questions orally and handing in a written summary of their discussion. In the first linguistics class we attended, the ISU students were presenting the results of surveys they had taken of international students on campus about cultural differences between the U.S. and their countries. (This was great, and there was much nodding of heads when the INTERLINK students heard what other international students had said.) From this information, I devised my own survey asking the INTERLINK students which points they had agreed with, which they disagreed with, what problems they had had that were not mentioned, and what they thought the best solution for these problems would be. My students submitted written responses, which I forwarded to the linguistics professor and to our director for use in his cross-cultural module. The second linguistics class concerned politeness, respect, and deference distinctions among family members, friends, and strangers. We knew in advance that we would be included in the ISU class discussion. Therefore, I asked my students to think about this the day before the class visit. Then in our INTERLINK class, I divided the students into mixed country groups, and we had a "practice" discussion before attending the ISU class. This allowed them to become comfortable with the topic, and they subsequently participated very well in the ISU class.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Community Involvement Task
core+task: Undergraduate class visits
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Nadine Nicholson
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This term I had my level 4 students participate in three distinct undergraduate level classes (as related to their proposed majors as possible) to familiarize them with different classroom techniques to expect, and to practice their listening and note taking skills. Before visiting each class, I determined what each day's topic would be from the professor and assigned my students preparatory work to improve their vocabulary and overall comprehension of the topic. For example, before the abnormal psychology class on causes and treatments of schizophrenia, students were required to investigate the topic on-line over the weekend and to discuss their findings in our class prior to visiting the university class. Before attending an Early Childhood Education class in culture, students discussed possible topics of cultural miscommunication and during the class were able to participate in small groups, discussions, and a cultural awareness game with American students. The final class we visited was a survey course in Anthropology, covering Japanese culture and history on the day we attended, and students did a jigsaw reading and oral summaries of the textbook chapter to be covered that day. The variety of topics and lesson formats we observed gave the students valuable insight into how American university classes are structured and helped highlight to them how important (and perhaps, difficult) taking notes can be with each of the differing styles. After each class, I collected and made comments on students' lecture notes and had several activities to go over and extend the information covered in each, such as by having students work in small groups to write quiz questions to ask each other. I would recommend following this format again in the future.

course: RW
level: 4
category: Community Involvement Task
core task: Writing a Profile Essay
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: SAhola
report text: In order to make an INTERLINK-community connection, I had my RW 4-5 class visit a nursing home and interview a resident. During the interview, the students asked questions about the person's life: their childhood, their education, their previous jobs, and so on. After the students gathered the information, they were to write a profile essay. I have pasted the assignment sheet below.
Profile Essay Background:
The purpose of the profile essay is to present the subject to your readers. You will write a well-defined, well thought-out perspective, to explain your presentation of the details so that your essay reveals a particular attitude towards your subject�your interpretation of it. You will want to inform your readers about your subject�you want readers to learn something about your subject they might not have known otherwise�your unique observations and/or analysis. This kind of writing helps you practice many excellent research methods: observing, interviewing, and notetaking. The challenge once you�ve acquired your materials is to analyze and synthesize what you�ve gathered effectively�to give it shape in an essay that communicates a strong impression.
The Assignment:
You will write a profile essay about a person you will meet at Life Care Center of Valparaiso. You will meet one of the residents and ask them questions relating to their lives: their previous jobs, education, family, and other interesting experiences. You will take careful notes during the interview. After the interview, you will write your essay focusing on your observations and analysis. This essay should be 3 pages (typed).
Getting Started:
1. You need to write some questions you might be able to ask. The questions should focus on the person�s life.
2. During the interview, you will need to speak clearly as well. Many of the residents might have trouble hearing you.
3. After the interview, try to look for a strong theme. Think of these questions: What did the resident focus on during the interview? What has helped them throughout their life? What were the most important events in their life?
4. This is not just a biography�telling the reader about a person�s life. It is important to give your observation and analysis. Ask yourself: What do you want your readers to fully understand?

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skits
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Paul Oliver
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I had a small class (3 students), so I decided to make this a smaller component of the term. Students still enjoyed themselves quite a bit, and language and creative goals were met. Basically: 1)students either asked other ILC students for stories or used their own. They needed one or two. 2)They needed to type up the anecdotes for me to look over and check for language. 3)Corrected copies were distributed to classmates. 4)Practice was 1 hour each of two days. 5)The videotape were watched a couple weeks later.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Skits
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term the students did a variation on the Cultural Anecdote Skits. I began by dividing the class of seven into two groups. I gave each group a story from Myra Shulman's book, Cultures in Contrast. One story was about plagiarism and the other was about sexual harassment. From these stories, the students created a play script with a part for each person. On the day of the performances, I videotaped them, and we later used the tape to work on pronunciation, clarity, gestures, etc. Following their performance, each group also led a discussion about how the situations in their skit would be viewed in their countries as opposed to the U.S. and how they would solve the ethical dilemmas presented. Then, as the second half of this project, the students (in two different groups) created their own skits with a cultural theme. One was about drinking in the dormitory and loss of friendship, and the other was about people with power getting away with breaking the ! law. Without being instructed to do so, both groups created discussion questions to use after their skits. I thought this was very successful (especially in light of the fact that I had one student with whom no one could get along and another student who failed to show up for the first skit).

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skit
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the cultural anecdote skit, students were assigned a specific topic relating to American culture. They were divided into two groups, and each were given a different scenario to read. One was on plagiarism, and the other was on sexual harrassment. The students worked together on their teams to develop their own skits based on their particular topic. They were given a week to prepare and then performed for each other. They did fairly well on this. For their second skit, students were again put into two groups and given the task of choosing their own topic about some cultural issue. One group performed on working mothers vs. stay-at- home mothers and the other on alcohol issues. They performed for the other Level 4 students. After they finished performing, the students then asked the audience questions based on their skit. This elicited some good discussion. The second skits actually worked quite well.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = cultural anecdotes
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = marcia lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Cultural anecdote skits: The students worked together on some cultural misunderstandings before delving into their cultural skits. They discussed these after studying them. Then they were told to think of an incident which they misunderstood or were misunderstood after coming to the US. They discussed these with the teacher and were given the go ahead to write up the incident. Each student then directed his own incident and asked both level students to participate in the acting. After they were rehearsed, they were presented to the other level 4 class and the level 3 CS class. The students from other classes were asked to comment on the cultural misunderstanding that was presented. This gave the CS4 students an opportunity to share their experiences, work in a group activity, use their English, and try to use some vocal expression. They enjoyed the skits and enjoyed watching the other level 4's skits. Our class did not videotape these; having just one video recorder prohibited this.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Skit
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students were asked to think of a situation they had experienced where cultural differences caused confusion or distress. They discussed in groups, wrote the conversations, which I then checked for correctness. We discussed grammar points as needed. Students were asked not to memorize the exact words, but to practice those phrases they needed to. Some students chose somewhat invented situations, and some situations were more linguistic confusions than cultural differences. After planning logistics of props and location and practicing, students videotaped the skits. We watched the videotape and discussed. Then students showed the videotape to the CS3 class, introducing each situation and answering questions. After the skits, we discussed what students had learned and each student filled out an evaluation of the activity. Most students felt it was beneficial for their language skills. In the future, I would avoid letting students use invented situations or language confusions. These skits did not work very well. I would also confine directors and actors to the same group, for logistical reasons. I let students choose the actors they wanted for their skits. Some students were in several skits and others in only two. I rearranged somewhat to balance this out, but still the logistics were difficult when one group had to wait to practice because one of their members was busy practicing with another group.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Skit
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = News Magazine Skit
For listening practice, and to prepare them for the debate (controversial topics), we watched several segments of Dateline and 60 Minutes. This was also in preparation for the skit core task, in which I gave the students the assignment of creating their own news magazine story. Each student had a role and the group worked together to work of the topic and details, and to write the lines. They created a news magazine story in which the topic was, "The Delicious Toxin," and it revealed the practice of a candy company which, along with its candy, included a fun movie star/cartoon character tattoo. The tattoo, however, was not just for fun; it had LSD in it, and at least one woman's child died from overdose. The students in the class played the following roles: journalist, mother of the victim, owner of the candy company and a chemist. The students did all the preparation as a group and the result was excellent. In addition, we all had a fun time taping it. Afterwards, we made it available to the other classes to watch.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skits
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = John B. House
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = My class consisted of five men, all of whom were both initially reluctant to create a skit, and uncertain as to what they could base the skit on. After some discussion about the intended content and about how much fun it would be to direct their own skit, we set to work putting them together. All of the skits were derived from real-life experiences, and included cultural and/or language difficulties. We spent time in class on two separate occasions working on the writing and revising of the skits, and spent approximately two entire class periods casting them, practicing them, and making any additional revisions for dramatic or comedic effect. Since the class was small, each had to not only direct his own skit, but also act in all the other ones, so it was impossible for them to memorize their lines. The results were less than stellar, despite all the preparation. There was confusion over the lines and the parts and the pacing, but the students gave it a good effort. It out that a few of them were simply too long, so I would recommend that instructors keep a close eye on the length as you are checking them and making corrections or revisions.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Skit
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Since my class had so much success and so enjoyed the New Magazine Story skit last term, this term's CS 4 skit project followed the same plan. (Please see my comments from Spring I, 2001.) This time, however, I had the students focus their attention more on the roles of the people in the news shows that we watched in preparation, having them think about why the people said what they said and if they were convincing. This was to help them to see how they should act in the video they would make. I also stressed the importance of independent learning, group work and how the students could help and support one another. There were two teams this time, and their news stories were: "From Junior to Julia" and "Love on the Internet." The first described how a man had a gender change, and the second was about the success/failure of relationships started on the Internet. The students were completely independent in writing their stories and lines, and I only helped them by making suggestions during their dress rehearsal. Once again the students really enjoyed both the process and the final product.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = anecdote skit
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We usually prepare our skits in the first half of the term and then present them at our mid-term gathering. I like doing the skits at this time because it tends to loosen up the students and helps to create a positive and relaxed classroom environment. I’m also very glad that we give our students an audience for their skits. It has also turned out to be a good motivator for those in the lower levels. The amount of time I spend on the skits depends quite a bit on the students themselves. This term I had a lot of overachievers and extremely conscientious students who often would get together on their own and practice. The time we spent here and there in class probably added up to three and half class periods. I somewhat take a three-pronged attack on this project. I introduced the idea of “anecdotes” and the idea of “skits” separately and I embedded some of this project into an interview assignment I had the students do. After we had talked about what an anecdote was (by using personal examples from both the instructor and the students), I made my students ask about anecdotes when they interviewed their mentor or mentee. [This interview assignment was also multi-tasked in that it was designed to practice restatement but also to give students a chance to give a lower-stress formal presentation and to get to know more about students with whom they don’t usually have interaction. Also, we were trying this mentor program out for the first time and we wanted to incorporate it as much as we could.] So we had a large “anecdote bank” from which to choose before I introduced the idea of a skit. Because we have been performing the CS4 skits at the mid-term gathering for the last few terms, there were several videos of past skits and I showed the students one of them. Most of our skits have been about some cultural misunderstanding that either they or someone that they know has experienced. I also gave the students a written version of a previous skit so that they could have an example of the format. I’ve noticed that the idea of dialogue instead of just reading a story is the most difficult task for many students, but some students have taken this difficulty and done a great job of using narration and then silent actors to act out their stories. After the students wrote a rough draft, they worked on them in pairs. Then I gave any feedback or suggestions. The student who wrote the skit was the director of that skit and cast his or her skit with volunteers (I monitored this to make sure that everyone participated equally). This term the writer of the skit was also the narrator. When the students practiced if they were not in a skit they were required to watch and give feedback to the other students. The writer of the skit also was responsible for giving direction to his/her actors. This turned out to be extremely collaborative and was a great team task. I really liked this task because we learned a lot about each other’s cultures and we got to work in context on some grammatical issues (subject-verb agreement) that were giving us problems. Also, the students really began to depend on each other and give constructive and respectful feedback. This class rapport helped us quite a bit to be successful with the true team task, the debate. One thing that I would recommend would be to decide on a length. Some of our skits were extremely short compared to others. This may or may not be a problem, but one possible way to solve this issue would be to have students with short anecdotes to present a collection or variety of anecdotes maybe under one theme.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skits
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The students presented their cultural anecdote skits at the mid-term gathering. As a result, I had the students work on their skits during the first half of term. I gave them each the handout below to establish the guidelines for the project: What Is It? An anecdote is a short and humorous story. A skit is a short, usually funny, play. The Cultural Anecdote Skit is your chance to be creative and to use and improve many of your English skills. It is also your chance to be a writer, actor, and director! What should I do? 1. You must think of a TRUE story that has happened to you or to another international student here in the U.S. The story should be about some cultural or language misunderstanding. Think of your own but also interview at least three other international students about any stories they may have. They do not have to be INTERLINK students. We will practice some interviewing skills in class. After you have many stories, choose or combine some of them in order to make your own story or to put it into a skit. (Each skit should be about two minutes.) When you have decided on a story, type it up like a play. (See examples). 2. Choose others in class to be your actors; you do not act in your own skit, but you direct. 3. Make one copy for each actor, plus one for yourself, and one for the teacher. 4. Direct them in how to act in this skit. Practice. 5. Perform the skit in front of an audience. Why are we doing this? 1. Sometimes it is easier to "act" in English than to speak it naturally. 2. It is a great way to improve comprehensibility, some pronunciation, and confidence. 3. It is also a good chance to practice "natural" English. 4. Have some fun! End of handout After we went over the handout, we discussed the idea of a "cultural anecdote skit." Then I had the students compile a list of their own cultural misunderstandings since they have been in the U.S. All of the students skits were based on real incidents. Most of the students came up with so many incidents, so they had trouble choosing among their experiences. I also had them interview international students for more ideas. Before they began drafting their skits, we reviewed the typed drafts of skits that had been performed in previous terms and watched videos of past skits. The students wrote several drafts of their skits, and I had them bring in their drafts for peer review. After they typed their final draft, I regularly set aside class time for them to practice. Because there were only four students, this activity did not consume a lot of class time. The rehearsals were constructive, for the directors took charge of their skits, and everyone worked as a team. Sometimes the directors would even make minor changes at the request of the actors. Because of the small number of students, I made sure the they wrote for three or fewer characters, and I helped the directors cast their actors to ensure that everyone participated equally. The skits were all nearly equal in length. The skits were a great success at the gathering; my students and I got a lot of positive feedback about their performances. The students could not memorize their lines because they were involved in at least three skits. However, they were relaxed and used their scripts as a guide; they only glanced at their lines, and they even improvised a little. All of their topics covered cultural and language misunderstandings while ordering food. Their skits included the following topics: ordering pizza on the phone, buying cigarettes at a Seven Eleven, ordering a "side" at Benigans, and ordering food at McDonalds.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skits
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Annette Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Communication Skills 4 - Cultural Anecdote Skits
Spring I, 2002 - Annette Stalions
This project was an enjoyable experience for my students and myself. My students had the opportunity to use their imaginations to create a humorous story based upon actual cultural experiences they have had in the United States. As they brainstormed for potential ideas, I noticed the many diverse cultural experiences that my students have had in the recent past in the U. S. To give them a further example, I told them of my funny cultural experiences while living overseas, which they appreciated and used as an example for their own brainstorming activity. Then, I showed them written examples of past students' cultural anecdote skits, which gave my students a visual example of how a drama skit is formatted and structured. Afterward, I had them choose their casts, which consisted of other classmates. Later on, I had them show me the completed, typed first draft of their skits. After I read their skits, I returned them to the students and told them to check for any errors in spelling or grammar, and to make enough copies of their skits for each member of their casts. I told them to rehearse their skits, so they would be well prepared for their performances. When they performed their skits for the class, the audience, consisting of the non-performing students and myself, found their stories to be hilarious and educational. Even the students who were generally shy and reserved during their presentations relaxed during their performances of the skits. I learned, through doing this core task, that students learn to enjoy using their speaking and listening skills in English, even in front of a live audience. I believe that this task is beneficial for students of English as a second language, since it helps them to realize that speaking in English is not necessarily too serious and formal. And, this task may help shyer, more self-conscious students to relax and enjoy speaking English in front of a live group of listeners.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The drama project was done in conjunction with the debate team task. Students were told that each debate team would be responsible for creating a short film (10 - 15 minutes) to accompany their debate. The goal of the film would be to increase the interest of the audience in the debate topic as well as to educate the audience about the topic. To give students ideas about different ways they might approach the task, we watched segments of 60 Minutes and CrossFire. The team that would be debating capital punishment chose to do their film in the style of 60 Minutes. They did research about a case (covered on NPR) involving a deathrow inmate who requested to die by electric chair rather than lethal injection as a way of showing the brutality of capital punishment. The three members of the team acted out the parts of the interviewer, inmate, and victim's wife. The team that would be debating tobacco companies' liability chose to do their film in the style of CrossFire. We had watched a 60 Minutes segment about a doctor who had worked for a tobacco company and lost his job for objecting to unsafe additives. In their film students acted out the parts of interviewer/moderator along with his guests, the doctor and a tobacco company CEO. Doing the drama project this way worked well. Students had an added impetus for research, and the films added another dimension to the debates for the audience.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Seinfeld Skits
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = �The Best of Seinfeld� is a video of short scenes from the Seinfeld television series. I chose some common situations, such as the one at the car rental agency, and had the students transcribe the dialogue and re-enact it on video. It was fun to watch their comprehension of expressions and humor increase as they worked on the transcription. I used the dialogue to work directly on intonation, sentence stress and expression. It worked very well as they imitated the Seinfeld characters.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Inventories Drama
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Ron Engel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = cs4fall02 We decided to combine the idioms and phrasal verbs inventories for cs4 with the opportunity to make a theatrical presentation. The class was divided into groups. Each group was given a rather large and random list of phrasal verbs and/or idioms from the cs4 inventory (anywhere from 17-30 items might be a good number). In groups of 3 or 4, they were sent out to find out what these items meant and how they are used in a normal English speaking context. This task involved interviewing native English language speaker. After this phase is completed, each group has a discussion period. Despite the randomness of their inventory items they are instructed to find a "theme" that might apply to their list. After they have done this, each group is paired with another group. It is at this point that they are told that they are to create a play, a theatrical production, on whatever topic or circumstance might be possible given the fact they must use, in their play, 15-20 of their idiom/phrasal verb items. Before they write their script, however, members of the combined groups can trade items. This can be thought of like baseball players being traded between teams. In order to make informed trades, of course, members of one group must teach their items to the members of the other group. They can choose to trade as many items as they wish in order help themselves to create a more coherent production. All trades must be made in such a way that each group retains the same number of items with which it started. I instructed my students, an average of 4 students per group, to create a 7-10 minute play that included 12-15 of their items. In addition, they had to create an information sheet that listed the definitions and common uses of each of their items. This was to be used by the other students as a reference sheet. A quiz or a memory game may or may not be useful or appropriate as a follow-up.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Drama Task
Core Task = Cultural Anecdote Skits
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The CS 4 Cultural Anecdote Skits have become a tradition at our Midterm Gathering. I found a useful website that helped introduce this task, http://international.aolcom.aol.monster.com/workabroad/articles/fauxpas5/ This site has a large collection of anecdotes about Americans living in foreign countries and experiencing language and cultural misunderstandings. Because the skits that the students write and perform focus only on international students living in the U.S., I wanted to emphasize that these misunderstandings happen to all of us. When I introduced the assignment, I had students read some of the anecdotes from the website. I also asked them to share stories of Americans or others visiting their countries, and I told them about some of my own embarrassing moments. By that time students had begun to volunteer stories from their own experiences with American culture and the English language. They also interviewed other international students for additional stories. This provided a number of anecdotes that served to inspire the CS 4 skits.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Drama Task
core+task: drama games
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: USe these to introduce skits, to demonstrate communication possibility without words, to stress importance of gestures, to help the students relax when doing the skits, to help students become another character and get "out" of themselves. A. Pantomime doing something and have the class guess what is being done. Ex: ironing, watching TV, etc. B. Speaking in LI, students "sell" something. Purpose: to show we don't have to know the language to communicate. C. I demonstrate, then students do one. I am doing something and a student joins me when he has figured out what I am doing. Have as many as possible join in. EX: at a gas station, I am filling my tank. He can wash windows, pay the attendant, etc. D. Divide class into groups. Decide on a pantomime which involves everyone in the group. EX: a carousel, where they are riding horses as they go around in a circle. E. Now write a skit, using language. Practice it and present it to the class.

report+text: Course CS
Level 4
Category: Team Task
Core + Task: Trial Scene Re-enactment
Center UNCG
Semester: Fall
Term: 2 Year: 2006 Instructor: Stephen R. Schrass
e-mail: jollymansail [email protected]
Report+task: This task came as a result of the previous task of transcribing 2-3 minutes of regional accents that my CS 4 class undertook to augment both their listening skills and building their confidence of their innate ability to understand various accents in the U.S. Following the previous task in order to help them become familiar with the lexicon and the acting they would need to perform their Mock Trial presentation drama, I assigned them to work in pairs and to choose any scene from a DVD or video that had a trial scene that they wanted to re-enact. I emphasized that they did not have to memorize the scene, only that they become familiar with it. Additionally, I also allowed them to change it to create their own interpretation. They were naturally allowed to use note-cards to help them during the presentation. In pairs, one of them had to the defense attorney and the other the prosecuting attorney. I volunteered to play the accused. The re-enactment lasted 5-10 minut es and it had to be as convincing and as professional as possible; therefore, they had to rehearse it. The remainder of the class was the jury and had to reach a verdict of whether I was innocent or guilty of the crime. I emphasized that voice tone, body gestures, facial gestures, and stressed words convey a lot of meaning; therefore, they did not have to focus only on the vocabulary, instead it was very important to focus on how the actors moved, used their voice tone, stressed words, and communicated with their eyes. I stressed that paying close attention to these; would make the presentation more interesting and convincing. The students had a great deal of fun with me as the accused, since I had to adiib and if I did not answer their questions correctly to their satisfaction they could stress that I answer the questions to their satisfaction.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Drama Task
core+task: pronunciation mis communications
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Moore
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Instructor: Janna Moore
CS 4/ fall 2, 2006
Core task skits representing pronunciation or cultural misunderstandings For this core task students were asked to first discuss humorous misunderstanding they had encountered due to cultural or pronunciation misinterpretations. Initially students were very reluctant to reveal any of these difficulties. After some urging and illustrations drawn from my own life experiences, students began to discuss funny episodes in their own learning experiences. (8) Students then began writing dialog and asking classmates to act out each of the scenarios. This task was accomplished over several class sessions and included outside writing time. Each day the students would review and revise dialogs written over the previous days. Roles were assigned to re-enact each students dialog, rehearsals allowed for students to further correct pronunciation and dialog problems. Finally the skits were videotaped, digitized, and presented to four other classes. The result was wonderful. Inhibitions were lowered and students made strong gains in speaking and pronunciation confidence. Other class mates enjoyed the video presentation and agreed that the problems identified were ones they or someone they know had experienced. The learning that took place during the creation and presentation of the skits proved to be a valuable experience for all.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = Listening and Note-taking
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As an alternate to this task the students did regular listening to taped academic lectures and note-taking practice. This is an essential skill for success in any university program. The class also attended a summer theater production on campus, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = Lecture tapes
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As an alternative core task, students listened to a series of academic lectures about different aspects of American culture. As they listened, they took notes and were tested later on the information while using their notes. This gave them practice on notetaking as well as listening, both of which are very important for their success at university. The tapes also generated a great deal of discussion and exchange of cultural information. One section of lectures dealt with American government. To expand on this topic and give students further exposure to this part of American culture, the county prosecutor came to speak to the class. Furthermore, we attended an arraignment hearing at the courthouse. The students seemed to enjoy both of these activities.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = TV/Radio Listening
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For this task, students watched at least three television shows or listened to at least three talk radio programs each week. We discussed how TV and radio provide excellent listening practice, vocabulary building and cultural information. They were given the choice of choosing their own episodic program and once the found one they liked, they were asked to choose one to watch for at least four weeks. The reason for repeated viewing was explained, that they would become familiar with the speakers and language style, and you will find it easier and easier to understand. For the most part, this seemed to be their experience. Each time they viewed, the completed a log sheet with date, time, name of program, channel and brief summary. In addition, each week they were given an additional assignment, such as describing one character, or watching for ways the people disagree with each other. I tried to assign these extra assignments to complement other tasks we were working on in class. We spent perhaps 4 hours total in class discussing various aspects of the programs they were watching. Students seemed to enjoy this task and felt it was valuable.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task =
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Ron Engel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = CS4 (A MODIFICATION ON) THE EPISODIC STORY CORE TASK

In this class we decided that we would enjoy having the opportunity to sample some of the students favorite English language cinema. The assignment turned out to be as follows: All students were required to choose a movie and have it approved for "appropriateness" by the teacher. Appropriateness in this case refers more to the use of language rather than content or subject matter. For example, an action film that is driven more by the action rather than communication would not be appropriate. The student-leader was responsible for teaching a class of one to 2 hours and he/she was to use the film selected as the basis for this class. The student-leader was to engage the class in activities, exercises, or discussions related to the movie. If the student took the entire 2 hour period for the presentation, the student was required to use at least half of the time engaging the class in planned activities. In order to give the students a clearer idea about what they might do with their movie, I led the first "movie class". I tried to present a smorgasbord of activities: discussion questions, vocabulary preview activities, cloze exercises, previewing activities, etc. Beyond that I tried to be as non-prescriptive as possible except to insist that the students not show the endings of their movies. The hope was, of course, to encourage the students to see as much English language cinema as possible.

Almost all of the students have now completed this activity. This activity seems to be fairly appropriate for the students in my current cs4 class. So far, they have all taken the full two hours of the class period and they have all taken the initiative to produce activity sheets. Class discussions have been fairly lively although not in every case. A lot of that has to do with the student-leader's classroom management skills and styles. The class activities and discussions were sometimes very useful for some of the students since they often did not fully understand what was going on in the movie. Students who did understand often took the initiative to make sure that everyone was "up to speed". This was particularly true when the student-leader had the class divided into small groups.

Problems and possible solutions: Time has become an issue. If each student is taking a full 2 hour class period to work his/her way through this assignment and if there are 11 students in the class, this activity consumes too much time. To solve this problem and to make the activity much more episodic, it might be a good idea to have the cs4 students work in groups of 3 or 4 and have each group working with the same movie. Throughout the term, then, the class will have contact with 3 or 4 movies rather than 11 or 12, depending on the size of the class. Each person in each group could then be assigned a certain limited part of the movie involved. In that way, each student could be more easily and legitimately limited to one hour and the planning of the activities could be done as part of a group process that could occur outside of class. Each movie could then be seen in its entirety and, hopefully, analyzed in greater depth.

For more ideas regarding use of cinema in the class and for activities related to specific movies, here are a couple of good web sights: www.eslnotes.com
www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/nov/film.htm

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = Survivor
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Episodic Story We decided to watch Survivor, The Australian Outback because of its popularity and wealth of additional resources in the form of magazines, websites, etc. Ss discussed each episode, surveyed native speakers on their opinions, reviewed idioms from each episode, and made predictions about the next one. From time to time students were given classic-style listening type activities to reinforce their skills with a recorded episode. We also downloaded the Survivor application from the website and practiced answering its questions in mock try-out interviews. This task was highly popular and linguistically and culturally effective.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = "The Birds"
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = K. Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Episodic Story
Due to the interests of the class, our episodic stories were 2 films by Alfred Hitchcock, “Vertigo” and “The Birds.” Hitchcock is particularly useful because his films are suspenseful and spur useful activities like predicting and role plays. In addition, his films contain short sections packed with dialogue between longer, silent sequences, which enables the teacher to focus on the details of the language without exhausting the students over the duration of the film. This task generated a lot of energy amongst the students. In the end, students were able to discuss stylistic aspects of the directing in addition to plot summaries and language aspects.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = TV drama
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I had my students watch The Pretender, an hour long action-drama series. This program is no longer on network television but is instead being shown in syndication on TNT. I chose this show because each story line follows the same format and because the main character, Jarod, has a different profession in each episode so a lot of purposeful vocabulary can be learned and used. Basically, each show Jarod finds a wrong that he tries to right and this is the main story. There are also two side stories: one about people trying to capture Jarod, who is a genius, and one about Jarod trying to find his family. I have some of the earliest ones on video and the students watched one a week for about 4-5 weeks and then every Tuesday we talked about what happened on the show and went over any important vocabulary or slang. Also, we could discuss many elements of culture and pop culture because of the story lines and because of the characteristics of Jarod’s personality. ! The students quite enjoyed watching this program. They found it interesting and usually had a lot of things to talk or ask about. However, the earlier episodes were a lot more successful than the later episodes. The episodes from the first season can be watched alone and the main focus is on the people Jarod is trying to help and on the new job he is performing. In the episodes from the later seasons, the side stories begin to take over the program and the show becomes more and more complex and it is not as easy to watch one episode without having watched the previous one. I would probably use The Pretender again, but would make sure we only watch the earlier shows. However, a student request a change of pace for the last week and we watched Everybody Loves Raymond. I would not have naturally chosen this program, but it might work quite nicely in the class. The characters are always the same with easily identifiable characteristics and roles. There is also a good combination of physical and verbal humor and the stories are “typical” family situations. Also, the set, clothing, and actors seem somewhat more realistic than is common to TV. My students, who also happen to have been in RW4 where we use the text American Ways, liked this show quite a bit and recommended it because it paralleled so nicely the topics that we were discussing in RW.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = Radio Mystery Series
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The students listened to episodes from the Father Gilbert Mysteries radio series. The series was written by Paul McCusker and published by Tyndale House (2001). The episodes center on the adventures of Father Gilbert, an Anglican priest and former detective from Scotland Yard. Despite Father Gilbert's retirement from the police force, he still is actively involved in solving mysteries. The students listened to two episodes, "A Soul In Torment" and "Where the Heart Is." In "A Soul in Torment," Gilbert investigates whether a murder has occurred, and in "A Soul in Torment," Gilbert solves the mystery of a missing valuable antique chalice. Each episode is about an hour long. I had the students listen to "A Soul in Torment," in three sections, over a period of two weeks. I made the cassette available in the afternoons. After the students listened to each part, they had to record their responses onto cassette tapes. In their responses, they had to summarize the plot, provide their personal opinion of the story, and ask several questions concerning aspects of the story that they did not understand or confused them. I encouraged them all to take notes while they listened to the episodes. Once I received their cassettes, I would record my comments immediately after their responses. Altogether, I commented on the strengths of their responses, answered their questions, helped them to improve their summaries, encouraged them to provide more personal input, and clarified any factual errors they made in their summaries. This activity was enjoyable for both the students and me. Because they were listening to a mystery, most of the students were eager to listen to the next installments. The taped dialogues between my students and me occurred only on the cassette tapes. With the exception of my brief introduction to the mystery genre and the premise behind the radio series, I did not discuss the mystery's plot or characters with them. I insisted that the cassette tapes serve as our means of communication; I wanted them to focus entirely on their responses and my comments. I was pleased that the students responses improved overall. Finally, I had the students produce their own radio show review of "Where the Heart." Because the class was small, I gave each student their own personal cassette tape of the episode. I provided an instruction sheet for writing and producing a radio show review. The following instructions provide a brief summary of the guidelines presented in handout: introduce your name and the name of your radio show, explain that you will be reviewing "Where the Heart Is," an episode in the Father Gilbert Mysteries, identify the names of the characters and the actors who play them, give a brief synopsis of the episode's premise, explain who was your favorite and least favorite character, give your opinion of the story, and rate the episode. I emphasized that this should only provide the basic framework of their shows, and I encouraged them to add music, jokes, and most importantly, their personality to their reviews. Because the plot of this episode was more complex than "A Soul in Torment," the students found the episode to be rather difficult, so I set aside a class period so that they could listen to the episode again. We then discussed the plot and any other questions they had. "Where the Heart Is" was a valuable listening exercise because it provided the students with practice distinguishing among accents. The episode had a variety of accents; there were three regional British accents and one American accent. After the students turned in their shows, I played all of their reviews in class. Due to time constraints, we had to play the reviews over the course of three days. I also produced a radio show, so I played my show first. After each show, including my own, we discussed the strengths of each review. Initially, the students were shy about playing their reviews for the class; however, they all seemed to enjoy listening to their classmates' shows. Although they had almost two weeks to complete this assignment, I will give my students more direct guidance the next time I assign this episode for review.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Episodic Story Task
Core Task = TV Soap Opera
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = My students watched episodes of 7th HEAVEN, which is not exactly a soap opera but is pretty close. 7th HEAVEN is a one-hour weekly drama, aimed at a teenage audience. The plot line is inconsistent, most of the cast can’t act, and the moral messages quickly become annoying. Nonetheless the show is addictive. The students enjoyed it and were able to understand most of the humor. It led to many interesting discussions of American family life and social issues. I highly recommend it for CS 4. At this time (October 2002), new episodes are shown Monday nights on WB. ABC Family has reruns twice daily, Monday through Friday. The official description: With seven children ranging in age from early twenties to toddlers, parents Eric and Annie are constantly trying to keep up with all of life's changes. As minister in the fictional suburban town of Glen Oak, California, Eric has his hands full juggling his own family crises and helping members of the community. Adding to Eric's balancing act, Annie questions her role as a wife and mother and attempts to redefine who she is by pursuing a career. They have little time for themselves, but they still manage to keep their romance alive. Together, they're ready to face any challenge that comes their way on the roller coaster ride known as parenting. [From http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,||152~2,00.html] Relevant Web Sites:
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-251
http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,||152,00.html
http://tvguide.com/showguide/ShowPage.asp?iProgramID=1023769

course: CS
level: 4
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: TV Soap Opera
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
This term the CS 4 students watched the TV drama Everwood for their episodic listening task. The students seemed to enjoy the story, and it provided interesting material for class discussions (about such topics as casino gambling, Eastern vs. Western medicine, the minimum age for a driving license, depression and whether we should seek help from antidepressant medication, family relationships, and many more). Everwood is on Mondays at 8 p.m. on �The WB� channel. Since some students did not have access to televisions, I would tape the program and have it available for them to watch after class on Tuesday. We then discussed the episode on Wednesday. I (or sometimes the students themselves) prepared discussion questions and/or vocabulary lists. Next time I think I would try to connect it more with the debate, because the show addresses a wealth of controversial issues.

Here is the official description from the Everwood website at http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,||1005,00.html �Now beginning its second season on The WB, this engrossing series has proven itself to be much more than the average family drama. Unafraid to tackle any subject, the first season of Everwood confronted topics such as teens with sexually transmitted diseases, a husband who was living a lie by hiding his homosexuality from his wife, a minister who was facing sudden blindness and a frightened 18-year-old girl who had decided to have an abortion. Set in a breathtaking small town in the Rocky Mountains, the series' emotional center is the visceral and often heartbreaking relationship between a father and son.�

course: CS
level: 4
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: TV Soap Opera
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
Everwood has been a popular choice for the CS 4 episodic listening (see previous cyber-report), but it was not an option this term because they were only airing sporadic reruns though the summer season. Instead, I gave the students the choice of watching Summerland, Joan of Arcadia, or Monk. The students consulted the website for each show and also asked people if they had seen the shows (or if not, which one sounded the most interesting to them). We then discussed the three options and chose Monk, and I think it was fairly successful. Monk has less of a continuing storyline than Everwood and other more soap opera-like series, and the episodes can be watched out of sequence. Each hour-long episode concerns a mystery, which is solved at the end. However, the four central characters are always present, and they have some ongoing issues. One nice feature of this series is that the same episodes are shown several times each week, giving students more opportuni ties to watch. I did make a videotape available as well, for those students without television access. You can find more information at Monk�s website, <www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/>.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: Movie Discussions
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Elizabeth Ito
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: We used movies for our out-of-class listening practice (episodic story core task). I chose one movie per week (eight in total). Because this level covers English dialects, the first four movies exemplified a different dialect (Southern U.S.A., African-American, Latino-American, and Irish). The last four movies were courtroom dramas to prepare the students for the mock trial.

Briefly, the process worked as follows.

I assigned one student to lead the discussion for each movie. On Friday of the previous week, the student-leader passed out a hand-out containing 10 vocabulary words from the movie with the definitions and parts of speech. Also, the hand-out had 10 comprehension questions (we discussed the difference between comprehension questions and discussion questions). The other students had to watch the movie (on closed reserve in the university library) and complete the hand-out by Thursday. For the vocabulary, they had to note which character said the word and in what context (e.g., at the grocery store or during an argument with her husband, etc.). They also had to note the answers to the comprehension questions.

On Thursday the student- leader led a 30-minute whole-class discussion on the movie. First, s/he checked the answers to the vocabulary activity and the comprehension questions. Then, s/he asked discussion questions.
Before the first student-led class discussion, we talked about how to lead an effective group discussion (e.g., get everyone to participate, restate a participant�s comment to check understanding, pace the discussion to meet timeframe; briefly summarize the discussion at the end, etc.) as well as how to be a good participant of a group discussion.

During the group discussion I filled out an evaluation form on the student-leader�s performance. I also made notes for myself on which students participated fully in the discussion (class participation counts 15% of their final grade).

Reflection: When the students are completely in charge of the discussion (and I am not participating), I find that student participation is much better. The student-leaders know they have to encourage more reticent students; the students figure out together the answers to their questions about the film; and they get more practice with conversational strategies, such as restating, asking clarifying questions, negotiating turn-taking, etc. Also, since I am released from leading the discussion, I can concentrate on skills assessment.

Next time, I would shorten the number of vocabulary words/comprehension questions in order to give them more time for the discussion questions and/or I would extend the time from 30 to 40 minutes (since the discussions have been so fruitful!).

course: CS
level: 4
category: Episodic Story Task
core+task: sitcoms
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Jennifer Griffin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: CS 4
This term I used sitcoms in my CS 4 class. I had a small class of four students, so every week a pair of students would present a sitcom to class. They were required to show the sitcom and prepare questions and vocabulary. They were in charge of that hour of class and were encouraged to be creative in their presentations. The students really enjoyed presenting and being an audience. I feel both groups really benefited.

The information below is from a handout that Jillian and I used in a presentation at the Carolina TESOL conference last November. It has other ideas of ways to that we have used sitcoms in the classroom. Before viewing activities

1. Students are given a list of key vocabulary and idioms before viewing the sitcom. The words and examples should be discussed in small groups or with the whole class to enhance viewing comprehension.
2. A brief background is given of the sitcom including its characters, historical context, and setting. The students then use prediction to guess how the characters will react in certain situations. The students can also role-play the different possible scenarios that they come up with in their groups. To further emphasize vocabulary the students can be required to use a certain number of the new vocabulary words in their role play.
Post viewing activities
1. Students are given a list of discussion questions in which they must answer questions based on content. This can be done in small groups with a student acting as the group facilitator. 2. Quotes are given from the sitcom and the students must figure out who said them and the context. They can also act out the scene using the quotes.
3. The teacher will distribute about six to eight story strips of a summary of the sitcom. The students must put the strips together in teams. This can be done in a game format. The students can put the strips together on the desk or make it a more physical activity in which they each have a strip and must get in line based on the correct order of the story. The best method will depend on your particular class size.
4. For more advanced students the content of the sitcom could lead to a more complex moral discussion on the lessons learned from the sitcom and cultural comparisons.
5. The students review vocabulary and play a game to reinforce comprehension. The students must all stand up and one at a time say a new vocabulary word or idiom that they learned and how it was used in the sitcom. The student may sit down after they give a correct example. They can�t repeat words. This is a good way to finish a class and ensure that everyone participates.
6. Students generate two to three questions per person in groups based on the content of the sitcom. The teacher or a student will act as a game show host and ask the questions in a game show format. The teacher may supplement questions or provide all of the questions based on the class level.
7. Role-plays can be used to reenact scenes from the show. Teachers can also give new situations and have the students role-play how they think their character would react.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Episodic Story Task
core task: Andy Griffith Show
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Carl Hart
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Being a new teacher at Interlink, I wasn't sure how to arrange Episodic Story Task and was concerned with the logistics of assigning my students the task of watching a particular show on TV each week. I wasn't sure I could find the time to watch the show myself, and I didn't feel that I could count on my students to all watch it. I wanted the convenience of a DVDs that I could show in the classroom to a captive audience, as it were. I found, however, that the sets of entire season episodes for many recent popular TV shows were either very expensive or full of problematic risqu� humor and sexual or scatological double entendres. I settled on the Andy Griffith Show. For only about $20 I obtained the entire second season, from the early 60s. I explained to the students that "many people love this show because it is about simple, honest people with traditional values living in an idealized small American town that perhaps exists only in our dreams. 4; I created worksheets which explained some vocabulary--some standard and some informal, idiomatic and colloquial. This proved to be very popular with the students. They found the show accessible and could relate to the characters. I tweaked the format of the worksheet with every new episode. If I use these again, I'll probably add some questions to be discussed after the show has finished.

course: CS
level: 4
center: CSM
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Thad McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Science Podcast Listening Exercises
In my CS4 classes I have been assigning each student a weekly science podcast to listen to and about which to report back to the class. Being a podcast they can stop and repeat portions or the whole segment as many times as necessary. They also have to take notes in order to relate what they heard to the class. The podcasts sometimes concentrate on one or two subjects and sometimes may cover ten or more. There are a multitude of these available on line with many different voices, accents and lengths.
My practice has been to extract the individual links, put them on separate lines, and print out two copies. In this way I can cut the strip which has one link from the paper and write the student's name on it and give it to that student and also record the name on the second copy so I know who has what. The student then needs only to type the address in his or her web browser to download the podcast. See attachment.

course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2007
instructor: Lynn Bergschneider
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: As an alternative to the Friends series (which students had already watched), I decided to use the NPR News website (www.npr.org) for weekly listening. In the first week of class, I created worksheets w/discussion and comprehension questions for a couple of reports on different topics and from different programs (All Things Considered and Morning Edition). After going through the report as a group, I showed them the website and we discussed how to use it for listening practice at home (i.e. listen 2 times first and then look at the text provided on the site). Each week, they were to choose one news report from any of the sites on any topic they chose (but one that was sufficiently challenging). Some weeks I had them present their news report in small groups or to the class, and other times it was the basis of their speaking tapes. I also encouraged them to use this and other web-based news sites for research on topics for other presentations. The students really enjoyed using this resource and liked being able to choose topics they were interested in. It does not have the advantage of recycling a lot of vocabulary, but they do get familiar with the radio news format and by having to summarize articles, they were moving some vocabulary from passive to active knowledge. Also, the vocabulary used in news reports is very useful in academic settings.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Visiting Classes on Campus
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = 1) Planning: Students chose first and second choices of ISU classes(100 or 200 level) they wanted to visit. They were each responsible for contacting the professor and arranging days to visit. Each student was required to visit two classes, on his own. I checked with each student periodically to make sure they were visiting classes. The students also listened to lectures about the U.S. education system and cross-cultural communication from Noteworthy and Advanced Listening Comprehension.
2) Presentation: Students were asked to present to the rest of the class as well as CS 3 and CS 5 classes. I gave them an outline of requiered topics, such as: name and title of class, class format, student behavior, professor's style, and whether they would recommend the class to another student.
3)Debriefing: After all the presentations, we divided the presenters and audience into small groups. They were asked to make lists of specific information they had learned and general information they had learned. We also had a discussion about U.S. classroom behavior and that in other countries. Many presenters had mentioned that eating and drinking during class was accepted and they found it surprising.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Campus Stories
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Paul Oliver
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I pretty much followed the curriculum for this task. I do give a handout to my students explaining in detail what this task is and listing recommended campus personnel. They are not limited to this list, but I compiled it from recommendations from other ILC teachers and from past student presentations. I so not ask for much in terms of audiovisual materials, as we do another Powerpoint-based presentation in this class.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Campus Stories
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = All students interviewed a professor from their chosen field of study. The questions were mostly about the requirements for a major in that field, the types of jobs available after graduation, etc. In addition, the students reflected on why they were interested in that career. The reports were very interesting. Also, I find it helpful to award points to students who ask questions of the presenters. This seems to stimulate attention and discussion.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Campus Personnel Interview
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the interview core task, students were given an information sheet listing what they needed to gather during their interview. This included such information as general education requirements, major requirements, job possibilities in that field, etc. Also during their presentation they were to cite any differences between their major here and their home university (if it applied). In addition, they were to explain what they thought was easy about their major and what was difficult. Then students contacted a professor in their chosen field of study. After they did their interview, they gave a 5-7 minute presentation which was taped. It was a good exercise in that they learned how important strong language skills are for studying successfully at the university level.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = campus interviews
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Marcia Lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Campus visit: Students chose someone on campus to visit and made the appointment themselves, either using email or visiting the office. Students were encouraged to find someone who was interesting to them; for instance, the Lithuanian doctor visited the nurse at CSM. Before the interview, the class studied interview questions and interview styles from the book Communicating on Campus. After the interview, each student gave an oral report on the interview.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Interview Presentation
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We began this task with a discussion of when students might need to speak in front of groups and what kind of speaking they expected to do. Students chose an American employee of CSM to interview, for CSM-bound students, a professor in their field. We discussed and practiced making appointments with busy people. Students wrote questions, which we all reviewed before the interviews. I encouraged deeper, more interesting questions, with only mediocre results. We watched Working (The Musical) by Studs Terkel, which unfortunately did not show actual interviews, only the reenactments of stories resulting from interviews. We reviewed parts of a good speech and practiced twice before the final presentation, which was attended by the CS3 class. The interviews were breakthroughs for many of the students who talked with a professor in their field for the first, frightening time. This is a strong point of this task. Their speaking improved markedly over the course of this task. Questions that elicit stories and more relevant demonstrations of interviewing would improve the value of this task immensely.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Class Observation/Professor's Interview
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Patrick Nolan
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Patrick Nolan
TWO CORE TASK DESCRIPTIONS - Fall II, 2000 CS 4
Integrated Campus Stories and ISU Class Visitation core tasks At the Terre Haute INTERLINK site we have revised the School Visitation tasks so that in CS 4 students visit ISU classes of their choosing. I elected to integrate this task with the Campus Stories task so the students interviewed professors teaching the classes they visited. The students were responsible for looking up three desired classes in the ISU schedule, ascertaining whether these classes were still in session, making the decision whether or not the classes were appropriate for their interests and English levels and finally choosing one of them for three observations. They were also responsible for talking to the professor of their chosen class and gaining permission for the three observations as well as for the Campus Story interview. Some of the students took longer to make necessary arrangements than others, but I checked with them during each class meeting to ascertain their progress. I offered help in any way I could, but I felt the process of making the arrangements was important for them. I handed out an instructional form about setting up their visits and the interviews (click here). A class observation form was distributed, and in addition to filling out this form, students were instructed to take notes at every class. At the end of the observations and after the interview, students presented their findings to the class and turned in all their materials, including their notes, any class materials and the observation form (click here). I think these two integrated tasks were very successful and that all the goals of the activities were met and in some cases exceeded. The process lasted most of the term and challenged the students to use their English skills for many real purposes and in many ways. Two of my students included teaching lessons in their final presentations and one invited his new professor friend to attend his presentation. That student will continue to observe her classes next term on his own. All of the students felt this was a valuable tandem activity and they gained much-needed information to help them prepare for university study in the US. Perhaps the most important learning experiences for them were "reality checks" concerning their English skills and the various American classroom styles. They now have a clear idea of the work they need to do for successful assimilation into American classrooms.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = CSM Interviews
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Presentation Task Students interviewed members of the CSM community without much difficulty, and the brainstormed as a class ways in which to organize their presentations. They came up with “Interesting Anecdote,”“Background Information,” “Current Job Situation,” and “Future Predictions.” After their presentations, Ss watched themselves on video and critiqued their performances. They assessed themselves and reflected on what they had learned and how they would improve.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Cultural Presentation
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Instead of campus stories, for the past few terms we have had our students give a Power Point presentation on some topic from their culture. This type of presentation has worked well for us because we treat it as a formal final presentation and they present it to all of the Interlink students. Below is an excerpt from a handout I gave the students: This presentation gives you the opportunity to share your culture with the other students. Your focus should be narrow and your topic should be new information that would be of interest to an audience with different cultural backgrounds. Because your audience will have varying levels of English skills, you should prepare a Power Point presentation to enhance the cultural information you will share. The purpose of this presentation is to continue building your comfort and confidence in using English in public and in a formal situation, give you a medium for utilizing all of the skills you have been working on this term, give you the opportunity to share your culture and to learn about other cultures, give a professional style presentation with visual aids and an audience. For this presentation you should focus on organization [Your presentation should have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The main idea or the point of your presentation should be clearly stated and explained in the introduction.], content [Your information should be clear, comprehensible, and interesting.], transitions and language strategies, presentation skills, and answering questions from the audience. You will be evaluated based on volume, eye contact, interest, comprehensibility, organization, overall content, use of language, and effective use of Power Point to add to (instead of taking away from ) the effectiveness of your presentation. End of handout. >From the start of the term, I begin preparing students for this presentation. I have students give impromptu speeches throughout the term and more frequently nearer to the end of the term. I find that these impromptus (on a variety of topics from your favorite food to the three most difficult things about learning English) help the students get to know each other better and really build their confidence since they are ungraded and informal speeches. This term I also had the students give two other formal and graded presentation assignments. The first assignment was to interview another Interlink student ( that student's mentor or mentee) and then to present the findings in a formal presentation. This assignment was also focused on using restatement and on asking follow-up questions. The second assignment was also to help prepare for the debate. It was slightly longer and I called it a position speech. Basically, the student had to present and explain his or her position on a c! urrent (usually controversial) topic of interest. These various assignments generally helped the students feel more comfortable and confident while giving their final presentations to an audience. I also showed students videos of previous presentations while they were thinking of topic ideas. [This term the topics were Carnival, food in the UAE with recipes, karate, and the tango. In the past topics have ranged from introducing an entire city to talking about specific customs.] The students were also given a chance to practice the speech with Power Point before the presentation day. The length of the presentations have varied depending on how many students are in the class, but are generally somewhere between 10-20 minutes. Concerning Power Point, it is not really necessary to utilize Power Point. Students could certainly use other visual aids. However, most students have enjoyed incorporating Power Point and it tends to keep the attention and interest level up in our multi-level audience. Most of my students have not been familiar with Power Point and this can cause quite a bit of frustration depending on the teacher's attitude to its inclusion and to the student's mastery of it. My philosophy has been "let's try it, but don't let it consume the presentation". Also when I first started teaching CS4, I did not have much experience with Power Point. To solve this problem, I had our computer center staff give us orientations about Power Point. Recently, I have paired up experienced students with non-experienced students and this has worked out quite nicely. The results of the incorporation of Power Point of course vary, but generally it does enhance the overall presentation. If it's a big problem f! or the instructor or the students, I would say that this presentation can be successful without it.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = crossexam/debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = marcia lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Cross examination practice, to be used before the debate (or mock trial for CS5) Directions: Each student will take oue of the folowing resolutions and make up 2-3 arguments which might be used to agree or disagree with the resolution. Then the rest of the class will cross examine. The teacher will cut up the paper so that each student has only one resolution. Practice resolution: INTERLINK should give more choices of classes. Argument: individualize instruction, student paying a lot, not all go to university agst: cost, # of reooms, # of teachers, teacher may not know subject, finding quality teachers, how to choose which classes to offer 1. INTERLINK should have classes from 9:00-1:00 rather than 8:00-12:00 2. INTERLINK should have no attendance policy. 3. Government ought to leave businesses alone--no govt. interference 4. Marriage and divorce laws should be stricter. 5. A sound and expanding economy is essential to world peace. 6. Government should stop taxing the necessitities of life (food, phone service, etc.) 7. Smoking should be banned. 8. Handguns should be banned. 9. The death penalty should be banned. 10. Homosexuals should be allowed to adopt children. 11. Biracial adoption should not be allowed. 12. In Animal Farm, the animals should have realized that Nalopeon was becoming a ruler/dictator.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Presentation Task
Core Task = Oral Newspaper Article Summaries
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Jillian Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students at this level can converse easily and accurately on a everyday social level. Where they run into difficulties is when they have to talk about more complex topics. They need to become more fluent, grammatically accuarate and be able to display a more sophisticated diction. To achieve this goal, we spent a lot of time giving 2-3 minute presentations on newspaper articles (we used USA Today). Oral newspaper summaries provide an excellent means for students to gain more confidence and fluency speaking about difficult topics as well as acquire a higher level of vocabulary. I also had them record themselves and required that they give me a self-evaluative sheet of their mistakes and corrections. This was an attempt to motivate students at this level to reflect upon and self-monitor their grammatical accuracy in oral expression more.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Presentation Task
core+task: Campus Stories
center: ISU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2003
instructor: Randy Green
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: For the CS 4 Presentation project, students were asked to conduct interviews with ISU professors who are teaching in the student's prospective department. After the interview, students were expected to give a 10-15 minute presentation (with visuals) reporting on what they had learned from the interview. Before intiating this core task, we discussed what skills would be practiced in the core task and how this would be useful to the student. To prepare for the interview, we discussed and practiced the skills involved, including introducing yourself and the purpose of the interview, asking appropriate questions, including followup questions, and concluding the interview. Students conducted two "practice" interviews with ISU students and then reported on the results and discussed what they had learned from the experience. To practice presentation skills, we discussed skills required when giving a presentation (volume, organization, eye contact, etc.) and students did two "practice" presentations. Students were responsible for contacting the professors they planned to interview but I gave them a list of department heads and other professors we know would be cooperative. I recommended they contact the professors by e-mail and I had them write a sample e-mail requesting an interview which I gave them feedback on. We also discussed what to do if the professor didn't respond. Since this was summer term, it was a little harder for students to find professors on campus, but eventually, all students were able to interview a professor in their future department. Once the interviews were conducted, we spent classtime talking about how to organize the presentation and I gave them time to practice. The presentations were held on two days and CS 3 students came to observe and ask questions. Each student was given an evaluation sheet giving feedback from me and their fellow students. They also had to do a self-evaluation. Afterwards, we had a discussion on what students had learned fr Core Task Report.ems om the project. The concensus was that this was a very helpful core task in many ways.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Presentation Task
core+task: Interview Presentation
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Carolyn Smith
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: For the interview/presentation task my students did a lot of practice in preparation. First they interviewed ISU students and gave a mini-presentation on their answers. Then we practiced some presentation skills in impromptu speeches. The subjects for the impromptu speeches were very simple because the real practice was making eye contact and using intonation and just becoming comfortable with speaking in front of their peers. Some possible subjects were introducing themselves, describing their favorite animal, what animal would they like to be and why, etc. Choose one presentation skill to focus on and give them a few everyday topics and emphasize the skill the teacher wants the students to practice.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Presentation Task
core+task: Professor Interview
center: ISU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Judith Seider
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In anticipation of students doing their first major Presentation before an audience, students did multiple in-class "mini-presentations" to practice their presentation skills. The materials for these mini-presentations was based on their on-going on-line research (using videos and recordings on such sites as NPR and the NYT)on a list of "HOT TOPICS" they received as a handout: e.g., stem-cell research; global warming; Mexican Immigration; legalization of marijuana; etc. This worked well on several levels. Ss were given the opportunity to practice presentation skills (including both their nvc and verbal skills)as well as be introduced to new academic vocabulary on a variety of subjects they are likely to hear references to in university classes -- ones we attend for the class as well as the ones they will be attending as ISU Ss. In addition, this research activity fostered critical thinking skills and increased their knowledge of differing cross-cu ltural perspectives on the "HOT TOPICS". These mini-presentations included Q & A to simulate the process of their Core Project, Interviewing a Professor to gather information regarding a major. Students reported increasing confidence in their presentation skills over time, and notable changes (in varying degrees for individual Ss)were observed in fluency, pronunciation, and oral grammar.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Presentation Task
core+task: Shoeboxes
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Stephanie
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: I went to the first day of class with a shoebox containing items that had special meaning to me. I told a story for each item. I told the truth for all items but one and students had to guess which item I was lying about and explain how they knew I was lying. After that, I had two students a day bring in a shoebox and we started the class by them presenting each item and then by having the other students guess which story was a lie. It allowed students to get to know a lot more about each other, and they also had a great time trying to trick the other students into guessing incorrectly which item they lied about. I also tied it into the mock trial by telling them that in a trial, there are a lot of lies. It got them to lie convincingly, and also to look for signs that people were lying.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students/teacher generated a list of possible debate topics and then voted. The winning topic was: Which is more dangerous, science or religion? This was the topic of a recent C-Span debate. Video of the debate and the text of winning essays were available at the C-Span website. There were 9 students in the class. Two teams of 4 students each were selected. One student was selected to serve as moderator. Impromptu debates were held during the term for practice. A few days before the actual debate, a practice was held with students assuming their assigned roles to debate the topic: Which is more useful for Interlink students, living on campus or with host families? Three classes attended the debate and served as judges. The moderator gave a short Power Point presentation about debating and introduced the topic. He also explained the order of the debate:
First Affirmative Constructive Speech 4 min
Cross Examination by Negative Team 2 min
First Negative Constructive Speech 4 min
Cross Examination by Affirmative Team 2 min
Second Affirmative Constructive Speech 4 min
Cross Examination by Negative Team 2 min
Second Negative Constructive Speech 4 min
Cross Examination by Affirmative Team 2 min
First Negative Rebuttal Speech 3 min
First Affirmative Rebuttal Speech 3 min
Second Negative Rebuttal Speech 3 min

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = First, the class brainstormed possible debate topics and chose one by voting. Their topic was censorship of the Internet. Then I explained how to use Proquest, Inspire, and the on-line library card catalogue to find information. I had them try to find information on both sides of the topic before they drew slips to paper to find out which team they were on. After determining the exact wording of the proposition, they met with their teams to decide what their main arguments would be. They filled out a form stating these main points and naming the person who would be responsible for speaking about each one. They also decided who would give the introduction and conclusion. Then we had a work day in the library, so I could help them find their specific topic if necessary. The next step was to try to guess their opponents' arguments and decide how they could refute each one. Again each person was responsible for one area of refutation. The day before the actual! debate with an audience, each team practiced its opening statements separately. The final debate went very well.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the debate core task, students were divided into teams of 3 and 4. After some brainstorming, the students voted to use the death penalty as their topic. Using a sheet that I gave them as a guide, each team divided their argument into categories so that each student was responsible for one particular section. For example, for the con argument, students divided their subject into cost, cruel and usual punishment, and racism. They were then assigned to find materials on their subject at the library using the Internet and other resources. A few days later I gave them time in class to discuss as a team what they had found. Next I gave them a sheet to write down what questions they thought the opposing team would ask them. They then each took a question so that they could formulate a rebuttal. They also chose one person from their team to give the introduction and one to give the summary. The day before the debate they were given time to practice saying t! heir parts. The debate was conducted as follows:
Team A 10 minutes (Introduction and arguments)
Team B 10 minutes (Same)
Team A 10 minutes (Questions and Answers)
Team B 10 minutes (Questions and Answers)
Team A 3 minutes (Summary)
Team B 3 minutes (Summary)
The C/S 3 students served as judges. The students did an excellent job and worked very hard. A good project.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = marcia lane
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Debate: The class chose the topic of the legalization of drugs and then began to search for information. After a week of doing research, they were asked to choose sides. The two separate groups (each with 4 members to a team) spent considerable class time preparing their debate. They were given work sheets to try to help them formalize their arguments and to anticipate the other side's arguments. They were given extra credit to attend a university sponsored debate and to watch the presidential debate on TV. They were given a time and sequence outline of the debate and instructions of what each role would be, such as first affirmative, cross examiner, etc. They watched a one hour tv program on the issue of physician assisted suicide, taking notes, so that they could prepare arguments and refute them. On the day of the debate, they represented their sides well but their pronunciation was weak. >From the student evaluation of the debate, the suggestion was made to video tape the debate and have students view it so they could hear their mistakes. This is a very good idea and could easily be incorporated.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = debate
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = After brainstorming possible topics for the debate, the students chose same sex marriage. The process I used was basically the same as last term. The students did general reading first about their topic and shared what they found with their team in class. They decided on their main points and who would research each point further. At the next class debate meeting several days later, they again shared information. Then they attempted to guess what their opponents' arguments would be and to come up with a refutation for each one. They were expected to meet and iron out details outside of class. The day before the actual debate, each team practiced their presentations. The actual debate went well, but as always some students participated more than others. Being assertive is not a cultural trait of all of our students. The other problem for me has been how to keep the students on the time schedule I set out for them. They always seem to be one step behind. Since this project requires considerable research to be done well, I plan to begin it earlier in the term in the future.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Patricia Rassuli
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The class was divided into pairs according to language ability and fluency. Care was taken not to group students speaking the same native language. The debate groups were formed the first week of class, and topics were chosen. Next, the students did a short presentation on their topics. After the critique, they were to prepare their debate and have the debate the third week of class. We had some problem with the amount of time for the debates, since there were five debates. We evaluated the debates on clarity of presentation, pronunciation, and issues.
The students had problems with rebuttals. Even the stronger students tended to repeat their position rather than address issues. The critique after the debate focused on the issues that were brought up but not debated. We discussed possible answer to be given in a rebuttal, and the students were given the choice of re-debating. I think I would require a re-debate because the ones who re-debated learned a great deal more.
The pair format worked better than dividing the class into two groups because in a larger group there are always some students who do the bulk of the work and others who slack off. The ones who tend to dominate team tasks are those who are self-motivated and have stronger language skills. One student remarked that he felt the pair format lent itself to a more serious debate than the group format.
To prepare for the debate, they used some of the topics in the "The Non-stop Discussion Workbook." The students worked as pairs on the topic and came up with a solution to the problem. They then worked as a class to find a solution acceptable to all. To do this exercise they had to be able to argue and present their point of view logically and convince others of their logic.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = In introducing this task, we talked about situations where people present opposing points of view, relating to students' lives. We practiced agreeing and disagreeing politely in groups and listened to a tape of same from Professional Interactions. Each student had a chance to make impromptu arguments individually and in pairs with simple, familiar topics. Students were divided into two groups: one group of four and one group of five. We chose the debate topic as a class, voting in successive elimination rounds. Students chose “gun control.” Each group was assigned “affirmative” or “negative.” We researched for about a week (too short), watched a presidential debate, and began planning their cases. Format used was high-school style cross-examination debate. We practiced speeches and arguments for about a week, and then presented the debate for the CS Levels 3 and 4/5. After the debate, we discussed how it had gone ! and what students had gained from it. Students also completed an evaluation form of the debate task and of their teammates' contributions. Students had difficulty presenting a strong argument and even more difficulty rebutting an opposing argument. They tended to simply repeat their case during rebuttals. They needed more practice understanding this concept, which I think was new to most of them. They also needed more practice citing sources of information. Another difficulty was the imbalance of tasks on a debate team during the debate. Some students needed to write prepared speeches, while others had only to listen and ask a few questions, for example. Perhaps this could be solved by assigning pairs to the more time-consuming tasks. I tried to arrange for the high school debate team to come and give us a demonstration as they have in the past, but they were just beginning their season and had no debates prepared by the end of our term. I have not been able to find a good videotape, and presidential debates were only marginally helpful, because the candidates rarely stick to the point.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = CS 4 Debate
When began preparation for this task by working with controversial topics. The students listened to cassette recordings from Face the Issues and Noteworthy. We also watched 10-20 minute stories from 60 Minutes and Dateline. Topics included nursing homes for the elderly, credit cards for college students (and how they overspend), and cloning. All along I had the students discuss each issue and pointed out how there were at least two sides to each. Then, after describing the basic format and purpose of a debate, I asked the students to brainstorm debate topics. They chose Human Cloning and divided themselves into two groups.

Next, I took the students to the library to do some research using the database Proquest. They found some articles and showed me their results. The next step was deciding what their arguments would be and also to think about what they thought the opposite would say. I was very impressed at this stage at their deep thinking and enthusiasm. At this point the students decided on the proposition: Human cloning is the key to the new century and it should be accepted.

The final step of preparation was the division of the arguments within each team and practicing and polishing of what each student would say. I met with both teams to hear what they would say and offer feedback and advice.

On the day of the debate CS 5 students were the audience and they had to say which team was more convincing. My students did a good job and for the most part, their ideas were comprehensible and convincing. Finally, they felt the task was interesting and meaningful.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The Debate After surveying the other classes on a broad range of potential topics, Ss chose “Living Together Before Marriage.” They brainstormed affirmative and negative points together in order to practice seeing both sides of an issue before being divided into 2 teams of three. We practiced various ways of being persuasive using Speech Communication Made Simple. Ss were given the classic CX debate form and given about 2 weeks to prepare their arguments. During this preparation, I “checked in” with each group and individual and found that the greatest learning was taking place in group dynamics and cross-cultural communication. The debates were performed in front of an audience who voted for the winner. Ss watched themselves on video and self-assessed.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Krystie Wills
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Please see my submission for the debate task from Spring I, 2001. In this report, I will only mention additions or changes from the way we did the debate core task last term.

After generating a long list of possible debate topics, the students voted on "School Uniforms." I did not think that the topic would be very interesting, but since it was their choice, and since I thought they would be able to find plenty of research on the topic, I agreed. Next, I had the students work together to write the proposition. Finally they decided on: School uniforms can be beneficial to the American educational system.

I gave the students more advice this time on phrases that good native speakers would use that they should use to make their debate more effective. Examples include phrases like: "Our first point is�," "So my point is�, (used after giving the point)" "as my classmate already pointed out�," etc. I gave these expressions when they did their final rehearsal for me.

The two teams did not practice together, so that their debate would be as realistic as possible. They did a good job, and I was really impressed with the performance of some of the shy, quiet students. One of these students told me she spent 10 hours preparing although I am sure she knew this was not necessary. She just wanted to do a good job, and her performance was excellent.

The one negative point of our debate is that the students said that they would have liked to have had more time. Since the class had 9 students, it took a long time for each student to present his/her point and then to ask questions. But I would suggest for all instructors to allow 2 hours. We needed 10 minutes for late students (either from CS 4 or the audience) and one hour for the debate. We could have used at least 10-15 more minutes for questions between the teams and from the audience.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Housing Project
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = K. Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Low-Income Housing Project The ad campaign, role plays and debate were combined into the Low Income Housing Project. The project comes from www.eslflow.com and consists of 4 steps in deciding where to put a new low income housing project in an imaginary city (map provided). Ss described their neighborhoods in detail, developed their characters, and constructed arguments to present to the city council on the location of the housing. The city council was played by the CS5 class. After their presentations, the city council held an open forum on the decision. This part could have been better if the CS5 class had been more enthused about the project or had paid attention to the presentations. However, the CS4 class turned it into a learning experience during the final step, when they made an “Evening News Show” in which they played reporters reporting on the emotionally charged city council meeting. The “reporters” focused on the lack of interest at city council by interviewing! “outraged citizens” and “apathetic council members.” I could see this project being stretched out over 3 weeks as opposed to 2, and I would also highly recommend it.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term VU held freshman debates and it was a great opportunity for our students to see what debating is like. We also had the opportunity to have a guest speaker (the campus debating coach) and these resources really helped get the students interested in debating. The freshman debates were early in the term so the students had some ideas before we began talking about debating in class. The students suggested a variety of ideas and we decided on "human cloning should be accepted" as our proposition. Because of the size of our class (4 students), we decided to have a debate between CS4 and CS5. We modified our debating style (a combination between Parliamentary and Lincoln-Douglas) to fit our numbers and to fit the various strengths and weaknesses of our students. The debate could, of course, work nicely with 2 teams of 2. We also decided to have CS5 be pro because we thought that might be more challenging since most of the students would have to argue against their opinions. [Also, CS4 had previously held a discussion on cloning and 2 of the students were writing research papers on the topic. We thought these circumstances evened the odds between the different levels of the teams.] Below is an excerpt from a handout given to the students. It explains the objectives and the format. Objectives: Preparing and participating in this debate will give you the opportunity to work on many of the skills you are learning or are improving in this course. The debate incorporates and focuses on the following abilities (among many): speaking on a variety of topics, formulating an expressing a clear argument, "thinking on your feet", responding clearly and concisely to questions and to arguments or opinions, listening to spontaneous speech in a variety of accents, taking notes, understanding, arguing, and responding to a perspective other than your own, comfort and confidence speaking in front of an audience, using volume, speed, eye contact, and non-verbals to increase your speaking effectiveness. Tasks: In order to successfully complete this assignment, you must do the following tasks: Decide and negotiate (as a group) the different roles and responsibilities. Plan the team's argument and your individual argument. Discover and learn any new vocabulary that might be necessary. Think about and prepare for your opponent's arguments. Practice and prepare (both in-class and outside of class). Your team should negotiate this time. Participate fully in-class, during team preparation, and during the actual debate. Maintain the "spirit of the debate". [This means that the debate is to improve language skills and to use your language in a constructive, interesting, and creative task. It does not mean "win at all costs". We want this to be a respectful, courteous, and constructive debate.] Have fun! Format: Your instructors will be the moderators and will introduce the debate. They will also direct the debate and tell each team when their time is finished and when the next team should speak. There are a total of 5 positions. If you have less than 5 students on your team, then one person will need to fill two roles. The five positions are: Introduction: You introduce your team's position and outline the team's basic argument. Body: You develop the points outlined in the intro by using examples and more in-depth arguments. Response: You are responsible for asking questions to the opposing team and for responding to the questions the other team asks your team. You also are allowed to rebut or refute any points during this time. You must, however, ask at least one question. [Your teammates may also give you questions to ask.] Answering audience questions: The audience will be allowed to ask questions to each team. Conclusion: You should conclude your team's argument by summarizing and reemphasizing your team's main points. You should not introduce any new material or examples at this point. The time and order will be as follows: You will be able to ask confirmation/clarification questions after each team speaks. Intro pro 4 mins con 4 mins Body pro 6 mins con 6 mins Response pro asks questions and refutes 2 mins con answers questions and responds 2 mins con asks questions and refutes 2 mins pro answers questions and responds 2 mins Questions from audience for pro 5 mins for con 5 mins Conclusion con 3 mins pro 3 mins Evaluation: You will be evaluated on preparation, participation (in-class and outside of class), content (logical argument, appropriate info), comprehensibility (word choice, structure, appropriate grammatical usage), non-verbals (eye contact and audience interaction), and debate etiquette (courteous and respectful; keeping arguments logical and not personal). End of handout. In order to prepare for debating, I did a variety of activities. The students had already led and participated in discussion groups so they had been practicing agreement and disagreement. We began to do persuasive impromptus and we also did several impromptu activities where the students had to argue the pro and/or the con side of an issue in a limited amount of time. We also held a practice debate with CS5 so that the students were familiar with the format. For this practice debate, there was no audience and no preparation. The practice topic was "It is better for society if women work inside of the home" (chosen because of previous discussions in class). I gave the students some time in class to prepare and organize, but the students met together and did most of their preparation outside of class. For the actual debate, all of the Interlink students attended and we gave the audience a handout asking them to mark their opinion or knowledge of the subject before the debate and after the debate and to mark their opinion of each team's argument. Overall, the participants were quite happy with the activity and the skills we worked on in order to do this task. Many of the students preferred this experience to the other tasks this term. There was a lot of feedback given, though, that will help in the future. Most of this feedback concerned the audience and their varying levels and lack of knowledge on the topic of debate. Many of the students suggested a more general topic (such as the practice one) or suggested giving the audience some notes or short preparation before listening. The question section was also a problem because of audience knowledge and comprehension and some students suggest that the topic be announced before the debate and that we ask the audience to pre-prepared questions. We video-taped and then reviewed the debate and some of the students thought it would be even more helpful if we had video-taped the practice as well. I felt quite fortunate that we had so many resources available this term and with! out these resources, especially the campus debating coach, it would have been much more difficult for us to carry out this task so successfully. I am looking forward, though, to do this task again and seeing how it works out in different circumstances.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Discussion Groups
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = In the past, the CS4 instructor has had students lead a reading discussion group in which the leader of the discussion picks a topic and a short newspaper or magazine article addressing that topic and then leads a discussion based on both the topic and the article. I started out introducing the activity in this manner and the model I gave included an article, but the varying levels of RW ability made this a little difficult and frustrating so the students naturally moved away from using an article and I let them do that. What actually happened was the student chose a topic, usually controversial or current, and prepared relevant vocabulary and facts or info and some possible discussion questions so that the participants could be thinking about the topic and could prepare to discuss. Some of the topics this term were cloning, living wills, euthanasia, water contamination/pollution, and animal testing. In order to prepare, we practiced giving opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing. We also listened to a tape of sample discussion groups that accompany the text Communicating around Campus. These examples were great and quite helpful because not only did they include excerpts from successful discussion groups but also from not so successful discussion groups and the students could get a good idea about the common difficulties of leading and participating in discussions. Each student led at least one discussion and usually the discussions lasted about 45 minutes, though no time limit was imposed. As a leader, they were evaluated on their preparation, English use, initiative and leadership, facilitating and moderating, and general effectiveness. As a participant, they were evaluated on attention, preparation, and efforts to self-initiate and to respond to the comments of others. Overall, I have found this task, though not exactly a team task, to be quite beneficial to the overall atmosphere of the class and to the interest and confidence of the students. I tend to schedule the discussion groups in the first have of the term and by sharing their personal interests and opinions with each other the students feel more comfortable speaking in the class and with each other. Although I think I prefer having the discussions centered around at least a short article or piece of writing since it tends to give more focus, the discussion groups work just fine without the inclusion of reading preparation.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the Debate Core Task students students first did a panel discussion. They were divided into two groups, and each group chose their own topic (school violence and divorce). Group members decided what role they wanted to play in the the panel discussion (ex. divorce: marriage counselor, child psychologist, minister, professor ). Each group was responsible for inviting a guest speaker in a field related to the topic. Each student was responsible for doing research for his/her own role. At the panel discussion, each student spoke for 4-5 minutes and then there was a question/answer session in which audience members (other CS classes) could ask the "experts" questions. Some students in the audience had been given a role and a question to ask upon arriving at the panel discussion. For example, for the divorce panel discussion, one students was given a slip of paper which read: "You and your husband have been married for 15 years. He is a good husband in many ways, but he never tells you that he loves you or gives you romantic gifts. Ask for advice." In preparation for the debate students did some impromptu in-class debates using the debate lessons at <http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/bl_politicalgb.htm> and <http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/bldebate6.htm>. For the debate once again students were divided into two groups and each group chose a topic (abortion and death penalty) and invited a guest speaker. The guidelines for the debate are detailed on the handout given to students <attachment>.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = From my experience teaching this class 5 or 6 times before, I have concluded that the hardest part for students is responding to the other team's points and questions. They tend to repeat their own arguments instead of defending themselves from the other team's attacks. For this reason, I now focus quite strongly on using evidence and logic to respond quickly to counterarguments. To do this, I have had good success practicing with impromptu speeches on a topic well-known to students such as "The Best Car," "The Best Way to Treat a Cold," "The Best Way to Choose a Husband/Wife" and other such simple yet controversial topics. I give students 15-20 minutes to prepare a speech giving their opinion and evidence to support it. Other students then ask questions to attack their opinion using their own evidence. The speaker then rebuts as best as he can. This technique has generated high student interest, energetic cross-cultural discussions and improved their argumentative skills. Concurrently, I have them practice disagreeing politely using the "Professional Interactions" book and cassette tape. Additional suggestions to teachers are: Start early in the term (week 2) having them research possible debate topics on the internet so they are sure to have a topic they can find plenty of information about. I always have them choose a debate topic, with guidance. Choose the wording of the proposition carefully. Give them a worksheet to help them organize their information. I use one with two columns. In the first column, list: 1. Our Main Points; 2. Arguments Against Their Possible Main Points; 3. Defenses Against Their Possible Attacks on Our Main Points. In the second column have them list of their evidence (with citations) for each item in the first column.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Panel discussion
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Cheryl Howard
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Core task report for CS4 Spring II 2002 The students prepared panel discussions that they presented to the other CS4 class. In order to understand what a panel discussion was like, they were shown parts of a video of a previous CS4 class that had given its panel discussion about abortion with each student taking on a different role to present in character at the pretend conference (such as doctor, lawyer, counselor, etc.). After watching the video, the students chose to divide the class into two groups and brainstormed for their topics. They chose rape and cloning as the topics, one for each group. They had a little over a week to prepare and were given guidelines for the discussions and were encouraged to use transitions as much as possible. They presented their panel discussions on a Friday, and the members of the audience (the other CS4 class) filled out a very basic evaluation form for each group so that the groups who were presenting could gain feedback on their presentations. The students who were presenting were also videotaped and asked to watch themselves on the tape before meeting with the teacher during the following week. On Monday, the students then became the audience for the other CS4 class’s panel discussion presentations. On Tuesday, the students met with the teacher individually and again watched their part of the panel discussion with the teacher and made comments about themselves as to how they thought that they had done. The teacher gave her feedback and suggestions to them and used the individual meeting time to let them know how they were doing and what improvements they could work on for the next presentation in class as well as overall in order to complete the level. Following the panel discussions, the students were able to attend a panel discussion that was being given on campus. It was given on the Monday evening following both classes’ panel discussions, but before this class had their individual meetings with the teacher. The African Students Union presented “Communities of Cultures: Remembrance—Retentions & Redefinition” from 6:30pm until 9:30pm. Included was a panel discussion with students from America, Africa and the Caribbean who spoke on their views about the continent of Africa. It was a very interesting and enlightening presentation, and the students learned a lot that they did not know about the continent of Africa and about how black people here in the U.S. feel about themselves and their positions. The next day after this discussion, the students were given the opportunity in class to have discussions among themselves concerning their own perceptions about racism, prejudice, stereotypes, power relations, and the influence of TV and media. The teacher created questions based on the topics they had heard the previous evening and made those questions more meaningful for the students, relating them to what the students personally thought and had experienced as well as what they thought has been occurring in their own countries during recent times. The students enjoyed talking about these topics, sharing their opinions, and understanding the topics better from their own personal viewpoints as well as learning what their classmates’ ideas were about these topics. The students showed improvement in their language skills as a result of both giving their presentations and observing the presentation and panel discussion. They seemed more confident when sharing their opinions about challenging topics and did not worry as much about their grammar mistakes and pronunciation errors. They were eager to make themselves understood and to gain insights from their classmates' thoughts.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate Preparation
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Debate Level 4 In the past, the debate has provided a tremendous challenge for students and in the end, the performance for the public was not very professional. Between the multi-lingual accents and lack of logical clarity, the debate was a great process, but not a great product. I decided to work out the debate in a series of steps to alleviate some of the fear and confusion. It worked quite well and the students grew in many ways: building an argument, defending an argument, refuting counter arguments, pronunciation, making logical connections, presentation performance, drawing conclusions, and citing authoritative sources, on top of vocabulary and pronunciation. Below are the steps I took building up to the debate:
1. Discuss the concept of debate and its purpose.
2. Bring samples of controversial topics to class, discuss them, looking for possible opinions on both sides of the issue.
3. Use editorial debates from the local newspaper to demonstrate emotionalism, sensationalism, rational thought; pointing out the use of counter arguments and refutation.
4. Allow students time to brainstorm topics that are debatable and grab their interest.
5. Each pair of students researches one of the selected topics and presents a case for why it would be a great debate topic. This is their first attempt at persuasion.
6. After all pairs have presented their cases, the class votes on which topic would be the best debate topic.
7. Debate teams are decided by Students drawing a card �Pro� or �Con� out of a hat. This way, they are using the concept of objective debate and defense, not only emotional bias.
8. Teams brainstorm what they already know about the topic.
9. Teams share their ideas as a foundation for the debate and knowledge their audience will likely have.
10. Teams brainstorm questions they have about the topic, which is the best way to begin research, according to Lester�s Handbook.
11. Teams begin their research. Only general knowledge information is shared between the teams.
12. Teams build support for their position, using at least three main arguments.
13. These arguments are then assigned by their teammates, one to each team member.
14. Each team member writes an argument with ample support and citations.
15. Team members present their arguments to one another and teammates make questions for them and find weak points within the argument.
16. Team members do more research to support their arguments and refutations.
17. Team members present their argument as a formal presentation, limited to three minutes, to their team.
18. Teams present their arguments to the teacher, who critiques their presentation and support (complete with citations) and visual aids.
19. TEAMS ARE READY FOR THE DEBATE.
20. Other classes and community members are the judges of the debate. They are instructed to listen for and critique the logical support and defense of the arguments, the ability to refute the cross-examinations, the validity of sources and extent of research, the believability and rational presentation of the teams. The majority decides the winner.
21. As a whole class, the audience is able to ask questions of the presenters and find out whether their bias changed during their research and whether or not they agreed with the position of their team.
This process was extensive, but provided training for students who did not have any background in debate or argumentation. It continued the development of presentation skills and build confidence in a skill that is the most threatening. Debate requires not only an understanding of the topic and public speaking, but listening and refuting another opinion or challenge. This is a very high level skill and most level 4 students have not developed this in previous levels. The ability to interact under time pressure and in front of an audience is extremely difficult. In the classroom, we can provide enough structure and development to take away much of the stress and make this a successful experience.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Debate
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = After most speaking assignments, I encouraged students to reflect on the experience. They would watch videotapes of themselves, fill out questionnaires, and/or make notes about what they had learned and what they wanted to improve. This was not met with great enthusiasm. The students were uncomfortable with direct self-evaluation and unconvinced of its value. Their comments were superficial and obviously were written for the teacher, not for themselves. I decided to make the self-evaluation process more meaningful by giving them a different audience. After the debate, I asked students to write letters of advice to future CS 4 students, to be delivered next term as the new students began preparing for their own debate. The knowledge that other students would be reading the letters seemed to be a strong motivation. The students took the task seriously; they suddenly became concerned with spelling and penmanship. They also produced some very insightful suggestions. In telling the future students what they should and should not do, the CS 4 students analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their own debate. Many of them went on to explain why the debate was a valuable experience. Although I had not set a length requirement, everyone wrote at least a full page. I am afraid the novelty of this would soon wear off if students were asked to write such letters regularly. But I would certainly recommend it after a major project like the debate. Also, I prepared a FEEDBACK FORM for other teachers, based in part on an older form that was in our coursebook. At VU, the CS 4 debate is usually done before an audience of all INTERLINK classes. I asked the other staff members to use this form to make comments, which I then summarized and shared with the students. I plan to have students complete a similar form in the future while watching videotapes of previous debates.

Course = CS
Level = 4
Category = Team Task
Core Task = Mock Trial
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = As the CS 4 team task, students prepared a mock "investigation" of the Cape Cod slaying of Christa Worthington. Because the case has not come to trial yet, we decided to hold a hearing (instead of a mock trial) in which the five suspects would be questioned by two district attorneys. Students chose their "character" and went on line find information about the suspect on websites such as www.courttv.com. Students planned the questions that the D.A.'s would ask them during the first round of questioning. For the second round of questioning, they were asked to leave the room until called in. The D.A.s then pounded them with questions, which they had to answer spontaneously. The audience was given a sheet with the names of the suspects and asked to take notes. After the investigation was over, the audience was asked to get into small groups to discuss the case and reach a consensus about who they think should be charged with murder. Since the murder has "all the essentials of a crime novel and a soap opera cast of characters", students had a lot of fun developing their character and creating alibis to fill the gaps of information. All in all, the activity took about a week of intense preparation and was very much communicative and student-centered.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Saussotte
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: IN THE DEBATE, HOW DO YOU GIVE STUDENTS A CHANCE TO PRACTICE ATTACKING AND DEFENDING ARGUMENTS AND CROSS-EXAMINATION SKILLS WITHOUT GIVING "SECRETS" AWAY TO THE OTHER TEAM BEFOREHAND? I have been asking myself this question for several terms now, and hit on two activities that worked well this term. I had six students total. Early in the term, while the students were still researching and learning about the specific debate topic (the death penalty should be abolished in the U.S.), I gave them relatively simple, "debatable" speech topics such as those found in "Let's Start Talking" by George Rooks or "Look Who's Talking" by Christison and Bassano. (People who marry should stay married. All drunk drivers should be sent to prison. Parents should allow their teenage children to keep their room messy. High school cafeterias should not be allowed to sell junk food. Cigarettes should be banned. Men can stay home and raise children just as well as women.) Students prepared 3-5 minutes speeches overnight with at least three main arguments for their position. Other students took turns asking the speaker questions about possible weaknesses in their arguments. Speakers defended their positions the best they could. Discussion of questioning and defending strategies, as well as cultural issues, grammar and pronunciation points, ensued. Later in the term, after the students were familiar enough about the death penalty, students practiced in a similar way with their actual arguments within their teams. In this way, the opposing team did not have advance knowledge about the arguments the other team was planning to use. With the earlier practice on simpler topics, they were able to handle this, though still with much difficulty. Their difficulty was at least partly due to the complex nature of death penalty arguments. HOW CAN STUDENTS BE BETTER PREPARED FOR THE 2ND AND 3RD DEBATE SPEECHES? The first speech of a debate, of course, can be fully prepared ahead of time. The next two speeches require responses to what the other team has argued/attacked. In the past, I have been frustrated with the lack of interchange between the two teams during the debate. This term, I found a simple strategy that helped. Students made educated guesses of which arguments the other team was likely to make, and prepared attacks/defenses to be used as needed during the debate. They turned a completed Strategy Table (see associated form) in to me for review/feedback. They needed a fair amount of guidance and time with this, which indicated to me that it was useful to do. It is also useful to encourage them to plan their visual aids at this stage to reinforce the clarity of their thinking.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: VU
semester: Summer
year: 2003
instructor: Jennifer Shelton
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: How the debate task is launched makes a big difference in whether or not the debate process gets off to a good start. This term, the two instructors decided to choose the teams in order to make sure the talents and skills were evenly distributed. However, it might have been better to let students choose their own teams. There are risks either way. The two instructors decided to let the students suggest, discuss and vote on propositions that could be used for the debate. It is also an option to just assign the debate topic or to suggest the choices and then let the students discuss the choices and vote on them. There are all sorts of choices related to how much the students are part of the choosing and what role the teacher plays. Leaving it totally up to students, though, seems to lead to more random topics. Also, it is very important in this decision-making process that the proposition is clear before they go to work on it. It is not enough to just choose a topic. While the pros and cons may seem clear it is amazing the amount of variation students can think of. One thing I liked about students at least being able to discuss the pros and cons was that it was a good way to introduce discussion/opinion/agreement/disagreement etiquette in this context and let them practice using appropriate phrases in the �debate before the debate.� That discussion worked very well with our students and was a nice introduction.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: debate
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Debate: To prepare, we watched a tape of one of the presidential debates. Then we did impromptu speaking on the subjects below. Next we practiced cross examination. Because I know students have difficulties with cross examination in the debate, I had them practi e by giving them these controversial topics to which they made pro or con statements (without research). Then the class asked cross exam questions. Example: divofce should be made more difficult; hand guns should be banned; smoking should be banned everywhere; ILC should have no attendance plicy; biracial adoption should not be allowed; wealthy countries should share their wealth with 3rd world nations; the US should not have gone into Iraq: bush should be re-elected as president; woman should stay at home and take care of the children instead of working.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Nadine Nicholson
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This term I introduced the debate project late in week 6 and culminated with student debates mid-week 8, using materials largely found in the textbook Springboard for Success. (This text is also excellent at covering a variety of other types of necessary academic classroom communication skills.) Beyond an introduction, the chapter on debate also gives examples and practice activities for: brainstorming and negotiating topics and propositions, organizing key points, researching and finding support from outside experts, integrating those points and support, identifying faulty logic, refuting, rebutting, summarizing, and predicting and preparing questions to ask the other side during a debate. The class of 12 students was divided into three teams of 4 which each developed and chose its own topic (abortion, human cloning, and legalizing prostitution). A practice debate on gun control was done in class about 4 days before the students� own debates. This was coordinated to occur just subsequent to a listening activity on gun control issues: �Facing the Wrong End of a Pistol�, based on an NPR segment from the listening text Consider the Issues. I had deadlines and checked students� work as they progressed through each step of preparing arguments and support for their final debates. At the final debates, themselves, all students in the audience were given comprehension sheets (also from the book) to fill in the debate�s proposition, key points of the pro and con sides, their opinion before/after listening to the debate, and what they felt the strongest argument made was. Compared to previous terms, the combination of these activities, particularly the language skills practiced from the text activities, seemed to produce smoother preparation and participation within teams, as well as produce a better final product where students were more able to successfully �debate��argue and support their points.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Judith Seider
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Students chose what turned out to be, for them, a particularly difficult Debate topic (a Resolution that called for the abolishment of capital punishment), which then also included challenging vocabulary and pronunciation issues. To work through this, we used the BINGO game. The squares on each card were filled w/the most challenging words. The teacher picked a slip of paper out of a bag marked w/a letter,a number, and a word. The T announced only the letter and number. Each Ss then read the word in that space. The T signaled which Ss had the word that matched the T's slip without saying the word or correcting the Ss pronunciation (a nod of the head works well, as does a thumb's up . Then, the Ss with the matching word had the opportunity to correctly pronounce and use the word correctly in a sentence. The Ss who did the task correctly got to cross off that square. This turned out to be a fun activity and the one that finally worked to develop the Ss&# 39;pronunciation and fluency w/the difficult vocabulary. Great efforts were put forth in listening by one and all. There was a lot of laughter, self-monitoring, and a tad of friendly competition. The game can be stopped when the Ss have achieved their best pronunciation and usage skills. Everyone is a winner. (Note: The T does not tell which Ss performed "correctly" until all of the Ss with the word on their card have had their turn at saying the word, etc. The "winners" are then pointed to. Of course, the Ss who mis-pronounced or used the word incorrectlly have had the opportunity to compare their response w/the correct ones.)

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Muhieddin Baddour
e-mail: [email protected]
The following is an activity I do in class at the beginning of the term to introduce Ss to the concepts of argument, anticipating opposing viewpoints on a debated topic, and counterargument.

I start off by asking Ss to think of a famous person (living or dead) who has made some significant contribution to human civilization in some field-science, education, politics, literature, music, etc. Since Ss in class come from different cultures, I request that the personages be world-renowned. Also, to avoid any possible inconvenience, I ask Ss to exclude holy and sacred figures. Ss usually come up with names such as Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Plato, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Marie Curie, Mother Theresa, etc. After I write the names on the board, I divide Ss into pairs and have each pair pick a name. Then I propose the following scenario. I ask them to imagine that all the celebrities that have been selected are on a plane flying somewhere (the fact that some of the people are not alive should be ignored). All of a sudden, a serious mechanical malfunction occurs, and the plane is bound to plummet and crash due to overload. In order to prevent this tragedy from happening, one passenger needs to be kicked out of the plane. Now each pair has to write at least four reasons explaining why their character is too important to be sacrificed (time allotment: 10 minutes). Once each pair has stated its reasons, Ss are polled to choose the strongest and weakest arguments-they should be able justify their verdicts. The weakest argument entails that the person represented be disposed of. I emphasize that it is the argument that counts, not the person's significance and accomplishments, and that the strongest cases would be lost if they were not well argued, and vice versa.

Next, the pairs are asked to change their positions toward the very same characters they have selected. Now each pair has to write at least four reasons why its character should be discarded (e.g. those representing Einstein might point out his role in the creation of the A-bomb, which led to the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Finally, they are asked to choose at least one of the reasons they have provided and refute it (e.g. the point that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, which has led to the killing of millions of people, can be rebutted by stating that Nobel's invention was intended to be used merely for mining and construction purposes. To reinforce this rebuttal, one can refer to Nobel's dedication to promoting world peace and his initiation of the Nobel Peace Price as part of that effort).

At the end of the activity, I explain the purpose of it, stressing that the process of anticipating opposing arguments and being prepared to challenge and confute them is an essential part of effective debating.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core+task: Debate
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: S.Gould
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This is a listening activity which I used to help introduce my students to the debate. It involves a video segment from a class taught at the University of Vermont. Teachers who were learning about debate staged a debate on the proposition that �junk food should not be served in schools.� For my class, I took my students to the computer center on campus and had them all listen/watch the debate and answer some questions about both the procedure and the content. After the students had had a chance to complete the questions, we discussed what they heard/saw. The link for this video is: http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/doctortuna/VideoBlog/C90401D9-5F0B-43D4-8C28-A9CB1DA1E9D7.html

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core task: Debate Listening Task
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Grace Spivak
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Debate listening task - The goal of this task is to familiarize students with debate style note taking called flowing.This style of note taking is very helpful for strategizing your rebuttals and making sure you don�t leave any arguments open. They were to flow a real debate found off of the Internet. This was also a great listening exercise and forced students to think critically about debate. Procedure: Students were divided into two teams and instructed to find a video of a debate off the Internet. I directed them to a portal at http://debate.uvm.edu/watchdebate.html, but they could also find their own. After demonstrating what a flow sheet looks like, they listened to their respective debates in groups, stopping and rewinding when necessary. They were in small rooms in the library with a computer and speakers so it worked well. They were very frustrated at first since the debate moved very fast but I tried to get them to focus on the main points and do their best. The debates were about 30 minutes each but we took part of two class sessions to do it. The students fatigued pretty quickly so next time I think I�ll shorten the assignment and have them flow just a few speeches. Both teams selected different debates on nuclear disarmament. They presented their discoveries about the debate to the rest of the class and shared the main points plus what they liked or disliked about the manner of the speakers. This was really helpful to give them an idea of what a real debate looks like. We also learned a lot about nuclear disarmament issues and had a great discussion that generated a lot of new vocabulary. Next time, I might try a series of debate specific listening tasks that focus on completing a flow sheet over a series of short exercises during class. I'll also select a sample debate for them that has more comprehensible input.

course: CS
level: 4
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: DEBATE PREPARATION
One of the difficulties for students during a debate is the cross examination, so I have set up a practice for them. We begin with one or two minute impromptu speeches, with topics I give them; students who are the audience are asked to think of questions they can ask about the topic. (Sometimes the speaker has to flip a coin to determine if he agrees or disagrees.) Before the second speech, we practice expressions for agreeing and disagreeing, which I take from the book Professional Interactions. We are also practicing and emphasizing correct word order in questions as we do this activity. Examples: Do you agree? Don't you think so? That's right. I think so, too. That's a good point. I don't think so. That's not how I see it. I'm afraid I can't agree with you. That may be true, but.... The next step is to have the students plan a 3-4 minute speech on a controversial subject. During each speech, the audience member is asked to write at least one question which he could use to weaken the argument of the speaker. The students then ask their questions and the rest of the class determines if they are good questions or not. These 3-4 minute speeches can be done more than once and may in fact be necessary for the cross examination practice. All of the above work is done prior to the research and planning stages for the debate.

course: CS
level: 4
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: ron engel
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: CS4'S TOUR OF THE VIGO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Do you remember when Jaqueline Kennedy gave a television tour of the White House? Of course you don't, that was '61 or '62 or '63 and probably a bit before your time! Anyway, using that as a model, ILC/ISU cs4 made a DVD recording of a tour of the Vigo County Historical Museum. The museum is located in an old mansion and is conveniently divided into display areas. What to do/ what we did. 1. I arranged for the entire class to go to the museum and take a guided tour. The students were instructed to take careful notes on the entire tour because they would be responsible for directing their own tour of the museum. 2. In class the next day, we brainstormed how to logically divide up the museum into 10 parts, the number of students in the class. At that point, each student was able to choose the section of the museum that interested them the most. That was to be the area of the museum that each student would present during the ILC version of the museum tour. (No fighting!!) Their homework assignment was to take their tour notes and turn it into a 5-10 minute script that corresponded to items present in the museum and was based on the information provided during the tour. 3. After students had several days to prepare their scripts, we had a classroom rehearsal that included peer evaluation and peer suggestions. 4. One week after our tour, we returned to the museum armed with a DV camcorder and reproduced our previous tour. This time, of course, the ILC students were the tour guides. 5. With a live introduction from one of the ILC students, our movie was shown to an audience of cs3 and other cs4 students. Popcorn was not provided, sorry. Random notes: A DVD can easily be provided to each of the students and to the museum. I tried to discourage memorization and I tried to encourage the use of note cards--met with a degree of resistance from some quarters. I tried to make this a note taking experience although some students were not confident enough in their notes. A few of them returned to the museum on their own in order to get more information from the printed notations attached to many of the items on display in the museum.

course: CS
level: 4
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: These two class activities can be used with students in any of the upper levels (3 through 5), and would be ideal for use as a closer. The amount of time involved for either one would be from five to 15 minutes on average.
To Tell the Truth
This exercise is based on the popular TV game show from the 1960's and is intended to give the students practice with the interrogative and a variety of structures including simple past and present perfect. It should also provide them with an opportunity to have some fun as they use their imaginations to create interesting stories in an attempt to mislead their classmates.
The object of this game? is to correctly identify a person who has had an interesting real life experience. Most of the students in the class will be members of an audience that will try to guess who this person is from among a group of four students (the one who had the experience and three impostors). The teacher should begin this exercise by telling the students that they should think of the most interesting experience that they've ever had. It should be something that no other student in the class has experienced, thereby making it a truly unique experience. Then each student should write a sentence about their experience and give it to the teacher. They should not discuss their experiences with their classmates. The teacher has to read all of the experiences and select the one that is the most unusual and will stimulate a wide variety of questions from the students in the audience. The teacher then chooses four students, one of whom actually had this experience, to b e questioned by his/her classmates. The other three students, who are the impostors, must try to convince their classmates that they are the ones who really did have the experience.
The four students who will be questioned come to the front of the class. The teacher tells the class about the unusual experience, and that only one of the four students has really had this experience. Then one-by-one, each student in the audience gets a chance to ask a question to one of the four students standing in front. During the first round of questioning, the questions are directed to each of the four students in the following way. A student from the audience asks Student #1 a question, followed by another student who asks #2 a question, followed by another who asks #3 a question, followed by another who asks #4 a question. This process is repeated until all of the students in the audience have had a chance to ask a question. Then if there are any other questions that students have, they may ask them to a specific member or members of the group. After this period of questioning has ended, the teacher asks the students to vote for the student whom they believe really d id have the experience. After the voting, the identity of the student who actually had the experience is revealed.
Bingo
This game is played with a game card similar to the one that is used for traditional bingo. The rules are the same as the one used in the popular game. The difference is that the boxes on the game cards are filled with linguistic items rather than numbers.
This game can be used as a way to review vocabulary, for listening practice, for reading comprehension, etc. In our workshop today, we will play bingo with the objective of reviewing recently learned new vocabulary items for occupations. The procedures are as follows and make use of a bingo card that contains sixteen squares (4 X 4). Ask the students to help you make a list of sixteen words that they have recently learned for occupations. Write the words on the board. Give each student a bingo card and tell them to write the words on their cards in a random order with one word being written in each empty box. Then tell the students that you will read them definitions for occupations and when they must do is to put a tic (or a mark) in the box with the word for that occupation. When a student has put marks in a row of boxes, either in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction, the student should shout the word BINGO! The teacher will check the student's game card, and if all of the marks have been made in the correct boxes, then the student will be declared a winner and will receive a prize (candy bar, a sweet, etc.)

course: CS
level: 4
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Hidden Pictures

This is a game/exercise that I like to use with all levels of CS classes. It provides good practice with prepositions and describing locations. You need copies of a kids' hidden picture puzzle like those that appear in Highlights magazine. You can sign up to receive a monthly hidden pictures download from highlights.com if you want.
I like to begin with having the students describe where various things in the classroom are or anything else they can see or remember.
Then I hand out the pictures - without the little guide which shows what the hidden pictures look like. At this point the students don't know about the hidden figures. They then take turns describing various things that they see in the picture - the names of things in the picture can be written on the board. Once everything has been identified you can then explain that there are other images hidden inside the main picture. It is good to have them put the picture face down while you pass out the guide and explain what the hidden images are.
At this point there are several ways to go depending on the personalities, numbers, and abilities of the class members. Sometimes I divide them in to two teams, and sometimes into groups of 2 or 3. Each group can have only one copy of the picture or they can all work at once. When a student finds a hidden picture s/he has to describe its location (without pointing! - you may have to make them sit on their hands) so that the others in the group can find it. Once they have all been found the groups/teams can describe the locations for the whole class. It can also be made competitive with the team that finds them all first (and describes the locations correctly) winning or by giving points to individuals for being the first to find and correctly describe an image.

course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Dave Goode
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This is an icebreaker topic often used the first day or two of class to get students working together in small groups. Students complete the questionnaire alone and then work together in small groups comparing answers.

I ask each group to keep track of the questions they come up with so they can report back to the class what they were and some of the more interesting answers.

Silver and Gold

'Make new friends, but keep the old…one is silver and the other gold.'

When, where or how did you meet most of your friends?
 As a child?
 In your neighborhood?
 In middle school?
 In high school?
 In college?
 At a club?
 At church?
 Other?

How long have you known your closest friend?

 Less than one year?
 One to five years?
 Ten to twenty years?
 More than twenty years?

Are most of your friends the same sex as you, or the opposite sex?

 The same sex
 The opposite sex
 Evenly divided between men and women

Are most of your friends younger, older or the same age as you?

 Younger
 Older
 Same age

Are most of your friends…

 Single men
 Single women
 Married men
 Married women

What are the most important qualities in a friend?

 Loyalty
 Kindness
 Intelligence
 Honesty
 Independence
 Fun to be with
 Educational background
 Social position
 Religious beliefs
 Physical beauty

Which of the following would cause you to end a friendship?

 Finding a boyfriend/girlfriend?
 Getting married?
 Lying to you?
 Borrowing money from you?
 Having children?
 Spending too much time together?
 Moving to another part of town?
 Being accepted to different universities?
 Your friend being arrested or charged with a crime?
 Alcohol or drug abuse?
 Change in social status?
 Change in political views?
 Change in religion?
 Your friend getting divorced?
 One of you becoming more successful than the other?
 Your friend becoming friends with someone you don’t like?

After you finish, form small groups according to sock color and compare/discuss your answers. Then consider the questions below.

1. Do you prefer going out with a group or one or two friends?
2. Are male/female friendships different from same-sex friendships?
3. Have you ever lost a close friend?
4. Have you made any new friends recently? Where?
5. Now ask some of your own questions.

course: CS
level: 4
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Michelle Parks
e-mail: mparks3@[email protected]
report text: In preparation for the debate that would come toward the end of the term, I chose an activity from “Touchy Situations” by Glen Alan Penrod (Laser Publications, 1993) that would give them practice working in groups and discussing the pros and cons of various ideas, as well as presenting their ideas to the rest of the class.

I chose Chapter 4, “Financing the Twins”, which presents the financial problems the hypothetical family must deal with when they learn the wife is going to have twins. The book gives 7 options for ways for the couple can deal with this problem, and the students are asked to brainstorm the pros and cons of each idea in small groups. Then they must decide on which one is the best (or they can create their own option, which is what one group did), develop the pros and cons in more detail, and then present their solution to the class.

This activity is highly communicative and gives them opportunity to develop discussion skills and critical thinking skills in a fun activity. My students really enjoyed the activity, and I felt that it was a good warm-up for the debate when they will need to look at the pros and cons of a particular topic and be able to argue for their side/opinion, even if they don’t agree with it.

course: CS
level: 4
category: Team Task
core task: Debate
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I would like to share a website and the particular parts of it that I have found most helpful in doing the CS4 debate project. The site is Debate Central at http://debate.uvm.edu/. However, the site is really large and I thought it might be helpful to indicate those bits that I found to be most helpful.
First is the document: "Code of the Debater" by Alfred C. Snider of the University of Vermont which can be found here:
http://debate.uvm.edu/code2001.pdf
I found this to be extremely good for my own understanding of policy debates and how they are carried out. In order to teach it I first needed to know what it is!
The following two links have proven invaluable:
1. http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/pd2000sampledebate.m4v
2. http://real.uvm.edu:554/ramgen/debate/01walk.rm
The first is a sample debate done by high school students a few years ago on the topic of improving public education through requiring school uniforms. Each part of the debate is labeled with a very short explanation of what is to be done.
The second is a companion piece to the debate in which Alfred Snider walks you through the process using the sample debate as an example.
So far, what has seemed to work best for me is to begin using the information in the first link (Code of the Debater) to give a broad outline of what a policy debate is and how it works. I then follow up with the sample debate, but rather than show the whole thing, I fast forward through much of it but try to cover all the main parts. I then like to have the class pick a topic and do a practice debate. This is usually not done very well and we may do it again with the teams switching sides. (With a little luck many will feel how poorly they have done and at this point want some more help.) This is when I like to show the walk through video - asking the students to take notes. I then follow up with a full viewing of the sample debate asking them to compare what happens to what is supposed to happen. The videos can be stopped or rewound at any point if needed.
Note: The first video is in Quicktime format and the second is streamed in Real Video format. You never know if a link will always be there nor if the material will always be available nor if you will have Internet access when you need it, I have downloaded copies of all three and can make them available if need be.

course: CS
level: 4
core task: StoryCorps listening
center: ISU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Margaret Hurdlik
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: For outside-of-class listening practice in CS4 this term, I used StoryCorps, a collection of oral memories that is regularly featured on National Public Radio (and can be easily accessed from the NPR website). For those unfamiliar with StoryCorps—it’s a nation-wide oral history project designed to archive the personal reminiscences of ordinary people living in America. Each snippet is about 3 minutes long and they are incredibly diverse: funny, touching, sad, romantic, etc. Many focus on historic events (e.g. war, the Depression, 9/11), but all from a personal perspective. Tens of thousands of stories have already been archived at the Library of Congress.

To start this listening project, I gave my eleven students a list of five StoryCorps stories with short descriptions. Each student selected one to listen to for homework. In class the next day, we divided into groups with students who had listened to the same story together. I permitted them to discuss the stories, share their notes, clarify points of confusion, ask me questions, etc. I then made new groups consisting of students who had all listened to different stories (3-4 students per group). Each student then shared his/her story with the group without using notes.

As follow-up homework, I asked each student to select a new story to listen to, preferably one that another classmate had shared. After listening, the student wrote a short reaction paper linking the two stories and commenting on issues of ease/difficulty, regional accent, tone, etc.

Students really seemed to enjoy listening to these stories. Based on the success of this activity, I would expand it in future terms, probably asking students to select stories and listen on a weekly basis. If possible, I would have students give oral responses (as opposed to a written reaction paper) to what they’ve heard. At the end of the term, it might be fun to ask each student to record his/her own personal memory for an “Interlink StoryCorps” archive.

course: CS
level: 4
core task: Independent Listening
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Carl Hart
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: To further the goals of the Independent Listening Project, I decided on a routine of having the students make a presentation twice a week in which they would tell the class of an out-of-class listening activity. This was explained in the attached handout. Initially, the students were also given the homework assignment of coming up with three “fantastic” listening activity ideas. I have also attached the results of that assignment, a compilation of the suggestions submitted by two CS4 classes.

The students soon fell into the presentation routine, which was normally every Tuesday and Thursday, and learned not to come to class unprepared because they would have to talk about something, no matter what.

Two concerns were that some students were summarizing not what they had listened to on the internet but what they had read in the article that accompanied the listening. This didn’t turn into too much of a problem, mainly because I didn’t let it, and because I continually stressed that the focus was on listening, not reading. Also, some students wanted the security of a prepared script, and on a few occasions I would take it away and prove to the student and the class that all they needed were key words by “feeding” the speaker key words from his/her script to show that that was all that was needed to remember everything he/she wanted to say.

The project was, I feel, a big success in giving the students valuable listening and speaking practice and in overcoming public speaking anxiety.

course: CS
level: 4
core task: Vocabulary Review
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Lydia Lachmann
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: This activity works well at the middle or end of the term, especially as a review for an exam. Two students are sent out into the hall. The remaining students select 10-15 vocabulary words from various chapters and write these words on the board. The two students then come back into the room and must create a dialogue using the 10-15 words in the order they appear on the board. The rest of the students must listen to make sure the words are used correctly. When all of the words on the board are used, the scene ends, and two more students may be selected. This activity could continue until all of the vocabulary words are reviewed.

keyword: Education Project
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2008
instructor: Stephanie Rummel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Due to the fact that all but one student in the class were planning on attending UNCG and most students didn't know the expectations here, we focused on the university for this project. Students got into groups and chose a UNCG course to attend. They had to go, as a group, at least 3 times. They were asked to note how an American University culture differs from that in their own country. I then assigned each group to interview a UNCG professor, an American student, an International student, and a former Interlink student. We talked about the different information that could be found out from each group and brainstormed appropriate questions. Students recorded their interviews and took notes from that. They then got into their group and discussed their findings. Each group then put together a 20 minute presentation about what they had learned. If I were to do this again, I would also have students come up with a general survey to have UNCG students fill out.

keyword: Team project debate
course: CS
level: 4
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2008
instructor: Carl W. Hart
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: For anyone doing the CS4 Team Project Debate, these comments and debate plan and vocabulary work sheet for attendees might be helpful. Perhaps the two forms could be used as templates. The proposition, as well as who is on which team and who plays which role, is decided by the students. As for the proposition, after having explained the concept of a proposition, as well as the verb "propose," I give the students a page with a number of possible propositions and also discuss past Valpo CS4 debate propositions. The students brainstorm proposition ideas, and I write their suggestions on the board. Any of the propositions I give them are possibilities, but I encourage them to try to think of new ones. After compiling a list of eight or ten possible propositions, I lead the class in a discussion of the merits of each one—for example, too sensitive, too controversial, not controversial enough—and try to guide them to a proposition that is suitable. Ultimately, I let the students choose. I reserve the power to veto the choice, but that has never been necessary. I then allow the students to raise their hands to choose whether they’ll be on the pro t eam or con team. Ideally, the class will be evenly divided, but this is seldom the case, so if I have to move a student from one side to the other, I try to choose one who is "undecided," "indifferent" or "on the fence" (and take the opportunity to teach those terms). In the early stages of preparation for the debate, I want the students in each team to work together as a team and discuss their overall debate strategy. I don’t want a student to focus exclusively on what he/she will say in his/her turn. So only on the second or third day that the teams meet do I give each team a copy of the debate form with blanks for each turn. Only then will they begin to focus on their own argument and question. I discuss this separately with each team because I don’t want any member of one team to be concerned with who he/she will be paired with. I let the students take the form and ask that they return it the next day so that I can type it and make it into the form that I have attached. A day or two before the debate, I distribute copies of this form to all the teachers who will attend (with sufficient copies for their students) as well as copies for other guests and visiting dignitaries. I distribute the vocabulary worksheet in the same manner, usually printed on the opposite side of the debate program. The top section with general debate terminology doesn’t vary, but as the students are nearing the completion of their preparation and research for the debate, I meet with each group and ask them to help me compile a list debate-specific vocabulary. The idea is that the teachers who bring their classes to the debate will discuss the vocabulary with their students prior to the debate. In past debates, we encouraged students to ask questions in the question and answer session after the debate, but in the last term we decided to make it a requirement—each student watching would have to ask a question. That is why I included the “Notes�? section at the bottom. In the recently completed debate, despite having made asking a question a requirement for each student in the audience, some students had no question ready when called upon. I think in the future the � ��Notes�? section should be changed to make it clearer to the attendees that they should be preparing questions while listening to the debate. Perhaps it should say, “My question for the pro/con team is ______________________.�? Here are some other tips for planning a successful debate: • In the weeks prior to beginning the actual debate project, I do some practice debates in the class. Although at that time I teach the words proposition, pro and con, I do not at this point discuss the structured format of the debate project to come—the idea is simply to get the students in the right frame of mind and get them used to the idea of taking turns (as well as provide some excellent speaking practice). I make sure each student has a chance to speak and do not let the more assertive or less shy students dominate the debate. During these practice debates, I familiarize the students with the concept of posing questions to the opposite team. I make sure they understand that the questions for the opposing team are ideally difficult or even impossible to answer—the reason being to reveal flaws in the opposing team’s arguments. • I expect students to do research, but I make sure they understand that their research can only be paraphrased or referred to in summary, not read verbatim, except for brief quotations. • Prior to the debate, I strongly encourage the students to be certain they know how to pronounce unfamiliar words—the time to wonder how to pronounce a word is not when the audience is listening. I insist that they give some attention to this and prior to the debate go over what the students are going to say in order to check their pronunciation of unfamiliar words. • A day or two before the debate, I have a mock debate in the classroom, sort of a dress rehearsal. We choose an entirely different proposition, but with the same teams and with students taking the same turns so that the students will be familiar with the routine during the debate. The only difference is that the turns are shorter than in the real debate; otherwise there wouldn’t be time to finish during the class period. During this mock debate I critique their body language, eye contact, poise and enunciation. It’s a continual challenge to get the students to project, so I often go to the opposite side of the classroom and force them to speak up so that I can hear them. I also teach them a breathing technique that is helpful in calming nerves and slowing down the rapid heart beat that most people experience when they are nervous. I also make sure the students know how to use terms such as "in favor of," "not in favor of," "for," "aga inst," "clarify" and "clarification". Regarding the latter two, often one team will have difficulty understanding the question posed to them, so it is necessary for them to ask for clarification. • Finally, I allow and expect students to have notes when they participate in the debate, but caution them about reading from a script. Invariably, on the day of the debate, some students will come with a prepared scripts and sometimes reams of text—far more than they could possibly read in two or three minutes even if it were allowed. I caution them strongly about reading verbatim from these materials, but in reality I have found that it is seldom a problem. By the time of the debate, they have spent so much time thinking about what they want to say and discussing with their teammates, that they barely need their written materials at all.

keyword: Pro/Con Issue Debate Presentation
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: SAhola
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: In order to prepare for the debate project, I developed a power point presentation where the students research a controversial issue and discuss the two sides (pro and con). Also, the students give their own views about the issues. You can look at the assignment below. Enjoy!

_________________________________________________________________
CS 4 Pro/Con Issue Presentation Using Power Point

The Presentation:

You will choose a controversial topic. You will research and discuss both sides of this topic. You should think about the reasons why people support and oppose this topic. Also, you should give your opinion about the issue. Your presentation will be 5-7 minutes.
The Plan:
âº Choose only one issue which has two clear sides.
âº Do some research at the library about your topic. Please put the information you find into your own words.
âº First, introduce the issue. Then, give the reasons for those people who support the issue. Then, give the reasons for those people who oppose the issue. Finally, you should provide your own personal feelings about the issue.
âº Organize the information carefully. You will write out your presentations on cards.
âºPrepare Power Point slides to support your presentation. The slides can contain key words and/or pictures
âºPractice your presentation at home
âºGive your presentation in class

Presentation Tips:

Â» Donâ€™t overload your slides with too much text.
Â» FOCUS. In general, using a few powerful slides is the aim.
Â» Let the picture or graphic tell the story. Avoid text.
Â» Type key words in the Power Point Notes area listing what to say when displaying the slide.
Â» When using Power Point, speak to your audience, not the screen.
Â» Use Power Point to support your presentation, do not use a presentation to support your Power Point.

keyword: "This I Believe
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Lydia Lachmann
report text: In CS4, we listen to the audio pieces of the great series "This I believe" from National Public Radio. Then, students chose their own theme and prepared their own speech. After preparing for the speech, the students recorded it using a digital voice recorder. Finally, the students introduced their "This I Believe" piece to the rest of the class. Please take a look at the assignment sheet below.

CS 4 â€œThis I Believeâ€ Presentation

The Presentation

You will think about your own beliefs. These beliefs could relate to your life, your goals, your family, your religion, and many others. For this presentation, you will chose one of your beliefs and make a recording discussing this belief. Your â€œThis I Believeâ€ recording should focus on your personal experiences. Think of these questions: Who has helped you in your life? What experiences have taught you the most in your life? What do you think other people can learn from you and your experiences?

The Plan

1.Chose one belief and the experiences related to that belief. You should be careful about this choice. It should be both personal and meaningful. Also, it should be interesting.
2.Write your speech fully. It should 3-5 minutes long.
3.Practice reading your presentation at least twenty times. You will want others to understand every word of your speech.
4.Record your speech using the digital voice recorders.
5.Introduce your speech in front of the CS 4 classes. Explain briefly about your theme.

keyword: teaching aid
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Peter Frey
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: This term, my CS 4 class divided responsibility for core projects among themselves into small teams. I have personally used this approach for a number of years, after having obtained excellent results as a corporate trainer. The main aim of this approach is to promote learner autonomy, which allows learners to develop good language learning strategies and to ultimately better manage their own learning.

One of the project teams in my class was in charge of organizing a listening activity each week. Rather than limit the activiy to listening and taking notes, we tried something different:

The team would bring in short news articles for every student and each person would then have 15 minutes to prepare a short lecture for the class. During the lecture, the listeners would take notes and then follow up with questions. The second time, the lecturer also had to explain new vocabulary and, by the third week, the articles were more complex and the group was able to engage for a full hour in a series of short lectures that involved numerous layers of learning - including becoming comfortable with asking questions for confirmation,clarification, and information!

This complemented the group's attendance at a number of public and UNCG lectures - situations in which my students acknowledged that they were afraid to ask questions.

In conclusion, with this activity, not only listening and note-taking skills have improved. Learners are now better able to use questioning techniques, which will, in turn, enable them to better manage their own learning in real university classes.

keyword: notetaking
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: ron engel
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: While practicing listening and note taking skills, I discovered something. Students at the cs4 level have varying degrees of skill with regard to taking notes in an academic environment. This, of course, is no surprise since the same is true with native speakers at the university level. In my current cs4 class, we have attended a Sociology lecture class and we have worked on our note taking skills by using a variety of other sources. The teacher can assess his/her students' skills in a variety of ways. Typically, that might include creating quizzes based on the students' lecture notes, discussing the content of the lecture in the class, and collecting the students' notes in order to see what they have written. Again, a varying level of competence will be in evidence.

In my experience, much of the more advanced academic listening and note taking material that is available to the ESL instructor is fairly unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons (level of difficulty, quality of lectures presented, level of interest of the lectures presented). In the past, the fairly distant past at ISU in the mid-1990s, I was able to get a professor to allow me or one of my students to record a segment of a lecture. This proved to be excellent source material. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to that material. However, the academic listening series, Lecture Ready, provides a reasonably good alternative. Lecture Ready 3 includes 10, 10-15 minute lecture segments on a variety of university level academic topics. These lectures are on DVD and, as is typical in a university lecture, provide a limited degree of visual note taking support.

With my current group, I discovered that getting the content on paper was fairly easy. Responding to detail questions was not too difficult for most of my students. However, and this is the point of this endless verbiage, these students demonstrated a nearly universal inability to determine what the main point was of the various sections or topics within the lecture. In other words, they were able to note, understand, and regurgitate the content and organization of the lecture, but they were unable to get to what idea was important, why the lecturer was saying what she was saying, and, most critically, what generalization is to be derived from the lecture content. So, in midstream, we shifted our focus from concentrating on detail and began reviewing our lectures in logically divided segments. The students were instructed to create an essay test that gets at focusing on the generalization(s) that is (are) the key point(s) in the lecture. (This might be a good time to g
et the students to create non-question questions. Have them create "questions" that begin with words like discuss, describe, and explain). This can be done in a variety of ways. I have had my students work on this individually and as members of a discussion group. The most critical and difficult aspect of this enterprise is determining what the "point" is. They have a lot of difficulty creating the professor's most likely essay question. With repeated practice and focus on this issue, it is to be hoped that the ILC student will, at the very least, be better able to anticipate the level of thought that needs to go into reviewing lecture notes before the big test. In a more concrete sense, it is my goal to get the students to develop the strategy of predicting the test questions they might face in a lecture class. If they can do this, they will inevitably become more focused on what it is that is important to understand in a lecture.

So far, this has been a revelation for my students as they realize that merely understanding the English, and merely being able to get the information on paper are just the surface skills that will help them to be successful in a class that requires them to think about the significance of the discrete bits of information that comprise an academic lecture.

keyword: lisening log update
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Lynn Bergschneider
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I made some changes to the Listening Log project I started last term in order to make the activity more student directed. In the first full week, I asked students to talk about what types of listening they did outside of class each week. They were to name all of the different types (academic, fun, incidental, etc.). They then estimated how many hours of each they did per week. Over the next week, I asked them to keep track of what they really listened to and see if they under- or overestimated their listening time.
The next week, we talked about what they listened to and how much time they spent on each. We listed all the different types of listening they had done on the board and then discussed what each type of listening was useful for in terms of language skills. (see sample list below from class)
Using this information and their own personal language goals, I asked students to make a plan for listening each week. They needed to say what their goals were for the term (based on where they were going after Interlink) and what mix of listening would get them there. I did say they needed to do a minimum of 10 hours per week outside of class, but that they could do more.
The students submitted the plan to me so that I could monitor their progress. They then submitted weekly reports on their listening. The reports were short (program name, amount of time, and very brief description) but kept them focused on how much they were doing.

Sample list of listening types + benefit
music - slang/informal/pronunciation
news - academic vocabulary
TV sitcoms - idioms/informal
commercials - pronunciation/intonation
etc.

keyword: Listening Blog
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Anthony Prato
e-mail: [email protected]
see attachment
report text: This term, I decided to create "Blogs" for both my CS and RW classes. I am computer illiterate so at first this was quite a challenge for me. But Google has a very user-friendly make-your-own-Blog that can be found here: https://www.blogger.com/startI made a Blog in less than 5 minutes, and it is very easy to post comments, photos, links, etc. The CS4 can be found here: http://anthony-cs4.blogspot.com/ (If you go to the web site, click "Comments" at the bottom; as it is my Blog, only my comments are posted on the home page--the rest are access via the "Comments" link).For my CS4 class, I wanted to make sure the students were doing listening outside of class. They are required to listen to 10 hours each week outside of class and post a "listening report" on the blog. Rather than reiterate the project for you, I am pasting the instructions from the syllabus below. These instructions will help you to access the CS4 Blog (if you so desire), and also give you an idea of the project requirements. FYI, only a few students have posted so far, but I am excited about this idea and I welcome your comments so I can expand it in the future. Listening Log Each student is required to listen to 10 hours of American audio each week. You may listen to the radio while you drive your car, or you may watch TV at home. You may even go see an American movie at the theatre. You may also go to YouTube.com, Google Video, or anywhere else on the Internet, and find an audio or video file. Every time you do one listening (one movie, one TV show, one radio program, etcâ€¦) you must go to the CS4 blog and write the following information:Title/Name of what you listened toLength of listeningShort summary of what you listened to Reaction to listening/opinion of listeningA new vocabulary word or phrase that you learned and its meaningThis project starts the week of June 2. For a sample, please log onto the blog and click â€œListening Log Week of June 2-June 6.â€ Respond to that post with your daily Listening Log. I will check this blog every Friday, so make sure you post your Listening Log by 5pm on Friday. If you watch an American movie for 2 hours, that counts as ONE Listening Log. If you listen to 30 minutes of American radio, that counts as ONE Listening Log. Sometimes you will have 2 or 3 Listening Logs, and sometimes 7 or 8. It all depends on how long it takes you divide your 10 hours of listening. How to Access the CS4 Blog1. Go to http://anthony-cs4.blogspot.com/2. Click this weekâ€™s Blog Title (the first one is called Listening Log--Week of June 2-June 6)3. Click Comments (at the bottom of the screen)4. Paste your Class Visitation Report in the box 5. Type in the correct â€˜word verificationâ€™6. Click Name/URL and enter your name (if you have a Google account, you can use your Google name and password)7. Type in your name8. Click â€œPublish Your Commentâ€

keyword: First Day
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: UNCG
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Anthony Prato
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: "Starting Class the Silent Way"For my first day of CS4 class last week, I decided to abandon my usual "Find Someone Who..." plan and try something different. For the first 20 mins. of class, I did not say anything. I pantomimed everything--my age, stories about my kids, biographical information, etc. This really got the students talking! They were shouting out guesses about my pantomimes and I, of course, used hand gestures to indicate whether or not they were 'hot' or 'cold.' After I did this, each student had to pantomime information about his/herself to another student. Then, the each receiving student had to report back to the class what he/she learned about that student. Obviously, since pantomime is not a science, there were some mistakes and misunderstandings. But it turned out to be so much fun. It was great that in the first 40 mins. of class I hardly talked, and there was lots of laughter. Also, after everyone was finished, it lead to an discussion about the importance of body language and non-verbal cues when communicating. I used this discussion to stress how in CS4 students would have to a "higher" form of listening and speaking than in past classes.

keyword: listening, website
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: ISU
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Michelle Parks
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: http://www.radiodiaries.com/ This is a great website for upper level CS classes that has interesting, authentic listenings about real people from all walks of life. Most come with transcripts. The ones listed at the bottom of the page in the dropdown menu, â€œOther Radio Diaries Documentariesâ€, often come in 2 formats â€“ RealPlayer and MP3 and can be downloaded. The lengths vary so you could find something to fit any time requirement. Another nice feature is that the speech/accent is quite varied between the different listenings.

keyword: Impromptu Speech Topic
submit: Submit Query
course: CS
level: 4
center: VU
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Peter Martin
e-mail: [email protected]

report text: Many of us have been using impromptu speeches as an assessment tool for midterms and finals. (We give each student a topic and 15 minutes to prepare then ask them to pass in their notes. Then we begin a random selection process in order to select the order in which the students give their speeches. For this terms finals, I decided that it was time to make reusable cards with a variety of topics. Using a MS Word template for business cards, I was able to make a new template that has Impromptu speech topics on them like game cards. I got the majority of the topics from http://www.best-speech-topics.com/good-impromptu-speech-topics.html but edited and added to better suit them to our needs. Feel free to modify the list.

keyword: online, Google Docs, all levels
submit: Submit Query
center: CSM
semester: Summer
year: 2008
instructor: Thad McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Using Google Documents - A Basic Guide

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