Fair Dealing

I am old enough to know when email was a very novel way of communicating, and I not so fondly remember spending hours in the library photocopying vast amounts of material from bound journals and reference books for my thesis.  And then the world drastically changed in September of 1998 when Google was born.  Being able to search the world from the comfort of our computer dramatically changed the way information is shared.  This has had tremendous impact on our way of life, for the good and the bad. 

One of the good things is the ability to find an abundance of material for teaching. Sometimes sorting through all the material is overwhelming.  But as educators when we do find what we need it is very important to treat all the material that we use with ‘fair dealing’.    So what does this mean?  

Fair dealing is an exception in copyright law in Canada, which allows the use of material that is copyrighted without permission or payment of copyright royalties. This includes all types of material from books to music to videos, newspapers, etc.  This greatly eases the use of vast amounts of material for educational or other purposes. But when using material under fair dealing there are several considerations that must be followed to fall within allowable fair dealing.  

The first and foremost is that you must mention the source and author of the material. Give credit where credit is due. We all want to recognize others for their contributions, just as we like to be recognized for our own work.  And then we must ask a series of questions to determine if our use falls under fair dealing.

What is the purpose of the dealing?  Is it for commercial purposes or educational use?    Educational use in the classroom is considered fair dealing. Also use for things like research, criticism, news reports, and parody are accepted under fair dealing. 

What is the character of the dealing?   This considers how the work is used.  Are we going to post it to a very popular website? Will we put it into a document that is distributed to a large number of people? These may not be considered fair dealing.   Or will it be used for our own use in our classroom only?  Posting short excerpts from material on restricted learning management systems is also acceptable.

What is the amount of the dealing?   Fair dealing allows up to 10% of a work to be copied.  So if using a novel or story in a class, up to 10% of it would be used. But if material is marked for one time use, copying of this material is not acceptable.   

Are their alternatives to using the material?  In many cases there probably are alternative materials, but if fair justification of the use can be made, it would probably be acceptable. 

What is the nature of the work?   If the work has not been published you may use it under fair dealing, but if your use would contribute to a much wider distribution of the work, it may not be fair dealing. 

Would your use affect or compete with the marketing or salability of the original work? Would it diminish the author’s income from the work?   If so, this is not fair dealing. 

If you need help deciding if your use of the material constitutes fair dealing, try using a tool such as the ‘Fair Dealing Decision Tool’ which can be found at http://www.fairdealingdecisiontool.ca/DecisionTool/.   It will guide you through questions to determine if you fall under fair dealing.  Also beware that ‘fair dealing’ can vary from country to country, and ‘fair use’ in the United States does differ from fair dealing in Canada.  If you decide that you cannot fulfill the fair dealing requirements, then you must receive permission from the author/owner and possibly pay fees to use the copyright material. 

Creative Commons licensing is another way to allow others to use material that you have created or lets you know how you can use other people’s material.  There are various Creative Commons licensing levels which can allow use, but with some restrictions, such as for only non-commercial purposes.  You can find out more information, and learn how to register your license at  https://creativecommons.org.   

Public domain allows unrestricted use of material, and applies to material that you or others allow to become public domain and also material that is older than 70 years past the death of the author.  You do not need to obtain permission to use public domain works, not do you need to attribute them to anyone.

Using materials that others have created makes it much easier for ESL teachers,  and it allows us to access the creativity  of many other people, but we must be mindful that we are using these materials in the proper way and within the laws of Canada. 

References: 

How to give attribution. Creative Commons. Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/use-remix/get-permission/

Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2016). Copyright Matters!: Some Key Issues Questions & Answers for Teachers.

The Copyright Decision Tool. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Retrieved from http://copyrightdecisiontool.ca/DecisionTool/

What is fair dealing and how does it relate to copyright? Simon Fraser University. Retrieved from http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/academic- integrity/copyright/fair-dealing

Needs Assessment (CLB Level 1/2)

The Scenario: 

This needs assessment is for a beginner level, informal ESL class, which I am hoping to provide in my community.  It is not intended to replace formal classes, but rather to allow learners extra English practice (beyond their formal class) or as an informal class for those not able to attend regular ESL classes.  It would possibly be offered once or twice per week. Support for the classes in the form of classroom and supplies would come from my church community.  

The Learners:  

I would anticipate learners from a wide variety of backgrounds, ages and levels, and would hope to divide learners into beginner (CLB 1-2) and intermediate levels (CLB 3-5). Learners may not be literate in their own languages.  

This needs assessment focuses on the beginner levels group (up to CLB 2). 

Beginner Level Needs Assessment (approx. CLB 1/2)

Learners will be encouraged to help each other, or may use interpreters (such as family members). 

Two tools will be used for the assessment: a pictorial class survey and a one-on-one interview (with an interpreter if necessary).  The survey will also help learners think about their goals, and establish what they want to learn. 

Pictorial Class Survey (attached)

‘I want to learn English for…’ worksheet will be handed out.  Learners will be shown pictures on overhead of real life situations from the worksheet on shopping, school, forms, transportation, fun activities, medical care (doctor), computers, Winnipeg, banking, home, friends, and work places. The pictures will be described and discussed using simple language.  Using an example, they will be asked to pick the top three by circling the sections on a worksheet.

One-on-one Interview (attached)

The interview will give information of the personal backgrounds of the learners. These can be filled out with the help of interpreters, if available.   They could be taken home to fill out with a family member as well and reviewed with the teacher when returned. The learner can provide any additional information in the ‘Questions and comments’ section, or the teacher can make notations.  

Sharing Results:

The results of the Pictorial Survey will be tabulated and shared with all members of the class and will define the topics of the class. 

Pictorial Survey

One-on-one Interview:

Name: ________________________________________________________________________________

                       (first name)                                          (family name)                

Phone number:  (home) ________________________ (cell)_____________________________

Address:  ____________________________________________________________________________

How long have you lived in Canada? _____________years

Family members in Canada: spouse (    ), children (   ), ages_____________________

            Other family members______________________________________________________

Languages spoken: __________________________________________________________________

Schooling in own language:_________________________________________________________

Have you had a language assessment done?  No (   ), Yes (     ) Level ___________ 

Attends other ESL classes?  No (   ),  Yes(   ),  Which class? ______________________  

Employment:  ________________________________________________________________________

Times available:  Days ______________________________________________________________

           Weekday mornings (  ), Weekday afternoon (   ), Weekday evenings (   ) 

Will you come every class?  Yes (   ),  No (    ).

I use English:  at work (    ), at home (   ), shopping  (   ), other places (    ).

Things I like to do: eg. reading, gardening, sports, music (use pictures to show students) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Questions and concerns: _____________________________________________________________

References: 

Anis, F. (October 15, 2016). "Needs Assessment For Literacy Students - Foundation/1."  Retrieved from https://tutela.ca/Resource_19738

Bow Valley College "Classroom Needs Assessment Tool." Retrieved from https://globalaccess.bowvalleycollege.ca/sites/default/files/classroom%20needs%20assessment%20tool.pdf

CAELA. A CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Training: Assessing Learner Needs in the Adult ESL Classroom." Retrieved  from http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/III_A_AssessingLearnerNeeds.pdf

Needs Assessment and Learner Evaluation.  Retrieved (January 16, 2019)  from http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-5NeedsAssessment&LearnerSelf-Evaluation.pdf

Needs Assessment. Retrieved from https://settlement.org/downloads/linc/LCG1to5/p2needsasesmt.pdf

Seabrook de Vargas, D. and  Anderson, L.  (2004) "A Needs Assessment Tool for ESL Programming." Retireved from https://www.norquest.ca/NorquestCollege/media/pdf/educationalresources/NeedsAssessmentToolAug2004.pdf

Weddel, K. and Van Duzer, C. (1997). "Needs Assessment for Adult ESL Learners."  Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED407882.pdf

All photos are from pixabay.com

Remembering: a valuable classroom lesson (not associated with a unit)

(Please note: This is not a blog on one of the class units but I wanted to include it because it was a real learning experience for me)

Authentic real life learning is at the heart of ESL learning, but this can also be applied to volunteers and teachers learning from their students in the classroom. I volunteer with an ESL class and I recently had a very authentic learning experience that I will not soon forget. 

The lesson was on Remembrance Day.  The teacher was forced to cram the topic into one day because of other time constraints and was uncomfortable with this, but she approached it with her usual cheery and practical self. 

The topic was introduced by talking about holidays, and how some are happy holidays (like Halloween), but others are quite sad holidays. She asked about what holiday was coming up on Nov 11^th.  Some students knew it was about remembering, but nothing else. She explained to them it was about remembering people who fought in wars for Canada, for our freedom. 

The teacher chose to show the learners a short Government of Canada video with images of WWI, poppies and other images of our armed forces.  She asked them to think about answers to ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ in the video.  The video played.  Answers to the question of ‘who’ we remember were ‘our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers’, etc. as taken from the voice in the video.  As the video played again and the discussion unfolded, I glanced around the room.  All students were fully engaged. But their looks and body language were quite varied. Many of the students were from countries that are or have recently experienced war. Their body language said everything.  One particular woman had her arms crossed and a very somber look.  She is usually one of the first to answer questions.  Today she said nothing.  

As I watched the class and lesson, I wondered who (brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers) and what they were remembering. I felt so bad for them that I was close to tears.  Is this lesson necessary?  Does it do more harm than good?  How would I feel in this situation? The lesson was taught gently and with respect for the student’s feelings.  There were no recent images of war.  Yet it was so difficult to watch.  

After the lesson, I had a discussion with the teacher. She assured me that lessons on Remembrance Day are very important, and may be even more so for those that have experienced the trauma of war. She has found that many students had told her that they find it consoling that in Canada, something so negative can be remembered in a positive light. The act of remembering those we have lost that fought for our freedom, and remembering those that some of our students have perhaps lost recently in wars fought over freedom, is very important to them! 

As ESL teachers, we promote authentic learning experiences for our students. There is great value for ‘want-to-be’ ESL teachers in volunteering in ESL classrooms for our own authentic experiences. Our students can teach us so much! 

Putting the Fun in ESL! (Unit 9)

‘Fun learning may mean different things for different people’ (TESL 0100 Fundamentals course, Unit 9).  We all enjoy different activities and excel at different things, and must be considered when developing activities for our students in the classroom.  How will we make learning fun and enjoyable for our learners?  Of course not all activities can be fun, but we must interject some learning experiences where learners almost forget they are learning.  

Much focus has been put on incorporating digital technology (e-learning) in the ESL classroom to reflect the realistic expectation of using digital technology in our everyday lives (Brown and Lee 2015).  Smart phones are the norm in the wider population, and we essentially have a computer in our pocket!  Tablets are easy to use for students, and can accommodate a wide variety of learning. Desktop computers may be less accessible for some classes, but very essential for learners who are focusing on the job market where computers are ubiquitous.  

The question is how do we seamlessly incorporate e-learning activities, and make it a fun experience.  First, we must consider the accessibility of the chosen technology to our students. Do they all have a smart phone, and if not, how do we allow for this, and make it an inclusive activity?  Can we supply tablets for students to share? Is there a classroom computer available? Or is the expectation that students will have one at home?   Often students do not have a smartphone or access to a computer.  These are expensive items and smartphones are often shared in families.  Tablets and computers are additional expenses that many cannot afford.  So we must consider these questions when planning activities. 

 Second, what types of e-learning activities work? Diane Ramanathan (TESL 0100 course, Unit 9) shares some excellent ideas on how we can incorporate technology: 1) motivate and engage (eg. Kahoot or writing a newsletter); 2) support and encourage collaboration amoung learners for new technology; 3) use tech tools for tasks and projects (eg. Publisher, Survey Monkey, Padlet); 4) use technology to introduce and practice language (eg. language apps and social media).   There are huge varieties of apps and activities available to choose from.  Mobile learning (m-learning) using smartphones and tablets can make anywhere a classroom and offers real authentic learning (https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/mobile-learning-improve-english-anytime-anywhere).  M-learning is a focus of organizations such as UNESCO as a highly accessible education tool in developing countries (https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education/mobile-learning) and therefore may already be utilized and recognized by many ESL learners. 

Third, do we need technology to make this fun?  Are we using technology, just for the sake of using it, or is there a better way? As stated, fun is different for everyone.  Students (and teachers) who are comfortable with technology often gravitate to it, and use it more frequently.  Those that aren’t may shy away from it, and even become very frustrated.  So we must offer a balance in the classroom. Are we comfortable with the technology ourselves? We must use technology as a teaching tool where appropriate and warranted, and allow students to adapt to it, with support when required.  But fun can also be in the form of more traditional games, paper exercises, contests, skits, etc.  These are all a necessary part of making the classroom a fun experience as well. 

As with all our planning, we must consider our learners, our context, our resources and our abilities when considering how and when incorporating e-learning to add another dimension of learning to our classroom. 

References: 

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language 
      pedagogy (4th ed. revised) Chapter 12  Upper Saddle River:Pearson Education.

            

 TESL 0100 Fundamentals of Teaching English as a Second Language course
       (Unit 9) (Video in Course Notes) University of Manitoba 2018

The Art of Assessment (Unit 8)

How am I doing in this course?  Am I learning?  Is it ‘sticking’?  Am I getting something from it?  Am I doing it right?

These are all questions that I often ask myself as I progress through courses. And how do I know?  The answers come in assessment.  Adult learners need to know the answers to these questions and more, to ensure their learning is on the right track, they (or the sponsor) are getting value for their money, and they are confident that their needs as learners are being met.  

Assessment in English as a second language (ESL) courses can occur in a variety of ways, and can be dependent on the type of course, the learners and class size, the level of the learners, etc.  Classroom-based assessments are the most commonly accepted, as opposed to standardized large scale testing (although these have their place as well). However, all forms of testing require certain principles of assessmentto be met. These are validity, reliability, practicality, and item facility(Galetcaia 2018).   Validity ensures that the assessment measures only the skill it is designed to measure; reliability ensures that the assessment is consistent; practicality ensures that the assessment can be reasonably applied; and item facility determines how well an item or question can be answered. As we are designing our assessments, we must keep these principles in mind.  

Classroom-based assessments can be diagnostic (to evaluate the learners needs and goals), formative(ongoing assessments which establish progress) or summative(at the end of a term or cycle).  All of these are necessary in an ESL classroom, and all can be administered in a wide variety of formats (eg. observation, quizzes, surveys, presentations, learning logs, conferences).  One of the most useful form of assessments, and a focus of the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) program is portfolio-based language assessment (PBLA Emerging Practices Guidelines 2018).  This uses a binder as a portfolio which students add representative pieces of their classroom work.  It is used in combination with other forms of assessment but establishes a sound basis for students to evaluate a student’s progress, as well as allowing the student to review and reflect on their own progress. This occurs through a teaching/learning cycle. Portfolio-based assessments are particularly useful with beginner levels of ESL, where assessment at more advanced levels can use more complex and independent forms of tracking their progress such as journals, workbooks and essays.  Self-assessmentand peer assessmentare also essential to ESL for learners to become reflective about learning.  When they focus on assessing themselves and their peers, they can more clearly see the need for goals and objectives, and work towards them, both inside and outside the classroom. 

Feedback is an important aspect of a successful assessment, as it directs and focuses future learning. Proper feedback will be reflected in the type of assessment as well.  In informal assessments, feedback can be short verbal comments with substance (not just ‘good’, ‘excellent’ but rather ‘can you see your improvement?’). More formal assessments, such as a written paragraph, can use the ‘stop doing this, start doing this, continue this, consider this’ assessment format where students receive very constructive feedback on what can improve and what they are doing well (Williams 2015).  

The use of a variety of forms of assessment and appropriate feedback will ensure that students are receiving information that answers the questions about their learning progress.  Assessment may be artfully entwined with the lesson, at times so well that students are unaware that it’s happening.  We must also constantly reflect and evaluate our assessments and update our assessment tools to ensure that we as teachers are giving valid, fair and accurate assessments. 

References: 

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
        pedagogy(4th ed. revised). Chapters 20 and 21  Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Galetcaia, T  2018  Assessment in [Language] Learning  slide presentation from the author

PBLA Emerging Practices Guidelines 2018, Center for Canadian Language Benchmarks from
        https://pblaepg.language.ca  Accessed Nov 4, 2018

Williams, Shawna (2015)  ‘Action Oriented Feedback’  from
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDbkhsNfmK4   Accessed Nov 4, 2018 

Our Classroom Environment (Unit 7)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that students need sustenance, shelter, safety, security, and friendship as some of the basic needs to allow personal development (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs).  This also applies to their ability to learn and be creative.  As educators our students look to us to create an environment in our classroom (whether it be physical or web-based)  which will allow these needs to be meet.  

Think of a time when you entered an unknown environment, not knowing what to expect. Were you fearful and anxious? Were you excited and eager?  What difference did the person at the door make in those first few moments?  How did you become more relaxed and less anxious? 

I think back to a very negative experience in my education.  I entered grade one late because I had moved from a different province where we didn’t have kindergarten and you had to actually be six years old to start grade one.  The stern principal greeted me and my dad and I was left alone sitting in the grade one class waiting for the teacher.  She was not particularly welcoming, and I’m not sure if I was even expected.  I was terrified.  At recess I was taken under the wing of a very friendly face. I felt accepted and she guided me through intricacies of school. She became a lifelong friend, and is still a great support.  It was a hard but good lesson for me.  I try to be aware of people who are anxious in new situations, and to help them feel comfortable. 

A friendly smile and welcoming demeanor go a long way in putting people at ease.  Some of us come by this very naturally and others have to work a bit harder at it.  Classroom management goes well beyond this, and involves the physical environment of our class, teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction (Brown and Lee 2015). We want to create an environment where every student feels comfortable interacting and learning, where they feel encouraged, accepted, supported and respected. 

It’s also very important to understand who each of are students are.  What is their background? Are they a refugee and have they or their family suffered any trauma?  Who makes up their family? Are they living in poverty? Do they need extra social support?  Why are they missing or late for classes? Could they feel marginalized? They are all real people with real problems, and often have a much greater difficulty in solving their problems because of language barriers.  Many language programs employ or have access to help with social services, but as a teacher we are often the first observer of those problems. Some of the things we might notice are quite varied.  Are they falling asleep during class?  Are they having difficulty paying attention and are very distracted? Do they look unhappy most of the time? Are they having difficulty seeing the board? All of these things and many more may warrant us to gently ask questions in a private meeting, or to refer the student to some professional who may help them.  We must recognize that we cannot solve all their problems.  Our primary role is to teach. But we can be vigilant to ensure that if we can help to create an easier life for them outside the classroom, they will be better learners inside the classroom. 

Reference: 

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
        pedagogy(4th ed. revised). Chapters 13 and 14 Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Planning Our Lessons Properly (Unit 6)

 I think lesson planning can be one of the most difficult and time consuming aspects of teaching, especially for new teachers. 

     I have had the privilege of teaching in many different situations, from university lectures, to science labs, to teaching children and young adults in informal environments and even some on-line teaching.  The one common element to all of these is that they require some kind of lesson plan.  All need some organization to ensure that all the information is understood and the objective and goals are met. 

     ESL lesson plans fall somewhere in the middle. They need structure, organization and flow to ensure the goals and objectives are met, but they also need to be engaging and authentic. Brown and Lee  (2015) further describe objectives as terminal objectives (overall objectives) and enabling objectives (objectives of activities throughout the lesson). We need to incorporate a wide variety of activities so we are not boring our learners with the same types of activities over and over again. And we need to have some fun and laughs too. 

     As new ESL teacher it will be very important to ensure that we plan all the details, know what we are trying to teach (goals and objectives), but also expect what pitfalls we may have, be adaptable (tangents can be good learning moments), and make sure we reflect on what can be improved. An experience teacher told me that when she first started she had every minute detail written out, down to exactly what she was going to say, and then rehearsed it.  A good idea when you are first starting, to ensure you are comfortable with the material.  However, after many years of teaching, her lesson plans are now often six lines on a piece of paper.   With experience, it does become much easier! 

      Once we have established our objectives, we can now create the skeleton of the plan. The first activities should always be a review, or quick assessment of what the students know and to introduce what the lesson will be about.  Then the lesson needs to give some new information.  This can be the basis for the next few activities in the lesson. Activities should reinforce and build, but use different kinds of activities.  The class usually ends with an activity that brings it all together, and maybe challenges the students, or assess what they have learned.

      When the skeleton of the lesson has been established, the actual activities can be filled in, and adapted to the enabling objectives. There is a huge resource of activities on many websites, in textbooks, and from our PLN, as well as our imagination. Brown and Lee (2015, pp. 226) list a large table of all types of activities. But beware that many activities must be modified or adapted to fit our needs, and may have errors or confusing aspects. Activities must also be chosen that fit your particular class and situation.  Activities for a large in person class will be different than for online teaching, or tutoring. And also know your students, and what works for them. 

      One very important aspect to lesson planning is to prepare materials and technology.  Materials must be practical and accessible (easy to read and see). Teachers also have to work within budgets, so you may not be able to print everything! Technology can be what you are using for presentations, or what you will teach to the students. I have been caught many times with technology that doesn't work. The same applies to ESL classes if you are using a computer for a video, an overhead projector, a cell phone app, etc. Students are not impressed if you are trying to demonstrate how to use a program, when you can't use it yourself! 

    Timing is everything, and this is certainly something that has a learning curve. Even experienced teachers have difficulties estimating time for activities, because it depends a great deal upon the class.  An experienced teacher can have two classes at the same level, but abilities can vary greatly overall, and within different types of activities. So what takes one class 90 minutes can take the other class two hours. So we must be prepared with extra activities, and to be adaptable. 

     There are so many things to consider when planning a lesson, so no wonder it seems scary. So ask for help from experienced teachers, practice, review and reflect for improvement, and don't be hard on yourself! 

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015)  Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language 
       pedagogy(4^thed. revised) Chapter 10 Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education