I wrote once before about viewing our colleagues as a resource. As part of our professional development, I suggested tapping into an online teaching community to read about issues common to all classrooms, conducting peer observations to make us reflective teachers, and keeping a communication board in the staff room on which teachers could post tricky language questions for consideration and discussion. What else can our colleagues do for us? What can we do for them? Here are a few ideas.

• Share lesson plans. As an experienced teacher, your lesson plans may be so abbreviated that they may look something like a cross between a secret code and chicken scratch, but consider the benefits of rewriting a particularly successful lesson plan in a readable format and sharing it with your peers. Aren’t you curious to know what practices others are using in their classrooms? The exercise of reviewing someone else’s lesson plan makes you reflect on choices she or he made. You think about how you might have done things differently, but realize that this particular sequence of steps led to successful learning. If you’re part of a school staff, you can consider different platforms for sharing. For example, this can be done on a rotating basis at your monthly staff meeting. The presenter of the month can distribute hard copies for review. Online options for exchanging lesson plans include file sharing via a Yahoo Group, a wiki, or a virtual office at Tapped In. (Digital documents are great because they save paper and can be archived.)

• Share links. There are so many ESL/EFL-related sites out there. How can we find them? When you discover a good one, do you share it with your colleagues? The folks at TESOL’s Electronic Village taught me about social bookmarking. What a great concept!

• Exchange the favor of reviewing/ editing materials. Despite the fact that there are great printed resources out there, you still might find yourself (or choose to place yourself) in the position of writing original lesson or test material. Rule #1 about materials writing: proofread. Rule #2: Have someone else proofread when possible. It really helps to have a second set of eyes, and if that set of eyes belongs to a fellow teacher, she or he can also provide feedback regarding the overall quality of your work.

• Share your knowledge. There’s so much we can learn from one another. Sometimes it’s a small piece of information, such as some insight into pronouncing foreign names because you know a language that a colleague doesn’t. Other times it could be an set of skills. For example, I mentioned in another posting that colleagues may be able teach you how to use the technology you want to bring into your teaching. Perhaps you want to share links with colleagues and students. You’ve heard of social bookmarking, but never tried it. Try asking another teacher. Maybe she or he has an account on Delicious and can show you how it works.

So much of our time is spent in the company of our students or alone as we prepare our lessons and correct assignments. The time we spend with our peers may not amount to much in comparison, but it’s important. Whether it’s a staff room at a school or a virtual office, we need a place to interact with one another. Through our exchanges we can offer support and even promote one another’s professional development. Of course, realistically, not every shared moment is going to be work-related…and that’s fine. Enjoying one another’s company through a recap of a fun weekend or a discussion of recent news has a purpose, too. It creates comfort and familiarity. Our relationships grow, and we then feel more secure in taking and offering support. Besides, conversation and shared laughter add a warmth that every work environment needs.

Objective: To help students gain familiarity with patterns used in forming compound words (open, closed, and hyphenated forms).

Level:  intermediate to advanced

Materials needed: depending on the compounds you wish to target, magazine photos or household items may be needed (see suggested “stations” below)

STEP 1: Create stations around the room. Each station has a theme with theme-related items. Post the name of the station as well as the instructions for the task(s) to be performed there. By physically circulating from station to station, students will be better able to sort common compounds into groups according to their written forms: closed (one word), open (unhyphenated), or hyphenated.

Suggested stations:

• Colors.  Display 3 photos showing people’s physical appearance. Number them. Task: Describe each person’s appearance using at least one compound word. Example: Photo #1 shows a brown-haired and green-eyed boy.
• Pages. Place 3 books, reports, essays, or pamphlets at the station. Task: Describe the items according to how many pages they have. Example: There is a 3-page essay on crime.
• Ages. Task: Ask your partner’s age. Write a sentence about your partner using a compound word. Example: My partner is a twenty-two-year-old woman.

Alternative or additional task for ages. Display 2 photos showing a young and an old person. Number them. Task 2: Describe each person’s appearance using the compound [age-something]. Example: The person in photo #1 looks thirty-something.

• Jobs.  Display 6 photos showing people in various uniforms and/ or dressed for a specific workplace. Number them. Task: Identify the hospital workers, the factory workers, the restaurant staff, etc. (Depending on the photos you use.) Example: #1 and #3 are hospital workers. #2 is a factory worker. #4 and #5 are restaurant staff. #6 is a TV repairman.
• Family. Use magazine photos to create a family tree having four generations. Name the people. Task: Identify the great-grandchildren. Identify any great-aunts or great-uncles. Example: Kim and Pete are the great-grandchildren of Victor and Ellen. They have one great-uncle, Tom, and one great-aunt, Lucy. Variation: Show second marriages and ask about stepparents and stepchildren.
• Technology. Display 5-6 photos of electronic items. (Suggestions: cell phone, mp3 player, pocket calculator, laptop computer, DVD player.) Task: Find out which items your partner has. Example: My partner has an mp3 player and a cell phone. He shares a DVD player and laptop computer with his brother.

STEP 2: Have students work in pairs moving from station to station. Partners may discuss answers, but each student is responsible for writing his/ her answers on paper.

STEP 3: Gather as a class. For each station, ask a volunteer to write his/ her answers on the board.

NOTE: The preparation time will pay off especially if you recycle this activity. Try it with different groups.

QUESTION: How do we know if a compound word is written as a single word, as separate words, or with a hyphen?

ANSWER: Look it up in the dictionary.

I love a question that allows me to give a clear and satisfying answer to a student. Unfortunately, not all questions are like this. The question above about compound words is one that doesn’t lead to immense gratitude from the questioner when I tell the answer. There isn’t one simple rule that makes it easy to know if a compound word is closed (one word), open (two or more words), or hyphenated. This question can cause as much frustration for language learners as questions about gerunds v. infinitives or separable v. inseparable phrasal verbs.

However, compound rules do follow some patterns. Awareness of them will lead to greater accuracy when writing compound words. Most sources I’ve checked agree on the following:

• Compound modifiers with numbers: Hyphenate these modifiers before nouns. Example: a thirty-year-old man. Note the use of the singular unit year. Contrast it with the plural form in this word order: The man is thirty years old.
• Compound modifiers with past participles: These modifiers are hyphenated. Examples: age-related, web-based, drug-induced.
• Color combinations: These modifiers are hyphenated. Example: a blue-green scarf.
• Well-known compounds: Some compounds involving three or more words are so common that there’s little if any chance of confusion, so open forms are used. Examples: a ham and cheese sandwich, high school students, parking lot attendant.

I’d like to add these patterns and see if others agree or wish to challenge them:

• Compound words with numbers: If the numbers are not being joined with common nouns used for weights and measures (such as year, pound, page), a hyphenated form is used as a modifier, an adverb, and a complement. Example: A two-handed throw. / He threw the ball two-handed. / The throw was two-handed. Similar compounds: two-headed, one-armed, three-legged, one-eyed.
• Compound modifiers with present participles: They are hyphenated just as the [noun + past participle] combination is. Examples: ever-changing, all-knowing, fast-growing.
• Compounds with of and only: These multi-word compounds are hyphenated. Examples: state-of-the-art, man-of-war, read-only, text-only.
• Compound words with in-law: These compound nouns are hyphenated. Examples: mother-in-law, brother-in-law, daughter-in-law. 
• Compound words with great: These compound nouns are hyphenated. Examples: great-aunt, great-grandfather, great-grandchildren.
• Compounds with single letters: These compounds are hyphenated. Examples:  a U-turn, an A-frame, L-shaped, x-ray, t-shirt.
• Directional compounds: These are closed forms. Examples: northeast, northeastern. Exception: if a range is implied a hyphen is used between the two possible directions. Example: travel south-southwest.

Do you need to present the concept of compound words to your students? These short clips may be of help. They’re based on the work done by elementary school children:

• WeberClass
• New Grange School

Do you need ideas to help students practice using compound words? Check back soon. I’ll offer an activity in my next posting.

Sources:

Mauer, Jay. Focus on Grammar: An advanced course for reference and practice. Longman: 2000.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/compounds.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen#Compound_modifiers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_compound

http://www.ehow.com/how_2335339_use-hyphen.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

As a continuation of my previous posting, here are two more whole language activities centered around online news photos:

2. Photoblogging. Some of the same sites that post weekly albums offer community interaction through photoblogging. Share one of the editor’s picks of the week with the class. Read the caption aloud and explain the meaning of any unfamiliar vocabulary or grammar. In pairs students can discuss their reactions to the photo. Prompts can be given, for example:

• Have you seen anything similar to this before?
• Does this photo help you learn anything new?
• What do you feel when you look at this photo?
• If you had to title this photo yourself, what title would you choose?

This brief oral exchange should serve as preparation for a writing activity. Have students write a personal reaction to the photo in 4-5 sentences.  Once they submit it to you and receive feedback, they can be encouraged to post their comments online.

TIP 1:  A selected photo can be the springboard for classroom discussion. On the MSNBC site, the editor includes a thought-provoking question that nicely suits this purpose.

TIP 2: Choose a photo with a caption that contextualizes vocabulary or grammar recently learned.

3. Audio commentaries. This is a variation of the previous activity and would have to be done in a language lab. Have students view 6-8 of the editor’s picks.  Allow them time to select one photo and write 4-5 sentences about their personal reaction to it. Have them submit their writings to you for review. While you are providing corrections and feedback, students can work in pairs to come up with original titles for all the photos. Come back together as a class, view the photos again, and have volunteers call out suggested titles. Next, using their corrected writings, students must record their comments and send the audio files to you. As a class, you can playback these short recordings. The author will remain silent while the others guess which photo he or she is talking about.

TIP: Listen to the audio recordings once more after class and provide one-on-one feedback regarding each student’s pronunciation.

I love finding new uses for common teaching tools. Photos have always been one of my favorite visual aids because images evoke both emotion and thought. It’s unusual for someone not to have anything to say about an image. At the very least, a photo can be described objectively. What or who is shown? Describe what you see. However, if we bring a photo into language learning, the goal is to get the most and not the least use out of it.

Photos can stimulate writing, prompt group discussion, and put into practice newly learned language items and structures. In previous postings, I’ve shared ways to use photos in a pronunciation lesson on intonation and a grammar lesson on the passive voice. I also suggested using photos as a means to engage students at the start of a lesson. Today let’s begin to explore whole language activities based on photos. I’ll share one activity in this posting and two more in the next posting.

A number of sites offer albums titled This Week in Photos. Among them are:

• MSNBC
• National Geographic
• Yahoo! News

Online news photos are coupled with captions, so students will automatically be faced with two forms of information: image and text. I give preference to MSNBC for two reasons: one, the editors note graphic content before actually displaying a photo and, two, the size of one collection is not overwhelming (approximately a dozen photos in each weekly album). Using recently taken photos can facilitate the following activity:

1. Categorizing with a partner. Students can work in pairs or small groups and select one or two photos for each category:

• Having Importance Politically
• Having Importance Economically
• Having Importance Socially
• Most Powerful Image

If in a language lab, partners can discuss choices at their assigned computer. If in a classroom, the teacher could print out 10-12 photos from one album and post them around the room for viewing. Choices can be compared as a whole class, with each small group being asked to explain one of their choices. (Example: Which photo did you think had the most importance politically and why?) An optional writing assignment can be to express one’s personal reaction to a selected photo (perhaps the one that was voted Most Power Image by the majority).

TIP: Let some of the top choices in other categories lead into a current events discussion.

(To Be Continued)

QUESTION: Do adjectives always come before nouns in English?

ANSWER: No.

This question was shared with me by my Finnish colleague, a remarkable teacher with a firm grasp of grammar. She was challenged by her students to prove that adjectives in English always precede the noun they modify. Apparently, other sources led them to believe there was a hard and fast rule about word order. Well, she didn’t have to prove what she knew to be untrue.

At first, when asked about adjectives, we might automatically state a textbook-like definition: Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns.  Of course, more readily understood wording could be used, but the basic idea is the same: Adjectives describe people and things, and they typically answer the questions which and what kind. The examples that would most likely come to mind first are simple and common ones: good book, tall man, happy girl, etc. Indeed, the more frequent practice is to place an adjective before a noun or pronoun. (We can say these adjectives function attributively.)

But with deeper reflection, we have to consider a number of constructions in which an adjective is placed after the noun or pronoun it modifies (i.e., functioning predicatively). Let’s start with these two:

• Participial adjectives/ passive constructions: Bruce Lee was, of course, a man trained in the martial arts.
• Reduced adjective clauses (without participial adjectives): Who would play the lead role in this movie? The producers were looking for someone young yet mature./ The patient, now healthy and happy, thanked the doctor before leaving the hospital./I’ll eat anything sweet and chocolaty.

Wikipedia notes the role complex wording plays in deciding the placement of an adjective. This example is cited online: “an evildoer devoid of redeeming qualities”.[1] The point being that a simple adjective generally precedes a noun, but a complex adjectival phrase is more natural when placed after the noun. Going back to our first example, we could talk about a trained artist, but trained in the martial arts is too long and complex to place before the head noun.

I agree with the logic above, and yet does that mean it’s wrong to place a single adjective after the noun it modifies? Consider this statement: I like my coffee strong. This has a different meaning from I like my strong coffee, doesn’t it? The former means I prefer strong coffee to weak coffee. The latter suggests that I have some coffee in my possession, it’s strong, and I like it. Or it might mean that I like my strong coffee, but I don’t like yours. Hmm, so can we add another construction to our list?

• Omission of infinitive to be: I like my coffee (to be) strong. / She likes her men (to be) tall, dark, and handsome.

Here’s final construction Wikipedia poses for consideration:

• Adjectives qualified by an adverb phrase: “I saw three kids happy enough to jump up and down with glee.”[2]

Can you think of other cases when adjectives follow the nouns or pronouns they modify?

[2]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective

I discovered an interesting site with audio recordings that are all public domain. (The site states that copyright laws may differ outside the U.S.) LibriVox has a couple thousand selections to browse through: Aesop’s Fables, L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, the preservationist John Muir’s adventures in Yosemite, and the works of Mark Twain, to name a few. I’ve listened to some selections, and so far I’m happy with the readers’ clarity of speech. Because this is unadapted literature, the recordings would be appropriate only for upper level students. Consider some possibilities:

• Incorporate a regular listening session in your weekly schedule. Longer works are already broken into segments. Also, you can choose to work with a long recording of, say, 30 minutes and spread it out over the course of one month, allowing for appropriate review and predictions from week to week. Each month can be devoted to a new author.

• Prepare a vocabulary list for the class to study prior to listening. Simple Q&A can serve as a comprehension check in post-listening. Listen a second time and follow with one or two discussion questions.

• Shorter works, such as The Fox and the Grapes (approx. 20 seconds) are appropriate for a gapped exercise. Allow students to listen once. Then distribute a partial copy of the story. During a second listening have students try to fill in the missing words. Let them compare with a partner before a third listening. Correct the exercise as a class before a fourth and final listening.

• Shorter works also are appropriate for oral retelling or self-recording. At home or in a language lab, students can be asked to listen to a passage (30 seconds or less), record it (through a computer accessory such as Sound Recorder), and submit it for your review.

I hope the title caught your attention, but perhaps it’s also caused some confusion. Let me explain. I’d like to consider the possibility of using student compositions as the basis for other activities. It’s similar to a craftsman building something from recycled materials. Compositions that have been thoroughly revised and already graded could be used among the same group of students or with other groups at similar levels (assuming you have the authors’ permission) in the context of a new lesson. Here are two possible “second-hand” activities:

1. Solo reading and speaking to the class

Student compositions written by one group can be shared with a second. Students receiving the essays can be assigned questions to answer:

• For essays expressing a point of view (problem-solution, cause-effect, etc.): What is the topic? What is the author’s opinion? Do you agree with the author? Why or why not? Be prepared to share your answers with the class.
• For essays presenting information (narrative, definition, etc.): What is the topic? Can you summarize the essay? Did you learn anything new from the author? Can you provide any additional information on the topic? Be prepared to share your answers with the class.

2. Paired reading and problem-solving discussion

Students at one level should be able to comprehend not only the writings of their classmates but also of those one level head. This means a teacher could share the compositions of a high intermediate class with the students at the intermediate or low intermediate level. The number of unfamiliar words or grammatical structures shouldn’t be high enough to hinder comprehension. That said, try the following activity with a narrative essay or short story.

• Story Scramble: You’re likely familiar with this game. I put a spin on it for a LEA-inspired activity (Language Experience Approach) back in March 2009. Now we’re taking a story or a description of events as related on paper by a student and dividing it up into 10-12 segments. This needs to be done by the teacher in advance. I recommend keeping sets of the story in envelopes. You’ll need about 5-6 sets so that the class can work either in pairs or small groups. Each group will assemble the story to the best of their ability.  One group can volunteer to read the assembled story to the class. Alternative sequences can be discussed.

VARIATION: You can have each group work with a different story. After an assigned amount of time (e.g., 10 minutes), you can present a copy of the original story to the group so they can check their work. Groups can hand back the original “whole” copies to the teacher and exchange sets so the activity is repeated. Finally, after all the materials have been collected, have volunteers recall and orally summarize the 5-6 stories. The class can listen and assist as necessary.

I’ve shared tips for teaching vowel and consonant sounds in an earlier posting. One addition to that list is the benefit of using our sense of touch. Some may describe this instruction as tactile or hands-on. Whatever you wish to call it, the idea is to get students to understand sound production by placing their hands in a certain position so that they can feel a change produced by the articulators.  Below are some so-called tactile exercises to try your in your classroom.

• To understand aspiration:

Hold your fingers in front of your lips. Say /p, t, k/ and you’ll feel a puff of air. Say /b, d, g/ and you won’t.

• To understand voicing:

(1)    Place your hand on your throat. Say voiced consonants such as /v, z, w/ and you’ll feel your vocal chords vibrate. Say voiceless consonants such as /f, s, h/ and you’ll feel no vibration.

(2)    Plug your ears with your fingers. Say voiced consonants and you’ll hear your voice inside your head. Say voiceless consonants and your voice will sound much softer.

• To understand open (low) and closed (high) vowels:

(1)    Place your hands full on your cheeks face with your fingers pointing upward. Say a sequence of vowels from high to mid to low such as /u, oʊ, ɑ/ and you’ll feel your jaw gradually drop.

(2)    Place one thumb lightly under your chin. Say the same sequence of high to low vowels and you’ll feel the pressure of your chin on your thumb as the jaw drops.

• To understand nasal sounds:  

Pinch your nose and pronounce the nasal consonants /m, n, ŋ/. The sound will be obstructed. Release your nose and say the sounds again. They should sound natural because the air is properly escaping from your nose and not your mouth.

Perhaps you know of other exercises. If so, please share them!

The purpose of this exercise is to reinforce students’ understanding of the differences between formal and informal English, highlighting the role phrasal verbs can play in changing the register. Students will begin with informal speech and edit it for a more formal context, using one-word equivalents for the selected phrasal verbs.

Level: High intermediate to advanced

STEP 1 – Ask students to name people in positions of power who can effect change, for example, a president, mayor, or school director. List their ideas on the board.

STEP 2 – Ask the students to choose one person in power and list 2-3 actions they would like that person to take. Each item on the list must use at least one phrasal verb. Be sure students have access to a good phrasal verb reference chart that includes definitions, such as the one in the appendix of Book 4 of the Focus in Grammar series. Model:

I want our governor to:

• come up with a way to help out state college students with tuition
• put together a program to help students find work after college
• make laws that will stop people from using up too much gas, water, and electricity

STEP 3 – Students will use their lists to compose a short letter. Model the business letter format on the board, indicating the correct positions of the addresses, the greeting, the closing, and the signature.  In the body of the letter, one-word equivalents must replace the phrasal verbs. (Additional revisions may be necessary to increase the formality, e.g., elimination of contractions and abbreviations, more appropriate greetings and closings, etc.) Model:

Dear Sir:

I would like to make three requests. First, I kindly ask you to find a way to assist students who attend state colleges. Tuition is difficult to pay, and students like me need more help to get a good education. Second, the state government needs to create a program to help students find work after college. You could create free job centers at libraries, for example. Finally, I am worried about the environment. I believe the state government can make new laws that will stop people from wasting gas, water, and electricity. Until there are such laws, people will continue to waste.

Thank you.

Respectfully,

VARIATION: Instead of a business letter, students can write a short article. Tell them to imagine they are writing for a local newspaper. The headline can be Time for Change or Changes We Need.