Teaching Writing in the
ESL Classroom
BIL ED 484/584
Fall 1998
Instructor: Holbrook Mahn
Times: Tues. 4-6:30 pm
Credit Hours: 3
Place: Mitchell Hall 206
Office Hours: Tues. & Thurs. 2:00-3:30 pm, and to be arranged
Hokona 212
Phone 277-7981; home: 881-7981
e-mail: hmahn@unm.edu
Web Page: http://www.unm.edu/~hmahn/
Course Description and Rationale:
This course will examine theories of language and literacy acquisition to
provide a theoretical foundation for the pedagogical approaches to the teaching
of writing in the ESL classroom which will be explored during the semester.
Students will have an opportunity to put these theories into practice by
developing lessons to teach in ESL classrooms.
Objectives:
1. To become familiar with recent theory and research in the teaching of
ESL writing and to use this theory and research as the foundation for sound
teaching practices.
2. To develop sensitivity to the complexities of the writing process for
all students.
3. To understand the similarities and differences of the writing process
for students learning to write English as a second language.
4. To explore the processes of bilingual writers.
5. To develop the ability to respond to and assess second language writers.
Course Requirements:
1. Participate in class discussions, groups, activities. Attendance is mandatory
given the interactive nature of the class. 10%
2. Keep a journal in which you reflect on aspects of the reading that seem
particularly applicable to your classroom and lessons or questions which
arise in the course of your teaching. 20%
3. Respond to another student's journal. 5%
4. Contribution to our class' online discussion group. Click here
to get started on our discussion group. Click here if you are using Netscape 2.0 or 3.0 or if you have Collabra.
Click here
to be linked directly with our discussion group.
While the hope is that all students will be inspired to participate in the
discussions for their own and other's edification, the expectation is that
each student will make at least two contributions a week. 20%
5. Develop a lesson plan that you will teach in an ESL classroom in cooperation
with the cooperating teacher. 20%
6. A paper which explains the theoretical and pedagogical philosophy you
are developing toward the teaching of writing and how this philosophy has
developed through your teaching experiences through the semester. 25%
Graduate Credit
-- a short paper (2-3) pages reviewing two online articles about ESL writing.
This review will be factored into the 25% allocated to the final paper.
Required Reading:
1. Course Packet (available from the COE Publications Center)
2. Articles hyperlinked in Course Schedule
Course Schedule :
Week One: August 25
Introduction of students, course, and instructor.
Week Two: September 1
Theme: Second Language Literacy Acquisition
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Second Language Literacy Acquisition" -- Bell
article
Week Three: September 8
Theme: Second Language Literacy Acquisition
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Second Language Literacy Acquisition" -- Hudleson
article
Week Four: September 15
Theme: Second language literacy research.
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Second Language Writing Research"
Week Five: September 22
Theme: The writing process and ESL students
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "The Writing Process"; What
the "Process Approach" Means to Practicing Teachers of Second
Language Writing Skills
Exchange Journals
Week Six: September 29
Theme: Pedagogical Approaches & Using e-mail in the ESL Class
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Pedagogical Approaches"; Using
E-Mail with Your Students; E-mail
Activities in the ESL Writing Class
Week Seven: October 6
Theme: Writing in the ESL classroom
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "ESL Writing in the Elementary Grades";
Week Eight: October 13
Theme: Writing in the ESL classroom
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "ESL Writing in the Secondary Grades"; Writer's Workshop
and Children acquiring English
Week Nine: October 20
Theme: ESL Writing in Post-Secondary Classrooms
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "ESL Writing in Post-Secondary Classrooms"; Using
the Internet in University ESL Writing Classes
Week Ten: October 27
Theme: Bilingual Writers
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Bilingual Writers" -- Valdes article; Stimulating
Writing in ESL/Bilingual Classrooms
Exchange Journals
Week Eleven: November 3
Theme: Bilingual Writers /Guest Speakers on Special Education and ESL students
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Bilingual Writers" -- Edelsky & Kalman; A Guide to
Learning Disabilities for the ESL Classroom Practitioner
Week Twelve: November 10
Theme: Reading and Writing Connections
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Reading and Writing Connections"
Week Thirteen: November 17
Theme: Responding to ESL Writers & Revision
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Revision & Response"
Week Fourteen: November 24
Theme: Using Journals
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Journals & Oral History" -- Reed & Bromley
articles
Exchange Journals
Week Fifteen: December 1
Theme: Oral History
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Journals & Oral History" -- Gandesberry &
Walker articles: Junior
Historians:Doing Oral History with ESL & Bilingual Students
Journals Due
Week Sixteen: December 8
Theme: Assessment
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Assessment" & "Publishing" -- Elbow,
Smolen, and Gottlieb articles
Final Papers Due
Week Seventeen: December 15
Theme: Publishing & Course Evaluation
Reading Assignment:
Course Packet: "Assessment" & "Publishing" -- Kirby
& Liner and Holmes & Moulton articles
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