Learning Notes for XXXXDate:
Address:Birthdate:Country:
In the U.S. since:
Phone:
E-mail:
Living situation:
Availability:
Mon / Tues / Wed / Thurs / Fri / Sat / Sunmorning
afternoon
evening
Preferred location:
Transportation:
Education:
Learning Styles
Use a combination of visual, auditory and kinesthetic strategies in your tutoring. Together the two of you will find what works best as you get to know each other.
Personality:
Environment
A quiet, private place in a public setting is always ideal.
Goals: See attached Goals Form.
Current Speaking & Listening Skills:
- is a beginning speaker
•is an intermediate speaker
•is an advanced speaker
Current Reading Skills:
•is a beginning reader
•is an intermediate reader
•is an advanced reader
Current Writing Skills:
(See writing sample, attached. If there is no writing sample, it is because your learner was unable to complete that section of the assessment.)
Some suggestions for Lesson Planning
"Teaching Adults: An ESL Resource Book" strategies to use (add others as they seem appropriate):
Speaking/Listening
Beginning Level
•3: TPR
•4: TPR (Body Movement)
•6: Vocabulary Drill: Objects
•14: Dialogues: Basic Steps
•21: Teaching With One Picture
• 24: Minimal Pairs
Intermediate Level
•3: TPR
•4: TPR (Body Movement)
•7: Vocabulary Drill to Teach Direction Words
•8: Eating Utensils
•15: Role Plays
•20: What’s Missing? Jigsaw
•21: Teaching With One Picture
•24: Minimal Pairs
• 25: Rubber Bands
Advanced Level
•1: Culture: Critical Incidents (use as a speaking activity)
•10: If Bob Whistles Again, I’ll Scream
•11: If I Won the Lottery
•12: This Must Be New York
•13: Conversation to Teach Idioms
•15: Role Plays
•20: What’s Missing? Jigsaw
•24: Minimal Pairs
•25: Rubber Bands
• 27: Pitch and Stress
Reading:
Beginning Level
•32: Sight Words
•35: Word Patterns
•36: Context: Say “Blank”
•40: Reading Aloud to the Learner
• 41: Duet Reading
Intermediate Level
•28/30: Language Experience Activity
•31: Pre-Reading Discussion
•32: Sight Words
•35: Word Patterns
•36: Context: Say “Blank”
•37: Context: CLOZE
•41: Duet Reading
Advanced Level
•2: Newspapers as a Cultural Key
•28/30: Language Experience Activity
•31: Pre-Reading Discussion
•32: Sight Words
•35: Word Patterns
•36: Context: Say “Blank”
•37: Context: CLOZE
• 38: Word Parts: Compound Words
Writing
Beginning Level
•33: Phonics: Consonant Sounds
•35: Word Patterns
•43: Letter Formation
•44: Guided Writing: Sentence Completion with Pictures
• 51: Free Writing: “I Like to Eat Chocolate”
Intermediate Level
•35: Word Patterns
•37: Context: CLOZE
•45: Guided Writing: Prompted Sentences
•46: Guided Writing: Pictures
•53: Dialogue Journals (Similar to Written Conversation!)
Advanced Level
•35: Word Patterns
•37: Context: CLOZE
•39: Word Parts: Changing Root Words
•45: Guided Writing: Prompted Sentences
•48: Free Writing: Semantic Webs
•53: Dialogue Journals (Similar to Written Conversation!)
Reminders about helpful strategies introduced in tutor training
(You and your learner can decide what works best)
Speaking and Listening
Refer to your ESL Tutor Manual for more suggestions....
Dialogues
Role Plays
Turning written conversations into dialogues
Asking questions about pictures
TPR with real-life objects (for listening, or have learner give tutor instructions to practice speaking)
Minimal pairs for pronunciation
Reading
Choose readings together. Some ideas....
Biographies of people that interest your learner.
Song lyrics (listening to song or watching video)
Newspapers (News For You)
Bank statements, other consumer documents (tutor or learner could bring own)
Do lots of practice on how to activate your prior knowledge
Webbing, Mapping (“word bug”)
Brainstorming
Talking about a picture before reading
Talking about a title before reading
Making a list of what you want to learn from a reading
Your learner can keep a word bank, word list, or personal dictionary in an address book of words they are learning to read. Help your learner keep track of the words they are learning to recognize and understand right away.
Sight words:
Practice sight words through reading, flashcards, cloze exercises.
Make a list of words that don’t follow regular phonics and spelling rules that need to be memorized by sight, as they come up.
Maybe sketch picture associations with each of these words.
Writing
Webbing: Try different varieties, starting with tutor taking dictation to write the web.
Try choosing a topic together, then each writing a web about it.
Do Language Experience Activities as often as possible. Follow the LEA with the words written in columns if this seems helpful to your learner. The most important thing is for the tutor to write down what the learner says. Use your judgment about how much to model and how much to record your learner’s non-standard English with each LEA.
From an LEA, your learner could work on revising, etc.
Definitely try written conversation and do it regularly if your learner likes it. It gives you such good diagnostic information, and is such a great bridge to other lesson activities (such as dialogues, vocabulary-building).
Journaling: Each keep a daily journal and share each week. Generally, a journal is a place for thoughts, but not editing perfection, so accuracy in spelling/sentence formation is not important. It can create writer’s block to go back & “fix” spelling later, so it’s often best to leave a journal alone. The tutor (or learner) can make notes about spelling words that come up in the journal, and work on them separately. Of course some learners want to be corrected, so do whatever your learner prefers.
Experiment with word games that involve writing, especially those that help practice sight words (words your learner is trying to learn to recognize wherever they see them) or families of words that end the same way (right, sight, bright, etc.).
Together, write documents including those that your learner needs to communicate with other care providers, such as doctors and home health aides, medication lists, chore schedules, etc.
Do lots of process writing of stories your learner wants to write. Experiment with different methods of drafting, for example sometimes the tutor writes, sometimes the learner writes.
Teaching Culture
There are many books on US culture available from the library. Holidays are a common topic for ESL materials, but there are also books on gesture, belief systems, etc.
For learners who want to become U.S. citizens, we recommend starting with a new citizenship preparation book offered by New Reader's Press.
Other Suggestions
Keep a log of books read, words learned or people spoken to in English each month.
Keep a notebook of everything you have written and read together. Look back at it over time and make notes about where you both see progress.
Set at least one attainable goal each month. You may also want to set weekly goals. Track accomplishment of goals and what your learner learned on a chart in the notebook.
Have fun, and keep talking about your learner’s priorities and what is working best.
Last, but not least, KEEP IN TOUCH. Send in required reports, call or email staff or contact your mentor. Remember, we want to hear from you.