ESL podcast supports the English Cafe episode 270 which discussed Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt; it is a continuation of a conversation on famous Americans which is guided by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast discusses the history of Eleanor Roosevelt in an manner to educate English Language Learners about American culture and history. I think this would be a great tool for students, not necessarily those students who are new to the country and do not have any English experience. The content is very cognitively demanding with little contextual support to help comprehension. Ideally this podcast would be preferred for high intermediate or advanced ESL students. This would be a fantastic tool for students who are preparing for the NYSESLAT and need to improve their listening comprehension skills. Words are enunciated, difficult or new vocabulary words are explained in simplified terms to increase understanding of the content. U.S. History teachers should implement this tool in their classrooms or should guide students toward this podcast as a reference for a research project. Not only would the students be able to gain content knowledge but English comprehension would be augmented simultaneously! (I am a huge fan of content-based instruction and feel that students benefit tremendously from it!) So to my fellow ESL teachers out there, use and share this tool with your peers! I have a strong feeling that your students will make great strides through the assistance provided in this podcast series.07 December, 2010
English Cafe! using podcasts in the classroom
ESL podcast supports the English Cafe episode 270 which discussed Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt; it is a continuation of a conversation on famous Americans which is guided by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast discusses the history of Eleanor Roosevelt in an manner to educate English Language Learners about American culture and history. I think this would be a great tool for students, not necessarily those students who are new to the country and do not have any English experience. The content is very cognitively demanding with little contextual support to help comprehension. Ideally this podcast would be preferred for high intermediate or advanced ESL students. This would be a fantastic tool for students who are preparing for the NYSESLAT and need to improve their listening comprehension skills. Words are enunciated, difficult or new vocabulary words are explained in simplified terms to increase understanding of the content. U.S. History teachers should implement this tool in their classrooms or should guide students toward this podcast as a reference for a research project. Not only would the students be able to gain content knowledge but English comprehension would be augmented simultaneously! (I am a huge fan of content-based instruction and feel that students benefit tremendously from it!) So to my fellow ESL teachers out there, use and share this tool with your peers! I have a strong feeling that your students will make great strides through the assistance provided in this podcast series.
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Sounds like great practice for advanced L2 learners. I also always used content-based lessons for my ESL students. I particularly used American History in order to provide the students with some background for what they would be studying in grades 7, 8 and 11. (I taught MS and HS). There were some very good American History texts made for L2 and I'm sure that there are even more today.
ReplyDeleteDr. Burgos