Transitioning IEC Students to Mainstream University Coursework

Transitioning ESL students from a language-learning environment to mainstream university classes is one of the main foci of Intensive English Programs (IEP). As most of my experience at the IEC has been with students at the B2 CEFR level (IEC’s Intermediate 3/Advanced 1), this transition is something I think about often. For me, one of the most beneficial aspects of attending conferences, like CoTESOL, is to be inspired by other educators and to incorporate their successful pedagogy into my own courses. Such an instance occurred at Maggie Sokolik’s Helping Students Transition to University-level Study (2017). Sokolik, the Director of the College Writing Programs at UC Berkeley, talked about the importance of assigning longer, authentic oral and written work for students in order to more accurately prepare them for university classes. She also spoke of the importance of asking students to synthesize information, such as watching a video or presentation, reading a textbook chapter or article, and then discussing and/or writing about these materials.

Synthesis Lesson Plan

When reflecting on synthesis activities I had used at previous universities, I recalled lesson plan on stereotypes from an Intercultural Communications course I created while teaching in Colombia. Students were actively engaged with watching, reading, discussing, and writing about the topic, as stereotypes connect to everyone’s lived experiences within their own countries and abroad. Although synthesizing authentic material proves challenging for intermediate-level students, it is a necessary skill for tertiary education.

Synthesizing authentic material requires careful scaffolding so as not to confuse or overwhelm students. The benefits of incorporating authentic material in B2 CEFR level (I3/A1) courses to motivate and engage language learners are well-known.

The use of authentic texts is now considered to be one way of maintaining or increasing students’ motivation for learning. They give the learner the feeling that he or she is learning the ‘real’ language; that they are in touch with a living entity, the target language as it is used by the community which speaks it (Guariento & Morely, 2001).

As our students’ language fluency increases, so does their ability to interact with the same material as their native-speaking peers. Clearly our I3 students are not yet able to access only authentic material in their classes and daily lives; however, scaffolding authentic material into our intermediate and advanced ESL classes better prepares students for mainstream university life (Kilickaya, 2004). Step-by-step instructions are provided below for a 100-minute lesson focused on synthesis. Additional expansions and adaptions are also included.

100-minute Lesson

Firstly, I3 Writing students watch and take notes about The Danger of a Single Story, which is a 20-minute TedTalk about stereotypes by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie. Secondly, they discuss the video in groups of three for 10 minutes. (See appendix 1 for discussion questions created by my Fall 2 I3 Listening and Speaking class. I added more questions to this document and edited theirs.) Thirdly, students have 20 minutes to read a 1.5-page excerpt from a freshman, undergraduate textbook, Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Fourthly, they discuss both materials in their small groups for 10 minutes. (See appendix 2). Finally, they have 30 minutes to write their Timed Writing, synthesizing the information from both sources and giving examples from their own lives. (See appendix 3).

Feedback & Modifications

In terms of student and administrator feedback, in Fall 2, I3 Writing students suggested I introduce stereotypes the class time prior to the main activity so that students have more time to contemplate the subject in their own lives before engaging with the video, reading, discussion, and timed writing. This advice aligned with Ruth Moore’s comments when she observed me piloting this lesson plan with our IEC students in Fall 2; she was concerned that not all students sufficiently understood the video and/or reading enough to adequately complete the timed writing. Because of this feedback, in Spring 1 and 2, we discussed the topic the class period before by watching videos about stereotypes of Koreans and stereotypes Koreans have of foreigners in their country. (See appendix 4). After watching and discussing these videos, students write a journal entry about stereotypes in their own lives, either in their native country or in the US. Furthermore, on the day of the timed writing, after students finish discussing the video and the reading, I ask for a volunteer to orally summarize these materials; in this way, if any students are still confused about either source, they now know their main ideas. Adding in these additional scaffolding steps resulted in better prepared students for the timed writing. (All activities for this lesson plan are posted in teacher-created materials on the network.)

Future Implications

Aside from practicing how to synthesize and connecting authentic material to a real-life issue, this lesson plan also shocked a number of students. Many of them were surprised by how difficult the reading and video were to comprehend. Because our I3 students may enter mainstream university classes within 6 months, introducing them to authentic, unmodified written and oral input is important to illustrate for them the level of academic English required. Even more importantly, this lesson is an excellent way to show them how they do not have to understand every single detail in order to complete a university assignment.

Furthermore, they were all able to complete the timed writing, with varying degrees of success, demonstrating a basic to nuanced understanding and synthesis of the materials. For example, a Spanish-speaking student’s thesis states “There are two reasons that make stereotypes a vague way to define someone: the first one is that they can be subjective and the second one is that they are usually based on a single story.” He was able to appropriately summarize the main idea of both sources while his essay gave succinct examples to further support his thesis. Students were also able to connect their own stereotypes about the US, prior to studying at UC Boulder, to the reading and the video. For instance, a female student wrote “When I was in China, I always saw some news which talked about how many people died in America. I was filled with fright. Nonetheless, I have lived in Boulder for 3 months, and I have never met any dangerous people or things.” Additionally, a Saudi woman wrote about the stereotypes other people have of her country and her attempt to change people’s misconceptions: “I always try to correct people’s idea of my country because they only watch the news and make a wrong decision. They think it is a dangerous place and there are a lot of terrorists.”

Conclusion

Overall, I consider the lesson plan a success and hope the materials are useful to other ESL/EFL instructors when incorporating synthesis of authentic materials in their intermediate-level classrooms. As IEP educators, we not only guide our students towards a higher level of language fluency, we also assist them with their transition into mainstream university classes. One of our responsibilities lie in preparing students for university academic culture; part of that role entails the explicit instruction of critical thinking skills like synthesis and analysis. This ensures that our students’ academic skills are on par with their native-speaking peers.   

References

• Guariento, W. & Morely, J. (2001). Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom. ELT Journal, 55 (4), 347-353.
• Kilickaya, F. (2004, July). Authentic materials and cultural content in EFL classrooms. The Internet TESL Journal,10 (7). 
• Sokolik, M. (2017, November). Helping Students Transition to University-level Study. CoTESOL annual conference, Denver, CO.

Appendices

Appendix 1: The Danger of a Single Story

Discussion Questions

1. Adichie says that Westerners have “a single story” about Africa. Where does this come from? 

2. Adichie visited Mexico and saw people going to work, rolling up tortillas in the market place, smoking, and laughing. This surprised her, and then she felt ashamed. Why did she feel that way? 

3. Adichie says that “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.” What does she mean? When you watch the news about Nigeria or Kuwait or China, who tells those stories? When you see stories about the U.S. who tells those stories? 

4. Adichie says that “it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place or that person.” What does she mean? 

5. Adichie says “When we reject the single story, when we realize there is never a single story about a place, we regain a kind of paradise.” What does she mean?
6. Why do people stereotype others? Why it is easy for people to only see the single story?
7. How can we change stereotypes? How can people stop believing a single story?

1. Almost all of the countries around the world, when they post international news, they focus more on showing some negative aspect of that country to their citizens. Sometimes it will make people accept a single story. How can this situation be changed? Should the government publish some rules?
2. If we want to keep a good impression about something, should people just forget all the negative memories? Do you think a single story should contain only the positive part of people?
3. How can we know more about a country like Nigeria? (Because when we talk about Africa, we will first think of poverty, disease and refugees.)
4. People are influenced by single stories. Is that because there are only the same stories or because people are more willing to choose to read the same type of stories?
5. Do you have a single story about a specific country or people? What was the first wrong opinion you’ve had about a specific group of people? Did it change over time?
6. Have you had the same experience as the writer?
7. What if someone only listens to a single story to know about you?

Appendix 2:

A Global Perspective on Stereotypes

Read and answer the following questions. Then, discuss the questions with your group.

One noteworthy study of an international nature was conducted by Buchanan and Cantril in the early 1950s. Respondents from eight countries were asked to describe people of other countries by choosing from a list of descriptive adjectives. The general findings of this study were that people in all eight countries displayed a tendency to use stereotypes in describing other national groups, that their own compatriots were always described in flattering terms, and that the choice of either complimentary or derogatory adjectives depended largely on the current state of relations between the nations.

On the basis of their evidence, Cuhanan and Cantril also concluded that stereotypes, rather than preceding people`s reaction to a certain group, ordinarily do not exist until objective events demand their creation. Thus, they stressed that stereotypes should not be thought of as causative but as symptomatic. As they put it, “Perhaps their important function is the wartime one of providing a rationale within which men are able to kill, deceive, and perform other acts not sanctioned by the usual moral code” (1953).

A clear illustration of the creation of stereotypes as a means of rationalizing events is the dramatic change after World War II in the stereotypes of Japanese and Germans held by Americans. During the war, negative images of these two groups – as evil, hostile, and cruel – prevailed, but by the 1960s the groups were seen as clean, efficient, and industrious. The images of Russians were also altered, but in the opposite direction. As World War II allies, the Russians were portrayed in generally positive terms, but this image was changed in the late 1940s with the onset of the Cold War and the emergence of the Soviet Union as the United States’ chief ideological foe. 

In the same way that wartime stereotypes are used to rationalize hostility toward enemy nations, stereotypes are used by dominant groups in multiethnic societies to sustain their competitive advantage over challenging or threatening ethnic groups. The negative images of blacks held by whites in the United States or South Africa have their counterparts in Northern Ireland, where Protestants hold adverse images of Catholics, or in Israel, where Jews of European origin often express negative beliefs about North African or Middle Easter Jews. In each of these cases, the persistence of negative group images can be explained as a rationale on the part of the dominant group for keeping the minority group or groups in a subordinate position. As long as groups are perceived as undeserving, their social disadvantages can be justified (Devine and Sherman, 1992).

The competitive use of stereotypes may often explain their very content. Simposon and Yinger note, for example, that those groups that have successfully competed with the dominant group cannot be labeled lazy or unintelligent, “so they are pictured as too ambitions, and with a crafty kind of self-interested intelligence” (1972). This can be seen clearly in the case of Jews in the United States and other societies where they have exhibited an uncommon ability to achieve economic success. Allport (1958) compares the admirable traits of Abraham Lincoln, who was president when slavery was prohibited, with the disliked traits of Jews and finds them quite the same. Both are generally described as thrifty, hardworking, eager for knowledge, ambitious, devoted to the rights of the average man, and eminently successful in climbing the ladder of opportunity. The key difference, explains Allport, is that the terms used to describe the Jews are often disparaging. Thus, thrifty become “tight-fisted,” hardworking becomes “overambitious,” ambitious becomes “pushy,” and concerned about human rights becomes “radical” (1958). Much the same semantic reversals of positive traits have been used in describing Chinese and East Indians in various Asian and African societies where they constitute economically successful minority groups (Hunt and Walker, 1974; Kristof, 1998).

The content of stereotypes may change periodically and sometimes radically, depending on different economic, political and social circumstances. Whatever their content, however, stereotypes are conveyed in subtle but effective ways through various socialization agencies, including the family, the school, and mass media. Thus, stereotypes cannot be seen as irrational pictures of ethnic groups held by a numerically insignificant part of the general population. Rather they are part of the society’s heritage, and as Ehrlich (1973) explains, no person can grow up in a society without having learned them.

Reference

• Marger, M. (2000). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives (pp. 73-75). Australia: Wadsworth.

1. When talking about their own group, people tend to use ___________________ adjectives but people describe others in _____________________ terms.      
2. “Cuhanan and Cantril stressed that stereotypes should not be thought of as causative but as symptomatic.” This statement means that…                                                                                                      
   
   1. everyone uses stereotypes so we should accept them. 
   2. stereotypes are created based on a specific situation.  
   3. people who stereotype are sick and need medical help.
3. People create stereotypes against their war enemies in order to justify killing them.     T/F
4. The main idea of this excerpt is…                                                                                        
   
   1. stereotypes are a natural part of society so we shouldn`t fight them.                                                     
   2. stereotypes occur throughout the world, but in different forms.                                                    
   3. to understand the usage and reasoning behind stereotypes.
5. Do you agree or disagree with this reading about stereotypes? Why? Give reasons to support your opinion.
6. Compare and contrast this reading to The Danger of a Single Story video. What is similar between the two sources? What is different?

Appendix 3: Timed Writing - Stereotypes

Synthesize, or combine, the information you learned about stereotypes from the reading and the video. Compare the details from these two sources to your own experiences within in the US or in your native country, which you wrote about in your Journal. Give specific examples about stereotypes and use APA format.

References

• Adichie, C. (2009, Oct 7). The danger of a single story. Ted Talks.
• Marger, M. (2000). A global perspective on stereotypes. Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives (pp. 73-75). Australia: Wadsworth.

Appendix 4: Journaling about Stereotypes

We’ll watch two videos: one about stereotypes of Koreans and another about stereotypes of foreigners in Korea. Stereotypes are often negative ideas about other groups of people with whom we have little knowledge or personal contact.

1. Based off the posters in the videos, what stereotypes do these people disagree with about themselves?

1. Think about these questions as you write your journal: What stereotypes do other people have of your country? What stereotypes do you have of other countries? Have you ever corrected someone’s stereotype about you? Have you ever learned that you were incorrect about a stereotype you had about another country, people, or culture?