I just finished reading an interesting article about how the brain needs to perform differently for readers of Arabic compared with readers of Hebrew and English. Here is a chunky excerpt that I found especially interesting:

In the second experiment, the subjects were presented with various words on the right or the left side of the screen, which directs the information to be processed by the opposite hemisphere (i.e., when the proper or nonsense word is screened on the right side of the screen, it will be processed by the left side of the brain, and vice versa, a stage called "unilateral"). The various words were then shown on both sides of the screen, while under the target word there was a symbol that indicated that this was the word that they should treat, while the other stimulus appeared on the other side of the screen in order to distract the brain processing (this stage is called "bilateral").

A comparison of both experiments establishes the degree of interaction between the two hemispheres during the brain's processing of the language being checked. The results show that for readers of Hebrew and English, both hemispheres of the brain are independently involved in the task of reading, such that neither side is dependent on the other. By contrast, for the Arabic readers, it emerged that the right hemisphere was not able to function independently in the reading assignments without using the resources of the left hemisphere.

According to Dr. Ibrahim, the significance of the findings is that despite the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew, when reading the former the right brain can't function independently and the cognitive burden becomes especially heavy, making it more difficult to read the language, even for those whose mother tongue is Arabic. "This proves that the Arabic language doesn't behave like other languages when it comes to anything connected with decoding its graphic symbols," said Dr. Ibrahim.

"The study's results show once again that on the word reading level the structural shape of Arabic orthography, that is, the graphic contours of the written language, activates the cognitive system differently. Thus, the question is again raised as to whether in the modern world those who speak certain languages have an advantage over those who speak other languages; and the role of pedagogy in improving reading skills among regular readers and those having difficulty is brought once again to the fore."

Accessibility

I will probably write about this more than once because it should be something that teachers consider every time they select or design new material.

I have some great resources for helping with this where online components are concerned.

Make reading text online easy!

A colleague gave me two great websites for listening:

A blog: English Teachers Everywhere - I particularly like the "Who's got what?" game and the looped dictation.

And a past blog post from a different writer: The Best Listening Sites for English Language Learners

Mr. Yuck Stickers

I have wanted to do a unit on poison control for a while since a majority of my students are also parents. I just found out that Bartell Drugs hands out Mr. Yuk Stickers for free. I could also have students write to the Pittsburgh Poison Control Center to get some free stickers. Their website also has a Mr. Yuk song!

The phone number on the Mr. Yuk sticker is 1-800-222-1222 and it calls the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Their website features good info, particularly the pages for children and teens. They also have brochures available in 13 languages, and free posters.

Mr. Bean

From the AEIS listserve, someone suggested using Mr. Bean videos as conversation starters and vocabulary builders. They said slapstick in general is good, which I agree with. It's easy to understand and there's not usually too much use of puns or word-play, but you still get authentic language. A great way to implement humor in the classroom.

Here's a link to a Mr. Bean full episode with 3 acts.

Act 1: Mr Bean sits an exam and is blissfully happy until, too late, he realizes that he has studied the wrong maths equations.

Act 2: Mr Bean tries to change into his swimming trunks at the beach without anyone seeing his bits.

Act 3: Mr Bean tries to stifle a sneeze in church.

With Mr. Bean, specifically, it is a British show, so there is a great opportunity for discussion about British vs. American culture and pronunciation. Also because Mr. Bean doesn't speak much, there's great opportunity for students to retell the story by generating their own language.

I'd like to also find something that is American so that we can focus on American pronunciation. Someone suggested Father of the Bride (trailer here) as they said that Steve Martin has pretty clear, slow speech.

I like that idea, but I'm also wondering if there isn't something else with shorter acts that might be better.

Pronunciation workshops

I'm playing with the idea of offering pronunciation workshops on the last 3-4 weeks of class next quarter. I have always wanted to do something to help the students in my class who all speak the same language or all have trouble with the same pronunciation issues. The problem has been, what do I do with the students for whom the pronunciation point is not an issue?

Well, I think I've got it. I have been taking my students to the computer lab weekly and I have them set up on work they can do independently. I sometimes use the class period to have them work on computer skills like sending emails in an easy format to follow, or searching for information about the community, but I think for the last few weeks, I would be able to work in a few very short pronunciation workshops.


Voicing:
Spanish
Korean
Khmer


W vs. V
Russian (and dialects of)
Spanish


/sh/
Spanish, Vietnamese, Khmer, Cantonese


/ch/
Vietnamese


Word-initial consonant blends (block, truck, strait )
Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean


Word-final consonant blends (old, fist, cart)
Vietnamese, Cantonese, Haitian Creole, Korean


/th/
Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Khmer, Russian


I have found a website with countless lists of minimal pairs tha tcould be a good resource for developing more materials for students to work with.

Minimal Pairs for English RP: lists by John Higgens. It is RP (Received Pronunciation aka "The Queen's English") but I think it's a good place to start.



Also, my study buddy mentioned that a friend of hers is using IPA to help with learning English pronunciation faster. I looked up some websites to help her learn IPA, so here there are:
General IPA:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ipa.htm

http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html

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

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet

IPA as it relates to English:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/english.htm

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

They reference this website for comparing English pronunciation around the world:
http://www.soundcomparisons.com/
It's probably not good for intermediate level students as they are still working on forming one recognizable pronunciation for each sound in English. However, it could be very fun for some more advanced students.

Teaching Tips/ Jazz Chants

I was just looking at some videos for improving your teaching http://www.teflvideos.com/ and I really liked one about "Breaking Bad Teaching Habits". It talked about

1. Talking to the board (don't do it 'cause your students can't hear you when you're writing)


2. Repeating what your students say (it's unneccesary)


3. Interrupting students (allow them think time)

I also liked the one about jazz chants.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_nPUuPryCs That video is with the inventor, Carolyn Graham and she explains how to create your own. I think I might try to work in a jazz chant once or twice a quarter. It's really good practice but some people will get tired of it very fast.

Songs with verb tenses:

http://youtu.be/TBpCxe4pK2E I just happened on this while searching for jazz chants. It would be great for practice identifying verb tenses. I need to type out the list for future use!