Strategies for Dealing with Unmotivated ESL Students

I receive letters and emails regularly from new teachers asking for advice dealing with students. I try to help them as much as possible by sharing my experience with them. Here is one reply I sent recently to a beginner  ESL teacher in Korea.

" Motivating students who do not want to learn is a timeless problem for teachers all over the world. It was a problem for me when I first started teaching but as I got more experienced, I was able to apply different strategies to help my students to learn. We still have problems at the VBS camp each year and we try many different things to get them interested.

I would like to share some of the strategies I used in the past with beginning teachers and lay people involved in teaching children in vacation bible school. Hopefully they can try and adopt them in their teaching:

1.       Must know the students background

-          One of the reasons Ontario does not have standard textbooks or standard lessons for teachers is the belief that all our students are different culturally, geographically, economically and socially. Therefore, as a teacher, we must get to know our students and see what their interests and what they can relate to so that our lessons can be meaningful to them.

-          If your students are from rural/ farming communities – then your lessons need to reflect their backgrounds.  We cannot have one set of standard lessons for all the students regardless of their background.

-           

You can get to know your students’ likes and interests by doing a student survey. You may need to have it translated and give it in bilingual language.

I always find that the topical approach teaching method may work better for students who are less interested. For instance, I may plan a unit of lessons if I know a lot of my students are from a small farming community e.g. on Visiting a Farm – then all my teaching material, vocabulary, activities, pictures, resources would be to do with farming or animals.  Animals is always a popular topic among students.




I know Koreans love Sports, so you may want to do a unit of lessons on the topic of different sports – they are crazy about soccer as Koreans made it to the World Cup and Canadian Koreans were crazy in Toronto when the Korean team played on the day.  

Your students don’t want to learn English as they may not see themselves leaving their hometown going to far away places like America.

How about showing them some Olympic / World Cup clips on sports where Korean team, and athletes were featured. Talk about one day maybe they would travel to see their country to compete and cheer on them. English would come in handy when travelling.

2.       Friendly competitions among students is healthy – Divide students in groups according to their ability of English and prepare different level of activities for each group. Reward the first group of students when that group can follow instructions and work on their activities.

 The reward can be class time for some board games, time on computer and an occasional treat from the teacher .

There has to be some students in a class who want to learn. Group these students together and have them work on activities to their level and reward these students.

Pay attention to the students who are doing well and are listening to you. Your attention is also their reward. Hopefully, their positive attitude would start influencing the others.

3.       Student of the Week – I did reward students at the end of the week and recognize not just those who were the best but those who have shown improvement. I made up a letter and sent it home to the parents informing them that their child was chosen Student of the Week/ Month.

You would have to write that letter in both English and Korean so that parents can understand.

You need to sign it or put a special stamp on it or something. This system worked really week for me and saved my neck in my first year teaching Special Education students."

R.T.
Director - TECA
Toronto Education &
Communications Associates
Toronto
Canada

Picture credit - Google Clip art

Toronto Light Fest 2017 in the Distillery District

Light Fest in Toronto







The Distillery District is located in downtown Toronto and the district has been designated as a national historic site.



















It used to be a place where whiskey and liquors were brewed.

But since 2000's, the area has been converted to a mixed residential business district with a focus on arts and cultural activities.

Toronto Light Fest

There are always something going on at the Distillery District every week.

















Canadians are very sensitive to  weather. Whenever there is a warmer day, we flock outdoors to enjoy it, especially in the mid of a grey cold winter.

Bands of Friendship - by artists from India

Lase week when the temperature broke the all time Toronto record at 17 degree C. for February, we loved it!

Bands of Friendship - by artists from India

We shed the many layers of thick clothing and took advantage of the mild weather.

Infinite Support - by artists from Netherlands

Some were wearing shorts skating, playing soccer or jogging outdoors.


We went to see the outdoor light installations by numerous international artists at the Distillery District.

 The Reactor - a big tree made of steel, by a Canadian artist

There were a number of beautiful and colourful light installations made with various materials such as the Reactor - a 15 feet high light sculpture made entirely out of twisted steel.

The Reactor is meant to represent our relationship between technology and nature.

My Light is Your Light by a Lebanese artist

One of my favorite sculptures was the My Light is Your Light sculpture made up of six life size curved neon tubes which represent the uncertainty of being.

These six sculptures are standing as if they have just arrived from far away. They are refugees like the artist himself, a Palestinian refuge living in Lebanon,

"You can only see the contours of the human figures. They are ultimately hollow, much like a refugee, "says the artist himself.

The Uniting Lightstar by artists of Netherlands

The Light Festival in Toronto  currently on display at the Distillery District is new to the city.

The Love Locks by a Canadian artist

It was really interesting looking at all the displays and learning about their meanings

The LOVE  light display changed into beautiful colours continuously.

We saw people climbing up to the sculptures and doing something there as if they were putting something on the display.

The LOVE Locks display was made up of a large numbers of locks with people's names on them.

Angels of Freedom by Israeli architects 

A popular light installation was the interactive one in the shape of an angel's wings completed with a halo.

Visitors posed for pictures in front of the Angel of Freedom

Many visitors to the Light Festival waited patiently and took turns to have their pictures taken under the angels' wings.

Deaf Culture Centre

The Distillery District is more than  a place for art exhibitions and cultural activities.

It also has a Deaf Culture Centre.

A lineup of good live shows at the theater in the Distillery District

The Michael Young Theatre - a live theatre where many performances take place.

Inside the Michael Young Theatre 

Distillery District has much to offer to its residents in the area as well as to the people of Toronto.

Cacao 70 was packed on a week night evening

It is a vibrant neighbourhood with restaurants, cafes and many interesting shops.

An Antique shop with many unique items at the Distillery District. 

Though it was a week night, the Cacao 70 restaurant and the antique store were packed with people.

A lovely night out at the Distillery District

I could not think of a better way to spend a Canadian winter evening than breathing fresh crisp air outdoor, strolling around and admiring creative artwork in a historic setting.

It was fun posing at the Toronto Light Festival!

We were glad we went downtown to enjoy this light festival for free on a spectacular winter evening!

R.T.
Toronto Light Festival
Distillery District
Toronto

How Can Humour/Laughter Help with Cancer and Catastrophic Events in Life?

Can humour and laughter help when one is faced with catastrophic events in life?  Read the following true stories and be the judge yourself.


Catherine Lawrence, a Canadian lawyer turned humorist, also the founder of a company called Survival of the Funniest received a diagnose from her doctor in 2006. It was not good news at all. She was diagnosed with lymphangioleiomyomatosis, also known as LAM.  This is a rare disease affecting women only. The doctor found numerous small cysts formed on her lung tissues. Catherine was told that she only had five to ten years to live.

A Laughter Basket

Catherine could not  believe what the doctor told her as she felt normal; physically, she was feeling fine except for the shortness of breath. However, she was not going to sit there and let this devastating news destroy her.

She decided that laughter was her best medicine.  She created a laughter room in her house stocked with various funny gadgets that could make people laugh. Catherine  also created laughter baskets to send to people trying to cheer them up.

Instead of feeling depressed and defeated, Catherine was proactive. She dedicated herself  to do something about it.  Catherine launched Green Eggs and LAM to do research on the disease that was affecting her health.  She did laugh out shows to raise money for research to find a cure for the disease with which she and many others have been afflicted.  She also invited scientists to talk about LAM.








Though Catherine  needs to carry an oxygen suitcase to help her breathe, she does not waste time dwelling on her own mortality. She takes positive actions and she wants to be a part of finding a cure for the disease. She was given ten years to live but she is past that now.*

Another person whom I have come across and has proved that laughter is the best medicine is my own pastor. Tragedies struck Pastor S. twice in the past decade. First, his dear wife was taken by cancer when their three children were still young. He worked really hard raising the kids who became angry for a long time with God for taking their mother away from them.

But Pastor S. stood strong on his faith and things started to get better with the children as they got older.

Just as he thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, his youngest son, a nineteen years old young man was diagnosed with bone cancer. He would need a match for a bone marrow donor. This was devastating news for a widower who had sweated tears and blood to raise the children alone. How did he manage his high level of stress at this catastrophic times? We asked him at one of our meetings.

" Trusting in God and watching comedies everyday so that I could laugh." Pastor S. replied. He told us that during the darkest period in his life when his family was struck with cancer the second time, he refused to wallow in anger or sadness.






 Instead he would go home every night, turn on the TV and watch the comedy shows for an hour. He would put all his troubles behind him for an hour and just focused on laughing and recharging himself. He wanted to remain healthy and strong for his family.

Finally a bone marrow donor was found and Pastor S.' son had the operation. Things started to look up!

Pastor S.'s son is currently  in remission. Prasie God! He feels well and strong and he wants to get back to work. He is now working and the family can get back to living a normal and healthy life again!

R.T.
Toronto
*Source - CBC National, Feb 1, 2017
Picture & Graphic credits - Google.com

Family Day - A Day to Spend Time with Your Family

Family Day, a provincial holiday in Ontario for families  to spend time together

Yesterday was Family Day in Ontario - a provincial holiday introduced by the Ontario government a few years ago.

Families enjoying time together on Family Day

The idea is to give a day off to Ontario workers and students so that they can spend the day together with their families.






I wish there was a holiday like that when our children were young so that we could have spent a day with them in the middle of winter to go skiing, skating or doing other winter activities.

Eaton Centre, one of the few places opened on Family Day

Business were closed except for shops  in Eaton Centre

Our children are grown now and are living away from home. We cannot be with them on Family Day.

 Instead we spent a day with my ninety year old mother.






My mom lives in a senior apartment in the suburb and she has not been downtown Toronto for a long time.

One of her favorite things to do is to go downtown and stroll around the shops in the China Town area.

It was a fine warm day yesterday and we took advantage of the nice weather.  We did exactly what my mom loves to do on Family Day.

The Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto was packed on  Family Day 

Mom enjoyed the visit to AGO

We picked mom up from the senior home, drove her to China Town where we had dim sum in one of the popular restaurants.

Though ninety years old, my mother is healthy and still quite mobile.  With the aid of a walking cane, she was able to walk and enjoy the stroll downtown on a fine day.

We took our time to visit the art gallery and shops in the area. AGO - the Art Gallery of Ontario had a special program on Family Day for kids and parents. We took Mom in to see some of the arts pieces. She really liked that too.











Since most of the shops and business were closed except for the area that has been designated as tourist areas, the restaurants and shops were busy.

We introduced Mom to some new food.

As we were not in hurry for anything, we walked leisurely towards the Eaton Centre, one of the few places open on Family Day.

It was a busy place, more so than during Christmas!








We looked at some shops and had our coffee break there.

We introduced Mom to some new food at the Market Restaurant where they had some non sweet treats for sugar conscious patrons.

Over coffee and tasty pastries, Mom talked about the time when dad and her used to go downtown to visit friends every weekend years ago. She had a chance to reminisce the good old days.

I have been busy with my study and have not spent a lot time with my mom recently.

My mom was happy during the day long outing

I was glad that we got to spend a whole day together.

My mom was really happy and she told me how much she enjoyed the day long outing and that she was able to walk a few blocks.

Whenever my mom is happy, I  am happy too!

R.T.
Downtown
Toronto
Family Day 2017