LITERACY @ ECSD
Assessing Approaches
The PBLA Practice Guidelines defines Portfolio Based Language Assessment or PBLA as an approach were "together, teachers and learners collaborate to set language-learning goals, compile numerous examples of language proficiency and learning in a variety of contexts over time, analyze the data, and reflect on progress. In this way, learners are encouraged to become more autonomous, active, and self-aware language learners, engaged in and responsible for their learning."
Teaching Approaches
Task Based Language Teaching or TBLT is based on the belief that better learning happens when we ask students to use language to accomplish a meaningful real world tasks. TBLT prompts teachers to use authentic materials and exercise reverse planning or backward design. Planning in TBLT takes shape within a module plan. A module plan gives teachers an outline of what will be taught and how that helps to reach the end point.
To see more about TBLT, use this link 🔗.
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Whole-part-whole is an interactive instructional approach that works well with TBLT and is described by the Support Kit of the document ESL for ALL as an approach that "reinforces the notion that each task is comprised of a series of smaller, more manageable steps that help learners ultimately perform targeted real-world tasks."
The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks has a great video that shows a teacher using WPW in a CLB 2L class. The video is 12:46 minutes long; a description of how the lesson for the video was planned can be found on pages 54 to 59 and its module plan, lesson plan, handouts, SU and ATs are on pages 136 to 150 from the Support Kit of the document ESL for All (2016).
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A Practical Guide to Teaching ESL Literacy (2018) from Bow Valley College has a section on WPW that goes from pages 199 to 203. This section showcases the use of WPW as an approach to reading instruction by giving examples of what happens in each part and linking WPW to literacy skills.
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The Language Experience Approach or LEA, according to the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, is "a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language. " In short, "beginning literacy learners relate their experiences to a teacher or aide, who transcribes them. These transcriptions are then used as the basis for other reading and writing activities."
Taylor’s article, The Language Experience Approach and Adult Learners 🔗, talks about two variations of LEA (Personal and Group Experience) and explains further steps to follow when using this approach, ​
​The short video below (3:52 minutes) titled Language Experience Approach from Bow Valley College describes LEA by a teacher who went to a field trip to the zoo. Bow Valley’s newest literacy resource, A Practical Guide to Teaching ESL Literacy (2018) explores LEA from pages 208 to 212. It mentions things to do after LEA to develop literacy skills and bridges WPW with LEA.