ESL Meets DSL
Adult students learning to speak English as a second language benefit from
a culturally contextual approach—sentences and paragraphs that reflect
contemporary culture and business practices. Not only do the students then learn
English, but along the way they also learn many of the actual words and phrases
English speakers use in everyday life. With computers such an omnipresent force
in contemporary life, making them the theme of an ESL course makes sense. One
such course is being offered by Contra Costa College's English for International
Students (EIS) department, where students study English in the context of the
Internet.
Helen Kalkstein Fragiadakis, chair of CCC's EIS department, teaches the English
through the Internet course. The course, which enrolls 10-15 intermediate to
advanced ESL students, teaches general English skills (vocabulary, grammar,
pronunciation, reading, and listening) using, in large part, the Internet as
source material. The foundation of the course is GlobalEnglish.com, an online
English language learning service, which offers more than 700 hours of coursework
on its Web site. Kalkstein Fragiadakis, who is also a textbook author and member
of the GlobalEnglish advisory board, discovered that the Internet had a lot
to offer her students. "Using the Internet, they get to read current material
that is always being updated. It's always fresh content. The GlobalEnglish site
is written with the ESL student in mind, so it's a great place for them to start
surfing the Web," says Kalkstein Fragiadakis.
Kalkstein Fragiadakis's students came to the class with a range of computer
experience, from none at all to quite a bit. "We (she and her part-time
teaching assistant) did spend some time working with the novices, but the more
experienced students helped the ones who knew the least," she notes. She
points out that students learn a lot of English while they're learning to use
a computer. "Learning computer basics, navigating Web sites, getting information,
they use and improve their English skills. They're reading, speaking, listening,
all while they're learning about computers."
Each of Kalkstein Fragiadakis's students took a GlobalEnglish placement test,
which determined which course they would take to begin their studies. GlobalEnglish
offers dozens of levels of exercises, packaged as assignments within courses,
both in general English and business English. The site supports 10 languages,
with an all-English alternative for anyone who d'esn't speak one of those.
In the course, students worked through exercises both in class and as homework,
sent each other e-mail, and chatted with each other in the GlobalEnglish community
chat rooms. "Students loved the chat feature, talking with other students
from all over the world," notes Kalkstein Fragiadakis. They used both the
open chat and hosted chat functions, and occasionally the voice chat, which
was great practice but too noisy to use in class on a regular basis. "Chatting
and e-mailing helped them speak and write in real English."
Kalkstein Fragiadakis also encouraged students to visit the skills center,
essentially an online language lab, as well as the GlobalEnglish "magazine,"
a page with weekly news, features, games, and an idiom or slang word of the
day. Kalkstein Fragiadakis created clever treasure hunts and activities that
sent her students through the Web site's many areas looking for particular information,
projects that enriched both their computer expertise and language skills.
Beginning this summer, Contra Costa College will offer college credit for online
courses in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) through GlobalEnglish's
Web site. Students, who can enroll at Contra Costa from anywhere in the world,
will take their courses entirely through GlobalEnglish. Kalkstein Fragiadakis
believes this is the first complete college credit program for online ESL study.
Elisabeth Xiezopolski, an instructor at Contra Costa, will be the departmental
contact person and "e-teacher," and will host the Contra Costa/GlobalEnglish
chat room. The courses are all self-paced and require an online final exam.
Contra Costa will make as many campus resources available to the online students
as possible, including access to the library's database, as well as an online
copy of the student newspaper.
Xiezopolski will conduct regular office hours, timed, she says, "to be
most beneficial to my students, wherever they happen to be located." Xiezopolski
is excited about her new role as an e-teacher. "I'm looking forward to
expanding and learning along with my students. It's a great way to have contact
with people from all over the world," she says. The course material offers
real benefits, she notes. "GlobalEnglish's site gives ESL students quick
and easy access to news, and it's fresh all the time. It's really exciting material
to work with."
The for-credit online ESL program begins June 25. Helen Kalkstein Fragiadakis
will continue to offer "English through the Internet" to on-campus
students in coming semesters.
For more information, contact Helen Kalkstein Fragiadakis at [email protected]
or Elisabeth Xiezopolski at exiezopolski@contra
costa.cc.ca.us.
