Creating Learning Partners: A facilitator’s guide for training effective adult literacy tutors

Activity C

Where the learners are coming from

The readings in this activity show how differently languages are put together. This activity also offers a glimpse of how learners may perceive English grammar.

Demonstration
Preparation Read over the Korean grammar example below in advance, as it is difficult to read. Or choose another example that suits your community better. STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS Ask tutors to listen to the following paragraph on grammar, which uses Korean grammar principles with English words. Or use the example that you have developed that will use the grammar principles from that language with English words. Read the following passage or your passage. (Note: This paragraph comes from Myrina Rutten-James’s English as a Second Language Tutor Training Kit, published in 003 by the Regina Public Library. The translation is by Ellen Chun Hee Son.) The words in parentheses do not exist in the Korean language. They were added to this particular piece of work to make the meaning a bit clearer for the English reader. Do not read the words in parentheses to tutors. Grammar your lesson the focus (of) should not be while, (according to) research (has shown that) grammar in a meaningful way teaching to learners helpful can be. Grammatical forms from language to language vary because, (having) a tutor these forms the meaning (of) unravel help for ESL learners (the) learning process quicker will make. Grammar won’t understand learners (who) understanding and communicating a lot of difficulty will have since they how (to) English words together put and how (to) they receive (the) words interpret don’t know. Ask tutors if they found the passage difficult to understand. They probably will say yes. Remind them that only the word order was different and the words were all English. Tell tutors that some learners will find the word order in English much different than their first language and it will take some time to make sense of English grammar. Read the version with English grammar below as tutors will want to know what the reading “really” said. While grammar should not be the focus of your lesson, research has shown that teaching grammar can be helpful to learners. Because grammatical forms vary from language to language, having a tutor help unravel the meaning of these forms will make the learning process quicker for ESL learners. Learners who do not understand grammar will have a lot of difficulty understanding and communicating since they do not know how to put English words together and how to interpret the sentences they receive.

Demonstration

Preparation

Read over the Korean grammar example below in advance, as it is difficult to read. Or choose another example that suits your community better.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

Ask tutors to listen to the following paragraph on grammar, which uses Korean grammar principles with English words. Or use the example that you have developed that will use the grammar principles from that language with English words.
Read the following passage or your passage. (Note: This paragraph comes from Myrina Rutten-James’s English as a Second Language Tutor Training Kit, published in 003 by the Regina Public Library. The translation is by Ellen Chun Hee Son.) The words in parentheses do not exist in the Korean language. They were added to this particular piece of work to make the meaning a bit clearer for the English reader. Do not read the words in parentheses to tutors.
Grammar your lesson the focus (of) should not be while, (according to) research (has shown that) grammar in a meaningful way teaching to learners helpful can be. Grammatical forms from language to language vary because, (having) a tutor these forms the meaning (of) unravel help for ESL learners (the) learning process quicker will make. Grammar won’t understand learners (who) understanding and communicating a lot of difficulty will have since they how (to) English words together put and how (to) they receive (the) words interpret don’t know.
Ask tutors if they found the passage difficult to understand. They probably will say yes. Remind them that only the word order was different and the words were all English. Tell tutors that some learners will find the word order in English much different than their first language and it will take some time to make sense of English grammar.
Read the version with English grammar below as tutors will want to know what the reading “really” said.
While grammar should not be the focus of your lesson, research has shown that teaching grammar can be helpful to learners. Because grammatical forms vary from language to language, having a tutor help unravel the meaning of these forms will make the learning process quicker for ESL learners. Learners who do not understand grammar will have a lot of difficulty understanding and communicating since they do not know how to put English words together and how to interpret the sentences they receive.