Empowered Voices: Using Speech Technology Applications Within Sheltered Drama

Resources Used

The British Broadcasting Commission or BBC has very good web-based language resources for English language learners. Within Ms. Grinnell’s Grade 10 sheltered drama class, students used mirrors and followed along with the video recording related to the correct mouth shapes and pronunciation of the 44 English phonemes. The presenter makes each sound slowly and students are able to see what is happening with the lips, teeth and tongue in order to correctly pronounce the sound (e.g., words are also included for pronunciation practice and the generation of word lists related to each sound).

The video begins with English vowel sounds as these are often easier for ELLs to learn. The practice of these sounds occurred at the beginning of drama class and was broken down over the course of several weeks. It involved all students in the class entering the room, getting a mirror from the storage tub, sitting down on chairs and then simultaneously watching the video clips projected via an NEC In-Focus machine. As such, no formal lesson plan was developed nor is one really required in order to engage in this learning activity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htmkbIboG9Q

A number of books have been very instrumental in developing an understanding of when and how to teach pronunciation and speech to ELLs. These include:

Coelho, Elizabeth. Adding English: A Guide to Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms. Pippin Publishing, 2014.

Denham, Kristin and Lobeck, Anne. Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009.

Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Heinemann, 2015.

The lesson plans and materials presented in our uploads represent the work of four different staff members across four different classes and two different school sites. We have used course codes in the titles of these materials to help clarify which lessons and materials apply to which sites and which student populations. We have also endeavoured to give credit to the work completed by the relevant staff persons.

ELDAO signifies work developed and created by Christopher Bell and Nadia Gandhi, Ridgemont High School, OCDSB. These items were used with two different AO Level English Language Development classes (students with little or no previous exposure to English and to formal education).

ESLDO signifies work developed and created by Diane Merhi, Ridgemont High School, OCDSB. These items were used with an English as a Second Language class.

ADA1OS and ADA2OS signifies work developed and created by Nadia Gandhi, Ridgemont High School, OCDSB, and/or Deborah Grinnell, Glebe Collegiate Institute, OCDSB. These items were used with Grade 9 and Grade 10 sheltered drama classes that included students ranging from AO to EO levels.

Resources Created

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ADA2OS - What is FORMAL Language? - Grinnell

A companion handout explaining formal language, it is intended to help sheltered drama students understand the formal register of English language

ADA2OS - What is INFORMAL Language? - Grinnell

A companion handout explaining informal language, it is intended to help sheltered drama students understand the informal register of English language

ADA2OS - What is SLANG Language? - Grinnell

On the basis of student input, this handout and two others (What is Informal Language? and What is Formal Language?) were created for the ADA2OS class. As most ELD and ESL programs focus very heavily on reading and writing, students are often over-exposed to the formal register of English. As a result, students have trouble recognizing slang, informal and/or idiomatic registers and understanding when the use of each is and is not appropriate. As a result, we constructed these instructional materials to be used in conjunction with No Direction Scenes showcasing examples of Slang, Informal and Formal registers and social situations.

ADA2OS - NDS Slang Informal Formal - Grinnell

Three practice No Direction Scripts showcasing slang, informal, and formal English. Students are to use their imaginations to develop a scenario that makes sense given the words spoken in the script. Thinking about and then developing scene elements such as characters, relationship, setting and basic plot scenario help students to further understand the circumstances in which a particular register of language would and would not be used. Adjusting their language selection and delivery based upon context is an important learning objective for all ELLs.

ADA2OS - NDS- Practice of the “th” phoneme - Intermediate (CO) Level

A No Direction Scene used in ADA2OS to help students practise the "th" phoneme. This has been written to suit intermediate level ELLs.

ADA2OS - NDS- Practice of the “th” phonemes - Beginner (AOBO) Levels

A No Direction Scene used in ADA20S to help students practise the "th" phoneme. This script was written to suit beginner level ELLs. After listening several times to native English speakers read the scene, students rehearsed in pairs focusing on accurate pronunciation, fluency and word stress. They then recorded themselves using Vocaroo.

ADA2OS - NDS- Practice of the “th” phoneme - Advanced (DOEO) Level - Grinnell

A No Direction Scene used in ADA2OS to help students practise the "th" phoneme. This has been written to suit advanced level ELLs.

ESLDO - TheCage - Read Write Worksheet - Merhi

This is our template for an instructional handout explaining how to open and use Google Read and Write. It was originally created for use with an ESL DO level class. It can easily be modified to suit the needs and capabilities of both ELD and ESL students. Diane Merhi is the creator.

ESLDO - The Cage - A short story

This short story was used as part of the ESL DO lesson related to Google Read and Write. It is a companion piece to the handout titled "ESLDO – The Cage – Read Write Worksheet – Merhi."

ELDAO - Working with Google Read Write - Bell and Gandhi

This is part of the lesson on the use of Google Read and Write that was created for an ELD AO class. It was used to help students recognize the Read and Write icon, open the app and use the function whereby the text is read aloud to them by a native English speaker, and finally practise using the "read aloud" function themselves.

ELDAO - Read Write - Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain - Bell and Gandhi

This handout is the second part of our lesson related to using Google Read and Write with ELD AO level students. This is text from a book studied in class. It provides two passages which the students can hear being read aloud. It also asks students to use the coloured highlight function to begin self-identifying words which they struggle to pronounce. This will allow students and teachers to begin differentiating instruction so that materials and practice drills can be adjusted to suit the particular speech challenges of individual pupils.

ELDAO - How to Use Vocaroo - Bell

This is our base template with instructions on the use of Vocaroo as a recording app. It was created for use with an AO level ELD class. It can and has been adapted for use with other ELLs such as CO ESL students in ADA2OS.

ADA2OS - How to Use Vocaroo - CO Level - Grinnell

An adaptation of the Vocaroo instructions base template for use with intermediate level (COESL) students in a Grade 10 sheltered drama class

ADA1OS - No Direction Scripts - Gandhi

This handout contains the first four examples of No Direction Scenes used with Grade 9 ELL students in a sheltered drama class. Students used Google Read and Write and listened to the scenes being read by a native English speaker. They then had rehearsal opportunities before using Read and Write to record the scenes in pairs.

ADA1OS - Example Student Reflection Journal - Gandhi

Nadia Gandhi decided to use Google Translate in conjunction with a reflective journal assignment within her Grade 9 sheltered drama class. The translation app helped students to understand the three required questions and also to help them translate written responses from their first language (L1) into English. Students then practised speaking their response aloud. The final step was to use Vocaroo to record themselves speaking their journals using either English or their first language. This document shows the assignment instructions and an example of an actual student's journal response.

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