applied learning.

A Working Example

Follow this assessment to get an idea of where to begin,what to consider,and how to implement a solution.

Assessing an ESL Student

2

Meet Tania

T ania wants to learn English.

She recently moved to the US and now lives in Mississippi. Her first language is Spanish. She needs to increase her language skills for her career, friend-ships, and a better way of life. The question is:

HOW?

applied learning

case in point.

3

How can we help Tania?

applied learning

Where do we begin?

What are we shooting for?What are her goals?What are her dreams?

From an online video we first learned about Tania

a starting point

In order to understand where you need to go, first you need to know where you are.

Language Differences

Initial Observations

BE verb Making Questions

Prepositions Pronunciation Vocabulary

5

There are many differences between Spanish and English.Perhaps she is not yet aware of many of the common differences.

These are one of the more difficult word groups for learners. Tania exhibits limited use of them.

Being one of our most common verbs, she needs a bit more practice with this.

One of her biggest areas she needs to improve in.

She needs to practice formulating questions because their style is different than statements.

Expanding her word choice is a must.

6

we needmore

RESEARCH

INVESTIGATE

UNDERSTANDING

INFO

PLANNING

INSIGHT

7

The video gave some information about Tania but more is needed to help her.

Additional Formal &Informal Assessment Measures

applied learning

Data to be Collected Method of Collecting ItAspirations (Goals,Ideals, Feelings) Informal Interview

Background (Education, Family, Interests) Informal InterviewAcculturation Informal InterviewCognitive Academic Language Profi-ciency (CALP)

Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised (WMLS-R)

Overall Language Proficiency Short Questionaire Like the QIA

8

Connecting Tania with her dreams is of utmost priority.The goal is to empower her to reach her dreams by improving her English skills.

T he use of Spanish and English while conduc ting our informal

inter v iew process wil l be the di f-ference in gaining great informa -t ion to help Tanya and mediocre f indings . Questions wil l be aimed at her goals for the future but

also about her dai ly l i fe . We want to uncover how she l ives and how we can incorporate more of the US culture into her l i fe . This wi l l help empower her to become f ree to pursue her dreams conf idently on her own.

applied learning

9

F ormal assessment tests are not ver y pleasant but they are

necessar y. However, the use of formal tests is as a supplemental tool that should be and in this case wil l be used to round out the information we gather f rom

our inter v iews. These tests wi l l help show Tania‘s general langua -ge prof icienc y and do so in a way that gives us a clue about how much k nowledge she gained f rom her previous education.

Why & How

Connecting Tania with her dreams is of utmost priority.The goal is to empower her to reach her dreams by improving her English skills.

10

Creating a Continuous Assessment Strategy

Initial AssessmentBased on a Youtube video

Further TestingInformal Interviews and

Formal Tests

applied learning

11

Examine the FindingsWhat did the informal and formal information show us?

Create a System forContinuous Improvement

B ecause learning a second language has no f inite ending,

the assessment of Tania and the planning of her lessons needs to be continuous. How do we deal with this?

applied learning

12

The Wheels of Continuous Assessment

Research

I ntegrating Tania in a comfortable US lifestyle where she is learning on her own through everyday life ac-

tivities is our goal. Through this her other dreams will follow. We would use primarily Performance-Based Assessment activities in the classroom to tie practical grammar to real-life situations. This allows the teacher to assess as they teach and engages the student in more hands-on lessons. To supplement that idea we would build a portfolio of meaningful material that would count toward her ambitions and interests. Thus, our approach allows the teacher to gain valuable infor-mation to adapt future lessons to Tania‘s needs while giving her a quality lesson based on acquiring the real life skills needed for the things she desires.

applied learning

Portfolio Building

13

Evaluate

Build

Grammar

Roleplay

RetellingStories

Giving Directions

Brainstorming

Learn

RealLife

applied learning

Performance-BasedAssessments

applied learning.

Assessing an ESL Student

A Working Example

Follow this assessment to get an idea of where to begin, what to consider,and how to implement a solution.