AL 8460
English Grammar for ESL/EFL Teachers
Spring, 2009
updated 12/29/2008

In this class, you will learn about English grammar and about the teaching of English grammar to ESL/EFL/ESOL students. In addition, this course is the only course in AL/ESL that is taught entirely on the Web. Since the course is taught online, the orientation materials are presented online, too.

If you ever need to talk about the class, I would like very much to hear from you. Please give me a call at 404-728-0455 or email me at my comcast address: patbyrd@comcast.net. I'm easier to reach by email than by phone!

Please fill in the following information, and then when you click on "send" it will be emailed to me. I strongly urge you to write the answers in Microsoft Word and then to copy and paste them into the form. You could be quite frustrated if you write part of the answers and then your system crashes and you lose all the work.

When you have finished filling in the form, click on the "Send it in!" button. I get back to you to talk by email about your answers and your questions. Thanks!

 

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Finding the AL 8460 Site on uLearn
at Georgia State University

Log on to uLearn at GSU (WebCt). When you click on this link, the GSU Ulearn site will open in another window. So, you can work back and forth between this window and the uLearn site at GSU.

After you get to uLearn, go to the site for AL 8460.


Finding the AL 8460 Course WebSite

Many of the materials for AL 8460 are on a website outside of uLearn. You can find our website at http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar. You'll need to learn which parts of the course are on uLearn and which parts are on this website. After about a week, you'll get accustomed to this division of resources. If you get confused, be sure to give me a call or send an email so that we can talk about working on the course materials.

1. Look closely at the syllabus for the course. I emailed you a copy. A copy is also provided on the AL 8460 website. What are the major goals for the course? Please state the goals briefly in your own words--do NOT just copy and paste them into the form. I need to know that you understand them. Thanks.

2. The syllabus begins with a table connecting the course to the Student Learning Outcomes for the AL/ESL MA in Applied Linguistics. How will we achieve Goal D on analytical and critical thinking about teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL? Please explain in your own words.

3. Find the section of the syllabus on the grades for the course.

3a. What work is graded? What kinds of things do you do to earn points for the course?

Weekly discussions on Ulearn
A paper on a grammar topic
A paper about teaching & learning grammar
Weekly meeting of the class in Dr. Byrd's office
Quizzes on the Web (1 point per set of quizzes)
A final examination
Creation of topics for a small group discussion on Ulearn
Having perfect scores on all the quizzes
Weekly emails with Dr. Byrd about English grammar & her lectures

3b.How many points does it take to earn a"B+"?

3c. How many points do you earn for completing this questionnaire?

1 point
2 points
4 points
10 points

4. You will write 2 papers this semester. Answer these questions about those papers.

4a.What's the topic for Paper #1? When is it due?

4b.What's the topic for Paper #2? When is it due?

4c.How are the two papers different? How are they related?

4d. Can you turn in a late paper? Yes! No!

5a. When is the mid-term?

5b. When is the final examination?

6. What work do you do each week for this course?

Read the assigned chapters in the Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
 Do the quizzes that go with the assigned chapters in the Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
 Read an article about teaching grammar.
 Submit Paper #1
 Participate in a small group discussion on Ulearn.
 Lead the discussion.
 Email Pat Byrd with a question about her lecture or the grammar in the reading.
Meet with the class in the library on Thursday afternoons.
 Work on the papers.
 Use the PowerPoint materials to understand the grammar reading.

7. Course Calendar: Find the schedule of readings for the course. I emailed you a copy, and there's a copy on the website for AL 8460.

7a. What are you supposed to read for the first week of class?

7b. What are you supposed to read for the 5th week?

7c. Where do you find the reading materials? Check the syllabus to find out!

8. Each participant creates a set of discussion topics based on an assigned reading about the teaching of English grammar. What topic do you lead and when? What reading do you work with? (Check the names for the leaders on the course calendar.)

9. Look again at the calendar for the course. It gives information about the discussion topics for the small groups.

9a. What's the discussion topic for the first week of class?

9c. What's the topic for the 4th week of the semester?

10. Much of the content for the course is provided in the individual chunks called "lectures." These are like the "lectures" provided by a teacher of a class in the regular face-to-face model. Go to the website for AL 8460 and follow the link to "lecture 1." (The website is at www2.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar.)

10a. What materials are in Lecture 1?

10b. What topics are discussed as the subdivisions of the lecture?

10c. Click on the "welcome" and listen to my welcome to the course! Could you hear the lecture?

Yes, I heard your voice and the welcome message.
 No, I couldn't hear a thing.

11. The second major part of this course occurs in the small group discussions on uLearn. These discussions build on a combination of (a) assigned readings, (b) your study in other courses, and (c) your experiences as a teacher/learner of languages. The remainder of this orientation will focus on helping you learn to use the discussion section of the uLearn site. Please go to the discussion area on uLearn. Find the little push pin icon for "discussions" and click on that to go to the discussion area. You will be able to open only the discussion for your small group for the "getting started" topic.

11a. Who are the other members of your small group? Write their names here. A list of the members is given on the AL 8460 Website, and I sent you a copy of the list, too.

11b. Based on the syllabus, how many messages do you have to post each week?

1
6
10
30

11c. How do you know what to talk about in the uLearn discussions? Where do the discussion topics come from?

12. The reading to use for the uLearn discussion for the first week of class is called "Exemplification & Examples." You will need to make a copy of that reading to use for the first week of class. A copy is linked to the first page of the AL 8460 Website.

Yes! I found the article on examples and exemplification to read for the first small group discussion.
No! I couldn't find the article. Help!

13a. For practice, go right now to the discussion topic on uLearn for the first week called "getting started" and introduce yourself to the other members by your group by replying to the message that I've posted.

Yes, I introduced myself in the small group discussion on uLearn
No, I couldn't get the system to work. Help!

13b. Each small group discussion lasts 2 weeks. How can you tell when a discussion begins and ends? Where do you get that information?

13c. What're the beginning and end dates for the discussion on the article on "Teaching Grammar" by Larsen-Freeman?


14. How often do you have to talk with me by mail? What do we talk about?

15. What questions do you have about the course?

When you have finished filling in the form, be sure to print a copy for your records--and also to have a copy in case the computer crashes or otherwise destroys your input before you have a chance to click on the "Send it in!" button. Thanks!

When you're satisfied with your answers, you can click on this button to send the form to me: Please be patient until the GSU computer can process your replies. Thanks.

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