English Grammar for ESL/EFL Teachers
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: email@example.com.
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.
the AL 8460 Site on uLearn
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
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
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?
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?
5a. When is the
5b. When is the
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
Meet with the class in the library on Thursday afternoons.
Work on the papers.
Use the PowerPoint materials to understand the grammar
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
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!
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
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
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?
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
Yes! I found the
article on examples and exemplification to read for the first small
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
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.
When you're satisfied
with your answers, you can click on this button to
send the form to me:
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until the GSU computer can process your replies. Thanks.
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start again, you can click on this button: