Slides for TESOL 2017 presentation in Seattle, WA, March 23, 2017.

1. From EFL to ESL: Helpinglearnersbridgethe
communicativegap
Peter Neff
Gavin Brooks
Cameron Romney
Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

2. From EFL to ESL
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
International Students in the U.S.
Source: Open Doors

3. Internationalstudents:The EFL majority

4. EFL studentsin an ESL environment
✤ Communication challenges
✤ Limited-English-ability learners often self-segregate
(McCormack, 1998)
✤ An EFL grammar-focused (accuracy-focused) education
can inhibit “real world” communicative competence
(Tanaka & Ellis, 2003)

5. EFL studentsin an ESL environment
✤ Cultural challenges
✤ Ease of adjustment correlates to similarity of home culture
new environment (Chen, 1996)
✤ Students from collectivist cultures can have greater
difficulty fitting in (Toyokawa & Toyokawa, 2002)

6. Textbookchallenges
✤ EFL textbooks
✤ Less
communicative
focus
✤ Unrealistic
conversation
patterns
✤ L1 + L2 content
✤ ESL textbooks
✤ Assumed cultural
knowledge
✤ High proficiency
requirements
✤ Abrupt transition
for EFL learners

7. ImprovingESL Preparedness
The task:
Prepare EFL learners for the communicative, cultural,
and academic challenges of studying abroad
The hurdle:
Finding an effective mix of materials, activities,
and peer support to prepare them

8. Contents
✤ Our educational context
✤ From EFL to ESL: Three practical, communicative-focused
ideas to prepare learners for study abroad (SA)
✤ Modeling and analysis
✤ Scaffolding for academic oral presentations
✤ Peer mentoring

9. Our context
✤ Large Japanese university (Kyoto)
✤ Ongoing push to increase English SA programs
✤ Programs range in length from 2 weeks to 1 year, most in “inner circle”
countries
✤ Short-term programs – General English; Long-term – mix of GE and
academic courses
✤ Programs include short preparatory courses, pre-SA
✤ In our department, all learners study abroad for one year

10. Modeling and analysis for
more complicated
cognitive learning styles

11. EVALUATING
SYNTHESIZING
ANALYZING
APPLYING
COMPREHENDING
REMEMBERING
Bloom’s Taxonomy & Japanese Learners

12. EVALUATING
SYNTHESIZING
ANALYZING
APPLYING
COMPREHENDING
REMEMBERING
Lower Order
Thinking Skills
(LOTS)
Higher
Order
Thinking
Skills
(HOTS)
Bloom’s Taxonomy & Japanese Learners

13. EVALUATING
SYNTHESIZING
ANALYZING
APPLYING
COMPREHENDING
REMEMBERING
Lower Order
Thinking Skills
(LOTS)
Higher
Order
Thinking
Skills
(HOTS)
Student
Centered
Activities
Teacher
Centered
Activities
Bloom’s Taxonomy & Japanese Learners

14. EVALUATING
SYNTHESIZING
ANALYZING
APPLYING
COMPREHENDING
REMEMBERING
Lower Order
Thinking Skills
(LOTS)
Higher
Order
Thinking
Skills
(HOTS)
Student
Centered
Activities
Teacher
Centered
Activities
Bloom’s Taxonomy & Japanese Learners
ESL?
EFL?

15. Example
EFL Materials[ ]

23. LearningOutcomes
✤ Learn how to disagree during an academic discussion or general
conversation
✤ Introduce student-centered learning activities (in a low stakes
environment)
✤ Practice with higher-order thinking skills (in a low stakes environment)
✤ Prepare for study abroad
Direct
OutcomeIndirectOutcomes

24. Academic Oral
Presentations

25. Lessons learned from the research
✤ Repeated encounters necessary for acquisition (Hulstijn, 2001)
✤ Importance of drafts in learning academic writing (Hinkel, 2004)
✤ Feeling of tension and apprehension can have a negative effect on
students in L2 contexts (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1994)

26. Setting things up
Clear introduction to skills:
✤ Scaffolded and presented in an authentic way
Topics simple but academic in nature
✤ Topics scaffolded, repeated, and got progressively more difficult
Low stakes low cognitive demands:
✤ Start with smaller presentations in a “safe” environment

27. Presentation Activities

28. Activities
1. Carousel presentations
2. Breaking a presentation down into
stages
3. Self and Peer assessment

29. Carousel Presentations
Same presentation
multiple times
Maurice (1983): 4/3/2
technique
Able to present to peers
but less stressful than in
front of the class

31. Using stages

33. Noticing and After the Presentation
Peer assessment
✤ Similar to peer editing – students need to be taught how to do this
✤ Focus on specific items rather (or as well as) general opinion
Self reflection
✤ Video tape and students watch later

34. Peer Mentoring

35. Peer Resources
Target Culture
Peer
Deep cultural
knowledge
Resourceful
Shared Culture
Peer
Insight into SA
challenges
Shared L1 and
culture
Understanding
of needs
Two type of peer mentors
✤ Target culture (a student who is from
the SA culture)
✤ Shared culture (a student from the
same culture who has experienced SA)

36. Mentoringactivities
✤ Guest speaking
✤ Arrange for one (or more) student peers/mentors to present to a
group of pre-SA learners
✤ One-to-one mentoring
✤ A returnee/target culture peer is “assigned” to meet with one (or
more) pre-SA mentees
✤ Long-distance mentoring
✤ Pre-SA mentees get in touch with current-SA learners via video
calling, SNS, email, etc.

37. GuestSpeaking
✤ Ask SA-experienced peers to come speak to a pre-SA group
✤ Arrange topics in advance
✤ Guest speakers prepare short presentations (with guidance)
✤ After presentations, Q&A

38. One-to-oneMentoring
✤ Arrange meetings between pre-SA mentees and post-SA/native
mentors
✤ Mentees make a list of 10-20 questions or topics to discuss
✤ Mentors brings photographs, mementos, and ready practical advice
✤ Mentees journals; arrange follow-up meeting(s) to review
✤ Mentors remains available during mentees’ SA

39. Long-distanceMentoring
✤ Arrange one-to-one (or one-to-many) pairings between current and
future SA students
✤ Mentors arrange chat time, topics; mentees prepare questions
✤ With video, mentors can introduce homestay family members/dorm
mates, or even give a tour of the residence
✤ Connect on Facebook/Twitter/etc for insight into daily
life and social events

40. GuestSpeakingExample
✤ Every year, a group of last year’s SA learners visit my class 1-2 months
before new learners go abroad
✤ 5 SA countries = 5+ guest speakers over 2 class sessions (90 mins x 2)
✤ Pre-decided list of topics
✤ 10-minute presentations
✤ Whole-class Q&A (20m)
✤ Break into groups (30m)
Handling
academics
Social life
and making
friends
Preparing
for
homestay
Challenges
and
solutions
Daily life

41. Key Pointsfor SuccessfulGuestSpeaking
I. Stories + practical advice
II. Difficulties and solutions
III. Keep advice non-country specific (unless everyone is going to the same
country)
IV. Listeners should pre-discuss and write down questions in groups
V. Presentations and whole-class Q&A in English; Group discussion in L1
VI. Include a follow-up reflection session

42. About studying:
✤ -How difficult or easy were the classes you took at the university?
✤ -What was the class atmosphere like?
✤ -Was there a lot of homework?
About homestay:
✤ -Describe your homestay situation.
✤ -How easy or difficult was it to get along with your host family?
✤ -What kind of rules did your homestay family have?
✤ -What did you typically eat for meals?
Examplesof Q&A Prompts

43. Other:
✤ -What sort of social/volunteer events did you participatein?
✤ -What things should students bring from Japan?
✤ -What are good souvenirs for host families?
✤ -What did you do if you were homesick?
Examplesof Q&A Prompts

44. Questions?