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ESL forum >
Teaching material > ESL resources
ESL resources
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s.lefevre
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ESL resources
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I �d like to open (again) a discussion about what we can consider an ESL resource or not. Every day we have some alphabets, some pictures with a title or only some numbers. When reported as a non ESL resource, some members claim that it can be used for young learners, that there is a task and so one. I know that we are not supposed to judge other member �s work, but I think there should be a limit of what is acceptable and what isn �t. Of course, anything can be used as an ESL resource. Just a picture is something; it isn �t, in my opinion, a worksheet. I think it is extremely unfair if we consider an alphabet (without any other task) an ESL resource and we remove an elaborated worksheet just because there is one word in an other language.
I �d like to know my colleague �s opinion about this matter, and if possible, Victor �s. |
21 Sep 2010
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Zora
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Hi there,
The problem that I often see is that there is a "huge" gap on the site between - resources for kids/pre-teens/teens (which makes up probably 80% of the work here) - and resources for young learners, especially ones for non-Latin language countries and resources for Integrated English Studies... i.e. Science or Math in English and even stuff for adult learners is scarce at times.
First the tracers -... just think if you had to learn Chinese; wouldn�t you want as many tracers as possible to practice making the letters, which are the basis of any language? Also, I disagree heavily (even though I know it �s a rule and keep quiet about it) that resources are deleted for having a word or two in a foreign language... that�s just being mean... what has happened to common sense?
Second - worksheets for Integrated Studies are in demand more and more as many countries strive towards a bilingual (or multi-lingual) system. So why do many here not see something so simple as learning English in a "real way" as something essential? - Is it because of the "I don�t use it" way of thinking??
Resources for adults - now this enters into the realm of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh clipart... There has been a quiet and somewhat moral debate of late on the usage of royalty-free "clipart". Yet we still see tons of stuff from Peanuts, Garfield and Disney... And many has been the time, I have downloaded stuff and it�s been non-editable! Please people, we do NOT need the Powerpuff girls to teach us vocabulary related to Sports!! Or worse vocabulary geared towards higher levels! Yes, I know "pretty sells" but so what? We are here to exchange English worksheets, not art work...
Anyways... my opinion has always been this way when voting - "I may not use it; but I know others could." And while clipart littered work bugs the heck out of me, I just refrain from downloading it and move on...
The site is for everyone, not just for kids aged 6 to 21 that go to normal ESL classes at school. There are home schoolers here, people who teach privately, people who work in a business environment, etc. Who are we to say that, because we don�t use something, it is not an ESL resource??
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21 Sep 2010
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Lina Ladybird
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I partly agree with Zora, however, IMHO tracing wss are not related to ESL in particular, because they can be used for learning a lot of European languages, not just English. If an Asian, Greek or Russian child wants to learn French, they can use the same letters - that �s why "tracers" are not especially related to ESL...
Moreover, they can be downloaded for free from sooo many websites on the Internet - do we really have to have them here as well??
The very same applies for those alphabets Silvia mentioned! Furthermore, I must say that I don �t consider a simple alphabet an ESL resource, either.
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21 Sep 2010
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blunderbuster
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I believe there would be less resources that are questionable for whatever reason if, as discussed last Saturday, people were allowed to download ten free "old resources" (yes, free "old" not old "free" for the word order fanatics ;o) per month. If they weren �t after the points and, because of that, getting attention, people might also focus on quality instead of glitter. Might.
Ws without instructions should not necessarily be deleted, I mean, some stuff does not need instructions....everybody can think of a way to use a cube and the like.
Regards
EDIT: Regarding editablility I would like to say something as well. Whatever you put on the web cannot be brought back. We all know that for example a lot of the pictures that Mena and others use, the ones by Thistlegirldesigns, are taken from editable ws and recycled, sometimes by people who don�t even know what "thistle" means. I sat over my phonetics domino for a whole week, looking for pictures on the cd that I own, tweaking them, etc. I do not need nasty comments from people saying that it was completely worthless because it is non-editable, I adapted it and shared it here even though it was originally for a German class. I don�t want people to go in and say "I made it," simple as that. I do understand Zora, though, when she says that adult ws with childish clipart don�t make the teacher look very professional. Vanda�s ws are non.editable, Alenka�s (some of them), David Lisgo�s...and their work is highly popular, simply because it is so good and not because it can be edited.
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21 Sep 2010
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MJ_Misa
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Today I saw ws with 10 letters reported as non-esl resource. This is exactly the case. I maybe wouldn �t vote for removal if the alphabet was complete but 10 letters is not exactly the alphabet, is it? Yet some members still keep going on and saying it �s an esl resource. I don �t understand. Why should I teach children only 1/3 of the alphabet? Or has anything changed and we don �t need any more letters?
And such wss are there day after day. One sentence and the rest of page full of lines - is it an esl resource? Some say it is, I don �t agree.
I believe we should you a common sense while voting and think!
@Regina: I believe the instructions should be a part of the wss. What about teachers who are new? When I saw some games here, they were new for me and without instructions it would be useless for me.
Have a great day everybody, Michaela
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21 Sep 2010
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blunderbuster
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Michaela, when I was trying to learn Kyrillic letters (trying to, at the advanced age of 25) I wouldn �t have been able to deal with all of them in one day.
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21 Sep 2010
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MJ_Misa
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Regina, I would understand that but that doesn �t mean there shouldn �t be the whole alphabet on the ws. I don �t know about you but I would introduce the whole alphabet and than I would go letter by letter. But as I believe you know what ws am talking about - IMHO it is INCOMPLETE.
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21 Sep 2010
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Larisa.
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Hello, everyone!
I agree with Michaela that every single worksheet should have instructions (may be exept for flashcards ). We shouldn �t forget that there are a lot of new teachers on the site.
As for alphabet worksheets I think a kind of pictionaries should be allowed, because Russian children , for example, get used to Latin letters not so easily as kids from European countries and they always need a picture support to memorise letters.
On the other hand the worksheets containing just lettes of the alphabet are not original work of the author. So in my opinion they should be deleted.
As for editable and non-editable worksheets, it would be nice if we had in the worksheet description section provided options �editable � and �non-editable �. As for me I sometimes forget to write this information in the description to my worksheet and it is very important for some members to have this information before they download your worksheet.
This is my humble opinion.
Have a nice day/evening everyone,
Larisa
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21 Sep 2010
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frenchfrog
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To make meringue(s), you need egg whites and sugar...
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21 Sep 2010
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PhilipR
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Ban non-editable wss. No ws is ever that good you never need to change it.
Implement a rating system like with the online exercises. Low rating would mean removal.
Remove old wss that don �t follow the current rules, esp. the reading wss without tasks.
Remove all wss with fewer than 5 downloads.
Set up a new and better forum where we can discuss ongoing matters instead of the (very) simple one where after 8 posts your post will simply disappear never to be read by anyone again.
Introduce virtual hugs, pokes and uppercuts into the forum so members have more variety in agreeing and disagreeing.
Just some (controversial) suggestions and possible future improvements.
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21 Sep 2010
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Sonn
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I wouldn �t use English tracers for teaching French because there is a different type of the handwriting used!
Besides, there is a section in teaching a foreign language which is called "writing" and it includes writing letters of the alphabet. I use David �s tracing wss every time I have to teach children to write the letters.
Such publisher as OUP uses tracing tasks in the workbooks (e.g. Get Set Go! -1)/
A lot of board games and flashcards are avaliable for free on the Internet. Should all the boardgames and flashcards on ESL Printables be forbidden here too because of it?
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21 Sep 2010
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