“What is __________________?”
This is the most commonly uttered phrase by students in my ELL classes and tutoring sessions—adults and children alike. Until recently, it had the power to launch a series of semi-coherent, wholly unproductive series of questions in my mind around semantics, cultural history, and existence. Since I could not translate the words into Spanish (most of my students speak a variety of languages that I do not speak), I found myself struggling to communicate meaning without overwhelming them with less useful information. Following are some sample exchanges:
Student 1: What is ‘window’?
My mind: Fairly simple: point to several windows and repeat word.
My mouth:”This is a window. And this is a window. “
Mind: Good job, Rhea! No wait...
Mouth: Oh, well there’s also ‘windows’ that open and close on computer screens, like when using a browser; or there’s the operating system “Windows”; and then there are metaphorical windows, like a window of opportunity, of a window of time—though I suppose those ‘windows’ are the same as the first one, just less literally…”
Result: Have confused myself as well as students. See some students writing feverishly during my answer, and hands are up: “What is browser?” “What is system?” Everyone is more confused than before.
Student 2: What is ‘case’?
My mind: Well, there’s bulk containers of things like soda cans, which sometimes come in a case. There’s also an investigation in a criminal case. People also say ‘in case’, which means in the situation that…or there’s ‘case the joint’, which is really only used in gangster movies from the 60s…guess I’ll just stick to the context she’s talking about.
My mouth: “Well right here on this form, it’s asking for your ‘case number’. The last time you called [miming telephone] the insurance company [point to her insurance card] did they give you a number [write numbers] to use with your name [say her name and numbers].
Result: Much better, student seems to understand and is able to complete the task at hand.
Student: What is ‘opportunity’?
My mouth: “It’s…um…uhhhhh…”
Result: We lose a few minutes while I try to make up examples and draw illegible explanations.
So what have I learned?
1. 1. Use fewer words
2. 2. Stick to the context at hand…there are too many homonyms/homophones/ homographs to explain!
3. 3. Use pictures and charades whenever possible- keep a picture dictionary on hand or for individual tutoring sessions, look up words using google images (students can practice this skill on their own, too, if not already familiar); and MIME! I have gotten on all fours to mime a ‘wag’. I have bumped my foot (lightly) against the desk to grab it and say ‘Ouch! It hurts!” Some words are too abstract to mime (ie: opportunity) in which case…
4. 4. Ask to come back to it later- whether a good way of showing pops up before end of class or you need a way to think about it between classes, write it on a list and come back to it …a good explanation later is better than a lengthy, confusing one now.
These are, indeed, all tips that we learned at our ESL training. But the experience is really getting them across, and I was wondering if anyone else had tips/strategies for explaining more abstract, but important, words/concepts.
I have also come up with an [incredibly dorky] game that I like to play home- challenge your friends to find homophones with as many different meanings as possible. Now try it with homographs! And, as with all things, it turns out that someone on the interweb has already done it.
Happy holidays, y'all!
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