The target learners are newcomers who are taking LINC classes. A lot of them are younger families with small children, however their age can vary from 18 to 55 years old.
Their levels of English proficiency could be different but the majority will range between CLB 4-6. Among them there might be students with stronger language skills.
Most of the attendees will be internationally trained, having some kind education – completed or partially -completed degrees or diplomas. A few of the participants will be highly-qualifies specialists.
Newcomers’ main goals are: quickest adaptation in the new country, adjusting to new culture, learning new language, understanding the mentality of native citizens. New residents are usually highly motivated as their success in a new country greatly depends on their willingness to accomplish certain results.
A lot of them are willing to learn more about Aboriginal people and their history as a lot of these questions are widely discussed on the media.
Lesson objectives:
· “building a better understanding between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal communities”
· “learn more about Aboriginals people: their cultures, their histories and a few of the key political and social issues that they currently face
· “to offer a starting point designated to answer some basic questions that newcomers may have about BC’s Aboriginal Peoples, dispel some of the stereotypes and misconceptions and motivate newcomers to reach out and connect with the Aboriginal community in their area to learn more”
Learning objectives for The Indian Residential School System Unit:
· To learn about the history of the Indian Residential School System and its impact on Aboriginal children, their families and communities.
· Discover the ways that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada are remembering and acknowledging this tragic part of Canada’s history and finding ways to move forward
Resource selection:
· Materials provided by the LINC curriculum as they provide a good foundation for the classes
· A couple of video recordings ( excerpts) for authenticity and variety of students’ learning styles. Also for the exposure to different accents and dialects in English
· Newspaper article on the topic for authenticity
· An excerpt from the book “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese – to facilitate curiosity and further exploration of the topic ( I find this topic interesting and I’d like to learn more !)
· Pictures of residential schools and students ( I believe that would be fair dealing as it will be used for educational purposes) to help practicing communication skills in discussions and for authenticity
· Worksheets with vocabulary and grammar exercises to work on building vocabulary and comprehension
My criteria for evaluating the teaching materials ( Rustamova Z) :
Content-related:
· Is the topic relevant for the students?
· Is the topic authentic?
Language-related:
· Do materials match students’ levels of language proficiency?
Student-related:
· Is there a variety of activities to meet students individual learning styles?
· Are tasks easy to understand and to follow?
· Are activities student-centered?
Teacher-related:
· Are the materials easy to adapt and change?
Resource Evaluation:
Content-related criteria:
I believe the topic is relevant to the students as newcomers are highly motivated to integrate into Canadian society and better understand interactions between different groups within it.
The topic is authentic – the materials used in the unit are verified and authentic, showing images from the real life of Aboriginal people. This helps to reach the learning objective of learning more about Aboriginal culture and history. Students can work in groups reading the real life stories of indigenous people who used to go to the Residential Schools, ask and answer questions on the topic.
Language-related criteria:
The level of the teaching materials matches the proficiency levels of students ( CLB 6). However the texts contain quite a few words that might be difficult for students to understand. I would definitely add more vocabulary exercises to the classes. One of the examples could be printing the new words on a worksheet and see if a) any of the new words remind them of the same words in their own language b) split the new words in three columns and ask students to make up simple sentences with them c) add some fun word exercises like unscrambling or crosswords d) match the words and their meanings e) draw pictures that you associate with the new words f) match the words with their antonyms Another good way to teach the new words would be to ask students to try to explain the meaning of the words in their own way using simple words I would also add more images for students with visual learning styles and practice matching new words with pictures.
Student -related criteria:
There’s a variety of materials catered to meet each student’s individual learning styles and needs – visual material, video and audio recordings. However, as I said, I would "bring more life" into the materials - more images, newspapers, books with real life stories of Aboriginal peoples.
The tasks and instructions are easy to understand and to follow.
A lot of activities could be student-centered – we give them a chance to decide which activities they want to focus, whether they want to work individually or in pairs and how they would like to present their learning outcomes.
Teacher-related criteria:
Most of the materials are easy to apply, however, I realized that, probably its not the best idea to add the excerpts from the book “Indidan Horse” in the unit. I tried to adapt the text to make it more easy for students to read but realized that it takes more effort to convert it than to find a more suitable text. I like the idea of providing a Teacher's Guide for this course so teachers of different levels could provide structured and unified approach to teaching.
Conclusion: In general, most of the resources chosen to support the topic are suitable for achieving the objectives and the teacher cal always refer to the teacher's guide. I would radd more real life materials such as photographs, video and audio recordings, articles from newspapers to make it more engaging and less boring for the students. I would also add and discuss some latest news on the topic to make it more relevant for the learners, ask them to look online for the latest news/updates on this topic and discuss it in the class. Students' reflections on their country's history and past would also help to make connections to the topic and better understand it. Were there residential schools in their home countries? If yes, do they know anything about them? If no, were there any historical parallels to it?
To conclude, the given resources could serve as a good base for teaching learners about residential schools in Canada, however adding a creative approach to the lessons could help make students more involved in the topic
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