The sound of learning
ESL teacher stimulates class with music
Florencia Parada
Issue date: 5/12/04 Section: Feature
- Page 1 of 3 next >
|
-Woody Guthrie, folk singer
The way Ellen Karell likes to start her morning class off is by singing a Woody Guthrie classic while playing the accordion in her English as a second language class at College Of Marin.
Each semester hundreds of students enroll in ESL programs to prepare for academic courses, become familiar with the language and American customs or to simply survive in an Engliss-speaking community. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to teach an ESL class well, and by adding music to this program it creates an interesting atmosphere to speak a different language in a shorter time with less effort.
Ellen Karell teaches the beginning ESL classes in the mornings at COM. She has been teaching in the Bay Area for about seven years, and brought five previous years of experience writing for a newspaper in Salinas. Writing is one of Karell's passions that she intends to always continue.
Far from the traditional tedious ESL programs, Karell's class is one of the most popular courses at COM. "I definitely follow the curriculum, but you can do it in many different ways. I like to be very direct and personal in my teaching," said Karell.
"When I teach I use songs because I think the music supports the curriculum and enriches the classroom experience."
Trying to revitalize, reinforce and instill confidence and develop the four main language skill areas (listening, speaking, reading and writing), Karell combines a variety of strategies to help the students achieve their potential to learn and recognize their abilities. This has been a great contribution to the school programs and overall made a significant impact on the students.
The ESL class in the morning has a diverse group of nationalities with people representing countries like Germany, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Argentina. "Ellen's class is fun," said Joel and Erika from Guanajuato, Mexico. "She stimulates us to ask questions and make an effort to learn this difficult language. She helps us as long as we need after class, to end our doubts and answer our question relating with English."