TESL 0150- Unit 2- Evaluate Resources: Keep Exploring, Seek and Find

In this unit, we had to evaluate a resource and use criteria and also discuss whether this resource is suitable for the target learning context and stated objectives.
For this unit, I have selected to evaluate the materials Aboriginal Art

The context is for CLB 5 in an ESL adult classroom. The average age of students is between 20-45. The Students are newcomers.

The learning objectives are:

• learn about the importance of cedar to Aboriginal art and culture.

• learn about different types of traditional and contemporary art.

• learn about different designs used by Aboriginal artists and the purpose of   these designs.

• learn about a few Aboriginal artists.

• learn about the important role art plays in Aboriginal cultures.

Comments:

The objective of this unit are focused on the cultural background and art. The objectives are less focused on the English and the English learning outcome.

This lesson contains listening, speaking, writing and reading activities. These activities are designed to assess students skills.

The criteria that I chose are based on Tamlinson:

. Are the target learners likely to be able to follow the instructions?

. Do the student learn about Aboriginal culture?

. Do the reading activities help students to practice English while learning about a specific culture?

. Is it suitable for the age of the students?

. Are there short, varied activities which are likely to match the attention span of the learners?

. Is the content likely to provide an achievable challenge in relation to the maturity level of the learners?

. Do the activities match students’ needs and wants?

. Are the materials sufficiently authentic?

. Is there an acceptable balance of skills

Comments:

. The materials’ instructions are clear and easy to follow. The resources of this unit provide opportunities for learners to practice English in the different ways. The unit has many speaking activities which students can practice in groups or with a partner.

. The learners will practice using new vocabulary, adjectives and nouns. Students will use them in different activities such as fill in the blanks and readings.

. The unit has many reading and writing activities.The learners’ comprehension will assess in reading activities. Also, this unit has many writing activities such as writing a blog, email and journal.

.  The activities are authentic and good for different skills. It will assess and help students to improve listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

The subject of this unit is interesting to newcomer students and will introduce them to Aboriginal art and culture .

In my opinion this unit is well organized and is sufficient for this level of students. Students have the opportunity to learn about the Aboriginal art and culture which is part of Canadian history. It is also good for newcomers to learn about Canadian art and culture. The variety of the activities will help students to practice English in different ways.

Tomlinson, B. (2014) Developing Materials for Language Teaching. Great Britian: Bloomsbury Academic

LISTN First Peoples: Learning Materials for Newcomers (2016) Retrieved from https://listn.tutela.ca/wp-content/uploads/CLB5-Art-SS-2014-07-29.pdf