Conversation Corner- Every Tuesday

Every Saturday, at 10:00 am, the Guelph Public Library offers a program called ESL Conversation Circles which is a great opportunity for English language learners to practice  their English skills. The circles are led by Guelph Public Library staff who create  comprehensive, engaging, and fun lessons that you can take with you into your everyday life.

Sometimes, however, it can be a bit challenging to come to the library on a Saturday morning and that’s okay because hey, it’s the weekend! But if you like the conversation circles and you are looking for further opportunities to practice English skills you may want to try out the weekly Conversation Corner programme held at the Westminister Square branch every Tuesday at 1:00 pm. Kim, Maria, and Greta will host this programme which is meant to enhance your spoken English skills and to increase your confidence in using conversational English in a fun and casual setting. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Ancestry Library Edition

Do you have an interest in genealogy? Do you have ancestors who lived in Canada, the US, or the UK? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you might be interested in the Ancestry Library Edition e-Resource that the Guelph Public Library carries. From the hit website Ancestry.ca comes a  genealogical and historical research tool that gives researchers access to over 4 billion names in over 4,000 databases. It includes census; vital statistics and church records; directories; passenger lists; immigration records; maps; and more!

Note: Ancestry is an in-house e-Resource which means that users can only access this e-Resource by physically visiting any of the Guelph Public Library locations! As always, if you have any questions feel free to ask!

ESL class in the Ontario High School Curriculum

This morning I was reading an article about ESL students challenging the British Columbia Ministry of Education because it does not credit ESL courses for high school students. It seems a bit silly since  native-English speaking students are credited for taking foreign language courses.  For the whole article, click here.

This made me curious to see what stance the Ontario Ministry of Education takes regarding this issue. From their document titled, The Program in English as a Second Language and English Literacy Development, they say:

“Students may substitute up to three ESL or ELD courses for compulsory English credit requirements. The remaining English credit shall be chosen from one of the compulsory English courses offered in Grade 12. Additional ESL or ELD credits may be counted as optional credits for diploma purposes.” (pg. 12).

This statement, while in English, has some tricky language. After some careful reading this is the gist of what comes out of that statement.  Students can take ESL courses from grades 9-11 in their high school and have them count as regular English credits. Since you need four English credits to graduate, the fourth English credit must be earned in a regular English class (at the grade 12 level). Any additional ESL courses can be taken as credited elective courses and can be counted towards a diploma.  In sum, Ontario is ahead of the game in terms of recognizing the academic efforts made by ESL students towards learning the English language.  For a link to this document click here.

How can the Guelph Public Library help the ESL high school students of our community get a little closer to earning their diploma? We have so many cool services and resources; live homework help, ESL Book Club, Mango Languages, ESL conversation circles, eBooks and Audiobooks, two-hour internal digital-device loan, not to mention a plethora of informational and recreational books.  All of our locations also offer free WI-FI which makes the GPL the perfect place for anyone who needs a place to study. Also, our staff is pretty smart and very helpful so if you ever need help with finding relevant resources for your homework needs, you know who to ask! Have a great weekend everyone!

A New English Language?…OMG!

English isn’t an easy language to learn. Think about it: there are so many words that sound or are spelled the same way, how is someone supposed to understand it all? If someones says to you: “Don’t drop the flour on the flower because in the fall the flower won’t fall the right way towards the sun, ok son?”…really? Yeah, that’s not so easy…

So, imagine you finally figure out all the strange spellings, meanings and idioms in the English language and then you look down at your cell phone and you have a text message that says: “OMG QQ do you think we should go with the BUP CUZ  Sheila came in DL in the race so she probably won’t feel like HEHE much?…BWTHDIK? Ok, I GTG LMK what you think? TTYL” (TRANSLATION: Oh my goodness, quick question, do you think we should go with the back up plan because Sheila came in dead last in the race so she probably won’t feel like laughing much? But what the heck do I know? Ok, I have got to go, let me know what you think? Talk to you later). Confusing? Absolutely!

The Guelph Public Library has some great resources that can help you (or your students) to decipher the strange new lingo happening via cell phones and other gadgets (and yes, sadly, during everyday speech…come on, you know at least once you’ve accidentally uttered “lol” or “ttfn”…and then awkwardly tried to pretend it didn’t happen…we’ve all been there…).

Try these books are the library to get caught up on this new form of English: 

Email English

Txting the Gr8 Db8

The Rough Guide to Social Media

Social Networking a Beginner’s Guide

Here are a few websites that you might find useful as well:

Email Slang

Internet Slang

Net Lingo

And if you get really stuck? Call us at the GPL! We’d be happy to help you figure it out: 519-824-6220. Alternatively you can email us at askus@library.guelph.on.ca. Or, text us at 519-900-5635, or chat with us online via askON

ESL stands for FUN

If you follow some of the posts I’ve written in the past, you will know that I’m a huge advocate for practicing English in a non-formal setting. So as the days get shorter and the temperature gets cooler, why not bring some light and warmth into your life by hosting a party with your ESL conversation group? Conversation groups tend to be small, and if there is regular attendence, many attendees have the opportunity to get to know one another. Holding an ESL party may be a fun way to reinforce the interpersonal relationships that have developed within your circle, as well as provide a no-pressure-atmosphere for practicing English.  For cool party ideas, check out our GPL in the House blog, written by two of the Guelph Public Library’s amazing staff members!

To get the ball rolling, try putting on 25 Best: Party Hits, (full of classic party songs), making some delicious food from Easy party food : simply delicious recipes for your perfect party, and introducing some fun party games and activities for everyone to get involved in! Or, as an alternative, ask everyone to bring a dish and an activity with them to your party. If you do this, you can focus less on food and more on your party and having fun with everyone as you participate in their activities of choice!

 

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Here at the Guelph Public Library, we are pretty big fans of the Mango Languages database; English for Everyone mentions it quite frequently. In case you are wondering what other languages you can learn besides English, here is a list of the langauges that Mango Languages offers instruction on.

The Paper Bag Princess makes a fine pirate in the Children and Youth Services department!

If you read that list carefully, “Pirate” is not a typo! Learning a new language should be a fun activity and the Guelph Public Library and Mango Languages support this by celebrating “Talk Like a Pirate Day”! It’s a day that celebrates literacy, education, and most of all, fun! All of our locations have made “Talk Like a Pirate” displays that showcase our resources on pirates! Come on into any of our locations or take a look at Mango Languages and on September  19th you can show off your inner pirate!

ARR have a fine weekend, me hearties!

ESL Book Club at the GPL

The Guelph Public Library is excited to once again be hosting an ESL book club! Starting on Wednesday September 25th and running until Wednesday November 20th (9 weeks) Brenda Vegso will be leading a book club discussion on the novel “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.  The meetings will  take place at the Main Library (100 Norfolk St. Guelph, ON) at 7pm. Registration is required and LINC level 6 or higher is recommended.  This is a great opportunity to practice English in a fun and relaxed environment. In the past Brenda’s book clubs have filled up quickly, so don’t delay call us today 519-824-6220 or click here to register for this exciting event!

Mobile Devices: a Dynamic Way to Learn English

 Picture this; you are in a classroom learning something  new to you, in a different language, at a pace that is too fast for you. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have a personal tutor with you during the lesson? Or how about after the lesson is over?  If you agree that it would be helpful, then you may want to look into purchasing or borrowing a  mobile device! Mobile devices are all the rage these days and as their popularity increases, so do their presence in learning environments. Mobile devices are a multifaceted gateway to helpful programs, tools, and applications for users on the go and because of their ease of use, they are perfect for ELL students.

Mobiles devices, like an iPad, have been found to be an effective way to engage multiple senses allowing students to practice their listening, speaking and writing skills using various  tools and applications. Voice Record Pro is an application that allows you to record your own voice, save your recording, and listen to it at another time. The advantage of this is that students can record how they speak and have it reviewed, either by themselves or by their instructor, allowing for specific instruction for possible improvements. This app is also helpful for tracking your progress as an English speaker which allows students to personally identify their achievement in regards to oral language skills (Demski, 2011).

Other helpful applications include dictionary apps, translation apps, Sentence Builder, Hello-Hello English and even the fun Word Bingo. Applications like dictionary and translation apps are useful for students within the classroom setting. Having immediate access to these apps allow students to quickly look up the definition or translation of a word, without having to ask the teacher for help or spend time searching through a physical dictionary. This helps students who are shy about asking for help and who might otherwise skip a difficult word and try to figure out the sentence later on. If student’s want to practice their English skills at home, they could use the Mango Mobile App, which is the  mobile version of the Mango Languages resource that the Guelph Public Library carries.

As for ELL teachers, mobile devices can be a great tool to enhance your lessons and engage your students in a fun and interactive way. In additi0n, “advances in technology now allow researchers to capture data such as the number of times a student views instruction on handhelds and the language they choose when provided a choice. Thus, issues to investigate here include student choice around frequency of viewing instructional materials, preferences in language of instruction and how this may vary according to factors such as English proficiency, familiarity with the content, and familiarity with the instructor and [their] style of teaching” (Billings and Mathison, 2012).

One of the main set backs is, of course, the funding that is required to provide access to these mobile devices. If your organization does not have the funds to purchase mobile devices, it may be in your best interest to research possible grants that may support your special project (Fox, 2013). The articles below offer some interesting insight about successful  ELL classes that have incorporated mobile devices into their learning; they are available through the Guelph Public Library’s e-Resources.

References

Billings, Elsa; Mathison, Carla.  2012. I get to use an iPod in school? Using technology-based advance organizers to support the academic success of English learners. Journal  of Science Education & Technology. no.21 (5) 494-503 (accessed August 26, 2013).

Demski, Jennifer. 2011. “ELL to go.” T H E Journal 38, no. 5: 28. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed August 24, 2013).

Gladys Fox. 2013. “iPad Quest: ELL students create ePubs.” Voice of Youth Advocates. no. 36. 3. Gale Power Search (accessed August 24, 2013).

What Do YOU Want?

Based on our skills as librarians and our role within the community, the librarians at the Guelph Public Library are typically able to gauge what materials are most needed by our users. The GPL offers many resources and programs for our English Language Learners like ESL conversation circles, ESL book club, foreign language books, dual language books, foreign language movies, the list goes on and on. However, sometimes there are materials and ideas out there in the world that haven’t yet been discovered by our staff. Dear ESL instructors, I am reaching out to you and am wondering if there are any programs, materials, strategies or ideas that you have found to work well with your ELL students? For example, some teachers that have held an ESL Scrabble night  for their students. On the other hand, one of the best ways to know how to help and instruct a group of people is to ask them. So, ELL students, are there any materials that you know of or suggestions that you have for helping the GPL or any ELL instructors to better connect with you? Sometimes it’s as simple as rearranging how people sit in a classroom, how formal or informal the lesson is, or whether or not the instructor includes some fun, yet practical exercises. Leave a comment below if you would like to share with us!

ESL in Children and Youth Services

This is part of the ESL collection up in Children and Youth Services

As a kid I moved around a lot.  I was born in Kingston, moved to Maryland when I was four, moved to Ottawa when I was seven, then to Guelph when I was sixteen. I am now twenty three and am happy to call Guelph my home. Guelph has always had a welcoming feeling for me; the people, the attractions, and the atmosphere in general, have this pleasantry about them that can only be described as a feeling of “homey-ness”.

I have had the advantage of being a first language English speaker, so I was more easily able to connect with the people of Guelph (a predominantly English speaking city). I want the ESL learners of Guelph to feel that same feeling of belonging, and I believe that a language barrier shouldn’t get in the way of feeling connected to one’s community.

This is what a dual-language books look like inside. Notice how one part is in English, and another part is in a different language.

This is where the Guelph Public Library comes in. The library in and of itself, is a place of wonder. It offers stories for escape, ideas for advancement, and access to resources from all over the world (for free I might add). You only need to know where to look, or who to ask. Hint: ask library staff. Perhaps I’m biased, as I have worked at the GPL for seven years now, however, I can honestly say that the more I work here the more wonder and possibility I feel exists in this wonderful establishment.

This is another section of the ESL collection up in Children and Youth Services

This feeling of wonder and possibility is increased when working in the Children’s and Youth Services department. It is located on the second floor of the Main Library and is solely dedicated to children and teens. We have many ESL children come in who make use of our ESL resources, but there are still many who do not know that we offer resources for this very special demographic. Children and Youth Services has a whole collection dedicated to ESL learners and ESL instructors. In this collection you will find: dual language books, multilingual CD’s, books about Canada and Canadian culture, Canadian curriculum workbooks, books about grammar and Language Arts, foreign language books and many other books about subjects from football to fireworks! We also carry Language Arts materials for all students such as: EnglishSmart workbooks, Playaways, Playaway Views, Playaways Bookpacks, books on CD, DVDs, music CDs, and of course, books in general. With all of these resources, it is hard not to see the possibilities for our young ESL customers. It is my hope that ESL students use these resources to help break the language barrier and build their English skills so that for them, Guelph feels like the same home I have come to know and love.