[etni] Fw: ETAI FORUM - well done!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: naomiepstein@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: ETAI FORUM - well done!!

I found the Forum to be VERY interesting. Not only is each article very 
informative on its own, but the fact that they appear together emphasized 
important issues raised by several authors, such as:
* The first goal is to break the cycle of failure.
* Use of mother tongue can be very helpful when working with students with 
special needs.
* Divide material into pieces and goals into steps -things can't be rushed 
or skipped over!

As a teacher/counselor of the deaf and hard of hearing, I would like to 
relate to some specific points in the articles.

First, a quote from Ofra Rosentstein's article about Noun Phrases:
" The first thing I do is raise the students' awareness to the fact that a 
sentence cannot be read word for word like items on a list".
I think teachers have to be reminded of this fact as well when faced with a 
pupil with a hearing problem who needs to use a dictionary! A dictionary 
will NOT have them all suddenly getting grades of 100 if they are treating 
words like isolated items on a list!

Dr. Carol Goldfus (Metacognition) describes beginning the intervention 
process with proficiency in the mother tongue. This is very important when 
working with pupils with a hearing loss. These kids have "holes" in their 
knowledge of their mother tongue which interfere when not addressed at all 
stages of instruction.

Tova Teitelbaum uses food cognates when teaching the alphabet with taste and 
smell (fun!) Cognates can be tricky for deaf pupils. Many are shocked to 
discover that "hamburger " begins with an "h" not an "a" (and may forget it 
again again because it defies something they felt they knew previously). 
Some pupils may not know the word "cornflakes" even though they eat it. If 
they eat a specific brand they think all types are called by that name. 
Think of how hearing people used to say "to Hoover" instead of "to vacuum"!

Liz Shapiro mentions a problematic aspect of using BLOCK CAPITALS. I would 
like to add that when everything is in capitals the pupil loses an important 
cue regarding whether a word is a name (which should NOT be looked up in the 
dictioanry) or just a "regular" unkown word.

And finally, i'll end this long post with only one more reference (EVEN 
THOUGH i ENJOYED THE ENTIRE ISSUE).
As a teacher about to return from a sabbatical, I really identify with 
Melodie Rosenfeld's pointer " Continue to learn about yourself as a 
learner". Sabbaticals really help tou remember what your own learning styles 
are!

naomi epstein



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