Alternate Assessments w9 esol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alternate Assessments w9 esol - Essay Example In this paper, we shall discuss alternative assessments like portfolios and K-W-L charts that are being frequently used and have gained tremendous success in the ESL classrooms. Learner Portfolios are one of the most common alternative assessments that are being used widely in the ESL classrooms nowadays. A portfolio refers to a compilation of a student’s work which can include such items as notes from learner/teachers discussions, learner’s writing samples, reports on books read, learner’s reflection on their development, and statistics from performance based appraisals, and scores of commercial tests. Portfolios are a holistic, student centered and performance based approach of assessment. This method of assessment is tremendously beneficial to all the students especially the ESL students since portfolios focus on students’ strengths rather than their weaknesses. Moreover, it provides room to the ESL students to display more than what they are tested for. In this way, students are encouraged to work more efficiently and display their best work. They provide prospects for students to look upon who they are as learners, writers a nd people. In addition, portfolios enhance the communication between the teacher and the students, the teacher and the parents, and the school administrators as well. However, these portfolios are very time consuming and don’t give quantifying outcomes which only commercially available tests can provide. Moreover, these alternative assessments may not meet eligibility necessities in career training programs, or higher level classes of ESL learners. Therefore, it is important for ESL programs to use a combination of commercial based and performance based assessments to test the language proficiency of ESL learners (Burt &Keenan, 1995). As far as native English speaking students in the classroom are concerned, portfolios are fair to them. All the students, irrespective of

Arguments Participation Paper 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Arguments Participation Paper 2 - Assignment Example (2) line numbers 60- 74 is an example of a testimony that speaks of the effect on individual Jews who suffered inhuman treatment during the Nazi holocaust; Charles Reznikoff, though a Russian, was born in the Jewish ghettos in New York. â€Å"Holocaust†, published in 1975, captures the poet’s interest in the Nazi holocaust and the yearning to present the realities naked to the world. A huge controversy surrounded the court room trials of the survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. During the Eichmann Trial, there was a controversy that Israel had political motives behind it. In this historical context, Charles worked as a typesetter for a labor Zionist publication, which showed interest in this controversy and the trials. The poem presents chosen testimonies in the courtroom, but devoid of the courtroom setting. Each testimony presents an exclusive image and speaks for itself. There is total objectivism in the narrative style as they are not in the first person but in the third person narrative voice. The tone is neutral as seen in the examples cited above. The poem speaks through the multiple testimonies and through the main ac tors and characters that are part of it. History unfolds for the readers to see the truth for themselves. The reader can arrive at conclusions on what he/she witnesses. There is an eerie silence that follows each testimony to avoid any interpretations or judgment; rather it helps evoke the picture of reality. Holocaust by itself is one of themes and the testimonies represent the events. The poem is devoid of any metaphor or rhetoric. This narrative style develops a close connection with the reader and bridges the gap between literature and common man. The narrative style is a testimony to the truth that historical facts should be listened to and not interpreted. As an Imagist poet, Charles has employed objective voice and has used the reality as an image that speaks for itself. This could be a document of history, but presents pictures within