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Shawn Ford

HATESL/ DSLS Brownbag Presentation

2/2/05

“Get PFUNK-E!”: A 6-step Approach for ESL Reading Development

Shawn Ford, ESOL Program, Kapi‘olani Community College

Abstract

How do we best scaffold ESL students throughout the process of reading development? Teachers and researchers have proposed many ideas and developed materials for different stages of the process. At this brownbag session, participants will learn about a 6-step approach for ESL reading development that integrates the best of these ideas and materials. Highly flexible and appropriate for students at all levels of reading development, PFUNK-E integrates current reading theory and practice into a cohesive series of activities and assignments.

PFUNK-E (different/ strange, but cool) is:

P- Preview the text

F- Find vocabulary

U- Understand the text

N- Notice grammar

K- Know the text

E- Explain the text

Step 1

P- Preview the text à to form hypotheses about the text

• Skim text as a Pre-reading activity to Predict the topic
• Ask Preview questions to activate schema
• E.G.: What do you already know about this topic?, etc.

(Thanks to Dr. Day for pointing out this missing step in the previous version, FUNN)

Step 2

F- Find vocabulary à to define unfamiliar words for reading comprehension

· Provide students with alternate version of textbook reading

o Reproduce article using Canoscan scanner w/ optical program OmniPage

o SEE SAMPLE

· Scan text to Find unfamiliar vocabulary and highlight them on alternate version

o I want students to do any translating and vocabulary work on the alternate version of the text and leave the textbook clean:

à Reading for comprehension vs. Reading to develop English reading

· Check knowledge of MFWs and AWs using list generated from corpus

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/cgi-bin/webfreqs/web_vp.cgi

o Web_Vocabulary_Profiler.html

o vocab_results.html

o Provide vocabulary checklist

Vocabulary Check:

AWL	Never heard word and don’t know it	Heard word but don’t know it	Know word some but don’t use it	Know word but don’t use it	Know word and use it
accompanied
achieve
acquired
Civil
considerable
created
creating
cultures
declined
discrimination
diversity
economic
energy
factor

· Compare highlighted words with MFW and AW lists and add words to vocabulary log for vocabulary quizzes

à Vocabulary in context and vocabulary in isolation

· Work on vocabulary log to find definitions, parts of speech and usage of unfamiliar words

Vocabulary Log

Part 1 Directions: Choose 25 words from the Reading 1 Vocabulary Check worksheet and enter them into the chart below. These words should be ones that you indicated not knowing very well. Provide the part of speech as the word is used in the text, and your own complete definition based on the way the word is used in the text. DO NOT enter anything in the “Sentence” row until after you have done Part 2 of this worksheet.

Word	Part of Speech	Your own Definition
1.
Sentence:
2.
Sentence:

Part 2 Directions: Make complete, original sentences for each of the vocabulary words that you entered in the previous chart based on the way each vocabulary word is used in the text. Underline the chosen vocabulary word in each sentence. After you get feedback from me, enter the corrected version of each sentence in the appropriate “Sentence” row according to its vocabulary word. You will use the chart in Part 1 as a study guide for your personal vocabulary quiz for Reading 1.

1. Sentence:
2. Sentence:

· These sentences become corrected input for students to use in their text-based writing assignments, which will be a focus of future feedback

· Provide individualized vocabulary quizzes based on student vocabulary logs

à Students may take more ownership of their vocabulary learning if it is student-centered

Directions: Provide the part of speech as each word is used in the text, your own complete definition based on the way the word is used in the text, and an original sentence based on the way the word is used in the text. Use the other side if necessary.

Word	Part of Speech	Your own Definition
3.
Sentence:
4.
Sentence:

• In addition, provide cloze quiz from part of the text

à cloze quizzes test vocabulary and grammatical knowledge in context and can be used to generate discussions of guessing vocabulary meanings from context: contextual clues such as pluralism, word order, topic/support, etc.

Directions: Fill in the 10 blanks in the text with one of the correct words from the following list. Each word will only be used once.
shift accompanied	generation immigrants	symbolizes process	immigrant Revolution	similar diversity
The ____________ to English was ____________ by another change that took place in second-____________ immigrant families. While first-generation ____________ still tended to think of themselves as Irish, English, Italian, or German, their children and grandchildren clearly considered themselves American. A story that was told by an English immigrant ____________ a ____________ that must have taken place in most ____________ households. One day the immigrant's son came home from school, where his class had been learning about the American ____________.

Step 3

U- Understand the text: read the text to build comprehension

• Read text through for the first time
• Work on reading rate à sight vocabulary, 3 times over each reading
• Work on pronunciation by reading aloud

à not the same as conversation, discussion, speech, etc.

• Students generate discussion questions and predict parts of the text that may be problematic, and important parts of the text that may be on a comprehension quiz

à Work on discussion questions in groups, then as a class

• If available, use text post-reading activities as appropriate

Step 4

N- Notice grammar à to build grammar structures and reading comprehension

• Noticing a-la Schmidt, Long & Doughty, and Wolfe-Quintero
• Read the text to Notice a specific grammar point provided for the reading

à Work on Input Analysis materials

• I try to focus on content vocabulary collocations that contain prepositions

Collocations

The result of the first generation's sacrifices first became visible in the generations that followed. Within three generations, most non-English-speaking immigrant families had acquired a new first language. The children and grandchildren of immigrants who spoke Swedish, German, Italian, and more than twenty other languages became native speakers of English. This process of language shift is one of the most significant features of immigration history in the United States. Although the process did not guarantee these generations would become wealthy and successful, it was essential for economic advancement and for full integration into the mainstream of society.

Directions: 10 collocations are highlighted in Reading 1 above. These are the most common collocations using the preposition of and for found in this text. Find and highlight or underline 12 more of collocations and 1 more for collocation in the text. Be aware that several uses of of and for found in the text are not collocations. Remember, collocations are words that occur together with high frequency.

Afterwards, write 2 original sentences for each of the 10 collocations listed below, based on the way the collocations are used in Reading 1.

bunch of - a/the bunch of ___

1.

2.

diversity of - a/the/(ref.) diversity of ___

1.

2.

• These sentences also become corrected input that students use in their text-based writing assignments, which will be a focus of future feedback

Step 5

K- Know the text à for mastery of the content

• Thoroughly read the text to Know the material completely

à repeated reading helps to build fluency and comprehension

• Assess comprehension (E.G.: quizzes, tests, freewrites, journals)

à I use comprehension quizzes as a means of helping students practice how to find information and how to take quizzes in general

Directions: Using the passage in your textbook, answer the following questions as completely as possible.

YES/ NO Questions (circle YES or NO)

1. Did Gary Hart become the U.S. president in 1987? YES NO
2. Are politicians, movie stars, and royalty often called paparazzi? YES NO

Comprehension Questions (provide a short answer)

3. What are the two views about whether a politician's personal life is relevant to his or her performance in the job?
4. What are the paparazzi?

Short Essay Question (provide a response in paragraph form)

In paragraph 1, three ethical issues are presented as questions. Which issue do you think is the most important to society? Explain your answer.

Step 6

E- Explain the text.

• Work on a solo paper/essay activity, a small group discussion activity, or a classroom presentation activity in which students demonstrate comprehension of the text
• Seminar-style discussions work well
• Poster sessions

PFUNK-E is:

P- Preview the text

F- Find vocabulary

U- Understand the text

N- Notice grammar

K- Know the text

E- Explain the text

This approach helps me structure my assignments around each reading, and it helps me provide adequate scaffolding for my students.

This approach provides students with various types of language development in the context of each reading.

This approach helps both student and teacher view reading as a process, just as we commonly view writing as a process.

Discussion Questions

Based on what you know about reading and your students and their needs, is PFUNK-E missing any steps?

Would PFUNK-E work in EFL contexts as well?

Would you get PHUNK-E?

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contents (c) 2002 Shawn Ford/ Webb-Ed Press
sford@hawaii.edu