Classroom Notes

1960s CLASS
In the spring of 2001, students of the 1960s class made several excursions with teacher Russ Mason to the Delaware Art Museum, the mid-Atlantic regional host of a special exhibition of photographic portraits, artwork and artifacts of the 1960s. Students saw photos of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and others, which were taken by Linda McCartney, the late wife of Beatle Paul McCartney. Students visiting the museum also enjoyed the films "Woodstock" and "A Hard Day's Night," posters from San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, and live rock 'n roll and jazz music.

JAZZ CHANTS One way that Mary Beth Worrilow wakes her students in Levels I through IV classes and gets them "juiced up" to speak English is through jazz chants. Jazz chants, first introduced in the ELI classroom by Carolyn Graham, are rhythmic repetitions of phrases, expressions and idioms in song format without music. They often call for role-play among the students and focus on one or two linguistic elements at a time. Customizing and personalizing the chants makes for an even more enjoyable experience. "We begin every 8:30 class with a chant and the students love it! It has been a very successful icebreaker in my classroom," said Worrilow. "The best part is that students actually remember what they have learned. The catchy chant can be heard here and there as they 'sing' it throughout their day."

LEVEL VI GENERAL READING AND WRITING
Students in teacher Walt Babich's Level VI General Reading and Writing class wrote about a conversation they might have had with a person of their choice. The person written about could be real or imagined, living or dead. The students wrote some wildly creative papers about their interviews with personalities such as Captain Hook, Tom Cruise, Jim Morrison and John Lennon. One student even "interviewed" a tiger who had escaped from the zoo!

EAP LISTENING AND SPEAKING
Susan Coakley's English for Academic Purposes Level VI Listening/Speaking class has held a series of debates as final projects. Topics have included human cloning, the death penalty, affirmative action and freedom on the Internet. The exchanges have been very intense, as each speaker has only two minutes to express the opinion he or she has formed after doing research on the topic. Many students find it exciting and challenging, Coakley reports, to debate controversial topics for the first time in English.