Project-Based Learning Contextualized ESL for Health Care

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Project-Based LearningContextualized ESL for
Health Care

• Marcela Hebbard, MAs
• South Texas College
• McAllen, Texas

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Contents

• This project as part of the Pathway ESL for
  Health Care program
• Project Overview
• Description of the students
• Sample of a Lesson
• a) The use of collaborative instruction to
  build oral skills
• b) The use of technology to strengthen
  second language acquisition skills

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Purpose of the Health Care Pathway program

• To serve as a bridge course for low-literacy
  students interested in pursing a career in the
  medical field by providing them with English
  language instruction, academic support and
  technology practice.

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Project Overview
Objective Be able to produce and present a
coherent explanation of the function of one of
the six body systems covered in class, starting
from its parts, how it works and its most common
diseases. Method Study one body system a week.
After six weeks, form groups, groups choose a
body system, review materials from class, do more
research if needed, choose vocabulary, prepare
visual aids, rehearse presentations and present.
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My Students

• 11 Women, 1 man
• Education level range from 5th grade to 10th
  grade in Mexico. 1 university graduate.
• Common traits.
• All from Mexico, and all of them have expressed
  a desire to work in the health care system.

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Sample of Lesson

• A lesson was not seen as a daily event of 3
  hours, but instead as a weekly event.
• Technology was incorporated in the classroom
  everyday. (See next four slides)

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Sample of a weeks Lesson
English Class Focus on Communication Skills
(Speaking/Listening) Day One Activate
background knowledge, introduce vocabulary and
learn the function of each of the parts of the
specific body system. Day Two Review
vocabulary and learn how the system works.
Focus on Academic Skills (Reading/Writing) Day
Three Review and read about the conditions or
illnesses that can affect that body system. Day
Four Review orally everything covered in
previous days, then write a page explaining in
their own works how the body system works. Focus
on Technology Day Five Students have a quiz and
then complete a worksheet using specific
websites. (See examples)
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WEEK FIVE Objective Students will learn about
how the digestive system works.
Day 1 Topic The digestive system Show Ss pictures of food. Discuss what their favorite food is. Ask Ss, what happens to the food we eat? A It goes into our stomachs! Introduce new vocabulary using the page titled The Digestive System. Practice the order of the organs listed (stomach, pancreas, small intestine, rectum, appendix, large intestine, gall bladder, liver and esophagus.) Add these words chew, break down, stuff and waste. Repeat the words several times. Ask Ss to cover one word at a time until all words are covered and they know them by heart. Then make copies of the blank page. Ask Ss to write the correct name of each organ. Then, instructor explains orally how the digestive system works. Your digestive system starts working even before you put food in your mouth. When you look at, smell or think about delicious food, your mouth starts producing saliva. Once the food is in your mouth, you chew it and then you swallow it. The food travels down in slow motions through your esophagus into the stomach. The stomach stores the food and begins breaking it down with the help of the gastric juices that come from the stomachs walls. From the stomach, the food goes into the small intestine where the food breaks down even more so your body can absorb all the nutrients with the help of the juices from the liver, pancreas and gall bladder. After that, the food has become a watery mixture and travels to the large intestine. Here the nutrients are removed and waste is left over stuff your body cant use. The waste turns into stool and then the large intestine pushes the poop into the rectum and the feces exit the body through the anus. Repeat the process several times first using a visual picture of the digestive system. After Ss have practice explaining how the digestive system works, ask them to write it down. Make copies of the languageguide.org page. Encourage Ss to use their dictionaries to find the meaning of unfamiliar words. Then, proceed to work on pronunciation. Point out to Ss that to pass gas is the most polite way instead of saying to fart which a person can say among close friends. The same happens to feces which is more appropriate than using the word crap.
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The Digestive System
Page used to Introduce parts of the digestive
system.
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THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Page used to Review and practice parts of the
digestive system.
http//www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/di
gestive-system/
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Lets look at how our digestive system works
(Function)
http//kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/digestive_system.ht
ml
http//kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/_bfs_DSquizsource.h
tml - Quiz
Websites used to explain the function of each
organ in the digestive system.
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Fridays were test and technology days.

• Written test containing weeks content
• While students take test instructor emails them
  the worksheet for the day (email-accounts created
  first week of classes)
• Ss click on the link and work individually

http//www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/fract
uresandsprains/htm/_no_50_no_0.htm
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Question asking/question answering
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Preparing visuals for presentations
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The Eye
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Practicing their oral presentations in pairs
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Results

• All 12 students willingly participated in the
  project.
• Presentations were videotaped. After, students
  watched and analyzed their own presentations.
• Most students were satisfied with their
  performance as presenters and mentioned they had
  learned a lot .
• All students enjoyed listening to their
  classmates presentations.
• One student shared that this course taught her
  the importance of asking questions because during
  a doctors visit she found out a serious health
  condition by pressing for answers to her
  questions. (Thanks to her inquiries, she was able
  to receive proper treatment) .
• Two students that were fearful to use the
  computer, felt that they could now at least
  check their emails and access those health
  websites to find information in the future.

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Evaluation and Reflection

• This project was considered a great
  accomplishment by the students and the
  instructor.
• Even though I did not hand out an evaluation form
  after this project, I did provide students with
  opportunities to link their experience on this
  project to their future academic goals by
• Having several professors from the Nursing
  program as guest speakers. Students were able to
  interact and asked question. Also, students said
  they understood many technical terms guest
  speakers used in their presentations.
• 2) Taking the class to visit a nursing home.
• A limitation of this project was not to have a
  rubric students could use as guide while watching
  and analyzing their presentations.