IEP Students’ Pursuit of Happiness Gloria Chen Intensive English Program Indiana Tech INTESOL 2015

Happiness in the “Intensive” Learning Environment  Reading and Vocabulary  Writing and Grammar  Listening and Speaking  College Skills—Goal Oriented!  Happiness --An all-skill Independent Studies Research Project

Independent Studies Process-1  Chooses a research topic of one’s passion (Happiness)  Uses instructors as advisers  Uses all contacts as consultants  Uses all sources available to discover the answers to quest

Process-2  Completes the project with an electronic portfolio, with texts, graphics, audio recordings, videos, etc.  Makes regular appointments with consultant(s)/adviser(s) to discuss progress, find strength and weakness  Presents the project at the end of the semester

Topics-1 (Examples)  American Holidays  Pop Songs  Films and TV Series  TED Talks  My Own Culture

Topics-2 (Examples)  Technology: Drones, Electrical Cars, etc.  People: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,  College Majors  Hobbies  Trip Plans

Proposal and Plan-1  Description of the Study-- Elementary: at least 5 sentences; Intermediate: words; Advanced: words  Book Reading (Authentic Texts): Elementary: at least 20 pages; Intermediate: pages; Advanced: pages

Proposal and Plan-2 Other resources:  Interviews  CDs/DVDs  Online Information  Artifacts

During the Semester-1  Working independently or with a partner (no larger then 3-member groups)  Weekly meetings with the instructors/advisors  Weekly Reflection  Documentation of progress

During the Semester-2  Making of a Multi-media Portfolio  Revision and editing  Peer Critique  Practicing for Presentation

Work to Be Evaluated by Instructors -What areas have been explored -What questions are answered -What obstacles have been overcome (language? information? Study skills? personal relationship?) -Why is this study valuable to the general audience? To the author?

Reflection-1  What do I learn from doing this research project?  What have I done that I was not able to do before doing this project?  Did I meet the goal of this project?

Reflection-2  What was the most exciting thing about this project? What’s the most frustrating?  What could I have done to make this project better?  What is the project I plan to do next?

Evaluation  The best project(s) and presenter(s) are elected by both instructors and the audience (classmates, college administrators, guests)  Awards granted to winners ( Happiness )  Students receive a grade for the “College Skills” course based on efforts and improvement ( Happiness )

Conclusion  Improving reading, writing, and speaking skills ☺  Working with classmates, instructors, and campus/community members ☺  Enjoying the POWER of the language they are learning ☺  Preparing for college skills ☺

References Kasper, L. (2000, September). New technologies, new literacies: Focus discipline research and ESL learning communities. Language Learning & Technology. 4(2), Kawamura, M. (2008, August). Three goal-oriented presentation projects for ESL/EFL students. The Internet TESL Journal, 14 (8). August Retrieved from Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University. Northrop, N. (2000). ESL classroom projects: Steps to meaningful learning. Literacy Links. 4 (4). Retrieves from tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/sum00/sum00d.htmhttp://www- tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/sum00/sum00d.htm Richard-Amato, P., Snow, M. (2005). Academic success for English language learners. White Plain, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.