ESOL

The City

Students studying English in New York City have the opportunity to be immersed in English and to live in one of the most dynamic cultural, financial and entertainment capitals of the world. From the standpoint of a language instructor, New York City has the potential to become an immense classroom: one that is filled with inexhaustible situations, sights, events and activities for students to encounter and further develop their language skills. However, even in such an exciting immersion setting like New York City, ESOL students may only have the opportunity to use English in more mundane activities such as ordering food, going shopping or making general introductions. Further, in respect to language acquisition, the rich ethnic diversity of the city may not always allow for complete language immersion; ESOL students from around the world can most likely find New Yorkers who speak their home language. Conceivably, there could be instances where students may not even need to use English to take in the sights and sounds of the city. With these considerations in mind, the New York Times ESOL Student's Guide to New York City was developed to inspire and challenge adult ESOL students to improve their English language skills while experiencing much of what the city has to offer.

The Newspaper

As a language tool, a local guide, a living journal and a benchmark of literary excellence, The New York Times has the potential to deeply enrich and engage ESOL students. Most language instructors have probably used newspaper articles before to create reading comprehension exercises, to serve as models to refine writing skills or to introduce topics for discussion. Students, too, are familiar with newspapers--often using them to stay on top of current events, to gage their own reading skills and to gain information related to their individual interests. For students living in New York City the use of The New York Times can have an even greater impact on their learning because the information in Times articles can be of immediate relevance. The Times introduces its readers to restaurants, theater, cultural events, city landmarks, neighborhoods, and local news stories that can all be experienced firsthand. The newspaper is a living record of the city and has the potential to provide more than just the occasional in-class activity or reading exercise. In an effort to utilize the full potential of The New York Times in ESOL students' learning, this guide highlights the vast resources of The Times by presenting structured lesson plans which not only meet the language acquisition needs of students but can also empower them to use the paper as a guide to more fully experience New York City.

The Curriculum

The goal of the New York Times ESOL Student's Guide to New York City is to assist students in their language development through engaging lessons which incorporate interactive activities and tasks related to their language immersion environment. Simply put, the guide helps students improve their English while doing fun and interesting things in New York City. By making the resources contained in the newspaper familiar and accessible, the guide hopes to equip and empower students to pursue their individual learning, as well as to give them a tool to explore one of the greatest cities in the world.

The lessons are hands-on and experiential in nature so students can engage with Times articles and material without being fluent English readers. Whether the teacher stages an interactive art exhibit in the classroom or introduces a topic through a film clip or post card images, students can call upon their visual literacy to help enhance their language development. Through collaborative learning and experiential assignments, students are also inspired to use language to find answers to such questions as "Who makes the best hot dogs in New York City?" or "Which train should I catch to the Empire State Building?"

• Target Students
  
  The activities in this guide are intended for high-intermediate to advanced ESOL students. Although newspaper-based activities can work well with students at various language levels, these lesson plans and activities were intended for students who have already achieved a certain level of English language proficiency, yet are in need of challenging activities to build-up and refine their language skills.
  
  
• Structure and Use
  
  The guide consists of one introductory unit and four thematic units. The introductory unit is designed to help students become familiar with the structure and layout of The New York Times. The thematic units are based on headings often found in travel guides (e.g., "What to Eat," "Getting Around," etc.). Although the thematic units are by no means exhaustive, they encompass concepts that are intended to help students evaluate articles found in The New York Times, participate in collaborative activities within the class and accomplish specific language-related tasks outside of the class. Each unit contains a brief introduction that provides an overview of the lessons and ideas in the unit and a section entitled "Using today's Times," containing a list of activity ideas for teachers using The Times for a class on any given day. This guide should be viewed as an adaptable resource of ideas for teachers; the lessons can be followed step-by-step, or they can also be used as models to inspire instructors in formulating their own lesson plans.

Each lesson section contains a lesson plan, a related article and any other handouts or sheets that teachers may need in executing the lesson. When using the lesson plan template as a model for crafting your own lessons on New York City, you may not find it necessary to hit upon all the objective categories listed in the template (i.e., communicative, writing, reading, speaking, listening, grammar and task).Depending on the focus of a lesson, the objectives related to the four language skills and grammar may or may not need to be detailed. On the other hand, the communicative and task objectives should be completed since it is in these objectives that the overall goal of the guide is reflected.