During the Spring 2020 semester, I taught this wonderful group of ESL learners in the classroom and on Zoom after the pandemic hit. This OER is a collection of resources, teaching ideas, and student artifacts about that experience. I hope it helps you. If you have questions, or just want to brainstorm, feel free to email me at <mike.mutschelknaus@rctc.edu>. 

This course covers the complexities of the communication process and the impact of communication on obtaining employment. Includes insights into the causes and effects of general communication behaviors, involvement in active exploration of the basic communication theories and concepts, and opportunities to develop communication strengths.

Course Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate understanding of group, public and personal communication theory.
2. Recognize and describe the relationship between nonverbal and oral communication as it relates to the workplace.

Café Denj is 14 episodes of short stories made for Advanced Persian Language Learners. The purpose of producing this series of videos that are all linked together was to help those who are learning modern Persian as well as offering a better understanding of the Persian culture as it is in Iran today.

Students will interview a faculty member who teaches in a major of interest. The assignment assist students in developing rapport with faculty, creating questions that require in depth answers, and learning how to synthesize and summarize their major findings.

This is a scaffolded group/collaborative activity within a unit of study on persuasive writing. Students would have already learned what claims, reasons, and evidence are in a previous lesson before participating in this activity. As a group of 4-5 students work together, they will decide which resources would be best to survive a zombie apocalypse. They would then need to compose statements of claim and reasoning for those items and complete some research as well. There is an option to allow students to create posters to present to the class as their final assignment. 

This is the Output of Etwinning Project TwinSite.
The purpose of our project is to encourage the students who participate in the learning process in English course. Also, our aim is to improve their skills in English and provide to take an interest in learning English. These activities will be issued online via web 2.0 tools. We are going to record videos, take photos, create learning materials, logos, blogs, have video conferences, share materials on Twinspace, disseminate and evaluate the project by working collaboratively. Then, we will collect them into a Web Twinsite.

Students interview a faculty member who teaches in a major in which they are interested.  The assignment helps students become more familiar with the college, with the faculty, to develop summary and paraphrasing skills and to better know the best career path for them.

Students will interview a faculty member who teaches in a major of interest. The assignment assist students in developing rapport with faculty, creating questions that require in depth answers, and learning how to synthesize and summarize their major findings.

Encoding Communication is an openly licesed image from Wikimedia commons liceensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. It focuses on the process of communication as promotion of undersatanding through shared symbols, context, and feedback. There is an indirect pointer to possible barrriers to effective communication (noise) emanating from various sources.

This resource was designed as an assessment measure for a programmatic learning objective in an undergraduate communication sciences and disorders program.  

This is Module 4 of the 16 modules in the ESL course. Students learn more about where they live – neighborhood, city, state, country. Focus is on California. Vocabulary on different names for roads, and landscapes expands students understanding of their environment. Grammar focus is on nouns. Extensive discussions using prompts strengthen students’ understanding and perception of where they live.

Module 11 of the 16-module ESL course explores the importance and relevance of law in the community. The lessons consist of critical thinking discussions on laws and scenarios dealing with the absence of laws. Conditionals are practiced as the grammar component. Reading and comprehension is on Veterans Day.  

This module entitled, Buy This Buy That, is the seventh of 16 modules in the ESL course. Students learn names of shopping items for different purposes – groceries, clothing, home, garden, etc. Higher level critical thinking activities and discussions are included in the lesson plans. Extensive vocabulary is provided to strengthen students’ word power especially to name everyday items to buy. The role-play activity mirrors actual experience at the store. Descriptive writing opportunities are provided in this module.

This Family and Friends Module 5 of 16 in the ESL course brings class discussions close to what students know and are familiar with. There is extensive discussion on vocabulary of the different relationships and titles of family members. Activities give students adequate practice with the vocabulary. One-paragraph and three-paragraph writing samples are modeled for the writing assignment.  

American Heritage, American Experience is the title of Module 12 of the ESL course. Lessons on American symbols, celebrations, school systems, states, capitals are among topics covered in this module. Discussions on the meaning of ‘heritage’ and assignments sharpen student awareness of the American culture. Prompts also urge students to compare and contrast their different native cultures to American culture.

Entitled Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, this is Module 8 of 16 modules for the ESL course. Verbal and written discussions, in-class and LMS assignments, and group activities reinforce the vocabulary related to health and wellness. Grammar focus is on simple present and simple past tense verbs. hrough charts, and worksheets, students reflect on their lifestyles – diet, exercise for physical health. Emotional, spiritual, and mental health aspects are also discussed in this module.

Money Matters with its dual meaning is the title of Module 9 of the 16 modules in the ESL course. Students focus on the financial aspect of their lives. Discussions, assignments, class activities support student comprehension of concepts in the module. Students connect how values and decisions influence financial goals. What are needs and wants? Pronouns and possessive adjectives are the grammar components of the module.  

Module 6 of the 16 modules of the ESL course is all about House and Home. Verbal and written discussions, in-class and LMS assignments, and group activities reinforce the vocabulary related to house and home. Writing samples in the descriptive genre affords opportunities for students to write a one-paragraph or a three-paragraph piece about their house and home.