Since there has been an incremental increase in the projected number of ESL students, there is a need for a structure in terms of pedagogy. Teaching ESL can be quite a challenge, especially for instructors who are not related to the educational field. However, Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a simple, albeit comprehensive, structure when it comes to teaching so that no matter what industry you work in, if you decide to teach ESL, you would have some sort of a structured pattern of teaching.
When I started teaching ESL, I had no prior knowledge in the education setting; thus, I had to refer to different resources to hone my methodologies. This chart answered my need for structure in the classroom.
Basically, Bloom’s Taxonomy is an educational framework that emphasizes the importance of learning objectives. This model revolves heavily around the end-goal, wherein class design is based on your learning outcomes. It is a teaching process that goes from left to right towards the learning outcome. (Do note that teachers DO NOT have to cover all the steps, there will be instances in which you would want to integrate only two or three steps.)
Here is a sample design that utilizes Bloom’s Taxonomy (this is not a lesson plan; rather, this is to show how it can be used as an effective tool for designing lessons).
Learning Objective: Public Speaking in a Rhetorical Situations
Possible Concerns:
- Students can be shy or anxious in front of a crowd.
- Students’ manner of speaking may be a little difficult to comprehend.
- The audience may be inattentive or disinterested in the topic.
- The student may not necessarily be interested in his/her own topic.
Instructional Procedure
- Ask the students to brainstorm topics that interest them. (Remembering)
- With a chosen topic, have the students conduct research on the internet, or ask their classmates what they know regarding the topic. (Understanding)
- Have the students write down all the facts about the topic, as well as what they THINK the topic is about. (Understanding)
- From their list, have the students evaluate the information by selecting information that would be beneficial to their public speaking forum. (Applying and Analyzing)
- Have the students go around the classroom and have them peer review the information, then write down possible questions that may arise during a forum. (Evaluating)
- Before doing a public speaking forum, have the students deliver their speeches via a vlog (not just a voice recording) in order for them to see how they would appear and what aspects they might want to improve on. (Creating)
- Have the students deliver their speeches in front of the classroom. (Learning outcome)
As you can observe, this cannot be done in one session, and it can help the students incorporate social interactions with their fellow learners. Also, the class is focused towards a more cooperative learning approach, rather than a structured lecture class. The main goal is to have the teacher serve as a facilitator, while still maintaining an environment of learning for the students.
From here, you can design a preferred lesson plan, breaking down the activities for each session, as well as identify specific contexts that may negatively impact the class, then address that problem by utilizing the model.
