Common Mistakes in English for ESL Learners

Common Mistakes in English for ESL Learners Common mistakes are mistakes that even native speakers make on a regular basis. The most common of these common mistakes include its or its, two, to or too, would of instead of would have, and more. The best way to not make these common mistakes is to become familiar with them through a wide variety of examples.​ You can use each of these pages as a starting point to practice not making these common mistakes in the future. Each page has a clear explanation with example sentences. Each common mistake page is followed by a quiz to help you check your understanding. Here are a few suggestions for how you can use these pages to reduce these common mistakes. Remember that each language has its own common mistakes. Some Common Mistakes Top Five Common Writing Mistakes in EnglishGood vs. WellBring, Take, Fetch, GetDifference Between From and OfEveryone / Every OneEveryday / Every DayWhether / IfEnoughA Little, Little, A Few, FewA Lot, Lots Of, A Lot OfFemale - Feminine / Male - MasculineIts vs. ItsTwo, Too, ToTheyre, Their, ThereYoure vs. YourConfusing WordsSince vs. ForHave vs. Of in ConditionalsHas gone to vs. Has been toThen vs. ThanDouble NegativesSo do I, Neither did ISo ... that, such ... thatBoth ... and, neither ... nor, either ... or Improving Common Mistakes Make sure to completely understand the common mistake. Look at the examples and ask yourself if you have made these common mistakes. Think about reading, writing and speaking and how they influence each other. For example, the common mistake would of rather than would have is often made because of the way would have sounds in connected speech. In other words, when people speak quickly they run the words together and the form would have SOUNDS like would of. When people then go to write this form they think back to what they have heard and make the common mistake of writing would of. NOT CORRECT! - He would of come to the party if he had had time.CORRECT - He would have come to the party if he had had time. Take time to write down the common mistakes on a piece of paper or in a separate document on your computer. Spend the time to write five or more sentences practicing the correct form of the common mistake in question. Take the time to really think about the mistake when practicing. Chances are you will never make the mistake again! Listen to / read other people for these common mistakes. Once you understand the common mistake, start listening to other people or reading their texts. Can you spot the common mistakes they make? How Many Common Mistakes Are There? You might wonder how many common English mistakes exist. Thats a difficult question to answer. There are certain mistakes made in grammar, common mistakes made in pronunciation, and there are many common mistakes made because of confusing words. Are Common Mistakes Bad? Common mistakes are mistakes. However, its (not its!) important to remember that the most important thing about using a language is communication. If you are able to communicate in English you are on the road to success. If you make a few common mistakes, you can certainly correct those mistakes. Will People Understand Me if I Make a Common Mistake? Generally, but not always, people will understand you if you make a common mistake. Context (what is happening around the situation) often makes it clear what you really mean. People fill in the blanks, understand that you mean something else, etc. Have confidence and try to eliminate common English mistakes, but make sure to continue speaking and writing English as much as you can!

Universal and Diagnostic Screening in Setting SLO Goals

Universal and Diagnostic Screening in Setting SLO Goals Teacher evaluation programs require that teachers set student learning objectives (SLOs) using data that can help target instruction for the academic school year. Teachers should use multiple sources of data in developing their SLOs in order to demonstrate student growth over an academic school year. One source of data for teachers can be found in the data that is collected from screening in Response to Intervention (RTI) programs. RTI is a multi-tier approach that allows educators to   identify and then support students with specific learning and behavior needs. The RTI process begins with the use of a universal screen   of all students.   A  universal screen  is an assessment which has already been determined to be a reliable assessment of a specific skill. Universal screens are designated as those assessments that are: Accessible to all studentsGiven to all studentsSkill and concept specific  Easy to administer and scoreQuick turn-around time (1-3 days) of aggregated and disaggregated data to classroom teachersRepeatableReliable (Note: A â€Å"teacher-made† assessment cannot be referred to as reliable if it has not been analyzed by a psychometrician) Source: State of CT, Department of Education, SERC Examples of universal screens used in education at the secondary level are:  Acuity,  AIMSweb, Classworks, FAST, IOWAs, and STAR; some states, such as NY, use the DRP as well. Once the data has been reviewed from universal screening, educators may want to use a  diagnostic screen  to measure students understanding of a subject area or skills base  after a universal screen has revealed specific areas of strength or weakness for a student.   The characteristics of diagnostic assessments are that they are: Given to selected students  Reliable   Valid  (Note: A â€Å"teacher-made† assessment cannot be referred to as reliable or valid if it has not been analyzed by a psychometrician) Source: State of CT, Department of Education, SERC Examples of diagnostic assessments include  Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC-2); Childrens Depression Inventory, Connors Rating Scales. NOTE: Some results may not be shared for the purposes of developing SLOs for the classroom teachers, but may be used for education specialists such as school social worker or psychologist. The data from universal screens and diagnostic screens are critical components of the RTI programs in schools, and this data, when available, can help in refining developing teacher SLOs. Of course, teachers may create their own benchmark assessments to act as a baseline. These benchmark assessments are used frequently, but because they are often teacher created they should be cross-referenced with universal and diagnostic screens if available. Teacher created materials are imperfect or may even be invalid if students underperform or if skills are incorrectly accessed. At the secondary level, teachers may look at quantitative  data  (expressed in numbers, measurable)  from prior years: Standardized test results (State, SAT, ACT, NAEP);Report card grades (letter value or percentage);Attendance records. There may be qualitative  data  (expressed in description, observable)  also in the form of recorded observations by teacher(s) and  support staff or in prior report card comments.This form of comparison through multiple measures that are qualitative and quantitative is called triangulation: Triangulation  is the process of using multiple data sources to address a particular question or problem and using evidence from each source to illuminate or temper evidence from the other sources. In triangulating data to develop a SLO, a teacher make an informed decision on the student learning objectives that to help improve either an individual student or group of students performance.     All of these forms of assessment including those from the prior year, which may include universal or diagnostic screens, can provide teachers with the data to begin to develop well-informed SLO goals at the beginning of the school year in order to target instruction for multi-tiered student improvement for the entire academic year.