In order to understand recent critical issues in the field of ESOL teaching, you will gather and read literature from well-known professional journals (e.g., TESOL Quarterly, Bilingual Research Journal) on a topic of your choosing that is approved by the instructor. Possible topics include:
To successfully complete this assignment, there are 5 main steps: Locate - Read - Select - Reference - Summarize
GALILEO searches across all of the Libraries' databases at once.
Enter a few keywords and/or "key phrases", or search by title or author > Search or hit Enter/Return
Searching within an individual, or a set of subject-specialty databases can be more on target and efficient. Some databases also have a thesaurus so you can create a subject search which is more precise.
Enter one of the EBSCOhost databases below > Select 'Choose Databases' > Select desired databases > OK.
Enter one of the EBSCOhost databases below> Select 'Choose Databases' > Select desired databases > OK.
These are the recommended journals for ESOL education:
To search effectively and efficiently, you need to develop a search strategy. This box explains how, using an example.
Assessing ELLs in middle school content classrooms |
Assessing ELLs in middle school content classrooms
Identify appropriate keywords or key phrases from your key concepts: Your keywords or key phrases might be the same words as your key concepts, or you might need to think of different words to use instead, better suited for a database search, e.g. 'assessment' is a better keyword than 'assessing'. Record them in a table, one row for each concept:
| Key Concepts |
Best Keyword / Key Phrase |
OR |
Synonyms, Word Variations, Related Keywords |
|
Concept 1 |
Assessment | OR | |
|
Concept 2 |
ELLs | OR | |
|
Concept 3 |
middle school | OR | |
| Concept 4 | content classrooms | OR |
| Key Concepts |
Keyword / Key Phrase |
OR |
Synonyms, Word Variations, Similar keywords/key phrases |
|
Concept 1 |
Assessment | OR | assessing |
|
Concept 2 |
ELLs | OR | English language learners |
|
Concept 3 |
middle school | OR | middle grades |
| Concept 4 | content classrooms | OR | content classes |
Search Technique |
Format |
Example |
| Exact Phrase Searching | "key phrase" |
"content classrooms" "middle school" |
| Boolean Operators | AND, OR, NOT |
Search field 1: assessment Search field 2: AND ELLs OR "English Language Learners" Search field 3: AND "middle school" OR "middle grades" Search field 4: AND "content classrooms" |
|
Truncation Device
|
Typically an asterisk: * May vary according to database |
assess* will retrieve assess, assessing, assessment, etc. "content class*" will retrieve "content classroom", "content classes", etc. |
| Wildcard |
Typically a pound: # , or a question mark: ? Varies from database to database GALILEO / EBSCOhost: # Proquest: ? |
In GALILEO and EBSCOhost databases "STE#M education" will retrieve "STEM education", "STEAM education", etc. |
| Parentheses |
(keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR (keyword/phrase)
|
assess* AND (ELLs OR "English language learners") AND ("middle school" OR "middle grades") AND "content class*" |
Exact Phrase Search
| What it does | The format | Example/s |
|---|---|---|
|
Will retrieve results containing your "key phrase" in the order that you have inputted at least once in the record details or the item contents |
"Key phrase" |
"middle school" will find the phrase 'middle school" at least once in the record or in the full-text. It won't separate the words. |
Boolean Operators
| What they do | The format | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Boolean operators are 'connectors'. They combine keywords or key phrases in order to narrow or expand your search. In a simple search, if you use no Boolean Operator, the default operator is typically AND. |
AND OR NOT |
assessment AND ELLs OR "English language learners" AND "middle school" OR "middle grades" AND "content classrooms" |
Truncation
| What it does | The format | Example - GALILEO and EBSCOhost databases |
|---|---|---|
|
Enter part of a keyword and place the truncation symbol at the end. The database will return results that include any ending of that partial word. |
Typically an asterisk i.e. * May vary from database to database. |
assess* will retrieve assess, assessing, assessment, assessor, etc. "content class*" will retrieve "content class", "content classes", "content classrooms", etc. *** Search field 1: assess* Search field 2: AND ELLs OR "English Language Learners" Search field 3: AND "middle school" OR "middle grades" Search field 4: AND "content class*" |
Wildcard
| What it does | The format | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Wildcards broaden your search results by substituting or including a character in your keyword or key phrase. There are 2 types of wildcards:
Great for including spelling variations of a keyword in your search. |
Typically a pound, i.e. #, exclamation mark, i.e. ! or question mark, i.e. ? Varies according to the database. Some databases may use both types of wildcards, some may only use one. Consult the database's 'Help' or 'Search Tips' page to verify the wildcard symbol and what it does. |
GALILEO & EBSCOhost databases
"STE#M education" will retrieve "STEM education" and "STEAM education"
|
Parentheses
| What they do | The format | Example/s |
|---|---|---|
|
Parentheses direct the search engine to perform your search in a certain order. When you edit / modify your search in some databases, it will convert your query into the parentheses structure. If you understand the structure, you can edit your search quickly.
|
Example: (keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR keyword/phrase) BOOLEAN OPERATOR (keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR keyword/phrase)
|
assess* AND (ELLs OR "English language learners") AND ("middle school" OR "middle grades") AND "content class*" |
