FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THEKATHMANDU POST
"Ever cried for your country?"
By BAN WHI MIN
Nepalese complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They openly vent their anger against the government. But have they ever thought About Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have not. I want to say that Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among the people and lack of love for one another. This is the conclusion I have reached during my stay. This summer, I did voluntary work from July 5 to July 30 at FHI Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, Kathmandu.
Let me first tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you understand my point. Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives of more than 5 million Koreans, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Without natural resources, Korea had no choice but to desperately struggle for its survival by all means. Under this gloomy situation, Koreans envied other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal. Korean government officials were horribly corrupt. With the dual classes of Yangban (nobles) and Sangnom(peasants), Korean society was sickening day by day. However, Koreans, having determination to become rich, overcame the unfair social structure and put the country onto the track of development. When the former president Park Jung Hee took over the government, there were few factories in Korea. Korea could not attract loans or expect foreign investments. Under these circumstances, President Park 'exported' miners and nurses to then West Germany. The salaries that they earned were used to building factories and promoting industrialization of Korea. In 1964, when President Park visited then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president when the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with the miners and nurses, that someday the Koreans would become rich.
Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy comfortable lives in the United States, returned to Korea with only one thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. They did their best even though their salaries were much less than what they would have received in other countries. The Koreans believed that they have the ability to change their desperate situation and that they must make the country better, not only for themselves but also for the future generations yet to come. My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families and the country. They worked 14 hours a day, and risked their lives working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous environments. They always tried to teach their children the true value of 'hard work'. Finally, all of these hard works and sacrifices made the prosperous Korea that you see now. Nepalese! Have you ever cried for your country? I heard that many of Nepali youth do not love their Nepal. I also heard that they want to leave Nepal because they don't like caste system, or because they want to escape the severe poverty. However, they should be the first ones to voluntarily work for Nepal's development, not the first ones to complain and speak against their country.
I have a dream that someday I would be able to free the souls from suffering from the underdeveloped countries, anachronistic customs and the desperate hunger. My belief has become stronger than ever after seeing the reality in Nepal.
A child with a fatal disease who doesn't have enough money to buy a pill; a child living in what seems like a pre-historic dwelling and not having the opportunity to receive education; and a student who cannot succeed, no matter how hard he studies, just because of the class he comes from. A society, in which wives not only take care of children but also work in the fields, while their husbands waste their time doing nothing; a society in which a five-year-old must labour in a brick factory to feed herself. Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet this sense of despair strengthened my belief. I already know that many of the Nepalese are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if you just pray to hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. It is the action that you and Nepal need for the better future. For Nepal and yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbours and country just as you do to Gods. You know that your Gods will be pleased when you work for the development of your country and improvement of your lives. Therefore, please, love your neighbours and country. Teach your children to love their country. And love the working itself. Who do you think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you think will be able to respect the spirit of Himalayas and to keep the lonely flag representing it? You are the ones responsible for leading this beautiful country to a much brighter future. This responsibility lies on you.
(The writer is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign
Studies, South Korea).
Friday, 7 May 2010
"Ever cried for your country?"
FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THEKATHMANDU POST
"Ever cried for your country?"
By BAN WHI MIN
Nepalese complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They openly vent their anger against the government. But have they ever thought About Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have not. I want to say that Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among the people and lack of love for one another. This is the conclusion I have reached during my stay. This summer, I did voluntary work from July 5 to July 30 at FHI Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, Kathmandu.
Let me first tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you understand my point. Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives of more than 5 million Koreans, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Without natural resources, Korea had no choice but to desperately struggle for its survival by all means. Under this gloomy situation, Koreans envied other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal. Korean government officials were horribly corrupt. With the dual classes of Yangban (nobles) and Sangnom(peasants), Korean society was sickening day by day. However, Koreans, having determination to become rich, overcame the unfair social structure and put the country onto the track of development. When the former president Park Jung Hee took over the government, there were few factories in Korea. Korea could not attract loans or expect foreign investments. Under these circumstances, President Park 'exported' miners and nurses to then West Germany. The salaries that they earned were used to building factories and promoting industrialization of Korea. In 1964, when President Park visited then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president when the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with the miners and nurses, that someday the Koreans would become rich.
Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy comfortable lives in the United States, returned to Korea with only one thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. They did their best even though their salaries were much less than what they would have received in other countries. The Koreans believed that they have the ability to change their desperate situation and that they must make the country better, not only for themselves but also for the future generations yet to come. My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families and the country. They worked 14 hours a day, and risked their lives working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous environments. They always tried to teach their children the true value of 'hard work'. Finally, all of these hard works and sacrifices made the prosperous Korea that you see now. Nepalese! Have you ever cried for your country? I heard that many of Nepali youth do not love their Nepal. I also heard that they want to leave Nepal because they don't like caste system, or because they want to escape the severe poverty. However, they should be the first ones to voluntarily work for Nepal's development, not the first ones to complain and speak against their country.
I have a dream that someday I would be able to free the souls from suffering from the underdeveloped countries, anachronistic customs and the desperate hunger. My belief has become stronger than ever after seeing the reality in Nepal.
A child with a fatal disease who doesn't have enough money to buy a pill; a child living in what seems like a pre-historic dwelling and not having the opportunity to receive education; and a student who cannot succeed, no matter how hard he studies, just because of the class he comes from. A society, in which wives not only take care of children but also work in the fields, while their husbands waste their time doing nothing; a society in which a five-year-old must labour in a brick factory to feed herself. Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet this sense of despair strengthened my belief. I already know that many of the Nepalese are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if you just pray to hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. It is the action that you and Nepal need for the better future. For Nepal and yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbours and country just as you do to Gods. You know that your Gods will be pleased when you work for the development of your country and improvement of your lives. Therefore, please, love your neighbours and country. Teach your children to love their country. And love the working itself. Who do you think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you think will be able to respect the spirit of Himalayas and to keep the lonely flag representing it? You are the ones responsible for leading this beautiful country to a much brighter future. This responsibility lies on you.
(The writer is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign
Studies, South Korea).
"Ever cried for your country?"
By BAN WHI MIN
Nepalese complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They openly vent their anger against the government. But have they ever thought About Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have not. I want to say that Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among the people and lack of love for one another. This is the conclusion I have reached during my stay. This summer, I did voluntary work from July 5 to July 30 at FHI Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, Kathmandu.
Let me first tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you understand my point. Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives of more than 5 million Koreans, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Without natural resources, Korea had no choice but to desperately struggle for its survival by all means. Under this gloomy situation, Koreans envied other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal. Korean government officials were horribly corrupt. With the dual classes of Yangban (nobles) and Sangnom(peasants), Korean society was sickening day by day. However, Koreans, having determination to become rich, overcame the unfair social structure and put the country onto the track of development. When the former president Park Jung Hee took over the government, there were few factories in Korea. Korea could not attract loans or expect foreign investments. Under these circumstances, President Park 'exported' miners and nurses to then West Germany. The salaries that they earned were used to building factories and promoting industrialization of Korea. In 1964, when President Park visited then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president when the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with the miners and nurses, that someday the Koreans would become rich.
Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy comfortable lives in the United States, returned to Korea with only one thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. They did their best even though their salaries were much less than what they would have received in other countries. The Koreans believed that they have the ability to change their desperate situation and that they must make the country better, not only for themselves but also for the future generations yet to come. My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families and the country. They worked 14 hours a day, and risked their lives working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous environments. They always tried to teach their children the true value of 'hard work'. Finally, all of these hard works and sacrifices made the prosperous Korea that you see now. Nepalese! Have you ever cried for your country? I heard that many of Nepali youth do not love their Nepal. I also heard that they want to leave Nepal because they don't like caste system, or because they want to escape the severe poverty. However, they should be the first ones to voluntarily work for Nepal's development, not the first ones to complain and speak against their country.
I have a dream that someday I would be able to free the souls from suffering from the underdeveloped countries, anachronistic customs and the desperate hunger. My belief has become stronger than ever after seeing the reality in Nepal.
A child with a fatal disease who doesn't have enough money to buy a pill; a child living in what seems like a pre-historic dwelling and not having the opportunity to receive education; and a student who cannot succeed, no matter how hard he studies, just because of the class he comes from. A society, in which wives not only take care of children but also work in the fields, while their husbands waste their time doing nothing; a society in which a five-year-old must labour in a brick factory to feed herself. Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet this sense of despair strengthened my belief. I already know that many of the Nepalese are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if you just pray to hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. It is the action that you and Nepal need for the better future. For Nepal and yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbours and country just as you do to Gods. You know that your Gods will be pleased when you work for the development of your country and improvement of your lives. Therefore, please, love your neighbours and country. Teach your children to love their country. And love the working itself. Who do you think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you think will be able to respect the spirit of Himalayas and to keep the lonely flag representing it? You are the ones responsible for leading this beautiful country to a much brighter future. This responsibility lies on you.
(The writer is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign
Studies, South Korea).
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Blogging
I agree with Susana that a blog has created a collaborative environment for learning. There is no doubt that a blog can be an affective tool to enhance a group learning atmosphere which ultimately makes a learner an autonomous learner. As Stanley (2005) argues that a blog does not only develop students' reading ability but also develops their writing ability. Writing in the blog for example enhances learners' ability to write for the peers and other real-life audiences but not only for their teachers as it happens in the traditional way of writing. The most important point in Stanley's article is that the use of the blog involves the students in a process-based writing. But I doubt with Susan's question (in her posting) – whether blogging can be art. Yes, it can be an art as you can upload photographs and make it more attractive with different designs and images. However, when students focus more on the art they might be focusing on technology which may not help in language learning as Santana (2010) argues that 'technology doesn't help you learn; interaction helps you learn' and ' [we should] focus on the activities, not on the technology'. This clearly indicates that Stanley's article lacks a comprehensive discussion on how the blog can be more interactive and activity focused. What sort of task should be designed to make the blog more interactive is an important issue at this point.
I also agree with all of the previous postings especially of Naveda that we can integrate all four language skills through the blog. Moreover, we can also teach different aspects of a language e.g. vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through the blog. We can create different class blogs where students have to find out the meaning of the new words from their course and make one meaningful sentence of their own using the words. When they put their example sentences in the blog other students come up with different sentences for the same word. This develops students' vocabulary and grammar simultaneously through collaboration.
Among the three blogs (Teaching ESL to Adults, ESL Class Blog and Larry Ferlazzo's blog) the first two are better than the third one. It is because the first two blogs provide more varieties of tasks so that students can interact each other. At the same time, they have a lot of reflection on the lessons both from the teachers and students which I think is useful for improving our teaching for better students' learning. But, as others have already commented in the blog, the third blog tends to make only a list without providing any practical tasks for the students. This comparison indicates that if the blog or any technology does not make learners active, social, and it is not learner-centered, there is no point in using technology in the calssroom (Oblinger and Oblinger, 2005). Based on this, I argue that I should use the blog not only for information sharing but also for engaging students in a meaningful interaction. For this, I use post the task for the students in the blog along with some sample activities and invite their concrete comments on them. And then, I ask all of them to reflect on the usefullness the tasks they were involved in.
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Oblinger, D., & Oblinger, J. (2005). Is it age or IT? In D. &. Oblinger, Educating the NET Generation. Washington, DC: EDUCAUSE.
Santana, D. (2010) Points to consider when using technology in the classroom. Available online at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2010/sessions/2010-04-08/points-consider-when-using-technology-classroom-1.
I also agree with all of the previous postings especially of Naveda that we can integrate all four language skills through the blog. Moreover, we can also teach different aspects of a language e.g. vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through the blog. We can create different class blogs where students have to find out the meaning of the new words from their course and make one meaningful sentence of their own using the words. When they put their example sentences in the blog other students come up with different sentences for the same word. This develops students' vocabulary and grammar simultaneously through collaboration.
Among the three blogs (Teaching ESL to Adults, ESL Class Blog and Larry Ferlazzo's blog) the first two are better than the third one. It is because the first two blogs provide more varieties of tasks so that students can interact each other. At the same time, they have a lot of reflection on the lessons both from the teachers and students which I think is useful for improving our teaching for better students' learning. But, as others have already commented in the blog, the third blog tends to make only a list without providing any practical tasks for the students. This comparison indicates that if the blog or any technology does not make learners active, social, and it is not learner-centered, there is no point in using technology in the calssroom (Oblinger and Oblinger, 2005). Based on this, I argue that I should use the blog not only for information sharing but also for engaging students in a meaningful interaction. For this, I use post the task for the students in the blog along with some sample activities and invite their concrete comments on them. And then, I ask all of them to reflect on the usefullness the tasks they were involved in.
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Oblinger, D., & Oblinger, J. (2005). Is it age or IT? In D. &. Oblinger, Educating the NET Generation. Washington, DC: EDUCAUSE.
Santana, D. (2010) Points to consider when using technology in the classroom. Available online at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2010/sessions/2010-04-08/points-consider-when-using-technology-classroom-1.
On CCTV
Dear Wang and All
I went through the website http://www.cctv.com (China Central Television) which you used for your teaching. I went through the videos of different Chinese cultures and arts. They are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your ideas and making us know about the Chinese culture and arts.
I agree with your ideas to introduce the Chinese culture listening texts to the Chinese students. There are many advantages of using local cultures in English language teaching. First, the use of local cultural texts in the classroom motivates students to learn English as it reflects their values and beliefs. When we talk about motivation, it should be defined as a value-based drive rather than traditional achievement-based one. I have also used the Nepalese cultural texts (videos and passages) in my classroom. What I have found is my students interacted more in the group and pair work activities related to the local culture. Since they get chance to listen to or read the texts from their own culture and society, it gives a sense of relevance of learning English.
Another important point is that since the texts represent diverse cultural backgrounds, such listening or reading texts also help maintaining intercultural communication. Such texts also encourage students to share their own culture in the post-listening stage. This process integrates the listening and speaking skills at the same time.
However, while adapting such cultural texts teachers need training on how to handle multicultural texts. Moreover, there is always a question of authenticity in using local cultural texts. Whether the language used to interpret such cultural texts represents the culture is another issue to discuss.
With regards
Prem
I went through the website http://www.cctv.com (China Central Television) which you used for your teaching. I went through the videos of different Chinese cultures and arts. They are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your ideas and making us know about the Chinese culture and arts.
I agree with your ideas to introduce the Chinese culture listening texts to the Chinese students. There are many advantages of using local cultures in English language teaching. First, the use of local cultural texts in the classroom motivates students to learn English as it reflects their values and beliefs. When we talk about motivation, it should be defined as a value-based drive rather than traditional achievement-based one. I have also used the Nepalese cultural texts (videos and passages) in my classroom. What I have found is my students interacted more in the group and pair work activities related to the local culture. Since they get chance to listen to or read the texts from their own culture and society, it gives a sense of relevance of learning English.
Another important point is that since the texts represent diverse cultural backgrounds, such listening or reading texts also help maintaining intercultural communication. Such texts also encourage students to share their own culture in the post-listening stage. This process integrates the listening and speaking skills at the same time.
However, while adapting such cultural texts teachers need training on how to handle multicultural texts. Moreover, there is always a question of authenticity in using local cultural texts. Whether the language used to interpret such cultural texts represents the culture is another issue to discuss.
With regards
Prem
On CCTV
Dear Wang and All
I went through the website http://www.cctv.com (China Central Television) which you used for your teaching. I went through the videos of different Chinese cultures and arts. They are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your ideas and making us know about the Chinese culture and arts.
I agree with your ideas to introduce the Chinese culture listening texts to the Chinese students. There are many advantages of using local cultures in English language teaching. First, the use of local cultural texts in the classroom motivates students to learn English as it reflects their values and beliefs. When we talk about motivation, it should be defined as a value-based drive rather than traditional achievement-based one. I have also used the Nepalese cultural texts (videos and passages) in my classroom. What I have found is my students interacted more in the group and pair work activities related to the local culture. Since they get chance to listen to or read the texts from their own culture and society, it gives a sense of relevance of learning English.
Another important point is that since the texts represent diverse cultural backgrounds, such listening or reading texts also help maintaining intercultural communication. Such texts also encourage students to share their own culture in the post-listening stage. This process integrates the listening and speaking skills at the same time.
However, while adapting such cultural texts teachers need training on how to handle multicultural texts. Moreover, there is always a question of authenticity in using local cultural texts. Whether the language used to interpret such cultural texts represents the culture is another issue to discuss.
With regards
Prem
I went through the website http://www.cctv.com (China Central Television) which you used for your teaching. I went through the videos of different Chinese cultures and arts. They are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your ideas and making us know about the Chinese culture and arts.
I agree with your ideas to introduce the Chinese culture listening texts to the Chinese students. There are many advantages of using local cultures in English language teaching. First, the use of local cultural texts in the classroom motivates students to learn English as it reflects their values and beliefs. When we talk about motivation, it should be defined as a value-based drive rather than traditional achievement-based one. I have also used the Nepalese cultural texts (videos and passages) in my classroom. What I have found is my students interacted more in the group and pair work activities related to the local culture. Since they get chance to listen to or read the texts from their own culture and society, it gives a sense of relevance of learning English.
Another important point is that since the texts represent diverse cultural backgrounds, such listening or reading texts also help maintaining intercultural communication. Such texts also encourage students to share their own culture in the post-listening stage. This process integrates the listening and speaking skills at the same time.
However, while adapting such cultural texts teachers need training on how to handle multicultural texts. Moreover, there is always a question of authenticity in using local cultural texts. Whether the language used to interpret such cultural texts represents the culture is another issue to discuss.
With regards
Prem
Pronunciation through technology
Dear All
I went through the website of BBC Learning English
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/. I found the page 'The Sounds of English' http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/ quite useful.
This site is useful for the primary level students. However, any other level of students of the English as a foreign language can be benefited from the site.
The site primarily enhances better pronunciation of the students. All sounds, both consonants and vowels, of English are given in the website along with their pronunciation. The sounds have been further categorised into long, short and diphthongs in the case of vowels. Likewise, the consonants sounds have been put under voiceless, voiced and other sounds. Since the students can also listen to the sounds, their listening skill will also be enhanced. Moreover, this site provides the examples of /I/, /i:/, /u/, /u:/ and some other vowels at the word level in five different units. This helps the students to pronounce the words correctly.
Overall, the site is relevant to the level of primary students. By using the site, students can practice the pronunciation of all English sounds. However, the site does not provide the word level examples of all sounds. The pronunciation of sounds in isolation sometimes create problem especially when the students make a sound-symbol correlation. Sometimes, the same symbol is pronounced differently and sometimes the same sound is represented by different symbols. Similarly, the site does not give any minimal pair examples (e.g. fan and van) which enable students to discriminate and identify correct sounds. It would have been better if there were examples of the sounds at different position on the word (e.g. initial, middle and final).
Besides these lacunas, the site is useful for the students to improve their pronunciation.
With regards
Prem
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
Dear Prem,
This is my teaching philosophy when using technology with my students. I consider tech as a tool only, to show them the path that will lead them, by their own, to go autonomously, forward for more exploration.
I have used my favourite website for pronunciation with a group of engineers in a training course. Do you believe that they sent me after the coursed ended, maybe weeks later, that they still used it in their free time? If you are interested you can have a look at it here:
I agree with you that BBC Learning English is very beneficial for students.
You wrote "It would have been better if there were examples of the sounds at different position on the word (e.g. initial, middle and final)." I cannot agree more. For example, this website pronounces words with photos. It's suitable only for young learners.
You also wrote "Sometimes, the same symbol is pronounced differently and sometimes the same sound is represented by different symbols.". How about this website:
It gives you an idea of the sounds of American English. I hope you will find it useful. Even website offering services like: do not work properly and may waste students' time trying to shorten phrases or re-edit a word.
Regards, Hala
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dear Hala
Thank you for your comment on my post. What I wanted to say about the web page I have discussed in my previous post was: the page does not provide any example of the occurrence a particular sound at word middle and final level. It only provides examples at word initial level.
Moreover, sound-symbol correlation is tricky in English which poses a great problem for my students. For example, 'ch' is pronounced as /tS/ in 'chocolate' 'choice' but /k/ in 'chorus'. My point is that although the website is useful, there is no doubt, it'd been better if there are some examples of such variations in pronunciation.
Cheers
Prem
I went through the website of BBC Learning English
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/. I found the page 'The Sounds of English' http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/ quite useful.
This site is useful for the primary level students. However, any other level of students of the English as a foreign language can be benefited from the site.
The site primarily enhances better pronunciation of the students. All sounds, both consonants and vowels, of English are given in the website along with their pronunciation. The sounds have been further categorised into long, short and diphthongs in the case of vowels. Likewise, the consonants sounds have been put under voiceless, voiced and other sounds. Since the students can also listen to the sounds, their listening skill will also be enhanced. Moreover, this site provides the examples of /I/, /i:/, /u/, /u:/ and some other vowels at the word level in five different units. This helps the students to pronounce the words correctly.
Overall, the site is relevant to the level of primary students. By using the site, students can practice the pronunciation of all English sounds. However, the site does not provide the word level examples of all sounds. The pronunciation of sounds in isolation sometimes create problem especially when the students make a sound-symbol correlation. Sometimes, the same symbol is pronounced differently and sometimes the same sound is represented by different symbols. Similarly, the site does not give any minimal pair examples (e.g. fan and van) which enable students to discriminate and identify correct sounds. It would have been better if there were examples of the sounds at different position on the word (e.g. initial, middle and final).
Besides these lacunas, the site is useful for the students to improve their pronunciation.
With regards
Prem
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
Dear Prem,
This is my teaching philosophy when using technology with my students. I consider tech as a tool only, to show them the path that will lead them, by their own, to go autonomously, forward for more exploration.
I have used my favourite website for pronunciation with a group of engineers in a training course. Do you believe that they sent me after the coursed ended, maybe weeks later, that they still used it in their free time? If you are interested you can have a look at it here:
I agree with you that BBC Learning English is very beneficial for students.
You wrote "It would have been better if there were examples of the sounds at different position on the word (e.g. initial, middle and final)." I cannot agree more. For example, this website pronounces words with photos. It's suitable only for young learners.
You also wrote "Sometimes, the same symbol is pronounced differently and sometimes the same sound is represented by different symbols.". How about this website:
It gives you an idea of the sounds of American English. I hope you will find it useful. Even website offering services like: do not work properly and may waste students' time trying to shorten phrases or re-edit a word.
Regards, Hala
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dear Hala
Thank you for your comment on my post. What I wanted to say about the web page I have discussed in my previous post was: the page does not provide any example of the occurrence a particular sound at word middle and final level. It only provides examples at word initial level.
Moreover, sound-symbol correlation is tricky in English which poses a great problem for my students. For example, 'ch' is pronounced as /tS/ in 'chocolate' 'choice' but /k/ in 'chorus'. My point is that although the website is useful, there is no doubt, it'd been better if there are some examples of such variations in pronunciation.
Cheers
Prem
Lesson Plan with technology
Dear All
Following is my lesson plan with technology
Class (name, type of student): 20 M.Ed. students (who are appearing for their practice teaching sessions)
Duration: 2 hours
Materials
Technology component downloaded from/accessed in class at: Required materials will be downloaded from http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221 (For reading texts)
and http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html (Fir model lesson plan)
Other material:
Chart paper
Introduction
Review of previous lesson: Briefly talk about the theories behind teaching reading and major types of reading which were discussed in the previous lesson.
Objectives of this lesson (tell students about them):
At the end of the lesson students will be able to design a lesson plan for teaching intensive reading.
Procedure
Presentation (teacher or student), including key vocabulary
1.Introduce the class with a brief talk on what a lesson plan is and its importance.
2.Introduce key vocabulary items: warmer, presentation, objective, learning style, pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading and evaluation.
3.Introduce the lesson in brief.
Activity (student)
1.Ask students the following questions and discuss in a pair.
a)What is an intensive reading?
b)How can it be fostered?
c)Should grammar and vocabulary be focused in an intensive reading? Why or why not?
d)What are the major points to be focused on while planning a lesson for the intensive listening?
2.Provide the lesson plan downloaded from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html and ask them to do the following activities:
a)What are the major components of the lesson plan?
b)What are the purposes of each component?
c)Ask them to read the text again and do the activities given in the lesson. (They will read the text for each component of the lesson)
3.I will provide them a text from http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221
and ask them to design the similar kind of exercises for the each component of the previous lesson plan (Gorup work)
4.Ask them to share their ideas with other groups.
5.Ask them to work in a group and discuss how the model of the lesson plan they are already familiar with is different from present one. Also ask them which is more effective and how for teaching reading?
6.Ask them to share their ideas among the group.
Learning styles addressed: Group work, pair work, intensive reading
Technology alternative (in case things don't work as planned): Show them some more examples of the lesson plan from the website mentioned above.
Review before the end of the class session:
Ask the students to work in group and reflect on what they learned in the lesson.
Homework:
Go through the website http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221, find a text related to any issue and design the lesson plan for teaching intensive reading to the secondary level students. For more information go through http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html
Comment
The template of the lesson plan provided by the University of Tennessee indicates that there is a difference between the technology integrated lesson plan and the plan without technology. First, in the technology integrated lesson, the source of where ideas come from is clearly stated. Since there are alternative websites for the same lesson, there is more chance of giving the lesson a variety. However, the effectiveness of technology enhanced lesson plan depends largely upon the access to technology both for the teachers and students.
I could see many differences between the lesson plan that I have been following and the template I have used here. I have been following PPP (Presentation, practice and production) which, as I reflect now, does not provide freedom to do activities. Moreover, the PPP model does not provide any chance for the reflection on the lesson from the part of the students which is crucial to make students realize the importance of what they learned. But in this new template, I could see that component. In the same way, since the technology integrated template provides a source for exploring more lesson plans or materials, it seems to promote the learner autonomy.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Following is my lesson plan with technology
Class (name, type of student): 20 M.Ed. students (who are appearing for their practice teaching sessions)
Duration: 2 hours
Materials
Technology component downloaded from/accessed in class at: Required materials will be downloaded from http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221 (For reading texts)
and http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html (Fir model lesson plan)
Other material:
Chart paper
Introduction
Review of previous lesson: Briefly talk about the theories behind teaching reading and major types of reading which were discussed in the previous lesson.
Objectives of this lesson (tell students about them):
At the end of the lesson students will be able to design a lesson plan for teaching intensive reading.
Procedure
Presentation (teacher or student), including key vocabulary
1.Introduce the class with a brief talk on what a lesson plan is and its importance.
2.Introduce key vocabulary items: warmer, presentation, objective, learning style, pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading and evaluation.
3.Introduce the lesson in brief.
Activity (student)
1.Ask students the following questions and discuss in a pair.
a)What is an intensive reading?
b)How can it be fostered?
c)Should grammar and vocabulary be focused in an intensive reading? Why or why not?
d)What are the major points to be focused on while planning a lesson for the intensive listening?
2.Provide the lesson plan downloaded from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html and ask them to do the following activities:
a)What are the major components of the lesson plan?
b)What are the purposes of each component?
c)Ask them to read the text again and do the activities given in the lesson. (They will read the text for each component of the lesson)
3.I will provide them a text from http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221
and ask them to design the similar kind of exercises for the each component of the previous lesson plan (Gorup work)
4.Ask them to share their ideas with other groups.
5.Ask them to work in a group and discuss how the model of the lesson plan they are already familiar with is different from present one. Also ask them which is more effective and how for teaching reading?
6.Ask them to share their ideas among the group.
Learning styles addressed: Group work, pair work, intensive reading
Technology alternative (in case things don't work as planned): Show them some more examples of the lesson plan from the website mentioned above.
Review before the end of the class session:
Ask the students to work in group and reflect on what they learned in the lesson.
Homework:
Go through the website http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=1221, find a text related to any issue and design the lesson plan for teaching intensive reading to the secondary level students. For more information go through http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1003/100309-internet_access.html
Comment
The template of the lesson plan provided by the University of Tennessee indicates that there is a difference between the technology integrated lesson plan and the plan without technology. First, in the technology integrated lesson, the source of where ideas come from is clearly stated. Since there are alternative websites for the same lesson, there is more chance of giving the lesson a variety. However, the effectiveness of technology enhanced lesson plan depends largely upon the access to technology both for the teachers and students.
I could see many differences between the lesson plan that I have been following and the template I have used here. I have been following PPP (Presentation, practice and production) which, as I reflect now, does not provide freedom to do activities. Moreover, the PPP model does not provide any chance for the reflection on the lesson from the part of the students which is crucial to make students realize the importance of what they learned. But in this new template, I could see that component. In the same way, since the technology integrated template provides a source for exploring more lesson plans or materials, it seems to promote the learner autonomy.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Technology for reading and writing
Dear Deborah, Sueanne and All
I went through Liao's (1999) article 'E-mailing to Improve EFL Learners' Reading and Writing Abilities: Taiwan Experience' (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html ) which highlights the importance of e-mailing in developing reading and writing skills of students. The ideas discussed in the article can be used for all levels of students especially for those who can write e-mails. To be specific, I use this idea with the Bachelor level students who are doing their course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Since my students have easy access to e-mails than other technological tools, they can use e-mail to share their ideas.
Based on the experiences of working with Taiwanese students, Liao argues that the students who join Computer Pals Across the World (CPAW) do not only develop their communicative competence but also intercultural competence through e-mails. This means students do not only share their ideas and experiences but also share their culture with the people from other cultural backgrounds. This indicates that the use of e-mail enhances students' ability to communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
Moreover, students have to use appropriate mechanics (e.g. punctuation), correct grammar, cohesive devices and style while e-mailing people from other cultures. This will of course develop their writing skill. At the same time, in order to answer the queries and know more about other cultures, they have to read the e-mails sent by the friends. In this sense, e-mailing is the useful tool to integrate both reading and writing skills.
Similarly, as students have to communicate with people from other countries they will be motivated to read their e-mails and write about their own culture. On the one hand, this will maintain intercultural communication and on the other hand, this will make students aware of their own culture which is called 'reflexive impact'.
However, the article does not mention much about the process of providing feedback to the students' writing. There is no detail account of how e-mailing develops intercultural competence as there is no any description of testing the intercultural competence in the article. Moreover, the focus on fluency rather than accuracy may create the fossilisation of learning grammar.
Another useful article is by Belisle (1996) E-mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html). I found the idea of the article useful for my students. Belisle argues that by using e-mail, teachers can provide task in a group and monitor their activities closely. One of the most important points in using e-mail is it makes writing more focused and audience-oriented. Students have to write something keeping in mind that other friends read what they write.
I found 'Operfect paragraph' and 'Chain stories or sentences' more useful for my students. The former involves students in the writing process. They do not only write a paragraph but also edit and fine tune it. This process also enables students to edit their own language. Moreover, such an activity enhances language awareness of students. Similarly, the second activity engages them in developing a complete story by contributing one line of the story. On the one hand, this activity involves the students in a meaningful interaction and on the other hand, it develops the ability to use language cohesively and coherently which is one of the important aspects of writing.
Overall, both articles provide insightful ideas and activities for using e-mail to develop reading and writing skills of the students. However, both articles lack discussion on how to establish a good rapport and interaction among the students in a group. They do not discuss much about the role of teacher for making the writing and reading more effective.
The ABCD objective to go with these articles is: Provided that students are given access to these articles (C), my students (A) will write one e-mail a week (D) sharing their ideas, stories and edit the paragraph (B).
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class. The Internet TESL Journal, 2(12). Available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html.
Liao, C. (1999). E-mailing to improve EFL learners' reading and writing abilities: Taiwan experience. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 3. Avaibale at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html
I went through Liao's (1999) article 'E-mailing to Improve EFL Learners' Reading and Writing Abilities: Taiwan Experience' (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html ) which highlights the importance of e-mailing in developing reading and writing skills of students. The ideas discussed in the article can be used for all levels of students especially for those who can write e-mails. To be specific, I use this idea with the Bachelor level students who are doing their course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Since my students have easy access to e-mails than other technological tools, they can use e-mail to share their ideas.
Based on the experiences of working with Taiwanese students, Liao argues that the students who join Computer Pals Across the World (CPAW) do not only develop their communicative competence but also intercultural competence through e-mails. This means students do not only share their ideas and experiences but also share their culture with the people from other cultural backgrounds. This indicates that the use of e-mail enhances students' ability to communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
Moreover, students have to use appropriate mechanics (e.g. punctuation), correct grammar, cohesive devices and style while e-mailing people from other cultures. This will of course develop their writing skill. At the same time, in order to answer the queries and know more about other cultures, they have to read the e-mails sent by the friends. In this sense, e-mailing is the useful tool to integrate both reading and writing skills.
Similarly, as students have to communicate with people from other countries they will be motivated to read their e-mails and write about their own culture. On the one hand, this will maintain intercultural communication and on the other hand, this will make students aware of their own culture which is called 'reflexive impact'.
However, the article does not mention much about the process of providing feedback to the students' writing. There is no detail account of how e-mailing develops intercultural competence as there is no any description of testing the intercultural competence in the article. Moreover, the focus on fluency rather than accuracy may create the fossilisation of learning grammar.
Another useful article is by Belisle (1996) E-mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html). I found the idea of the article useful for my students. Belisle argues that by using e-mail, teachers can provide task in a group and monitor their activities closely. One of the most important points in using e-mail is it makes writing more focused and audience-oriented. Students have to write something keeping in mind that other friends read what they write.
I found 'Operfect paragraph' and 'Chain stories or sentences' more useful for my students. The former involves students in the writing process. They do not only write a paragraph but also edit and fine tune it. This process also enables students to edit their own language. Moreover, such an activity enhances language awareness of students. Similarly, the second activity engages them in developing a complete story by contributing one line of the story. On the one hand, this activity involves the students in a meaningful interaction and on the other hand, it develops the ability to use language cohesively and coherently which is one of the important aspects of writing.
Overall, both articles provide insightful ideas and activities for using e-mail to develop reading and writing skills of the students. However, both articles lack discussion on how to establish a good rapport and interaction among the students in a group. They do not discuss much about the role of teacher for making the writing and reading more effective.
The ABCD objective to go with these articles is: Provided that students are given access to these articles (C), my students (A) will write one e-mail a week (D) sharing their ideas, stories and edit the paragraph (B).
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class. The Internet TESL Journal, 2(12). Available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html.
Liao, C. (1999). E-mailing to improve EFL learners' reading and writing abilities: Taiwan experience. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 3. Avaibale at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html
Technology for reading and writing
Dear Deborah, Sueanne and All
I went through Liao's (1999) article 'E-mailing to Improve EFL Learners' Reading and Writing Abilities: Taiwan Experience' (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html ) which highlights the importance of e-mailing in developing reading and writing skills of students. The ideas discussed in the article can be used for all levels of students especially for those who can write e-mails. To be specific, I use this idea with the Bachelor level students who are doing their course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Since my students have easy access to e-mails than other technological tools, they can use e-mail to share their ideas.
Based on the experiences of working with Taiwanese students, Liao argues that the students who join Computer Pals Across the World (CPAW) do not only develop their communicative competence but also intercultural competence through e-mails. This means students do not only share their ideas and experiences but also share their culture with the people from other cultural backgrounds. This indicates that the use of e-mail enhances students' ability to communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
Moreover, students have to use appropriate mechanics (e.g. punctuation), correct grammar, cohesive devices and style while e-mailing people from other cultures. This will of course develop their writing skill. At the same time, in order to answer the queries and know more about other cultures, they have to read the e-mails sent by the friends. In this sense, e-mailing is the useful tool to integrate both reading and writing skills.
Similarly, as students have to communicate with people from other countries they will be motivated to read their e-mails and write about their own culture. On the one hand, this will maintain intercultural communication and on the other hand, this will make students aware of their own culture which is called 'reflexive impact'.
However, the article does not mention much about the process of providing feedback to the students' writing. There is no detail account of how e-mailing develops intercultural competence as there is no any description of testing the intercultural competence in the article. Moreover, the focus on fluency rather than accuracy may create the fossilisation of learning grammar.
Another useful article is by Belisle (1996) E-mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html). I found the idea of the article useful for my students. Belisle argues that by using e-mail, teachers can provide task in a group and monitor their activities closely. One of the most important points in using e-mail is it makes writing more focused and audience-oriented. Students have to write something keeping in mind that other friends read what they write.
I found 'Operfect paragraph' and 'Chain stories or sentences' more useful for my students. The former involves students in the writing process. They do not only write a paragraph but also edit and fine tune it. This process also enables students to edit their own language. Moreover, such an activity enhances language awareness of students. Similarly, the second activity engages them in developing a complete story by contributing one line of the story. On the one hand, this activity involves the students in a meaningful interaction and on the other hand, it develops the ability to use language cohesively and coherently which is one of the important aspects of writing.
Overall, both articles provide insightful ideas and activities for using e-mail to develop reading and writing skills of the students. However, both articles lack discussion on how to establish a good rapport and interaction among the students in a group. They do not discuss much about the role of teacher for making the writing and reading more effective.
The ABCD objective to go with these articles is: Provided that students are given access to these articles (C), my students (A) will write one e-mail a week (D) sharing their ideas, stories and edit the paragraph (B).
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class. The Internet TESL Journal, 2(12). Available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html.
Liao, C. (1999). E-mailing to improve EFL learners' reading and writing abilities: Taiwan experience. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 3. Avaibale at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html
I went through Liao's (1999) article 'E-mailing to Improve EFL Learners' Reading and Writing Abilities: Taiwan Experience' (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html ) which highlights the importance of e-mailing in developing reading and writing skills of students. The ideas discussed in the article can be used for all levels of students especially for those who can write e-mails. To be specific, I use this idea with the Bachelor level students who are doing their course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Since my students have easy access to e-mails than other technological tools, they can use e-mail to share their ideas.
Based on the experiences of working with Taiwanese students, Liao argues that the students who join Computer Pals Across the World (CPAW) do not only develop their communicative competence but also intercultural competence through e-mails. This means students do not only share their ideas and experiences but also share their culture with the people from other cultural backgrounds. This indicates that the use of e-mail enhances students' ability to communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
Moreover, students have to use appropriate mechanics (e.g. punctuation), correct grammar, cohesive devices and style while e-mailing people from other cultures. This will of course develop their writing skill. At the same time, in order to answer the queries and know more about other cultures, they have to read the e-mails sent by the friends. In this sense, e-mailing is the useful tool to integrate both reading and writing skills.
Similarly, as students have to communicate with people from other countries they will be motivated to read their e-mails and write about their own culture. On the one hand, this will maintain intercultural communication and on the other hand, this will make students aware of their own culture which is called 'reflexive impact'.
However, the article does not mention much about the process of providing feedback to the students' writing. There is no detail account of how e-mailing develops intercultural competence as there is no any description of testing the intercultural competence in the article. Moreover, the focus on fluency rather than accuracy may create the fossilisation of learning grammar.
Another useful article is by Belisle (1996) E-mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html). I found the idea of the article useful for my students. Belisle argues that by using e-mail, teachers can provide task in a group and monitor their activities closely. One of the most important points in using e-mail is it makes writing more focused and audience-oriented. Students have to write something keeping in mind that other friends read what they write.
I found 'Operfect paragraph' and 'Chain stories or sentences' more useful for my students. The former involves students in the writing process. They do not only write a paragraph but also edit and fine tune it. This process also enables students to edit their own language. Moreover, such an activity enhances language awareness of students. Similarly, the second activity engages them in developing a complete story by contributing one line of the story. On the one hand, this activity involves the students in a meaningful interaction and on the other hand, it develops the ability to use language cohesively and coherently which is one of the important aspects of writing.
Overall, both articles provide insightful ideas and activities for using e-mail to develop reading and writing skills of the students. However, both articles lack discussion on how to establish a good rapport and interaction among the students in a group. They do not discuss much about the role of teacher for making the writing and reading more effective.
The ABCD objective to go with these articles is: Provided that students are given access to these articles (C), my students (A) will write one e-mail a week (D) sharing their ideas, stories and edit the paragraph (B).
Sincerely yours
Prem
References
Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class. The Internet TESL Journal, 2(12). Available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html.
Liao, C. (1999). E-mailing to improve EFL learners' reading and writing abilities: Taiwan experience. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 3. Avaibale at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Liao-Emailing.html
Some issues
Dear All
There are more than one hundred students in my class. They do not even get seats to sit comfortably. The latecomers have to either stand up or share the seat with other friends. There are many issues in such a condition. First, there is no discussion in the classroom. Second, students do not ask question to the teacher i.e. teaching becomes lecture-dominated. Third, students are not motivated to explore more resources rather they solely rely on teachers. These are the general issues for the whole class I teach. Moreover, they do not have access to technology.
As I have mentioned in the week 2, there are 20 students (but some of them are not regular) who are starting their research work for their thesis from this month under my guidance (This is the group for which I am thinking to use new technology).
I have to teach them how to carry out a research starting from finding out an area of research to preparing a bibliography. There are some fundamental issues for these students. First, they always ask me to provide them a research topic. They say, "Sir, give us a topic for my research work." In response, I suggest them to go through literature and find the research problems. Again, they say, "Sir, please provide us books." This indicates that students lack recourses to begin their research.
Likewise, they are not able to find out the relevant literature to their topic. And they also lack the knowledge of reviewing the literature.
Another important issue is they do not know how to put the literature consulted in the list of the reference. Moreover, most of them do not have access to technology. Some of them have e-mails and I have already encouraged others to create an e-mail for the better learning during their research work.
Sincerely yours
Prem
There are more than one hundred students in my class. They do not even get seats to sit comfortably. The latecomers have to either stand up or share the seat with other friends. There are many issues in such a condition. First, there is no discussion in the classroom. Second, students do not ask question to the teacher i.e. teaching becomes lecture-dominated. Third, students are not motivated to explore more resources rather they solely rely on teachers. These are the general issues for the whole class I teach. Moreover, they do not have access to technology.
As I have mentioned in the week 2, there are 20 students (but some of them are not regular) who are starting their research work for their thesis from this month under my guidance (This is the group for which I am thinking to use new technology).
I have to teach them how to carry out a research starting from finding out an area of research to preparing a bibliography. There are some fundamental issues for these students. First, they always ask me to provide them a research topic. They say, "Sir, give us a topic for my research work." In response, I suggest them to go through literature and find the research problems. Again, they say, "Sir, please provide us books." This indicates that students lack recourses to begin their research.
Likewise, they are not able to find out the relevant literature to their topic. And they also lack the knowledge of reviewing the literature.
Another important issue is they do not know how to put the literature consulted in the list of the reference. Moreover, most of them do not have access to technology. Some of them have e-mails and I have already encouraged others to create an e-mail for the better learning during their research work.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Project plan
Following is my project-based plan.
Project title: Is school bad for children?
This project has been designed for the students of BBA who are doing the course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. While they (A) are doing the tasks, reading the texts given in the sites and doing research (C), the students will develop reading, writing and critical thinking skills (B) which are reflected during the presentation of their project (D).
Project description
Like me, all children learned to read and write in schools. We obtained different kinds of knowledge in school. But all schools are not good. They do not give quality education. In this project, we are not comparing which schools are good and which are bad. We are looking at why schools are bad for small children? We are also looking at how do we make schools good for children? What should we do if schools are bad for children?
Stage 1: Group division: Students will be divided in to 5 groups (6 students in each group)
Stage 2: Students discuss on the things they liked and disliked in their school.
Stage 3: The students read John Holt's article School is bad for children at http://www.spinninglobe.net/holt.htm. They also read Rachel Grobstein's Why School is Bad for Kids at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/highschool.html.
After reading the articles, they will discuss the following questions:
1.Why do John Holt and Rachel Grobstein criticise the role of schools?
2.Do you agree with John Holt's and Rachel Grobstein's ideas? Discuss in the group and write an article for the newspaper on how why school is bad for children and how it can be improved?
Stage 4: Research
Observe a primary class at any school. Write a report of the class you observed and present in the class. Please include what was taught, how it was taught, and the student-student and student-teacher interaction. Also describe your reactions to the style of teaching that you noticed. Was the teaching interesting or boring? Were the students engaged in doing the activities? In your report, also incorporate relevant photographs, and videos from different websites.
Stage 5: Presentation
The students (in group) present their report using power point in the class. They submit the whole report to the teacher. The teacher will give feedback on their report.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Project title: Is school bad for children?
This project has been designed for the students of BBA who are doing the course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. While they (A) are doing the tasks, reading the texts given in the sites and doing research (C), the students will develop reading, writing and critical thinking skills (B) which are reflected during the presentation of their project (D).
Project description
Like me, all children learned to read and write in schools. We obtained different kinds of knowledge in school. But all schools are not good. They do not give quality education. In this project, we are not comparing which schools are good and which are bad. We are looking at why schools are bad for small children? We are also looking at how do we make schools good for children? What should we do if schools are bad for children?
Stage 1: Group division: Students will be divided in to 5 groups (6 students in each group)
Stage 2: Students discuss on the things they liked and disliked in their school.
Stage 3: The students read John Holt's article School is bad for children at http://www.spinninglobe.net/holt.htm. They also read Rachel Grobstein's Why School is Bad for Kids at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/highschool.html.
After reading the articles, they will discuss the following questions:
1.Why do John Holt and Rachel Grobstein criticise the role of schools?
2.Do you agree with John Holt's and Rachel Grobstein's ideas? Discuss in the group and write an article for the newspaper on how why school is bad for children and how it can be improved?
Stage 4: Research
Observe a primary class at any school. Write a report of the class you observed and present in the class. Please include what was taught, how it was taught, and the student-student and student-teacher interaction. Also describe your reactions to the style of teaching that you noticed. Was the teaching interesting or boring? Were the students engaged in doing the activities? In your report, also incorporate relevant photographs, and videos from different websites.
Stage 5: Presentation
The students (in group) present their report using power point in the class. They submit the whole report to the teacher. The teacher will give feedback on their report.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Project plan
Following is my project-based plan.
Project title: Is school bad for children?
This project has been designed for the students of BBA who are doing the course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. While they (A) are doing the tasks, reading the texts given in the sites and doing research (C), the students will develop reading, writing and critical thinking skills (B) which are reflected during the presentation of their project (D).
Project description
Like me, all children learned to read and write in schools. We obtained different kinds of knowledge in school. But all schools are not good. They do not give quality education. In this project, we are not comparing which schools are good and which are bad. We are looking at why schools are bad for small children? We are also looking at how do we make schools good for children? What should we do if schools are bad for children?
Stage 1: Group division: Students will be divided in to 5 groups (6 students in each group)
Stage 2: Students discuss on the things they liked and disliked in their school.
Stage 3: The students read John Holt's article School is bad for children at http://www.spinninglobe.net/holt.htm. They also read Rachel Grobstein's Why School is Bad for Kids at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/highschool.html.
After reading the articles, they will discuss the following questions:
1.Why do John Holt and Rachel Grobstein criticise the role of schools?
2.Do you agree with John Holt's and Rachel Grobstein's ideas? Discuss in the group and write an article for the newspaper on how why school is bad for children and how it can be improved?
Stage 4: Research
Observe a primary class at any school. Write a report of the class you observed and present in the class. Please include what was taught, how it was taught, and the student-student and student-teacher interaction. Also describe your reactions to the style of teaching that you noticed. Was the teaching interesting or boring? Were the students engaged in doing the activities? In your report, also incorporate relevant photographs, and videos from different websites.
Stage 5: Presentation
The students (in group) present their report using power point in the class. They submit the whole report to the teacher. The teacher will give feedback on their report.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Project title: Is school bad for children?
This project has been designed for the students of BBA who are doing the course on Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. While they (A) are doing the tasks, reading the texts given in the sites and doing research (C), the students will develop reading, writing and critical thinking skills (B) which are reflected during the presentation of their project (D).
Project description
Like me, all children learned to read and write in schools. We obtained different kinds of knowledge in school. But all schools are not good. They do not give quality education. In this project, we are not comparing which schools are good and which are bad. We are looking at why schools are bad for small children? We are also looking at how do we make schools good for children? What should we do if schools are bad for children?
Stage 1: Group division: Students will be divided in to 5 groups (6 students in each group)
Stage 2: Students discuss on the things they liked and disliked in their school.
Stage 3: The students read John Holt's article School is bad for children at http://www.spinninglobe.net/holt.htm. They also read Rachel Grobstein's Why School is Bad for Kids at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/highschool.html.
After reading the articles, they will discuss the following questions:
1.Why do John Holt and Rachel Grobstein criticise the role of schools?
2.Do you agree with John Holt's and Rachel Grobstein's ideas? Discuss in the group and write an article for the newspaper on how why school is bad for children and how it can be improved?
Stage 4: Research
Observe a primary class at any school. Write a report of the class you observed and present in the class. Please include what was taught, how it was taught, and the student-student and student-teacher interaction. Also describe your reactions to the style of teaching that you noticed. Was the teaching interesting or boring? Were the students engaged in doing the activities? In your report, also incorporate relevant photographs, and videos from different websites.
Stage 5: Presentation
The students (in group) present their report using power point in the class. They submit the whole report to the teacher. The teacher will give feedback on their report.
Sincerely yours
Prem
Wiki
Dear all
One of the technology related changes I want to introduce in my class is the use of Wiki. There are free Wikis at http://www.wikispaces.com/ for the classroom purpose. One of the major problems as I mentioned before is the academic writing of my thesis year students. On the one hand, they lack resources and on the other hand, their academic writing is not satisfactory. They are not able to review the related literature correctly. Their reviews do not become engaging which includes argument and counter-argument.
Moreover, they do not edit their language before them submit their written works to me. I have to spend hours and hours to edit their works.
In order to help my students in their academic writing, I think Wiki will be one of the best tools in many ways. It develops the collaborative writing atmosphere among them. They read each others' written work, evaluate their works and reflect on own work. This process will enhance critical thinking skills of the students.
Likewise, I can also provide them various links where they can read more literature. This does not only save the time but also make students confident to write.
The use of Wiki also motivates the students to write more because they see that their works published. Moreover, they also become conscious of making mistakes as their works will be read by their friends and teachers.
I can also post the examples of literature reviews and academic writings which guide them to write better. This process at the end will promote learner autonomy.
I would be grateful if you could suggest to make Wiki project more fruitful.
Cheers
Prem
One of the technology related changes I want to introduce in my class is the use of Wiki. There are free Wikis at http://www.wikispaces.com/ for the classroom purpose. One of the major problems as I mentioned before is the academic writing of my thesis year students. On the one hand, they lack resources and on the other hand, their academic writing is not satisfactory. They are not able to review the related literature correctly. Their reviews do not become engaging which includes argument and counter-argument.
Moreover, they do not edit their language before them submit their written works to me. I have to spend hours and hours to edit their works.
In order to help my students in their academic writing, I think Wiki will be one of the best tools in many ways. It develops the collaborative writing atmosphere among them. They read each others' written work, evaluate their works and reflect on own work. This process will enhance critical thinking skills of the students.
Likewise, I can also provide them various links where they can read more literature. This does not only save the time but also make students confident to write.
The use of Wiki also motivates the students to write more because they see that their works published. Moreover, they also become conscious of making mistakes as their works will be read by their friends and teachers.
I can also post the examples of literature reviews and academic writings which guide them to write better. This process at the end will promote learner autonomy.
I would be grateful if you could suggest to make Wiki project more fruitful.
Cheers
Prem
Wiki
Dear all
One of the technology related changes I want to introduce in my class is the use of Wiki. There are free Wikis at http://www.wikispaces.com/ for the classroom purpose. One of the major problems as I mentioned before is the academic writing of my thesis year students. On the one hand, they lack resources and on the other hand, their academic writing is not satisfactory. They are not able to review the related literature correctly. Their reviews do not become engaging which includes argument and counter-argument.
Moreover, they do not edit their language before them submit their written works to me. I have to spend hours and hours to edit their works.
In order to help my students in their academic writing, I think Wiki will be one of the best tools in many ways. It develops the collaborative writing atmosphere among them. They read each others' written work, evaluate their works and reflect on own work. This process will enhance critical thinking skills of the students.
Likewise, I can also provide them various links where they can read more literature. This does not only save the time but also make students confident to write.
The use of Wiki also motivates the students to write more because they see that their works published. Moreover, they also become conscious of making mistakes as their works will be read by their friends and teachers.
I can also post the examples of literature reviews and academic writings which guide them to write better. This process at the end will promote learner autonomy.
I would be grateful if you could suggest to make Wiki project more fruitful.
Cheers
Prem
One of the technology related changes I want to introduce in my class is the use of Wiki. There are free Wikis at http://www.wikispaces.com/ for the classroom purpose. One of the major problems as I mentioned before is the academic writing of my thesis year students. On the one hand, they lack resources and on the other hand, their academic writing is not satisfactory. They are not able to review the related literature correctly. Their reviews do not become engaging which includes argument and counter-argument.
Moreover, they do not edit their language before them submit their written works to me. I have to spend hours and hours to edit their works.
In order to help my students in their academic writing, I think Wiki will be one of the best tools in many ways. It develops the collaborative writing atmosphere among them. They read each others' written work, evaluate their works and reflect on own work. This process will enhance critical thinking skills of the students.
Likewise, I can also provide them various links where they can read more literature. This does not only save the time but also make students confident to write.
The use of Wiki also motivates the students to write more because they see that their works published. Moreover, they also become conscious of making mistakes as their works will be read by their friends and teachers.
I can also post the examples of literature reviews and academic writings which guide them to write better. This process at the end will promote learner autonomy.
I would be grateful if you could suggest to make Wiki project more fruitful.
Cheers
Prem
Projects and WebQuests for language learning
Dear All
I read Gaer's (19998) article 'Less Teaching and More Learning' at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385. I like the projects cookbook and folktales. In the first project, the students come to the classroom with their own food items from their own culture, prepare recipes, share it with the friends and prepare food. The recipes are published in the cookbook.
In the second project, the students tell the folktales supplemented by pictures from their own countries to the middle school students. The middle school students listen to their stories and write them. After that, the students evaluate the accuracy of language written by the middle school students. Moreover, they should also go to the library and find out appropriate pictures to go with the stories their stories.
There are many advantages of such projects. First, the students become more independent and autonomous. They also see the relevance of learning English in the classroom. For example, in the both projects mentioned above the students are not telling any foreign or unfamiliar stories rather they are sharing their own food items and stories. This gives a sort of authority to them. Importantly, this develops not only the language and literacy skills but also maintains intercultural communication among the students. At the same time, such project works develop the culture of co-operative learning among the students. I like Gaer's idea "Less teaching and more learning."
I also went through Megan Crossen's 'Propaganda' at http://questgarden.com/98/99/3/100324155339/ which is useful for my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). I will be taking the course Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking for BBA in one private college next month. There is one reading on propaganda technique in the course. The instruction given in each component (Introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion) makes students clear what they are supposed to do. Since the whole project is organized in a logic manner, the skills learned in one component supplements to the skills learned in other components. Most importantly, the multiple sources provided in the WebQuest enables the students to look at the same thing from various perspectives. This will develop their higher order thinking skill e.g. evaluation, analysis and synthesis.
There are various advantages of using projects and WebQuests in language teaching. First, as the students are given tasks to accomplish with the materials they have to consult, they work themselves to achieve the goal of the task. Second, they communicate with other friends and share their ideas to accomplish the task. Finally, since they present what they did in the classroom project works give a sense of meaningful learning to the students. Moreover, as they have to face some questions from other friends and they have to answer these questions, they learn further and become more confident in doing projects in future.
A project work tends to reject the traditional relationship between teachers and students in which a teacher is considered as authority and the students are as passive recipients. But a project work redefines teachers' role as a facilitator and students as an active participant for the accomplishment of the project. Teachers do not dominate the learning process as it is done in the lecture-based classroom.
Similarly, WebQuests are more organized plans which engage the students in an exploratory learning. WebQuests are important tools for enhancing critical and analytical skills by providing them a chance to discuss on the issues from various perspectives. Since the sources are already given, the students also get chance to link the issues with the issues in their own community.
However, I could see some fundamental issues with projects and WebQuests. First, the selection of texts and projects should be relevant to the level of the students. If the projects are not relevant to the level and contexts of the students, they do not promote learning. Moreover, the objectives of the projects should be specific and achievable. At the same time, sometimes the completion of the projects may undervalue the language learning process, that is, the students may not give focus on the language learning part as they have to focus only on the completion of the task.
Overall, projects and WebQuests encourage the students to learn language in an integrative way i.e. they help to integrate language skills. They also promote learner autonomy through collaboration. Moreover, projects and WebQuests develop discovery and exploratory learning habit of the students.
Happy readings!
Prem
I read Gaer's (19998) article 'Less Teaching and More Learning' at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385. I like the projects cookbook and folktales. In the first project, the students come to the classroom with their own food items from their own culture, prepare recipes, share it with the friends and prepare food. The recipes are published in the cookbook.
In the second project, the students tell the folktales supplemented by pictures from their own countries to the middle school students. The middle school students listen to their stories and write them. After that, the students evaluate the accuracy of language written by the middle school students. Moreover, they should also go to the library and find out appropriate pictures to go with the stories their stories.
There are many advantages of such projects. First, the students become more independent and autonomous. They also see the relevance of learning English in the classroom. For example, in the both projects mentioned above the students are not telling any foreign or unfamiliar stories rather they are sharing their own food items and stories. This gives a sort of authority to them. Importantly, this develops not only the language and literacy skills but also maintains intercultural communication among the students. At the same time, such project works develop the culture of co-operative learning among the students. I like Gaer's idea "Less teaching and more learning."
I also went through Megan Crossen's 'Propaganda' at http://questgarden.com/98/99/3/100324155339/ which is useful for my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). I will be taking the course Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking for BBA in one private college next month. There is one reading on propaganda technique in the course. The instruction given in each component (Introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion) makes students clear what they are supposed to do. Since the whole project is organized in a logic manner, the skills learned in one component supplements to the skills learned in other components. Most importantly, the multiple sources provided in the WebQuest enables the students to look at the same thing from various perspectives. This will develop their higher order thinking skill e.g. evaluation, analysis and synthesis.
There are various advantages of using projects and WebQuests in language teaching. First, as the students are given tasks to accomplish with the materials they have to consult, they work themselves to achieve the goal of the task. Second, they communicate with other friends and share their ideas to accomplish the task. Finally, since they present what they did in the classroom project works give a sense of meaningful learning to the students. Moreover, as they have to face some questions from other friends and they have to answer these questions, they learn further and become more confident in doing projects in future.
A project work tends to reject the traditional relationship between teachers and students in which a teacher is considered as authority and the students are as passive recipients. But a project work redefines teachers' role as a facilitator and students as an active participant for the accomplishment of the project. Teachers do not dominate the learning process as it is done in the lecture-based classroom.
Similarly, WebQuests are more organized plans which engage the students in an exploratory learning. WebQuests are important tools for enhancing critical and analytical skills by providing them a chance to discuss on the issues from various perspectives. Since the sources are already given, the students also get chance to link the issues with the issues in their own community.
However, I could see some fundamental issues with projects and WebQuests. First, the selection of texts and projects should be relevant to the level of the students. If the projects are not relevant to the level and contexts of the students, they do not promote learning. Moreover, the objectives of the projects should be specific and achievable. At the same time, sometimes the completion of the projects may undervalue the language learning process, that is, the students may not give focus on the language learning part as they have to focus only on the completion of the task.
Overall, projects and WebQuests encourage the students to learn language in an integrative way i.e. they help to integrate language skills. They also promote learner autonomy through collaboration. Moreover, projects and WebQuests develop discovery and exploratory learning habit of the students.
Happy readings!
Prem
Projects and WebQuests for language learning
Dear All
I read Gaer's (19998) article 'Less Teaching and More Learning' at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385. I like the projects cookbook and folktales. In the first project, the students come to the classroom with their own food items from their own culture, prepare recipes, share it with the friends and prepare food. The recipes are published in the cookbook.
In the second project, the students tell the folktales supplemented by pictures from their own countries to the middle school students. The middle school students listen to their stories and write them. After that, the students evaluate the accuracy of language written by the middle school students. Moreover, they should also go to the library and find out appropriate pictures to go with the stories their stories.
There are many advantages of such projects. First, the students become more independent and autonomous. They also see the relevance of learning English in the classroom. For example, in the both projects mentioned above the students are not telling any foreign or unfamiliar stories rather they are sharing their own food items and stories. This gives a sort of authority to them. Importantly, this develops not only the language and literacy skills but also maintains intercultural communication among the students. At the same time, such project works develop the culture of co-operative learning among the students. I like Gaer's idea "Less teaching and more learning."
I also went through Megan Crossen's 'Propaganda' at http://questgarden.com/98/99/3/100324155339/ which is useful for my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). I will be taking the course Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking for BBA in one private college next month. There is one reading on propaganda technique in the course. The instruction given in each component (Introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion) makes students clear what they are supposed to do. Since the whole project is organized in a logic manner, the skills learned in one component supplements to the skills learned in other components. Most importantly, the multiple sources provided in the WebQuest enables the students to look at the same thing from various perspectives. This will develop their higher order thinking skill e.g. evaluation, analysis and synthesis.
There are various advantages of using projects and WebQuests in language teaching. First, as the students are given tasks to accomplish with the materials they have to consult, they work themselves to achieve the goal of the task. Second, they communicate with other friends and share their ideas to accomplish the task. Finally, since they present what they did in the classroom project works give a sense of meaningful learning to the students. Moreover, as they have to face some questions from other friends and they have to answer these questions, they learn further and become more confident in doing projects in future.
A project work tends to reject the traditional relationship between teachers and students in which a teacher is considered as authority and the students are as passive recipients. But a project work redefines teachers' role as a facilitator and students as an active participant for the accomplishment of the project. Teachers do not dominate the learning process as it is done in the lecture-based classroom.
Similarly, WebQuests are more organized plans which engage the students in an exploratory learning. WebQuests are important tools for enhancing critical and analytical skills by providing them a chance to discuss on the issues from various perspectives. Since the sources are already given, the students also get chance to link the issues with the issues in their own community.
However, I could see some fundamental issues with projects and WebQuests. First, the selection of texts and projects should be relevant to the level of the students. If the projects are not relevant to the level and contexts of the students, they do not promote learning. Moreover, the objectives of the projects should be specific and achievable. At the same time, sometimes the completion of the projects may undervalue the language learning process, that is, the students may not give focus on the language learning part as they have to focus only on the completion of the task.
Overall, projects and WebQuests encourage the students to learn language in an integrative way i.e. they help to integrate language skills. They also promote learner autonomy through collaboration. Moreover, projects and WebQuests develop discovery and exploratory learning habit of the students.
Happy readings!
Prem
I read Gaer's (19998) article 'Less Teaching and More Learning' at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385. I like the projects cookbook and folktales. In the first project, the students come to the classroom with their own food items from their own culture, prepare recipes, share it with the friends and prepare food. The recipes are published in the cookbook.
In the second project, the students tell the folktales supplemented by pictures from their own countries to the middle school students. The middle school students listen to their stories and write them. After that, the students evaluate the accuracy of language written by the middle school students. Moreover, they should also go to the library and find out appropriate pictures to go with the stories their stories.
There are many advantages of such projects. First, the students become more independent and autonomous. They also see the relevance of learning English in the classroom. For example, in the both projects mentioned above the students are not telling any foreign or unfamiliar stories rather they are sharing their own food items and stories. This gives a sort of authority to them. Importantly, this develops not only the language and literacy skills but also maintains intercultural communication among the students. At the same time, such project works develop the culture of co-operative learning among the students. I like Gaer's idea "Less teaching and more learning."
I also went through Megan Crossen's 'Propaganda' at http://questgarden.com/98/99/3/100324155339/ which is useful for my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). I will be taking the course Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking for BBA in one private college next month. There is one reading on propaganda technique in the course. The instruction given in each component (Introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion) makes students clear what they are supposed to do. Since the whole project is organized in a logic manner, the skills learned in one component supplements to the skills learned in other components. Most importantly, the multiple sources provided in the WebQuest enables the students to look at the same thing from various perspectives. This will develop their higher order thinking skill e.g. evaluation, analysis and synthesis.
There are various advantages of using projects and WebQuests in language teaching. First, as the students are given tasks to accomplish with the materials they have to consult, they work themselves to achieve the goal of the task. Second, they communicate with other friends and share their ideas to accomplish the task. Finally, since they present what they did in the classroom project works give a sense of meaningful learning to the students. Moreover, as they have to face some questions from other friends and they have to answer these questions, they learn further and become more confident in doing projects in future.
A project work tends to reject the traditional relationship between teachers and students in which a teacher is considered as authority and the students are as passive recipients. But a project work redefines teachers' role as a facilitator and students as an active participant for the accomplishment of the project. Teachers do not dominate the learning process as it is done in the lecture-based classroom.
Similarly, WebQuests are more organized plans which engage the students in an exploratory learning. WebQuests are important tools for enhancing critical and analytical skills by providing them a chance to discuss on the issues from various perspectives. Since the sources are already given, the students also get chance to link the issues with the issues in their own community.
However, I could see some fundamental issues with projects and WebQuests. First, the selection of texts and projects should be relevant to the level of the students. If the projects are not relevant to the level and contexts of the students, they do not promote learning. Moreover, the objectives of the projects should be specific and achievable. At the same time, sometimes the completion of the projects may undervalue the language learning process, that is, the students may not give focus on the language learning part as they have to focus only on the completion of the task.
Overall, projects and WebQuests encourage the students to learn language in an integrative way i.e. they help to integrate language skills. They also promote learner autonomy through collaboration. Moreover, projects and WebQuests develop discovery and exploratory learning habit of the students.
Happy readings!
Prem
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Reflection: Week 4
Dear All
Last week, I had a class with my thesis writing students. Among 20 students only 14 were present. Among them, only 5 students had e-mail and other nine did not have e-mails.
When I shared some websites including www.noodletools.com my students were really excited to go through them and find the topic and related literature for their research. They were excited because that was the first time in their life they have been exploring what they wanted to read with through technology. At least, they have started writing e-mails to me asking for the materials they need. Presently, they are going to cyber café (although we have 12-hour load-shedding) to download the materials and explore more materials for their research. Now, 8 students are in regular contact with me and sharing their ideas actively. However, some students are not able to manage to use technology.
In the same line, last week, we shared specific issues with our students and how these issues can be solved with technology. The major issues we discussed were as follows:
•Lack of motivation and research related knowledge.
•Use of mother tongue while learning English.
•Lack of access to technology.
•Lack of exposure to authentic materials.
•Low reading ability of students.
•Lack of responsibility for doing assignments.
•Lack of creativeness, critical thinking and skill to elaborate longer texts.
•Students do not have same level of English.
•Listening and reading texts may not be relevant to the interest of students.
•Issue of feedback.
Regarding the lesson plan, I could see some significant differences between the technology-integrated lesson plan and the one without technology. In the former, teachers have to mention the websites where the materials, which teachers use in the classroom, are available. The lesson plans we shared in the last week were all relevant to address the issues mentioned above. Overall, I learned how to prepare a lesson plan to teach different aspects and skills of language by using technology.
The important thing: we had an insightful discussion on how technology helps to develop reading and writing skills. The discussion was mainly on the ideas of Jarek (2000), Liao (1999), Belisle (1996) and Liang (2004). The most important thing I learned was the importance of e-mail to enhance reading and writing skills which I had never realised before. Through e-mails, students also share their culture with the friends from other cultures. At the same time, it helps them to develop free writing ability.
Moreover, I also learned how internet helps to develop extensive reading skill. It has been argued that since internet provides access to various texts like essays, book reviews, stories and so on, we can ask the students to go through them and analyse them from various perspectives. For example, we can ask them to read e-books and write the summary.
However, there are some fundamental issues emerged from the discussion. First, there is an issue of providing feedback (immediate feedback) to the students in their written work. This is a serious issue in the large class contexts. Another issue is the use of local culture – to what extent we can use local cultural texts in order to develop reading and writing skills of the students. Likewise, the debate of accuracy vs. fluency is there.
I had a wonderful week. What about you?
Cheers
Prem
Last week, I had a class with my thesis writing students. Among 20 students only 14 were present. Among them, only 5 students had e-mail and other nine did not have e-mails.
When I shared some websites including www.noodletools.com my students were really excited to go through them and find the topic and related literature for their research. They were excited because that was the first time in their life they have been exploring what they wanted to read with through technology. At least, they have started writing e-mails to me asking for the materials they need. Presently, they are going to cyber café (although we have 12-hour load-shedding) to download the materials and explore more materials for their research. Now, 8 students are in regular contact with me and sharing their ideas actively. However, some students are not able to manage to use technology.
In the same line, last week, we shared specific issues with our students and how these issues can be solved with technology. The major issues we discussed were as follows:
•Lack of motivation and research related knowledge.
•Use of mother tongue while learning English.
•Lack of access to technology.
•Lack of exposure to authentic materials.
•Low reading ability of students.
•Lack of responsibility for doing assignments.
•Lack of creativeness, critical thinking and skill to elaborate longer texts.
•Students do not have same level of English.
•Listening and reading texts may not be relevant to the interest of students.
•Issue of feedback.
Regarding the lesson plan, I could see some significant differences between the technology-integrated lesson plan and the one without technology. In the former, teachers have to mention the websites where the materials, which teachers use in the classroom, are available. The lesson plans we shared in the last week were all relevant to address the issues mentioned above. Overall, I learned how to prepare a lesson plan to teach different aspects and skills of language by using technology.
The important thing: we had an insightful discussion on how technology helps to develop reading and writing skills. The discussion was mainly on the ideas of Jarek (2000), Liao (1999), Belisle (1996) and Liang (2004). The most important thing I learned was the importance of e-mail to enhance reading and writing skills which I had never realised before. Through e-mails, students also share their culture with the friends from other cultures. At the same time, it helps them to develop free writing ability.
Moreover, I also learned how internet helps to develop extensive reading skill. It has been argued that since internet provides access to various texts like essays, book reviews, stories and so on, we can ask the students to go through them and analyse them from various perspectives. For example, we can ask them to read e-books and write the summary.
However, there are some fundamental issues emerged from the discussion. First, there is an issue of providing feedback (immediate feedback) to the students in their written work. This is a serious issue in the large class contexts. Another issue is the use of local culture – to what extent we can use local cultural texts in order to develop reading and writing skills of the students. Likewise, the debate of accuracy vs. fluency is there.
I had a wonderful week. What about you?
Cheers
Prem
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