Jannie Roed conducts a pilot project to explore language learner behavior in a virtual environment. The research subjects are 13 first and second year students of Danish at the University of Edinburgh and University College London. The findings show that language learners display different behavior patterns and such a virtual environment is advantageous to the shy and introvert language learners.
Based on Jannie’s research, I would provide students such a platform after class to give those who are shy or slow learners to better learn English. However, I think it’s more meaningful to involve the majority of the students into activities in class and communicate face-to-face. A virtual environment could serve as an important supplement at best.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sample web projects and my reflections
In Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H., & Meloni, C. F. (2000). Internet for English teaching: TESOL Alexandria, VA. [Chapter 7] (http://web.archive.org/web/20080328155030/http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/ifet.htm) the author briefly describes ten sample web projects teachers use to achieve better teaching outcomes in various contexts.
1. Primary School Web folios
An English teacher in Israle worked with fifth- and sixth-grade students. Students were asked to write and design their web pages in English themselves using the Netscape composer.In this way, students' multiple intelligence were developed well. The drawback of this project is that students would spend a lot of time mastering computer skills and carry out the tasks.
2. A primary School E-Mail Cultural Exchange
An English teacher in Portugal developed a voluntary, after-school e-mail exchange between a small groups of her students who are of sixth-grade and some U.S. students. The outcomes were that students; enthusiasm for English increased and their writing skills improved.
3. A Middle School Web Publishing Project
Two English teachers and a science teacher in Germany developed a Web publishing project for a seventh-grade English class based on a detective story. Students were told from the beginning that their writing would be published on the Web and they were assigned to firstly write a summary of the book, secondly to work in groups developping their ideas on a topic that built on the book's story and finally write personal home pages. In this way, students' motivation, commitment and creativity increased a great deal.
4. A Junior High Virtual Classroom
A junior high school English teacher in Taiwan created a bilingual virtual classroom on the World Wide Web called Jack's English Classroom, which include an announcement space, a message board, a forum and a chat room. In this way, students are able to practice their English after school in a virtual environment.
5. A High School E-Mail Exchange Project
An English teacher in a secondary school in Hong Kong developed a collaborative, task-based e-mail exchange project involving project-based learning, cooperative learning and process writing. Students worked with a class of native English speakers from the United States.
6. An Internet Research Project in an Intensive English Program
An English teacher in the United States structures her course around a major Internet to research Investment Project. Students use the Internet to research companies they may want to invest in and then work in teams to follow the stocks and compile an investment portfolio and finally create a Web site based on their research.
7. A University-Level Content-Based Course
A content-based language course called Crossing Borders via the Internet in a university in Japan. It is based on a 19-lesson syllabus that gave students the chances to simultaneously develop their hands-on technical skills, their knowledge about intercultural communication via the Internet and their language skills.
8. A University On-line Writing Course
A on-line writing class in a university in Aguadilla set up to maximize students' opportunities to communicate in writing with the instructor and with each other while teaching them to access to resources from the World Wide Web.There is also an electronic classroom using Nicenet's Internet Classroom Assistant. Students are required to get an e-mail address and to post assignments to the teacher via e-mail.
9. A University-Level Problem-Based Learning Course
Students in a university in France use modern communication tools to search for international internship opportunities. The language course focuses on planning projects, preparing CVs, developing written communication skills for business letters and e-mail,and so on. This course has been most successful with third- and fourth-year students.
10. A University Environmental Project
Students worked in international teams of approximately eight students to find the best solution for a real-world environmental problem. Teachers established a list to discuss the aims of the project and set the tasks and schedule. At the end of the semester, the students gave oral presentation on that work completed in each class.
My reflections:
I think in the context of primary school sample one is more practical as it is more interesting to the students. As to the context of high school, e-mail exchange, virtual classroom are effective ways. In the context of university, I prefer problem- and content-based learning projects as they could lead to beneficial backwash.
1. Primary School Web folios
An English teacher in Israle worked with fifth- and sixth-grade students. Students were asked to write and design their web pages in English themselves using the Netscape composer.In this way, students' multiple intelligence were developed well. The drawback of this project is that students would spend a lot of time mastering computer skills and carry out the tasks.
2. A primary School E-Mail Cultural Exchange
An English teacher in Portugal developed a voluntary, after-school e-mail exchange between a small groups of her students who are of sixth-grade and some U.S. students. The outcomes were that students; enthusiasm for English increased and their writing skills improved.
3. A Middle School Web Publishing Project
Two English teachers and a science teacher in Germany developed a Web publishing project for a seventh-grade English class based on a detective story. Students were told from the beginning that their writing would be published on the Web and they were assigned to firstly write a summary of the book, secondly to work in groups developping their ideas on a topic that built on the book's story and finally write personal home pages. In this way, students' motivation, commitment and creativity increased a great deal.
4. A Junior High Virtual Classroom
A junior high school English teacher in Taiwan created a bilingual virtual classroom on the World Wide Web called Jack's English Classroom, which include an announcement space, a message board, a forum and a chat room. In this way, students are able to practice their English after school in a virtual environment.
5. A High School E-Mail Exchange Project
An English teacher in a secondary school in Hong Kong developed a collaborative, task-based e-mail exchange project involving project-based learning, cooperative learning and process writing. Students worked with a class of native English speakers from the United States.
6. An Internet Research Project in an Intensive English Program
An English teacher in the United States structures her course around a major Internet to research Investment Project. Students use the Internet to research companies they may want to invest in and then work in teams to follow the stocks and compile an investment portfolio and finally create a Web site based on their research.
7. A University-Level Content-Based Course
A content-based language course called Crossing Borders via the Internet in a university in Japan. It is based on a 19-lesson syllabus that gave students the chances to simultaneously develop their hands-on technical skills, their knowledge about intercultural communication via the Internet and their language skills.
8. A University On-line Writing Course
A on-line writing class in a university in Aguadilla set up to maximize students' opportunities to communicate in writing with the instructor and with each other while teaching them to access to resources from the World Wide Web.There is also an electronic classroom using Nicenet's Internet Classroom Assistant. Students are required to get an e-mail address and to post assignments to the teacher via e-mail.
9. A University-Level Problem-Based Learning Course
Students in a university in France use modern communication tools to search for international internship opportunities. The language course focuses on planning projects, preparing CVs, developing written communication skills for business letters and e-mail,and so on. This course has been most successful with third- and fourth-year students.
10. A University Environmental Project
Students worked in international teams of approximately eight students to find the best solution for a real-world environmental problem. Teachers established a list to discuss the aims of the project and set the tasks and schedule. At the end of the semester, the students gave oral presentation on that work completed in each class.
My reflections:
I think in the context of primary school sample one is more practical as it is more interesting to the students. As to the context of high school, e-mail exchange, virtual classroom are effective ways. In the context of university, I prefer problem- and content-based learning projects as they could lead to beneficial backwash.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Useful Websites for English learning and teaching
Here are some websites I could recommend, hope they may help or interest you in some aspect in you learning or teaching English.
1.Media&English magzines
http://www.iht.com/frontpage.html
http://www.zaobao.com/bilingual/bilingual.html
http://www.worldpress.org/index.shtm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
http://www.newyorker.com
http://www.feer.com/
2. English learning http://www.joyen.net/article/other/1/200501/14.html
3. Trasnlation
http://www.chinatranslate.net
http://www.bilinguist.com
4. English grammar&reading&teaching&writing
http://wfwok.topcool.net/grammar.htm
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/subidx.cfm
http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm
http://www.englishchina.com/
5. Listening
http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/
http://www.un.org/av/
1.Media&English magzines
http://www.iht.com/frontpage.html
http://www.zaobao.com/bilingual/bilingual.html
http://www.worldpress.org/index.shtm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
http://www.newyorker.com
http://www.feer.com/
2. English learning http://www.joyen.net/article/other/1/200501/14.html
3. Trasnlation
http://www.chinatranslate.net
http://www.bilinguist.com
4. English grammar&reading&teaching&writing
http://wfwok.topcool.net/grammar.htm
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/subidx.cfm
http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm
http://www.englishchina.com/
5. Listening
http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/
http://www.un.org/av/
Knowing Me
hi,it's Lara.
Tape-players accompanied me in middle school days when learning English. I can recall the time when we did listening exercises in class, we had to wait for several minutes for the teacher to play back the tape in order to listen again. To find a certain part in a tape was quite time-consuming and irritating. When doing the exams, English teachers need to carry the tape-player to each classroom successively to play the listening part of the test.
When in university, multi-media and computer were mostly used in class, which provided both sound and pictures. In the listening course, we don't need to wait for minutes to listen again. Each class can do the listening test at the same time. Besides, we can listen to BBC, VOA and other English programs online and even chat with native-speaker on the net.
As I could say, the progress of technology utilized in language learning and teaching well manifests the development of Chinese society. After graduating from Nanjing Normal University, I've been teaching in a college for three years. We are encouraged to utilize multimedia in class. I often use ppt as it is more comfortable to teach with it. Multimedia is used to play listening practice and movies as well.
As we know, learning a second language is not that easy as learning the mother tongue. Our brain is critical in language learning and I'm wondering which technology is most effective to help the brain to process language learning or which software or programs can serve better in learning a foreign language. From this course, I hope to clear these wonders and besides know more technologies, I am more willing to know how to utilize those technologies in future language teaching.
Tape-players accompanied me in middle school days when learning English. I can recall the time when we did listening exercises in class, we had to wait for several minutes for the teacher to play back the tape in order to listen again. To find a certain part in a tape was quite time-consuming and irritating. When doing the exams, English teachers need to carry the tape-player to each classroom successively to play the listening part of the test.
When in university, multi-media and computer were mostly used in class, which provided both sound and pictures. In the listening course, we don't need to wait for minutes to listen again. Each class can do the listening test at the same time. Besides, we can listen to BBC, VOA and other English programs online and even chat with native-speaker on the net.
As I could say, the progress of technology utilized in language learning and teaching well manifests the development of Chinese society. After graduating from Nanjing Normal University, I've been teaching in a college for three years. We are encouraged to utilize multimedia in class. I often use ppt as it is more comfortable to teach with it. Multimedia is used to play listening practice and movies as well.
As we know, learning a second language is not that easy as learning the mother tongue. Our brain is critical in language learning and I'm wondering which technology is most effective to help the brain to process language learning or which software or programs can serve better in learning a foreign language. From this course, I hope to clear these wonders and besides know more technologies, I am more willing to know how to utilize those technologies in future language teaching.
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