This week's reading focused on the theme of webquests. I guess after readings that seemed more 'colorful' or varied, this week's readings seemed to be very much focused on the core topic. I guess there was just no way around webquests this week!
I enjoyed the online webquest by Dodge (not the car company, mind you!). Things always seem to make more sense when you can explore someone's actual work and examples. I particularly enjoyed the country one, I guess in part because it seems to have the most relevance for the world language field. I also like Dodge's description of the four "personalities" that can be used when evaluating webquests. I think each point of view should be considered and is very much justified. They are helpful lenses, that can aid teachers in evaluating existing webquests and making sure that their self-created webquests live up to their expectations.
Siekmann's article beautifully complements our current learnings in the SLA class. It offered a very interesting insight into what actually happens during pair tasks. Since the teacher can only supervise and overhear a given number of conversations at a time (although I swear I'm starting to think that I can listen to at least 4 beginning-level L2 conversations at once!), it is fascinating to read such a detailed description of partner work and the scaffolding that takes place. I sure don't envy Sabine or her research assistant for transcribing all of those camtasia sessions, though!
After reading Siekmann's article, Dodge's thoughts or definitions of webquests did not seem all that surprising or new. What I found very intriguing, however, is the fact that the website openly states that the links may not work anymore. I'm not sure I had seen such a "disclaimer" before. It's like an online relic that is not fully functional anymore. Come to think of it, it seems ironic that a website about webquests - tasks that lead learners to other websites through links - does not consider the links to be valuable enough to keep updated... (even though only two links seem to be dead despite the warning that most are dysfunctional).
In my classroom, I find that students enjoy webquests, especially when they can make some choices (e.g., chose and research in more detail one of the...). Considering the wealth of information that is available on the internet, it seems that well-designed webquests can really serve the purpose of directing students to instructional homepages. I'm actually wondering whether webquests couldn't actually be a way of combining several of the technologies that we have been discussing. I'm thinking about the possibility of including a link to a language learning page on the webquest... Would there be any use for that? I guess it would depend on the goal and task of the webquest.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Technology and language developing all kinds of flowers!
This week's reading comprised three articles, all focusing on different aspects of using technology for language learning.
I liked Beauvois' analysis of synchronous chatrooms as an alternative to classroom discussions. The idea of all the students sitting in a computer lab, typing away rather than talking to each other in person seems bizarre. However, it seems like there could really be a place for synchronous "chatting" in the language curriculum. I certainly agree with the fact that a written environment can really help lower anxiety in the foreign language classroom. Since I'm teaching younger students (middle/high school), I would be interested in more research about how this hybrid form of communication affects students' oral proficiency (since I consider that to be the ultimate goal in middle and high school language classes). But reading about all the advantages of this form of classroom "discussion" really makes me want to teach older learners, so I can experiment with this way of using the L2.
I actually see an interesting connection between Beauvois' article and Lee's article. I believe that Beauvois' synchronous chatroom actually allows learners to take the time to focus on form. Students can only focus on so many things at once. Typing instead of speaking allows them to think about their statement (meaning) first and to then look at their utterance and check it for form, before hitting enter - something that cannot really be accomplished in oral conversations (things just go way too fast...).
I understand some of the learners' frustration in Lee's study about the focus on form that would just interrupt the meaningful conversation. It seems unnatural to interrupt a conversation to correct an error when the error did not actually impede communication (I guess it's trying to fight Selinker's fossilization through 'strategy of communication'...). However, it seems like a fairly effective way of focusing on accuracy rather than just meaning.
Lee's methodology of pairing more advanced speakers of a language with novice speakers also seems to make a lot of sense. Explaining the rules and correcting a novice speaker helps the advanced speakers gain practice and a deeper understanding of the language, while the novice speaker can get meaningful one-on-one interaction with a more advanced speaker of the language. I actually wonder whether this model could be embedded in let's say a forth and second year foreign language class: Once a week, pairs of students meet and discuss an assignment or topic that the instructor gives to both classes. It really seems like that would lead to a win-win situation. Even a ratio of 1-2 (one advanced speaker to two novices) would seem beneficial and much more effective than the traditional one instructor to a minimum of 10 students.
McHenry's article makes many very valid and interesting points about Native languages and the internet. Considering I'm one of many non-natives interested in the field, I will only say that I fully agree. Go Tracey McHenry!!
I liked Beauvois' analysis of synchronous chatrooms as an alternative to classroom discussions. The idea of all the students sitting in a computer lab, typing away rather than talking to each other in person seems bizarre. However, it seems like there could really be a place for synchronous "chatting" in the language curriculum. I certainly agree with the fact that a written environment can really help lower anxiety in the foreign language classroom. Since I'm teaching younger students (middle/high school), I would be interested in more research about how this hybrid form of communication affects students' oral proficiency (since I consider that to be the ultimate goal in middle and high school language classes). But reading about all the advantages of this form of classroom "discussion" really makes me want to teach older learners, so I can experiment with this way of using the L2.
I actually see an interesting connection between Beauvois' article and Lee's article. I believe that Beauvois' synchronous chatroom actually allows learners to take the time to focus on form. Students can only focus on so many things at once. Typing instead of speaking allows them to think about their statement (meaning) first and to then look at their utterance and check it for form, before hitting enter - something that cannot really be accomplished in oral conversations (things just go way too fast...).
I understand some of the learners' frustration in Lee's study about the focus on form that would just interrupt the meaningful conversation. It seems unnatural to interrupt a conversation to correct an error when the error did not actually impede communication (I guess it's trying to fight Selinker's fossilization through 'strategy of communication'...). However, it seems like a fairly effective way of focusing on accuracy rather than just meaning.
Lee's methodology of pairing more advanced speakers of a language with novice speakers also seems to make a lot of sense. Explaining the rules and correcting a novice speaker helps the advanced speakers gain practice and a deeper understanding of the language, while the novice speaker can get meaningful one-on-one interaction with a more advanced speaker of the language. I actually wonder whether this model could be embedded in let's say a forth and second year foreign language class: Once a week, pairs of students meet and discuss an assignment or topic that the instructor gives to both classes. It really seems like that would lead to a win-win situation. Even a ratio of 1-2 (one advanced speaker to two novices) would seem beneficial and much more effective than the traditional one instructor to a minimum of 10 students.
McHenry's article makes many very valid and interesting points about Native languages and the internet. Considering I'm one of many non-natives interested in the field, I will only say that I fully agree. Go Tracey McHenry!!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Multimedia and language learning
It was interesting to see how much technology has changed in recent years. Nowadays, most people aren't all that excited anymore about being able to pause, replay, slow down or accelerate a video, search for a phrase within a text, etc. I found it fascinating to read an article that was written in the heyday of that technology. What I really enjoyed from Chiquito, Meskill and Renjilian-Burgy's article was the application examples. It was great to read descriptions of how these different technologies were actually used in the classroom.
I also found it helpful to read some research that seems to prove that L2 learners learn vocabulary more easily, when they associate the L2 word with an actual picture. So, I guess there is a reason behind using picture flashcards and colorful pictures in the presentation of new vocabulary. I actually just recently seemed to find in my own classroom that students learn vocabulary much more easily when it is associated to a movement or gesture. Besides giving the kids a chance to move, gestures that accompany vocabulary presentations really seemed to help acquisition. This is of course a very unscientific classroom observation of mine...
My favorite quote from the reading: "The computer ... seduces us into believing that the truth is just around the corner of the next "text" that will fill the ultimate gap in our understanding" (Kramsch & Andersen, 1999, p.40). So true!
I also found it helpful to read some research that seems to prove that L2 learners learn vocabulary more easily, when they associate the L2 word with an actual picture. So, I guess there is a reason behind using picture flashcards and colorful pictures in the presentation of new vocabulary. I actually just recently seemed to find in my own classroom that students learn vocabulary much more easily when it is associated to a movement or gesture. Besides giving the kids a chance to move, gestures that accompany vocabulary presentations really seemed to help acquisition. This is of course a very unscientific classroom observation of mine...
My favorite quote from the reading: "The computer ... seduces us into believing that the truth is just around the corner of the next "text" that will fill the ultimate gap in our understanding" (Kramsch & Andersen, 1999, p.40). So true!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Blog post about blogging... ironic...
Hello out there! We're on the air, it's blogging night tonight. Tension grows, the mouse clicks and the fingers go down on the keys....
I enjoyed the article Abdullah's blogging. I like the fact that the author stresses the importance of the writing of the blog rather than the reading part. It seems that texts about blogging usually stress the amazing fact that students gain an audience by blogging. This point always makes me pause and think... Realistically, how many people actually read student blogs? Maybe I'm wrong, but the point of a possible audience for blogs just seems kind of mute.
However, I do believe that blogs can be a good middle ground between oral and written production. Especially when a course focuses on writing in more formal registers. I can also envision blogs as a simple way for a class to communicate in written form, without the old 'pass the paper to your left'. However, it seems that most technology (including blogging) has more of a place in the education of older students (high school, college and beyond). I believe my middle schoolers would spend more time looking for the keys than producing an actual text.
Thinking back on last week's discussion of myspace, I could also see a blog as a way for the teacher to keep parents/students/the wider community informed about what's happening in the classroom. I guess that would be a more traditional way of using a blog, but I could see its benefits.
I have to admit, though, that I'm also slowly getting blogged-out. It seems that any project that considers itself up-to-speed in the field of technology, is incorporating blogs somewhere.
That's why I say: ... it's the good old blogging game!
Lyrics adapted from song by Stompin' Tom Connors (speaking of plagiarism! :)
I enjoyed the article Abdullah's blogging. I like the fact that the author stresses the importance of the writing of the blog rather than the reading part. It seems that texts about blogging usually stress the amazing fact that students gain an audience by blogging. This point always makes me pause and think... Realistically, how many people actually read student blogs? Maybe I'm wrong, but the point of a possible audience for blogs just seems kind of mute.
However, I do believe that blogs can be a good middle ground between oral and written production. Especially when a course focuses on writing in more formal registers. I can also envision blogs as a simple way for a class to communicate in written form, without the old 'pass the paper to your left'. However, it seems that most technology (including blogging) has more of a place in the education of older students (high school, college and beyond). I believe my middle schoolers would spend more time looking for the keys than producing an actual text.
Thinking back on last week's discussion of myspace, I could also see a blog as a way for the teacher to keep parents/students/the wider community informed about what's happening in the classroom. I guess that would be a more traditional way of using a blog, but I could see its benefits.
I have to admit, though, that I'm also slowly getting blogged-out. It seems that any project that considers itself up-to-speed in the field of technology, is incorporating blogs somewhere.
That's why I say: ... it's the good old blogging game!
Lyrics adapted from song by Stompin' Tom Connors (speaking of plagiarism! :)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Diving into technology
This week's reading got my mind all wrapped up around technology (granted, part of it may be due to the number of pages... :).
I really enjoyed the two rethinking school articles - even though it seems that myspace has not seen nearly as much popularity anymore recently. Many of the thoughts about the introduction of the 'one-on-one' initiative that equips each student with a laptop were very intriguing. During my week-long rural practicum in Buckland, AK, I had the opportunity to observe how laptops might influence everyday school life. I would certainly agree with McFarlane that laptops are not the ultimate solution for all of the teachers' worries. In Buckland, more often than not it seemed that the lesson would start with a "close your laptops and put them away" from the teacher. It seemed that the computers were just an additional distraction that the teacher had to deal with. The only advantage that I could see is the fact that there is no need to reserve a computer lab if any work involves computers.
When it comes to the wonderfully verbose article by Thorne, I will just say that I felt he really had a point in his closing statement: "...the responsibility to make informed decisions ... is more critical now than ever before" (p.18). It seems that the wealth of information and options that technology and the internet offer most importantly requires the teacher to make good decisions!
I really enjoyed the two rethinking school articles - even though it seems that myspace has not seen nearly as much popularity anymore recently. Many of the thoughts about the introduction of the 'one-on-one' initiative that equips each student with a laptop were very intriguing. During my week-long rural practicum in Buckland, AK, I had the opportunity to observe how laptops might influence everyday school life. I would certainly agree with McFarlane that laptops are not the ultimate solution for all of the teachers' worries. In Buckland, more often than not it seemed that the lesson would start with a "close your laptops and put them away" from the teacher. It seemed that the computers were just an additional distraction that the teacher had to deal with. The only advantage that I could see is the fact that there is no need to reserve a computer lab if any work involves computers.
When it comes to the wonderfully verbose article by Thorne, I will just say that I felt he really had a point in his closing statement: "...the responsibility to make informed decisions ... is more critical now than ever before" (p.18). It seems that the wealth of information and options that technology and the internet offer most importantly requires the teacher to make good decisions!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
An often ignored, but very important part of curriculum: the materials
I found this chapter very interesting, probably because I am currently struggling to teach without a textbook. Especially considering that I am an inexperienced first-year teacher, that may actually not be the most effective idea ever... I know it isn't on Saturday nights when I'm creating my pretty handouts! :) I can certainly relate to the statement that it takes very much time and effort to develop your own teaching materials. It seems that just a simple worksheet or communicative activity can take hours to create! It all comes back to the question of reinventing the wheel...
The distinction between authentic materials and materials designed for the classroom appears to be blurring since many textbooks nowadays incorporate (at least some) authentic materials. This is really a step in the right direction: let's go beyond the 'clean' textbook language and help the students understand and learn the real deal - the slang, the youth language, the culture!
I can see how in today's search for a higher level of standardization, the use of a textbook can be helpful. However, the standardization can also be achieved through the appropriate use of a well-designed curriculum.
Since many classrooms seem to be influenced more by the textbook than by the curriculum, this chapter was very informative!
The distinction between authentic materials and materials designed for the classroom appears to be blurring since many textbooks nowadays incorporate (at least some) authentic materials. This is really a step in the right direction: let's go beyond the 'clean' textbook language and help the students understand and learn the real deal - the slang, the youth language, the culture!
I can see how in today's search for a higher level of standardization, the use of a textbook can be helpful. However, the standardization can also be achieved through the appropriate use of a well-designed curriculum.
Since many classrooms seem to be influenced more by the textbook than by the curriculum, this chapter was very informative!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The buck stops here: The evaluation (Chapter 9)
What would a curriculum be, without a curriculum evaluation? I guess - possibly - a horribly ineffective and malicious document... But how can or should a curriculum be evaluated? Jack C. Richards makes a great point when describing the inadequacy of the evaluative tool 'mastery of objectives'. Obviously the results could be very skewed if all the students take tutoring lessons in addition to a course. But this really made me think about the evaluation of my own classroom. If I can't use the students' achievements as a gauge, then what do I use to decide whether my teaching is effective??? Mmmhh... a point to ponder some more...
The description of the audience for the evaluation seemed to take me back to the needs analysis. It seems that if we are going to use time and resources to do anything at all, we better justify it and make sure that we serve the purpose that we set out to serve and thus satisfy our stakeholders' thirst for knowledge. So, I guess we can't do an evaluation for the sake of doing it - no academic rationalism here!
My favorite quote from this chapter is the one by Weir and Roberts (1994) - p. 298:
"Where is the collective memory of decades of projects? Where does one go to learn from the mistakes and successes of similar projects in the past?" Here I am, so many times, feeling like I'm reinventing the wheel in my classroom... but I guess I can't help it since I don't know where to go to learn about the fabulous invention of the wheel!
The description of the audience for the evaluation seemed to take me back to the needs analysis. It seems that if we are going to use time and resources to do anything at all, we better justify it and make sure that we serve the purpose that we set out to serve and thus satisfy our stakeholders' thirst for knowledge. So, I guess we can't do an evaluation for the sake of doing it - no academic rationalism here!
My favorite quote from this chapter is the one by Weir and Roberts (1994) - p. 298:
"Where is the collective memory of decades of projects? Where does one go to learn from the mistakes and successes of similar projects in the past?" Here I am, so many times, feeling like I'm reinventing the wheel in my classroom... but I guess I can't help it since I don't know where to go to learn about the fabulous invention of the wheel!
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