If you had the chance would you utilize ICT (CALL) in your teaching?
I would definitely utilize ICT (CALL) in my teaching because it will save a lot of time and energy in preparing my lesson. Plus, from my knowledge, my students are all very good at using the computer (I did my practicum in SMK Seafield, Subang Jaya) since they are actively involve with social-online network like Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, Online games and etc. Therefore, I do not have to waste time teaching them how to operate the computer thus; I can directly deliver my lesson effectively.
Besides that, I believe that my students would definitely enjoy my lesson instead of dull teacher-talk approach. After all, lesson with WWW will ease a teacher’s burden to force students to bring materials or textbooks to class. This is because everything and almost anything in the Internet and all I have to do is simply link my lessons to any suitable websites based on the lesson objectives, my students’ proficiency and their interests.
How do you think it would help (or would not help) your students to learn English?
The school I went for my practicum is well-equipped with computers and the computer lab has at least 30 computers (if I’m not mistaken). Therefore, I can assign one computer per student with an Internet connection & a Web Browser. Since each of them is able to use the computer, it would definitely help them to learn English because they are able to learn at their own pace.
Besides, learning English through ICT (CALL) is very interesting and this will motivate them to learn English. The more they are expose to the English language, the more they can improve their level of proficiency by completing exercises, reading and etc (e.g: courseware). I believe, students these days have their own computer or laptop at home. Therefore, if I am not able to complete my lesson in class, my students can continue learning or completing the assigned tasks at home. Thus, learning does not just stops in class but it is an on-going process of learning.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing CALL in the Malaysian schools?
Advantages: 1. Allows hands-on activities
2. Allows students to explore the language themselves
3. Encourages Student-centred learning
4. Saves teacher’s time and energy
5. Paper-less, no exercise books or text books
6. Any information is in the Internet regardless of any topics/interests at all (There’s a saying ‘The world is at your fingertips’)
Disadvantages:
1. Wasting electricity
2. Financial constraint
3. Sometimes students tend to get distracted other websites which is non-educational like YouTube,
4. YM, MSN, etc.
5. Some school does not have proper connection to the Internet (Internet too slow which is a definite waste of time!)
6. Computers not functioning due to VIRUS, etc
7. Some teachers & students are not computer literate.
What are the barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom?
The first thing that comes to my mind is – FUNDING. Without sufficient funding, the government could not provide enough computers to the school. Due to that, some school does not have enough computers to cater to a class of 30 students.
Secondly, most teachers are not IT savvy and they even refuse to learn how to operate the computer. During my practicum phase, the computer lab is only used during computer classes and not many teachers are keen to use the Media room.
Besides that, computer maintenance takes up a lot of time and it is also costly.
Please also include any other comments/thoughts/ideas on this topic
Personally, I think that the Ministry of Education should conduct trainings, seminars or workshops for teachers in order to cope with the rapid growth of technology. They need to be exposed to ICT in order to use it in conducting lessons.
Besides that, the teachers themselves must take the initiative to learn how to operate the computer in order to conduct lesson using ICT. They have to bear in mind that they should not longer do teacher-talk lesson in order to promote interactive lesson.
Finally, the schools in Malaysia should hire a technician specifically to monitor the computers in the lab.
PREPARATION: 1. Locate sites dedicated to Sonnet 18
2. Using the information on the site, prepare a worksheet.
PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the students to recall anything they know about the Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare based on
previous lecture by teacher. Ask them to identify the quatrains and couplet in the poem.
2. Give the worksheet prepared. Ask them if they can answer any of the questions based on
their understanding on the poem. Tell students that all the answers are available online.
3. Send students to the sites chosen, ask them to complete the worksheets, making sure they
check any of the answers they have already written.
4. While doing this, students should locate words or lines in stanza that is new or difficult for
them.
5. When all students have completed the task, discuss any unfamiliar words or lines in the stanza
they encountered.
6. Discuss all answers in the tasks sheet.
7. Finally, asks students to further their reading on Sonnet 18 which can be done on Sonnet 18
websites and write a short paragraph pretending they are Shakespeare to enhance their
understanding of the poem.
FOLLOW-UP:
1. Ask students to list down 5 words (e.g: Shakespeare's language like thee, thou,) from the
poem 'Sonnet 18'.
2. Then instruct students to compose a 1 stanza love poem using those 5 words.
3. Write an example of the poem using the words on the board to give clearer explanation to the
students.
WORKSHEET:
Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
First quatrain
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
1. What does “more temperate” mean?
_________________________________________________________ (1 marks)
2. What does the phrase “thou art more lovely” mean?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
3. What does the word “thee” refers to?
_________________________________________________________ (1 marks)
4. What are “the darling buds of May”?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
Second quatrain
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
1. What does the line “And every fair from fair sometime declines”?
_________________________________________________________ (1 marks)
2. What does the word “untrimm’d” mean?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
3. Why is the gold complexion of the eye of heaven often dimmed?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
Third quatrain
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possesion of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st
1. What does “thy eternal summer” refer to?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
2. What is death potrayed as?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
3. What does it mean by “Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
Couplet
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
1. What does “this” refer to?
_________________________________________________________ (1 mark)
2. Explain the phrase “So long as men can breathe and eyes can see”
_______________________________________________________ (1 mark)
3. Who does “men” refer to?
_______________________________________________________ (1 mark)
Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2nd 1869. His father died when he was still a teenager. At the age of 13 he married Kasturba Gandhi who was three years younger and the marriage lasts for 62 years until her death in 1944.
As a young man Gandhi left India to study law in London. Then he spent two decades working in South Africa securing rights for Indian expatriates. It was during this time that his political reform through non-violence which he called Satyagraha was born. This movement meant resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa, total non violence, which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. This way, when he returned to India, Mohandas Gandhi emerged as a political and religious leader in the fight for independence from Great Britain and was accorded the country's Father of the Nation. India freed itself from Britain on August 15th, 1947. Five months later, on January 25th, 1948 Gandhi was shot by a conservative Hindu.
1.Who are the users the website/websites is/are targeting?
The target users of the website are students (secondary school students) and teacher. As for the secondary students, the website targets for all proficiency levels which include exercises ranges from easy to difficult.
2.What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning and using (or even manipulating) the content?
The application users are expected to complete exercises which are categorized under business English, Grammar, Idioms, Slang and Phrasal Verbs, Reading, TOEFLesque, Trivia, Useful Expression and Vocabulary.
3.What sorts of computer skills are the application users expected to have in order to operate / access /use the application?
The application users are expected to have basic computer skills such as the internet explorer skills, basic window navigation skills. The reason why the application users only need to know basic computer skill is because the program can only be assessed through the Internet. Apart from that, computer skills like clicking to answers questions and to link from one page to another are also some simple computer skills that the users may naturally have.
4.While you are “playing” / “accessing” the website(s), does it remind you of anything you do (or have done) in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?
While I was playing and accessing the website(s), it reminded me a lot of my previous TSL641 subject class before the semester break. This is when I had the experience to learn how to create a learning program using ‘HOT POTATOES’. The only difference is that, I learnt to create a learning program but when I assessed the website, I was actually playing / assessing exercises similar to the ones that can be created by the program ‘HOT POTATOES’.
Besides that, the program also reminded me of a senior’s (my roommate) final project for TSL641 which is to create a program. She created multiple choice exercises specifically the English Grammatical area. Therefore, I tend to recall my senior work which is some sort similar to the multiple choice exercises in this website.
5.What setting will the website(s) best used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-led class with one or a few computers?
Since the website provide immediate feedback / result right after the user has done the exercises, therefore, it is best used in independent study lab with no teacher available. For instance, if the user is working on the multiple choice exercise, and he gives the correct answer, the website will automatically give feedback by giving a ‘smiley’ such as :-) to indicate that the user has the correct answer and vice versa. Due to that, the website is suitable to be used without a teacher’s assistance because the website provides immediate feedback for the user to evaluate themselves.
6.Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?
Personally, I would say that this website is best influenced by one of Stephen Krashen’s theory of language learning and teaching which is the ‘Inputhypothesis’.To quote Krashen’s explanation regarding this theory, the Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence.
To explain on the ‘I + 1’ theory, According to Krashen, ‘i’ indicates the input of learning and 1 indicates the learner’s existing knowledge or intelligence. To relate this theory to the application, the user can acquire the language in a natural order which means that the user will improve on their English Language as they get used to the application. Krashen’s ‘i + 1’ input theory can be related to this application because the user is given a variety of exercises which challenges their mind. The users are expected work on their own to complete the exercises and in time they will learn by experiencing. Krashen highlighted in the ‘1’ as in‘I + 1’ theory that the learner should be given input which is slightly beyond their knowledge which is not too difficult or not too easy. Therefore, the user can choose the best level of exercises which suit them best such as easy, medium and difficult.
7.How well are the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory of learning and Garner’s Multiple Intelligence theory applied to the chosen website(s)?
Both the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory of learning and Garner’s Multiple Intelligence theory can applied to the chosen website (http://www.eslpartyland.com/). As for the Vygotsky constructivist theory, it is based on Student-Centered learning. Therefore, this website does promote Student-Centered because they can learn by discovering on their own.According to Vygotsky, we can distinguish between
"cognitive constructivism" which is about how the individual learner understands things, in terms of developmental stages and learning styles, and
"social constructivism", which emphasises how meanings and understandings grow out of social encounters.
From the above extracts, ‘the cognitive constuctivism’ implies that the learner tends to improve on learning using their own learning style that they are most comfortable with. Meanwhile, the ‘social constructivism’ implies that students will learn when the teacher plays their crucial role to assist the students and not spoon feeding.Vygotsky emphasizes that teacher’s role is only to provide authentic material and this website (http://www.eslpartyland.com/) is definitely authentic for learning.
As to relate this website to the Garner’s Multiple Intelligence theory, he proposes that eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:
According to Garner, each individual differs in their own unique intelligence and to relate this matter to the chosen website, the users should focus on their own intelligence when playing / assessing the website. They should explore the kind of area that they are good such as Grammar, Reading and etc while considering their level of proficiency which is beginner, intermediate or advanced. By doing that, they are able to improve on learning on their own pace. Apart from that, they should focus on their area of interest while exploring the website.
Since this website also targets for teachers, then teacher can use this website by investigating their students’ area of interest as well as their level of proficiency and use this website to conduct exercises in class. For example, if his or her students are beginner levels, then the teacher might want to consider exercises from the easy exercises and asks the students to complete the exercises given. By exploring the website, students can discover their own potential and this promotes Student Centred learning. Besides that, Garner also highlighted that the theory of multiple intelligences gives adults a whole new way to look at their lives, examining potentials that they left behind in their childhood (such as a love for art or drama) but now have the opportunity to develop through courses, hobbies, or other programs of self-development. In short, to relate Garner’s theory of multiple intelligences to the chosen website for teachers, it does give an exposure to today’s growth of technology as well as to improve on their teaching.
8.In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on ‘whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation – is the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?
From my evaluation, the computer does not replace teacher’s role in the teaching and learning process but it is merely an obedient servant to students.
Firstly, the computer serves only as a medium of learning and students can control the computer anyhow they like. Therefore, the computer can be regarded as an obedient servant to the students. For instance, if students want to view next page, all they have to do is to simply click on the next page icon. Or if the students want to start saving documents they simply have to click and save in a folder. The computer will do whatever as ordered by the user.
Secondly, the computer does not replaces a teacher because of one simple reason which is the computer cannot talk. The computer cannot educate people although at times it does give ‘hint and help’ when the user needed one. However the ‘hint and help’ given is something that is already programmed and limits to only certain enquiries. For example, if the users have no idea on how to delete a document, the user can read the guidelines provided by the programmed computer.
Finally, the computer is merely an obedient servant to the students because it helps students to survive in today’s rapid growth of technology. Today, learning is not complete without a computer because all the information can be gain though the Internet and all the assignment can be completed by using word. In other words, the computer is indeed an obedient servant because of the saying that ‘once you have the internet, the world is on your fingertips’.
9.Would you like to use the website(s) yourself in your future work? Yes or no (Give reasons)
I would say yes because this website provides a variety exercises that focuses on all level of proficiency such as beginners, intermediate and advanced. Besides that, I can inject creativity in teaching by using a variety of materials provided by the website. Therefore, learning can be made fun instead of dull and teacher centred learning.
Apart from that, the website also helps to ease workload as a teacher because I do not have to spend hours to do lesson plan since the website has provided a variety of website from a variety of exercises such as grammar, listening and speaking, reading writing vocabulary, integrated skills and etc.
Finally, I would say that I would use the website in teaching because it does include exercises that are up to date to today technological era. For instance, the use of Internet in teaching has already proves that the learning copes with today’s technology growth. Besides that, the website also includes up to date issues such as the importance of using the Internet.
10.Suggestions / Recommendation?
As I browse through the website, I realize that although is does include a variety of exercises for students and lessons for teachers, there is a section on discussion forum for student and teachers in this forum. Supposedly, this section is for them to get on how to improve their English and for teachers to improve on teaching. But I realize that, there is no single response in this section whether it is from the students or from the teachers. Therefore, the teacher plays the crucial role to introduce this website to students and their colleagues as well as to encourage them to start discussing through this forum.
Besides that, this website should also be upgraded from time to time because I realize as I click at
·link icon,
·then I click grammar button,
·and finally I click on proffreading icon, the page cannot be display, so the person who created this page should upgrade from time to time.
I supposed the person in charged of this webstie should be aware of this matter because at times users not only use the website to complete exercises or etc but they might want to explore other areas provided by the website. If it does not function, why bother put it on the website?
