Wednesday, November 22, 2006
A belated reflection on 'The lesson' - I booked an extra half hour lab time so that I could follow the main lesson plan (didn't get to any of the follow-up tasks). It went well. There were a couple of technical glitches with the sound (for the listening activity), but because I have a small class I was able to move the students to a different computer.
The students enjoyed working independantly for the vocab and listening exercises (at differing paces). A couple of learners needed quite a lot of support, but one of the advantages of the lab is that it is much easier to help the the less competent students, because the others are busily occupied - so that was fine.
Most people had stories to tell about their experiences of public transport - so there was plenty of discussion on this topic.
One of the students was already familiar with the transport website, so to prevent her from taking over her groups activity, I asked her to move around and help groups who were having problems - this worked well and I think she enjoyed this role. Most of the learners were delighted to have found the website and are keen to use it to help them get around Auckland.
It was a pity that I didn't have the time to do the follow-up activities, because the worksheet provided a very controlled approach to the website, and it would have been good to follow it up with more meaningful activities - our computer lab session is on a Friday - this would have been a good lesson to kick-off the transport topic (on a Monday) and build onto over the rest of the week . . . maybe next semester.
This is the end of my blog - an unwilling blogger to start with, I've found that I quite like this genre - strange but true . . . I think I even managed to find my blogging voice.
Over and Out.
The students enjoyed working independantly for the vocab and listening exercises (at differing paces). A couple of learners needed quite a lot of support, but one of the advantages of the lab is that it is much easier to help the the less competent students, because the others are busily occupied - so that was fine.
Most people had stories to tell about their experiences of public transport - so there was plenty of discussion on this topic.
One of the students was already familiar with the transport website, so to prevent her from taking over her groups activity, I asked her to move around and help groups who were having problems - this worked well and I think she enjoyed this role. Most of the learners were delighted to have found the website and are keen to use it to help them get around Auckland.
It was a pity that I didn't have the time to do the follow-up activities, because the worksheet provided a very controlled approach to the website, and it would have been good to follow it up with more meaningful activities - our computer lab session is on a Friday - this would have been a good lesson to kick-off the transport topic (on a Monday) and build onto over the rest of the week . . . maybe next semester.
This is the end of my blog - an unwilling blogger to start with, I've found that I quite like this genre - strange but true . . . I think I even managed to find my blogging voice.
Over and Out.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Oh dear! I'm not the world's greatest multi-tasker and I got lost in the whole assignment thingy and neglected my cyber blogligations.
So . . . . . . some retrospective thoughts on the process.
In the end I developed a lesson plan for a CALL listening and reading lesson with some vocab revision, some group discussion and the possibility of some follow-up collaborative writing. I had wanted to do something really authentic and collaborative using the internet, but the needs of this group of learners necessitated a certain amount of compromise. Some of the software programs available in the labs cater beautifully for the language level, technical abilities and purposes of the learners. I think the Australian programs were the most relevant for these learners - we don't appear to have any Kiwi ones for this level???
And - I used the MAXX (rideline) website for a reading activity (quite a controlled introduction, but with the possibility of using it in a further lesson to plan a class trip).
So . . . . . . some retrospective thoughts on the process.
In the end I developed a lesson plan for a CALL listening and reading lesson with some vocab revision, some group discussion and the possibility of some follow-up collaborative writing. I had wanted to do something really authentic and collaborative using the internet, but the needs of this group of learners necessitated a certain amount of compromise. Some of the software programs available in the labs cater beautifully for the language level, technical abilities and purposes of the learners. I think the Australian programs were the most relevant for these learners - we don't appear to have any Kiwi ones for this level???
And - I used the MAXX (rideline) website for a reading activity (quite a controlled introduction, but with the possibility of using it in a further lesson to plan a class trip).
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Well . . . I've been angsting over the authenticity thing - and got as far as designing a worksheet for learners to explore the NZ Road Code site with, found another cool (authentic site) where they could answer 5 sample road code Qs. Got all excited about the idea (was going to use it tomorrow, because we are doing cars & transport this week )- but I had a 'not-so-wonderful' teaching day today and realised that the lesson would be too ambitious for my elementary learners - too much scaffolding involved - blah, blah. blah . . . great idea/wrong level! So -tomorrow I will stick with the software on the scope and sequence instead which has the HUGE advantage of being beautifully tailored for this level - easy to navigate etc.
The problem: Could the learners be using the fancy software in their own self-access time???
The Answer:Yes . . . . but they don't! I don't know whether this is due to lack of confidence/ lack of motivation/ lack of encouragement/ or something else?
My role in these classes is to pretty much to point students in the right direction/ monitor and offer encouragement and support. Developing confidence with the technology seems really important at this level - a little success goes a long way!
The other 'problem' is that these software based lessons are not very collaborative (although stronger Ss do sometimes help others navigate the software)
There may be ways that I can exploit the software to make the lessons more collaborative, but I certainly haven't figured them out yet!
Anyway, I can see the collaborative possibilities of writing using MSN word so I think I might stick with my original plan (last blog entry) of sentence and story building for my assignment. . . . . . authentic shplentic! - It's not so easy with lower level learners - oh well . . . . never mind.
The problem: Could the learners be using the fancy software in their own self-access time???
The Answer:Yes . . . . but they don't! I don't know whether this is due to lack of confidence/ lack of motivation/ lack of encouragement/ or something else?
My role in these classes is to pretty much to point students in the right direction/ monitor and offer encouragement and support. Developing confidence with the technology seems really important at this level - a little success goes a long way!
The other 'problem' is that these software based lessons are not very collaborative (although stronger Ss do sometimes help others navigate the software)
There may be ways that I can exploit the software to make the lessons more collaborative, but I certainly haven't figured them out yet!
Anyway, I can see the collaborative possibilities of writing using MSN word so I think I might stick with my original plan (last blog entry) of sentence and story building for my assignment. . . . . . authentic shplentic! - It's not so easy with lower level learners - oh well . . . . never mind.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Some of the stuff I've been reading has given me a lot to think about, and calls into question the way I currently operate in the computer lab. While there is a lot to be said about using computers to enhance learner autonomy and enabling learners to take more control of their own learning, it is also argued that we should not be using valuable (and expensive!) class computer time for activities which students can do on their own in self-access time. Instead we should be looking at class activities which involve interaction between learners and learner/teacher interaction ( John de Szendeffy, A practical Guide to Using Computers, University of Michigan press, 2005). I think this is a valid point!
I have come up with a plan for a writing lesson - focussing on sentence building - starting with simple SVO sentences and adding adjectives and prepositional phrases to make the sentences more interesting. Part of it is a kind of musical chairs exercise where the Ss move around and add on to eachothers writing and then they can all look at and compare the finished products.
First they would do some tasks looking at adjectives/ prepositions of time and place and word order, and compare some pieces of writing and discuss which was most interesting and why (awareness raising/noticing).
I think my elementary 1 class would benefit from this as they seem to have a reasonable grasp of SVO sentences, but some of them don't extend much beyond this in their writing.
A problem with this task is that it lacks authenticity - maybe I could follow it up with learners looking up some William Carlos Williams poetry (authentic reading) or sending eachother emails about what they did in the weekend (using descriptive language) . . . . or maybe I'll choose something else . . . .
I have come up with a plan for a writing lesson - focussing on sentence building - starting with simple SVO sentences and adding adjectives and prepositional phrases to make the sentences more interesting. Part of it is a kind of musical chairs exercise where the Ss move around and add on to eachothers writing and then they can all look at and compare the finished products.
First they would do some tasks looking at adjectives/ prepositions of time and place and word order, and compare some pieces of writing and discuss which was most interesting and why (awareness raising/noticing).
I think my elementary 1 class would benefit from this as they seem to have a reasonable grasp of SVO sentences, but some of them don't extend much beyond this in their writing.
A problem with this task is that it lacks authenticity - maybe I could follow it up with learners looking up some William Carlos Williams poetry (authentic reading) or sending eachother emails about what they did in the weekend (using descriptive language) . . . . or maybe I'll choose something else . . . .
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
I've been giving plenty of thought to possible lesson plan ideas and searching the web for inspiration. Actually searching the web can be pretty distracting, because I keep finding lots of great ideas for teaching in general. I am amazed and excited by the number and quality of language learning sites out there . . . and so much for free! I tried to use one in my computer class last week, but the computers in the lab were not 'flash' enabled, so activities which I had had great success with at home, flopped a little- a lesson learnt: remember to check availability of programmes - hmmmm.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
This week I began teaching a new elementary 1 class. One of the students (who I will refer to as 'Jim') sent me an email telling me he was having his first email lesson. An email conversation is now underway. Jim is a 24 year old refugee from Myanmar, who has only been in NZ for 3 months. He did not use a computer in his own country, but he likes computers. (so much for prior experience!) The exciting thing about this is the level of learner autonomy. While I provided the students with my email address, I didn't suggest that they use it as a way of practising their English - Jim initiated the dialogue.
(I'm wondering if Jim would be a good subject for assignment 2)
Anyway, this got me thinking about how, as teachers, the bottom line in computer knowledge is surely that we need to have the ability to communicate and respond to our students using 'mainstream' technology. Email is now a pretty basic tool that we are all familiar with - but more and more technologies are becoming a mainstream part of everyday life and there is a lot of pressure to keep up if we are to continue to connect with our students.
(I'm wondering if Jim would be a good subject for assignment 2)
Anyway, this got me thinking about how, as teachers, the bottom line in computer knowledge is surely that we need to have the ability to communicate and respond to our students using 'mainstream' technology. Email is now a pretty basic tool that we are all familiar with - but more and more technologies are becoming a mainstream part of everyday life and there is a lot of pressure to keep up if we are to continue to connect with our students.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
An interesting couple of days. Looked at the importance of aligning CALL with beliefs and theories about SLA - computer as tool / constructivist theory/ and evaluating software and websites.
Personally I don't find alot of joy in spending too much time at the computer, IMHO FTF communication is much more satisfying. (see, I learnt some vocab too!) However, I am prepared to concede that technology has its uses (and associated obligations) and that as a citizen of the 21st century I have little choice but to engage with it all. Hmmmmmm.
it seems to me that prior experience is an important consideration. Not just language learning - but computer knowledge as well. Some people are much more comfortable with computers than others (age is probably one of the most significant factors here). I know a few people whose virtual lives appear to be much busier than than their non-virtual, so i guess its all a matter of personal preference (and skill).
I look forward to further exploring ways that computers can be used to enhance SLA.
And (reluctantly) finding my blogging voice and developing new skills (I am excited about the possibilities of blogging when travelling). In some ways it's great to be given a shove when it comes to technology - so much for learner auotonomy!
Personally I don't find alot of joy in spending too much time at the computer, IMHO FTF communication is much more satisfying. (see, I learnt some vocab too!) However, I am prepared to concede that technology has its uses (and associated obligations) and that as a citizen of the 21st century I have little choice but to engage with it all. Hmmmmmm.
it seems to me that prior experience is an important consideration. Not just language learning - but computer knowledge as well. Some people are much more comfortable with computers than others (age is probably one of the most significant factors here). I know a few people whose virtual lives appear to be much busier than than their non-virtual, so i guess its all a matter of personal preference (and skill).
I look forward to further exploring ways that computers can be used to enhance SLA.
And (reluctantly) finding my blogging voice and developing new skills (I am excited about the possibilities of blogging when travelling). In some ways it's great to be given a shove when it comes to technology - so much for learner auotonomy!
