Reflection of my blogging experience

At the very beginning, I really disliked the idea of blogging as I doubt how it can be used in my language classroom. However, after using it throughout our course on New Technologies in Language Teaching, I have discovered the effectiveness and usefulness of this tool. First, it allows us to share our thoughts with our students and vice versa. Second, quizzes and exercises like Hot Potatoes could be embedded in my Blog to check my students' understanding after a grammar item or a topic has been taught. Third, useful links and videos can be embedded for sharing and for illustrating students' errors in writing and speaking. Forth, students could share what they have read about on language with their classmates. Fifth, learners who do not like sharing their views in class could also have a space for them to voice what they think and talk about their experiences in language learning. And most importantly, a language community would be developed when more and more learners have become frequent bloggers to the class blog.

Hot Potatoes

The name 'Hot Potatoes' first sounds weird to me. I can't imagine what kind of tool it is by just reading the name. Actually, it is a tool which enables teachers to create web-based materials. It's really user-friendly. I think we can use Hot Potatoes when creating our school E-learning materials and also we can use them in our class blogs so as to give some challenges for our learners after teaching a textbook unit. After using it for a serveral times in class, I find the most difficult part is to embed a video because we need Dreamweaver for help. However, for the rest, they are really easy! So, why not give it a try?

Can learners use concordance feedbacks for writing errors?

This is a reflection written after reading my classmate 'Connie's Blog' about the use of concordnace feedbacks for writing errors. I think it is a great idea for having this kind of tool which allows learners to learn by themselves and retrieve authentic data base for their self-correction from the Internet. The tool has provided a one-stop solution for learners who would like to improve themselves. However, I believe the use of it would only be limited to a few types of learners:
1. Highly motivated learners who do not mind reading a lot and choosing the appropriate information from the retrieved data base for their own use (I doubt how many learners fall into this category!)
2. Learners with good English level (Otherwise, the concordance feedbacks are useless to them as they do not understand the retrieved data which is written in English.)
3. Professional writers, editors and language teachers
Then, what about low achievers? Anyway, it's difficult to invent a tool which can suit everybody's needs. Personally, I think it is very useful for my job as I can collect explanations from the Internet for my students' errors. I hope future developers of CALL could bear the low acheivers in their mind when inventing tools which are for their needs.

Use of Twitter in language classroom

Is it possible to use Twitter in language classroom? Or is it possible for students to use Twitter out of their classrooms to communicate with their classmates in English? I think it is possible. The reason being is that Twitter a good platform for students to communicate in English with one another as it looks less intimidating than Blogs. Also, through the daily exchanges among students, their English fluency can be improved.

Wikis Vs Blogs

A funny and informative video about Wikis and Blogs. Which comments made by Kennedy and Nixon do you like most?

How to embed a Youtube video into my blog

YouTube can become our Saviour sometimes. Now, I know how to embed a Youtube video into my blog after a few failures. Thanks to the video sharings by millions of people from all over the world! Here is my Saviour.

WebQuest

This video is about WebQuest. The speaker of this video, Bernie Dodge, is the founder of WebQuest. According to his explanation, 'the goal then, and now, was to create lessons that make good use of the web, engage learners in applying higher level thinking to authentic problems, and use everyone's time well'. Now, please enjoy the video.

Copyright Issues

We have learnt copyright issues in our class tonight. That is inspiring in the sense that I have realised some terms that are used in the Copyright Ordinance are arguable and arbitrary, such as the terms 'fair dealing', 'to a reasonable extent', etc. For teachers who are not legally trained easily fall into the traps of copyright infringement.
Here is a website where local teachers may refer to whenever they have questions about copyright issues.
www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/faq/copyrights/cpr_ed.htm

Reflection of CALL Materials that I Am Currently Using

The most frequently used CALL materials for my teaching is a WebCT platform provided by my institution. There are e-learning materials for my students to engage in. However, sad to say, most of the resources available are just the extension of an English lesson as the materials are usually in the format of 'drills and practice'. After taking the course of New Technologies in Language Teaching, I feel upset to see such e-learning materials provided for my students. E-learning materials are supposed to be fun, interactive on the one hand and less threatening, self-explanatory and manageable on the other hand. So, I have designed a WebQuest for my individual assignment to see how this form of e-learning material can enrich my students' learning.

Reflect and Review on Article ‘Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction’ written by Mark Warschauer

Computer assisted language learning has become so widespread that almost most of the schools in Hong Kong incorporate computer assisted language learning in their English curriculum. Based on the sharing given by my classmates, it is very popular for primary school teachers to use E-books for teaching as there are songs, animations and story-telling, etc. to arouse students’ interests. Others like using resources in You Tube and some well-known English learning websites, such as BBC Learning English.com. And last but not least, the most widely used software for teaching in classrooms is PowerPoint as it saves teachers’ time for writing blackboard and it helps teachers to deliver their messages more effectively and efficiently.
According to the introduction made by Mark Warschauer, Computer Assisted Language Learning can be divided into three phases: behavourist CALL, communicative CALL and integrative CALL. The aforementioned resources used by my classmates can be categorized as a mixture of behavouristic and communicative CALL. For example, the use of e-book on the one hand allows students to practice passage reading and pronunciations. Although the system is usually unable to tell students whether they are correct or not, this kind of practice does not provide any communicative opportunities for students. Another special feature is that repeated exposure is possible as long as students would like to replay the tasks. On the other hand, simple language games in the E-book enable students to focus more on using the language rather than on forms.
However, the existence of integrative CALL is still not popular in local context although multimedia computers and the Internet are so common. I believe there are two major reasons which prevent teachers in Hong Kong from adopting integrative CALL in language teaching. First, most local teachers may not understand how they can properly exploit multimedia and Internet for their students in language learning. Second, they usually lack support from their schools and colleagues to develop such a platform for students to learn through exposure to authentic examples, feedbacks and continuous amendments of work by themselves.
In order to help teachers cope with the challenges, EDB in Hong Kong should make serious thoughts in thinking about how to help teachers exploit the use of multimedia resources and Internet.

Review on Theory-driven CALL and the Development Process by Mike Levy

The purpose of Mike’s paper is to examine the implications of theory-driven CALL, particularly in relation to the materials development process.

According to the author, there are three major instructional designs in the development process of CALL. First and foremost, a design suggested by Andrews & Goodson comprises with three key stages: the analysis phase, the development phase and the evaluation phase. There are a number of tasks associated with these three stages, ranging from ‘needs assessment’, ‘measurement’, ‘types of skill/ learning’ to ‘learner characteristics’, etc. Andrews and Goodson’s design is broken down into a number of steps in which the sequence can be varied. Another instructional approach is the one suggested by Meskill. In his suggestions, eight elements in the design process are identified including ‘modifying, rethinking, redefining, rewriting until all these highly interdependent considerations fit together and satisfy one another’s definitions and requirements.’ One special feature about his ideas is that ‘the elements are not hierarchical but circular.’ On the contrary, the approach suggested by Hubbard is hierarchical and ‘it is composed of three levels called Approach, Design and Procedure.’

As summarized by the author of this paper, ‘the development approaches are, by and large, systematic and that discrete elements can be identified and distinguished’ although ‘the method of handling these elements varies from the hierarchical and linear to the non-hierarchical and circular.’ In addition, the media used is taken into account at different points of development process depending on the approach adopted.

In order to examine the points of departure in the development of CALL materials, a survey was done by the author. It was found that 18.6% of the respondents said that they started to develop CALL materials when they came across practical problems in language teaching and learning while 17.6% responded that they started with a higher level theoretical framework such as a review on an educational theory. Syllabus specifications and matching activity to authoring tool as points of departure were less common with an equally weighting of 4.4% respondents saying that they developed their CALL materials based on these.

Apart from the findings regarding the points of departure, the author found that the development process can be fallen into two categories: more structures, discrete element processes and less structures, more iterative processes.

To conclude, the author stated three major issues regarding the development process of CALL materials. First, ‘the initial theoretical orientation has to be reconciled with the technological environment in which it is realized.’ Second, many CALL practitioners were procedualists as they believed that CALL could be advanced and improved through working continuously on ‘writing programs’ and ‘testing them with language learners’ while some of them were formalists as they were theory-driven. Both types of practices have their own advantages and disadvantages. The author advised CALL developers to be more aware of the approach they adopt and handle the shortcomings of their approach with greater care.

Computer mediated resource recently used

Last week, I designed a game for my students and the game was presented in ppt. The aim of the game is to raise my students awareness on how to write requirements for enquiry letter. A usual enquiry letter includes a part for stating requirements. Here is a sample paragraph for your reference.


We have the following requirements for a one-day tour. Firstly, please note that the


tour guide should be able to speak English. Also, for the place of the tour, it is preferred to


be Lantau Island. If not possible, Cheung Chau is also ... (The paragraph goes on.)


With the key features of this paragraph in my mind, I played a game with my students called 'The Collector'. The concept of the game is borrowed from a popular group game used in camping. Here is the ppt of the game:

My students loved it and they were fully engaged in it. Please feel free to adapt it in your lesson.

Out of frustration

Hi all, I have finally figured out how to add my classmates' links to my blog by following Kiat's instructions. Thanks, Kiat!
Today, I would like to share some of the links I like for my own interests and teaching.
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/
This is a link about business English. The best part of it is the downloadable materials that you can adapt and modify for your own lessons.
Another link I would like to introduce is this:
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
This is a link about pronunciation. There are videos, interactive quizzes and activities, etc. for you and your students to improve spoken English.
Another link is also from the same website.
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/radio/innovations.shtml
I haven't got time to enjoy the materials in this link yet but I think the topic 'Innovations in teaching' may interest you so I put it here for your ease of reference.
Finally, if you want something funny and entertaining, why don't you try the link below.
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/
It's now also on Youtube.

Frustration!!!

I feel very frustrated about using the Blog as I don't know how to create a link to the blogs of my classmates. Can someone give any help?

My first blog post

This is my first blog. I feel excited but thrilled at the idea of having my own blog. This platform is for sharing and reflecting on my own experiences in using technologies in the language learning context. My own experiences of techonology for language teaching is very narrow and limited. Although the idea of implementing new technologies into language classrooms has long been introduced to teachers in my institution, not many of us have actually used them on a regular basis due to the tight teaching schedule.
Recently, there has been a reform underway in our curriculum developement as a result of the implementation of NSS. Despite the fact that my institution is not a main-stream school, the NSS has brought us new challenges and opportunities in the new curriculum design as we need to maintain our competitive edge and status in the society. One of the major components of our language curriculum design is notional learning within which students are required to engage themselves in a e-learning platform with games, exercises and sound tracks, etc. provided . The provision of e-learning platform aims at enabling learners to learn by themselves anytime, anywhere they like.
Upon the completion of this course, I hope I can know more about some latest technologies that can be used in language learning and teaching so that I can arouse the learning interests of my students by using them.