[WK10] ICT in ELT: A self-reflection

This entry is not about "the tool of the week" like I have done before. Just wanna share my thoughts and opinions on certain issues. We got into a long discussion in the class last week and what has struck me the most is when Russell said: 

"Teacher should eliminate the activities that learners might find not interesting and can demotivate them from enjoy the lesson in the classroom. Don't only think about yourself. Think about your own learners' preferences. Put yourself in your learners' shoes. I feel happy when I get to see my students are smiling while doing the pair or group work using the technology or tools that I have introduced while constructing their own knowledge in the class"

As teachers or teachers-to-be, bear in mind that learners will always be our priority. Sometimes, we might find some activities are interesting for us (for our batch generation) to be done or carried out but this cannot guarantee that the learners (currently lead by Generation Y or Z) would love to do the same thing too. We should be brave enough to take risk in designing the lesson using approaches that we have never tried before (in this case, by integrating technology with ELT)

For example, I enjoy the lesson where Russell asked us to do sort of website evaluation in which we have to do a little bit of research on how certain websites can help teachers in designing the lesson but if I come to assign this kind of topic to my students in Malaysia, it can lead to boredom as students themselves will not have a clear purpose for them to do that.

In simple quotes:

"Come on, we are teenagers. We like to do social-networking. We play all the time. We love gadgets. We listen to MP3 instead of radio. We watch news or movies on YouTube rather than TV. We do lots of typing on computer rather than enjoy the traditional paper-based writing"

However, in planning to design a language learning lesson using the technology, apart from being aware of the current generation global culture, teachers also need to take note on the learners' socioeconomic condition as well. Back in Malaysia, I have experienced of being so-called 'unqualified' teacher for a short period (a month I could say) before I further my study in Warwick (3 years ago). I was known as the 'Replacement Teacher' in which I needed to teach students in primary school near my house which is located in rural area because the 'real' teacher gave birth. At that time, I have never been taught about the pedagogical approach of classroom learning context. One of the lesson that I could remember was based on the topic regarding computer. My learning objective was to teach students vocabulary related to computer. Sadly, there was no computer facilities at the school. Therefore, what I tried to do was I drew the computer image in a piece of manila card and I left some blank sections so that students could  try to fill them by naming the computers' parts. When the class went on, then I realised that most of the students in the class did not have computer at home and failed to name those parts even in their first language. They did not enjoy the lesson to the fullest.

Therefore, I believe that knowing the learners' background is one of the key factor that can lead to establishing an effective language classroom environment. Therefore, teachers need to do extra homework. At the beginning of the class, teachers can distribute handout containing needs analysis to the learners so that they become more aware of the learners' preferences and their both linguistic and computer-based knowledge. The example of question might be:

i) I have computer at home [Yes/No]
ii) I have access to internet at home [Yes/No]
iii) I would be interested in learning English through: [pair/group works; project-based learning; individual work etc]
iv) My favourite topics are [Sports/Online games/Fashion/Shopping/Novels/Movies etc]
v) The linguistic skills that I hope can be developed more are [Reading/Writing/Listening/Speaking]

and so on. This is important as teachers can create differentiation in terms of teaching/learning styles so that learners can get equal opportunities to learn best on their own way and preferences. Psychologically, this will lead to motivation in learning. The more personalised the lesson can be, the more motivation will be boosted.

Some might say that 'younger' teachers like me seem too idealistic or enthusiastic in integrating technology with ELT and might somehow do not seriously think about how it might be usefully applied based on the learning theories. Vice versa, some might think that the more experienced one might not have a grasp of the technology itself but do better in linking those theories and applying the pedagogical approaches. Therefore, along the continuum, I do believe that there must be a working balance between these two situations. Rather than creating a gap, both veteran and younger teachers should work together in sharing their ideas, plus capitalizing on one another's skills and resources so that a better learning environment could be established.

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           Technology                                                                     Pedagogy


Bear in mind that, to choose technology as means of enhancing language learning does not mean we are trying to overthrown the established pedagogical and methodological approaches. I believe that it is teachers' responsibility to think wisely on how they can create link between the theories of learning and the use of technology in assisting the learners' learning process.

Maybe some of you beg to differ but I do believe that this is a promising learning environment that will help both learners and teachers to move a step further from allowing the the traditional chalk-and-talk type of classroom to be continued as ‘one size fit all’ approach.

The quotation that I like the most:
"Teachers usually have no control over the curriculum, but they do have control on how it is presented"

~Because English is FUN :) ~

[WK9] MailVU: The Floor is Yours!

Hello everyone!
Free tool for everybody! Come here and see!
Click on this image for the link!

What is it?
MailVU (mail you can view) is an online service that allows users to do private video messages via webcam which up to 10 minutes and they can send them to anyone that they want by inserting the recipients' emails and a short text message.

How does it work?
# Through these 3 easy-peasy simple steps:
  • Click on the record button to start your video message
  • Record yourself speaking. If you are not satisfy with the video, you can redo it again and again.
  • Send to others via emails. You cannot embed the video.
For further training on this tool, just log on to Russell Stannard's great website

How can it be used in the classroom context?
Currently, the most popular idea in integrating MailVU into the language learning environment is via "Connected Classroom" concept in which teachers need to think wisely on how to connect the lesson that has been taught in the class with the homework that will be given at the end of the lesson. The good continuation will help teachers to achieve their teaching objectives while learners can also enjoy their learning outcomes. There are several activities that can done by using this tool such as:

i) Interview: 
  • In class: 
- Teachers can introduce the language structure, vocabulary and functions that can be used for interview to learners plus showing example of several interviews from YouTube (students get to see the models in terms of the way the interview is carried out, the body postures and gestures using by the interviewer and interviewee)
 - Learners work in pairs, discuss about the topic for the interview session and how the interview could be done (in terms of  listing the questions that will be asked and the suitable answers for particular questions)
  • Outside the class:
- As learners need to record the interview in pairs using MailVU, they can do it anywhere they want as long as internet connection and webcam are available (home, internet cafe, self-access centre)

ii) Puppet / teddy bear show
  • In class: 
- Teachers bring realia such as puppet (eg: Pinocchio) or teddy bear and initiate the discussion by asking learners' favourite story during childhood 
- Teachers explain how a story should be constructed (opening, climax, ending etc)
- Then, learners work in pairs, telling each other about their own favourite story 
  • Outside the class:
-Learners need to do story-telling individually at home by using realia (puppet / teddy bear) and record it using MailVU. Then they need to send the link to the teachers and peers to get some feedback and comments.

iii) Cooking show
  • In class:
- Teachers share her recipe of making 'Nasi Lemak' through written handouts that are distributed to learners so they can take note on the particular structures used (imperative form, sequence connectors) and vocabulary on the ingredients and measurement
- Teachers ask leaners to think about their own favourite food and try to list down the ingredients and the steps that might be included
  • Outside the class:
- Learners check whether they have produced the correct recipe by searching it on internet or by simply asking to their mother. 
- Using MailVU, learners start their 'show' by stating the ingredients involved or just by simply drawing them in a piece of paper or show the images from the net to the audience. 

iv) News-broadcast
  • In class: 
- Teachers bring some of the newspaper article of various sections (local news, world issues, sports, fashion) and distribute them among learners who are already grouped (4-5 per group)
- Teachers ask learners to look out the structure for writing news.
- Teachers play the example of video containing news-broadcast from several sites (BBC, YouTube).
- Learners pay attention to the speakers' tones, speed and voice projection 
  • Outside the class
- Learners need to find news article and record themselves speaking through the role of news presenter.
- Learners send the video recording to teachers and friends

What are the advantages?
1. It provides free account! 
2. Foster autonomous learning in which learners learn on their own space and pace through homework that has been assigned by the teachers (do-it-yourself activity)
3. An easy-to-use technology that can be used by anyone that has basic computer skills
4. An alternative to make sure students are always taking part actively in learning even though outside the classroom environment (beyond the physical constraints of bricks and mortars)
5. Enhance students' speaking skills through various activities that can be carried out using MailVU
6. A good way of compensating the insufficient time for practicing speaking in the classroom 
7. Using the video recording, teachers could diagnose problems / learning disabilities faced by students in speaking (especially the beginners or the shy learners who are rarely speak in the class) in terms of structure that they use, pronunciation or vocabulary and teach the correct use of them in the class (blended learning)
8. Encourage collaborative and cooperative learning where learners work in pairs or groups in order to complete the task, thus capitalize on one another's resources and skills (peer teaching)
9. Learners might feel less anxious to record themselves as they can redo the recordings until they feel satisfy with the final product. This will create motivation in appreciating their own work.

What are the limitations?
1. Limited access of internet and computers. 
2. Even though computers are available, learners need webcam to make the video
3. Teachers might take times to assess the each of students' performances and give feedback (in terms of workload)
4. The video cannot be embedded into the blogs and cannot be downloaded as well

Further suggestions:
i) Vocaroo: a free on-line voice recording service which basically functions just like Internet voicemail. Users can record their voice and send the file to others through email. Unlike MailVU, they can be embedded into blog, can be published to the website and can be downloaded as well. However, it can only record the voice message and not the video's like MailVU can do.

ii) Bubblejoy: a tool that enables you to quickly create and design custom video cards that are easy to share with others by simply using your webcam

~Because English is FUN! :) ~