In respond to Trinity's earlier post, gotta share a bit on Omegle.
Omegle is a website which offers you chances to talk to strangers around the world. When you click on Start a chat, another user at random will be picked by the system and then you can have a one-on-one chat with each other.
I was first introduced to Omegle by Trinity. She told me about how popular this website is in China as people use it to meet new friends and most importantly, to practise English. We were thinking about incorporating it into our wiki page. But before that, I suggested we ought to get on a trial before consdiering letting our students to use it.
In fact, it was my first time using website like this one to chat with strangers. But there got to be a first try. So... I started randomly chatting with strangers. The first two strangers were guys who weren't interested in chatting but only interested in asking about my personal information, wanted to get into even 'deeper' talk. Then, I quickly disconnected converstation with the two guys.
After playing around for 10 minutes, I was about to quit the site but I ended up giving one last chance to meet a 'more normal' person. I succeeded! I was randomly assigned to talk with a stranger from South Korea. South Korea has been one of my favourite cities, so that gave me extra motivation to chat with that stranger. She was an undergraduate studying English literature at uni. Bingo! Her major was similar to mine.We shared common liking about food and travelling. And now we've become friends on facebook.
By luck or whatever you call it, I have made a new Korean friend through Omegle. A friend that has a similar education background but different in cultures. A friend that we still get into contact on facebook. That's an interesting experience that I would tell my students.
But Trinity and I agreed not to introduce it to our students. The world is big, there isn't much people have a simple mind as we do, just hope to practise English on Omegle.
I would say, as an English teacher, we do take up an important role. We have the responsibility to protect our students from falling into traps on the Net.
Thanks to all teachers in the world.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Singapore VS Hong Kong
Sibling rivalry is breaking out all over. But not between kids; between countries behaving like kids.
The latest war of words is between Singapore and Hong Kong.
Two songs I came to listen to while I was reading a literature called A tale of two songs: Singapore versus Hong Kong. It's about the battle between the two cities. Which one do you think is better?
To be frank, I like the way Singapore incorporates their lahs in Singlish in order to show their identity. lah is a marker of their identity, it is a linguistic feature that reflects the very true side of one's identity. However, when we look at Hong Kong English we can't find any features of code-mixing. Most Hong Konger want to speak British English, the sort of 'proper' variety of English. It would be good for Hong Kong people to embrace the linguistic feature of Cantonese, the use of code-mixing and the use of particles like lor, wor.
Not sure who would like my idea. Anyways.
It would be fun to show these two songs to students while inrtoducing the cultural difference of Hong Kong and Singapore. Knowing about the language is the first step to knowing about the culture.
Hope that would give you some insights on your teaching.
The latest war of words is between Singapore and Hong Kong.
Two songs I came to listen to while I was reading a literature called A tale of two songs: Singapore versus Hong Kong. It's about the battle between the two cities. Which one do you think is better?
To be frank, I like the way Singapore incorporates their lahs in Singlish in order to show their identity. lah is a marker of their identity, it is a linguistic feature that reflects the very true side of one's identity. However, when we look at Hong Kong English we can't find any features of code-mixing. Most Hong Konger want to speak British English, the sort of 'proper' variety of English. It would be good for Hong Kong people to embrace the linguistic feature of Cantonese, the use of code-mixing and the use of particles like lor, wor.
Not sure who would like my idea. Anyways.
It would be fun to show these two songs to students while inrtoducing the cultural difference of Hong Kong and Singapore. Knowing about the language is the first step to knowing about the culture.
Hope that would give you some insights on your teaching.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Evaluation on My Words
My Words is a user-friendly learning program. From installing it on to my computer to actual using it, it only took me less than 10 minutes. Besides, the short tutorial available on the website gives me a quick review on how I can make full use of the programme.
With the browser toolbar, users can click the buttons on the bar to add words to the personalized word list, and they can check new words by highlighting them on any website they are looking at. To learners of English, I find My Words can enhance learners’ learning experience, vocabulary learning in particular. Learners of English, most often the case, they will encounter new words while they are surfing the English websites. My Words saves up their time on checking dictionary since users can add words to the own lists with definition of the words, it also provides them a vast storage of words that enhances learning. From the trying out on this programme, I quite like the way that I can have my own word lists stored and that I can retrieve on when necessary. As learner of English, I find it vocabulary learning is one of the things that means a great deal to me. From my word list, it also includes word combinations so that I can know from the possible context of using different words. This is useful to learners of English.
However, I find it quite confusing using the translation support provided by My Words. I highlighted some of the lines while I was reading a piece of news on yahoo7. The Chinese translation turned out to be an inaccurate translation of Chinese. If users learnt the translation without checking the proper usage of the words, this would definitely affect their learning. It happens to many Chinese learners of English.
Besides, I find The visuwords, supported by My Words a bit complicated to understand. The visuwords, in a sense, helps learners since it shows the parts of speech, synonyms and etc. of the words. All that is crucial to vocabulary learning. However, the use of many different colours of arrows, shapes make learning way complex than expected.
With the browser toolbar, users can click the buttons on the bar to add words to the personalized word list, and they can check new words by highlighting them on any website they are looking at. To learners of English, I find My Words can enhance learners’ learning experience, vocabulary learning in particular. Learners of English, most often the case, they will encounter new words while they are surfing the English websites. My Words saves up their time on checking dictionary since users can add words to the own lists with definition of the words, it also provides them a vast storage of words that enhances learning. From the trying out on this programme, I quite like the way that I can have my own word lists stored and that I can retrieve on when necessary. As learner of English, I find it vocabulary learning is one of the things that means a great deal to me. From my word list, it also includes word combinations so that I can know from the possible context of using different words. This is useful to learners of English.
However, I find it quite confusing using the translation support provided by My Words. I highlighted some of the lines while I was reading a piece of news on yahoo7. The Chinese translation turned out to be an inaccurate translation of Chinese. If users learnt the translation without checking the proper usage of the words, this would definitely affect their learning. It happens to many Chinese learners of English.
Besides, I find The visuwords, supported by My Words a bit complicated to understand. The visuwords, in a sense, helps learners since it shows the parts of speech, synonyms and etc. of the words. All that is crucial to vocabulary learning. However, the use of many different colours of arrows, shapes make learning way complex than expected.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Session 7: Multimedia: Reflection on Liou's paper (1994)
Liou’s paper (1994) discusses the development of a project of English as a foreign language (EFL) interactive videodisc (IVD) courseware which aims at assisting the training in EFL skills. The article includes description of how the project was completed in discussing design considerations, objective setting, instructional design, implementation; how the IVD courseware can be linked to language classrooms, and how courseware evaluation should be planned accordingly. The writer concludes with a discussion of the implications and useful recommendations for those who are willing to undergo such an enterprise.
Liou suggests the benefits of IVD to language teaching as it provides verbal, non verbal visual support like gestures and facial expressions which I cannot agree more.
The writer addresses that IVD should accommodate media based objectives, solid instructional design, such as good lesson plans while taking language learning theories and pedagogy into account and aims to lead to successful courseware as well as to gain in learning.
I agree on the idea of incorporating IVD courseware in classrooms because it allows individual students’ learning as flexibly as they can. Students can get on their learning through the IVD courseware so that they can learn at their own pace without interfering with or being bothered by others. Unlike average in-class, IVD gives students certain kinds of freedom, plus exploiting students’ different abilities to learning. Through IVD, they can actually learn communicating but not simply learn the language.
This is something not easily be seen in most classrooms in Hong Kong. As an English learner, I learnt English as a language, but not learn to communicate in the language. Schools mostly pay attention to the content of English as a subject, but neglect the importance to incorporate the idea of teaching to communicate in the language. I suppose this paper does give me some insights about the real kind of teaching I would like to bring in classrooms.
Liou suggests the benefits of IVD to language teaching as it provides verbal, non verbal visual support like gestures and facial expressions which I cannot agree more.
The writer addresses that IVD should accommodate media based objectives, solid instructional design, such as good lesson plans while taking language learning theories and pedagogy into account and aims to lead to successful courseware as well as to gain in learning.
I agree on the idea of incorporating IVD courseware in classrooms because it allows individual students’ learning as flexibly as they can. Students can get on their learning through the IVD courseware so that they can learn at their own pace without interfering with or being bothered by others. Unlike average in-class, IVD gives students certain kinds of freedom, plus exploiting students’ different abilities to learning. Through IVD, they can actually learn communicating but not simply learn the language.
This is something not easily be seen in most classrooms in Hong Kong. As an English learner, I learnt English as a language, but not learn to communicate in the language. Schools mostly pay attention to the content of English as a subject, but neglect the importance to incorporate the idea of teaching to communicate in the language. I suppose this paper does give me some insights about the real kind of teaching I would like to bring in classrooms.
Session 6: Evaluation: Reflection on Hubbard's paper (1988)
Hubbard’s paper (1988) discusses a very different approach to CALL courseware evaluation, unlike checklists form or questionnaire form of courseware evaluation available in textbooks, in the form of a flexible framework from which teachers can develop their own evaluation courseware for CALL procedures from which consists of three major sections of the framework: operational description, teacher fit, and learner fit. The paper also addresses the use of the framework to evaluate courseware as a closure to the discussion.
This framework is not as complex as it may seem but I must agree that Hubbard does give a thorough discussion of the framework. In a sense, this framework, as Hubbard explains clearly, offers teachers with great freedom and control of creating their own way of evaluation to fit in their own classrooms. It allows teachers using the package as a leading tool to tailormake a scheme that fosters effective teaching. How considerate to teachers. Thus there is no way of pressuring teachers that CALL courseware evaluation is misleading or limiting what teachers can do. But giving teachers more exploration.
This framework is not as complex as it may seem but I must agree that Hubbard does give a thorough discussion of the framework. In a sense, this framework, as Hubbard explains clearly, offers teachers with great freedom and control of creating their own way of evaluation to fit in their own classrooms. It allows teachers using the package as a leading tool to tailormake a scheme that fosters effective teaching. How considerate to teachers. Thus there is no way of pressuring teachers that CALL courseware evaluation is misleading or limiting what teachers can do. But giving teachers more exploration.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
A reflection on Roed's reading
Roed (2003) looked at a project based on collaboration between three universities in UK on learning Danish virtually which students were given a communicative language task. The researcher examined how communicating online can affect learner behaviour as well as the perception of learner behaviour.
The results found that students behaved differently when communicating online compared to a face-to-face situation. One major finding was that students found learning via computer was like ‘a shield of being on stage’ that reduced their anxiety of using the second language in front of class. In the task students were asked to interact with students in a chat room, research findings showed that students spoke more freely and were more eager to language learning as a virtual environment created a more relaxed and stress free atmosphere.
Roed also found that students displayed a very different personality in computer learning. Students behaving shy in classroom setting would behave well in computer-based learning.
Considering virtual learning, I can’t agree more with Roed’s major finding: fewer inhibitions motivate students’ learning. Being a second language learner of English, I agree that I was scared of speaking English in class when I was young. Speaking a second language would be a real challenge to many students. They would scare to pronounce words wrongly, carry peculiar accents, even if they could say a sentence perfectly, another challenge would come when they have to respond to people’s question. Engaging in a virtual learning environment, all these worries would be gone. The lesser the anxiety, the better one would be when it comes to language learning.
Virtual learning is possible if it serves as a supplementary tool assisting learning. I probably would try out communicating with my students in online platforms, chat room for instance. Not only can students engage in self-learning and peer-communicating via using the computer, both teacher and students can also connect to each other and create a closer network via the Internet.
Would virtual learning someday replace classroom learning in primary or secondary school settings in Hong Kong? That would be a topic for me to explore a little more later!
The results found that students behaved differently when communicating online compared to a face-to-face situation. One major finding was that students found learning via computer was like ‘a shield of being on stage’ that reduced their anxiety of using the second language in front of class. In the task students were asked to interact with students in a chat room, research findings showed that students spoke more freely and were more eager to language learning as a virtual environment created a more relaxed and stress free atmosphere.
Roed also found that students displayed a very different personality in computer learning. Students behaving shy in classroom setting would behave well in computer-based learning.
Considering virtual learning, I can’t agree more with Roed’s major finding: fewer inhibitions motivate students’ learning. Being a second language learner of English, I agree that I was scared of speaking English in class when I was young. Speaking a second language would be a real challenge to many students. They would scare to pronounce words wrongly, carry peculiar accents, even if they could say a sentence perfectly, another challenge would come when they have to respond to people’s question. Engaging in a virtual learning environment, all these worries would be gone. The lesser the anxiety, the better one would be when it comes to language learning.
Virtual learning is possible if it serves as a supplementary tool assisting learning. I probably would try out communicating with my students in online platforms, chat room for instance. Not only can students engage in self-learning and peer-communicating via using the computer, both teacher and students can also connect to each other and create a closer network via the Internet.
Would virtual learning someday replace classroom learning in primary or secondary school settings in Hong Kong? That would be a topic for me to explore a little more later!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sharing of past learning experience using new technologies
Reading readings of the week has brought back some memories of my own learning experience using new technologies. I remember that I took a course when I did my BA at CityU named Creative Communication projects. One of the main learning activities was to carry out a creative group project. We were asked to work in groups of four to create a support site/ fan site for an organization/ industry. We finally came up with the idea of designing a website for Dai Pai Dong, traditional Hong Kong style food stalls.
That project was fun because eveyone in the group cooperated with one another and worked collaboratively. I was not a big fan of new technologies, well I am still not one at the moment. Lucky that we had got a computer expert in the group. I mainly worked on the writing and proofreading of members' work and that expert helped us out a lot of the technical stuff. He even taught me play with some easy skills making a website. I remember that we as a group hanged out a few times to try out the wide range of variety of food at the Dai Pai Dongs located in Central and took a good deal of photos to post on our website. Yeah, that was really fun. Sad that I can't remember the hyperlink of the website that we created back then. I think that would be interesting to look at it again.
Back to the point, using the Internet for English teaching isn't as difficult as I have thought. Looking back at the experience that I had as a student, I did enjoy project-based learning. Working on our own, we gained much experience and discovered ways to solve problems. Working on our own doesn't mean teachers don't care about us. But as the reading of the week mentioned, teacher's role shift from 'sage on the stage' to 'guide on the side'. Teachers provide help and give instructions at times. In addition, we did work and cooperate with others in the group. That relates to one of the learning goals of using the Internet in English Teaching.
Putting myself in the shoes of teachers, I think it is very interesting to teach with the use of the Internet. The Internet is so vast and ubiquitous and is fused in our every day life. So as teachers we must help students with the use of the Internet and to equip them in the multimedia future. We have the responsibility to teach students strategies to adapt to the fast-changing technologies, motivate them to think crtically and work collaboratively. Wow such a challenging job for teachers.
Um I think it's really time to think about which age group I want to teach in future. And where to teach.
That project was fun because eveyone in the group cooperated with one another and worked collaboratively. I was not a big fan of new technologies, well I am still not one at the moment. Lucky that we had got a computer expert in the group. I mainly worked on the writing and proofreading of members' work and that expert helped us out a lot of the technical stuff. He even taught me play with some easy skills making a website. I remember that we as a group hanged out a few times to try out the wide range of variety of food at the Dai Pai Dongs located in Central and took a good deal of photos to post on our website. Yeah, that was really fun. Sad that I can't remember the hyperlink of the website that we created back then. I think that would be interesting to look at it again.
Back to the point, using the Internet for English teaching isn't as difficult as I have thought. Looking back at the experience that I had as a student, I did enjoy project-based learning. Working on our own, we gained much experience and discovered ways to solve problems. Working on our own doesn't mean teachers don't care about us. But as the reading of the week mentioned, teacher's role shift from 'sage on the stage' to 'guide on the side'. Teachers provide help and give instructions at times. In addition, we did work and cooperate with others in the group. That relates to one of the learning goals of using the Internet in English Teaching.
Putting myself in the shoes of teachers, I think it is very interesting to teach with the use of the Internet. The Internet is so vast and ubiquitous and is fused in our every day life. So as teachers we must help students with the use of the Internet and to equip them in the multimedia future. We have the responsibility to teach students strategies to adapt to the fast-changing technologies, motivate them to think crtically and work collaboratively. Wow such a challenging job for teachers.
Um I think it's really time to think about which age group I want to teach in future. And where to teach.
Monday, January 11, 2010
My first blog post
This was the class that I taught when I was in an English Summer Camp in Hainan, 2008. They are all students of advanced level.
We had some activities together after class. It was so much fun.
With my teaching partner and two of our students.
This photo was taken in Hanwang, Sichuan, 2009's summer. I went on an programme visiting those who affected by the 512 earthquake. Here are two of the kids that I taught.
With my teaching partner and a group of our students. They were excited about having their English names.
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First time up here blogging. So excited!
With the photos above, they have shown who I am and what I have experienced in the past years. Make a little intorduction of myself. I am a full-time student, not a teacher at the moment yet and I am doing some preparation work to be a teacher and that is why I am doing this MA programme. I have a passion in education and I would love to get involved in this field later in my life.
To be frank, I am not that good at technology, let alone using technology in my teaching. With this course, I expect to make use of the good that technology brings us when I teach in future. I also expect that I can use this blog as a platform to share my views towards language teaching and learning, and exchange ideas with other classmates.
Here are some web sites that I usually read. I like reading teachers' blogs because they can give me some insights and inspiration about teaching.
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