For today's class I was late. I think it was by a mere 5-7 minutes but I still felt bad. I hate being late. Anyways, the class began with a warm-up discussion and then with a presentation by Mariya(I hope I spelled that right). I enjoyed her presentation very much. It was so interesting to think about each language instruction setting from the point of view of the superintendents. I thought of it almost as being a lawyer and I had to support my "Natural Setting Classroom". In the end I voted for the communicative approach but I still enjoyed getting to know the Natural Setting in the class room.
Just a side note; I think it is interesting that when I read things for class I think that I understand the concept but until I actually put the concepts into practice I do not fully understand them.
During her presentation we also exemplified the different error corrections techniques. I liked this activity because again I put the different error corrections into practice.
We then watched a movie on YouTube and acted as Ethnographers. We observed a teacher instructing in a high school EFL setting. It appears he was teaching banking transactions and the vocabulary along with it. There were certain techniques that he did very well and there were some things that needed improvement. I like how Esther explained the 'sandwich' approach to giving feedback to teachers. That is a great concept and I think it can be used in other environments besides the institutional setting.
Lastly, we met in our peer-review groups. The feedback that we received was great. I think that it is great that we get feedback and then we have a chance to revise the different genres. Sometimes when a person is so close to a project they do not see some errors even if they are completely evident. That is the reason why peer-review is so important in the Multi-Genre Project.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Journal #3 for Multi-Genre Project
Friday November 7th my group met and discussed our 3rd and 4th genres. Tonight we handed in our genres and had them peer-reviewed.
At first, I was a little confused by some of the concepts that Aaron and Adib had about the genres but I caught on. I like the short stories that we chose for the Listening Discrimination genre. We chose the theme of winter and worked the entire genre around it. The exercise is a good one because it puts new vocabulary in the natural context. Also, there is second portion of the genre that puts the vocabulary in a different context.
Our 2nd genre is a game that Adib came up with. It has a little bit of memorization which is something that is not seen too often but I think it is an activity that would benefit students especially with their confidence.
I think the remaining genres need to be centered on the rest of the Standards of Teaching. Our group has been brainstorming to come up with ideas and that is where our aim will be for the next and last two genres.
At first, I was a little confused by some of the concepts that Aaron and Adib had about the genres but I caught on. I like the short stories that we chose for the Listening Discrimination genre. We chose the theme of winter and worked the entire genre around it. The exercise is a good one because it puts new vocabulary in the natural context. Also, there is second portion of the genre that puts the vocabulary in a different context.
Our 2nd genre is a game that Adib came up with. It has a little bit of memorization which is something that is not seen too often but I think it is an activity that would benefit students especially with their confidence.
I think the remaining genres need to be centered on the rest of the Standards of Teaching. Our group has been brainstorming to come up with ideas and that is where our aim will be for the next and last two genres.
Week 12 Readings
Well, I think I will just start right in on the readings for this week. Chapter 5 broke down the differences among natural language acquisition, structure based settings and communicative instruction settings in the classroom. I found it interesting that each setting has unique characteristics and each of those can benefit students.
When I was learning a second language I found that I appreciated the communicative setting. It was not the most comfortable but I reaped the benefits from the approach almost immediately. I found it quite uncomfortable because I was scared to make mistakes but making the mistakes that I did and being corrected help me learn even more. I think with that great risk comes a great reward.
Chapter 5 also broke down the two different ways in which researchers study classrooms. I think Observation Schemes do not appear to bring about the most faithful to reality results. By expecting certain results, the researchers could almost be bias and tailor the data to compliment their hypotheses.
Chapter 6 illustrates the 6 proposals to foreign language instruction.
1. Get it right from the beginning
2. Just listen...and read
3. Let's talk
4. Two for one
5. Teach what is teachable
6. Get it right in the end
I found there were some positive and negative aspects to every approach. The 'Get it right in the beginning method' appeared to target only the students that had a complete awareness and mastery to their own native language.
Proposal #2, 'Just listen and read' appears to only target those students that benefit from audio/lingual and visual learning styles. I like the TPR was integrated into this proposal as a means of combating this exact pitfall. A positive aspect to this method is that the use of authentic texts can contribute to language acquisition.
The 'Let's Talk' proposal appears to target something that I believe occurs naturally which is negotiation of meaning. From personal experiences I find that if I am trying to say something in Spanish but I do not know the appropriate Spanish word, I talk around that specific word until I am sure that I have conveyed the appropriate meaning. I am sure that I am not alone in this "strategy" with the use of a second or foreign language.
'Two for One' appears to be similar to Content Based Instruction. I like that this proposal is called 'Two for One'. It seems that students can study one subject while attaining a second language.
When I was learning a second language I found that I appreciated the communicative setting. It was not the most comfortable but I reaped the benefits from the approach almost immediately. I found it quite uncomfortable because I was scared to make mistakes but making the mistakes that I did and being corrected help me learn even more. I think with that great risk comes a great reward.
Chapter 5 also broke down the two different ways in which researchers study classrooms. I think Observation Schemes do not appear to bring about the most faithful to reality results. By expecting certain results, the researchers could almost be bias and tailor the data to compliment their hypotheses.
Chapter 6 illustrates the 6 proposals to foreign language instruction.
1. Get it right from the beginning
2. Just listen...and read
3. Let's talk
4. Two for one
5. Teach what is teachable
6. Get it right in the end
I found there were some positive and negative aspects to every approach. The 'Get it right in the beginning method' appeared to target only the students that had a complete awareness and mastery to their own native language.
Proposal #2, 'Just listen and read' appears to only target those students that benefit from audio/lingual and visual learning styles. I like the TPR was integrated into this proposal as a means of combating this exact pitfall. A positive aspect to this method is that the use of authentic texts can contribute to language acquisition.
The 'Let's Talk' proposal appears to target something that I believe occurs naturally which is negotiation of meaning. From personal experiences I find that if I am trying to say something in Spanish but I do not know the appropriate Spanish word, I talk around that specific word until I am sure that I have conveyed the appropriate meaning. I am sure that I am not alone in this "strategy" with the use of a second or foreign language.
'Two for One' appears to be similar to Content Based Instruction. I like that this proposal is called 'Two for One'. It seems that students can study one subject while attaining a second language.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Reflection of Week 11 Classtime
Today in class we discussed technology and its role in the classroom. We made posters of all the different types of technology used in the classroom. My group had many different types of technology listed such as, coffee maker, coffee grinder, cars, razors and so on. I found it interesting how many different types of technology are available in our daily lives. Also, it is amazing the amount of teaching possibilities there are when using technology. To further explain this point, one of my Spanish classes utilized computers most of the time. There were many times that I was frustrated by the computers but when it actually worked I was happy and felt that I reaped the benefits. Through the use of the Internet and the computers, I was able to speak to students all the way in Spain and work on my grammar.
I think there is a variety of availability with respect to technology which presents one of its drawbacks. My Catholic High School did not possess any technology. We simply had chalkboards and the occasional overhead projectors. Although there was limited availability my teachers found ways to add variety within the classroom. I think it is important to remember that technology is simply an aid, a tool if you will that assists in teaching rather than supplementing it.
The other portion of the class was taken up by Bekir and Brian's presentation which was very well organized and it was apparent that it was well thought out. I liked the variety between activities and discussion and I thought they highlighted the most important parts in Chapters 11,12 and 13.
I think there is a variety of availability with respect to technology which presents one of its drawbacks. My Catholic High School did not possess any technology. We simply had chalkboards and the occasional overhead projectors. Although there was limited availability my teachers found ways to add variety within the classroom. I think it is important to remember that technology is simply an aid, a tool if you will that assists in teaching rather than supplementing it.
The other portion of the class was taken up by Bekir and Brian's presentation which was very well organized and it was apparent that it was well thought out. I liked the variety between activities and discussion and I thought they highlighted the most important parts in Chapters 11,12 and 13.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Readings for November 3rd
Chapter 11 covered the different terms that are used to define the term, "technique". I am thankful for that because it is very hard to keep some of the terms that are used throughout the textbooks. Mechanical, meaningful and communicative drills were also broken down with examples. I did not have to experience drills when I was learning a second language and therefore I became more familiar with the technique. It seems drills are infamous in the language learning world but the Chapter did point out some of the advantages such as establishing structural patterns, rhythm and pronunciation.
Chapter 12 covered many different types of technology that is used in the classroom. When learning Spanish at MSU I used some technology, such as recording my voice of reading a passage in Spanish and then hearing it back. In fact, I still have a few of my very first recordings and I cannot help but feel embarrassed of how much I 'butchered' the language. I found them useful because I realized mistakes of mine that were unrecognizable when concentrating on speaking. I wish my more advanced classes utilized this method because I could always use improvement on my accent.
Chapter 13 gave great pointers on how to encourage interaction in the classroom. It also highlighted how important interaction is especially but limited to the communicative approach. One line in the book stated, "Interaction is, in fact, the heart of communication"(p. 212). I found that statement to be very compelling as it points out the fact that communication is nothing without the feelings, thoughts or ideas of others. To further explain, communication can take place and has a very broad definition. One example may be a teacher standing in the front of the class "spoon feeding" information to the students. In other words, that teacher is communicating with her students but NOT interacting. She is not receiving any feedback or response and therefore the students are not making connections to what they already know or a\connecting the new information with their background knowledge.
Chapter 12 covered many different types of technology that is used in the classroom. When learning Spanish at MSU I used some technology, such as recording my voice of reading a passage in Spanish and then hearing it back. In fact, I still have a few of my very first recordings and I cannot help but feel embarrassed of how much I 'butchered' the language. I found them useful because I realized mistakes of mine that were unrecognizable when concentrating on speaking. I wish my more advanced classes utilized this method because I could always use improvement on my accent.
Chapter 13 gave great pointers on how to encourage interaction in the classroom. It also highlighted how important interaction is especially but limited to the communicative approach. One line in the book stated, "Interaction is, in fact, the heart of communication"(p. 212). I found that statement to be very compelling as it points out the fact that communication is nothing without the feelings, thoughts or ideas of others. To further explain, communication can take place and has a very broad definition. One example may be a teacher standing in the front of the class "spoon feeding" information to the students. In other words, that teacher is communicating with her students but NOT interacting. She is not receiving any feedback or response and therefore the students are not making connections to what they already know or a\connecting the new information with their background knowledge.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Journal #2 for Multi-Genre
My group met last week to discuss the next two genres that we need to hand in. We came up with some really good ideas and I am actually really excited to create one of the genres. I think the reason this project appeals to me so much is that I am dealing with something that I have great interest in.
Our third genre is going to be a listening sort of open ended activity based on poems and short stories. My favorite part is that we get to pick out the poems and stories that would be included in a lesson. I looked up many Shel Silverstein poems such as:
I opened my eyes
Our third genre is going to be a listening sort of open ended activity based on poems and short stories. My favorite part is that we get to pick out the poems and stories that would be included in a lesson. I looked up many Shel Silverstein poems such as:
Rain by Shel Silverstein
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.
Honestly, does it get any better than that? I don't think so.
I found myself getting sidetracked while looking for poems for the genre because I was intrigued by so many that I was reading all of them without realizing it.
Reflection from last class Week 10??
Well, class was fun! I really liked the game we played lead by Mai and Kizuna. I thought it was creative and it appealed to each learning style. Also, the fact that the team I was on won makes it better too!
After the presentation we talked about learning disabilities and how it can affect a class and the teacher in the educational experience. I loved what Chris and Thea said about children of ADHD and that the worst thing a teacher can do is put that child in the front of the room. That makes so much sense to me. I know I will never be able to fully understand any of the learning disabilities but I think it helps to have teachers and fellow students explain their experiences with it.
We then broke into our groups to review our lesson plans and to teach a small 10 minute portion of the lesson. I cannot get over how creative my two partners were in this area! Also, they gave me very good advice and critiques about my lesson plan and I am so glad that they were able to help me improve the lesson.
After the presentation we talked about learning disabilities and how it can affect a class and the teacher in the educational experience. I loved what Chris and Thea said about children of ADHD and that the worst thing a teacher can do is put that child in the front of the room. That makes so much sense to me. I know I will never be able to fully understand any of the learning disabilities but I think it helps to have teachers and fellow students explain their experiences with it.
We then broke into our groups to review our lesson plans and to teach a small 10 minute portion of the lesson. I cannot get over how creative my two partners were in this area! Also, they gave me very good advice and critiques about my lesson plan and I am so glad that they were able to help me improve the lesson.
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