WEEK 3: CALL and SKILL BUIDING WEBSITES FOR AURAL/ORAL SKILLS

In my country and consequently in our institution, we have a significant deficit of English language teachers and associate teachers who already teach in other institutions, generally high schools constitute the bulk of our teaching staff .The teaching hours they do in our facility is overtime, and in general they “pick up” the listening/speaking course because “it’s easy to teach”.
The procedure is simple: put the cassettes (yes , we haven’t made the shift to CDs or MP3 format yet) in the old fashioned cassette operating language lab, make the students listen twice or three times and, give them some time to answer some questions about the piece they had just listened to. Some teachers base their speaking lessons on topics. I mean they would choose ‘Child Labor” and would let students discuss freely on the topic without previous teaching or presentation of language functions like “agreeing and disagreeing”, for example. The outcome is having students with poor speaking and listening skills. Because each teacher has is viewpoint on how speaking and listening should be taught students’ development in those skills is a matter of luck.
Myself, I hadn't be given the chance to teach speaking and listening, but if I had I'm quite sure that I would have taught it the way I was taught in university which is almost the same way the teachers described above do, apart from this idea of teaching topics instead of functional language. The main reason would have been the lack of relevant and interesting resources, but after this week I have no excuse: all these great sites within a keystroke. Just awesome!!!
I learnt this week that speaking and listening is not easy to teach. Listening, in particular, involves complex neurological and cognitive processes equivalent to other skills like reading and writing.
I was so excited that I decided to try something new this week.
This academic year, because an associate teacher resigned unexpectedly, the administration asked me insistently to take over the module of” Introduction to Linguistics Second Year”. I mused on the question and thought I could not let these students down. We were almost at the end of the first semester, and they needed a teacher immediately. I accepted mainly because I could rely on all the teaching materials I have been gathering for years, just in case.
Among these materials, I had videos of lectures in linguistics and one in particular on the topic I was going to lecture this week: Ferdinand de Saussure ”Course in General Linguistics”.
Instead of me lecturing, I said to myself why not using this video to improve their listening skills too. The English spoken by the lecturer was accessible to their level of proficiency. There was not an extensive use of the linguistic jargon.
My class objective was as follow:
After watching a videotaped lecture on Ferdinand de Saussure’s Course in General linguistics” (condition) second year students (audience) will be able to retrieve and explain some of the Saussurean dichotomies (behavior) with 70 % of accuracy (degree).
I wanted to follow the stages presented at http://www.esl-lab.com/ with pre listening, listening, and post listening stages.I didn’t spend much time on the pre-listening stage because they studied briefly these Saussurean dichotomies last year. During the listening phase they were supposed to take notes.
After watching the video, they went through their notes and I jotted down them on the board.I clarified certain things their didn’t grasp properly and I had them explain the dichotomies presented in the lecture.
It was the first time I used a videotape, and I think students who are used to more traditional ways find it refreshing and really enjoyed the class this week.However, with more experience I think I’ll do better next time

WEEK 2 : WEB SEARCHING AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When we were asked to compare search engine using some tips and the related documentation, I thought that this was exactly what I needed.I have been searching the web for quite some time now, mainly for professional reasons, but if I have to describe my skills in this matter two words come to my mind :BASIC and INEFFICIENT.Notwithstanding very useful website discoveries instantly bookmarked, it was time-consuming.Add to this web exploration, the necessary time for processing the information or resources found,and you have hours and hours spent to prepare the instructional materials, sometimes for only lesson.

If myself I struggle when web searching, what about my dear students to whom I give assignments requiring intensive web search.
On this matter , I remember one of my students who not satisfied with her assignment who made this insightful remark about her urgent need for developing web searching skills. I couldn't tell her that I , her teacher, wasn't a skilled web searcher too, but I promised her that I would devote a lesson to this vital college study skill.

I wasn't self-confident enough then.With the information and resources I got on this question this week, I think that I can practically tip them on how to use the web for research. But the question of how to assess internet resources remains, and I need some time for that.

Another extremely relevant topic this week: learning objectives.Most teachers when lesson planning muse on this issue. How to state clear learning objectives for a class?
For a teacher knowing how to write learning objectives is essential.Myself, I already know that when it comes to defining the qualities of a learning objective 'SMART' is the word:

S for SPECIIC
M for MEASURABLE
A for ACHEVABLE
R for RELEVANT/ REALISTIC
T for TIME-BOUND

I also use the SWAT formula:
" By the end of the lessson Student Will be Able To do something using something"

This is very close to the ABCD method.The additional information the latter is the "Degree of Mastery".Generally teachers expect 100% mastery , but I think that 80% is quite acceptable, and depends on the difficulty of the task.
What is appealing with this method is that when you state your class or lesson objectives , you must think in advance about the way you're going to assess the fullfillment of the objective , and I must say that as an educator assessment is my nightmare.

A great deal of our students think that teachers' evaluation is often based on subjective criteria. To get this idea out of their heads and insure theit total acceptance of evaluation outcomes we need to share these class objectives with them something that we do not often do.

about blogging

Sharing my thoughts with others on the web, why? I have never thought of blogging before either for personal or professional use. Look at me now, I’m a member of the” blogosphere”. Just thinking about it, makes me smile. I’m now like a novelist or a short story writer in front of his blank page asking himself or herself what s/he is going to write about today. Because though I’m new at it, I already have an audience relying on me to write interesting things, so I will try not to live up to their expectations.

E-mailing,”skypeing”, and instant messenger have been my favorite means for communicating with my students out of the class, so far. These were some of the computer applications I knew I could use easily for educational purposes. I created an email for my classes where I post additional resources to the course , complementary instructions to assignments, or answers to individual students’ questions I would like to share with them all, but out of all the students I have I can count on my fingers those who seized this opportunity.

After reading the resources for this week’s topic and some of my fellow students’ posts on the forum, I said to myself:”why haven’t I thought of it before?” Blogging would have been a better option for involving more students. Emailing,”skypeing”, and instant messenger remain individual and somehow confidential, but reading others classmates’ posts and comments is more likely to foster a will to join in and become an active member of the community.

Moreover, despite all the possible reasons presented for the educational use of blogs, I think that the most important one is to carry on discussions out of the class i,e use them as an extension of the class. Indeed, that is why blogs were created in the first place, to allow individuals to express themselves freely. Out of the classroom, they can give students a voice. Classroom time being managed within minutes, teachers cannot extend class discussions endlessly even if these are used to achieve the objectives of the lesson, so some students don’t have a chance to give their opinion. In this case, blogging can be a good option.

Hassina

PS: sorry friends ,I couldn’t post this before.My internet connection at home is out of order for a while

week 1: getting started with blogging

I know what blogs are, and how individuals use them to express themselves on topics that matter to them and that some outstanding bloggers have even become famous.Comparing myself to them,I would never have thought about having a blog of my own.
So when our instructors asked us to create a blog, I was a little nervous. A" little " isn't actually the word;I was so stressed that I got up at 3:00 a.m local time and sat in front of my computer to perform the task.At that time I was almost certain that my internet connecttion will be operating, and I thought I would be back to bed after 30 min .I stayed in front of the screen until my alarm clock rang!!! It was time to wake up and get ready for a long working day: my classes end at 4:00 pm.
But why did it take me so long to create this blog though I had the step by step instruction under my eyes? First, I was disappointed that the site was in French because I had to read in English and then match the given instructions with their French equivalent. JUST TIRING!!!!!
But my troubles weren't over yet.I had to find a title and a relevant address to my blog.
What a poor imagination I have !!!!!! 20 min to come up with a title and address.
Next time Ill be less demanding with my students.