| Implementing CALL in Malaysian Secondary Classroom |
If you had the chance, would you utilize ICT (CALL) in your teaching?
I would definitely use ICT (CALL) in my teaching as it can make the lesson more interesting. But still, it depends on few important factors such as the school’s computer lab/media room (e.g. enough computers for students to work independently or in small groups of 2 – 3 students, the facilities inside the lab/room in good working condition, got good Internet connection with proper screening, the distance between the class and the lab/room, booking of the lab/room, etc.) and also the students (e.g. whether I can manage them or not).
Sadly, I didn’t have the opportunity(ies) of using ICT(CALL) in my lessons during my teaching practicum, due to few reasons: the lab/room are under maintenance (only one room can function at one time and not all computers can function well), the unmanageable student behaviours, problems with the booking of the lab/room.
How do you think it would help (or would not help) your students to learn English?
I think that ICT (CALL) can benefit both good and weak students as they can access to zillions of information that are readily available for different student proficiency level with various activities/types of tasks that will tests users’ skills (e.g. listening, speaking, writing, reading, etc.) at their own pace at any time/place. Also, this can later promote independent learning amongst the learner. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing CALL in Malaysian schools? Advantages:
Information is just at one’s fingertips (accessible at any time, any where – saves teacher’s time to prepare teaching materials, student can put theory(ies) learnt into practice). Allows for teacher and student creativity. Boosts student interest/motivation in learning (with all the audio/visual stuffs). The lesson is beyond books with the use of the Internet.
Disadvantages:
Might distract students from the original purposes of having to surf the web. Instructions fail to go across the students, especially after they are put in front of the computer due to distractions like Internet, etc. Insufficient equipment – computers, LCD projector, speakers. The danger of computer viruses, hackers, blackout, etc.
What are the barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom? Financial constraints. Lack of skilled/well-trained teachers in the ICT (CALL) field. Low maintenance of equipment – e.g. computers, LCD projectors, lack of suitable programs.
Other comments/thought/ideas on this topic.
Utilizing ICT (CALL) in Malaysia is a good idea, but a lot of things need to be taken into consideration. Teachers (senior or junior) need training and professional development. They need to be convinced that it’s a good idea and that they want to use it.
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| WWW Lesson Plan |
DREAM RESTAURANT
____________________________________________________________________
Level:
Beginner - Intermediate (Form One)
Time:
70 - 80 minutes
Aim(s):
1. To find specific information on a Website.
2. To practise the correct usage of sequence connectors and creating worksheet using Microsoft Publisher.
Technical Requirement(s):
1. One computer per groups of 2 – 3 students; with an Internet connection, a Web Browser, and Microsoft publisher.
Preparation:
1. Locate sites dedicated to various types of restaurants and foods they served.
2. Using the information on the sites, prepare worksheets.
Procedure:
1. Before the class starts, instructs the students to sit in their respective groups.
2. Shows few pictures of different types of food and asks students:
· which food do they like the most?
· what category do the food they chose falls into? (i.e. Chinese food, Indian food, Italian food, Japanese food, Korean food, Malay food, Thai food)
3. Asks students to imagine that s/he and his/her friends within the same group have decided to start a restaurant together.
4. Distributes a copy of Worksheet 1 to each and every group and explains what they have to do with it:
· complete Section A first by re-arranging the lists of things to consider prior starting a
restaurant in the correct manner
· representatives from few groups will read the answers of his/her group’s using suitable sequence connectors that they have learnt in the previous lesson.
5. Lists down the website URLs of various types of restaurants and asks each group to:
· decide together on what type of restaurant they want to open
· browse through the sites chosen and fill in the information needed in Section B of the given Worksheet 1
6. Informs students that having business cards and menus are among the must-have things for any restaurateurs and restaurants.
· shows examples of business cards and menus
· explains that both business cards and menu booklets can be made manually using Microsoft Publisher
· afterwards, demonstrates making business card using Microsoft Publisher
· within 20 minutes, tells students to create a simple menu booklet of their restaurant using the Microsoft Publisher
7. When all groups have finished within the given time, discuss the results.
· asks a representative from each group to present their menus to the class; i.e. significance of the chosen layout, colour scheme, etc.
Follow-up
8. Before the class ends, distributes Worksheet 2 to each and every student.
· students need to re-write the steps of preparing a simple cuisine using suitable sequence connectors and tenses as well.
9. Reminds students that the task is an individual work and is due on the next class.
Labels: CALL: Task 3 |
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| Hypertext & Hypermedia |
Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2nd 1869. His father died when he was still a teenager. At the age of 13 he married Kasturba Gandhi who was three years younger and the marriage lasts for 62 years until her death in 1944.
As a young man Gandhi left India to study law in London. Then he spent two decades working in South Africa securing rights for Indian expatriates. It was during this time that his political reform through non-violence which he called Satyagraha was born. This movement meant resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa, total non violence, which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. This way, when he returned to India, Mohandas Gandhi emerged as a political and religious leader in the fight for independence from Great Britain and was accorded the country's Father of the Nation. India freed itself from Britain on August 15th, 1947. Five months later, on January 25th, 1948 Gandhi was shot by a conservative Hindu. Labels: In-Class Task |
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| TSL 641 – Task 2 |
CALL/CALLT Website(s) Evaluation
Some Basic CALL/CALLT Applications
The name and URL address of the website(s) used for this particular task are: (1) ESL Mania - http://www.eslmania.com/, and (2) Grammar Bytes - http://www.chompchomp.com/
#1: Who are the users of the website(s) is(are) targeting?
ESL Mania targets on beginner to intermediate adult learners and teachers. It provides basic information for both learners and teachers like grammar and recommended books/websites for reference (either for learning or teaching). Apart from that, it also provide tips on how one can reduce (or improve) his/her original accent as well as tips on how to speak better business English (I think this is why it provide the tips on reducing one’s original accent, that can hinder one to speak ‘properly or business-like’, in the first place).
Grammar Bytes target on students from beginner to intermediate level of proficiency. In my opinion, this website would be suitable for both lower and upper secondary forms, i.e. Form 1/2/3/4/5 (depends on the students’ level of proficiency respectively). Like its name, it focuses solely on grammar and it offers detailed explanations of common grammar terms, exercises, handouts, and tips and rules for both learners and teachers.
*ESL Mania looked more ‘serious’ than Grammar Bytes as it includes serious matter, e.g. business idioms and tips on speaking better business English*
#2: What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning and using (or even manipulating!) the content?
Basically, both websites provide notes, exercises, handouts and the like. Both of the websites are very, very simple to handle. All the users have to do is just select and click on the preferred links and the new window(s) of one’s choice will immediately open. Even in ESL Mania’s Tongue Twisters audio, users only have to select and click on the ‘play’ button to listen to the audio of correct pronunciation of the tongue twister of one’s own choice. And the same thing goes for Grammar Bytes’ Interactive Exercises – read instruction - select answer - get result (whether one can win the cyber prizes offered, e.g. car, or not) but to view the accompanying handouts, one must have Adobe Reader on one’s computer.
#3: What sorts of computer skills are the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?
No additional computer skills are necessary, as long as the users know how to click on the preferred links, the users will be able to ‘survive’ throughout the application-surfing.
#4: While you are “playing”/”accessing”/”assessing” the website(s), does it remind you of anything you do (or have done) in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?
Well, both websites do offers notes and exercises (i.e. handouts of multiple-choice questions, crossword puzzles) which remind me that I also gone through the same thing during my both primary and secondary school years... Guess that it haven’t change much, except that technologies are (either partially or wholly) being incorporated in classroom nowadays, which isn’t (so) available during my schooling years.
#5: What setting will the website(s) best used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-lab class with one or a few computers?
In my opinion, these websites are best used in an independent study lab with teacher(s) available to help/guide the learners, as well as to facilitate and give feedback on tasks students are to complete about. It’s not that learners cannot handle these websites on their own (e.g. independently at home), but for me, it is better to have someone who is more knowledgeable in the language/skills of handling whatever things learners might encounter while using the websites.
#6: Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?
Personally, I do think that both websites are incorporating only Cognitive theory, in which they use drilling exercises where learners have to answer similar questions for a few times (to ensure the learners’ understanding of the subject s/he is learning or has learnt). Moreover, these websites also provides some kind of experiential learning that enable students to do things (e.g. doing exercise or move to another topic) on their own and at their own pace, with minimal guidance/help from teachers/others.
#7: How well are the Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory of Learning and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory applied to the chosen website(s)?
It is mentioned in the Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory of Learning that constructivism is child-centered, and for this particular reason, I do agree that both websites are child(user)-centered in which the activities offered by these websites focuses on knowledge construction (and in some way, the websites also applied knowledge reproduction where they uses similar questions/exercises for drilling), but that’s only it. As for the authenticity of the content for each websites, I don’t think that all of the examples used are appropriate to all cultures or backgrounds of the users(learners) that might come from all over the world and not only from United States of America (USA) – i.e. the content for both websites are limited to things that are related to USA only, as if the websites only target only on those whom migrated to USA and wanting to learn the language only for the sake of ‘surviving’ in USA (e.g. getting the green card, job, etc).
As for Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, only Linguistic Intelligence is being practiced in both websites as the content in the websites doesn’t incorporate the interactive stuffs in it like logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, spiritual kind of intelligences. Therefore, I conclude that both of the websites only apply a very, very small portion of both of the theories.
#8: In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation – is the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?
For me, a computer can never replace a teacher. No matter how much one can learn from an ‘intelligent’ computer/website/software/and the like, it’s still only a mere emotionless-medium that is use to ease the teaching/learning process. It doesn’t have the ‘warmth’ of a living human being (i.e. teacher), who can converse with the student (e.g. giving feedback, advice and what not) or even show nonverbal (facial/body) gestures to them. Thus, I do find that the websites are the ‘slaves’ to the teaching/learning process as it only convey the instructions/information/and so on that have been programmed by the programmer, a human being, the ‘master’ of the computers.
#9: Would you like to use the website(s) yourself in your future work?
It depends actually, not just to the learners’ level of proficiency but to the learners’ age and background as well. Although these websites are not that interactive, YES, I would still use it but limited to tasks related to (mainly) writing only (as they only consists of mostly writing-based activities), and I’ll look for another websites if I am to incorporate other skills, apart from writing, in my classroom. To be specific, I would use ESL Mania if I am to teach adult beginner-intermediate learners (especially those who are having difficulties in ‘losing’ their accent of origin that hinder them from being able to be understood by others), but for younger beginner-intermediate learners, I would probably use stuffs from Grammar Bytes (more light and suitable for their age range, and also quite fun with the interactive exercise – one can win cyber prizes if s/he got the correct answers – in a way, it can boost the learners’ motivation to complete the exercises).
#10: Suggestions/Recommendations
Frankly, I don’t have any suggestions/recommendations in regard of the websites. But as for me, I think that how good or not-so-good is a website depends on its suitability (e.g. content, type exercises, and layout) to the level of proficiency, age and background of the users (teachers/learners). Therefore, teachers must first ensure that any website that s/he chose is appropriate to apply with his/her learners. Although the websites (i.e. ESL Mania and Grammar Bytes) are mainly about drills with a lack of interactivity, these kind of websites are necessary for those who want to learn ESL in a ‘serious’ way without hassle like having to install new software, application or whatsoever. But if the users like (or need) websites that are loaded with interactive stuffs like animations, colourful layouts, songs, etc. in order for him/her to learn the language, they are free to search and use those kinds of websites. And for the programmers, s/he may want to consider of upgrading the content of the websites to the universal level, where all of the users can use it regardless of their cultures or backgrounds (i.e. be less culture specific) as well adding more of interactive activities that comprise more of the traits mentioned by the two theories of Vygotsky and Gardner (e.g. audio/visual, layout, etc.).
Prepared by: Masayuni Saminin @ Shabudin 2004106283 (U8A) Labels: CALL: Task 2 |
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