Implementing CALL in the Malaysian Secondary Classroom
If you had the chance would you utilize ICT (CALL) in your teaching?
Yes, because there is a lot of interesting sources that we can find and use from the internet which can help in the teaching and learning especially with audiovisual advantage. Since knowledge in technology is a very important skill nowadays, we not only teach students about language but indirectly we are exposing technology to students who have no or limited knowledge in using computer and what not, and in a fun way as well.
How do you think it would help (or would not help) your students to learn English?
As I mentioned in the first question, audiovisual material that are available can help students learn language better since most learners are stimulated using the sight and sound senses. For example, sing-along, pictures with music and so on. Students can also choose to learn the same lesson over and over again when they want to since the lessons is ready to be used 27-7. There are lots of in helpful lesson that are available, for example; the speaking lesson can help students in their pronunciation as well as their vocabulary, writing e-mail or blog can help students in their writing and grammar, and apart from that, students learn how to make friends and keep in touch with their friends.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing CALL in the Malaysian schools?
Some of the advantages in implementing CALL in Malaysian schools includes; it motivates students to learn in a fun way, students get to learn basic knowledge about technology as well especially those who have no computers at home, teacher can have less time to prepare for lesson because there are a lot of sources in the internet, it is much cheaper to use computer in classrooms once it was implemented because teacher needs less teaching materials such as mahjong papers or marker, teacher can monitor students progress all the time and in a way, classroom management is easier when students concentrated on what they need to do with the computer. Meanwhile some of the disadvantages include; it is very expensive to prepare and provide a conducive place with computers or technology that functions properly whenever we need it, there is probably classroom management issues as students may stray away from the lesson and do something else, and it will be unfair for students who have no computers at home when they are given homework.
What are the barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom?
The barriers are; very expensive to be implemented but still not everything are functioning well, some teachers still don’t have enough knowledge in ICT themselves and it is very hard to keep up with the students who some of them are already experts in using technology, there is also problems in safety in ensuring student to be ‘shielded’ from unnecessary contents on the internet and to ensure that students treat the provided technological equipments properly and avoid vandalism, and the students may plagiarize in doing their work.
Please also include any other comments/thoughts/ideas on this topic
In my opinion, integrating CALL in our education system or classrooms is very important because we have to prepare students with the essential skill not only in language but also in technology as well. By using technology in teaching language, we may not only learn the English language only, but it is possible for us to learn other languages as well using the multiple resources that we can find in the internet. However, I believe that Malaysian educators should also come up with their own software in teaching language instead of just ‘borrowing’ from other country.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
ESL LESSON PLAN
ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY
LEVEL : Form 3 (Intermediate)
TIME : 30-45 minutes
AIMS : At the end of the lesson, students should be able to read and find specific information on a Website, and to practice vocabulary to construct sentences on recycling.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
One computer per group with 3-4 students, with an Internet connection and a Web Browser.
Websites:
www.kpkt.gov.my/kitarsemula/home.asp
www.recyclenow.com/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_recycling
http://members.aol.com/ramola15/funfacts.html
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/trivia.html
http://www.embatech.com.my/facts.html
PREPARATION:
1. Locate sites which are related to recycling.
2. Prepare worksheet(s) based on the information obtained.
3. Before starting the lesson, make sure that the Internet connection and the Website are functioning properly.
PROCEDURE:
1. Prepare three boxes of the color blue, brown and orange which has the recycle logo on it and display it in-front of the class. Ask students if they know which recycled material(s) are put in respective boxes. E.g.: blue for paper.
2. After students guess the answers, teacher reveals the answers by taking out the pieces of paper from the respective boxes which had the answers written on it.
3. Show students the recycle logo and ask students if they have seen it before and where they can usually see the logo. Discuss with the students the definition of recycling.
4. Distribute the worksheets to students and ask students to complete the task within their groups. They should be able to arrange information in the correct sequence. Tell the students that they can check the answers online after they finish the task.
5. Guide students to the sites chosen, and ask them to check their answer based on the information that they get from the Website(s). Encourage students try to come up with their own answers first before they check for the correct answers from the sites provided.
6. When each group had finished, ask groups to present their answers and findings.
7. Share with students some interesting facts about recycling from the selected websites. Discuss with students and ask the students to list down the effects or advantages of recycling.
FOLLOW-UP:
1. Tell students to list or find out ways on how they can help recycling, and things that are able to be recycled and those that are not recyclable.
2. Students can find recyclable materials and try to make something interesting using their own ideas or find out from the Internet.
LEVEL : Form 3 (Intermediate)
TIME : 30-45 minutes
AIMS : At the end of the lesson, students should be able to read and find specific information on a Website, and to practice vocabulary to construct sentences on recycling.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
One computer per group with 3-4 students, with an Internet connection and a Web Browser.
Websites:
www.kpkt.gov.my/kitarsemula/home.asp
www.recyclenow.com/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_recycling
http://members.aol.com/ramola15/funfacts.html
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/trivia.html
http://www.embatech.com.my/facts.html
PREPARATION:
1. Locate sites which are related to recycling.
2. Prepare worksheet(s) based on the information obtained.
3. Before starting the lesson, make sure that the Internet connection and the Website are functioning properly.
PROCEDURE:
1. Prepare three boxes of the color blue, brown and orange which has the recycle logo on it and display it in-front of the class. Ask students if they know which recycled material(s) are put in respective boxes. E.g.: blue for paper.
2. After students guess the answers, teacher reveals the answers by taking out the pieces of paper from the respective boxes which had the answers written on it.
3. Show students the recycle logo and ask students if they have seen it before and where they can usually see the logo. Discuss with the students the definition of recycling.
4. Distribute the worksheets to students and ask students to complete the task within their groups. They should be able to arrange information in the correct sequence. Tell the students that they can check the answers online after they finish the task.
5. Guide students to the sites chosen, and ask them to check their answer based on the information that they get from the Website(s). Encourage students try to come up with their own answers first before they check for the correct answers from the sites provided.
6. When each group had finished, ask groups to present their answers and findings.
7. Share with students some interesting facts about recycling from the selected websites. Discuss with students and ask the students to list down the effects or advantages of recycling.
FOLLOW-UP:
1. Tell students to list or find out ways on how they can help recycling, and things that are able to be recycled and those that are not recyclable.
2. Students can find recyclable materials and try to make something interesting using their own ideas or find out from the Internet.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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.
Monday, August 18, 2008
CALL/CALLT Website Evaluation
TSL641 (CALL/CALLT Website Evaluation)
Vivianna Rozanne Ang
2004106317
U8A
Websites: http://www.eslpartyland.com/ and www.englishforum.com/00/interactive/
1. Who are the users the website/websites is/are targeting?
The websites are basically targeting both teachers and students who want to find extra exercises that can help to improve in their teaching and learning. Both websites offers very good and interactive exercises for students of the beginner and intermediate level, but quite few exercises for the advanced. The websites are also very helpful for teachers to share ideas on teaching ESL.
2. What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning and using (or even manipulating!) the content?
Both websites are basically focusing more on the written exercise compared to listening and speaking. For http://www.eslpartyland.com/ , the website do offer some listening, speaking and reading exercises which are limited to sing-along and completing lyrics. However, the exercises are very easy to follow and students are able to find out their marks and the correct answers of the exercise. The http://www.englishforum.com/ even gives students proper explanation of the answers for the quizzes. The users can choose exercises that requires them to answer fill-in the blanks, multiple choice questions, scrambled sentences, matching or crosswords.
3. What sorts of computer skills are the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?
The websites are quite user-friendly; teachers and students can easily follow the given instructions which require very basic computer skills. However, some exercises or program requires real-player or java software, so if the computer that students use did not have these software, they may not be able to access to the exercises unless if students know how to install or download these software.
4. While you are “playing”/”accessing”/” assessing” the websites, 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?
Most of the forms of exercise in the websites are similar to what I have learned in a normal classroom as well as learning at home, which is fill-in the blanks, multiple choice questions, matching or crossword puzzles, except without the technology. We use to learn grammar and vocabulary using textbooks and workbooks which are often considered ‘the more pictures it has, the more fun it is to learn’. Compared to using the internet, learning using the technology is much more fun because of the animation and all, and we get faster answers and explanation.
5. What setting will the websites best used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-led class with one or a few computers?
In my opinion, since both websites focus more on beginner and intermediate users, the websites should be best used in the lab associated with a class. Teachers will usually deals with a class with students of different levels. Some may not need the teachers help, some may occasionally do and some may need the teachers to give them step by step instructions.
6. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?
I think the learning and teaching using this application are more of experiential learning where students learn from doing it on their own. Yes, they may get limited or minimal guidance from teachers, but from choosing the exercises, answering it and understanding it; students learn all that from exploring it themselves.
7. How well are the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory or learning and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory applied to the chosen websites?
Constructivism as a description of human cognition is often associated with pedagogic approaches that promote active learning by doing. Learning independently through this websites allows students to study at their own pace and the teachers act only as facilitators. Students’ linguistic intelligence can be improved better when they learn through mistakes that they discover on their own, compared to constantly being told of which is correct and which is not. Since the websites offer interactive exercises and not just the usual notes, students not only learn to read the theory but to apply it and learn at the same time.
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 replacements for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?
Although the computers have all the instruction for the users to follow, however, the computer is not a replacement for teachers. This is because; the users are the one who give ‘orders’ to the computer. Compared to teachers who will ask students to do something and students choose to do it (or not), we as users choose what we want from the options offered in the program, and the computers will ‘give’ us what we want, without any objections. In this sense, the computer is the obedient servant to users.
9. Would you like to use the websites yourself in your future work?
Yes. I would use and recommend this websites to others because the websites offers very good exercises which are useful for both teaching and learning with very limited guidance. The printable and sharing options offered are also useful for students and teachers to share the lesson and their ideas with other people. Learning and teaching will be much more easy and fun at the same time.
10. Suggestions/Recommendations.
When teachers want to use online source in teaching, teachers should be aware of the program or software required for the websites so that proper and effective learning can take place. The devoted individuals who manage these educational sites could have the websites updated more often and as much as possible to make the learning/teaching material to be as interactive as possible to make it more authentic.
Vivianna Rozanne Ang
2004106317
U8A
Websites: http://www.eslpartyland.com/ and www.englishforum.com/00/interactive/
1. Who are the users the website/websites is/are targeting?
The websites are basically targeting both teachers and students who want to find extra exercises that can help to improve in their teaching and learning. Both websites offers very good and interactive exercises for students of the beginner and intermediate level, but quite few exercises for the advanced. The websites are also very helpful for teachers to share ideas on teaching ESL.
2. What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning and using (or even manipulating!) the content?
Both websites are basically focusing more on the written exercise compared to listening and speaking. For http://www.eslpartyland.com/ , the website do offer some listening, speaking and reading exercises which are limited to sing-along and completing lyrics. However, the exercises are very easy to follow and students are able to find out their marks and the correct answers of the exercise. The http://www.englishforum.com/ even gives students proper explanation of the answers for the quizzes. The users can choose exercises that requires them to answer fill-in the blanks, multiple choice questions, scrambled sentences, matching or crosswords.
3. What sorts of computer skills are the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?
The websites are quite user-friendly; teachers and students can easily follow the given instructions which require very basic computer skills. However, some exercises or program requires real-player or java software, so if the computer that students use did not have these software, they may not be able to access to the exercises unless if students know how to install or download these software.
4. While you are “playing”/”accessing”/” assessing” the websites, 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?
Most of the forms of exercise in the websites are similar to what I have learned in a normal classroom as well as learning at home, which is fill-in the blanks, multiple choice questions, matching or crossword puzzles, except without the technology. We use to learn grammar and vocabulary using textbooks and workbooks which are often considered ‘the more pictures it has, the more fun it is to learn’. Compared to using the internet, learning using the technology is much more fun because of the animation and all, and we get faster answers and explanation.
5. What setting will the websites best used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-led class with one or a few computers?
In my opinion, since both websites focus more on beginner and intermediate users, the websites should be best used in the lab associated with a class. Teachers will usually deals with a class with students of different levels. Some may not need the teachers help, some may occasionally do and some may need the teachers to give them step by step instructions.
6. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?
I think the learning and teaching using this application are more of experiential learning where students learn from doing it on their own. Yes, they may get limited or minimal guidance from teachers, but from choosing the exercises, answering it and understanding it; students learn all that from exploring it themselves.
7. How well are the Vygotsky’s constructivist theory or learning and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory applied to the chosen websites?
Constructivism as a description of human cognition is often associated with pedagogic approaches that promote active learning by doing. Learning independently through this websites allows students to study at their own pace and the teachers act only as facilitators. Students’ linguistic intelligence can be improved better when they learn through mistakes that they discover on their own, compared to constantly being told of which is correct and which is not. Since the websites offer interactive exercises and not just the usual notes, students not only learn to read the theory but to apply it and learn at the same time.
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 replacements for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?
Although the computers have all the instruction for the users to follow, however, the computer is not a replacement for teachers. This is because; the users are the one who give ‘orders’ to the computer. Compared to teachers who will ask students to do something and students choose to do it (or not), we as users choose what we want from the options offered in the program, and the computers will ‘give’ us what we want, without any objections. In this sense, the computer is the obedient servant to users.
9. Would you like to use the websites yourself in your future work?
Yes. I would use and recommend this websites to others because the websites offers very good exercises which are useful for both teaching and learning with very limited guidance. The printable and sharing options offered are also useful for students and teachers to share the lesson and their ideas with other people. Learning and teaching will be much more easy and fun at the same time.
10. Suggestions/Recommendations.
When teachers want to use online source in teaching, teachers should be aware of the program or software required for the websites so that proper and effective learning can take place. The devoted individuals who manage these educational sites could have the websites updated more often and as much as possible to make the learning/teaching material to be as interactive as possible to make it more authentic.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
hold on to it
in the end, there's only one person who can lift you up or drag you down, and that person is YOU...
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