Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Reading Prompt #4
EGBERT Ch. 4. Communication & CollaborationRICHARDSON Ch. 5. RSS: The New Killer App for Educators
Why is communication and collaboration so important in the language learning classroom? What ideas did you gain from the Egbert chapter about how computers and technology can be used to faciliate greater communication and collaboration for students? Give any personal examples you have had using these or other ideas.

Note the etymology of the word collaboration--working together. This refers to the students and teachers negotiating and clarifying meaning, and working to understand the materials at hand. Rather than passivity and top-down aspects of the "transmission" form of education, 1) learners are active, and 2) listen and respond to material presented, working together or autonomously. When there is an information gap, the teacher is called for assistance, who then is able to clarify and suggest further means of pursuit of information.

Most of my experience comes from teaching adults (executives and professors). Being handed the power tool of an interactive work sheet made a huge difference in the success I achieved in pronunciation work just last week. The objective of the lesson was to help a foreign speaker of English with pronunciation difficulties, which he felt impeded him even after so many years in this country. I created a worksheet with audio versions of a text which was also written, and then asked my learner to make a recording of the same text. As he read, I asked him what was different from the way I had pronounced the sounds. We then circled letters and words on the worksheet, and using the aid of a phonetics website, were able to work specifically on problem areas. He re-recorded his readings until he was satisfied, and then we went on to the next line of text.

The summary and conclusions to this work were very positive. I compared his voice reading the entire text to a recording I had made earlier in the week, and the clarity of our practice text was astounding. Further, I sent him the electronic worksheet, so that he could listen again to any parts he wanted to further practice. He was very motivated and pleased with the methodology, and felt he was making progress.

There is an old saying in the motivational field, "People don't argue with their own data." My client could hear the difference in his pronunciation before and after our practice, and thanks to Dr. Wright, this happened through a tool that was efficient for this purpose and a good example of technology as handmaiden to language confidence enhancement.

Dr. Wright's Prompt #3

CUMMINS Ch. 4. Technology EGBERT Ch. 3. Developing and Practicing Listening and Speaking Skills
Cummins et al. discussed the pedagocial divide that separates instruction for low-income and for more affluent students. Discuss some of the technology-supported strategies from their chapter. Also comment on one of the examples from Egbert's chapter and describe how computers can assist ELLs with learing and practicing listening and speaking in English.

What is interesting about funding of projects deemed "important," whether it be education, foreign aid, or war, a rich country like the US has the capacity to throw money (or technological devices) at a problem. However, without an examination of the problem or challenge, devising of realizable goals, and proper training (behavioral modification), the results are undesirable or null (and we wonder why?).

Cummins points out in Chapter 2 on Pedagogy and in Chapter 4 on technology, that image of the teacher and the student as a successful learner using the technology at hand is critical. He argues that one of the major problems in integrating the multiliteracies (language competence and technology) is the divide between transmission (top down) and social constructivist/transformative (top up) approaches. In lower socio-economic areas, the pressure of the need to prepare students for the NCLB exam overwhelms the curriculum; thus leaving little to no time for other pedigogical focus. This is not true of more affluent schools, where children may be already better prepared the the NCLB exam, and thus have time to delve into techonology-aided learning. This is referred to as the "digital divide" by Wilhelm et al. (2002).

The use of commercial products is discussed, but most of the reviews are by the companies selling these products.
MOTIVATION is the key to learning; thus any measure of initial or continuing success is related to the student's desire to learn. There are several studies which indicate that technology can impact motivation:

• McMillan and Honey (1993) in a one-year study of grade 8 students found that those given laptops showed marked improvement in the ability to communicate effectively.
• Meskill and Mossop (2000) carried out a survey of techology use by over 800 ESL teachers over a two-year period. The children were excited to be able to create products of learning to share with others. Learning with e-texts was observed. They concluded that ELLs were enabled by technology to participate in class activities to the full extent of their intelligence and imagination. This is in contrast to the lag of one to two years that has been observed in young ELLs. The students were able to have control over their environment and learning, and shared their products with pride, becoming experts in the technology in the classroom and in the community.

My methodology for trying out language software is to pick a language in which I have not been schooled. Although I can get by in Italian, I do not know the formalities of the grammar and orthography. I chose Rosetta Stone, mentioned by Egbert, as it promised to not only teach the written and spoken form of the language, but to check pronunciation as well. Unfortunately I did not have a microphone for the demo to see how close the pronunciation has to be to "pass." Checking spoken language is of particular interest to me, as I have been asked to aid foreign-educated executives and professors with pronunciation in order to better their English speaking confidence.

Rosetta stone appears to have potential for English learners or reviewers in general as it is bright, colorful and simple, allowing the learner to proceed through the listening and reading section by matching a written and spoken statement with a picture. The pictures start with people or objects and a verb, and build up slowly in complexity.

Evaluation of speaking is offered, and promises to provide feedback through voice recognition until the speaker "gets it right." Speech can be slowed for better comprehension. Unfortunately, I was unable to use this feature.

The writing portion of the program states that dictation can be taken, and through spell and grammar checker, the typed text corrected! Ummmm, I know how deceiving that can be in English, although at a beginner or intermediate level, that may not be tragic.

In summary, this software appears to offer interactivity and stimulating visuals, along with a step by step approach. I would love to try it in Chinese and then decide if it is appropriate for given ELLs.

What do you think? Does anyone out there have experience with Rosetta Stone?

My First Photostory

Good Morning All,
Thanks to Lazardo, I just completed my first Photostory, and attempted to add it to my blog. The doors of creativity were flung shut as I realize that blogger apparently doesn't "do" videos. Anyone have an idea how to post videos?

Have a great weekend (and stay warm)!
Carol

Dr. Wright's Questions from 1/30/2007

Note: This picture of the Alhambra relates to the story about Spain below.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Reading Prompt #2
Readings: Egbert Ch. 2, Cummins Ch. 2, Richardson Ch. 3
What are "multiliteracies" as described by Cummins et al.? How does this relate to Egbert's assertions about the need for authentic materials to support ELL students' reading and writing? Discuss how blogs and blogging can be a tool for achieving these ideals with ELL students. Finally, describe your own experience creating your blog this week. Was it harder than you thought? What ideas do you have about the kind of stuff you want to blog about (besides what is required for this course)?

Cummins describes "multiliteracies" as the diversity of cultures, including languages, that children bring with them into the classroom. Not once does he mention "tabula rasa"--no Roman children. A bad joke! When the educator recognizes the child as an individual, it validates the person, which is in itself motivating. The culture of the individual can be used as a starting point for education in literacy; e.g., reading about that culture in English, translations, vocabulary, differences in pronunciation and sounds, etc., which provide enlightenment both ways and a positive means of looking at differences as being an aid rather than an encumbrance to education. In Mike's excellent discussion of Egbert's ideas, authenticity is determined by the learner. Thus for the ELL student, materials which are used by native EL speakers are relevant, but only authentic when the ELL can relate to them; in other words, when they contain something of interest (personally relevant). This implies interactivity in that the ELL student can take the opportunity to have feed back from native language speakers who would be familiar with these materials. This provides the opportunity for further English language interactions.

A personal experience is provided from my posting in the early 80's to Spain for Merck, the pharmaceutical company. Although I had studied Spanish in the University, and had read all the great classics, I had never really had the opportunity to speak Spanish. So suddenly I had a responsible marketing position, and the need to produce written and spoken language, and to understand the accent in Castillian! What I learned really fast were un jaleo , torreando con los coches, and selected swear words. Those first few rough months I got people to talk to me by showing my interest in native language Spanish materials--El Pais, the newspaper, quoting poetry that I had memorized, and even trying to get people to teach me songs. It worked! Although the Spanish found my babbling a bit disconcerting at times, some were impressed with my knowledge of Tirso de Molina, La Vida es Sueno, El Cantar de Mio Cid, las Harchas, etc. And I could see the light at the end of the tunnel when I started to gain a sense of humor in Castillian, and also to understand the Andalusian accent--"como eta ute?"

Blogs, and let me hasten to add Internet Telephony, are a great means of getting people talking and trying out what they know in a language. I am telling my friends about the blog, and getting them to respond in English or their native tongue. It is an interesting, friendly means for "trying out" language in a non-threatening atmosphere, and can be even addictive when postings to your blog become more frequent. The only complaint I have had so far is from my French friends who are looking for a French translation.

So far so good this week in developing the blog after the great introduction on Tuesday. There are not too many classes in which the students voluntarily stay late, and the Technology class is one! Thanks for giving us such great tools, Dr. Wright, and also to Lazardo with the wonderful Photostory 3 means of sharing pictures and music. I tried it once, and it didn't work, but will be back to try again. Google went down this morning when I was trying to post a picture, but I was able to add links to the sidebar and also in my text.

BTW, for you language and linguistics fans, here's a great link with postings of words and their etymology sent to your mailbox every morning:
www.yourdictionary.com

Let me know if you like it. Just one last note--I have sent feedback to everyone who posted before me--did you receive it?

Make My Day?

Have you ever thought about what or who makes your day? When you get right down to it, there is only one person who can make, or break your day. . . YOU. Whatever you perceive all has to go through your "filter" in order to interpret whether it is "the good, the bad, or the ugly." Beginning to re-train yourself to interpret people and events with understanding and sympathy, "Learned Optimism," can make a marked difference in your life, and that includes everything and everyone around you. So, Dirty Harry, I can not only make your day, but mine as well!

I thought you might enjoy the picture of Landshut, Germany above. It was taken by my friends Mauricette and Guy, who live near Paris (France, not Texas!) I used to work in this town, and loved the beautifully restored buildings and history on every corner. How lucky I was and am now, to be in another very historic town, San Antonio.

Are You Having a Great Day?

Welcome, willkommen, irashaemasu, ahlan wa sahlen, soyez les bienvenus, bienvenidos, benvenutti! Please add any words of welcome in your language!

You don't have to be on vacation to be having a great time. Just look around you, and be thankful for all you have. Your good mood tends to touch everything around you, and makes life more pleasant for others.

We had a great class last night in "Language Learning and Technology," and it is fun to become an active blogger. Write back to me and let me know what's up! Any comments or questions about this blogsite are welcome and will be responded to. Cheers, Carol