LANGUAGE LEARNING ACTIVITIES

LESSON PLAN

Title: Using Pronouns: I, We, You, She, He, They and (be verbs) Am, Is and Are

Teacher: Mrs. Johnson

Duration: Introduction (1st day) of a one-week lesson for an hour a day

Materials: worksheets, whiteboard, whiteboard marker, laptop, projector, projector screen, pointer

Grade/Category: First Grade /Level 1

Demographics: There are nine (9) students in the class. Five (5) are boys and four (4) are girls. Of the 5 boys, 4 are Filipinos and 1 is Chuukese. Two (2) of the girls are Chuukese, one (1) is Chamorro and one (1) is Filipino. Seven (7) of the nine (9) students were born and raised here in Guam and have been attending this school since Kindergarten. One of the boys transferred here to this school during the middle of second quarter last school year from Manila. One of the girls moved here on island from Chuuk with her family when she was 5 years old. She went to LBJ Elem in Tamuning for Kinder and transferred to this school for First Grade at the start of the school year last August. All of the students are on the reduced/or free lunch program. They are all auditory, partly kinestetic, and visual learners.

Objectives:

a.) By the end of the lesson, students would be able to say and use the personal pronouns I, We, You, He, She, and They with 90% accuracy.


b) By the end of the lesson, students would be able to use and say the 'be' verbs am, are, and is with 90% accuracy.

Procedures:

In this activity, it is important to use gestures, pointing and modeling. The subject pronouns I, He, She, They, We, You and also the ‘be’ verbs; Am , Is and Are will be introduced at the same time in this simple exercise. There’s a lot of student-to-student interaction with the teacher facilitating the activities.


Part I:

To start the lesson and for the first 7 to 10 minutes of the period, the teacher plays a short video presentation of a ‘Bingo’ inspired song using the pronouns. The class will sing the song with the movements, i.e., pointing to their classmate(s) either a girl or a boy for corresponding third person and second person pronouns and pointing to themselves for first person pronouns, I and We to get the kids moving and give them a concrete idea of the correct way to use these pronouns.

Part II: I am + Name

After getting the kids all excited with the song, the teacher gives them a few seconds to settle down then proceeds with the rest of the lesson.

Teacher: Hi, I am Mrs. Johnson. (Pointing at myself))
Teacher: Hi, I am Mrs. Johnson. (Repeat stressing each word)
Teacher: (Point to each student and have them repeat 'I am...')


Part III: We, Are

After it’s been assessed that everybody has gained mastery on
the First Person Singular Pronoun, teacher proceeds to introducing and
doing similar procedure for First Person Plural.

Teacher: “We are in the classroom.” (Pointing to myself and the whole class. Teacher continues to give more examples…"We are happy.” Then teacher goes near another student and say, “We are….” Then do another example encompassing three people and then more, until they get the idea that 'We' is used when talking about oneself plus another (and another) or with a big group of people. The students then do their turn of using “We are….”, filling the blank and completing the sentence, saying something, anything, until everybody gets it.


Part IV: You, Are

Teacher will do the same procedure for Second Person Singular
and Plural, modeling it then having the students take turn in using it themselves .


Part V: He, She, Is,

Teacher: I am Mrs. Johnson. He (stressing 'He') is ... (Point at a male student)

Students: Silo. (Students give that particular male student's name).

Teacher: I am Mrs. Johnson. (Point at the student again and say, “Everybody, He is…say the whole thing!

Students: He is Silo.

Teacher: I am Mrs. Johnson. She (stressing 'she') is ... (Poining at a female student)

Students: She is Amenta. (If students make a mistake and say 'He' instead of 'She', teacher points to her ear and repeats the sentence stressing 'She')

Teacher: (Point at different students and repeat a number of times until each one has done his/her turn.)


Part VI: They, Are

Teacher repeats procedure in introducing the Third Person Plural Pronoun (They)
and ‘be’ verb – are, i.e., giving examples and modeling then having each of the students try using it in a sentence or two themselves.

Assessment:

Teacher is continuously doing assessment during the entire activity, doing repetitions for mastery and making notes which part of the lesson students stumble on to do firm up on that.

Closing Activity:

Teacher briefy reviews the lesson just learned with the class and reads an interactive book “Happy Mother’s Day, Dear Dragon”,

reinforcing use of words I, You, We, She am, are. Before class is dismissed, a worksheet is handed out to each student for homework. On one side, given the “be” verbs in the word, they are to fill in the correct auxiliary verbs: am, are, or is in a sentence. The directions on the other side of the worksheet asks them to write the missing pronoun to complete each sentence (given the pronouns in the vocabulary box), at the same time drawing a line from the sentence matching it to the correct picture at the right column that depicts what’s happening in each sentence. The teacher goes over the directions with the students before dismissing them.

Resources:
• YouTube
• 'The Personal Pronoun Song' by David Osaka -Debikun.com
• “Happy Mother’s Day, Dear Dragon” by Margaret Hillert
• http://www.starfall.com/

. Clip art courtesy of http://www.aperfectworld.org/ and

. http://www.teacherfiles.com/

Assessment: Technology Tools

FIREFOX (Rating: 5)
I’ve recently added Firefox for web browser in my computer and I have to say that I really like it. I can personalize the appearance of my browser to suit me, I can add the add-ons that I want, however which way I want it. I can clear my web browsing data with a click. And I can use tabs to open and view multiple web pages in a single browser window. Loading is fast. Talk about time saving measures.

MOODLE (Rating: 5)
I like the fact that I can just upload my assignment on line period. I don’t have to worry about ink, paper and other printer problems (I had my share of those.) or accidentally leaving it at home come submission time (I've definitely been there, done that). I like how I’m able to continuously check and be updated of assignments and what’s going on in class, its progress and my grades. I can interact, and share with classmates by just logging in Moodle. I think it helped the participants learned more cooperatively and independently. Another feature I like about it is how I’m able to email all posts in the discussion forum directly to my group mates. And best of all - it’s very easy to use too!

Del.icio.us (Rating: 5)

All hands down for this tech tool. You just have to simply love it. How did I ever go about wandering the net without it before? The network, sharing and bundle feature add to the deliciousness of it all.

Google Suites

Gmail (Rating: 5)
Aahh! The ever reliable Gmail, with everything that you can ask for and still it gives you more. The interactive document feature is a very good tool for any classroom. It allows teacher to interact with students or vice-versa and students with fellow students. Slide presentations and spreadsheets can be created, saved and shared. It has a very nice web photo album and calendar feature too. And I like how it can link to a lot of sites, it being by Google. I can see this technology tool as one that can be put to good use in my classroom.

Blogger (Rating: 5)
I like the idea of having an online forum. As a teacher, I can post a topic for discussion and have my students respond to it and freely express their views. It’s another avenue for some students who are otherwise hesitant and shy to speak in the classroom to participate in classroom discussions. It’s a way to encourage them to practice their writing. Again, the key word is easy access. What a wonderful and useful technology tool that educators can use.

Diigo (Rating: 5)
I personally find Diigo very functional, easy to navigate and very user-friendly when it comes to social bookmarking and slideshows. The highlight and sticky notes (for comments) features are extra bonuses. One can highlight text on a certain page that’s of interest and add comments on it which can be seen privately, publicly or maybe for just a select group if one so chooses.

Weebly (Rating: 5)

I did my first website with ‘tripod’ a couple of years ago and took such pride in it. I had a fun time doing it too. Weebly is another free web site creator that I’ve used. I find it quite easy to follow. I liked the drag and drop feature making things easier. It’s a simple technology tool that I think my students can easily follow with some guidance. It can be used to engage them in active learning that promotes cooperative learning, their creativity and higher-order thinking. And it’s free. You can't go wrong with that.

TeacherTube (Rating: 5)

Just as other people are addicted to YouTube, I’m feeling the same way with this remarkable file hosting and sharing site. I think every educator should be a subscriber to TeacherTube. There are all sorts of educational and instructional videos that can be shared. Members can give comments and discuss about it. It's such a great free resource for use in our classrooms to grab students' interests and engage them to be active participants in their learning.

Learn Out Loud (Rating: 5)
I like this podcast directory better than any other site I’ve visited and tried. I like how it can quickly narrow my search for the topic that I’m looking for then pulls out the good ones. There are a lot of materials and different topics to choose from which is what we always look for. The audio and visual learning features would surely impact our students. It’s another important resource for my ELLs.


Resources:
-Google Images for the logos

25 Best List: Teachers' Resources for Language Learning

http://slides.diigo.com/list/vinski/25-best-list-teachers-resources-for-language-learning

http://www.diigo.com/list/vinski/25-best-list-teachers-resources-for-language-learning?v=p

25 Best List Learners' Resources

http://slides.diigo.com/list/vinski/25bestlistlearnersresource

http://www.diigo.com/list/vinski/25bestlistlearnersresource

Adaptive/Assistive Technology Video: Enabling Dreams

I teach ESL learners and a couple of kids that have learning disabilities so I’m trying to find A/AT that can benefit them. They need a lot of help with vocabulary, so perhaps a portable dictionary (which shows pictures too) that they can use to look up new words and which gives the correct pronunciation that they can listen to. They’ll expand their vocabulary and as they grow familiar with these sight words and new words, they won’t be as dependent to it. I know it will just be an excellent tool, empowering them with their learning and at the same time giving them that needed boost to their self-esteem that they can do it themselves. Some talking word processors would be good also. Assistive/Adaptive Technology doesn’t have to be high-tech all the time. It can be middle or low-tech as simple as modification for a better pencil grip and clearing areas in the classroom providing accessibility for a student using a wheelchair. To better design an activity to include disabled students, I will have to consult and collaborate with the student’s Homeroom and Special Ed teachers and study their IEP. This way I know what their limitations and learning goals are. I need to talk to the parents too and get them involved. They can provide valuable input. I can then proceed to do the modifications needed by changing one or more aspects of the activity that the class will be doing to include my disabled students.

Teachers must revise lesson plans to include disabled students to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and I think it’s the right and humane thing to do. Our students have different learning capabilities and we must meet their different learning needs. We are setting these kids up for failure if we don't do something to accomodate their varied learning needs. We want all our students to succeed and be proud of what they've accomplished and not be left behind. I’m all for putting an extra effort to help these kids reach their optimum potentials.

To assess the appropriateness of the accommodations, I’ll have to make sure that the revised activities I’m doing for the inclusion of these students are age or developmentally appropriate, if the time factor to do the activity is enough (or too little), if they have the needed area/ space where to do the activity, if there are adequate materials or equipment for it and finally, the students’ response/reaction to the activity. Was it too easy for them? Was it difficult? Did they like the activity? Our students learned from us each day as we learned about them also.

20 Research Summary Articles

• PEDAGOGY (1-9)
  
  

1. Title: ENHANCING ORAL PARTICIPATION ACROSS the CURRICULUM: SOME LESSONS from the EAP CLASSROOM

Author: John Trent

Dr. John Trent is currently involved in the delivery of teacher education
courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level in Hong Kong. His
research interests focus on classroom interaction, language policy and
spoken discourse.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/March_09-jt.php

This article discussed about how Chinese L2 learners in a tertiary setting drew upon resources to meet the demands for their required participation in spoken activities within their English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom. It was noted that it’s very challenging for language learners from Asian backgrounds because of the collectivist culture in Chinese society, the traditional roles assigned to teachers and students, the need to maintain face, and a learning style that traditionally values memorization and rote learning. Their reticence (silence) have been attributed to cultural variables. In this Language class, a lot of emphasis is given to classroom discussions. The teacher put the responsibility for the learning outcomes of the entire group to the class, urging them to work together and help each other. Oral fluency was valued more than Linguistic fluency.

2. Title: LEARNER BELIEFS and LANGUAGE LEARNING

Author: Rod Ellis

Dr. Ellis, who is known as the "Father of Second Language Acquisition", has served as the Director of the Institute of Language Teaching and Learning at the University of Auckland. Author of numerous student and teacher training textbooks for Prentice Hall and Oxford University Press, Prof. Ellis's textbooks on Second Language Acquisition and Grammar are core textbooks in TESOL and Linguistics programs around the world. Professor Ellis is a Distinguished Advisor to the Asian EFL Journal

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_08_re.php

This paper tried to understand how beliefs of the L2 learners are related to learning language proficiency. There were 2 test groups. One was in a 12 week study/immersion program in New Zealand and one group was getting their language education at a regular college classroom in Japan. After the study, it was concluded that the relationship between beliefs and learning proficiency evident in these studies is not very strong. It was concluded that there is an indirect relationship though. And that is, beliefs do not have a direct effect on language learning but are influenced by the actions that learners perform. If such is the case, then these cannot be ignored by teachers. If there is a mismatch between the teacher’s and students’ belief systems then it is very likely that it will lessen the amount of learning that we would find ideal. The author suggested the need for teachers to make their own beliefs explicit, to find out about their students’ beliefs, to help their students become aware of and to evaluate their own beliefs and to address any mismatch in their students’ belief systems.

3. Title: EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS & SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

Author: Rod Ellis

Chang Jiang Scholar of Shanghai International Studies University and University of Auckland

url: http://www.philippine-esl-journal.com/August-2008-Vol1.pdf

This paper looked into the relationship between different educational settings and second language learning. The possible outcomes given the different types of settings were also studied. One thing that’s apparent was the influencing factor in learning in a classroom of the relationship between the teacher and students. After the study, the author had identified some principles that would likely make language learning successful in educational settings. These are: the first language maintenance, perceptions of first language, social needs of the learners, target norms and initial learning.

4. Title: WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT LEARNING AND TEACHING SECOND LANGUAGES: IMPLICATIONS for TEACHING

Author: Francis Mangubhai

TESOL Teacher at University of Southern Queensland

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_08_wcw.php

This paper discusses the knowledge regarding second language acquisition/learning. It also touches at some insights from research into teacher knowledge and teachers' practical theories of teaching. The author made suggestions on how these insights might be used more effectively into classroom practice. But first, these insights and knowledge must be internalized by teachers for effectiveness. Also, the author stressed that no matter how researched-based or tried and tested these new ideas and techniques are, it must be adapted and implemented according to local conditions, the strengths of individual teachers and students, the available resources, the age of the learner, and the time available for teaching.

5. Title: THE METHODOLOGY OF TASK-BASED TEACHING

Author: Rod Ellis

University of Auckland

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Sept_06_re.php

This paper discusses the methodological procedures for teaching tasks, particularly the procedures relating to how the tasks specified in a task-based syllabus can be converted into actual lessons. There are three phases for a task-based lesson: Pre-task, During-task and Post-task. But only the 'during task' phase is obligatory in task-based teaching. So technically, a task-based lesson consists of the students just performing a task. However, not leaving out the 'pre-task' or 'post-task' phases ensures that the task performance is put to it’s optimum effectiveness for language development.

6. Title: WHAT CAN EFL TEACHERS LEARN FROM IMMERSION LANGUAGE
TEACHING?

Author: Francis Mangubhai

University of Southern Queensland

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_05_fm.php

This article discusses the effectiveness of using the techniques used in Immersion Language Teaching to facilitate more learning input that teachers provide for their second language learners. The author argued that EFL teachers can increase the second language input in their classes by adopting some of the immersion language teaching techniques which are: Questioning downward, Rephrasing, Recast, Modelling or Demonstrating, and the Use of Visuals and Realia. These techniques lead to a greater focus on meaning and understanding the second language without having to revert back to Grammar Translation. The techniques also are viewed as good teaching techniques, per se, that teachers and educators can use even for other context learning.

7. Title: THE ROLE of the FIRST LANGUAGE in FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Author: Paul Nation

School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University
of Wellington, New Zealand.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/june_2003_PN.php

This article discusses how L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) shouldn’t be viewed as one or the other but rather seeing the first language as a useful tool and should be used as such when needed. It’s up to the teacher then to help learners develop and optimize their proficiency in English. There should be a balanced approach for looking at the role of the first language in the classroom and at the same time recognizing the extreme importance of the maximum use of the second language.

8. Title: ASSESSING ELLs in ESL or MAINSTREAM CLASSROOM: QUICK FIXES for
BUSY TEACHERS

Author: Laureen A. Fregeau and Robert D. Leier

University of South Alabama and Auburn University

url: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Fregeau-AssessingELLs.html

This article discussed ways and gave suggestions on how teachers can provide accommodation when doing assessment for the English Language Learners in their classrooms. The authors talked about simple strategies like giving the students more time to complete the tests, grading only the test items that they’ve completed, allowing them to use picture dictionaries, making use of study buddies and cooperative groups, etc. They also suggested incorporating other forms of assessments. Some examples are: incorporating dialogue journals, incorporating portfolio assessments, and incorporating authentic assessments. The latter are real world challenges that relates to the students life, like completing a certain task or project and journal writing. It is critical to federal funding, especially with the NCLB mandate that teachers indicate the accommodation that their ESL students are receiving.

9. Title: THE TRAFFIC COP SYNDROME

Author: Eric Pollock

Kyunghee University of Seoul, Korea.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/dec_03_sub.ep.php

This paper considers the role of the language instructor in the classroom and notes that it is generally misunderstood by students in an EFL situation. The language teachers’ role is seen and likened to that of a traffic cop. One who’s directing traffic and making sure everything’s going smoothly and no accidents happen. It has been suggested that the teacher minimized the amount of English that they use in class to offer the students the most amount of available class time for their own practice. And, it has been also suggested that the teacher speaks for most of the class, classroom teacher performs a variety of role and that the students reproduce the material outside of class. These two approaches reduce the teacher to being simply a traffic cop. But in reality, language teachers perform a variety of roles. They teach, facilitate, motivate, listen, counsel and so on. The author is suggesting that language teachers shouldn’t try to be traffic cops just directing the traffic so everything goes well, but it’s not informative or educational. Teachers shouldn’t settle for low and unchallenging learning goals for our students. We should do whatever it takes to get the job done and give the gift of thinking and learning to our students.

• LEARNING STRATEGIES (10 -15)
  

10. Title: MOTIVATING WRITERS: THE POWER of CHOICE

Author: Galon A. Melendy

Mahidol University International College, Thailand

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/September_08_gm.php

This research article looked into the effectiveness of the power of choice of proximal academic goals as a strategy for boosting student motivation in writing. It was determined if students are willing to perform more difficult tasks if given the choice and to determine if students who choose to pursue more difficult tasks realize for themselves any measurable benefit. The results showed that more half of the study group, given the choice, opted for more challenging tasks. It was inferred that these students were more motivated to learn. Motivation is crucial for learning and as teachers, we shouldn’t discount other avenues to connect it to our students. The students also realized measurable benefits by their willingness to do more practice and do more preparations before assessments. It was implied from the post data of this study that goal setting and providing opportunities for learners to select their own goals can help motivate students to learn.

11. Title: LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH GAMES

THE EFFECTIVENESS of LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH GAMES

Author: Nguyen Thi Thanh HuyenKhuat Thi Thu Nga

url: http://asian-efl-journal.com/dec_03_sub.Vn.php

This article looked at the effectiveness of games in the classroom for vocabulary learning. The authors observed classes and interviewed teachers and students about their perceptions about it. In a Communicative Language Teaching classroom, playing vocabulary games is one of the activities which requires students to actively communicate with their classmates, using their own language. Games are believed to be just for fun and very little learning occurs during it. But having collected the data from observations, interviews, reflections and having applied the selected games themselves, the authors surmised that games does contribute to vocabulary learning. This happens if they give students a chance to learn, practice and to review the English language in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. They found that students are demanding a new way of teaching vocabulary. They concluded that learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms.

12. Title: THREE WAYS to MOTIVATE CHINESE STUDENTS in EFL LISTENING CLASSES

Author: Xiaoying Wang

Beijing Foreign Studies University, China

url: http://www.philippine-esl-journal.com/August-2008-Vol1.pdf

This article talked about the strategies that a teacher can use and integrate into an EFL listening classroom to motivate the students. The author, after having observed and experienced in the past the lack of interest and focus of her students to listening to the lessons started making changes to her teaching. She started allotting some time for doing needs analysis and goal setting. She changed ways for managing each class. She changed her ways for assessing students. She found out that journal writing can be used even for a listening course. She learned that it is important to help students understand their own listening process and difficulties and help them specific, realistic goals for themselves. It is imperative that teachers try to make every lesson purposeful and well structured. And teachers shouldn’t take for granted creating a cooperative environment in the classroom and creating a relaxed atmosphere to induce more learning.

13. Title: USING CHILDREN'S LITERATURE for READING and WRITING STORIES

Author : Yuh-Mei Chen

Associate professor at the National Chung Cheng University
(Taiwan)

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Dec_06_ymc.php

This article talked about the advantages of using literature in language learning, and explained why children’s literature is suitable for EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners. It’s concluded that children literature can be a very useful resource for ESL learners. There are a variety of ways that it can be integrated into the learning process. There’s of course reading and discussion, there’s the role playing the parts activities, and the practice of generating their own ideas for their own stories among others. The students can use multimedia in presenting or creating their own stories. It can also boost their self-esteem as beginner writers.

14. Title: CREATING an AUTHENTIC EFL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT to ENHANCE STUDENT MOTIVATION to ENGLISH

Authors: Wen-chi Vivian Wu and Pin-hsiang Natalie Wu

Chien-kuo Technology University, Taiwan

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_08_wcw.php

This paper studied what the perceptions are of students at a Taiwanese technical university concerning its EFL learning environment in three aspects: the physical environment, instructional arrangements, and social interaction. It also looked into the relationship between motivation and learning context. The post data clearly showed that the EFL environment in these three aspects was considered by students to be a hindrance to their learning, and that student motivation positively correlated with the learning environment. Some recommendations by the author to improve motivation in the classroom are: having multimedia in the classrooms, like overhead-mounted computer projectors and speakers to perk up the students’ interest to learn English; setting and meeting learning goals for both the teacher and students; making sure that the activities when doing communicative and cooperative learning fall within the students comfort zone; more contact with native speakers. Technology can play a very important part in the latter if there’s . One way of having contact with native speakers of English would be through audio and video conferencing people around the world.

15. Title: MONOLINGUAL and BILINGUAL ENGLISH LEARNERS in one CLASSROOM: ‘WHO IS AT A DISADVANTAGE?’

Author: Seyed Hassan Talebi and Mojtaba Maghsuodi

University of Mysore, India

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/September_08_sht&mm.php

People who are bilinguals have always been considered to have certain advantages over their monolingual counterparts These have been confirmed by research studies throughout the world. They have the best of both worlds knowing two cultures and being able to communicate to a variety of people, read and understand more literature, having two sets of traditions, ideas and behaving. Studies have also shown that bilinguals have been shown to have a much higher level of linguistic awareness. This article investigated how monolingual and bilingual ESL learners perform on reading comprehension tests in mixed-mono/bilingual classrooms. They did their study on 157 pre-university students from randomly selected colleges. The results showed that there is an indicative difference in the reading comprehension scores of these monolingual and bilingual ESL learners. It goes without saying that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in the reading skill department. And since the latter are at a disadvantage compared to their bilingual peers, it is suggested that when teaching reading we pay enough attention to the monolinguals that are a little disadvantage versus their bilingual peers.

• TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM (16 - 18)
  
  16. Title: TECHNOLOGY and CHANGE in ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT)
  

Author: Huw Jarvis

Mr. Jarvis has 20 years' experience of working as an EFL\ESL practitioner, teacher trainer and researcher. He is a member of the Higher Education Research Centre at the University of Salford.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_05_hj.php

Technology and the internet have clearly changed and influenced the way we use English as a global language. This article discussed the many ways that technology are affecting change in English Language Teaching. Computers are seen as more than a tool for developing new language skills. It can be inferred that this information superhighway goes in conjunction with task-based approaches and challenges everyone in the field of English Language Teaching.

17. Title: THE INTERNET AS A VALUABLE RESOURCE

Author: Dave Sperling

California State University
Creator of the well-known ESL/EFL website, Dave's ESL Cafe, as well as the author of 'The Internet Guide for English Language Teachers’

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/june_2003_DS.php

This paper briefly discussed how the internet can be used as a powerful learning tool and an indispensable resource for both the teachers and language learners. The possibilities are endless in the use of the internet to make language learning motivating, fun, interesting and exciting. As teachers, we should never be afraid to get out of our comfort zone and try. We should encourage our language learners to venture out and use all these limitless resource at the tip of their fingertips to develop their proficiency of English as their second language.

18. Title: A BLOG as a TOOL for REFLECTION for ELL

Author: Jo Maynard

Jo Mynard has taught English in Spain, Ireland, England, the United Arab Emirates and Japan where she has lived since April 2005. She has an Ed.D. in TEFL from the University of Exeter (UK) and an M.Phil in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. She is an Associate Professor of English language at Koryo International College in Aichi, Japan.

url: http://www.philippine-esl-journal.com/Volume-1-jm.php

The purpose of this research study was to understand more about whether blogs could be a tool that students might use without prompting, to reflect on their learning. The study subjects were 22 female Japanese who kept voluntary blogs in their free time throughout a semester they spent studying English in the UK. They used their blogs to write about their daily activities and to write about their language learning and reflected on it. The findings from the study suggest that yes, blog could be a tool that teachers can use as a way of encouraging and motivating students to reflect on their learning.

• CULTURE (19 - 20)
  

19. Title: JAPANESE EFL STUDENTS’ PREFERENCES TOWARD CORRECTION of CLASSROOM ORAL ERRORS

Author: Akemi Katayama

The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Dec_2007_ak.php

This article investigated Japanese EFL learners’ attitudes and preferences
with regard to classroom oral error correction. After the study, it was found out that majority of these Japanese EFL students welcomed the correction of their errors in pragmatics. There was also a positive reaction to having their phonological errors corrected.

20. Title: CHARACTER OR CULTURE?
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CULTURALLY DIVERSE CLASSROOM

Author: Michel Englebert

Honam University, Gwan-san Gu So-bong Dong 59-1, Gwangju, S. Korea.

url: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/04_me.php

This article discusses at how each of us is a part of a certain group or community and culture that observes norms and practices that are but normal to the group but may be unfathomable to another. As teachers teaching the English language to learners from different culture, we should be culturally sensitive and accepting of others’ eccentricities, if you may. We should remember that these learners bring with them their culture and different learner’s beliefs along with their limited knowledge of the language. We should refrain from passing quick moral judgments on others who have different cultural values than us. Having an open mind is the the key to living in cross-cultural harmony.

Wouldn't it be nice to get our A/C working again?