WEBSITE CALL (COURSEWARE)

As part of my course, i will have to create a website that will help the students with their English learning. I have chosen to teach them personal pronouns for grammar learning in class. below, i attached a link to my website. happy learning! =)

http://letslearngrammarwithfifi.weebly.com

WEB-BASED LESSON PLAN

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Form: Form 4

Level: Intermediate

Background knowledge: Figurative language

No. of Students: 30 students

Time: 80 minutes (2 periods)

Aims: To recall the learning of figurative language for literature component

Technical Requirements:

1. A computer, stereo set and LCD projector
2. A stable internet connection, a choice of blog and a web browser

Preparation:

1. Find suitable audio to be used for the individual activity
2. Locate sites related to the topic
3. Prepare a worksheet
4. Song by Katy Perry called “Fireworks”

Websites:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3bkpyNiv8Y
2. http://kyuhana.blogspot.com/2015/05/lesson-plan-idea-for-figurative.html

Procedures:

A) Set induction (5 minutes)

1. The teacher tells the students to look at the trees and show the movement of them when the wind blows (eg: the trees sway/dance happily because of the wind).
2. Then the teacher tells the students to describe the trees as exaggerating as they can (eg: the tree is so tall like an Eiffel Tower).
3. Teacher tells the students about the poetic devices that will learn for today.

B) Teaching procedure (10 minutes):

1. Teacher asks the students to recall the definition of figurative language that they know.
2.  Teacher then pastes the cards containing the definition.
3.  After explaining the definition, teacher pastes five cards containing the poetic devices (Hyperbole, onomatopoeia, metaphor, personification and simile).
4. After that, teacher explains the poetic devices.

C) Activity 1 (25 minutes):

1. Teacher hands out a worksheet containing a song’s lyrics and blanks spaces at the side.
2. Teacher opens up a video on youtube.com for the students to listen and read the lyrics.
3. For the first watch, teacher asks the students to look at the lyrics and identify the poetic devices used in it.
4. For the second watch, the students can start filling in the blanks by using the poetic devices discussed for today.
5.  Teacher allocates 15 minutes for the students to answer the questions.

D) Activity 2 (35 minutes):

1. After answering the questions, teacher proceeds to the next activity.
2. Teacher asks the students to change their paper with each other.
3. Then, together, teacher checks the answer of the students.
4. Teacher opens up a blog with the worksheet and reveals the answers together.
5. Teacher asks the students to justify their answers through discussion in class.

E) Conclusion (5 minutes):

Teacher recalls the lesson by emphasizing the importance of knowing the figurative language during literature component class.

F) Follow-up activity:

Teacher asks the students to find one song lyrics which has at least 3 of the poetic devices. They will share their findings in the next class.

APPENDIX

A. The lesson cards

B. The worksheet

C. The answer.

Happy teaching =)

(Do not forget to GIVE CREDITS after copying. Thanks.)

THE POEM OF ALL TIME

As I look to the sky I can clearly see
The glorious sun beaming down on me
The clouds go from thick to a whispy thin
To miss such a view is a terrible sin
As I look around this spectacular place I feel a smile take over my face
The fields of lush green grass are dotted
With beautiful wild flowers the bees have spotted
Busily flying from flower to flower
Pollinating before a shower
The distinctive red of a poppy field
To a tarmac strip they have to yield
The man-made pathway cuts through nature's canvas
Taking us to far flung places around us
To a built up concrete industrial machine
Where places like this are rarely seen
So whenever you visit the countryside
Take a few moments to put aside
So you will remember what you have seen
Before you return to the not so green.

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/countryside-to-city#ixzz3ZyU7scFh Family Friend Poems 

click HERE for an interesting info about the Earth..

Article Review

The Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching ESL Writing Skills

by Yunus, Melor Md; Nordin, Norazah; Salehi, Hadi; Embi, Mohamed Amin; Salehi, Zeinab

Publication title: English Language Teaching

Volume: 6

Issue: 7

Pages: 1-8

Number of pages: 8

Publication year: 2013

Publication date: Jul 2013

Year: 2013

            The authors of this article are Dr. Melor binti Yunus, the Associate Professor of TESL at Faculty of Education, Education Methodology and Practice Department of The National University of Malaysia; Dr. Norazah binti Mohd Nordin, the Associate Professor of Educational Technology at Faculty of Education, Educational Foundation Department of The National University of Malaysia; Dr. Hadi Salehi, the Associate Professor at Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Najafabad Branch of Islamic Azad University; Dr. Mohamed Amin bin Embi, the Professor of Technology-Enhanced Learning of The National University of Malaysia; and Dr. Zainab Salehi, the PhD-holder counsellor of Guidance and Counselling Department at The National University of Malaysia.

            The aim of the research is to seek findings on the use of ICT in the teaching of ESL writing skills in Malaysian secondary schools. Apart from that, this research is a section of findings from a bigger report done in Malaysia secondary schools in five areas of Malaysia. It focuses solely on the data collected from an interview with English teachers at a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur.

            The research was conducted by interviewing 33 English teachers. The teachers were selected from secondary schools of five different areas of Malaysia namely Alor Setar, Tawau, Tuanku Jaafar, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. This research is a qualitative research in nature and the researcher used a semi-structured interview. All the participants were pragmatically and purposely selected. Not just that, the interview lasted for about 30 to 45 minutes and the teachers were audio-recorded for the researching purposes.

            The findings of the research are divided into two part; participants’ demographic information and the main findings-advantages and disadvantages of using ICT and managing problems and planning activities involving ICT. The participants’ demographic information concludes the following results:

• ·         Four out of six English teachers participated and the names had been changed for privacy and anonymity,
• ·         All four teachers were female teachers and they are from above the age of 30 with minimum 5 years of teaching experience.

            The teachers highlighted many advantages and disadvantages during the interview and later, related to the purpose of the research. The results are as following:

1. ICT tools can be useful and effective in conducting writing activities. This is because conventional methods of teaching ESL writing often make the students bored during the class time.
2. ICT can motivate students to be creative and learn in more enjoyable environment. This is because they can do the research themselves and find the information they may need for writing
3. ICT as a teaching tool could help make the lesson more interesting. The students can focus more in class and lesson will be carried out smoothly
4. ICT nurtures the students’ creativity and self-discovery skills. They are able to do many things on their own and become independent learner

                      However, the ICT does pose a few disadvantages too. The disadvantages of using ICT in class are as follow:

·         The students use of abbreviation in writing tasks has ruin the students writing ability.
·         The insufficient time of learning session. This is because using ICT as tool consumes a lot of time, as the students have to move from their class to multimedia room. Even two period class could not able to make the lesson finishes in time.
·         The issue of plagiarizing materials on the net. These students often make excuses and copy another’s work just to complete the task given.
·         The competencies of the teachers in using the ICT as the teaching tools. They need to be good enough in order to teach smoothly.

            Moreover, the research also produces the findings of managing problems and planning activities involving ICT. The findings are as following:

1. Teacher could be more creative in thinking and be more active in class in order to raise students’’ interest in learning.
2. Teachers should do the work of researching or consulting the technicians or experts in order to guide them more in using IC in class.
3. There are so many activities that could be carried out by using ICT but the teachers seldom used ICT in teaching writing to the students.
4. Computer technologies have distinct advantages not to language learning alone but also preparing them for today’s information society.
5. Teachers can go to TESL website or any other related website in order to prepare suitable materials to teach the students about writing. They can find references or evidences for the students too.
6. Teacher should always make sure that the websites chosen are tested to cater to their level and easy to be comprehended.

            Personally, I think this research interest me somehow because since I had been to practicum before, I think I can relate well with this issue. First, the use of ICT in classroom is very low because the teachers could not bother teaching the students by using new methods or let say, “unconventional method” like blended learning and all. These teachers prefer to stick to the conventional chalk-and-talk method as they think it is the easiest and comprehensible enough for the students to learn. However, I quite understand that because time consumption is always the main problem as many schools still not equipped with multimedia tools in class so they have to move around in order to use ICT in teaching. I also think that this research is well-conducted. Although it did not cover the entire population of related parties (students and teachers in Malaysia, generally) but it somehow shows that there is such problems in schools nowadays. Hence, the next research can be improved by taking larger sample and from different regions in Malaysia. The implication of the research in teaching and learning of ESL is that this research is useful in helping the teacher to understand what is the problem about using ICT in class. Thus, help them to overcome the situation by utilizing ICT more during class time. However, this research can still be improved in order to really help solving bigger problems of ICT-related teaching and learning issues.

Link: http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/docview/1437615254?accountid=42518

ESL Website Evaluation

1.       What does the website attempt to “teach”? Are exercises included in the website? What are the types of exercise included? Are there immediate feedbacks? Are there different levels of difficulty for different proficiency levels?

     

The website is basically attempting to teach English generally. However, I have chosen to narrow down my evaluation to look at the component of grammar learning for ESL learners. This website is quite interesting and well organized. It is created to teach the learners on how to use the grammar, know the forms and functions, know the learning strategies, use the exercises and even use some tips to teach grammar. These components are expected to help the learner to improve their grammatical skills and use the knowledge in other occasions. The website covers many aspects of grammar learning including the part of the speech, the forms and the usage of them all. Not just that, it shows that there is comprehensive language learning as grammar is taught separately and the instructions are quite clear for every lessons. Fortunately too, the components of the grammar are taught with explanations and examples. So, the learners can learn and comprehend easily.

          The website does provide exercises regarding to the lessons. But unfortunately, the exercises are in the form of immediate questions from the lessons’ videos. However, on the bright side, the other forms of exercise that is quizzes are provided. The quizzes are in the form of normal online exercises that only require HTML. The worksheet-like quizzes can be answered within ample time for learners to think and they will get immediate feedback. For example, the answer should be checked just by clicking at the “answer” box. The questions are multiple-choice questions so; the learners will know his or her answer straight away. The website does also provide different level of difficulty that suits up to different proficiency level. However, it links to other website for ESL learning that is “a4esl.org” as the website didn’t generate its own questions.

2.         What are the learners/visitors required to do with regards to learning the content of the website?

      The website is very easy to access by any normal internet users. It does not require any subscription fee or registration account for access. It is free and the benefits give a fair share of its lesson. They just have to enter the website’s address or URL link then they will be taken to the site immediately. It has a very friendly interface, neatly arranged categories and components and also easy to handle. The wordings are clear but the advertisements at the sides of the site are a bit distracting. But if the learners just ignore them, then it would not be a problem at all. On the other hand, the website uses calming colours of white and blue as the theme so it has a soothing vibe there. Not just that, the arrangements are so neat and organized so the learners can easily use the website without getting lost to what they have to click in order to use it. The explanations of the lesson are quite clear and not too lengthy. The examples are on point and can be easily understood by all of the level as I go through many of them.Bottom of Form

3.          While you are going through the website, does it remind you of anything you do in classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

     As I go through the website, I found out that it reminds me of things I have learnt in my English class. Since it involves component of grammar, I remember how I have learnt many things from the same language learning class. This is especially through some of the videos of how to pronounce the English words and the grammatical rules. Although I didn’t always learn the grammar through the websites all the time, but there are certainly some of them which I know I had used before. It doesn’t matter whether in my own classroom at school, with fellow classmates in lectures and during self-study, I still think that this kind of learning is very beneficial and I sometimes use them to help with my language learning especially with my grammar.

4.          Does the website present learners with something that cannot be done in a textbook/workbook? If yes, how so.

     I do agree that this website partially presents the learners with something that cannot be done in a textbook or workbook. This is because online exercises can give out immediate feedback which no books could do the same. Apart from that, the website uses direct links to videos of pronunciation and animated grammar lessons. Books have CD ROM but learners rarely used them, as media and ICT is not a preferable method of teaching grammar at school. But despite the existent of abundance of grammar learning websites around the world, I still think that nothing is comparable to books and exercises that can be used physically. It is the most popular traditional method or teaching grammar and it benefits both teachers and learners.

     But on the other side of it, the online learning website like this one does give different feel towards learning grammar. For example, this website is quite organized, interesting and easy to access. It does make a lesson more interesting and time-saving lessons as the learners don’t have to move from one place to another just to learn. It can also maximize and develop the skills of using ICT in daily life in order to learn new lessons.

5.          Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

     I think the website has utilized some theories that are quite useful in learning language and grammar in general. It uses the theory of behaviorism, which the learners or visitors can achieve through the process of drilling. Such exercises that this website provides, can somehow lead to rote learning. This is some of the examples of how repetition of exercises can prepare the learners to be engaged with the familiar format of grammatical rules. Moreover, I think this website uses a theory of direct method where it portrays real-life objects and other visual materials as the aids, teaching grammar by using an inductive approach and focus on question-answer patterns like the multiple-choice questions in the quizzes. Not just that, the learners are given immediate questions to be responded, as they need to think and relate with the lessons that they have learnt in the website. Sadly, some of the exercises that I have gone through are not authentic enough for the students to relate in their real life situations especially for Malaysian visitors.

6.         An important criterion for evaluating a CALL program, task or activity is the potential for language language learning. Does the website fulfill this criterion? If yes, how so?

     Yes, this website has some potential for language learning. But I believe that this potential can be expanded if the website can add more interesting features that can make learning more meaningful. Moreover, the public can easily access this website, so using it is not a problem at all. It also provides clear explanation and brief examples. The exercises provided are also related to the lesson and the quizzes are categorized according to the level of proficiency, which will make it easier to be done by the learners.

7.         Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?

Yes? Give reasons:

No? Give reasons:

     Yes, I would like to use the application myself in the future. Although it is not as complicated and impactful like some other websites do, but why not? I could always edit and adapt the content in order to adjust to my needs in teaching my future students. This website is as simple as it can be and easy to be handle. I would probably recommend my students to use this as one of their practices in learning ESL.

My First blogpost!!!

1.       Hi there beautiful readers (if I have one)! My name is Fifiyatul Najwa binti Fouzi and I come from Kemaman, Terengganu. I was born on 13 January 1992 and have been living my life in the east coast until now (except I am studying in Shah Alam now). Currently, I am in my last semester for my final year in UiTM.
2.       I am a novice techno-person as I am currently pacing my life towards understanding technology more. I do have a few gadgets but I am no match to people who keep updating their devices.
3.       Computer software that I know is the ones built-in the computer like Microsoft Office, photo editor etc. meanwhile hardware are more physical like motherboard, hard drives, discs and thumb drives.
4.       Yes, I have experienced many learning process via computer ever since I was a school students up until now.
5.       Yes, I did incorporate technology in some of my lesson during practicum. It was a failure in my side because they were not amused by the videos that I had shown. But fortunately, they liked the sounds it made. I think this is all because they are more advanced in terms of technology and I am behind them a bit. They know even more than I do especially when it comes to surfing the internet.
6.       My opinion on the use of computer/technology in language teaching is that i think technology has somehow made it better in terms of reaching the students via things they like-which is the internet and on the other hand, make it easier for both parties to have meaningful learning and teaching session.
7.       My expectations from this course are; getting to know more methods in using ICT to teach in ESL classroom, improving myself in the related knowledge and eventually applying those in my future classroom teaching.
8.       I choose vocabulary as my topic and I got the idea from my observation on today’s arising problem at school that is insufficient vocabulary in students. I also plan to complete the AE by meeting up with my supervisor frequently, collecting data as soon as possible and completing the work in time.

See you later. Thank you. =)