Week2. Project Task1: Describe your class

Week2.   Project Task1: Describe your class as it is now

1. My students

My students are freshmen and sophomores, whose age ranges from 19 years old to 21 years old. I have two classes, one of which consists of 57 students and the other one is made up of 35 students. Telecommunication engineering is their major, and English is their compulsory subject in the first two years during 4-year-college education. Every week my students attend my English classes twice, on Monday morning and on Thursday morning, for two periods each time, lasting for one hour and forty  minutes.

It is very convenient for my students to have access to computers and internet. The university provides computers everywhere, in the libraries and in the computer labs. And many students have their own computers in the dormitory and can link internet easily. There are also web pubs outside the university and students like to go there. Therefore, they have basic   technology about how to use computer. However most of students haven’t created their own blogs either in Chinese or in English.

2. Class setting

English curriculum is divided into two different forms of course and teaching model.  First of all, I would like to state reading and writing course. Students have this class in the classroom, where a lecture platform for the teacher is in the front and desks and chairs for students occupy a lot of space. Textbook is the main teaching material for an English teacher to teach and students to read. As for writing, it is put secondary position and students don’t spend much time on it.

 The other form of course is listening and speaking. Students have this class in the audio-visual lab once two weeks, where everyone can have a computer to watch texts and movies on the screen, and communicate with English teacher via microphone.

3. Students’ needs

After creating my own blog, I find that blogging in English is so beneficial for us to improve reading and writing ability. So I make a survey among my students and the result is over 95% of them admire it. Some students say they can’t wait anymore and let us start doing it now, which promotes my thought in project plan. I know what I should do next step.

4.  my thought

Blogging in English and reading some materials via internet learning resources need teachers’  guidance.  It is necessary for teachers to instruct students how to use the innovative modern technology effectively. In order to cultivate students’ autonomous learning ability, assessment system ought to be updated to keep up with the modern technological usage.

Orientation Week Discussion

  What features do they have in common? How are they different?
After comparing Rubric1 and Rubric2, I draw the conclusion as following:
1)   Excellent equals 5 points (level one); 2) Satisfactory equals 3 points (level two); 3) Poor equals 1 point and 0 points (level three).

Each level has the same features (features in common), which are different from ones in the other level.
1)   Excellent (5 points) level: Characteristics of offering information are interesting, additional, thought-provoking; offering example are from one’s own experience, persuasive, specific and detailed to support the statement ; adding value is significant.

2)   Satisfactory (3 points) level: Characteristic of offering information is similar to above; the differences are offering example and value, example is related, neither specific nor persuasive; value is adding some value.

3)   Poor (1 point and 0 points) level: don’t add any new information; only give brief reply (agree and disagree); no any example; add little or no value.

2.   Some advantages and disadvantages of each rubric?
The advantages of rubric1 are that using generalized language and we can have a conception to evaluate other participants’ comment. The advantages of rubric2 are that giving detailed examples to show us what is good. The disadvantages of rubric1 are lacking the advantages of rubric 2 and the disadvantages of rubric 2 are lacking the advantages of rubric1.
3.   Which would you be more likely to use and why?
I would be more likely to use Rubric 1, because we’ll encounter varieties of situations in assessment. If our brain is clear about how to judge, then it is flexible for us to make a decision.

Yours,

Orientation Week What makes a good discussion?

What makes a good discussion?

    Learners have questions and problems in learning, which need others’ ideas to stimulate thought and get enlightenment. Dispute can make things much clear and the contents of topics are important from theory to practice so as to deepen understanding.

   Participants should be active in contributing to everyone’s opinion and make comment on others’ ideas. At the end of discussion an excellent conclusion should be made so that participants may know in which aspect shortcomings still exist.

Week1 taskComment

Week1 task    Comment

Student-centered educational idea realized via learning by doing

 After reading everyone’s reflection seriously, I have such kind of general impression. Discussions mainly focus on the post itself– that is some people talk about how to make posts attract students. As Hamid Mernaou says in his comment “ Susana mentioned the idea that blogging could be considered as an art; Hala nicely debated the idea of focusing on content or form. She clearly stated that she opts for content on the first rank rather than form.” And a few people convey their attitude of approving of  Susana or Hala. Here I would like to give some additional and suggestive idea, which is supplementary opinion.

 These days we have been busy with reading materials, creating blogs, writing reflections and comment, etc day and night. We all have the same feeling that we’ve learned a lot from theory to practice under the guidance of our instructor. From what we have done and what we have learned, I think the purpose of this innovative teaching technique is  embodying student-centered educational idea, which is realized through learning by doing. Traditional teaching style based on teacher-centered can’t have students learn so much.

 Now we are learners-students and we should believe that when we use the same way to instruct our students to learn English, they’ll have the same feeling as us. The process  in which students acquire knowledge, develop ability and apply knowledge is very important. Of course we should consider how to make blogging attractive as well.

Introduction

Hello everyone,

   Here Ms Wang Shujuan from China expresses most friendly greetings to all of all, my instructors and my colleagues.

  I have taught English for many years in Jilin University, however it is so necessary for me to have such a good opportunity to improve the knowledge and technology that an E-teacher needs from theory to practice. How I wish my educational background, Bachelor Degree in Language Literature and Master Degree in Education, and my teaching experience could make great contributions to the discussion on topics later in our English learning, which benefit my colleagues.

  Online course “Building Teaching Skills through the Interactive Web” connects us together from a wide range of countries, ethnicities, and cultures. To this extent, University of Oregon, Linguistics Department, American English Institute does a great meaningful job for us. I am sure all of us will study hard to cherish the opportunity to engage in the innovative distance-learning program that employs the latest in modern technology, and provide direct access to U.S. experts.

  Someday if you come to China as a tourist, I’ll be your guide. There is an old saying from Confucious, a Chinese greatest educator, “A friend coming from far away areas is my pleasure”.

                                                  Thank you

                                                   Shujuan Wang

Week1Reflections-Language Teaching in Reading and Writing Returning to Natural Society

Language Teaching in Reading and Writing Returning to Natural Society

1. The function of task-based meaningful reading

Task-based meaningful reading will stimulate learners’ intrinsic motivation in English learning. Before creating the blog, I had to read the instructions, then followed the procedure step by step. During the process I must understand the meaning of very sentence, even each word, no doubt, which improves my English reading ability a lot. To my surprise, at last the content of what I read almost could be remembered by me. From viewpoint of psychology, 90% of what we both say and do can be remembered.

  Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching (3^rd Edition). Holt, Rinchart, and Winston(1969).

  Students learn best when using language in performance of meaningful tasks.

  Students should solve problems with language in the classroom, not just parrot words.

  Language is made up of ideas and phrases, and that words are not always the unit of analysis.

      ( Chisholm,  Osterweil,  Blanca)

Doing the real thing is an effective technique in English Teaching.

  2.  Blog-writing for real audience

   Nowadays blogging is becoming increasingly popular as a language learning tool, which has many advantages in writing. blogging can let me share my experience and my idea with my colleagues. When I write my blog, I am completely aware that my written work faces real audience, and I have to write and rewrite. A lot of reflection has been brought up to me by doing it. With weblogs, students can find themselves writing for a real audience, apart from the teacher, may include their peers. In this way a process-writing approach can be carried out, because students are writing for real purpose and can understand the value of rewriting more than if the only audience for their written work is the teacher.

  Bloggng for ELT (Think,  articles submitted by TE Editor on 6 March,2005)

Thanks for the innovative modern technology, internet,- platform for improving writing.

3. Conclusion

 Overview of the history of language coming into being and development, it is human being’ needs and aspirations that promote the change in language. So language teaching in reading and writing should combine with natural society with the help of modern technology-internet.As a learner- student, what I reflect now will influence my teaching. I’ll use this method in my teaching later.

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