Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Teaching with video
"En tu opinión, ¿cuál es la mejor ciudad para vivir?"
The ultimate goal of this project will be based on perceiving how Spanish learners develop their communicative skills, as well as how they improve their cultural awareness through the practice during a semester. Moreover, technology will play an important role in this lesson activity.
This lesson plan will be geared towards Spanish learners at the intermediate level enrolled in SPN 2200 at the University of Florida. Before their registration, an oral and written Spanish language placement test is given to students, as well as a placement form is filled out and turned in to their instructor. Thus students work at their level of proficiency. SPN 2200 is the first course of the Intermediate Spanish Program and is followed by SPN 2201 and SPN 2240. These 3 courses must be taken in sequence, one after the other, since each is the prerequisite for the next.
The goal of this entire lesson plan is to offer students an opportunity to acquire new communicative skills in Spanish while developing an awareness and appreciation of Hispanic/Latino cultures. Taken its goals from the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century , also known as the 5 Cs, this lesson focuses on the five general areas: students will communicate in Spanish; students will gain knowledge and understanding of cultures of the Hispanic world; students will connect with other disciplines and acquiring new information; through comparisons, students will develop awareness of similarities and differences among language and culture systems around the world; students will use Spanish to participate in communities at home and around the world.
Likewise, these students will have the opportunity to put the 4 linguistic skills into practice. In other words, each student will be able to demonstrate comprehension of Spanish spoken at normal speed on a selected topic (listening); each student will be able to demonstrate the use of conversational skills in a specific communicative situation (speaking); each student will be able to demonstrate accurate reading comprehension of cultural material (reading); each student will be able to produce written Spanish to meet practical needs as well as creative expression (writing).
The textbook used for this class is Conexiones: Comunicación y Cultura (2005). This class activity will be administered the last day (one class meeting) assigned for chapter 4 "El individuo y la personalidad" and will consolidate the main objectives, such as: (i) talking about oneself and others: personality and routines; (ii) describing people, things, and situations; and (iii) telling what has happened.
With the main points of this chapter in mind, this lesson plan will engage students in a variety of activities, which is summarized as follows:
a) reading a paragraph and then answering some questions; (8 mins.)
b) filling in missing words from a dialogue; (7 mins.)
c) listening (and watching) a video clip and then answering some T(rue) or F(alse) statements; (10 mins.)
d) speaking in pairs and role-playing a situation. (25 mins.)
While the reading and writing tasks are intended for the review of the main content of this chapter, the listening and speaking ones attempt to display a more pragmatic side to second language acquisition. We believe that through interaction, students will practice and communicate using vocabulary and grammar learned in oral and written modules through communicative activities in paired and group work. By making the student an agent in language learning, we direct them towards communication and connecting, which are two of the components mentioned in the 5 Cs. By taking language structures and vocabulary outside of the textbook context, the activity encourages students to make the target language relevant to themselves.
Finally, in terms of SLA theory, this lesson plan is designed from a standpoint of the Sociocultural Theory (SCT). Proposed by Lev Vygotsky in the 1920s, SCT establishes a connection between the outside world and the individual’s inner mental processes in order to explain how the social interaction leads to internalization and learning. This lesson plan is guided taking into consideration that the fact of engaging and participating in socially significant tasks makes some impact in language development. As Hall (1997) claimed, SLA is a process that “originates in our socially constituted communicative practices” (303). Thus, the learner comes to understand it simply using the language. This lesson plan is designed with the belief that there is a strong connection between what learners learn and the opportunities they have to communicate. Since the "context" plays an important role for the language development, these activities focus on the situations in which learning takes place. Following Hall's line of reasoning, we believe that “what becomes important is the discursive routinization of our communicative practices and the means by which we realize them” (1997: 303).
The ultimate goal of this project will be based on perceiving how Spanish learners develop their communicative skills, as well as how they improve their cultural awareness through the practice during a semester. Moreover, technology will play an important role in this lesson activity.
This lesson plan will be geared towards Spanish learners at the intermediate level enrolled in SPN 2200 at the University of Florida. Before their registration, an oral and written Spanish language placement test is given to students, as well as a placement form is filled out and turned in to their instructor. Thus students work at their level of proficiency. SPN 2200 is the first course of the Intermediate Spanish Program and is followed by SPN 2201 and SPN 2240. These 3 courses must be taken in sequence, one after the other, since each is the prerequisite for the next.
The goal of this entire lesson plan is to offer students an opportunity to acquire new communicative skills in Spanish while developing an awareness and appreciation of Hispanic/Latino cultures. Taken its goals from the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century , also known as the 5 Cs, this lesson focuses on the five general areas: students will communicate in Spanish; students will gain knowledge and understanding of cultures of the Hispanic world; students will connect with other disciplines and acquiring new information; through comparisons, students will develop awareness of similarities and differences among language and culture systems around the world; students will use Spanish to participate in communities at home and around the world.
Likewise, these students will have the opportunity to put the 4 linguistic skills into practice. In other words, each student will be able to demonstrate comprehension of Spanish spoken at normal speed on a selected topic (listening); each student will be able to demonstrate the use of conversational skills in a specific communicative situation (speaking); each student will be able to demonstrate accurate reading comprehension of cultural material (reading); each student will be able to produce written Spanish to meet practical needs as well as creative expression (writing).
The textbook used for this class is Conexiones: Comunicación y Cultura (2005). This class activity will be administered the last day (one class meeting) assigned for chapter 4 "El individuo y la personalidad" and will consolidate the main objectives, such as: (i) talking about oneself and others: personality and routines; (ii) describing people, things, and situations; and (iii) telling what has happened.
With the main points of this chapter in mind, this lesson plan will engage students in a variety of activities, which is summarized as follows:
a) reading a paragraph and then answering some questions; (8 mins.)
b) filling in missing words from a dialogue; (7 mins.)
c) listening (and watching) a video clip and then answering some T(rue) or F(alse) statements; (10 mins.)
d) speaking in pairs and role-playing a situation. (25 mins.)
While the reading and writing tasks are intended for the review of the main content of this chapter, the listening and speaking ones attempt to display a more pragmatic side to second language acquisition. We believe that through interaction, students will practice and communicate using vocabulary and grammar learned in oral and written modules through communicative activities in paired and group work. By making the student an agent in language learning, we direct them towards communication and connecting, which are two of the components mentioned in the 5 Cs. By taking language structures and vocabulary outside of the textbook context, the activity encourages students to make the target language relevant to themselves.
Finally, in terms of SLA theory, this lesson plan is designed from a standpoint of the Sociocultural Theory (SCT). Proposed by Lev Vygotsky in the 1920s, SCT establishes a connection between the outside world and the individual’s inner mental processes in order to explain how the social interaction leads to internalization and learning. This lesson plan is guided taking into consideration that the fact of engaging and participating in socially significant tasks makes some impact in language development. As Hall (1997) claimed, SLA is a process that “originates in our socially constituted communicative practices” (303). Thus, the learner comes to understand it simply using the language. This lesson plan is designed with the belief that there is a strong connection between what learners learn and the opportunities they have to communicate. Since the "context" plays an important role for the language development, these activities focus on the situations in which learning takes place. Following Hall's line of reasoning, we believe that “what becomes important is the discursive routinization of our communicative practices and the means by which we realize them” (1997: 303).
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Why (not) "Second Life"?
First of all, I had never heard of SL before. It was from the readings that I first came into contact with this subject. SL was presented as a visionary program, which could be helpful in the classroom. However, after the hands-on activities, I started to perceive its potential pros and cos.
I believe that, despite the fact the language learning in 3D virtual worlds is still a baby at its early stages of development, SL is for me quite interesting and can, by and large, benefit the education field. After this first experience, to some extend do I find SL suitable for being implemented in our classrooms. Thus far there might be more cons than pros, since this tool is pretty new. Nevertheless, I wonder, "shouldn’t we help and contribute this just born device to take the most advantage of it?"
I believe that SL could bring plenty of benefits provided that we implement it in the proper way. To take an obvious example, after the readings (e.g., Stevens, 2006), I have perceived the impression that the point could go further my expectations, since I would never believe that SL "might be seen as a prototype for some future form of learning", as Stevens points out. I still trust the zealous dedication we, as teachers, deposit in our classrooms, so that our students may arise interest and awareness in a foreign language. By interacting with SL I do not think learners could become proficient in a foreign language. However, I do believe that SL, provided that it is used appositely, could generate interest from students, as well as, by a simulation of real life environments, could allow learners to discover more creative and more realistic ways to improve certain linguistic skills. Moreover, as Vickers points out, SL is appropriate for younger learners of foreign languages, since they regard the Internet as a natural place to learn and play.
Another point I would make allusion to is that, since "languages are all about verbal communication", as Vickers says, we, as teachers, would make sure that our "students are talking and listening within our 3D virtual classrooms". Sociocultural awareness could be raised by visiting trustful islands. For instance, in my first visit to SL I went to Madrid, Spain (rather than accompanying where my folks were going - I still trusted they would not get lost on their own), mainly because I personally wanted to test how much one could trust this tool, as well as which benefits one could obtain. I attended a party in "La Puerta del Sol", in Madrid, Spain, and interacted with some people. I pretended to be a college Spanish student who wanted to learn about the city, the country, etc. At least, the people I bumped into helped me further understand some aspects of a "strange" culture for me. I can remember that I talked about 4 stereotypes we, "students", receive in our classrooms, such as "small glasses for beers", "the concept of the siesta", "not being punctual" and "being aggressive people". My SL "friends" laughed at me and gave me "true" information about how to contradict these so-called stereotypes. They even offered themselves to talk to me with the micro –something I could not have done under any circumstance, for obvious reasons. However, I also attended another party in "Las Ramblas", in Barcelona, Spain, and the input was totally different. The people there behaved in a very special way and scarcely helped me or interacted with me. I assumed that those interactions would not be beneficial at all for my students, especially because the conversations went beyond my expectations.
Be that as it may, I prefered to explore SL and its sociocultural shocks on my own, rather than simply play or talk with people I already knew. Who said that we, as educators, complain when we learn that "micro-gangs" when abroad, for instance, are gathered in "micro-cosmos"? Have we never read or heard those comments about how much experience students in a full immersion context (e.g., abroad) gain when they get together to go for a coffee at Starbucks or for a hamburguer at McDonald's?
Taking this into consideration, I would still think that SL could be implemented in our classroom, at least, if properly, as a tool our students could practice even during their spare time. I believe this would be much more enriching and entertaining rather than, for instance, spending long hours and copying with their electronic workbook.
If I introduced SL in my classrooms, needless to say, I would ensure that the island we would go is that I trust, that I have already experienced. All in all, I would opt for inviting my students explore places such as "El Instituto Cervantes", mainly because, after my visit, I find it suitable. For further details about this, click here. Although I bet that many of my colleagues may have their own reservations about the benefits of SL in the classroom, I still have the hope that experts in SLA and CALL are doing a laudable task to teach us how to implement it propitiously.
I believe that, despite the fact the language learning in 3D virtual worlds is still a baby at its early stages of development, SL is for me quite interesting and can, by and large, benefit the education field. After this first experience, to some extend do I find SL suitable for being implemented in our classrooms. Thus far there might be more cons than pros, since this tool is pretty new. Nevertheless, I wonder, "shouldn’t we help and contribute this just born device to take the most advantage of it?"
I believe that SL could bring plenty of benefits provided that we implement it in the proper way. To take an obvious example, after the readings (e.g., Stevens, 2006), I have perceived the impression that the point could go further my expectations, since I would never believe that SL "might be seen as a prototype for some future form of learning", as Stevens points out. I still trust the zealous dedication we, as teachers, deposit in our classrooms, so that our students may arise interest and awareness in a foreign language. By interacting with SL I do not think learners could become proficient in a foreign language. However, I do believe that SL, provided that it is used appositely, could generate interest from students, as well as, by a simulation of real life environments, could allow learners to discover more creative and more realistic ways to improve certain linguistic skills. Moreover, as Vickers points out, SL is appropriate for younger learners of foreign languages, since they regard the Internet as a natural place to learn and play.
Another point I would make allusion to is that, since "languages are all about verbal communication", as Vickers says, we, as teachers, would make sure that our "students are talking and listening within our 3D virtual classrooms". Sociocultural awareness could be raised by visiting trustful islands. For instance, in my first visit to SL I went to Madrid, Spain (rather than accompanying where my folks were going - I still trusted they would not get lost on their own), mainly because I personally wanted to test how much one could trust this tool, as well as which benefits one could obtain. I attended a party in "La Puerta del Sol", in Madrid, Spain, and interacted with some people. I pretended to be a college Spanish student who wanted to learn about the city, the country, etc. At least, the people I bumped into helped me further understand some aspects of a "strange" culture for me. I can remember that I talked about 4 stereotypes we, "students", receive in our classrooms, such as "small glasses for beers", "the concept of the siesta", "not being punctual" and "being aggressive people". My SL "friends" laughed at me and gave me "true" information about how to contradict these so-called stereotypes. They even offered themselves to talk to me with the micro –something I could not have done under any circumstance, for obvious reasons. However, I also attended another party in "Las Ramblas", in Barcelona, Spain, and the input was totally different. The people there behaved in a very special way and scarcely helped me or interacted with me. I assumed that those interactions would not be beneficial at all for my students, especially because the conversations went beyond my expectations.
Be that as it may, I prefered to explore SL and its sociocultural shocks on my own, rather than simply play or talk with people I already knew. Who said that we, as educators, complain when we learn that "micro-gangs" when abroad, for instance, are gathered in "micro-cosmos"? Have we never read or heard those comments about how much experience students in a full immersion context (e.g., abroad) gain when they get together to go for a coffee at Starbucks or for a hamburguer at McDonald's?
Taking this into consideration, I would still think that SL could be implemented in our classroom, at least, if properly, as a tool our students could practice even during their spare time. I believe this would be much more enriching and entertaining rather than, for instance, spending long hours and copying with their electronic workbook.If I introduced SL in my classrooms, needless to say, I would ensure that the island we would go is that I trust, that I have already experienced. All in all, I would opt for inviting my students explore places such as "El Instituto Cervantes", mainly because, after my visit, I find it suitable. For further details about this, click here. Although I bet that many of my colleagues may have their own reservations about the benefits of SL in the classroom, I still have the hope that experts in SLA and CALL are doing a laudable task to teach us how to implement it propitiously.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Teaching Philosophy with Technology
Hi all-
If you click here, you have access to my teaching philosophy with technology.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? They are more than welcome.
If you click here, you have access to my teaching philosophy with technology.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? They are more than welcome.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Intercultural Communication and Technology
I strongly believe in the insertion of culture in the teaching of a foreign language, since it is in this way how the value of intercultural communication can be perceived. I believe that thanks to the growth of the Internet, the use of foreign languages have increased from different perspectives.
Originally, the Internet facilitated communication between a huge number of people with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After having put this into practice, the use of technology started being implemented in our classrooms, as a way to bring the target culture. I think that delving into the electronic interculturality, as well as investigating areas on action would help in order to conceptualize international communities.
Likewise, I find extremely interesting to look at the opportunities and challenges of virtual com
munities for intercultural communication, in order to enable barrier free communication. Needless to say, I also perceive these possible barriers for people to engage in this virtual communication, such as: it is typical to run into struggles with technology for a lack of technological competence, the communication turns out to be more reduced when written, since paraverbal cues are not always visible, a lingua franca emerges at some point of the communication.
On the other hand, I believe that studying or working abroad for some time is the best way to interpret or perceive Intercultural Communication, since it is then when one needs to open his/her mind, in order to understand the foreign culture.
Amongst the points discussed this week in class, I believe that recul is quite important for learners’ development, since it could better future Intercultural Communication interactions. Culture is learned through language and social interaction. Hence language and culture are closely related. If we are learning about TIFLE, it is now when I personally stress the importance of taking advantage of technology for cultural purposes, since if we prescind from the culture, as Griffin (1973) stated, “we exclude from the classroom the values and life styles of the people whose language we teach, we virtually exclude the supreme viable dimension without which language study is not much more than a sterile linguistic exercise”.
As the readings say, when our students work on an intercultural communication project, we should let them know about some tensions that may arise. For instance, we should encourage them to be open with their partners and ask them about their learning expectations, the time they could dedicate, and the reasons for them to be in the class. Likewise, these studies share the same point: when our students succeed to communicate with others, they also succeed to challenge possible stereotypes, as well as learn a new culture. For those of you who teach Spanish, I highly recommend to you a book which relates to this topic Contenidos culturales en la enseñanza del E/LE (Soler-Espiauba, 2006) and might be of your interest.
Originally, the Internet facilitated communication between a huge number of people with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After having put this into practice, the use of technology started being implemented in our classrooms, as a way to bring the target culture. I think that delving into the electronic interculturality, as well as investigating areas on action would help in order to conceptualize international communities.
Likewise, I find extremely interesting to look at the opportunities and challenges of virtual com
munities for intercultural communication, in order to enable barrier free communication. Needless to say, I also perceive these possible barriers for people to engage in this virtual communication, such as: it is typical to run into struggles with technology for a lack of technological competence, the communication turns out to be more reduced when written, since paraverbal cues are not always visible, a lingua franca emerges at some point of the communication.On the other hand, I believe that studying or working abroad for some time is the best way to interpret or perceive Intercultural Communication, since it is then when one needs to open his/her mind, in order to understand the foreign culture.
Amongst the points discussed this week in class, I believe that recul is quite important for learners’ development, since it could better future Intercultural Communication interactions. Culture is learned through language and social interaction. Hence language and culture are closely related. If we are learning about TIFLE, it is now when I personally stress the importance of taking advantage of technology for cultural purposes, since if we prescind from the culture, as Griffin (1973) stated, “we exclude from the classroom the values and life styles of the people whose language we teach, we virtually exclude the supreme viable dimension without which language study is not much more than a sterile linguistic exercise”.
As the readings say, when our students work on an intercultural communication project, we should let them know about some tensions that may arise. For instance, we should encourage them to be open with their partners and ask them about their learning expectations, the time they could dedicate, and the reasons for them to be in the class. Likewise, these studies share the same point: when our students succeed to communicate with others, they also succeed to challenge possible stereotypes, as well as learn a new culture. For those of you who teach Spanish, I highly recommend to you a book which relates to this topic Contenidos culturales en la enseñanza del E/LE (Soler-Espiauba, 2006) and might be of your interest.
Friday, March 21, 2008
On MovieMaker
In the last two meetings we have learned about the digital video recorders and digital video software. After the MovieMaker tutorial, Vinodh and I strived for making our goal true: filming. Since we found certain problems with technology, we started to look into video projects and video editing.
Although we have not yet decided on a concrete topic, we agreed that we would be interested in making something as real as possible, always taking into account the pedagogic perspective. We believe that bringing to class authentic material is a propitious manner to encourage our students. Thus students could identify themselves someway with the content of the video, as well as this material could serve as a source of information for them.
As far as the nature of different projects with MovieMaker in the classroom is concerned, I have noticed that film depictions of partial or entire texts are being more and more employed. For instance, the classical and popular coming-of-age novella of The House on Mango Street (by Sandra Cisneros) is represented by students from a literature class. Taking into consideration this piece of literature, let us check how the vignette “Sire” is filmed by the own students.
However, out of the ample of fields we have talked about, so far we have thought of simulating a more realistic situation, that is, a typical visit which a student makes when s/he has just arrived in a foreign country. In other words, how students copy with reality the very first days in a different country. Since s/he is in an abroad context, s/he needs to contact different administrative people to find out some piece of information.
As brainstorming, we would need to have: a couple of native speakers of Spanish (i.e., “us”) to serve as the undergraduate coordinator and the study abroad program director, who inform the students about the registration process, about the school, etc. ; and, on the other hand, a couple of students who asks about the possibilities of taking specific classes, about the requirements they should meet, etc.
All in all, for us this representation would resemble a very common situation in which students are when they begin to consider the possibilities of studying abroad. However, we are still working on this!
Although we have not yet decided on a concrete topic, we agreed that we would be interested in making something as real as possible, always taking into account the pedagogic perspective. We believe that bringing to class authentic material is a propitious manner to encourage our students. Thus students could identify themselves someway with the content of the video, as well as this material could serve as a source of information for them.As far as the nature of different projects with MovieMaker in the classroom is concerned, I have noticed that film depictions of partial or entire texts are being more and more employed. For instance, the classical and popular coming-of-age novella of The House on Mango Street (by Sandra Cisneros) is represented by students from a literature class. Taking into consideration this piece of literature, let us check how the vignette “Sire” is filmed by the own students.
However, out of the ample of fields we have talked about, so far we have thought of simulating a more realistic situation, that is, a typical visit which a student makes when s/he has just arrived in a foreign country. In other words, how students copy with reality the very first days in a different country. Since s/he is in an abroad context, s/he needs to contact different administrative people to find out some piece of information.
As brainstorming, we would need to have: a couple of native speakers of Spanish (i.e., “us”) to serve as the undergraduate coordinator and the study abroad program director, who inform the students about the registration process, about the school, etc. ; and, on the other hand, a couple of students who asks about the possibilities of taking specific classes, about the requirements they should meet, etc.
All in all, for us this representation would resemble a very common situation in which students are when they begin to consider the possibilities of studying abroad. However, we are still working on this!
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