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!
Friday, March 7, 2008
TIFLEing on CMC
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is any communication that is enabled or aided through the use of computers.
We distinguish between two primary modes of CMC: synchronous and asynchronous, for instance:
Asynchronous: Mail (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail); EFL Penpals (Penpal, Pal-Pen); Forums (Quick Topic, Tag-Board, Mailman); EFL Forums (ESL Café, Floe-Joe, Language-Exchange); Listserv;
Synchronous: Chat (Yahoo, Hotmail, GMail, AOL); Instant Messaging (Yahoo, MSN, AIM); Chat with Voice (Wimba, Skype, PalTalk); Video-Conference (PalTalk, Voice Café, CentraOne); MOO (Tappedin).
For applications of these tools, check here.
We distinguish between two primary modes of CMC: synchronous and asynchronous, for instance:
Asynchronous: Mail (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail); EFL Penpals (Penpal, Pal-Pen); Forums (Quick Topic, Tag-Board, Mailman); EFL Forums (ESL Café, Floe-Joe, Language-Exchange); Listserv;
Synchronous: Chat (Yahoo, Hotmail, GMail, AOL); Instant Messaging (Yahoo, MSN, AIM); Chat with Voice (Wimba, Skype, PalTalk); Video-Conference (PalTalk, Voice Café, CentraOne); MOO (Tappedin).
For applications of these tools, check here.
Monday, March 3, 2008
“Blogging during my sojourn abroad”
I am posting my Mini-Project #1, which essentially is based on the implementation of a blog software – an asynchronous interactive computer-mediated-communication (CMC) tool composed of, as Laford & Laford define, "Web pages where an individual (or a group) posts messages and invites comments; it is a form of threaded discussion, but less structured and its themes are often personal" (2005:687). This project will be designed for students in Advanced Spanish II (SPA310) during summer semester (June 2 – July 23, 2008) at the academic study abroad program The Center for Cross-Cultural Study , Seville, Spain.
The ultimate goal of this project will be based on perceiving how the writing and reading confidence and attitudes of students increases, as well as how they improve their cultural awareness through the journal-type blog practice while their sojourn abroad.
The structure of this tentative project is divided into 3 main parts: 1. explanation and rational for project; 2. the actual project set up for a potential student; and 3. a teacher guide.
All in all, as Eric Schmidt claims, I consider that "this notion of self-publishing, which is what Blogger and blogging are really about, is the next big wave of human communication. The last big wave was Web activity. Before that one it was e-mail. Instant messaging was an extension of e-mail, real-time e-mail".
Comments and suggestion for bettering this project are more than welcome!
The ultimate goal of this project will be based on perceiving how the writing and reading confidence and attitudes of students increases, as well as how they improve their cultural awareness through the journal-type blog practice while their sojourn abroad.
The structure of this tentative project is divided into 3 main parts: 1. explanation and rational for project; 2. the actual project set up for a potential student; and 3. a teacher guide.
All in all, as Eric Schmidt claims, I consider that "this notion of self-publishing, which is what Blogger and blogging are really about, is the next big wave of human communication. The last big wave was Web activity. Before that one it was e-mail. Instant messaging was an extension of e-mail, real-time e-mail".
Comments and suggestion for bettering this project are more than welcome!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thoughts on final project
In general terms, innovations in educational technology are seen as opportunities to transform learning. To my understanding and experience, social software (e.g., wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, amongst others –by no means definitive) is no exception. Many current social software applications include the real social and virtual worlds, as they require both online and offline interactions and verbal/visual connectivity. Let us consider YouTube, SlideFlickr, and SlideShare, as samples, which facilitate the sharing of videos, photos, and PowerPoints respectively with both “real world” and “virtual” friends. On the other hand, social networking sites, such as Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook allow users to build an online identity by customizing their personal profiles with a range of multimedia elements, as well as interacting with existing contacts and establishing new relationships.
The readings so far have elucidated that computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD) promotes the integrated development of different skills (i.e., writing, reading, listening, speaking) and in terms of second language acquisition (SLA) theory, as well as the use of Internet has provided new opportunities for the teaching of said skills.
For the final project, I am interested in working with weblogs, as a type of content management system, in order to explore the gains in writing skills. Introducing blogging into a Spanish writing class (2008 summer semester, CCCS, Seville, Spain) would be primarily aimed at examining the significance of its use for the process writing approach. This study would consist of three specific aspects of the writing process approach: feedback, editing, and publishing their writings.
I believe that the use of blogs in the writing classroom would create a collaborative learning environment. This would provide a positive framework for developing reading and writing skills. Besides, reading and writing skills are closely associated with motivation. While many students function absolutely well, others, however, struggle. Therefore, the concept of motivation would be worth bearing in mind. In the line of William & Burden (1997), motivation is "a state of cognitive and emotional arousal, which leads to a conscious decision to act, and which causes a period of sustained effort (intellectual, physical, etc.) to attain a previously set goal or goals". Thus, in this case it would be mainly task motivation, since I would do a lot to develop some kind of extrinsic interest in the performance of this specific task. Needless to say, I would take into account those activities that are appropriate to their age and interest. To my impression, students normally consider writing as a chore, which is based on displaying what one knows, so that the teacher can mark the mistakes and give a grade. This motivation could be awaken by CACD.
Writing journals would be an accurate way to improve their skills. These writings would encompass non-fictional (e.g., personal thoughts, real life experiences abroad, cultural shocks, etc.) and fictional (e.g., script writings, short stories, song lyrics, etc.) journals. Since I was a child, I have always heard that “writers learn to write by reading and writing”. This effective power of reading and writing, typically found in the literature “life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books” (bell hooks) or “Esperanza, keep writing. It will keep you free” (Sandra Cisneros), do I believe in. For me writing is an art. This talent can de developed by using different skills, as well as which can be helped by feedback.
In sum, I truly believe that blogs would offer a particular promise for these students, who would play the role of writers, thinkers, and reviewers. Therefore, this research would be conducted in order to determine the effects of the implementation of blogging as a "creative writing activity". In so doing, would blogs increase enjoyment throughout the process? Would blogs enhance creative writing skills?
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I would really appreciate them!
The readings so far have elucidated that computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD) promotes the integrated development of different skills (i.e., writing, reading, listening, speaking) and in terms of second language acquisition (SLA) theory, as well as the use of Internet has provided new opportunities for the teaching of said skills.
For the final project, I am interested in working with weblogs, as a type of content management system, in order to explore the gains in writing skills. Introducing blogging into a Spanish writing class (2008 summer semester, CCCS, Seville, Spain) would be primarily aimed at examining the significance of its use for the process writing approach. This study would consist of three specific aspects of the writing process approach: feedback, editing, and publishing their writings.
I believe that the use of blogs in the writing classroom would create a collaborative learning environment. This would provide a positive framework for developing reading and writing skills. Besides, reading and writing skills are closely associated with motivation. While many students function absolutely well, others, however, struggle. Therefore, the concept of motivation would be worth bearing in mind. In the line of William & Burden (1997), motivation is "a state of cognitive and emotional arousal, which leads to a conscious decision to act, and which causes a period of sustained effort (intellectual, physical, etc.) to attain a previously set goal or goals". Thus, in this case it would be mainly task motivation, since I would do a lot to develop some kind of extrinsic interest in the performance of this specific task. Needless to say, I would take into account those activities that are appropriate to their age and interest. To my impression, students normally consider writing as a chore, which is based on displaying what one knows, so that the teacher can mark the mistakes and give a grade. This motivation could be awaken by CACD.
Writing journals would be an accurate way to improve their skills. These writings would encompass non-fictional (e.g., personal thoughts, real life experiences abroad, cultural shocks, etc.) and fictional (e.g., script writings, short stories, song lyrics, etc.) journals. Since I was a child, I have always heard that “writers learn to write by reading and writing”. This effective power of reading and writing, typically found in the literature “life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books” (bell hooks) or “Esperanza, keep writing. It will keep you free” (Sandra Cisneros), do I believe in. For me writing is an art. This talent can de developed by using different skills, as well as which can be helped by feedback.
In sum, I truly believe that blogs would offer a particular promise for these students, who would play the role of writers, thinkers, and reviewers. Therefore, this research would be conducted in order to determine the effects of the implementation of blogging as a "creative writing activity". In so doing, would blogs increase enjoyment throughout the process? Would blogs enhance creative writing skills?
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I would really appreciate them!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thoughts on technology
To be earnest, I had always felt certain reluctance when coming across articles about the impacts of technology in FL. All I used to pay closer attention to was the pedagogic section, rather than the very outcomes of the research. Now, after having discussed some readings about the historical overview of CALL, the current perspectives on technology use, SLA & CALL, I am feeling that this field is quite instructive and promising. As far as I have researched, the connection between Second Language Acquisition theories and the implementation of Internet is being examined from different perspectives, as well as the development of communicative competence between said fields is being explored. This week I presented in class the section on SLA & CALL. Here is the PowerPoint I made and used:
Out of the readings so far, I would like to point out “Processes and Outcomes in Networked Classroom Interaction: Defining the Research Agenda for L2 Computer-Assisted Classroom Discussion” (1997) by Ortega , for presenting in a clear-cut manner the benefits of CACD, what we know about CACD so far, and what we could do with CACD in the future. Focused on the use of synchronous computer-mediated interaction in the second language (L2) classroom, it is stated that "the scope is intentionally limited to research concerned with evaluating the potential benefits of computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD) in terms of second language acquisition (SLA) theory". Since I was curious, in order to corroborate certain questions from this article, I contacted Ortega and a conversation with her (by the way, she is from my hometown in Spain!) helped me see not only how far we have come in this area, but also how far we still have to go. Also she gave me some reflections about her article "Interaction and attention to form in L2 text-based computer-mediated communication" (in press), which poinpoints the literature review from 1997 to 2007 and its outcomes.
Thus far, I have enjoyed learning about the SlideShare (basic for many, new for me), which is a place to host and share presentations, as well as further functions for blogs. We, as teachers, should take the best advantage of blogging in our classroom, especially in FL classes. By using blogs, we can communicate with students via blogs; blogs can be excellent opportunities for students to practice their reading and writing skills; etc. For further reasons, I invite you to watch "Why Let our Students Blog?" As far as wikis are concerned, I also use them very much. To me, the level of instruction might be one of the inconveniences. However, as far as it is appositely employed, it should not be to worry about. When I use wikis, the main goals for them are posting lesson summaries, collaborative notes, as well as for the threads for discussion boards. Thus far I know that there is some controversy about when and why use blogs vs. wikis, or vice versa. To witness a debate about this , I encourage you to watch Blogs vs. Wikis .
With some readings and looks at diverse articles, I grew some special interest in the use of discussion boards through CourseCompass as CMC in my Spanish classes. I wondered why I would not have used this tool before, if I had always had access to its use. Lack of reliance? At the beginning of every chapter, I invite my students to discuss a thread I post. Needless to say, this line goes with the content we are studying in class and usually touches upon cultural issues. I like the discussion boards because after posting my message, by clicking on their response, we can see what others think on the same subject. Besides, this also allows me to see the views of quieter, more introverted people who don not always speak up in class. In other words, this tool provides students with the chance to say what they want to without being put on the spot in the classroom. With CALL, I believe that there is a raise of language awareness. CALL allows students to see the language being used in more and different settings and, therefore, brings more cultural and authentic language awareness. Besides, students are aware of the nature of their language production. I think that using chat and other CMC activities and micropublishing can allow students to see their language production progress and grow.
Out of the readings so far, I would like to point out “Processes and Outcomes in Networked Classroom Interaction: Defining the Research Agenda for L2 Computer-Assisted Classroom Discussion” (1997) by Ortega , for presenting in a clear-cut manner the benefits of CACD, what we know about CACD so far, and what we could do with CACD in the future. Focused on the use of synchronous computer-mediated interaction in the second language (L2) classroom, it is stated that "the scope is intentionally limited to research concerned with evaluating the potential benefits of computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD) in terms of second language acquisition (SLA) theory". Since I was curious, in order to corroborate certain questions from this article, I contacted Ortega and a conversation with her (by the way, she is from my hometown in Spain!) helped me see not only how far we have come in this area, but also how far we still have to go. Also she gave me some reflections about her article "Interaction and attention to form in L2 text-based computer-mediated communication" (in press), which poinpoints the literature review from 1997 to 2007 and its outcomes.
Thus far, I have enjoyed learning about the SlideShare (basic for many, new for me), which is a place to host and share presentations, as well as further functions for blogs. We, as teachers, should take the best advantage of blogging in our classroom, especially in FL classes. By using blogs, we can communicate with students via blogs; blogs can be excellent opportunities for students to practice their reading and writing skills; etc. For further reasons, I invite you to watch "Why Let our Students Blog?" As far as wikis are concerned, I also use them very much. To me, the level of instruction might be one of the inconveniences. However, as far as it is appositely employed, it should not be to worry about. When I use wikis, the main goals for them are posting lesson summaries, collaborative notes, as well as for the threads for discussion boards. Thus far I know that there is some controversy about when and why use blogs vs. wikis, or vice versa. To witness a debate about this , I encourage you to watch Blogs vs. Wikis .
With some readings and looks at diverse articles, I grew some special interest in the use of discussion boards through CourseCompass as CMC in my Spanish classes. I wondered why I would not have used this tool before, if I had always had access to its use. Lack of reliance? At the beginning of every chapter, I invite my students to discuss a thread I post. Needless to say, this line goes with the content we are studying in class and usually touches upon cultural issues. I like the discussion boards because after posting my message, by clicking on their response, we can see what others think on the same subject. Besides, this also allows me to see the views of quieter, more introverted people who don not always speak up in class. In other words, this tool provides students with the chance to say what they want to without being put on the spot in the classroom. With CALL, I believe that there is a raise of language awareness. CALL allows students to see the language being used in more and different settings and, therefore, brings more cultural and authentic language awareness. Besides, students are aware of the nature of their language production. I think that using chat and other CMC activities and micropublishing can allow students to see their language production progress and grow.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Presentations for Instruction
Semana Santa
As a tool, I usually make use of PowerPoint presentations to enhance the effectiveness of classroom instruction, specially to introduce culture and make it more approachable. A very common cultural festivity I project in the classroom when time comes up is La Semana Santa in Spain. If interested, have a look at this slideshow.
Although it has been noticed that the PowerPoint is becoming a preferred method of communicating and explaining in our classrooms, there is still an enormous debate on this issue. Pros? Cons? For me, there are more pros than cons, regardless of those commentaries, such as "PowerPoint serves largely the same role in the classroom as pre-processed snack food does in the lunchroom: a conveniently packaged morsel that looks good but doesn't match the intellectual or corporeal nourishment of, say, a critical essay or a plate of steamed spinach" (Joanna Glasner).
I believe that important points can be emphasized and the presentation itself can be enhanced by using graphics, animation, or sound. Thus student interest can be stimulated as well. By a proper use of PowerPoints, lessons tend to be more organized and flexible. If interested in further readings, I have found a related article (i.e., "PowerPoint, habits of mind, and classroom culture") which might be of your interest as well.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
After using Internet for 5 days !
Monday, January 28th
5.00 – 8.00 PM: TIFLE Class (e.g.: class management, review of Discussion Board Activities, chatting on-line with AOL with my TIFLEmates from SC, creating “Exploring TIFLE” Blog);
11.00 – 11.15 PM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 1 message from a classmate; sent 1 message); Gmail account (received 1 message from a friend; sent 1 message).
Total: 3 hours and 15 minutes (180 mins. work/ 15 mins. personal)
Tuesday, January 29th
8.00 – 8.50 AM: read the daily newspaper El País ;
9.15 – 9.40 AM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 8 messages: 2 from the RLL department, 1 from a student, 1 from a classmate, 1 from the Online Journal, Sin Frontera, 3 from listservs (Rediris , Dialnet, and ConferenceAlerts); sent 3 messages); Gmail account (received 4 messages: 3 from junk mail (AT&T, Virgin Atlantic, and Travelocity) and 1 from a family member; Sent 1 message);
3.00 – 3.40 PM: talking with a family member and chatting with a friend simultaneously with Skype;
7.00 – 8.10 PM: class management (BlackBoard for SPN2200 for updating gradebook; WebCT for FRE6900 for handouts for next class); Web browsing; purchase of a novel for FRE6900 @ Half Price; listing to my playlist of favorites @ YouTube simultaneously.
9.30 – 9.50 PM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 3 messages: 1 from the RLL department, 1 from a professor of the LIN department with information regarding the upcoming AAAL 2008 Annual Conference, 1 from student; sent 2 messages) and Gmail account (received 3 messages: 2 from the junk mail (Spanair, Wachovia) and 1 from a family member; Sent 1 message);
11.00 – 12.15 PM: watch the final of the Cádiz Carnival festival @ YouTube (for cultural tradition and entertainment).
Total: 4 hours and 40 minutes (70 mins. work/ 210 mins. personal)
Wednesday, January 30th
7.50 – 8.40 AM: read the daily newspaper El País;
8.40 – 8.50 AM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 8 messages: 3 from the RLL department, 1 from UF Financial Services, 1 from a student, 3 from listservs (Cervantes Virtual; Semainein , and Casa del libro; sent 2 messages); Gmail account (received 7 messages: 5 from junk mail (JetBlue, GRU, Dell, Wachovia, and Apple), 1 from a family member and 1 from a friend; sent 1 message);
6.00 – 6.20 PM: class management (BlackBoard for SPN2200 for updating gradebook and posting PowerPoint presentations for next class);
8.30 – 8.45 PM: purchase of a present for a family member @ Amazon;
11.00 – 11.25 PM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 2 messages: 1 from a classmate and 1 from student; sent 2 messages); Gmail account (received 0 messages).
Total: 2 hours (20 mins. work/ 105 mins. personal)
Thursday, January 31st
8.00 – 8.50 AM: read the daily newspaper El País;
9.30 – 10.00 AM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 6 messages: 3 from the RLL department, 1 from a student, 2 from listservs (Portal del Hispanismo, and Jóvenes Linguistas; Sent 2 messages); Gmail account (received 4 messages: 2 from junk mail (CraigsLists, and Travelocity), 1 from a family member and 1 from a friend; sent 0 message);
12.00 – 1.00 PM: a conversation with a former professor with skype;
3.00 – 3.30 PM: class management (BlackBoard for SPN2200 for gradebook updates; WebCT for FRE6900 for handouts for next class);
6.15 – 9.00 PM: class management (using an online dictionary and grammar while working on a French project for FRE6900);
10.00 – 10.20 PM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 3 messages: 1 from the LIN department, 1 from listserv (LLJournal), and 1 from a student; sent 1 message) and Gmail account (received 4 messages: 3 from junk mail (El Corte Inglés, Bank of America, Telefónica) and 1 from a friend (sharing a video from YouTube); sent 1 message);
11.30 – 12.15 PM: watch TV news @ RTVE.
Total: 6 hours and 40 minutes (195 mins. work/ 205 mins. personal)
Friday, February 1st
8.00 – 8.35 AM: read the daily newspaper El País;
8.35 – 9.00 AM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 7 messages: 1 from the RLL department, 1 from UF Library, 1 from a student, 4 from listservs (Junta de Andalucía , SAGA, UF CES, and AESLA; sent 1 message); Gmail account (received 3 messages: 1 from junk mail (AT&T), 1 from former professor from USE , and 1 from University of Cambridge with the results of the CPE taken last December 2007 ; sent 1 message);
3.00 – 3.15 PM: class management (posting PowerPoint presentations on BlackBoard for SPN2200 for next week);
5.00 – 6.30 PM: class management (Web browsing for a research of LIN7725 :UF library catalog search, Instituto Cervantes search, and Google Book search)
9.00 – 9.50 PM: class management (FOL 6326 : reading the instructions of the assignment to post in detail, editing my blog, and printing the articles for next class);
11.00 – 11.10 PM: check email from UF Webmail account (received 1 message from a student; sent 1 message); Gmail account (received 0 messages).
Total: 3 hours and 45 minutes (155 mins. work/ 70 mins. personal)
On looking over my log, it is noticeable that I use Internet primarily for personal (e.g.: emails, news, television, and music, etc.) and professional (e.g.: emails, research, class management, etc.) purposes. If I should emphasize and choose one per each use, news from El País would be for personal reason, whereas emails (67 received items; 19 sent items), would be for work purposes. While the former one helps me be in touch with the social, political, and cultural situation of my country (as well as an international overview), the latter one, on the other hand, is highly important for me to contact professors, students, and classmates.
Overall, on noting the length of time I have spent actively online, doubtless I am dependent on Internet for every day functions in my professional and personal life. However, based on my log, I feel reluctant to characterize myself as a user strictly in these domains. In other words, in taking these 5 days at random, I believe that this does not necessarily correspond to the actual use of Internet in my real life. Different variables, such as periods of weekends, final exams, vacations, amongst others, would be taken into account for a more meticulous assumption. If special occasions had been considered, this analysis could have been different.
About me
Hi all,
My name is Francisco Salgado-Robles and I am a second-year PhD student in the program of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. About me, let me tell you that I was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz (Andalucía, Spain) –a very well-known city for its beautiful beach, its original wine called Manzanilla, its tasty shrimps, its charming people, and its nice weather.
Since I was in high school, I became passionate in the field of education, especially to the literature and language areas. In 2004 I graduated in English Linguistics and Literatures from the University of Seville, Seville. Encouraged by some professors to study overseas and explore the passion of my field (issues in bilingualism), I was granted a scholarship for my graduate studies at the University of Missouri. Upon the completion of my master’s degree in 2006, I applied for doctoral studies at the University of Florida. Since then, I have been working primarily in second language acquisition (under the supervision of Dr. Gillian Lord) and language variation and change (under the supervision of Dr. Jessi Aaron).
As to my work experience during my undergraduate studies, I tutored in Spanish to exchange students from the US for CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) Program at the Applied Language Institute. Besides, for my last two years (2002 – 2004) in Seville, I was the program assistant (under the direction of Dr. Jane Arnold) in the Department of English Linguistics. In the University of Missouri, I also received a lecturer position to teach intermediate Spanish at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Since last fall 2006, I have been working as a teaching assistant in Spanish at the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures in the University of Florida. Additionally, I teach Spanish during summer semesters in the Study Abroad Program CCCS (The Center for Cross-Cultural Study), Seville, Spain. Currently I am teaching Spanish at the intermediate level under the direction of Dr. Gillian Lord.
Apart from the academic and professional facets, for 3 years now I have been sharing my life with a bright, adoring, and marvellous person: Carmen. Above all, she represents my muse in the entire sense of my life and is, as her name signifies, the recreation of a poem. Together we spend our time jogging, listening to rock and pop music, as well as that of particular singer-songwriters, watching European films, reading literature (especially, that flourished as a linguistic, social or political commitment), cooking Spanish cuisine, and working towards our doctoral studies at the University of Florida.
My name is Francisco Salgado-Robles and I am a second-year PhD student in the program of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. About me, let me tell you that I was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz (Andalucía, Spain) –a very well-known city for its beautiful beach, its original wine called Manzanilla, its tasty shrimps, its charming people, and its nice weather.
Since I was in high school, I became passionate in the field of education, especially to the literature and language areas. In 2004 I graduated in English Linguistics and Literatures from the University of Seville, Seville. Encouraged by some professors to study overseas and explore the passion of my field (issues in bilingualism), I was granted a scholarship for my graduate studies at the University of Missouri. Upon the completion of my master’s degree in 2006, I applied for doctoral studies at the University of Florida. Since then, I have been working primarily in second language acquisition (under the supervision of Dr. Gillian Lord) and language variation and change (under the supervision of Dr. Jessi Aaron).
As to my work experience during my undergraduate studies, I tutored in Spanish to exchange students from the US for CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) Program at the Applied Language Institute. Besides, for my last two years (2002 – 2004) in Seville, I was the program assistant (under the direction of Dr. Jane Arnold) in the Department of English Linguistics. In the University of Missouri, I also received a lecturer position to teach intermediate Spanish at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Since last fall 2006, I have been working as a teaching assistant in Spanish at the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures in the University of Florida. Additionally, I teach Spanish during summer semesters in the Study Abroad Program CCCS (The Center for Cross-Cultural Study), Seville, Spain. Currently I am teaching Spanish at the intermediate level under the direction of Dr. Gillian Lord.
Apart from the academic and professional facets, for 3 years now I have been sharing my life with a bright, adoring, and marvellous person: Carmen. Above all, she represents my muse in the entire sense of my life and is, as her name signifies, the recreation of a poem. Together we spend our time jogging, listening to rock and pop music, as well as that of particular singer-songwriters, watching European films, reading literature (especially, that flourished as a linguistic, social or political commitment), cooking Spanish cuisine, and working towards our doctoral studies at the University of Florida.
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