Thursday, 17 May 2012
Task 3 : Web based Lesson Plan
I have integrated Malaysia Airline website in the lesson for students to learn reading and information seeking skills. This is the link to my lesson plan
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Assignment 2 - Article Review
Title : Enhancing
Opportunities for Language Use Through Web-Based Social Networking.
Authors : Imran Ho-Abdullah,
Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Azhar Jaludin and Rosnani Ismail.
Summary
The aims of this study are to understand the usage of
web-based social networking in providing opportunity for English as a second
language (ESL) students to use the language, and to reflect ad improve their
practice with a view that web-based social networking can enhance students’
interaction.
This study is an action research in which they
observed the participants interaction and learn from them in order to improve
their practice in teaching language. The participants had to interact in a
Facebook group which is known as English Speaking Zone (ESZ) group. The
entries, the interactions and comments for ten consecutive months from July
2009 to April 2010 on Facebook ESZ group are analyzed. The analysis was based
on the interaction between the moderator and and the learners and among the
learners with their peers. Then they selected 20 participants randomly to be
interviewed. The interview was conducted to measure the interaction
The participants involved in this research were
students staying in a residential college at University Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM).
The finding shows that the interaction, which was
measured by number of posts in ESZ group in Facebook, differ according to
different phases of the use of the technology.
Discussion
1.
This research is very interesting as it studies the
interaction between adult learners, which are college learners rather than
school learners as I could identify with them. What makes it even more interesting is that
the fact that it involves learning language through Facebook, a social
networking site that is part of everyone’s life.
I cannot decide whether it is well conducted or not,
but based on my reading, it seems that the report is not clear. One thing leads
to confusion is the interview. The researchers mention that after the Facebook
interactions, 20 subjects were selected randomly for an interview. The
interview described was more like a measurement of subjects’ confidence in
interacting in English. However, in the finding, the result of the interview
does not discuss the confidence level in speaking, but the feedback from the subjects
towards the betterment of the implementation of the learning group. So based on
the finding, things that could be improved is that the researchers should conduct
a speaking test, maybe a group discussion test to measure the confidence in
speaking as the level of confidence may differ as the participants would not be
that anxious when they are expressing their thoughts on screen. Confidence
level in interactions is really subjective according to the individual
personality, and that personality itself might differ online and on
face-to-face basis. So it is understood that it cannot be measured through the
comments and feedback on the Facebook group.
Besides, the direction of this research can be much
better if the researchers regarded interaction as tow-way communication, not
just in written form but spoken as well. It is comprehended that the
interactions being observed was in written form – the wall post and comments,
but not the spoken. The researcher could also encourage them to post a video of
themselves commenting on an issue, or the popular term right now is vlogging
(video blogging). Besides vlogging, to ease the anxious level, they could have
had video conferences to make full use of learning via social networking sites.
Another part which is not mentioned in the research is
the content and the context of the discussion. The researchers state that
during the second phase of the research, the participants developed
indifference towards the use of the Facebook group to interact. The lesser
interactions could be resulted from topics that the participants are not
interested with and which they have no schemata of. Therefore, it is important
for the researchers to select topics that are suitable for discussion. The
researcher could also include links to educational offline resources for the
participants to maximize the learning. It is also noted that interaction on the
Facebook group cannot be the only platform for the participants to practice interacting
effectively. So any helpful links that can be accessed offline can be a
motivation booster for the participants to improve.
3
From the research, it can be concluded that social networking
site can be a medium for learning languages. So as a future teacher, who will
be dealing with teenagers, or also known as the Generation Y, whose socially
interactive in the internet, it is advisable that we explore and make full use
of easy access to those social networking sites for learning and teaching
purposes. This platform of learning however needs to be guided and observed
regularly to avoid the misuse of the learning site. Teacher’s role is as a
moderator who encourages and gives chance for each student to participate and
interact. Besides, teacher should also treat the virtual class as in the normal
class in terms of language used and the type of feedback given to the students,
as it is visible to others and to avoid humiliation to any party.
Reference
Ho-Abdullah, I., Saliza, H. R., Jaludin, A., & Ismail, R.
(2011). Enhancing opportunities for Language Use Trough Web-Based Social
Networking. IACSIT Press, Singapore , 136-139.
www.ipedr.com/vol5/no1/29-H00075.pdf
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