Using Wiki Tools in the ESL Classroom

I think that using the Wiki format in an ESL classroom has both advantages and shortcomings. Depending on the types of information that are to be posted using this collaborative format, a Wiki tool could be useful. For example, the Wiki format would be great for students to compile a list of useful website links, create a student-generated vocabulary list. This format would also be useful for editing writing drafts.

One of the shortcomings of using the Wiki format is that a contributor may upload incorrect information or delete information that is correct and/or important to the overall wiki entry. I think that if the instructor is able to somehow monitor the uploaded material as well as who is uploading it, then the issue may be somewhat resolved.


Question(s):
Would you use a Wiki-based activity in an ESL classroom? Why or why not?

Computer-Mediated Communication

The incorporation of computer-mediated communication (CMC) activities into an ESL classroom has advantages and limitations. One of the advantages, particularly of using CALL tools that facilitate synchronous communication, is the opportunity for students to practice fluency in their communication.

According to Pellettieri, it is important for a CMC activity to be goal-oriented. The use of computer-mediated communication in a class can easily become an unstructured 'chatting' activity. This issue may be resolved by the assignment of a task that must be accomplished during the CMC activity.

There are a few things that an instructor must take into account when designing CMC activities: the task itself, the grammatical focus, difficulty, relevance, and authenticity.

Project Proposal (Bill Harris and Sabah Khan)

Bill and Sabah's ESL Teaching Tips: Project Proposal

The intended audience of the instructional activities is a four-skills English for Academic Purposes class. The intended level is intermediate.

The purpose of the instructional activities is to review and reinforce comparative and superlative structure formation through practice and production of these structures.

We plan to incorporate two CALL tools into our lesson. As one of the practice activities, we would be using a self-monitored multiple-choice activity, such as the following website:
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/compsup2.html. We also plan to incorporate YouTube into the lesson as part of a production activity, in which each of the students will be recorded while giving a presentation comparing/contrasting two local restaurants. There will be a minimum requirement of comparative and superlative structures that will have to be used in each presentation. Once the recorded video clips have been uploaded to YouTube, the videos could be used for teacher-to-student and student-to-student feedback in the form of comments posted under each video. The site will be set to 'private' so that the videos will only be accessible to students in that class.

We believe that the CALL tools that we have selected will enhance language acquisition for the targeted students. The online practice activity will give students the opportunity to self-monitor their understanding of comparatives and superlatives, promoting independent learning and consciousness raising of their own mastery of their ability to form the structures. The YouTube activity will give students (and the instructor) the opportunity to provide feedback about the students' use of the structures as well as any additional errors that they might encounter, all in an asynchronous manner.


The lesson will follow the following sequence (for two 2-hour class sessions):
DAY 1
1. Warm-up activity
2. Schema activation
3. Paired practice activity
4. Online practice activity (As described above)
5. Debriefing session
6. Explanation of presentation with model (Check, Please! clip on YouTube)
7. Preparation for recorded presentations
8. Record presentations

DAY 2
1. Warm-up activity
2. View presentations as a class
3. Students' and instructors' comments to be posted individually on computers as presentations are viewed as a class
4. Debriefing/feedback session


Links to sites that we will be using:
Comparative/Superlative Online Multiple-Choice Exercise
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/compsup2.html
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com

Podcast #2: ESL Reading Lessons

Bill and Sabah's ESL Teaching Tips, Episode #2

Our podcast contains some suggestions of how to conduct an ESL reading lesson. We will provide activity ideas to help students to improve their reading comprehension skills. We hope that you find our podcast helpful.

The intended audience is ESL instructors, but we welcome all listeners.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when listening to the podcast:
1. In the podcast, we talk about activity ideas for all three stages of a reading lesson: pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading.
2. We recommend sequencing the during-reading activities from general to more specific comprehension tasks.
3. In order to guarantee 3-5 during-reading comprehension activities, we recommend using an authentic reading text of 1-2 pages.

Link to Podcast:
http://billharris.podbean.com/bill-and-sabahs-esl-podcast-2-reading/


Useful Links:
http://esl-programs-lessons.suite101.com/article.cfm/improving_esl_reading_skills (pre-reading)

http://departments.weber.edu/teachall/reading/prereading.html (pre-reading academic)

http://legacy.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/reading.html (reading activities)

http://iteslj.org/Lessons/ (more reading activities)

http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/bl_baker2.htm (sample lesson plan with pre-, during, and post-reading activities)

http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm (copyright laws and education)