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)

Providing Feedback for ESL Writing

In providing feedback for writing assignments, it makes sense to me to focus on more general aspects of writing (content, main points) in the first draft and more specific aspects (structure, and eventually forms) in subsequent drafts. As an instructor, I believe that it is important to not do all of the editing on a student’s writing drafts. I think that it would be valuable to point out the areas where improvement is needed without giving all of the answers.

For this reason, the idea of using question-form feedback (from the article by Chiu and Sauvignon) appeals to me as something that I may use when commenting on ESL writing drafts. According to the study discussed in the article, there was a high incidence of revisions when question-form feedback was given. I think that allowing the student to reflect on where and why improvement is needed will facilitate independent learning, increase student accountability in subsequent drafts, and eventually result in improvement in future writing samples. I also think that the use of the highlighting feature in MS Word will be a valuable tool when dealing with online learning.

Question(s):
When do you think it would be useful to edit a draft more thoroughly, i.e. provide 'corrections' instead of 'guidance'?

Podcast #1: Using Music in the ESL Classroom

Bill and Sabah's ESL Teaching Tips, Episode #1

Our podcast contains some suggestions of how to use music in the ESL classroom. Using music in the classroom can make learning fun while using an authentic listening input. In our podcast, we talk about some of the activities that an instructor can design to address not only listening comprehension, but also grammar, vocabulary, reading, and speaking.

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 stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, during-listening, and post-listening.
2. We recommend sequencing the during-listening activities from general to more specific comprehension tasks.
3. When using music as a listening input, we recommended a song length of 2-3 minutes in order to guarantee 3-5 listens during a lesson.

Link to Podcast:
http://billharris.podbean.com/bill-and-sabahs-esl-teaching-tips-episode-1/

Useful Links:

http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-3/music.htm

http://www.caslt.org/resources/english-sl/classroom-resource-links-music-teaching2_en.php

http://www.lingolex.com/userpages/music.html

Using Voicethread as a CALL Tool

Now that I have looked at some Voicethread examples to see how it is used, I think that it could be a useful CALL tool. I also believe that it has some limitations.

I like that students can respond to a posted video file, photo, or sound file on their own time and at their own pace, as Voicethread is an asynchronous CALL tool. I would consider using Voicethread in an ESL classroom by assigning audio/text posts as homework. Perhaps, the students could respond to a photo/video that is related to the previous class discussion, allowing for an opportunity for additional vocabulary practice (and, hopefully, more of a likelihood of vocabulary retention). In the audio supplement to a photo or video, I would pose questions geared towards fluency practice. I probably would not use Voicethread for accuracy-based activities.

Using Videos in Language Instruction

From a Student's Perspective
I watched a Spanish instruction video on food-related phrases. The following link will take you to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWO09ayQ0Gg&feature=fvw.

Although the video was useful, I did not find it to be very engaging. But, from the perspective of a student, I found the video to be helpful for vocabulary and pronunciation practice. The instructor said each word in English and then in Spanish. She repeated the Spanish word twice more, more clearly and slowly than the first time. As the instructor said a word in Spanish, the text of the word appeared on the video. A student could rewind the video if he/she needed to hear or see a word again, allowing for independent learning and self-pacing.

From an Instructor's Perspective
I found this video on the top five things to do in Chicago:
http://www.5min.com/Video/Things-To-Do-in-Chicago-112628012

I envision using this video (and others like it) as part of a lesson on Chicago landmarks. This video is rather short, but I think that it could be useful for an introduction to another activity, such as having the each student research and report on a Chicago landmark. The video gives quick descriptions of five landmarks, and the students could use the video as a model for their own presentations.

Question(s):
1. What is your opinion of the Spanish language instruction video?
2. As an instructor, how would you use videos in a language lesson?