ELTWeekly Issue#20, Research paper: Semiotic Approach and Its Contributions to English Language Learning and Teaching
By Tarun Patel
Semiotic Approach and Its Contributions to English Language Learning and Teaching
By Sert, Olcay
Abstract
Semiotics is a progressing and promising discipline with its applications in many fields of study. As a bridge between semiotics and foreign language teaching (FLT), educational semiotics has started to attract attention of many scholars, English Language Teaching (ELT) instructors and teachers all over the world. It is obvious that the consideration of semiotic approach in FLT has promising results and may lead to long-term success in learning a foreign language with its applicable and pertinent techniques that are learner-centered. In this article, basic terminology of semiotics and its possible applications to foreign language learning settings are introduced in order to help teachers of English to have a heightened awareness of the semiotic approach.
Throughout the paper, it is claimed that the consideration of the semiotic signs of the target culture in teaching a foreign language is vital, since a language cannot be separated from its culture. (Contains 4 figures.)
[Abstract and title are provided in English and Turkish. Extended abstract provided by Uzun Ingilizce Ozet.]
Download the full paper in pdf format by visiting http://www.eric.ed.gov
June 6th, 2009
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Article: English through Personal Development
By Tarun Patel
English through Personal Development
By Michael Berman
Mike Solly in the April 2008 edition of the EL Gazette wrote “It is my belief that global issues and questions of identity start from “I” and “who I am”, and what I have called English through Personal Development or ETPD is very much about these questions – making them the starting point of our approach to teaching rather than something that might get dealt with by accident in class.
For many of us life is spent searching for something that we never seem able to find. The reason for this can perhaps be found in the following Sufi tale. It can be used for teaching ETPD with a pre-intermediate level class:
The Key
A drunk is searching for something on the ground under a street lamp. A friend sees him there and asks him what he is doing. “I’m looking for my key,” the drunk says. The friend helps him search but half an hour later they still have not found the key. The friend asks, “Are you sure you lost it here?” “No,” replies the drunk, “I lost it inside my house.” “Then why are you looking here?” – “Because the light is here” was his answer.
Choose a suitable moral for the tale. If none of the suggestions below appeal to you, then find one of your own:
- Many hands make light work (English)
- One dog barks because it sees something; a hundred dogs bark because they heard the first dog bark. (Chinese)
- Eyes can see everything except themselves. (Serbo-Croatian)
- A candle lights others but consumes itself. (English)
- Do not look for apples under a poplar tree. (Slovakian)
- A needle wrapped in a rag will be found in the end. (Vietnamese)
Now work with a partner and tell each other what you are looking for in life and what you are doing to make sure you find it:
***
“The ultimate goal of the educational process is to give learners autonomy and help the become independent and creative while using their second language, by improving and bettering themselves and thus adding value to the communities they live in. Therefore, striking a balance between the business-oriented approach and the humane one is essential, to my mind, in our knowledge driven society in the twenty-first century” Pascariu, R. (2009) ‘Personalisation in teaching – from think big to think small’. In IATEFL Voices January-February 2009 Issue 206
What Roxana does here is to help to explain just why it is that ETPD is so important. For by working on improving and bettering ourselves, we not only add value to the communities we live in, but also to society as a whole.
About Michael Berman
Michael Berman BA, MPhil, PhD, works as a teacher and a writer. Publications include A Multiple Intelligences Road to an ELT Classroom and The Power of Metaphor for Crown House, and The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story for Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Shamanic Journeys through Daghestan and Shamanic Journeys through the Caucasus are both due to be published in paperback by O-Books in 2009. A long-awaited resource book for teachers on storytelling, In a Faraway Land, will be coming out in 2010. Michael has been involved in teaching and teacher training for over thirty years, has given presentations at Conferences in more than twenty countries, and hopes to have the opportunity to visit many more yet. For more information please visit www.Thestoryteller.org.uk.
*ELTWeekly would like to thank Michael Berman for contributing this article.
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Research Article: Is Information Technology the Right Way to Teach Business Studies?
By Tarun Patel
Is Information Technology the Right Way to Teach Business Studies? – A project Undertaken in the Private Business Schools
Dr. Bhavna Mashru(Ph.D,)
The objective was to prepare and present reports, examining the use of Information Technologies in Business Studies. Along with the major objective there were some minor ones related to the development of communication and language skills of the students by becoming familiar with the partner country and its specificities in the sphere of history, the social and geographical development, its lifestyle and culture.
The first stage of the project included:
Explaining the aims and tasks of the project to the students, teachers and parents. Discussions among the teacher staff and organization of a parents’ meeting, dedicated to the project.
Preparation staff meeting under the project at the beginning of November, 2004 in the colleges of the Porbandar District. The representatives of the two parties specified the parameters of the exchange of students from the two countries.
Elaborating the criteria of assessment and selection of the students who would participate in the exchange. A most democratic principle was applied , that everybody had the right to apply, but the commission would choose those 20 students who would show the best results at the English examination( the topics had been given in advance) ,and Informatics (on the basis of an assignment elaborated).Added to this was the average mark in the Business subjects studies and the teachers’ appraisal of the applicant’s behaviour.
Preliminary language preparation of all students with an emphasis on the vocabulary connected with the problems of IT and business. This preparation was carried out mainly in the Business English lessons as well as in all classes of the subjects taught in English, namely Business Communications.
Establishing contacts with the English partner institution and collecting information about it and the subject chosen to be the topic of the project.. All students, by using Internet, had the opportunity to learn a lot about Colleges of the Porbandar District, organization of the teaching process there. Furthermore, some English classes were spared for the translation of the most interesting brochures, leaflets and folders about the college and the landmarks of Porbandar.
The exchange of students was carried out in two stages:
The first stage was the visit of the English students and teachers. Seventeen students and two teachers from V.R. Godhaniya College paid a visit to T.N. Rao Private Business School from 9th February to 22nd February, 2005. There was a provisional schedule made, which was approved by the English party and later on fully implemented. It included attendance at some classes, collaborative work in the computer lab, visits to Indian business establishments, doing sports, entertainments and excursions together. The Director of T.N. Rao Private Business School gave a talk on the educational system of India. A number of educational and social events took place, enabling not only the educational aspect of the exchange to be fulfilled but also that cultural similarities and differences be ascertained. There was excellent participation by students and staff throughout the visit. The students from 1st year B.Com class made a presentation of their training firm, . A presentation entitled Computer Models and Business Games, and the film on the real use of this method in the Finance Management classes, aroused great interest. A representative of Socrates Programme, attended some of the project activities and witnessed the interaction of the students and their participation when discussing specific topics. The linguistic aim of the project was successfully fulfilled at this first stage – the students from V.R. Godhania college learnt words and conversational phrases from the Rajkot students, and their peers had the opportunity to practice and extend their English vocabulary. One of the business visits was paid to the Rajkot United Bank. There a representative of the bank delivered a lecture on the use of Information technologies in the bank system of India. Then the students were shown round the bank, they talked to the experts and were given some advertising souvenirs. The English students collected a bulk of material for their reports under the project.
The second stage of the exchange was the visit of the Rajkot T.N. Rao students to V.R.Godhania College. The group to take part in the exchange was composed according to the requirements of the programme – 20 students including 10 boys and 10 girls, 4 teachers from the school – 2 women and 2 men. The duration of the stay was 14 day (13 nights) covering the period of time from 2nd to14th April, 2005. During the exchange time the student groups kept on collecting materials on the topic of the use of Information technologies in Business Studies. The subject of investigation was mainly the teaching process in Business Schools as an organization, active methods and forms of training. The learning environment in the college as a totality of modern teaching facilities, efficient methods of training, and numerous staff and financial capacity, was the source of rich impressions and a good basis to make analysis and conclusions on the topic .The students enhanced not only their knowledge but also initiated propositions to carry over the positive experience to the T.N. Rao Business school. An example proposition was to work out a communication portal of teachers and students in Private Business Schools. The everyday communication in English further extended the language knowledge and skills of the Rajkot students, they even learnt some local dialect. Divided into groups of four, the students were collecting facts and information necessary for their reports on concrete topics: similarities and differences in the educational systems in Rajkot. Information technologies in Business Studies in Rajkot Colleges and culture of IIMS , They used a diversity of methods such as observation, examination of literature sources and Internet information, inquiry, interview, modelling. The programme envisaging cultural events and excursions to the nearby towns in the region, a friendly dinner together and discotheque, was fulfilled with great enthusiasm.
As a result a DVD containing students’ elaborations under the project was made. Rajkot Based Private Business School was upgraded on which was made a separate link for the project where one could see in detail the exchange of students and the presentations under the project. There are also many photographs from the visit to Rajkot.
The students presented the process and the results of their work under the project on a special student conference. It took place on 16th of June, 2005.
Working on the project contributed to the development of the students’ professional skills in the field of Information technologies and the presentation of the products, designing the website; skills to communicate in English, to work in a team and make decisions, to assume responsibility; an ambition for better performance; tolerance and respect to the individual. The students learnt a lot of new things in the field of Information technologies, Business Studies and the different computer programmes used in the process of teaching. They extended their knowledge in the English language, especially their vocabulary, and learnt a bit about the specific way of speaking in some regions of England.
The experience gained under the project will contribin Physics, Geoute to the updating of the teaching methods used. There are already proposals by the teachers, Accounting, and even in Business Language and Literature to have their classes in the computer lab in order to make use of the technical means there. The participation in the project and especially the realization of the exchange of students is definitely a step forward for our school in respect to the higher level of training and coming up to the European standards. When comparing with their English peers, our students felt a justified confidence both with respect to their preparedness and work on the assignments they had, and their already shaped culture of conduct. The benefit from the contacts is really significant, but still more encouraging is the ambition to put into practice everything new and useful that was learnt during the work together. This will inevitably have an impact on the formation of the personality of the young Students of IIMs, the future full member of the Indian Community.
The project was highly evaluated by the people involved in it, and who became aware of the benefits from it. First, these are the students who gained confidence and accumulated knowledge and skills. Second, the teachers, who had the opportunity to learn some new modern methods of teaching and to see the effect of the work on the project in the results shown by the students, especially in the sphere of Informatics, Business Studies and the English language. A representative of theirs was present at two of the most important stages and expressed a very high evaluation. Very high, too, was the evaluation of the parents who witnessed the professional development of their children and the formation of exceptionally important personable qualities in hem such as a sense of responsibility, the skill to work in a team, the ambition to manifest and perfect themselves. We received a very high assessment by many university lecturers who are members of the State Examination Commission in Theory and Practice of the Speciality.
Project Coordinator: Dr. Bhavna Mashru
Commerce & IT College, Porbandar
Address: 1, Bhojeshwar Plot, Porbandar
Telephone: 9428438118
Fax: 931 18 99
e-mail: bctd@mail.orbitel.bg.
* ELTWeekly would like to thank Dr. Bhavna Mashru for contributing this research article.
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Article: Making writing interactive
By Tarun Patel
Making writing interactive
By Alex Case
1. Collaborative writing
Getting students to write together automatically means there is interaction between them. Possible problems when doing this include: the stronger or more dominant student having the pen and the others doing nothing, students doing all their speaking in L1 and only writing in English, students and groups who concentrate too much on accuracy, and some groups taking much longer than others. Solutions include giving the pen to any students not taking part, telling them to switch who is physically writing it every paragraph or every 3 to 5 minutes, giving them an English language plan or sentence cues that the writing will be based on, and giving them a strict time limit for each stage of the writing process. Students might also complain that writing together is slower and more difficult than writing on their own. Two possible responses are to tell them that the language they learn from each other will make the extra time and effort worthwhile, or allowing them to split the work up once they have planned what they are going to write, e.g. writing alternate paragraphs.
2. Being read afterwards
Another general tip for making writing interactive is to make sure someone is reading it afterwards -and of course things that we write in real life are usually read by someone else. Telling students that their writing will be read by other students should instantly raise their motivation to write and write well, and getting them used to this will raise their interest in writing and help them to learn from reading other people’s work. Basic techniques include passing the writing to the next person or group (e.g. clockwise around the class), swapping with another person or group, picking randomly from a stack of pieces of writing, reading writing that is pinned up on the walls, or selecting from texts spread across the table. Things people can do as they read include deciding if they agree with the opinions stated, thinking about what their reaction would be if they received that letter etc, or looking for similarities and differences with their own piece of writing.
Read the remaining 13 ways here http://edition.tefl.net/ideas/writing-ideas/making-writing-interactive/
Alex Case has been a teacher, teacher trainer, Director of Studies, ELT writer and editor in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, Japan, UK and now Korea, and writes TEFLtastic blog (www.tefl.net/alexcase)
*ELTWeekly would like to thankAlex Case for contributing this article.
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Worldwide ELT events
By Tarun Patel
The Handheld Learning Conference, October 5-7, London
The Handheld Learning Conference is the world’s leading event about learning using mobile and inexpensive access technologies, attended by more than 1,500 international delegates.
Lead speakers for 2009 include:
- Malcolm McLaren, Agent provocateur and artist
- James Paul Gee, Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University
- Professor Elizabeth Hayes, Arizona State University
- Gordon Shukwit, Director of IT and Learning Technologies, Apple Inc
- John Davitt, International Learning Advocate, NewTools.org
- Tim Brighouse, Former Commissioner for London Schools
- Donald Clark, e-Learning Expert
- David Cavallo, Chief Learning Architect, MIT OLPC
- Tim Rylands, Teacher & Innovator
With many others soon to be announced.
Now in its fifth year the event has become the largest of it’s kind; bringing together thought leaders, innovators, practitioners, developers, policy and decision makers from the education, technology and entertainment sectors.
Over 3 stimulating days this group will demonstrate, debate and explore how mobile technologies such as phones, entertainment devices, GPS locators, and netbooks can be deployed to enable transformational improvements in learning across schools, home, further education, training and business.
This year’s theme is “Creativity, Innovation, Inclusion & Transformation” recognising that 2009 is the European year of creativity and innovation, and the value these elements have to learning, whilst identifying that real transformation will only occur following universal inclusion e.g. Home Access.
As always the conference will stage an excellent mix of inspirational talks from leading thinkers and practitioners, lively interactive debates, learners and practitioner showcases, special interest breakouts, networking and social sessions, plus an exhibition featuring the principle industry leaders.
Delegates will:
- Exchange ideas and learn about best practice
- Expand their professional network
- Debate new thinking on learning and teaching using low cost access technologies
- Review evidence of improved learner attainment
- Participate in the creation of a valuable online resource for policy makers, education professionals and the public
- Gain a clear understanding of how to positively embrace current and emerging technologies within their strategies for teaching and learning.
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.handheldlearning2009.com/
International Conference on Applied Linguistics, September 26-27, Tehran, Iran
The International Conference on Applied Linguistics: Developments, Challenges, and Promises will be held in Tehran ’s ( Iran ) Milad Tower Conference Hall on September 26-27, 2009. The conference aims at exploring some vital issues in applied linguistics that have shaped, and are still shaping the identity of the profession. Applied linguists from across the globe are invited to contribute to a lively debate that would include ideas from some of the prominent figures of the field.
Different themes will be explored in the course of the two-day conference: applied linguistics and its definitions; globalization and its impact on ELT; applied linguistics and English as the world’s lingua franca; post method era and teacher qualifications; research debates in applied linguistics ….
The keynote speakers for the conference are (alphabetically arranged):
- Professor Guy Cook, The Open University, London
- Professor Hossein Farhady, American University of Armenia
- Professor Alastair Pennycook, University of Technology, Sydney
- Professor Barbara Seidlhofer, University of Vienna
- Professor Henry Widdowson, University of Vienna
Pre-conference workshop (September 25):
Alternative assessment: Dr. Chirstine Coombe, Higher College of Technology, UAE
The deadline for abstract submission is June 14, 2009. Notification of acceptance will be sent by July 10. Early registration deadline is August 5; all the participants whose papers have been accepted must register before the deadline.
To submit an abstract, please visit the conference website at: www.appliedlinguistics.ir
For any queries, please contact Ramin Akbari at akbari_ram@yahoo.com.
Research Into Teaching with Whole class Interactive Technologies (RITWIT), June 29-30, Cambridge
The conference focuses on research into the pedagogy underlying use of innovative tools such as interactive whiteboards, visualisers, tablet PCs, remote input devices, voting systems, etc. How does their use facilitate or inhibit more effective whole class teaching and learning at school level? What are the implications for teacher development and educational policy?
The conference is for educational researchers, practitioners at all levels of experience (student teachers to senior leaders), teacher educators, advisers and consultants, inspectors and policymakers. Non-presenting delegates are very welcome.
Aims:
- To exchange ideas, debate and explore issues arising in depth; to illuminate some of the key challenges facing researchers, practitioners, school leaders and policymakers in this area
- To disseminate research findings and take stock of how use of whole class technologies have facilitated / inhibited teaching and learning
- To move forward our collective thinking in this area; to develop a future research agenda and ideas for improving practice
- To compare practice in different settings and countries and to set up national / internationalresearch and writing collaborations.
- Pedagogy and classroom activity
- Developing practice
- Learning from other settings
Mal Lee, Director of Schools Networking Consortium and Managing Director of EdDirect, Australia, will offer an international perspective on the challenges facing practitioners, school leaders and policymakers in integrating whole class interactive technologies.
Niel McLean, Executive Director – Institutional Workforce and Development & Learning and Teaching, Becta.
Karen Littleton, Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, is our Conference Discussant and will lead a session pulling together emerging themes and issues for subsequent discussion by all participants.
Sylvia Rojas-Drummond is unfortunately no longer able to join us as she has been asked to lead a major evaluation of an elementary school curriculum review in Mexico which will now occupy all of her time over the coming months.
See their profiles and abstracts on the Keynote Speakers page.
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/events/conferences/ritwit/
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Video of the week: Anecdotes in the ELT classroom
By Tarun Patel
The authors of the Inside Out coursebooks talk about the use of Anecdotes for speaking practice in the ELT classroom. For more information see www.insideout.net or www.macmillanenglish.com.
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Book of the week: Teaching English Language Learners
By Tarun Patel
Teaching English Language Learners: Content and Language in Middle and Secondary Mainstream Classrooms
By Michaela Wyman Colombo and Dana Furbush
Book Details
- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc (November 12, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1412959659
- ISBN-13: 978-1412959650
- Price: $38.65
Book Description
‘Teaching English Language Learners: Content and Language in Middle and Secondary Mainstream Classrooms‘ provides a reader-friendly guide to implementing and assessing high-level, content-area instruction for English Language Learners. Beginning with an overview of second language acquisition and the cultural variables that impact teaching and learning, authors Michaela Colombo and Dana Furbush go on to detail planning strategies, units and lessons. Practical in nature, this text focuses on the areas where it is often most difficult to make content comprehensible and build academic language skills: middle and secondary math, English language arts, history, and science.
‘Teaching English Language Learners‘ will provide pre- and in-service teachers with a foundational understanding of how to purposefully structure, build, and present effective lessons for English language learners in mainstream, content-area courses.
Key Features
- Includes an entire chapter on differentiating summative assessments for varying levels of English language proficiency, showing readers how to plan daily lessons with clear objectives and assessments
- Provides sample lessons from content-area experts in each chapter of Part II, along with mini lessons specifically dedicated to building language
- Incorporates “Review, Reflect, Apply” activities in each chapter promoting reader reflection, journaling, and discussion; and encouraging students to stop and check for understanding before proceeding
‘Teaching English Language Learners: Content and Language in Middle and Secondary Mainstream Classrooms‘ is appropriate for courses entitled English Language Learners in Secondary Classrooms, Methods of Sheltered Content Instruction, Content-Based ESL, Teaching and Assessing ELL in Content Areas, and ESL for Mainstream Teachers.
About the Authors
Dana Furbush has been a teacher of English Language Learners since 2002. During this time she has focused on curriculum and instruction for middle school English Language Learners and mainstream content-area teachers. Ms Furbush draws upon her experience with English Language Learners in mainstream classrooms to plan and implement professional development for mainstream teachers throughout the Methuen Public Schools. She is also adjunct instructor for Cambridge College, where she teaches Enhancing English Language Learning in Elementary Classrooms, a course designed to prepare mainstream content-area teachers with an understanding of language acquisition, cultural diversity, and inclusion- model education. Ms Furbush has authored and co-authored several professional development guides for mainstream teachers in the Methuen Public Schools, including The English Language Learner Rubric and Professional Guide and How Do You Say.., a Spanish-English guide to quick notes home to parents. In addition to her experience and training in the field of second language acquisition and professional development for mainstream teachers of English Language Learners, Dana Furbush brings to this publication her day-to-day experiences working in the schools with content-area middle-school teachers
Michaela Colombo has been involved in the field of Educating English Language Learners for nearly 20 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Leadership in Schooling program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she teaches Methods of Sheltered Content Instruction. Prior to accepting a full-time position at the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Colombo worked for five years as Supervisor of the English Language Acquisition Program for the Methuen, Massachusetts Public Schools. Here, she drew upon her background as a bilingual education and ESL teacher to plan and implement professional development for mainstream teachers and supervise teachers of English Language Learners. Dr. Colombo is an active member of the Massachusetts Department of Education’s English Language Learners/Bilingual Education Advisory Council. Her dissertation, which was recognized as semi-finalist for best dissertation by the National Association of Bilingual Education, investigated the effectiveness of professional development for mainstream teachers of Latino students. Dr. Colombo has presented professional development for mainstream teachers of English Language Learners at national and state conferences. She is the author of several related papers, which are highlighted in her vitae. Recently her paper, Preparing Mainstream Teachers to Work Effectively with English Language Learners was awarded best paper at the New England Educational Research Organization (NEERO) and will be featured in a Distinguished Papers Session at the 2007 American Educational Research Association.