ELTWeekly Issue#30 Contents
By Tarun Patel
- Video #1: The Ideas of Chomsky-BBC interview (part-1)
- Video #2: The Ideas of Chomsky-BBC interview (part-2)
- Article: Passionate Writing Assignments That Motivate Language Learners
- Free eBook: Equal Opportunity and Diversity: The Handbook for Teachers of English
- Book of the Week: ESL Active Learning Lessons
- Research Paper: English Language Teaching in Rural Area
- Research Paper: An Exploratory Outlook in the Use of Vocabulary Notebook
- Feedback.
August 22nd, 2009
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Article: Passionate Writing Assignments That Motivate Language Learners
By Tarun Patel
More Passionate Writing Assignments That Motivate Language Learners
Even Ernest Hemingway Had to Learn to Write
We said in the first article of this series that there are no native writers of English or any other foreign language for that matter. Each of us, no matter what our first language is, must learn to write in a clear, logical manner that promotes easier reading. Even the legendary Ernest Hemingway had to “learn” to write. And so it is with our foreign language learners. So here in the second article of this series, we’ll continue with some passionate writing assignments which will motivate our English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners to strut their stuff on paper or the keyboard and screen without undue concern for “correctness” that might inhibit the free flow of words and ideas.
1. Compiling of Specialized Lists
How about writing a list, and then of course, expounding in detail on its content? It can be a list of anything (almost) that motivates your learners. From the “Ten Best” discos, restaurants, boutiques, bars, movies, sports cars, game web sites, video games or videos, hot entertainers or whatever else, you can derive a writing assignment piece which allows you to really “strut your stuff”, so to speak. Doing so thereby produces a worthwhile piece of writing far and above the usual “dreck” that passes for essays and compositions these days. The language learners need only to choose their topic, draft their “list”, then detail the elements of each list item to the best of their knowledge and abilities. And finally “Voila!”, a paper you can read without your soul filling with tears – or worse.
2. Help and Advice or Answers to Peer Topic Questions
How about inviting your language learners to write an “answer” to a common or at least plausible situation question? You know, kind of a “Dear Abbey” type of question and detailed answer response to the question, situation or problem. Producers turn this kind of drabble into soap operas that make millions.
“You see, there’s this really cute guy in my English class who I like but he’s kinda seeing this other girl who I can’t stand – but my best friend told me that he said he was going to quit that girl, so I’m thinking, what should I do to…?” (Remember to break for a commercial right before all the “juicy” parts)
3. Relevant Link Lists
Are your language learners internet or video game addicts? Well then, it’s highly likely they can easily come up with a list of links or websites useful to them and their “passion”. So let them! Allow them to create a list, then detail each item on it. They could compare the links, contrast them or illustrate any variety of relationships between the links they’ve chosen to write about. How did they find them? How often do they use or visit? Why? Ask for and expect details – and the unexpected. As long as it’s not a list of best porno sites of whatever, you should get some good really interesting results for this writing assignment. Just remember to set some “ground rules” for the writing and topics. If your language learners are anything at all like mine are, you’ll be glad you did!
Passionate Writing Assignment Ideas That Are Coming Up
Okay, so we’ll wrap it up for this second article of the series now. In the next installment of “Motivate Your Language Learners with These Passionate Writing Assignment Ideas“, we continue once again with some Task-Based-Learning writing ideas to keep the words and ideas flowing from the pens, pencils or computer (or even typewriter) keyboards of your English as a Foreign Language learners. If your language learners like watching videos, playing video games or enjoy one or more of a score of other performing arts, then you’ll be “in the clover” when using our upcoming writing assignment ideas. See you then.
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ELTWeekly Issue#30, Quote of the week
By Tarun Patel
“I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.”
- - One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Worldwide ELT events
By Tarun Patel
ELT in India Today and Tomorrow, Udaipur, India, November 5-6-7
The First International EFL ESL Conference will be held at in Udaipur in November 2009.
The aim of this conference is to bring together EFL practitioners from across the Globe to exchange views on a wide range of issues in ELT EFL ESL practice and research. Through this exchange, it is hoped that participants will gain better insights into the world of ELT EFL ESL and the challenges it faces. The Department of English, Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur is the primary host. The Rajasthan Association of English Studies, India TESOL and Asian EFL Journal are proud to co-host this inaugural special event .
Keynote speakers will include:-
- Prof. Z.N. Patil
- Professor S. N. Joshi
- Professor R. P. Bhatnagar
- Dr. Paul Robertson
- Prof. Phyllis Chew
- Prof. Rod Ellis
Over 90 other presenters will present papers and workshops
Proposals (up to 350 words) for 30 minute presentations should be related to research and practice into EFL ESL teaching and the teaching of ESL EFL in Asian contexts or with Asian students. Papers are invited:-
Suggested topics are but not limited to:-
- The changing face of ELT in India
- Indian Englishes
- Cultural impact of teaching EFL students
- Teaching English in India
- Teaching teachers to teach EFL students
- Teaching English grammar to other EFL nations
- Workshops
- Poster sessions
Abstracts in English should be sent to asianefl@gmail.com by 31st September 2009 and should include the following information:
- Author’s full name and title.
- Author’s affiliation and address.
- E-mail contact address.
- Title of the paper
- Abstract (up to 350 words)
Notification of acceptance will be given from August 31st onwards until all speakers positions (110) are filled.
A Conference Proceedings edition will be published in early 2010 and for this purpose full papers should be submitted by October 30th 2009 to
asianefl@gmail.com
Enquiries concerning the conference should be directed to Dr. Robertson asianefl@gmail.com
Fees:
- Conference participation:
- Local presenters. 1,000 Indian Rupee
- International Speakers fees. U.S. $150
- Attendance 500 Rupees. Indian
- Attendance non India U.S.$60.00
- Membership in TESOL India (250 Rupees’s)
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Call-for-Papers-India-2009.php
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2009 ACTFL ANNUAL CONVENTION AND WORLD LANGUAGES EXPO, San Diego, California, November 20-22
Theme: Speaking Up for Languages… The Power of Many Voices
The Annual Convention and World Languages Expo of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) will be held Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, 2009 in San Diego, CA with Pre-Convention Workshops scheduled on Thursday, November 19. The ACTFL Convention features over 500 educational sessions and events covering the whole spectrum of the foreign language profession. The entire selection of sessions is designed to provide attendees with an exciting array of sessions and events to further their knowledge and help them be better teachers or administrators. We welcome you to submit a proposal for consideration. When you login, please read carefully the Submission Guidelines before proceeding to complete your online submission.
The convention draws approximately 6,000 attendees and is the only national event bringing together all languages, levels and assignments within the profession. Please note: Presenters whose proposals are selected for presentation MUST be available to present any day during the Convention.
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://convention3.allacademic.com/one/actfl/actfl09/index.php?cmd=actfl09&id
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3rd Biennial International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching, Lancaster University, 13-16 September
The first international TBLT conference was hosted in 2005 at the University of Leuven in Belgium and the second international conference on TBLT was hosted in 2007 at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. As in the two previous conferences, we look forward to bringing together researchers and educators from around the world to share and learn from one another’s innovations and research in task-based language teaching.
Plenary Speakers
- Geoff Brindley (Macquarie University, Australia)
- Zoltán Dörnyei (University of Nottingham, UK)
- Bernard Mohan (University of British Columbia, Canada)
- Lourdes Ortega (University of Hawaii, USA)
Featured Colloquia
Convenors and colloquium themes:
- Folkert Kuiken & Ineke Vedder (University of Amsterdam) Theme: Tasks across the modalities
- Alison Mackey (Georgetown University, US): Theme: Tasks and the interaction hypothesis
- Virginia Samuda (Lancaster University, UK): Theme: Teachers’ uses of tasks in the classroom
The conference will be held in the university’s well-equipped conference suite. The nearby city of Lancaster has a distinguished historic castle and boasts several jewels of Georgian architecture. It is within 30 minutes of the Lake District, beloved of walkers, fell runners, rock climbers, painters, poets and writers. The campus is also close to a spectacular coastline stretching from Glasson Dock, a couple of miles away, through Morecambe Bay to the coast of the Southern Lakes, and also lies within easy reach of the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales.
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/events/tblt2009/index.htm
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Free eBook: Equal Opportunity and Diversity: The Handbook for Teachers of English
By Tarun Patel
Equal Opportunity and Diversity: The Handbook for Teachers of English
This 96-page handbook has been produced for English teachers, by English teachers. It provides you with good practical advice and ideas on how to become more aware and integrate aspects of equal opportunity and diversity into your work.
The book is a showcase of best practice from a variety of teaching contexts around the world, where colleagues have successfully embedded equality and diversity in English language teaching.
This ebook is available to download in the pdf format. There are also adult, secondary and primary learner materials available to download.
To download the ebook and other materials for free, visit this link: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/books/equalopportunities-diversity-handbook
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Book of the Week: ESL Active Learning Lessons
By Tarun Patel
ESL Active Learning Lessons: 15 Complete Content-Based Units to Reinforce Language Skills and Concepts
by Imogene Forte
Book Description
ESL Active Learning Lessons\nThis book offers an invaluable resource for English as a Second Language teachers. Each unit provides practice and reinforcement in the use of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Vocabulary will develop as students acquire basic content, concepts, and skills related to a variety of fundamental subjects. Topics covered include: The Human Body, Following Directions, Fruits, Insects, Animals, Money, Measurement, Signs, Plants, Cafeteria, Safety, Weather, and Transportation. 144 pages. \nGrade Level: All\n \n
Book Details
- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Incentive Publications (January 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0865304734
- ISBN-13: 978-0865304734
- Price: $10.87
Children: this is a good working manual for an elementary teacher, it has vocabulary, and things to do, but I bought it to round out an order ($$$ free shipping) thinking I might find some stufff to use but so far I have not. No reflection on the authors, for what it is it is good. I teach in Brazil. adults. and this is pretty useless for me, but for kids I would say it is fine. Big print, simple vocabulary words. Diagrams, pictures, good stuff. Not past age 12 I would say.
I just used the first lesson from this book. The reproducibles were fun and easy for my 3 refugee ESL teenagers to work with. I like it when the worksheets make my job easy.
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Video #1: The Ideas of Chomsky-BBC interview (part-1)
By Tarun Patel
This is a very early and also very interesting interview with Noam Chomsky regarding his Linguistic work published at the time.
The last part contains a discussion of his political views regarding the Vietnam war and Libertarian Socialism.
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Video #2: The Ideas of Chomsky-BBC interview (part-2)
By Tarun Patel
Here’s the second part of BBC’s interview with Noam Chomsky regarding his Linguistic work published at the time.
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Research Paper: English Language Teaching in Rural Area
By Tarun Patel
English Language Teaching in Rural Area
by Nutan Yadav, Lecturer Govt. College, Nalwa(Hisar) Haryana
Teaching of English over ages
Even after 40 to 50 years of teaching of English, learners in India lack competence in this language. The teaching of English in India at all three levels i.e. primary, secondary &tertiary level is still fraught with a multitude of difficulties &obstacles. Realizing the demand &importance of English, in almost all the states of India, English is taught as a compulsory language &from the very first standard, even then the outcome is unsatisfactory. Here I am not questioning on the intelligibility of our learners, they are intelligent enough as showing good result in other subjects, but feel uncomfortable with English language &those who show excellent result, is totally based on cramming &rote learning.
Reasons are many. I am channeling some to portrait a picture how English is being taught in India basically in Haryana where I belong to. When a child enters in school at primary level, he is taught English language as a subject not a language. Stress remains on formation of alphabets not on speaking or listening. To enhance vocabulary they are forced to crème a long list of words. When these learners enters at secondary level they are competent enough in writing & understanding English language but this is cramming based not on creativity At tertiary level situation becomes more pathetic
Apart from a lack of instructional resources-a general problem in a numbers of developing countries -many more has often been the bane of the Indian education system. Class size is most often very large comprising with a wide range of initial proficiency &learning needs. Over centralization of educational policies, academic inflexibility of the system not only stifle innovative &pragmatic deviation but also create a flow with the current, pacifistic resignation among resourceful &well motivated educator. Teachers have very little to say in designing the curriculum, choosing the materials &textbooks or developing assessment technique. The only assessment that matters is the year end examination &students typically study forint by cramming answers to likely questions. Such questions &answers can be readily found in guidebooks or crib schools for which there has been a flourishing market, or the answers are abstracted from notes dictated by teachers in classes. Some students especially the ones from vernacular medium schools, insists that they find the study guides more useful on tests &exams than the class room instructions or studying their text books.
The English was introduced in colonies like India basically for the study of the literature and culture, the market value for literally study has gone down steeply in the present day world. English for professional purposes like facing interviews, writing resumes, writing reports, conduction campaigns, writing letters, participation in meetings, seminars, conferences and discussions is demanded; English for communication is the mantra everywhere. English literature which was once centering of the cultural enterprise of the empire has lost its hold on English as a technology-oriented communicative tool. But unfortunately the university system of India is not sensitive to the changing needs of the society outside. Departments in English in Universities and colleges have not cashed in on the changes that are taking place in the world. When the outside world is using English for international and intercultural communication and technology purpose, universities and college in India still follow the Macaulayan syllabus and teach texts like The Spanish Tragedy (16th Century) Everyman in His Humour (1596) The Alchemist (1610) or some ancient texts that neither the teachers nor the students understand or are interested in. What shall we say? Is a tragical or comical?
Overall English teaching situation is not much different from what it was 40 years ago. A very few teachers can fully understand or mentally related to what they teach or even wax eloquent about. A cursory examination of the literary college students reveals that they are still studying many of the same authors popular in post colonial time : Oscar Wilde, H. G. Wells , Somerset Maugham, O’ Henry, A G. Gardner, Milton, Shakespeare, Shelley and so on. The randomly chosen questions from some of the recent university examination demonstrate how English syllabi are still dominated by selections from literary classics universally taught in the days of yore.
1. What is Shelley’s message in his Ode to the West Wind?
2. How does Emily Dickenson present death?
3. Justify the title Great Expectations?
Both Ramanathan (1999) and Lukmani (1992) comments that
” … the content of the literature based text books is often unrelated to the lives and experiences of the students studying them , resulting in ‘ students ‘ feeling of cultural dissonance between themselves and the topics portrait in the literature [and ] feelings of alienation from text with overly western theme”.
( Ramanathan page 225 )
The lake of any significant changes in the English language curricula, teaching methodology, examination system, persistence of the Herculean task of teaching English in very large classes is truly saddening. The overall picture in the post modern India of today seems hardly any different from the post colonial yesterday. There seems to be three strands of student in higher education sector.
1. A majority of students graduate regional – language – medium school with some books or rote knowledge, but little communicative ability in English. They then enter English medium institution of higher education and struggle with varying degrees of success to cope with the English language requirement of higher education.. Most managed to develop English largely formulaic and cliché – ridden, to meet the English related demands of their education and of the career they have been forced to choose.
2. A small segment, having graduated from English medium school (in Indian jargon “convent schools or expansive public schools ” ) enter in colleges with a glib fluency in English and enjoy an initial advantage as well as some social power over their peer group. Most of these students have acquired their English proficiency at the cost of alienation from their native language and culture &to dissociate themselves from their native language is even a matter of perverse pleasure &social self importance for some of them.
3. As for the much large group of students from regional language schools who enroll in colleges where all subjects are taught in the regional language &where English is only one of the subjects, they can &often do, go through college with very little use of English & end up pursuing career which requires only a minimal use of the language.
Teaching in rural area
Rural students are very much affected by this diseased ELT system. There is great mismatch between urban &rural students. Urban students somehow manage to learn &use English quite well in the context in which the language is used in India in spite of this deconstructing English language teaching. They are third generation learner having spot &co-operation from parents, environment &atmosphere. But rural students are first generation learner who takes English as foster language &through out life not able to cope with it in spite of their best efforts. However they might be able to write as per requirement but speaking remains out of their range. They learn without knowing what they are learning. Linguistic research says this is why a feeling of backwardness itself embosses among these learners. Most students find it difficult to understand the substance of the prescribed literary selection. The typical method of teaching consists of the teachers reading of the text in the small portion, explaining its meaning &allusions &figure of speech in simplified English or in regional language &an occasional discussion of grammar points with a question or throw in. The teaching is rarely student centered &most students have neither the chance nor the motivation to actively participate. English is taught as an academic subject ¬ as a medium or mode of active, constructive communicational intellectualization.
Many other factors make the learning of ELT more diverse in rural area
- Rural students are deprived of technology as enjoyed by urban or university students. Lack of technology, books &other things become an obstacle in their learning process. In urban colleges there are language labs, computers, LCD projector, CD players’ tape recorders, microphones &many more instruments that create an atmosphere of learning but in rural areas they lake even classrooms for proper teaching &the proper supply of electricity. . If somehow some colleges manage to get, they do not have regular staff for maintenance. More over teachers are not so competent to handle these instruments as they don’t have any such training.
- At the name of audio visual they have only chalk &blackboard, centuries old method of teaching. No doubt a teacher can teach more effectively &creatively with chalk &duster as research says but with such a big class of hundred to one fifty students she/he feels him/her self handicap.
- Haryana Government has started EDUSET with Soft Skill program to provide an atmosphere of learning English &communication skills but all these effort are fruitless until &unless something innovative should be done in class room teaching.
- Rural students do not get the opportunity to interact with other renowned personality or peer groups The other reason is that other subjects are taught in Hindi or in vernacular languages. So like other subjects, students take English as a subject not a language. They don’t put their effort to learn it as a language. The problem is not with tertiary level but from the primary &secondary level. The fact is that the roots are rotten. That’s way so many policies are made but all are failure. A teacher has to use mother tongue to make them understand. A language teacher is well aware that their students bring to the language classroom a variety of attitude, experiences &strategies as well as variety of beliefs &he/she has to handle them. But he/she feels him/her self helpless without teaching aids. He ultimately has to adopt translation method to handle this unwilling crowd.
Mother tongue influence can also be seen in the students with rural area background because they were not given proper pronunciation drill from the primary level. So what ever they speak, vernacular effect can be observed very easily. For e.g. School-/sku:l/ Book /bu:k/ Student /setu:dent/ etc. At tertiary level it’s impossible to correct these learners
In ELT we wish to train our students
1. To hear & understand English
2. To speak in the language & be understood
3. To read in the language& understand what they read
4. To write in the language &to understand.
The four aims of teaching English correspond to four language skills or language ability. These are Listing, Reading, Speaking &writing
The purpose of all language teaching is communication in the language being taught whether receptive oral (Listening), productive oral (speech) receptive written (reading) &productive written (writing). These four skills are the foundation on which language learning is built. If this foundation is strong, then the structure erected on this will be safe &useful. These language skills are to be developed in sequential order. These are interdependent in the sense that failure to acquire one will lead to a general failure in learning the language.
But the curriculum at tertiary level in Indian does not develop these skills. More over the method by which this syllabus is being taught, don’t develop these skills in students in sequential order. In our classroom teaching stress remains on writing as our evaluation system is writing based. Whatever students write in their annual exam is the assessment of their whole year learning. Our classroom teaching only enhance our students listening ability as the maximum time is spent in teacher’s lectures and students participation remain almost zero. Maximum teachers adopt translation method so students do not have the drill of listening, speaking, writing and reading as teachers use vernacular language considering the level of learner.
One can not fail to notice that the advantages &the power inherent in English literacy are enjoyed primarily by the urban middle &upper class& remain inaccessible to those who are educationally disadvantaged because of their economic situation.
Atkinson 1999, who has also studied this situation in India ,observed that students from rural area are typically excluded from the kind of access to enjoyed by their urban social-middle class counterpart; consequently, they are in effect, denied important benefits of English known students. These students who are not sufficiently literate in English are essentially unable to participate in a number of domains such as global business. English proficiency &access to English may also be a strong factor in the polarization between urban &rural communities. It’s not that students from rural area don’t realize the importance of knowing English. As Krishnaswami and Sriraman(1994) point out
“Indian students’ have figured out that knowing English opens up opportunities not only for pan-Indian mobility, but also for more lucrative &satisfying careers overseas.”
College students when interviewed were well aware that knowledge of English can help them gain access to educational opportunities &careers abroad in English speaking countries.
No doubt urban students also have same syllabus, methods of teaching and evaluation system but they manage somehow by parental support, extra classes and with their peer group but rural students are not able to cop with them and that’s why they remain backward. This curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation system have negative effect on students and that’s why they don’t attract towards this language as they are not able to grasp with it.
Suggestions
No doubt there’re lots of drawbacks in our present education system. It is not in tune with current scenario Even then we cannot be stand still. System of teaching can not change overnight. Hard work is the requirement of time. Teacher’s positive attitude & their use of innovative method of teaching can provide a reliable bridge to the process of learning English in rural area. Taking in consideration the learning background of the learner, if a teacher designs his/her method & she may get in implemented more successfully.
Ø Modern requirement seems to get satisfied by following the learner centered approach which view language learning acquisition as a process of acquiring skills rather than a body of knowledge.
Here teacher is a facilitator -a person who manages the environment &material which will help the students becomes autonomous learner.
A learner centered approach facilitates learning through techniques involving in activities. A learner has to be given some mind engaging task. This allow greater peer interaction, which is more effective in acquiring features of information use in language; which are often not available in a formal teacher centered class. This generates the ability to manipulate language in social context which is an important feature of communicative competence. .
English teachers can not confine themselves with centuries old translation methods or text books they themselves have to be very creative to save the degrading standard of ELT in India. This we can do by adopting situational method of teaching. In the way learner get involve &they do not feel bore. For example
Ø To improve student’s vocabulary we can ask them same sounding words as Mat, Rat, Cat, Pat, Bat, and Hat etc.
Reward, Award, Sword etc.
Hut, Cut, But, Nut, etc
Ø With in groups we can ask them to tell the words related to classroom, hospital, Post office, Bank, Kitchen, etc.
Ø Fill the blanks as
N o_ o _ n
N o _ u_ n
Ø Certain games as
Marks
Group A Group B
3 4
4 3
5 1
2 2
| C | U | P | ||
| L | A | U | G | H |
| E | T | P |
There are many more ways.
Ø Same sounding words but different meaning as
Allusion , illusion, accepted, excepted, Our Hour, very, vary etc
Ø In spite of telling word to word meaning to the literary part prescribed in the text book teacher can involve learners in certain activities related to it. As dividing the class in four groups’ one group may be asked to collect information about writer, other to about the period when it was written, third to write summary &the last one to compile the matter of all three groups & prepare a presentation.
Ø While teaching stories a can write difficult words on the blackboard &describe them when they come in the context .Later on teacher can ask learners to narrator same story in past time or in future later on teacher may highlight nouns, pronoun adjective ,adverbs etc. in the same story.
Ø Time to time a teacher may give small tests to the students based on all four drills as speaking, listening, reading, writing, as project works ,reciting competition, spelling competition. For e.g. Rat, Telephone, Enough, House, Examination, Nation, Number etc.
Ø English language can be divided in different sections as poetry, prose, communication English, grammar phonetics etc. each teacher may be asked for about his/her interest before giving him the section to teach. A teacher can do justices if he is interested in the matter &more over if have mastery in it because teaching English is skill based not knowledge based. Here purpose is to hone four skills of the language not providing the learner knowledge about the language.
Ø Again an English language teacher has to be innovative &be receptive to adopt new technology or method to make the teaching process effective. It is clear that computer can not be the supplant of the language teacher but the role of language teacher has been changed &they have to transform themselves to meet the challenges at global level. They can not confine themselves with centuries old translation methods or text books they themselves have to be very creative to save the degrading standard of ELT in India &particularly in Haryana.
Conclusion
In order to bring revaluation in English language teaching, reoriented program &updated knowledge is the requirement of time. More &more technology should be used while teaching language to create the interest of students. Teaching of English has to be views as mastering of language skills ¬ as a portion to be covered.
Works Cited
Dash, Neena. Teaching English as an additional language : Atlantic Publication
Sheorey Ravi. Learning and teaching English in India : Saga Publication, New Delhi.
Krishnaswamy, D., Krishnaswamy, Lalitha. The story of English in India : Foundation Books
Ellis, Rad. Understanding Second Language Acquisition : Oxford University Press.
Gupta, R. S. English in India , Issues and Problem : Academic Foundation
Stern, H. H. Fundamental Concept of Language Teaching : Oxford University Press.
P. G. Certificate Course Material from the English and the Foreign Language University, Hyderabad.
Stevick. W. Earl, Teaching and Learning Language : Cambridge Publication
Gatenby : English Language as a Foreign Language : London Publication.
ELTWeekly Issue#30, Research Paper: An Exploratory Outlook in the Use of Vocabulary Notebook
By Tarun Patel
An Exploratory Outlook in the Use of Vocabulary Notebook
by P.Dasharatham, V.Sudhakar Rao, Dr.V.Srinivas and K.Yugandhar
Teaching learning vocabulary is a major concern in ESL class. Role of learners and their involvement is the crux in acquiring the word power in English language. Vocabulary notebooks play a vital role in promoting vocabulary acquisition besides learner autonomy. After the use of language laboratory for teaching learning language skills, several studies showed evidence for the effectiveness of vocabulary instruction on computers. Prominent scholars like Lyman-Hager, Davis , Burnett, & Chennault computerized reading and non-computerized reading. Computerized readers consult printed glosses drawn directly from the computer program. The results showed that the students who worked with the multimedia program were able to obtain significantly better scores than the non-computerized readers. Both readers need several resources for learning vocabulary such as concordance, dictionary, cloze-builder, hypertext, and a database with interactive self-quizzing feature, to facilitate learners’ deep processing. The participants are encouraged to insert vocabulary information (e.g., example sentences, parts of speech, and definitions) on a collaborative on-line word bank by themselves, and the gain of their vocabulary knowledge is examined in a posttest. What ever may be the mode of learning vocabulary the learners need to follow his / her own learning style to improve the usage of words. observed vocabulary acquisition under two conditions:
Vocabulary notebooks play a major role in feedback functions, automatic scoring, through multiple-choice items, fill-in-the-blank items, and cloze passages to check learners’ progresses of vocabulary knowledge. These activities are effectively used by learners to compensate for the limited contact time in class and to enhance individual vocabulary learning. From cognitive psychology, the principles of ease of perception (information must be easy to receive), differences (difference and changes attract and maintain attention), and position of information (position of information affects our attention to and perception of it) are employed to vocabulary learning (Alessi & Trollip, 2001). All of the three principles indicate that the presentations of important instructional points should be noticeable so that learners are able to gain information in an effective way. In the field of Second Language Acquisition, these principles are closely related to the Noticing Hypothesis proposed by Schmidt. This hypothesis places emphasis on learners’ selective attention on input during instruction, and it is claimed that learners must consciously notice forms as well as meaning in the input in order for the acquisition to take place. The input during learning teaching are documented in the notebook for memory and ready reference later. The matter arranged in the book is also arranged in the minds of the learners and can be used for their communicative needs.
Organization of Learning Materials in Vocabulary Notebook
Organization of the material in vocabulary notebook is done in three stages. In the first stage, the basic aspects of vocabulary knowledge, such as a target word, word segments, pronunciations, word class, and synonyms and antonyms, example sentences with translations, are organizeded by the learners. The content of the first stage were presented in two sections, which became a place for learners to familiarize themselves with the target word and to obtain detailed vocabulary knowledge. The second stage is a place to practise and to try out the vocabulary knowledge obtained in the previous stage, which is created based on the active learning principle from cognitive psychology. In order to facilitate learners’ active learning and deep cognitive processing, two types of activities are incorporated in the second section: (a) spelling practice and (b) practice questions with feedback. In the second activity (practice questions), three types of questions are further integrated: (a) question of meaning, (b) question of grammar, and (c) question of spelling. The information that the learners provided in the second stage are stored in log files as process data. The first two stages are consecutively presented to learners, based on the belief that all the aspects of a word should be learned at once. After understanding the content of a word in the first stage and practising and testing the newly obtained vocabulary knowledge in the second stage, the learners are directed to the final conformation pages for main meanings of the word in the third stage. The main purpose of this stage is to reconfirm the newly learned word before proceeding to the next new word.
Incidental and Systematic Vocabulary Learning
In the first stage, basic aspects of vocabulary knowledge, such as a target word, word segments, pronunciations, word class, and synonyms and antonyms, example sentences with translations, are provided to the participants. However, the method of presenting the content differed in the two materials. The acquisition of vocabulary for native speakers able to acquire lexical items “incidentally” as they encounter them in speech or writing of other people. Here “incidental” means that people are able to learn vocabulary in a natural manner through reading or listening without being told to focus on the vocabulary in the input.
The incidental vocabulary learning is the dominant way of acquiring vocabulary knowledge for native speakers. On the other hand, the process of incidental vocabulary learning has been found to be weaker for language learners in several research studies. Hulstjin & Laufer conducted a study to investigate the vocabulary retention rates in the order of three different tasks. They found that vocabulary retention was highest in a composition task, lower in a reading fill-in task, and lowest in a reading task. Laufer also tested incidental vocabulary learning in reading with Jewish, Arabic, and Russian learners of English, and concluded that the vocabulary retention of the reading group was significantly worse than those of the composition group and the sentence writing group. Moreover, Paribakht & Wesche investigated learners’ reading process using introspective and retrospective think-aloud methods, and found that learners tended to ignore a large portion of the unknown words appeared in reading texts. These three studies clearly suggest the difficulty of incidental vocabulary learning for language learners. Regarding a possible reason for this phenomenon, Ghadirian and Kitajima stated the difficulty of guessing or inferring word meanings from reading texts, and argued that contextual information does not necessarily guarantee vocabulary learning for second language learners. Vocabulary notebook provides opportunities to remember the incidents related to the newly acquired words. This helps learners to convert passive vocabulary into active vocabulary.
Contrary to these three studies that showed ineffectiveness of reading tasks for vocabulary learning, there are several L2 studies that reported significant results on incidental vocabulary learning. However, the retention rates of incidental vocabulary learning is obtained through the effective use of vocabulary notebook.
Various Learning Styles during Vocabulary Acquisition
Over the last few decades, more than twenty learning styles have been identified and there seem to be three main categories: (a) cognitive, (b) physical (sensory), and (c) affective. While keeping vocabulary notebooks, the following features or elements are preferred in these learning styles:
Analytic vs. global. The first pair of cognitive learning styles is the global and analytic learning style dichotomy. Analytical learners focus more on details, logical analysis and contrasts, while global learners focus on the key points without being anxious about detailed concepts, enjoy guessing meanings, and communicating. In addition, analytic learners are distinct to obtain information more effectively individually, prefer setting their own goals, respond to a step-by-step presentation of materials, while global learners were distinct to learn more effectively through concrete experience and by interaction with other people.
Regarding global learners, Felder (1993) and Felder and Henriques (1995) also mentioned that they take in information in unconnected (non-linear) fragments, achieve understanding in large holistic leaps, and grasp the total picture before understanding. In the field of educational psychology, more detailed explanation of these learning styles have been described. In an empirical study that investigated the influence of gender and age on learning styles, Le Cornu (1999) argued that analytic learners are the people who take a step-by-step approach by moving to the next topic when the first is mastered, who utilize a critical reasoning which involves analyses and questioning, who look for logic and use structure information, and who seek to identify contrast features by forming and using specific hypotheses. Global learners, on the other hand, are defined as the people who quickly seek to establish a frame of reference, who have a wide focus of attention, and who seek to understand the topic as a whole, aiming to build the overall picture from the start.
Field dependence vs. field independence. The next dichotomy in the cognitive learning styles is field independence and field dependence (FI/FD), which are defined as the degree of ability to separate insignificant details from significant details. In general
learners classified as FI have ability to overcome the embedding context of a field and to perceive certain parts of the field as discrete from the surroundings. Learners classified as FD are, on the other hand, influenced by the field elements and complexity of surrounding area, and are not able to isolate key factors in the field easily. In addition, Oxford and Skehan mentioned that FI learners select analytic-based and logic-based learning strategies, and that FD learners are sensitive to the social context and prefer auditory learning that involves social interaction. Brown also noted that FI learners are generally more independent, competitive, and self-confident, while FD learners tend to be
more socialized and more empathic, and be perceptive of feelings and thoughts of other people. Reid also described both FI and FD learners in a similar manner.
Reid defined FI learners as the people who learn effectively step by step, or sequentially, beginning with analyzing facts and proceeding to ideas, and described FD learners as the people who learn more effectively in contexts, holistically, intuitively, and who are especially sensitive to human relationships and interactions. Regarding the use of visual effects and field dependency, Chapelle argued that FI learners have the ability to disembed or restructure visual stimuli. Worley and Moore also stated that FI learners adapt to all types of visual presentation better than FD learners. In an empirical study that investigated the effect of color-coding (black-and white and color materials), Dwyer and Moore found that FI learners outperformed FD learners in receiving color-coded structures, and concluded that color-coding illustrations apparently provided an insufficient structures for FD learners.
Reflective vs. impulsive. The last cognitive learning style dichotomy is reflective and impulsive, which are also described as systematic and intuitive, or concrete-sequential and intuitive-random. Reid described reflective learners as the people who learn more effectively when they have time to consider options before responding, and impulsive learners as the people who respond immediately and take risks. Jamieson, in an empirical study that investigated the relationship between cognitive styles and ESL success, also described these learning styles, and mentioned that reflective learners are more concerned with accuracy when responding and take more time to reach a decision, while impulsive learners tend to reach decisions and report them immediately with little concern for accuracy. Brown explained that reflective learners tend to make all the considerations in problem solving with extensive reflection, while impulsive
learners make a number of different gambles on the basis of their hunches. In addition, Carrell and Monroe described reflective learners as the people who pay close attention to step-by-step task requirements, and impulsive learners as the people who focus on futuristic possibilities, general concepts, abstract thinking.
Visual vs. auditory. The next learning style dichotomy, visual and auditory learning styles, belongs to sensory learning styles. There are, however, three other main sensory learning styles that have been identified in the literature: (a) kinesthetic, (b) tactile, and (c) haptic. Aa kinesthetic person is defined as a learner who learns more effectively though touch (hands-on), a tactile person as a learner who learns more effectively through body experience, and a haptic learners as a person who has both kinesthetic and tactile modalities. Learners with these learning styles use the notebooks with their ways of learning. However, every learner cannot restrict to only one / particular style of learning and all ways are interrelated and interdependent.
According to Reid, visual learners in general learn more effectively though the eyes (seeing), and auditory learners learn more effectively though the ears (hearing). More specifically, Reid added some characteristics of the two learning styles. For visual learners, reading, studying charts, seeing words, instead of listening to them, taking notes, and learning alone, were identified. For auditory learners, hearing words, reading aloud, listening to oral explanation, hearing audio tapes, lectures, and class discussion, and conversing with others were listed. In a similar manner, Brown argued that visual learners prefer reading and studying charts, drawings, and other graphic information, and that auditory learners prefer listening to lectures and audiotapes. Felder and Henriques also pointed out learning methods through visual means (books, video, movies, lists, diagrams, and manuals) for visual learners, and learning methods though discussions, spoken presentation, debates, audio tapes, role plays, lectures, and meeting for auditory learners. In addition to these features, Ehrman and Oxford mentioned that visual learners prefer a quiet place and like to work alone, and Kinsella added social and collaborative characteristics for auditory learners. Both the learners find comfort in improving their vocabulary with the effective use of the notebooks.
Thus, vocabulary notebooks enable the learners feel the responsibility for their own learning. The notebooks also are the reflections of the teacher’s guidance in improving the learners’ vocabulary. No two notebooks at the end of the academic year are the same, as they reflect the variations in acquisition of vocabulary by different learners.
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