Week 10: Trends in computer-based second language assessment (Jamieson, 2005)

The first thing came into my mind when I hear computer-based second language assessment was TOEFL, so my reflection about Jamieson’s article is mostly related to this test.  First, this article described the changes in computer-based language assessment and mentioned some effectiveness of computer-based assessment such as less time needed for testing, faster score and authentic contents. One statement caught my attention was that ‘an added benefit of a computer-adaptive test is that theoretically test-takers are given items that are well-suited to their abilities, thus making the test both more interesting and a more accurate measure’ (p.230). Since this statement is introduced in a safe way with the word ‘theoretically,’ I cannot help myself to say that this theory- ‘well-suited’ test items will make test more interesting and accurate is just a theory.  Even though such computer-based assessment offers authentic tasks and test reflects the changed perspective toward language, using computer itself seems not authentic and test is still remained as not interesting.  What makes test more authentic? Contents? Tasks?  

The first time that I had taken TOEFL was about 7 years ago and the latest time was about 1 year ago. Comparing those two tests, what surprised me was that I only recognized few differences in test contents and items. Even though I used the same book that I studied 7 years ago to prepare the latest test, there was no such a huge gap between them and I hadn’t faced to any difficulties while taking the test.  Improving test format, contents and tasks costs a lot. However, I had never felt that this test is highly related to real language learning situation and never interesting. I had never forced to complete 500-700 writing within about 20 minutes after reading short passage and listening short lecture in real life. Then what is this for? Where this task is considered as authentic?

Week 9: YOU'RE NOT STUDYING, YOU'RE JUST...

week 8: GIVING A VIRTUAL VOICE TO THE SILENT LANGUAGE OF CULTURE: THE CULTURA PROJECT (Furstenberg et al., 2001)

The Cultura project that was used in this research seems very interesting and useful to teach (or learn) language along with culture. One thing that students can get an advantage from using Cultura is that they compare and analyzed two different cultures through languages. Not only they can learn about other cultures, they also practice and get in-depth knowledge about target languages. According to the article, it says that “students themselves gradually construct an understanding of the subject matter, at the intersection of language, communication, and culture.” L2 learners are not just learning about other cultures, but they utilize their target languages to communicate each other and understand different perspectives in using languages.

Language teachers try to bring culture into classroom and put lots of efforts to construct effective teaching methods. We all understand how important it is to understand culture in language learning. However, as the article stated, these cultural aspects are essentially elusive, abstract, and invisible; it is hard to make them visible, accessible and understandable.” In this matter, Cultura did a great job. The results showed that learners are able to construct their own approaches to the attitudes, values and concepts which underpin the ‘other’ culture. (Furstenberg  et al., 2001).

Ever since we had an access to World Wide Web and the advance of Web 2.0, it is no longer a problem to communicate with people who live in other countries and share different ideas, views and cultures. Learning language is a part of learning culture. Language possesses lots of things about one’s culture as it embraces idea, belief, perspectives and attitudes. Cultura seems a great way to encourage learners to discover their own view and at the same time to understand other views toward language use and it shows how technology can be effectively used for language learning.

Part 2: Using different writing programs to write collaborate

Writing together through blog and wiki seems great tools to work together; however, as we talked in class discussion, writing together is not always a better idea than writing individually. When I do editing other’s writing work during our lab session, I thought it would be better to have specific instruction or guideline about how to give advice on it. Since I am not used to comments about other’s writing, I was kind of lost which part I have to touch first. However, it was a great exercise for me and I think it would be great opportunity to language learners to recognize grammatical errors and writing skills. 

Week7: Blogging and L2 writing- what is so special about blogging? (Lee, 2010 & Sun, 2010)

  About 10 years ago, my second language writing experience was that writing daily journals and essays about specific topics. Sometimes I used email to learn business English. Those writing works were only available for me and my teacher; I never shared my writings to peers or other students. Corrections were only made by teachers and once I received them, I had never looked them again.
  Most second language learners are afraid of making mistakes and those mistakes to be open to other learners except teachers. Well, since peer review wasn't that common 10 years ago, only teachers can see and correct learners' errors. Writing in public space with limited second language wasn't easy for beginners or intermediate level learners. In addition, even though we know that writing regularly is very helpful to improve writing skill, it requires sufficient efforts and motivation.
  Since social networking became so popular, and expressing ourselves through social network tools became common, writing seems a part of our lives and became easy; we can write anything we want and share our thoughts with others. In second language learning, using blog for writing practice seems to have lots of advantages in many aspects.

  Some effectiveness that were introduced in Lee's (2010) and Sun's (2010) articles were following:
- reflective writing through self- expression (Lee, 2010)
- interactive exchange through social networking (Lee, 2010)
- increasing motivation to write for a broad audience (Lee, 2010)
- promote participants’ autonomous monitoring of their own writing ( sun, 2010)

  Both articles found that regularly creating blog posts has positive impact on learners' writing fluency and  helps learners to gain confidence in their writing and to develop their own approaches that suit their personal writing styles (Lee, 2010). Learners may become more comfortable with writing in their second language as they write more on their own blog, and this actually makes L2 writing more authentic activity.
  Interactive exchange made through social networking would be beneficial if learners focus on specific language aspects and be aware of the differences between their writing and other's. Last week, we talked about how to use different tools to teach and learn L2 grammar, and blog was included in one of those tools. Since writing is also closely related to grammar, learners may have benefits from having blog which is a archive of their writing.
  Even though blogging was a requirement for our class, I felt some differences in my writing every week. Writing became much easier (even though I still feel some limitation) and allows me think more deeply. As a English second language learner, I am personally enjoying writing blog posts about class readings and reflecting myself through writing.

Week 6: Approaches to second language vocabulary learning ( Godwin-Jones, 2010)

Learning vocabulary can be easy or difficult depends on how and what you learn. The old-fashioned and quite direct way of learning vocabulary that Godwin- Jones article mentioned was memorizing a list of words repeatedly. This method is quite useful for short term retention, however, there should be something more than just memorizing. During our last class, Dr. Chun said that to acquire a new word, at least seven times that word needs to be recognized and used by learners. This fact insists that just memorizing is not the key of learning vocabulary. It takes time to fully acquire new vocabulary and to use them in other context. More importantly, we never use 'words' independently; words are always existed as a part of sentence. Memorizing a list of words never tell us how the words are used in different contexts with different meanings or connotations. The importance of understanding the usage of vocabulary in sentence and context led educators to emphasize learning vocabulary through reading.  A lot of programs and vocabulary tools that were introduced in Godwin- Jones article seems quite useful to store new vocabularies that learners would like to revisit later. Games and activities related to vocabulary learning also allow learners to be exposed to the target words repeatedly and link them to the context. Multimedia and pictures are also good resources to learn vocabularies.

One example that I found from my english school with elementary students were quite impressive. While my students read an article, they were introduced to a new word 'wipe.' The sentence was "The volunteers wipe the ducks with towels" and there were two pictures which students can guess the meaning of the word. In one picture, a duck was on the towel and a volunteer gave a medicine to the duck, and in the other picture, the volunteer wipe the duck with a towel. One of my students first guessed the meaning of 'wipe' as ' being placed under' since she referenced the first picture which was wrong. However, with my instruction, she finally get the correct meaning of it. After reading, I asked them to recall the story by giving them a set of pictures that we just saw while reading. The girl who first didn't guess  the correct meaning of 'wipe' actually described the picture using the word in correct way. Few weeks later, we had a chance to revisit our previous lessons including the duck article. I gave my student the same picture and asked her to describe it. Even though the lesson was taught about a month ago, the girl once again recalled the word 'wipe' and described the picture with confidence. Several exposure to the words with a help of picture allowed this young learner to recognize, learn, acquire and finally use the word in her own way. Even the effect of using pictures was very powerful so how effective would it be using multimedia and technology in learning vocabulary through reading! Not only technology can help learners to understand new words in context but also it allows them to be exposed to the words  enough until they acquire them.

In last class, during the lab session, making our own listening activities using multimedia and different tools was very fun and informative. The effectiveness of using multimedia will be enhanced when learners are interested in the contents. Learners might think language learning as a fun and less stressful activity if teacher use contents that students are interested in. It would be very difficult and time consuming to find such a perfect contents for different learners especially when those students have different learning styles. However, it would be better than nothing, and technology also offers individualized lessons. Wise use of technology benefits to learners and teachers as well.

Week 5: Podcast and its authenticity

Going back to my high school year, when I was not so confident in learning English, listening and reading were 'comparatively' easier than speaking and writing. It was because I can guess what speakers try to say even though I can't fully understand what they say. Strategies to improve listening skill at that time were 'Just listen' and 'Listen as much as you can' even though you don't fully understand contents. You will someday have ears to recognize words, phrases, pronunciation, intonation and rhythm; however I never knew when that day would come.

When I was first introduced to Podcast, I subscribed some american newspaper podcasts such as new york times and some english learning materials which was far above my level at that time. I wanted to expose myself to more authentic materials (just natural conversation among people and something native speakers listen in their daily lives) and topics that I am personally interested in even though I couldn't fully understand what they are talking about. It was definitely helpful to get used to native speakers' pace of speaking, pronunciation, intonation and some frequently used expression and words.

The most beneficial aspect of Podcast would be its authenticity. Unlike traditional listening materials which were recorded by speakers who speak in moderate pace with accurate pronunciation, content that Podcast offers varies in its topic, mode and speaker's pace and accent. It is different from listening to radio since once it is downloaded into your gadgets you can listen whenever and wherever you want. What I expect from using Podcast in language learning class is definitely different from using recorded tape or mp3 files. As O’Bryan and Hegelheimer said 'podcasts serve to motivate students by given them control over the input they receive and taking advantage of a popular technology that has potential for helping students improve their listening comprehension' ( O’Bryan and Hegelheimer, 2007, p.174) Not only teachers can choose Podcast to provide students interesting and class- related listening materials, but also students can choose topics they want to listen. Podcast seems a great tool to encourage students' self- learning, connect class with authentic material and offer alternative teaching method to teachers. Teachers can utilize Podcast in more creative ways such as creating their own Podcast about contents they cover in class or allow students to make their own Podcast to share with other students.

Picture from http://;2mastery.com/podcast

Video Dictionary: Vidtionary | Diigo

Video Dictionary: Vidtionary | Diigo
:)

week 4: Google Docs and language teaching and learning

Both Google docs and forms were new for me. After class, I searched some practical implications of those great features into language teaching and learning. Among many articles, journals and private blog posts, I found an article which gives examples of the scope and limitations of the Google Docs on four levels; 1) the program level – management of teaching assignments and reporting of grades; 2) special program management – online book reports for extensive reading; 3) course management – homework production and submission, and self and peer assessment; and 4) project work – collaborative writing and student-generated questionnaires.

It seems clear that Google Docs offers more authentic materials for Net generation and teachers who teach them. Teachers can utilize Google Docs in more effective way for grading, reporting and assessment and they can create student-oriented lesson plan using Google Docs such as collaborative writing and peer review. Not only it provides useful tools for teachers but also it allows students more participate and engage into class.  Students not just sit and listen to what teachers talk but they actually engage into activities and this promote student participation and eventually makes learning more meaningful.

The link for the article:

http://journal.jaltcall.org/articles/6_1_Firth.pdf

week 4: SVCMC and pronunciation (Alastuey,2010)

For this week, I read Alastuey’s article “synchronous-Voice Computer-Mediated communication; Effects on Pronunciation. This article investigated whether synchronous-voice computer-mediated communication (SVCMC) promotes more authentic interactions and affects improvement in pronunciation and phonetically modified output as a result of authentic interactions. The article concluded that SVCMC is beneficial for pronunciation and phonetic interlanguage. As Skype was used as a tool for research test, it is often used among language learners to increase their opportunities to communicate with native speakers and other language learners. It seems especially more beneficial for people who are not able to go abroad and have no chance for face-to-face communication with native speakers. Even though it is beneficial in different ways, there seems a limitation for beginners who are lack of language knowledge and background. For intermediate or advanced language learners, it is not difficult to hold conversation in face-to-face interaction as well as online chatting. However, beginner-level language learners are not only lack of skills to hold communication but also not familiar with how to negotiate meanings during conversation. If they are not aware of what is correct or incorrect pronunciation of certain L2 words, it is not possible to them to produce modified outcomes. As we talked in the first week, it is very important to have clear and specific goal and curriculum and to understand our students (who are they, what language problem they have, etc.) to maximize the effectiveness of using certain technology in language learning. Even though it is proved that using technology is effective to promote authentic interactions we have to put special attention for whether it is as well appropriate for students and curriculum that we are actually working with.

Week 3: language learning and technology

Part 1. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES LITERACIES AND TECHNOLOGIES REVISITED ( Godwin-Jones, 2010)

One thing came to mind while reading Godwin-Jones's article ' emerging technologies literacies and technologies revisited: accuracy vs. fluency.
Whenever I heard about 'electronic writing' in social network, I can not help to think about the long debate on accuracy and fluency in second language learning. It seems undoubtably true that social networking encourages fluency rather than accuracy. As Godwin- Jones stated, the kind of writing that people do for social networking is not discipline- based and instruction- available language practice environment. It is easy to witness that many people whose first language is not English write on Facebook or Twitter in English with lots of grammatical errors and using slang and abbreviation. However, it doesn't seem to be a matter to communicate with their friends and deliver what they want to say.
Many net generations or teens are very skilled to this kinds of interaction using social network and their language use is defined differently from academic writing. So, what is teachers or instructors role when they want to utilize social network? How can teachers balance with accuracy and fluency in language learning?
The term 'personalized writing' was very interesting to me since one of the most important aspect of language is its creativeness: language use can be varied depends on who uses it. I want to restate godwin- Jones's sentence that "language produced within social networking is very practical and directly personal way whether one can compose a sentence that a native speaker will understand. That receptivity leads to more focused and more efficient language learning." This sentence affected what I thought about language learning which was more focused on accuracy than fluency.



Part 2: Gaucho space- what can we do more with it?

It was very interesting to see different features and functions that Gauchospace has such as displaying video and web searching page on the same page. Different types of quiz was fascinating since it clearly demonstrated various ways that language learning can take place using technology. Comparing with the early application of technology in language learning which mainly focused on grammar and reading, the advance of technology allows us to deal with all language features- listening, reading, writing and speaking. One thing that I concern about this type of language learning is that how we can encourage our students' engagement and motivation. Even though gauchospace has different resources related to language, quiz still has the similar form of paper- based quiz expect its recording feature and still it is one way interaction. Are there any creative ways that we can use this advanced technology in testing field? I think there must be more effective and creative way that encourage students' engagement and collaborative works using technology.

Week 2 - Part 2: Reflection on ‘Classroom use of PowerPoint’

PowerPoint is definitely a useful tool for teachers since it allow them to use it for their own instructional tool and provide them convenience and efficiency. The article ‘Why should I use PowerPoint in my classroom’ reminded me of my ESL class in Korea where I used PowerPoint for delivering class contents instead of hand writing on board. Even though it took me more time to prepare slides for every class, it was definitely better than my hand writing in terms of its clarity, diversity, and effectiveness. Class organization was changed depends on the use of PowerPoint, and the dynamics between me and my students were different than when I only use worksheets and textbooks. Classes were more exciting and students loved to see some visual images or videos in slides along with texts. However, PowerPoint alone cannot facilitate or enhance students’ learning. Without clear and coherent objective and purpose for using PowerPoint, there is no difference between the written text on white board and the words in PowerPoint slides. The way teacher delivers the content need to correspond with the objective and students also need to recognize the purpose of using PowerPoint for their learning. Power Point with some visualized contents definitely makes class more enjoyable and alive. However the agent who internalize given information is students and to make this process effective is the teachers who made that PowerPoint. 

Week 2 - Part 1: Contribution and challenges that technology brings into SLA research (Chapelle, 2004)

Chapelle’s article briefly introduced the beneficial aspects of introducing technology into SLA research area in terms of learners’ language, learning style, interaction and individual differences in language learning. Using computer-mediated communication known as CMC allows SLA researchers to conduct more in-depth and elaborated analysis and to adopt qualitative and longitudinal approach and practice into their researches.

Among many advantages and empirical challenges introduced in Chapelle’s article, the most interesting and thought-provoking aspect was ‘interaction.’ Because of the use of computer in language learning process, learner’s interaction with computer can be explained differently from the interaction that takes place in face-to-face communication and this affects the way that researchers interpret the data and what they values as important factors in learning process. Interaction within CMC or technology-based language learning context can be expanded to what programs learners’ use and the way learners use computer or program. Interaction between L2 learners and other L2 learners who share same cyber space and interaction between learners and the language learning programs need to be defined differently and the language use depends on the form of interaction also need to be explicitly distinguished each other. 

Week 1: Fears about the impact of the Internet (1b)

What do you think of the fears that some have about the impact of the internet, e.g., enables digital natives to avoid uncomfortable face-to-face encounters; volume of information on the Internet Is distracting and limits our ability to concentrate; readily accessible information decreases our ability to think deeply and build our own unique connections?

Internet brought us not only a lot of convenience and advantages but also the fears to lose our creativity and autonomy. There is so much information available online and people get confused what information is reliable and valid. People can freely express themselves and some of them enjoy anonymity. Parents have to control their kids’ use of computer and supervise their access to open information. Even though with some dark side of the impact of the internet, it seems premature to generalize that internet only bring us hazardous impact.

Even though digital natives were introduced to the Internet since they were very young, they consistently have to interact with other people and it is inevitable to face to the face-to-face encounters with teachers, parents and friends. In addition, people are not so dumb to only rely on readily accessible information and allow it to extinct our creativity and ability to think deeply. New information and technology make people to curious about them and want to explore more. People developed critical eyes to distinguish what is useful and what is not. People make their own connection with already existing information on their own ways and it eventually allow them to be more creative and unique. Since the internet was something that never existed before, those fears seems so natural and some already exist nowadays. However, new problems raised with the emergence of the Internet is something we need to work and think more, so these efforts will never let those fears to exist permanently.