Messages

1

Writing Skill / Re: Writing notes in the class

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:22:28 AM »

Thank you, madam for sharing this.

2

Reading Skill / THE PIVOTAL WORDS

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:16:27 AM »

No words are as helpful while reading as the prepositions and conjunctions that guide your mind along the pathways of the author's ideas. Master these words and phrases and you will almost immediately become a better reader. Here’s what they are and what they say:

Additive words: "Here's more of the same coming up. It's just as important as what we have already said."
Also, further, moreover, and, furthermore, too, besides, in addition
Equivalent words: "It does what I have just said, but it does this too."
As well as, at the same time, similarly, equally important, likewise
Amplification words: "I want to be sure that you understand my idea; so here's a specific instance."
For example (e.g.), specifically, as ,for instance, such as, like
Alternative words: "Sometimes there is a choice; other times there isn't."
Either/or, other than, neither/nor, otherwise
Repetitive words: "I said it once, but I'm going to say it again in case you missed it the first time."
Again, in other words, to repeat, that is (i.e.)
Contrast and Change words: "So far I've given you only one side of the story; now let's take a look at the other side."
But, on the contrary, still, conversely, on the other hand, though, despite, instead of, yet, however, rather than, regardless, nevertheless, even though, whereas, in spite of, notwithstanding
Cause and effect words: "All this has happened; now I'll tell you why."
Accordingly, since, then, because, so, thus, consequently, hence, therefore, for this reason
Qualifying words: "Here is what we can expect. These are the conditions we are working under."
If, although, unless, providing, whenever
Concession words: "Okay! We agree on this much."
accepting the data, granted that, of course
Emphasizing words: "Wake up and take notice!"
above all, more important, indeed
Order words: "You keep your mind on reading: I'll keep the numbers straight."
Finally, second, then, first, next, last
Time words: "Let's keep the record straight on who said what and especially when."
Afterwards, meanwhile, now, before, subsequently, presently, formerly, ultimately, previously, later
Summarizing words: "We've said many things so far. Let's stop here and pull them together."
for these reasons, in brief, in conclusion, to sum up

3

Reading Skill / VARY YOUR READING RATE

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:15:53 AM »

A few broad suggestions may help you to select your rate(s) within the particular article:
Decrease speed when you find the following:

An unfamiliar word not made clear by the sentence. Try to understand it from the way it's used; then read on and return to it later.
Long and uninvolved sentence and paragraph structure. Slow down enough to enable you to untangle them and get an accurate idea of what the passage says.
Unfamiliar or abstract ideas. Look for applications or examples which will give them meaning. Demand that an idea "make sense." Never give up until you understand, because it will be that much easier the next time. Find someone to help you if necessary.
Detailed, technical material. This includes complicated directions, abstract principles, materials on which you have scant background.
Material on which you want detailed retention. The key to memory is organization and recitation. Speed should not be a consideration here.
Increase speed when you find the following:

Simple material with few ideas new to you. Move rapidly over the familiar.
Unnecessary examples and illustrations. These are included to clarify ideas. If not needed, move over them rapidly.
Detailed explanation and elaboration which you do not need.
Broad, generalized ideas. These can be rapidly grasped, even with scan techniques
Skip that material which is not suitable for your purpose. While the author may have thought particular information was relevant, his/her reason for writing was not necessarily the same as your reason for reading. Remember to keep your reading attack flexible.

Shift gears from selection to selection. Use low gear when the going is steep; shift into high when you get to the smooth parts. Remember to adjust your rate within a given article according to the type of road you are traveling and to your purposes in traveling it. Most important, remember: You must practice these techniques until a flexible reading rate becomes second nature to you.

4

Reading Skill / Reading Techniques

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:15:02 AM »

Steps to Follow in Skimming for the Main Ideas
Read the title of the selection carefully. Determine what clues it gives you as to what the selection is about. Watch for key words like “causes,” “results,” “effects,” etc., and do not overlook signal words such as those suggesting controversy (“versus”, “pros and cons”), which indicate that the author is planning to present both sides of an argument.
Look carefully at the headings and other organizational clues. These tip you off to the main points that the author wants you to learn. You may be accustomed to overlooking boldface headings and titles which are the obvious clues to the most important ideas

5

Reading Skill / SQ3R METHOD FOR THOROUGH STUDY

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:13:25 AM »

Step 1: Survey
Skim through the book and read topical/sub-topical headings and sentences. Read summaries at the end of chapters and books. Try to anticipate what the author is going to say. Write these notes on paper, then look it over to get an overall idea.
Step 2: Questions
Turn paragraph headings into questions (e.g. “Basic Concepts of Reading” to “What are the Basic Concepts of Reading?”). Write these questions out.
Step 3: Read
Read with alertness to answer the questions you came up with. Write notes, in your own words, under each question.
Step 4: Recall
Without looking at your books or notes, mentally visualize, in your own words, the high points of the material immediately upon completing the reading
** More time should be spent on recall than reading
Step 5: Review
Look at your questions, answers, notes and book to see how well you did recall. Finish up with a mental picture of the WHOLE
Adapted from F.P. Robinson. Effective Study. New York: Harper and Bros. 1948. Chapter II

6

Reading Skill / Re: The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A Critical Review

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:12:01 AM »

Thanks for sharing this article, madam.

7

Reading Skill / 8 Tips to Help Students Build Better Reading Skills

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:10:44 AM »

How can you ensure your students understand classroom coursework? Build reading skills. Teachers love to share their favorite stories and the subjects they are passionate about, but helping a child develop the same interest requires foundational reading skills to comprehend and enjoy the curriculum.

Many children see reading as a chore, especially if it’s tied to lesson plans and learning complex information. Teachers, parents and mentors can help ignite a child’s passion to read by incorporating activities focused on building reading skills to improve comprehension and engagement.

Here are some simple and effective ways to help students build reading skills to better understand classroom curriculum.

1. Annotate and highlight text
Teach your students to highlight and underline valuable information as they read. Have students write notes on the pages they are reading to help them stay focused and improve comprehension. Students can also write down questions as they read to receive more explanation on a new concept or to define a new word.

2. Personalize the content
Students can increase their understanding by seeing how the material connects with their life. Have your students make personal connections with the text by writing it down on the page. You can also help students comprehend the text by helping them see an association with current events.

3. Practice problem solving skills
Blend real-world problem solving skills into your curriculum. Have your students write out solutions to the problem and discuss their ideas as a class or in small groups.

4. Incorporate more senses
Add in activities that reinforce learning and comprehension by using more senses as they read. Remind students to read with a pen or pencil to annotate the text. Have your students take turns reading out loud. Use projectors to guide your lesson and write down questions for those who are visual learners.

5. Understand common themes
Ask your students to look for examples of a certain theme throughout the chapter to increase engagement. Have students share their findings with the class to help students learn a specific theme more in-depth.

6. Set reading goals
Have each student set their own reading goals. This can help them take action in building reading skills and students will be more mindful of how they are improving.

7. Read in portions
Long, complex reading can be more digestible by breaking it up into pieces. Shorter segments will help students retain the information as the class discusses the materials. It can also help students build confidence in understanding a complex subject.

8. Let students guide their reading
Your students process reading material and curriculum in very different ways. As you implement reading activities to help your class learn complex materials, you will learn what works best for each student individually.

As teachers implement more reading activities into classroom coursework, students will find improvement in vocabulary, writing skills, problem solving, concentration, and cognitive development to help build a solid foundation for future learning.

8

Pronunciation Development / How do you assess your ESL students’ pronunciation?

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:08:33 AM »

Assessment and feedback play an important role in any ESL classroom. If you are teaching ESL pronunciation, you will need to assess your students’ progress at some point, too. Here are some ideas on how to assess and give feedback to your ESL students.

Monitoring

During a group speaking activity, walk around the room and listen, taking notes on your students’ pronunciation errors. Later, you can organize your notes and give individual error correction feedback (in written form or during a personal meeting) or create a lesson for the whole class based on common errors you observed.

Student presentations

Have your students do individual or group presentations in front of the class. Ask the rest of the class to take notes, fill out a rubric sheet, or write a comment on each presentation, focusing on pronunciation and intonation. After each presentation, students can give each other feedback. This works well if the students are comfortable with each other and are motivated to participate in class. You can also add your own comments afterward.

Learn more about error correction in the EFL classroom with this 20-Hour TEFL/TESOL Micro-credential course.

Audio/Video recording

If you’re teaching English online, having your students hand in audio or video recordings is a convenient way to assess their ESL pronunciation. Some ways you can do this are:

Give students a reading passage to read out loud and record, and then send them a sample of you reading the same passage to compare.
Give free-speech assignments and give students feedback on individual words and sentence stress.
Send your students digital handouts and ask them to read the target words on it, and give points or stars for each word.

Regardless of the activity, you can play their recordings over and over in order to write extensive feedback.
Interview

If you’re teaching English for Specific Purposes, creating an interview test that includes the target language and is set in a specific context is a good way to assess more advanced students. During the interview, you can repeat the incorrectly pronounced words back to your student and give them a chance to self-correct.

Graded paper test

If you are working in a public or private school, you might be asked to do some grading based on paper tests, or similarly easy-to-process assessments. In that case, you can create tests on minimal pairs, word stress, sentence stress, and intonation, and if possible, include a listening section with your own voice recordings.

Teaching ESL pronunciation is a challenging part of English language teaching. However, including ESL phonics practice in your lessons and helping your students produce intelligible language will improve their ability to communicate effectively with people around the world and help to fulfill the purpose of learning English.

9

Pronunciation Development / Why is it important to teach ESL pronunciation and phonics to students?

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:06:30 AM »

Why is it important to teach ESL pronunciation and phonics to students?
Effective communication

No matter what level your students are, no matter how advanced or fluent they are, if their pronunciation of certain key sounds is incorrect, they’ll be misunderstood by other speakers of English. For example, if an English learner talks about owning three ship (/ʃɪp/), but actually means three sheep (/ʃi:p/), the listener might assume that he or she is a very rich person, while the speaker in fact just wants to talk about his private little farm.

In such a case, the purpose of learning English to effectively communicate with other people around the world is not fulfilled. This can be extremely demotivating for learners of a language and it can also cause students to hesitate to speak.

The same goes, of course, for students’ listening skills. If your English students misunderstand the word ship (/ʃɪp/) as sheep (/ʃi:p/) when they hear it, similar confusion will arise.

For effective communication, both receptive and productive skills are equally important. This is why we need to equip our students with the necessary tools to speak and listen, right from the beginning of their lessons.

10

Pronunciation Development / Re: Pronunciation Development?

« on: August 17, 2021, 11:03:27 AM »

I think so, ir: it is the instance of junk language. Also, I didn't know the word "thola". Thanks for sharing.

11

Psycholinguistics / Re: Why suggestopedia?

« on: August 17, 2021, 10:52:36 AM »

Thanks for sharing, madam.

12

Psycholinguistics / Re: Cognition and learning: How do students think and learn?

« on: August 17, 2021, 10:51:41 AM »

Thank you for sharing this, madam.

13

Research & Publication / Re: Research Article on Assessment from American English E-Teacher

« on: August 17, 2021, 10:49:56 AM »

Thank you for sharing this madam.

14

Listening Skill / Re: IMPROVING LISTENING SKILL BY ACTIVATING STUDENTS’ PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

« on: August 08, 2021, 11:15:11 PM »

Thank you for sharing!

15

Listening Skill / The Language Teacher

« on: August 08, 2021, 11:14:21 PM »

The Language Teacher
Listening In Language Learning
David Nunan
The English Centre, University of Hong Kong
________________________________________
Listening is the Cinderella skill in second language learning. All too often, it has been overlooked by its elder sister: speaking. For most people, being able to claim knowledge of a second language means being able to speak and write in that language. Listening and reading are therefore secondary skills -- means to other ends, rather than ends in themselves.
Every so often, however, listening comes into fashion. In the 1960s, the emphasis on oral language skills gave it a boost. It became fashionable again in the 1980s, when Krashen's (1982) ideas about comprehensible input gained prominence. A short time later, it was reinforced by James Asher's (1988) Total Physical Response, a methodology drawing sustenance from Krashen's work, and based on the belief that a second language is learned most effectively in the early stages if the pressure for production is taken off the learners. During the 1980s, proponents of listening in a second language were also encouraged by work in the first language field. Here, people such as Gillian Brown (see, for example, Brown, 1984; Brown, 1990) were able to demonstrate the importance of developing oracy (the ability to listen and speak) as well as literacy, in school. Prior to this, it was taken for granted that first language speakers needed instruction in how to read and write, but not how to listen and speak because these skills were automatically bequeathed to them as native speakers.
The nature of the listening process
Listening is assuming greater and greater importance in foreign language classrooms. There are several reasons for this growth in popularity. By emphasizing the role of comprehensible input, second language acquisition research has given a major boost to listening. As Rost (1994, p. 1 41-142) points out, listening is vital in the language classroom because it provides input for the learner. Without understanding input at the right level, any learning simply cannot begin. Listening is thus fundamental to speaking.
Two views of listening have dominated language pedagogy over the last twenty years. These are the bottom-up processing view and the top-down interpretation view. The bottom-up processing model assumes that listening is a process of decoding the sounds that one hears in a linear fashion, from the smallest meaningful units (phonemes) to complete texts. According to this view, phonemic units are decoded and linked together to form words, words are linked together to form phrases, phrases are linked together to form utterances, and utterances are linked together to form complete meaningful texts. In other words, the process is a linear one, in which meaning itself is derived as the last step in the process. In their introduction to listening Anderson and Lynch (1988) call this the "listener as tape-recorder" view of listening because it assumes that the listener takes in and stores messages sequentially, in much the same way as a tape-recorder, one sound, word, phrase, and utterance at a time.
The alternative, top-down view, suggests that the listener actively constructs (or, more accurately, reconstructs) the original meaning of the speaker using incoming sounds as clues. In this reconstruction process, the listener uses prior knowledge of the context and situation within which the listening takes place to make sense of what he or she hears. Context of situation includes such things as knowledge of the topic at hand, the speaker or speakers, and their relationship to the situation as well as to each other and prior events.
These days, it is generally recognised that both botom-up and top-down strategies are necessary. In developing courses, materials, and lessons, it is important, not only to teach bottom-up processing skills such as the ability to discriminate between minimal pairs, but it is also important to help learners use what they already know to understand what they hear. If teachers suspect that there are gaps in their learners" knowledge, the listening itself can be preceded by schema building activities to prepare learners for the listening task to come.
There are many different types of listening that can be classified according to a number of variables, including purpose for listening, the role of the listener, and the type of text being listened to. These variables are mixed in many different configurations, each of which will require a particular strategy on the part of the listener.
Listening purpose is another important variable. Listening to a new news broadcast to get a general idea of the news of the day involves different processes and strategies from listening to the same broadcast for specific information, such as the results of an important sporting event. Listening to a sequence of instructions for operating a new piece of computer software requires different listening skills and strategies from listening to a poem or short story. In designing listening tasks, it is important to teach learners to adopt a flexible range of listening strategies. This can be done by holding the listening text constant (working, say, with a radio news broadcast reporting a series of international events), and getting learners to listen to the text several times, however, following different instructions each time. They might, in the first instance, be required to listen for gist, simply identifying the countries where the events have taken place. The second time they listen they might be required to match the places with a list of events. Finally, they might be required to listen for detail, discriminating between specific aspects of the event, or perhaps, comparing the radio broadcast with newspaper accounts of the same events and noting discrepancies or differences of emphasis.
Another way of characterizing listening is in terms of whether the listener is also required to take part in the interaction. This is known as reciprocal listening. When listening to a monologue, either live or through the media, the listening is, by definition, non-reciprocal. The listener (often to his or her frustration), has no opportunity of answering back, clarifying understanding, or checking that he or she has comprehended correctly. In the real-world, it is rare for the listener to be cast in the role of non-reciprocal "eavesdropper" on a conversation. However, in the listening classroom, this is the normal role.
Listening in practice
A challenge for the teacher in the listening classroom is to give learners some degree of control over the content of the lesson, and to personalize content so learners are able to bring something of themselves to the task. There are numerous ways in which listening can be personalized. For example, it is possible to increase learner involvement by providing extension tasks which take the listening material as a point of departure, but which then lead learners into providing part of the content themselves. For example, the students might listen to someone describing the work they do, and then create a set of questions for interviewing the person.
A learner-centered dimension can be lent to the listening class in one of two ways. In the first place, tasks can be devised in which the classroom action is centered on the learner not the teacher. In tasks exploiting this idea, students are actively involved in structuring and restructuring their understanding of the language and in building their skills in using the language. Secondly, teaching materials, like any other type of materials can be given a learner-centered dimension by getting learners involved in the processes underlying their learning and in making active contributions to the learning. This can be achieved in the following ways:
•   making instructional goals explicit to the learner
•   giving learners a degree of choice
•   giving learners opportunities to bring their own background knowledge and experience into the classroom
•   encouraging learners to develop a reflective attitude to learning and to develop skills in self-monitoring and self-assessment.
I try to simulate the interactive nature of listening, and also try to involve learners personally in the content of the language lesson through activities in which learners listen to one side of a conversation, and react to written responses. Obviously, this is not the same thing as taking part in an actual conversation, but I find that it does generate a level of involvement on the part of learners that goes beyond the usual sort of non-participatory listening task. Because learners are providing personalized responses, there is variation between learners, and this creates the potential for following-up speaking tasks, in which learners compare and share their responses with other learners.
Non-reciprocal listening tasks can draw on a rich variety of authentic data, not just lectures and one-sided anecdotes. In my own listening classes, I have used the following data: answering machine messages, store announcements, announcements on public transportation, mini lectures, and narrative recounts. The increasing use of computerized messages on the telephone by companies and public utilities can also provide a rich source of authentic data for non-reciprocal listening tasks.
A recurring theme in recent books and papers on language teaching methodology is the need to develop learners" awareness of the processes underlying their own learning so that, eventually, they will be able to take greater and greater responsibility for that learning. This can be done through the adoption of a learner-centered strategy at the level of classroom action, and partly through equipping students with a wide range of effective learning strategies. Through these, students will not only become better listeners, they will also become more effective language learners because they will be given opportunities to focus on, and reflect upon, the processes underlying their own learning. This is important, because if learners are aware of what they are doing, if they are conscious of the processes underlying the learning they are involved in, then learning will be more effective. Key strategies that can be taught in the listening classroom include selective listening, listening for different purposes, predicting, progressive structuring, inferencing, and personalizing. These strategies should not be separated from the content teaching but woven into the ongoing fabric of the lesson so that learners can see the applications of the strategies to the development of effective learning.
Conclusion
In this paper, I have set out some of the theoretical, empirical, and practical aspects of listening comprehension. I have suggested that listening classrooms of today need to develop both bottom-up and top-down listening skills in learners. I have also stressed the importance of a strategies-based approach to the teaching of listening. Such an approach is particularly important in classrooms where students are exposed to substantial amounts of authentic data because they will not (and should not expect to) understand every word.



References
Anderson, A., & Lynch, T. (1988). Listening. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Asher, J. (1988). Learning another language through actions: The complete teacher's guidebook (3rd ed.). Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions.
Brown, G. (1990). Listening to spoken English (2nd ed.). London: Longman.
Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the spoken language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon.
Mendelsohn, D. (1994). Learning to listen. San Diego CA: Domine Press.
Nunan, D., & Miller, L. (eds.). (1995). New ways in teaching listening. Washington DC: TESOL.
Rost, M. (1990). Listening in language learning. London: Longman.
Rost, M. (1991). Listening in action. London: Prentice Hall.
Rost, M. (1994). Introducing listening. London: Penguin.
________________________________________