language classroom

reflection

2008-12-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

I learned a lot about various tools that I can used for my class. Especially, my perspective on the use of technology in the classroom has been changed since I took this course. I realized that i used technology in very passive ways before. I used technology for simple information delivery before I took this class. I did not know how to integrate technology for the interactive literacy instruction so I have been little skeptical about the use of technology for language classrooms. Now, I learned that there were unlimited possibilities that technology can provide for more interactive literacy instruction. Among various things we learned in this course, I will definitely use Wiki for collaborative writing and Voice Thread for presentation in my classroom.

If I were to have students create portfolios, I would ask them to write about what they have learned from each project and how it would help their life in the future. I would like to encourage them to think about the usefulness of our lessons and try to apply the lessons in other areas of their life. I don't want them to think what they learn is only for the grade and forget the lessons after the class.

Interactive presentation

2008-11-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

Creating a video seemed fun and somehow rewarding experience.
For the video shooting activity last week, I planned to make a video regarding my baby from her birth to now. However, the Imoive did not read my video file. So I spent most of my time to convert my files to different form. I could not use all the videos I prepared. I thought it would be challenging if every student in my class brought different files and had problem with uploading.

I can see lots of possbilities and benefits of cerating a video in classes.
By giving students opportunities to create a story, students will understand how a story is structured. Traditionally, students learn about the concept of a story by reading a story and examining the story through listing the chain of events, characters, problems, solutions, etc.
However, for the video creation activities, they have to create the chain of events, characters, problems, and solutions. I think by doing this, students will learn the concept of a good story more actively than reading a story.

Also, by learning the different angles in video, students will learn not only the effect of video but also juxtapose the concept of "view points" in the story.

Here is my interactive presentation slides.
I created slides with the powerpoint and exported with Voice Thread.
It was an easy process but I don't know why my ponts and lines have changed in Voice Thread.

joy of my life

2008-11-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

I learned how to use i-movie in the class.
My computer in the classroom could not read my video files.
So I had to convert it into different files.
Because of converting problems, I could not use my video files that I have prepared for this project. However, I created a video.

My daughter is dancing on the Korean song 'dance and freeze.'
I haven't taught her this song before.
However, suddenly, she danced as if she knew it.
I was so surprised so I began to record it.

skype

2008-11-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

I did record my conversation on Skype. However I cannot upload it.

Pansori

2008-11-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

The spoken poetry reminds me of a Korean traditional music genre, Pansori.

"A prominent expression of Korea’s rich stage arts tradition, Pansori is a genre of musical story-telling performed by a vocalist with drum accompaniment. This popular tradition, characterized by expressive singing, stylized speech, a repertory of narratives and mimetic gesture, embraces both elite and folk culture. During performances lasting up to eight hours, a male or female singer, accompanied by a single barrel drum, improvises on texts that combine rural Korean dialect with erudite literary expressions.

The term pansori is derived from the Korean words pan, meaning “a place where many people gather”, and sori for “song”. Pansori originated in southwest Korea in the seventeenth century, probably as a new expression of the narrative songs of shamans. It remained an oral tradition among the common people until the late nineteenth century, by which time it acquired more sophisticated literary content and enjoyed considerable popularity among the urban elite. The settings, characters and situations that make up the Pansori universe are rooted in the Korea of the Joseon period (1392-1910). Among the themes explored are family loyalty, bereavement and love. Pansori singers undergo long and rigorous training to master the wide range of distinct vocal timbres and to memorize the complex repertories. Many virtuosos have developed personal interpretive styles and are renowned for their particular manner of performing specific episodes.

Risk of disappearance :
Threatened by Korea’s rapid modernization, Pansori was designated a National Intangible Cultural Property in 1964. This measure spurred generous institutional support, which in turn fostered the revival of this cherished tradition. Pansori continues to provide inspiration for new works in various media such as film, ballet and puppet theatre. These productions, as well as Pansori itself, are performed regularly in Korea and at festivals abroad. Although Pansori remains one of the best-loved genres within the increasingly marginalized sphere of traditional stage arts, it has lost much of its original spontaneous character.

Ironically, this recent evolution results directly from the preservation process itself, for improvisation tends to be stifled by the increasing number of written repertoires. Indeed, nowadays few singers can successfully improvise, and contemporary audiences are less receptive to the impromptu creativity and the archaic language of traditional Pansori."

Quoted from 'National Heritage' website

Election

2008-11-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

Without a question, the United States of America is one of the most powerful country in the world. Its every move impacts other contries.
Maybe the rest of the world are paying attention to this election more than any previous election because what Bush's politics have brought to the world including wars and economic crisis.

Well..I do not have the right to vote in this country.
But I hope American would pick someone who really can make this country a better country for ALL (for ALL the citizens of America and last of the world).

I thought this clip was so funny.

podcast and skype

2008-11-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

I can use Skpe for the interview activity and role play activity. Students can play certain characters such as a movie star, president,a reporter, etc. Using Skype, they can interview these peoples. The interview will be recorded and be watched in the classroom together. It would be very exciting and motivating activity because they also can see the interview on the screen.

About podcasts, I thought it was easy when I learned it in the classroom. However, when I tried to make it again at home, it was different. It was challenging not only because I had different computer settings at home but also because I did not organize my ideas for the recording.
I realized that contents are essential for any kinds of activities using technology including podcasting activity. We need to plan ahead and have a completed script to make a good podcast. It seems very basic knowledge. However, when we learn a new technology, we are often obsessed with learning it and trying out using the different tools.
Last time,I planned the news shows in the classroom using podcasts. After I learn about the podcast program in the class, I found several concerns. Most of all, I realized, to do the activity in my classroom, I need to carefully guide students to focus on developing their literacy than learning only technology. For the fairness, I will also need to give enough time and information for all students to learn the tool.
While I am concerned about guiding students to plan well before using a podcast, I also think we can use it without planning ahead for the purpose of checking their common errors in their speech. Because when we say things in a second language, we often make lots of errors in our statement. Then, we listen to what we have recorded, we can find errors in our speech. I think we can use a podcast for the purpose of feedback to oneself and maybe to others. For the same purpose, I think recording Skype also seems useful tool. I can record conversations between two students to give feedback on their language.

tryout

2008-10-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Let's learn Korean

Podcasting

2008-10-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

I will use podcast to make a news show regularly.
Students will make their own class news shows weekly or biweekly.

For this project, students will be a news reporter or an anchorperson. They will pick a topic or case, and keep a close coverage of the case. They can cover various topics including class members, school events, presidential election, global warming, fashion, popculture, football, food, etc.

Before reporting their news using podcast, students will write scripts for their podcasts. While students are writing scripts, they will learn how to write a news objectively. They will practice to write in third person, as opposed to first person.
After finishing writing a report, they will record.

After recording, students will listen to the news together and will evaluate the news reports. The possible evaluation criteria would be as follows.

Is the the main point of the story clear?
Does the story sound objective?
Is it written in first person, second person, or third person?
Are the sources the reporter used in this story to get his/her information objective and reliable?
Was the speed of report too slow or too fast?
Is the pronunciation of reporter clear?
Does report sound alive?
Was the length of the news appropriate?
...

I think using podcast could encourage students' motivation to learn the new langauge and promote various kinds of language usage in my classroom. I am looking forward to learning more about it.

Online Role-play

2008-10-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

The role I created fr the online role play was 'Alison Lee, a mother, Pro.' She is very conservative women who has a strong Asian background. Her daughter is very good at math and science. Therefore, her concern is not on the fact that boys are better at math than girls. She is not pleasant with the fact that her daughter might be distracted by boys. She believes that students only need to study until they goes to a college. Based on her traditional belief, she agree that the same-sex class will be effcient and better system for student's sucess.
I could not participated in the online role-play because I had to go to Hawaii to present at the conference. I was going to participate in the discussion from Hawaii but my laptop was broken.
Even though I did not participate in the discussion, I had a question about online role play. I wonder how the role-play would be different between when students choose the position that they really agree on and when they have to choose a role which does not match theirs.

Storytelling

2008-10-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I created a story with the VoiceThread.
I intend to use it in my Korean beginning class.
I typed and record in Korean for this class CI5474.
However, in my class, I will record narration in Korean.
After practicing basic words with this story, student will make a story as a group project. For this project,students will use our class pbwiki.
They will gather and put pictures together and make story lines.

Here is my story. It is a story of an American girl who has a penpal from Korea.
She decides to go to Korea to meet her friend and it is her travel story.

Wiki

2008-10-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't used a Wiki for my class. I used the Universtiy WebVista to post the syllabus, handouts and other resources. When I used WebVista in my classroom, students' role was very passive. After I learn about Wiki, I found that a Wiki might be more useful for a langauge classroom. Using a wiki, I can organize the class as well as promote the collaborative works. In addition to usins a wiki for the colloborative writing with groups, students and teacher may also can use it to give the feedback to each other.

According to the Second Langauge Acqusition theory, students need to negotiate a meaning and form throuth the interaction to learn the langauge. During the interaction, feedbacks can help them to notice their errors as well as new forms. To provide the learning enviroment which is supported by this SLA theory, I found that wiki and voice thread would be useful tool.

I plan to ask students to make a VoiceThread sideshow after collecting pics according to their group topic. Then, they will be asked to write descriptions and essays on the topic in the wiki. Wiki will be also used to organize their resources, writing plans and drafts.
After completing the writing process, they will be asked to leave comments on the other groups works.

One thing I am worried about using a wiki for the collaborative work is how I can manage the process in a way that every student participates in equally. Some students may lead their group dominantly. Especially, when a learner's langauge proficiency is not good, she or he may passively participate, and lose the chance to learn the language.

Also, some students may need to spend too much time to learn how to use a wiki or blog. Well.. my students are younger than me so using a wiki or blog may not be a big deal. I am sure that they learn new technologies much faster than me. :) However, I don't want that students cannot learn the langauge effectively because they are not good at learning technologies.

Voice Thread

2008-09-26T22:07:00.001-07:00

Voice thread is an interesting and powerful tool.
The fact that we can write a comment as well as record our voice on the slide make the voice thread powerful and different from other types of slide show tools.
I plan to use it in my classroom. It seems great tool to promote multi modality. Also, using vocie thread would be authentic and interesting task for students.
In addition, Voice thread seems great as an holistic and alternative assessment in the language classroom. When students use this tool, students need to know how to search for the right pictures, organize it under their main theme, write down the key comments to represent their thought on the picture, and explain it in oral.
I LOVE it!!

However, there is one thing I could not figure out with Voice thread. I could not export the slide show that I made on Flikr to the Voice Thread. Can anyone explain it for me?

I made a slide show with photos of Korea. I used to make a powerpoint slide show to introduce Korean four seasons in my classroom. From now on, I will use Voice thread.

A conceptual map

2008-09-22T20:21:00.001-07:00

A conceptual map in a language classroom can be used various ways. Especially, it would be useful to help students to visualize concepts or lessons which are not often noticed otherwise.

For example, I created a conceptual map for the reading a L2 story. When students read stories from other country, they not only learn about the language but also learn new cultural beliefs and values. I think it is important for students to understand how the stories reflect the cultural values and beliefs when they read it. Based on this belief, I created the map.

Students will fill out the story line first from event 1 to event 5. As they organize the story line, they also write down what cultural facts about the country they have learn from the story.

Then, they will find what kinds of lesson this story tries to teach readers. After finding the lesson the story implies, they will decide if they agree with the value or not. Students will discuss how it is different from their personal or cultural belief. Students need to support their argument with logical explanations. During these processes, students will add their thoughts by adding new boxes to the original map. This collaborative work will help students to compare their idea with others.

Seoul Sky

2008-09-16T21:31:00.001-07:00

Seoul Sky
Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

I used Flickr for the first time today in the class. I felt great to find tons of pictures from my country. I was surprised at Flickr. It was very new to me but apparently it was not to the others. I even could find pictures of small town of Korea where I grew up when I was young.

uses of blogs

2008-09-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

The database I often use for my research is ERIC and Academic Premier. I found that both databases are reliable and pretty effective to find relevant things than others. I am also big fan of Google. It seems I can find everything with Google. Of course, I need to spend time to find which information is relevant, valid and valuable. When I am lucky, I don't need to spend much time to find the better information. I also often use Google to find images for the class.

It is not easy to find the right information from the sea of the information. It is often overwhelming. I tend to believe the information when the authors are famous in the field or issues. Or when the writing has evidences to support the information, it seems reliable.

To teach searching skills to second language learners seems very important. Searching for information requires students to have several strategies. It requires meta cognitive skills as well as linguistic skills. They have to know the right key words and its synonyms in L2. While native speakers can easily think of several words for what they are looking for, second language learners might not be so lucky to find the right words all the time. In this sense, using blogs and engaging students in effective search strategies seem very helpful for them.

RSS feeds are relatively new concepts to me. I started to subscribe to the recent Journals issues in the field of the language teaching. I am excited to keep up with the recent works in my field by subscribing to the journals. As I learn more about the RSS feeds and explore it, I will be able to find better sources to using feeds.

To teach a language

2008-09-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

I would like to use my blog to teach my students languages. Right now, I am teaching Korean at U of M and can't wait to use my blog to teach my students. It seems that there are hundreds of way to use it for langauge teaching but I may need to figure out the best way for my class.One thing that I can think of the benefit of using a blog is to promote my students's natural use of lanaguge. Most of my students learn Korean to meet Korean friends and learn more about its culture. However, due to the tight schedule and our program goals (which are not same as my personal goals), I felt that I have not met my students’ need and interests. For example, when my students meet Korean friends, they will have to use plain form of langauge more than polite forms. However, in the classroom, students are required to learn polite forms first and use it. It seems that many lessons in the classroom are not helpful for students’ reali life situation and do not meet theri need or interest. My blog will be useful to solve this problem. My students will use my blog to share their thoughts and ideas in Korea. They will be allowed to use and practice casual forms of Korean.Also, they can use blogs to share their findings and resources. The interest in Korean pop-culture has been one of the most strong motivation to study Korean for my students. I will use this blog to teach Korean pop culture as well as Korean language.One thing I would like to know in the classroom is how blogs can be effectively used for the langauge development. I felt that sometimes we have too much information to digest in the internet but it does not garauntee studnets’ learning. It can motivate students and make learning pleasant. Or blogging itself is not even fun or new to my students any more.How can we direct students learn languages with using a blog or other types of technology?