Saturday, July 21, 2007
Venting my frustration!!!
My exam paper was finally done, so I thought. What a relief! No sooner had I submitted it, I was told we had to design the paper based on the new syllabus. How frustrating can it be! Why couldn't they have told us earlier? Such a waste of man hours! Urggh!!!!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
College should be fun!!!
It is so sad to find students coming to college, unprepared for the skills of college reading. Life must be one uphill trudge. Think of the reading assignments! And having to do it, word for word, looking up the meanings of words that should have been part of their vocabulary in school. I feel sorry for them. Many drop out unable to cope with such curriculum demands.
How do we conduct remedial work in the midst of lesson preparation, grading and administrative work? No wonder teachers are washed out by the end of the day. No wonder they are compared to the flickering candle that blows out by the slightest waft of the breeze.
For weak students, the college would have to prepare remedial courses to teach the skills of reading and writing and assign supervisors to monitor assignment in stages until the students can handle complete assignments on their own. Students shouldn’t have to go through such misery if their teachers had taught them the skills of reading while in school. College out to be fun!!!
How do we conduct remedial work in the midst of lesson preparation, grading and administrative work? No wonder teachers are washed out by the end of the day. No wonder they are compared to the flickering candle that blows out by the slightest waft of the breeze.
For weak students, the college would have to prepare remedial courses to teach the skills of reading and writing and assign supervisors to monitor assignment in stages until the students can handle complete assignments on their own. Students shouldn’t have to go through such misery if their teachers had taught them the skills of reading while in school. College out to be fun!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Newspapers for speaking, reading and writing
It is well documented that newspapers are an effective means of teaching a language. In many ESL environments, students read newspapers in their own language. How then can teachers turn this situation tinto an asset in order to teach English?
It will be to the teacher’s advantage if they know the students’ language. But this is not often the case. However, not all is lost. The teacher can either get the best student in class to translate the selected news item for the lesson. At the same time, the teacher can read the same piece of news in the English newspaper. Of course, this has to be done in the preparatory stage.
Then the instructor can write up her lesson plan and objectives. In my personal opinion, it is more effective to discuss topics that are nearer home to the students and of greater interest to them. Since lack of vocabulary is the main stumbling block for oral discussion and writing, the teacher would need to work out the vocabulary. Much of class time will also be spent on how to use the new words in different situations.
The activity involves reading, speaking and writing as well as word building. As a spin off, it can be turned into a drama, a mock trial, a debate etc depending on the story.
gbc708@yahoo.com
It will be to the teacher’s advantage if they know the students’ language. But this is not often the case. However, not all is lost. The teacher can either get the best student in class to translate the selected news item for the lesson. At the same time, the teacher can read the same piece of news in the English newspaper. Of course, this has to be done in the preparatory stage.
Then the instructor can write up her lesson plan and objectives. In my personal opinion, it is more effective to discuss topics that are nearer home to the students and of greater interest to them. Since lack of vocabulary is the main stumbling block for oral discussion and writing, the teacher would need to work out the vocabulary. Much of class time will also be spent on how to use the new words in different situations.
The activity involves reading, speaking and writing as well as word building. As a spin off, it can be turned into a drama, a mock trial, a debate etc depending on the story.
gbc708@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Of American Idol and ESL Music
Music is a universal language. Long before they could speak English fluently, many Chinese students I knew were belting out current hits like professionals! No doubt, their foreign teachers provided some impetus. However, these days with American Idol, music videos and karaoke, students do not need adult motivation in this direction.
Since students learn more effectively if they are interested, why not take advantage of this to stage song competitions as part of language learning? Certain songs can be turned into dramas. I remember teaching my students Nat King Cole’s “Bicycle Built for Two" – an oldie but goodie. I then divided the class into different groups to present stories out of that song. I was pleasantly impressed by their performances! Trust young people’s imagination with romances! The most important thing is that the students are learning the language the fun way! A song can also be turned into a comprehension piece or a ‘fill in the blank’ passage.
American Idol as well as other reality shows can be used as the basis for oral English discussions concerning young people, trends, culture and new technology. Or it can be turned into a debate on the judging criteria, talent versus looks, comparison of American and Asian singers, comparison of the various contestants, an appraisal of the three judges and many more issues!
Since students learn more effectively if they are interested, why not take advantage of this to stage song competitions as part of language learning? Certain songs can be turned into dramas. I remember teaching my students Nat King Cole’s “Bicycle Built for Two" – an oldie but goodie. I then divided the class into different groups to present stories out of that song. I was pleasantly impressed by their performances! Trust young people’s imagination with romances! The most important thing is that the students are learning the language the fun way! A song can also be turned into a comprehension piece or a ‘fill in the blank’ passage.
American Idol as well as other reality shows can be used as the basis for oral English discussions concerning young people, trends, culture and new technology. Or it can be turned into a debate on the judging criteria, talent versus looks, comparison of American and Asian singers, comparison of the various contestants, an appraisal of the three judges and many more issues!
How to get students interested in reading
Weak students often drown under the weight of college reading assignments due to lack of vocabulary, poor grammar and poor reading skills. Lack of interest in the subject matter too plays a part. The teacher is unable to give such students easier reading tasks because they have a syllabus to complete.
To overcome such problems, I often get my students to read the night before and to find out the meanings of difficult words. During class, I would have a quiz on synonyms or antonyms related to the assignment at hand. Very often, I would go over the meaning of words with them, illustrating their meaning by making sentences or by giving examples. Sometimes, I use cloze passages to test their new vocabulary.
I remember one particular reading assignment that was related to baby snatchers. It coincided with front page news about a senior government official who had just married a woman, more than twenty years his junior. We turned that topic into a debate and it was one of those rare moments for a teacher to see disinterested students suddenly becoming enthusiastic about their reading. Their ability to relate the reading text to what was happening around them was the reason for the change of mindset.
To overcome such problems, I often get my students to read the night before and to find out the meanings of difficult words. During class, I would have a quiz on synonyms or antonyms related to the assignment at hand. Very often, I would go over the meaning of words with them, illustrating their meaning by making sentences or by giving examples. Sometimes, I use cloze passages to test their new vocabulary.
I remember one particular reading assignment that was related to baby snatchers. It coincided with front page news about a senior government official who had just married a woman, more than twenty years his junior. We turned that topic into a debate and it was one of those rare moments for a teacher to see disinterested students suddenly becoming enthusiastic about their reading. Their ability to relate the reading text to what was happening around them was the reason for the change of mindset.
IELTS Reading Test
There are three reading passages and test takers are required to answer 40 questions within 60 minutes. Test items are graded in terms of difficulty. The length of the passage is between 1500-2500 words. Due to the length of the texts and the time constraint, students often make mistakes which include rushing through the text without really understanding what they read or reading too slowly with the result that they are unable to answer all the questions.
To avoid these mistakes, learn to speed read. Take a reading passage which is about 1500 words long, time your reading and calculate your reading speed by dividing the number of words read over the time clocked to get your speed per minute.
Learn to skim over a passage very quickly to get a general gist of the article. Then read more carefully, underlining important points, taking into consideration, topic sentences as well as discourse markers before reading the comprehension questions. Then scan for the answers.
When you come across a difficult word, read the sentence before and the sentence after
it to make an intelligent guess of the meaning. You will not be penalized for wrong answers, so make sure you attempt all questions.
To avoid these mistakes, learn to speed read. Take a reading passage which is about 1500 words long, time your reading and calculate your reading speed by dividing the number of words read over the time clocked to get your speed per minute.
Learn to skim over a passage very quickly to get a general gist of the article. Then read more carefully, underlining important points, taking into consideration, topic sentences as well as discourse markers before reading the comprehension questions. Then scan for the answers.
When you come across a difficult word, read the sentence before and the sentence after
it to make an intelligent guess of the meaning. You will not be penalized for wrong answers, so make sure you attempt all questions.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Reading and Writing Strategies
Contrary to popular belief, reading is not a passive activity. We bring our background knowledge into our reading. For example, when we read about badminton, immediately we associate it with various competitions such as the Thomas Cup, the All England Championship or the Sudirman Cup. We think of singles and doubles, badminton court, shuttlecocks, rackets and the three countries that predominate in this game –China, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Likewise, when we read about bird flu, (Avian Influenza) the virus that is transmitted from fowls to humans, instantly, we think of mass culling of fowls, its economic effects on poultry farmers and the Kentucky Fried Chicken industry as well inoculations and vets.
If we make a habit of reading using the above methods, the text in question becomes more interesting. And we can go one step further by responding to the text with our written thoughts. Reading strategies are important not just in IELTS but in college where we really need to know how to deal with heavy reading assignments.
Likewise, when we read about bird flu, (Avian Influenza) the virus that is transmitted from fowls to humans, instantly, we think of mass culling of fowls, its economic effects on poultry farmers and the Kentucky Fried Chicken industry as well inoculations and vets.
If we make a habit of reading using the above methods, the text in question becomes more interesting. And we can go one step further by responding to the text with our written thoughts. Reading strategies are important not just in IELTS but in college where we really need to know how to deal with heavy reading assignments.
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