MES English
http://www.mes-english.com/
Grades: K-12
MES English is a website that offers parents and teachers resources to help them teach children to teenagers various aspects of theEnglish language. The website has been a lifesaver for both my coteachers and I. The site is easy to use and provides flashcards, worksheets, teaching videos, and games to help educators cover various parts of language learning. These resources are clearly marked on the menu of the homepage. Topics covered in these sections cover most aspects of language learning from learning phonics to understanding more complex grammar patterns.
I have often used this website to find games that the students can do together. Many of the games are good but most require the user to have a printer because many of them are board or card games. This is good for educators or parents that have easy access to a printer but not so much for someone with limited resources. Explanations for the games are given which make them easier to explain to the students for the teacher using them. The videos are very effective as well to explain parts of grammar that may be difficult for the students to understand. A youtube link is provided for additional support if there are problems with the videos on the site. MES English offers practice in many areas of language learning from phonics to writing.
What is very useful with this website is the forums section. In this section teachers and parents can discuss a variety of topics. There are three sections in the forums sections. They are teaching, games and activities and general. This allows educators to give feedback on these various things and also discuss things that aren't strictly related to teching. Feedback is given and thus allows teachers to learn from others experiences. The forums section also gives links to other teaching websites that teachers can use in their lesson planning.
I feel the website is very well organized and easy to use. I have found most of the material easy to use because of the well written instructions for the games and activities. MES English has many activities for the students to do that can improve their speaking and writing but there isn't much to help with reading. Also, as I mentioned earlier with the games and activities many of them require the user to have a printer which could be problematic. This is especially true if the teacher has large classes and needs to make many printouts. I think that is one aspect that MES English could improve. Maybe offering communicative activities that don't require printed materials would be helpful. Overall, MES English is a great a resource for teachers who are having trouble filling their time in their classroom. I would recommned this site to both new and experienced teachers.
2011년 2월 23일 수요일
2011년 2월 9일 수요일
Thoughts About Corpus Based Language Learning
To be frankly honest I really had no idea what corpus based language learning was before I read the articles. I am embarrassed to say I had to do a quick google and wikipedia search before reading the articles to get a brief idea what it was. Both readings helped to give me a general idea of how corpus based language learning can be used to make meaning of learning a new language and how we can present the material in a a way that gives the student(s) an oppurtunity to use what is being leaned in a real life context.
It was suggested in Richards and Roger's article "The Lexical Approach" that lexical units play an important role in learning and in coomunication (p.133). When I teach English to my students, they are often confused when lexicals like idioms and similes. The sometimes take it literally and are really confused. Students will hear these often, as native speakers seldom talk the way they are portrayed in the textbooks, speaking perfect and clear English. This isn't the case, as words are thrown around all the time, and when they are directly translated don't make any sense. The idea of "The Lexical Syllabus" by Willis and the use of Collins COBUILD English course I thought was brillant and very pratical for language learners. By showing the students the most frequently used words in the English language and how they are used the students get a better understanding of how to properly use lexical units.
I notice when I am teaching grammar to my students they end up talking like robots after a period of time. Yes, the grammar that they have learned in their grammar books is correct but a lot of it is rarely used or sounds unnatural to native speakers. By using a lexical Syllabus the students get a chance to use words in a matter in which they are commonly used and sounds more natural. This in my opinion is better for the students in the future as it better prepares them to use them in social interactions. It is important though that the teacher provides guidance to the students and present the material so that it meets the student's individual needs.
In Tim Johns article "From Printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of Data driven Learning" I got to see how DDL helped students make meaning of linguistic data. What I liked most about the article was that it discusses how students could start relying less on the teacher and make conclusions on their own. Teachers show the students how to find meaning in word usage and word pairs and then later on they can find and make meaning on their own. The article also suggests that students can create data for themselves and to their own situations in freer types of activities (p.303) . This helps to change the content to better suit the student. As a result, students play a more active role in their language learning.
Overall, both articles stress the importance of langauge learning in a context that is practical for the students. They must be able to make meaning out of what is being said and know how it is being used in real life interaction. Corpus based language learning helps with the compiling of linguistic data. With this we are able to see exactly what words and word combinations are most commonly used and in what context. This better helps us decide what to teach and how to teach it. Both articles were great in establishing this and giving a good introduction on this topic.
Johns, Tim, "From printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of Data-driven Learning", University of Birmingham English Language Research Journal 4, 1991.
It was suggested in Richards and Roger's article "The Lexical Approach" that lexical units play an important role in learning and in coomunication (p.133). When I teach English to my students, they are often confused when lexicals like idioms and similes. The sometimes take it literally and are really confused. Students will hear these often, as native speakers seldom talk the way they are portrayed in the textbooks, speaking perfect and clear English. This isn't the case, as words are thrown around all the time, and when they are directly translated don't make any sense. The idea of "The Lexical Syllabus" by Willis and the use of Collins COBUILD English course I thought was brillant and very pratical for language learners. By showing the students the most frequently used words in the English language and how they are used the students get a better understanding of how to properly use lexical units.
I notice when I am teaching grammar to my students they end up talking like robots after a period of time. Yes, the grammar that they have learned in their grammar books is correct but a lot of it is rarely used or sounds unnatural to native speakers. By using a lexical Syllabus the students get a chance to use words in a matter in which they are commonly used and sounds more natural. This in my opinion is better for the students in the future as it better prepares them to use them in social interactions. It is important though that the teacher provides guidance to the students and present the material so that it meets the student's individual needs.
In Tim Johns article "From Printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of Data driven Learning" I got to see how DDL helped students make meaning of linguistic data. What I liked most about the article was that it discusses how students could start relying less on the teacher and make conclusions on their own. Teachers show the students how to find meaning in word usage and word pairs and then later on they can find and make meaning on their own. The article also suggests that students can create data for themselves and to their own situations in freer types of activities (p.303) . This helps to change the content to better suit the student. As a result, students play a more active role in their language learning.
Overall, both articles stress the importance of langauge learning in a context that is practical for the students. They must be able to make meaning out of what is being said and know how it is being used in real life interaction. Corpus based language learning helps with the compiling of linguistic data. With this we are able to see exactly what words and word combinations are most commonly used and in what context. This better helps us decide what to teach and how to teach it. Both articles were great in establishing this and giving a good introduction on this topic.
Johns, Tim, "From printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of Data-driven Learning", University of Birmingham English Language Research Journal 4, 1991.
2011년 2월 1일 화요일
Reflections on Anderson's "Getting The Mix Right Again: An Updated and Theoretical Rationale For Interaction"
The role of interaction is probablly the most important thing in education. Whether it be between the teacher and student or student and student it all plays an important role in how we learn. With more and more people relying to technology and things like the internet for knowledge it has made me wonder how interaction has been effected through distance based learning. Anderson's article does a good job in helping to answer this question.
At times, I found the article hard to follow, as it sounded like a consulting report. The article makes many good points though on the different types of interaction and there importance in the classroom. I thought it was very interesting when he was talking about teacher and student interaction, and that most students try and pick a learning program that minimizes student/teacher interaction which I thought was very interesting. I myself have found that the teacher/student relationship is one of the most important things in learning.
Anderson points out that as long as one of the three relationships (teacher/student, student/student or student/content) is at a high level, deep and meaningful learning can be supported. Anderson states "Student-teacher interaction has the highest percieved value among students." To me this sounded silly how it was worded but made a lot of sense. The teacher and student engaging in discussion with one another is vitally important in my opinion when it comes to learning and comprehending the material.
The importance of student to student interaction is also brought up in the article. This too I believe is very important in learning but can be difficult in distance learning. It is mentioned that students can colloborate through various means like a student portfolio. I agree that student to student interaction is essential. Student blogs and portfolios are great but it doesn't make up for the face to face interaction. This I feel is the down side to distance learning. A teacher to student relationship via distance learning isn't much affected as long as the teacher and student are in constant content with each other via various sources like email, blogs, etc... To colloborate and work with other students on projects or communicating ideas can be a challenge. Students aren't always online at the same time and often refer to leaving each other messages when communicating with each other. As a result, timely communication and working with each others schedules can be difficult.
In conclusion, when it comes to distance learning there are many pros and cons. Anderson's article helps to give a non biased approach to the various apsects of interaction in distance learning. Through our own judgement and experience we can make up our own mind what works and what doesn't. I have to say as much as I have enjoyed distance leaning with my busy schedule it will never make up for the face to face interaction. In the future, we as educators have to think hard about how we use distance learning and the format in which we teach our students through these means.
Anderson, Terry. "Getting The Right Mix Again: An Updated and Theoretical Rationale For Interaction." The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2003).
At times, I found the article hard to follow, as it sounded like a consulting report. The article makes many good points though on the different types of interaction and there importance in the classroom. I thought it was very interesting when he was talking about teacher and student interaction, and that most students try and pick a learning program that minimizes student/teacher interaction which I thought was very interesting. I myself have found that the teacher/student relationship is one of the most important things in learning.
Anderson points out that as long as one of the three relationships (teacher/student, student/student or student/content) is at a high level, deep and meaningful learning can be supported. Anderson states "Student-teacher interaction has the highest percieved value among students." To me this sounded silly how it was worded but made a lot of sense. The teacher and student engaging in discussion with one another is vitally important in my opinion when it comes to learning and comprehending the material.
The importance of student to student interaction is also brought up in the article. This too I believe is very important in learning but can be difficult in distance learning. It is mentioned that students can colloborate through various means like a student portfolio. I agree that student to student interaction is essential. Student blogs and portfolios are great but it doesn't make up for the face to face interaction. This I feel is the down side to distance learning. A teacher to student relationship via distance learning isn't much affected as long as the teacher and student are in constant content with each other via various sources like email, blogs, etc... To colloborate and work with other students on projects or communicating ideas can be a challenge. Students aren't always online at the same time and often refer to leaving each other messages when communicating with each other. As a result, timely communication and working with each others schedules can be difficult.
In conclusion, when it comes to distance learning there are many pros and cons. Anderson's article helps to give a non biased approach to the various apsects of interaction in distance learning. Through our own judgement and experience we can make up our own mind what works and what doesn't. I have to say as much as I have enjoyed distance leaning with my busy schedule it will never make up for the face to face interaction. In the future, we as educators have to think hard about how we use distance learning and the format in which we teach our students through these means.
Anderson, Terry. "Getting The Right Mix Again: An Updated and Theoretical Rationale For Interaction." The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2003).
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