Blog11-Week16 Reflection & Comments on Group Presentation

Reflection
Our group used Skype as a teaching media material. This is because it acts as a type of communication device that allows people to not only message people, but also be able to talk, and even visually see the other person or people that you are communicating with. One of our dificulties was to organize the class at the same time. Some had never used Skype, so we had to explain and watch the way students did their work. Also, we needed to choose appropriate videos for advanced level learners. We thought that, as a result, these activities tap into a variety of aspects of learning, from vocabulary, to personal development, content, contextual situations, speaking, as well as pragmatics. There are some problems in our activity, but I hope everyone enjoyed our presentation.

Comments
Group1 (Reid, Min Su and Atsushi)
Google doc is simple and accessible for everyone. I have used google doc whenever I have a group presentation. If I use google doc, my friends and I don't need to meet and make a document such as powerpoint. However, I didn't notice this media also can be applied as a language teaching materials. I really like the activity that Reid's group presented. In addition to their activity, I may use google doc in a different way.

Group2(Ryota, Hyun Ju, and Andrew)
Their topic was intersting one. Through SNS, learners can know and learn other cultures. I believe that these SNS motivate learners to study thier target language. In my opinion, the activity that  Ryota's group presented is not for activity in class, but for out of class. They didn't mention specific SNS, so learners can choose some media for thier learning. The class is the place where learners and teacher share their learning process and opinion. I think the activity work for espeacially advanced level learners.

Blog10-Week15 Comment on group projects

I really like both groups' activities.

Group 1 (Allison, Jacqueline, and Dzulfikri)
Music is often used in language class room, and it is very effective for learners to learn target language. This group used "Jut Like You" as a material, but it is somewhat difficult for me to listen to lyrics and understand the meaning. However, I could hear my friends opinions and experiences related to the song, and I found  that each students has different opinions and feelings about the song eventhough we listened to the same song. Also, as a HW, we have to find and bring a photo and image that represents one of the words discussed in the activity. I thought that HW was nice to keeping use media as students' own study.

Group 2 (Tankia, Wonguk, and Kelly)
I was surprised that there was another online site we could post video, picture and other resouces insted of Facebook!! I'm sure that the site is easier to organize the class and be safe than Facebook. I really want to try it in the future. More surprisingly, they made virtual trip map to France. I think if students also can try making their own maps, it is more effective to learn language because they need to search and understand a site that is wrriten by L2 to complete the map. They can learn a lot of words and culture through the proceess of project.

Blog9-Week14 Discussion Questions about Unintended Outcomes in SL

When I played Quest Atlantis, I learned how I can communicate with other residents rather than how I can use language itself. I tried to participate in some activities such as question, but actually I didn't pay attention to target language much. I enjoyed chatting with other participants, and changing an avatar's clothes, hair, and skin color. However, I chose avatar's appearance defffernted from my appearance in First Life. I didn't have exact reasons, but I chose it just for fun!! Thinking back over my experience of QA, I couldn't enhance intercultural literacy and cultural identities for just an hour.  As the author said, I needed supportive social contex that emphasises cooperation because almost of time I spent by myself except when I have small talk to others. That's why I couldn't consider me as a part of community. Of course, if I continue QA for more long time, I may enhance intercultural literacy, or cultural identities. However, so far, I couldn't learn those abilities from SL. In fact, I don't like playing game like 3D virtual even if it aim to learn language. I think there are preferences of learners, so some can learn a lot of thing including  intercultural literacy and cultural identities from SL, but other like me can't learn anything from it.

Blog8-Week13 Discussion Question about Establishing a theorectical foundation for project-based learning in second and foreign language contexts

Question: your students are learning about restaurants (food, taste, ordering, ect.) during this 3 week unit.  Your PDL guidelines included that your students should create a fictitious restaurant in their target L2’s country.  In what ways could you encourage your students to use social medias for their presentation and/or information gathering?  Given what we have learned about social medias in class, what sites and/or medias would you recommend, and why?

Answer:
     I'll show students a video at first. The video should include a restaurant scene, and characters will have conversation. For example, a customer will order, and ask a waiter which is the chef's recommendation. The waiter ask the order, and tell the check. I think that it is good way to image the situation, and know what the each  character say. After that, I'm going to let students use the Internet to get more information about L2's country restaurants. They may refer to the specific restaurant such as Zippy's, and look for the menu and business hours. Students can get information not only for their fictitious  restaurant but also for their skills such as reading, comprehension, and also computer literacy. If we have more time, I would have students take a movie, and show them what they have just played. They will listen to their own conversation or each pronunciation by watching the video. Thus, they can reconsider their phrase or pronunciation which are used in the play.
     When I took Spanish class, I played a role as I suggested. However, I didn't use media much in Spanish class, so I wanted to take more media. Since we have to do all thing during 3 weeks, it might be difficult, but we are worth our time in the class.
   

Blog7-Week9 Experience of video podcast

Since it was the first time for me to make own movie, I had a lot of difficulties with editting. One of my troubles was that I didn't have Mac. So I had to go to computer Lab, or borrow Mac from my friends to use iMovie. However, once I started editing the movie, I devoted myself and enjoyed editing. I adopted a sound effect and music to give obsevers a mood. Also, I put the poems on the screen to allow obsevers to check what I said. Next trouble was that I had to wait an hour to upload my movie on youtube. I hope a programmer develops the youtube upload system. Although I spent a lot of time to edit and upload the video, I'm satisfied with my work even if my movie beyonds 5 min.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WYPH9lSIpE  ← This is my video podcast link:) Check it out!!

My target observer is anyone who are interested in Japanese and Jpanese culture. In my movie, they can learn how to write Haiku (Japanese poem), and listen to one of famous poems. Since I spoke English insted of Japanese, it was easy for beginner to understand the contents. When I show my friend (Japanese friend) this movie, she enjoyed and liked it. She commented that using a finger was good idea because observers never get tired of listening, and watching. She also added that I could include teenagers as my target because I didn't use difficult words. I was glad to hear her comment, and wanted to hear more comments from other observers. I'm looking forward to seeing the comments on youtube. I'm sure that their
comment encourages me to make a better video podcast in the future.

Blog6-Week8 QA experience

Although there are some advantages of QA, personally I don't like QA much because after (or while) I played QA I got eye strain. I didn't know why, but compared to liveMocha or twitter activities, I felt easily eyes' fatigue. As a result, I couldn't concentrate on learning for even an hour because of my eye tiredness. I think that it is not just for me but others. Especially, it may be harm for young learners to play QA (kind of game) for a long time because their eye are easily influenced by enviroment.

Also, some learners just play for a plesure not for language learning, so teacher has to go the round and pay attention to student's activity.  In my opinion, learners should use QA as their outside activity because no matter how learners use well, they can't improve their language skills if they don't know basic knowledge. That's why grammar teaching or other teaching should be focused on  in class.

Since I'm not gamer (who loves playing game), I'm not interested in QA much. However, for gamer QA is very interesting, and it even motivetes them. If teacher understands individual preferences, she can give learners a lot of options to study language. Some prefers QA, but the others don't prefer it. This situation always exsisted in class.

Blog5-Week7 Brainstorming for video podcaste

Hi all,

Have you decided what you are going to do for video podcaste?
I have some idea, but I haven't decided yet. I want to adopt something related to language learning, but what I want to do have already done by other. For example, youtube, ABC news video, and BBC offer language learning video. I sometime use those learning tools. When I think about project of video podcast as a producer, my idea tends to be same as videos which already produced by other. I want to make somewhat unique, but I don't come up with that.

One thing that I decide is that I'll introduce some Japanese culture, or Okinawan culture in Japanese garden. Have you been to there? Japanese garden is located in near Kennedy theatre, and it is so cool. If you haven't been to, you should go:)  I believe that the place will give learners more interesting to learn Japanese.

Blog4-Week6 Audiopodcasting

I took a lot of time to record and put a podcast on class blog. Since I was poor at using mechanic, I had some troubles in the work. However, it is only because of  a lot of experience that I could completed and succeeded. Whenever people try to do new thing, they face a difficulty, and learn something from it. I'm sure that next time when I use poscast, I can use it eaiser and more effiective. As teacher said, when I teach how to use podcast to students, I can explain the way better than others because I know what point or part do students get into trouble. Although I needed a lot of energy and time to make my podcast, I'm surely satisfiedv with the result.

Goal
 I speak Okinawan language in the audio. This is because I want to revival and teach Okinawan language to a younger generation in Okinawa. As a introduction, or group project, using a podcasting is effective way to become familiar with and practice Okinawan language.

Target learners
My target learners are younger generation in Okinawa (Japan). There are a few Okinawan language class in Okinawa, but some people learn the language by themselves. My podcat has pottential to be used by those learners, too.

Content
The audiopodcasting style is storytelling.  The story is one of famous Okinawan folklores. When people sneeze, what do you say for them? In Okinawa, we say "クスクェー" in order to keep away from ghosts. The characters are Kama, a grandmother, and ghosts.  I introduce why Okinawan has started to use "クスクェー" by playing a role.

Even me it was very hard to pronunce Okinawan language correctly, and I realized that I also needed to learn Okinawan language. Seriously, Okinawan language is a language on the verge of extinction. That's whay it is very important and meaningful to develop the materials to learn Okinawan language. I hope I can keep on this kind of project.

Blog3-Week5 Multimedia Literacy

Although I was not familiar with multimedia literacy until I read a article, I think that next generation or even our generation need this ability because there are a lot of teaching methods using computer, and people are exposed to those technology in their daily life. According to Mayer (2000), he explains that multimedia literacy refers to being able to generate multimedia communications that others comprehend and to comprehend multimedia communications that others generate. If I am a teacher, I'll use some visual aids based on computer because it is less time to put a picture on screen than I draw a picture by myself. Also, students can easily access use computers as  language leanings at their house. As one of  possible future teachers, I should learn multimedia literacy, and teach the literacy to students.

The article more focused on how to produce multimedia explanations that people can understand. When Jacqueline explained ten principles of multimedia message design, I was more interested in Segmenting principle because I couldn't catch all words when I watched a video. So I though that if I could control the video, for example, pause, repeat, and more slowly, I would catch all words, and more understand the contents. I felt that Segmenting principle was important  at that time. However, one of my friends suggested  that students could control the video if they learned something at their house or computer lab. So, I noticed it was depend on how teacher use the video that whether teacher can include Segmenting principle in the multimedia resources.

Also, Temporal contiguity principle is helpful for learner, especially L2 learner because learners can't concentrate on whole explanation, and they may fail to hear some words. However, if they watch the video and listen to explanation simultaneously, they can easily understand the contents because the pictures give a clue for learners to comprehend the explanation.

Teacher has to choose carefully in order to satisfy these principle, but it is not easy to meet all. This is because perhaps they don't need to follow Personalization principle in some class, or they should reflect Modality principle in other class. etc...However, knowing basic ten principle, and checking by comparing whenever we see visual aids, is very important. I think that those process can be also included in multimedia literacy.

Blog2-week4 Reflection on "Podcasting: An effective tool for honing language students’ Pronunciation"

When I began to read an article, I expected that a study about pronunciation learning must show the improvement of second language (L2) learners' pronunciation because I thought that L2 learner could learn phonics easily if they trained it. However, the result was different from my anticipation. As the author mentioned, I also think that 16 weeks is not a sufficient amount of time to make gains in pronunciation, especially in an intermediate language course. Also, Learners' attitudes towards pronunciation show no significant differences in the pre- and post-tests. This was because intermediate courses encouraged students to practice pronunciation independently outside of class as part of the podcasting project. I disappointed this result because I wanted to believe that L2 learner can overcome a target language pronunciation by training. However, there are some suggestions in this article, so we can revise the method and can improve L2 learners' pronunciation.

In the class discussion, my partner answered the question, which is pronunciation important or not, and she said that it was depend on how learner could speak L2 comprehensible. If a listener can understand what a speaker (L2 learner) say, pronunciation is not important for him. However, if a listener can't catch any words from a speaker, L2 learner need to practice pronunciation. In my case, for example, when I order something at restaurant or starbucks in Hawaii, a clerk often asks me to say again. Since English is my L2, I can't pronounce it perfectly. Although a clerk understands what I say in the end, I'm really ashamed about that. Maybe I need to learn pronunciation more. That's why, personally, pronunciation is important for me.

Podcasting may be the place where people share their idea through internet, I mean, not just for specific group but also public. Indeed, some people put their own idea on like youtube, but podcasting is easier because people don't need to make some picture and video. Also, since listener can listen to speaker's real voice, it may more impress listener than written text.

I'm really interested in Podcasting because there are still a lot of potential language learnings. I used Podcasting a lot for language learning, and it was very helpful. I hope I can use Podcasting in various ways.

Blog1-Week3 LiveMocha experience

I used LiveMocha, and it was very fun. These days a lot of learning softwares are developed, and learners can easily access it. I tried to use some other e-learning, but LiveMocha was different from those e-learning.

At frst, it was first time for me to practice a role play on computer. Since e-learning is individual learning, I couldn't perform the activity that is like interactive. Although I couldn't choose a topic and phrase in a role play, it was interesting for me. If beginner learners use LiveMocha, they can learn a lot of words and phrases from a role play conversation. However, intermediate and advanced level learners may be bored because they know words compared to beginners, so they must want to use their words and knowledge.

Next, I was really surprised that learner could submit their speaking or writing task for netive speaker though they need medals(points) for submission. It is very useful to get a feedback from native speaker. I think that learner can improve their second/foreign language without school clsass.

However, I was disappointed that I had to pay for LiveMocha if I wantd to continue learning. That's why I stop learning. I wish they could serve e-learning, and evrybody could use it.

Blog0-Week1 Nice to meet you, SLS418 members:)

Hello everyone,

I am Sugano Higa, and I'm from Okinawa in Japan. Some may not know Okinawa, but Okinawa is beautiful island. It's very similar to Hawaii. If you want to know Okinawa more, just google it!

I used to have own blog, and post my feeligs and experiences as part of a media class. However, after I finished the class, I stopped my blog. So I think that it is good chance to start blog again. This time, I will focus on SLS418 reading and academic topics. I hope everyone enjoy this blog.

Sugano