Week - 3 : Some More Reflections

Dear Colleagues,

I have visited Delicious.com in order to create my Delicious page. Really it's very delicious and funny because we can bookmark a variety of significant links as our daily academic menu.

My Delicious Page

Thus, I am successful in registering my URL in this site. I tried to bookmark some valuable links. I have tried to add many links to my own delicious page since I found them of great interest. Please visit it.

My delicious URL is: https://delicious.com/write2saini

Thanks,

Dr. Ashok Kumar

Week 3 More Reflection

I experience that the assignments assigned in Week 3 is harder than the earlier ones. Nevertheless it is no difficulty for the reason that we have work hard in order to accomplish the tasks. In week third I have downloaded paper titled, ‘The Employment of CALL in Teaching Second/Foreign Language Speaking Skill’ written by Julia Gong from the following website : http://education.unimelb.edu.au/research/resources/student_res/postscriptfiles/vol3/vol3_1_gong1.pdf. I have downloaded one more article titled, ‘New Perspectives in Teaching Pronunciation’ written by Maria Grazia Busà.

Julia Gong has explored the employment of Computers in a number of ways to sustain language learning. The computer milieu is highly encouraging as well as fewer ominous caring. 

The manifestations of the internet expand interface to an enormous coverage and at the same time facilitate novice to be revealed to a true addressees. It in the extra explored and evaluated how computers are exploited to further boost the learners’ writing, reading and listening skills. 

This critique has extensively discovered the advantages and disadvantages of the exploitation of computers in schooling and erudition of second language speaking skills, the definite submission of CALL so far, and prospect developments, in the anticipation of submitting language teachers’ interest to the relevance of CALL in instructing verbal communication skills and supplies various helpful information supported on easily reached literature. On the other hand, CALL speaking activities are still in the developing stages compared with those in reading, writing and listening. In fact, application of CALL in teaching and learning speaking is mainly decided by the nature of speaking itself.

                        

ICT has many advantages, such as, the environment is highly motivating and offers a private works-pace where learners can take risks and experiment in ways that might be psychologically threatening in a classroom or real-life communication situation. The medium offers learners information in wide forms and formats to set up models, or support and contextualize interaction. CD-ROMs provide large and diverse forms of information, including texts, graphics, sound files, digitized audio and video clips, etc. that can be accessed for speaking practice. Learners can easily turn to handy reference sources, such as texts on grammar, lexis, or the culture of the target country. The control-ability of CALL materials allows learners to ensue learning at their own pace and teachers to arrange their teaching to meet different needs. Many CALL materials can offer spontaneous feedback that can be used both for assessment or self-assessment purposes. In many cases, this kind of feedback can make the students' performance visualized by the use of visual images, eg. Simplified waveform.

The submission of CALL in rising second language speaking skills is disadvantaged in several ways. At present computers are unable to fabricate or identify with natural language or have real verbal interface with the users. What the CALL environment can do is provide a stimulus to generate interaction. The feature and price tag of existing software differs very much. Several speeches synthesizing software might fabricate a voice with a mechanical feature that can be complex for learners to appreciate. Evaluated with how computers are used to enhance the learners’ writing, reading and listening skills, the application associated with the improvement of the learners’ speaking skills is still rather weak. In a CALL survey under software categories, the rate for speaking is much lower than those for reading, writing and reading. As a result, the development of the unambiguous prospective of computers in emergent speaking skills and efficient teaching with the presented computer-based milieu involve more study for CALL researchers, program designers and language teachers.

I have downloaded one more paper titled, ‘New Perspectives in Teaching Pronunciation’ written by Maria Grazia Busà, In this article Maria reviews recent technology for teaching pronunciation, and the trends emerging in this field. One particular method for teaching prosody, in particular intonation and pitch patterns, is reviewed in considerable detail. This method uses speech analysis software to provide students with visual data in addition to audio data, and give them feedback on their L2 production.

At the very last piece, she reports on a pilot study conducted at the University of Padova designed to implement this pronunciation teaching method in future courses by testing the effectiveness of using these computer-based visual feedback systems to modify non-native speakers’ intonation patterns.

Maria has discussed new tools in speech and communication research in details. She has further discussed Tools for speech analysis and Tools for multimodal analysis. The speech research tools relevant to the present paper are tools for speech analysis, including prosodic analysis, and multimodal analysis. A widely-used freeware program for speech analysis which is gaining increasing acceptance is Praat, developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink at the Institute of Phonetic Sciences of the University of Amsterdam (NL) and available at http://www.praat.org. Section 8of this paper reports on a pilot project for teaching prosody to Italian learners of English using Praat. She speech analysis systems allow users to record, visualize and analyze speech on their computer screen. Students using these programs can obtain an accurate visualization of their production at both the segmental and the suprasegmental level. In order for students to make sense of the on-screen visualizations of their speech productions, they need to be given a theoretical background on how to read and interpret speech signals, spectrograms and prosodic patterns of pitch, intonation and loudness.

Therefore, these are exciting times for second language instruction. On the other hand, new research is needed to find teaching methods attuned with the new technology, as well as ways of improving and implementing classroom activities which can efficiently and fittingly promote the use of technological tools.

Thanks &  the best,

Dr. Ashok Kumar

Week 3 - Weekly Reflection

In this week I explored in using Delicious.com to store some useful links. After going to read the instructions about using Delicious.com (Condition), I create and used  Delicious site, and share the URL of their site (Behavior) including at least three links with appropriate tags (category descriptions) (Degree).

After reading one article on listening-speaking website, and reviewing at least two different speaking, listening, and/or pronunciation web sites in terms of use in the class, I share comments about the sites, including the target audience, skill(s) enhanced.

Reflection on Week 2 Web Skills Class

In the Week 2, I will explore about various things I did. First of all, I have done web searching by trying different search engines. A bouquet of search engines, sites, and portals that I visited to supplement my information. At the moment, I have extra and superior search engines (through noodletools) than earlier. These boost comprehension and broaden repertoires of websites.

My expected eLearners

I put together a number of behavioral objectives by using the ABCD model. This module is extraordinarily inspiring, for the reason that it reveals specify and logical approach of making learning objective. Earlier I never made learning objectives based on accurate steps. At this instant I can generate learning objective by meeting points on Audience, Behavior, Condition, and Degree (ABCD).

I designed a project task. I put a sketch to train through insightful blog. That’s all I did in connection with the project task. To wind up, I further explore that the Week 2 assignment of Webskills program is very impressive, interesting, and important to keep and practice.

Dr. Ashok Kumar

Further Progress in Week 2

Surfing New Web Tools

In the first week I did web searching activity by examining a variety of search engines, noodletools, originated the ABCD objectives, as well as designed the project plan for class. Web searching from beginning to end search engines was the tricky task to do and made eventful to discover the suitable sites various topics. I used 'bing site" (www.bing.com), its like "Google".

Further fascinating and significant search engine is http://betterworldbooks.com. I tried to apply all sites that are appropriate for my class. Another demanding task in week was crafting the ABCD objective. The ABCD model for behavioral objectives is incredibly useful for designing the learning objectives. I set the English language students as the Audience (A), the interactive students' LSRW capability as the Behavior (B), the Blog-based teaching approach as the Condition (C), and the total daily assessment from the tutor as the Degree (D). Really it is a fascinating, motivating and most insubstantial situation.

Reflection on Week 1 of Web Skills Projects

Introducing the Web Course

At opening of eLearning Program, I introduced the course to involve my students. I taught them to have an academic blog for everyone. My students’ blog are just for enjoyment to explore and share their extra activities, as exhibiting their photos or writing passionate expressions. My students do it for their fun; subsequently I consign my students to make an innovative one for academic purposes.

Discussing with Class

Further Discussion & Presentation

At this time I am instructing and guiding my students to design an academic blog. Accordingly is a way to introduce the interactive web application in teaching & learning process. My all the students are extraordinarily passionate to act in reaction.


Therefore I foresee that this program not only will be flourishing in enlightening and heightening the teaching but also learning practice.

Week 1 Activities

AEI eLearning Fall 2013 Web Skills made me extremely in high spirits although I was a little apprehensive since it is the first time for me as a student to wait the course open at 6 p.m. in my country India while in Oregon, USA is 08 a.m. This state of affair is incredibly special nevertheless I take pleasure in it extremely. I trip the Blackboard Learn and explore the current information from that web. I am afraid I will be left behind, so I tried to investigate and browse many information associated with my interactive web course.

Week 1 Reflections

Dear Participants in Web Skills Course,

Let me introduce myself.

I am Dr. Ashok K. Saini, faculty in the Deptt. of English, Urdu & Other Languages, State Council of Educational Research & Training, Uttarakhand, India. I have taught English in various capacities of technologically acclaimed institutions. My large number of research papers & dozens of books on Commonwealth Literature, Booker Prize Winning Writers, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) & ELT are published both in India & abroad.

My areas of concerns consist of ELT, Advertising Communications, British and Australian Literature in English. Besides my keen interests in literature, I am is vigorously involved in carrying out research in the areas of Technical & Communicative English as well. Some of my books can be viewed on the following links :

*Books listed at www.amazon.com – Link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Ashok%20K.%20Saini&ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank#/ref=sr_st?qid= 1347516551&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AAshok+K.+Saini&sort=daterank

*http://www.bod.com/index.php?id=3435&objk_id=862341

**Books listed at www.flipkart.com – Link:

http://www.flipkart.com/search/a/books?query=English+Language+Teaching%3A+New+Perspectives+Ashok+Kumar&vertical=books&dd=0&autosuggest%5Bas%5D=off&autosuggest%5Bas-suhttp://uowebskills.blogspot.com/bmittype%5D=entered&autosuggest%5Bas-grouprank%5D=0&autosuggest%5Bas-overallrank%5D=0&_r=bwtg_7TPF7GUbLBCZ4ZoMw--&_l=MHzwajeMCXBPHY1KaGPeZQ--&ref=faa51886-20cc-4099-b316-97861039d1c0&selmitem=

***Books listed at www.flipkart.com – Link:

http://www.flipkart.com/search/a/books?query=Ashok+K.+Saini&vertical=books&dd=0&autosuggest%5Bas%5D=off&autosuggest%5Bas-submittype%5D=entered&autosuggest%5Bas-grouprank%5D=0&autosuggest%5Bas-overallrank%5D=0&_r=7i4JTsGoJeAGbTZlwWA2ag--&_l=MHzwajeMCXBPHY1KaGPeZQ--&ref=48ce516b-eff9-4d9a-b2b8-1cea765fc23f&selmitem=

I can be contacted directly at write2saini@gmail.com