Happy Flight Back to Jordan

I wish you a happy and safe flight back to Jordan. It was really nice to work with you all. You became brothers and sisters. I would like to thank you all ; Sameer, Narjes, Atrees, Um William, Abeer, Um Mo'men, Hazard, Al-Mariana, Hussam, Wajdi and Mouhammad Kasasbeh.

I cannot wait till I see you again, but I'm sure we will by God's will.

Please, keep in touch. If you think of coming to Syria, please, give me a call 00963933182794.
e-mail: translingua@hotmail.com

See you soon

Mouhammad Utmah

JORDANIAN – SYRIAN P4T CONFERENCE 2007

JORDANIAN – SYRIAN P4T CONFERENCE 2007

First Day: July/23/2007
Time
Workshop Number
Workshop Title
Workshop Presenter
9:00-9:30
Welcoming Speech
Eman & Najwa
9:30-10:00
P4T 01
WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM YOU AND ME?
ABEER AL-HIJAZI
10:00-10:10
BREAK
10:10-10:40
P4T 02
MAKING LANGUAGE MAKE SENSE
MOUHAMMAD UTMAH
10:40-11:00
COFFEE BREAK
11:00-11:30
P4T 03
HOW DO WE TALK WITH OUR BODIES!
EMAN AL-GHNIEMIN
11:30-11:40
BREAK
11:40-12:10
P4T 04
DRAMA IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL OF EFL
MHMMAD KASSASBEH
12:10-2:00
Lunch
2:00-2:30
P4T 05
VOCABULARY PRACTICE GAMES
SUHAD ALIMADANAT
2:30-2:40
BREAK
2:40-3:10
P4T 06
TEACHING 4 SKILLS THROUGH STORYTELLING
MARIANA VICTOROVA
3:10-3:20
BREAK
3:20-3:50
P4T07
HOW TO MAKE STUDENTS NEVER SHUT UP!
ASHRAF AMATOURI
3:50-4:10
COFFEE BREAK
4:10-4:40
P4T 08
USING PICTURE STORIES IN TEACHING WRITING &SPEAKING
HAZAR GHRAYEB
4:40-4:50
BREAK
4:50-5:20
P4T 09
USING VIDEO TO TEACH 4 SKILLS
NAJEH AL-RAWADEH



Second Day: July/24/2007
Time
Workshop
Number
Workshop Title
Workshop
Presenter
9:00-9:30
P4T10
WHO SAID IS GRAMMAR BORING???
NINA ALAJAHJI
9:30-9:4O
BREAK
9:40 -10:10
P4T11
THINK LOCALLY AND ACT GLOBALLY
HALA MOUKAYED
10:10-10:20
BREAK
10:20-10:50
P4T12
PASSION –BASED LEARNING
NAJWA KHIAT
10:50-11:10
COFFEE BREAK
11:10-11:40
P4T13
STIMULATING STUDENTS’ APPETITE TO SPEAK FLUENTLY
SAWSAN MATAR
11:40-11:50
BREAK
11:50-12:20
P4T14
GROUP WORK WORKS
HUSSAM ABU SARRIS
12:20-2:00
LUNCH
2:00-2:30
P4T15
(INPUT-OUTPUT) TEACHING LISTENING USING TECHNOLOGY
WAJDI AL-SHAWAQFEH
2:30-2:40
BREAK
2:40-3:10
P4T16
NO SHY STUDENT LEFT BEHIND
INAS AYYOUB
3:10-3:20
BREAK
3:20-3:50
P4T17
NEW NEWS ABOUT USING NEWS
MAHA GHRIWATI
3:50-4:10
COFFEE BREAK
4:10-4:40
P4T18
TEACHING QUESTION FORMATION USING SCENARIOS
AMER DARWEESH
4:40-4:50
BREAK
4:50-5:20
P4T19
INTEGRATING ONGOING COLLABORATION IN TEACHING EFL
AHMED SA’D AD-DEEN

A book is to be published

A book that contains some stories, activities and logical explanation of grammatical structures is to be published. All trainees can send their stories and explanations by e-mail to translingua@hotmail.com and get their names published with them.

INPUT & OUTOUT

University of Delaware
English Language Institute (ELI)
Partner 4 Teaching
Input and Output
(Teaching Listening Skills Using Technology)
Wajdi. A. Shawaqfeh

The Goals (Objectives):
 To show how technology is useful in teaching English as Second/Foreign language (Listening & Speaking Skills).
 To show that the pupils can get input in English language (foreign language) by using technology.
 To prove that technology can increase the motivation of the pupils.
 To make pupils eager to learn how to use technology in order to get output and feedback that will help them improve their language proficiency.
 To change the atmosphere of traditional classroom, to increase the pupils motivation to be more active in class and able to expose to authentic language used in daily life that they may not hear in classroom.

The Rationale
 This topic is chosen to show the teachers how technology is important in the process of education; it is the best way to save time and the best way for the student centered approach; to increase the pupils’ opportunities to speak or to produce output.
 Also, to tell the teachers that they do not have to be a technologist and not to be afraid of being replaced by technology because it is looked at as a tool of education.



The Activities

Activity One:Listening to a weather Broadcast
The Procedures:
1. Asking students warm up questions.
2. Playing the weather broadcast.
3. Distributing weather maps to students.
4. Stimulating the discussion in groups. (Speaking & Writing)
5. Asking students to volunteer to present a weather forecast in front of everyone.
The Purpose: To stimulate the students through the use of technology to practice speaking and writing skills (OUTPUT).

Activity Two:A famous T.V show
The Procedures:

1. Playing the interview for one minute, first and ask the audience some general questions.
2. Then, continue listening to the interview and here listeners have to listen carefully because they will be asked questions that are more specific about the interview.
3. After that, pupils tell their predictions. “What will happen next in the interview?”
4. Suggest audience to work in groups of two where on of them will play the role of the interviewer and the other one will play the role of a famous person.
5. Next, two or three groups can perform that interview in the front of everyone.
The Purpose: To use some technology to practice speaking skill (Technology will be as a motivator). Moreover, to teach students to work in groups.


Activity Three:Two Digital Stories
The Procedures:

1. Show the students two or three digital stories made by two teachers using Windows Movie Maker, let them comment on them.
2. Connect between the ideas of the two digital movies.
3. The Purpose: The main purpose is to stimulate students writing and speaking skills through technology.

References:
1. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/.
2. Mariana’s digital story “Cultural Shock”.
3. http://www.accuweather.com/company.asp.

Useful Websites & Shortcuts: The following are useful websites and shortcuts that can help the teacher in preparing his lesson using technology in teaching any skill at any level:
1. www.manythings.org.
2. http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/technology/animationresearch.html.
3. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/getstarted/movies.mspx.
4. http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/forum/profile.php?mode=activate&u=364851&act_key=504e13f0.
5. http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/index.shtml.

linguistic983@yahoo.com

Another Lesson

This conference taught me another lesson. There's something in common between teachers and students. All human beings share the same fear of change. Some people are afraid of trying new things.

Some people are controlled by what they are used to. To them, breaking the routine means destroying their identity.

All brillinat methods start as ideas that strike somebody's mind in the bathroom or somewhere else. The challenge, then, is to gound this theory. However, people who are afraid of change deprive themselves of the unexected results.

These people, who are afraid of change, will reject any new ideas under different execuses such as practicality, hardening langugae to certain concrete shapes or "This is not the way we teach." In fact, they are afraid of change because they feel insecure in a competitive environment.

The most important advice is for them to start changing because reality is very changeable to wait for them.

I don't know how we can change our students for the best if we are afraid of change. To me and to a lot of my colleagues in this conference, we are to experiment all new things and we don't believe in the existance of red lines.

Let the others live behind the green barriers they set for their minds. We are travelling to STARS.

Workshop : Using video to teach the 4 skills

Our conference,the second day

Making Language Make Sense

Making Language Make Sense
By
Mouhammad Utmah
translingua@hotmail.com or utmah@udel.edu

Introduction:
Some people say that to learn another language it’s really important to learn it as you learnt the first one. Some ESL learners go and live in an English-speaking country to learn English by need. Yet, it's not easy to elicit the rules of ESL when learners speak and listen to English two hours a day only. Sometimes, they might start to speak fluently but not accurately. Eliciting takes babies years of hunger, thirst and misunderstanding to learn a language they listen to all the time. Moreover, babies are more teachable because the language structure in them is designed to absorb the first revelation.

On the other hand, teaching the rules directly for learners to practice is completely different from the way human beings learn their first language (the most fluent), so a second language is not going to be as fluent as a native one. Sometimes, it’s not accurate either, because the need for fluency certainly affects the process of transforming the studied rules into accurate sentences.

Therefore, it will be better if we can mix the two ways; the direct teaching of rules and the natural process of eliciting to achieve both accuracy and fluency. It’s all about quickening the process of language acquiring and language generating. Chomsky’s ideas of syntactical structures and generative grammar are extremely important here.

Short-term Goal:
Learners will be able to understand the logic behind a second language rules (Language Mechanism) in a relatively short period of time but still through eliciting.

Long-term Goal:
Learners will be able to sculpt a mental cliché to produce consistently accurate sentences and eventually to accelerate this mechanical process. In future, they can work on decorating the outcome or even the cliché but not at the expense of accuracy.


Strategy:
To accomplish the above-mentioned goals, we should make language make sense either by figuring out the logical relationships or imposing them, which is how the second language acquisition is different from the first language acquisition. Learners can even use a physical cliché to start over with eliciting.

Techniques:
Different techniques will be used in making language make sense such as using drama, jazz chants, MS MovieMaker, story telling, using drawing …etc

Activities:
- A functional warming up activity: the trainer is going to ask a group to act out a grammatical structure, while the others will try to guess the sentence. Then, every group is going to name a grammatical structure and direct other trainees to mime this structure without telling the rest about it, while the others are going to guess what sentence it is and speak it out.
- The fruit basket of parts of speech. Trainees will make sentences by representing parts of speech instead of fruit. A part of speech is to be named and the trainees representing that part of speech are supposed to switch to form other correct sentences in 30 seconds.
- Trainees will listen to a story and then they will try to apply it to a grammatical structure. Finally they will pick another structure and try to write a story about it and tell it to the rest who are going to try to guess.
- Trainees will listen to a jazz chant and figure out what mistake was made depending on the story mentioned in the previous activity.
- A board is to be shown to trainees who are going to elicit the rules of that grammatical structure. Now, trainees are supposed to pick another grammatical structure and try to make a board for it.
- A drawing can be posted on the wall, so students has the chance to elicit the rules through applying the drawing to a grammatical structure.

A book that contains all these stories, activities or logical explanation of grammatical structures is to be published. Any trainee can send his story or explanation by e-mail to translingua@hotmail.com and get his name published with it.

Time for harvest (0ur conference)

Wrath of Grapes

Discussion on” Wrath of Grapes “
I read a similar story : in a class room a teacher told her students to draw his /her mother and father .One of the student drew an apple and a banana ,the teacher said “there are no father and mother like this “and she taught him who to draw a face . In the End of the day an apple and a banana came and picked up the student from the school.
The pieces of massage which I understand are:
1- Don’t rush to give any final judgment
2- You have to respect others responsibilities and don’t undermine their attitude.
3- Don’t take it for granted that you are the only person who is right.
4- Mutual respect and understanding make life better.

It's All about Motivation
One night, I couldn't go to bed because I was thinking about how I'm going to teach the charecteristics of each god and godess in the Greek and Roman mythology. At the end of the seconed term, students are usually unwilling to memorize any extra piece of information.
"It's all about motivation," I though. When we were done with that lesson, students could remember a large number of those gods and godesses. But how?

I asked them to prepare for a costume Party where everyone is supposed to memorize his part and how he/she relates to other gods and godesses and to improvise something during the party. Just, have a look at the following results:

Lessons learnt form "The Wrath of Grapes"

The Wrath of Grapes

When there’s somebody traveling your trip, nagging and giving you a hard time, don’t judge him/her depending on what he/she says.

Some people sound the opposite of what they really are.

Sometimes, people sound bossy and irritating while they are caring.

If she stopped talking forever, he would lose the opportunity of getting to know her truly.

When there’s someone bothering you, everything he/she will be illogical and irritating to you. You lose.

The real character of a person is hardly revealed through his/her way of expressing himself/herself.

Try to find excuses for your fellow traveler.

Prejudice turns the warming grapes into cold ones.

Still, the deaf parents aren’t ANDREI CODRESCU’S problem and he’s ok. He’s NOT an old man and he’s not under her control. She’s not responsible. If she had talked to him like she talked to her parents, she would have turned out to be crazy.

Using Jazz Chants Functionally

Hello
My name’s “PACK$”
I’ve got some money
I like
Skiing
One day
I broke my leg
My life got boring
One night
I had some toast
I set
The house on fire
I’ve got no brothers
Who’s gonna help me?
At once
My neighbor “DOE”
He came to help me
For that
He took my money.
*****************
Hello
My name’s “PACK”
I’ve got no money
I like
Skiing
One day
I broke my leg
My life got boring
One night
I had some toast
I set
The house on fire
Who’s gonna save me?
At once
My brother “WILL”
He came to save me
He is so kind.
*****************
Hello
My name’s “PACKING”
I’ve got some money
I hold
My brother’s stuff
I like
Skiing
One day
I broke my leg
My life got boring
One night
I had some toast
I set
The house on fire
Who’s gonna save me?
At once
My brother “AM”
He came to save me
For that
He kept
His stuff all with me.
*****************
Hello
My name’s “PACKED”
I’ve got no money
I hold
My brother’s stuff
I like
Skiing
One day
I broke my leg
My life got boring
One night
I had some toast
I set
The house on fire
Who’s gonna save me?
At once
My brother “HAVE”
He came to save me
For that
He kept
His stuff all with me.
*****************

Assessment

Assessment

What I know about assessment is that the assessment way should match the teaching and learning methodology followed.

Last year, we were encouraged to use multiple intelligences and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Students and I exerted a lot of efforts to make succeed. It did. Students started to think critically and to respond to different kinds of learning styles.

The disaster was that the tests were very traditional. Sometimes, they were worse. Marks didn’t reflect students’ improvement. It, however, let them down. They weren’t enthusiastic anymore. The started to feel that all the methodologies they used to have fun with aren’t useful anymore. They felt that other students who weren’t being taught in the same way were privileged because they got extra marks.

Students should be tested on what they went through, even if it means to have two different copies of tests.

Workshop Delivery

Thinking, Writing and Learning
By Dr. Stephen Bernhardt

Getting Students Attention:
The use of technology; namely chat; kept students attracted because it’s a new way they have never seen in this context (in a workshop). Moreover, the idea of creating the PowerPoint presentation in the classroom gave the impression that everybody’s input is important and constitutes a part and parcel of the overall outcome. However, after forty minutes when the information presented didn’t exceeded the expectations, the trainees stopped to pay attention.

Explaining Exercises:
The workshop was more theoretical. No exercises were provided. The trainees expected some practical tricks of direct benefits instead of the theories they have to reflect on in order to come out with practical materials that suit their own classes, which can be a reasonable excuse.

The Material Presented:
Even the trainees who expected more practical materials expected also some theoretical ones that provide some deep aspects of the issues. The PowerPoint presentation posted on the website isn’t more than a summary of different reflections of different trainees. All the theoretical information presented is considered the minimum of what the trainees are supposed to know.

Involving the Audience:
The idea of brainstorming about the topic of the workshop let the trainees come out with everything they know about writing and consequently set their expectations of the workshop, so they started to discuss ideas concerning them. The presenter provided a safe environment for all kinds of ideas. Moreover, to make sure of everybody’s participation, he moved to the chat to enable shy unconfident trainees and get them involved. What really got the trainees involved is the sense of competing with other groups through eliciting ideas and comparing them with a list made by American trainees.




Story making with Windows Moviemaker
By Tricia Scott

Getting Students Attention:
Again the use of new technology keeps trainees attracted, let alone when the whole workshop is about the use of a certain technology. The presentation of some models, whether funny or shocking, ignited the trainees’ enthusiasm. However, the elaboration on the importance of story telling distracted the trainees and let them get bored after they lost hope that she’s going to start soon with the practical side.

Explaining Exercises:
It’s always different when it comes to technology. The presenter modeled the most important aspects and let the trainees to learn by discovering and making mistakes while they are trying to accomplish the mission required, which was of a great help. Deep details were up to the trainees to discover themselves. Sometimes, the lack of exercises is an exercise itself.

The Material Presented:
The presenter provided some tutorial websites. Moreover, a lot of links that provide an access to videos, pictures and sound tracks were given too.

Involving the Audience:
The models presented at the beginning were of a great help in engaging the trainees. On the other hand, what really got the trainees involved is the discussion about the possibilities of using this new technology in teaching. It addressed some purposes in each trainee and the presenter was generous to provide other technologies for the purposes that cannot be served through this one.

The Advantages and Shortcomings of My Learning Styles

The Advantages and Shortcomings of My Learning Styles


Reflective vs. Active
· I like drafting and I really spend too much time thinking but this spares me troubles of trying things and ending up in a mess.
· Too much thinking causes hesitation.
· Whenever I like to try things against my will of thinking, I will be in a big trouble and later I discover what went wrong in details.
· I like playing solo and in an orchestra I would like to be the conductor, which sometimes makes a dictator of me.
· Sometimes, I learn things through mechanical steps, which makes me resist change.

Intuitive vs. Sensory
· I don’t accept what people experienced before. I like discovering my own islands through my own waterways.
· I have a high sense of ownership, so I hate what people have set, which makes me lose what other people learnt.
· I can spend hours discussing about theology and sometime I sail away from the real world. Still I like geometry and hate algebra.
· I frequently make some silly mistakes because I’m familiar with the outcome and the process doesn’t matter.

Visual vs. Verbal
· I memorize registration plates, phone numbers and some lessons by having a glance at them, which can be easily mixed with other images.
· Whenever I summarize, I don’t write full sentences. Instead, I use arrows and boxes, which makes my summaries readable by me only.
· I have a systematic way for using colors and sometimes I discover new meaning because of the system.
· Even when I write poetry, I use imagery and metaphors.
· Sometimes, I don’t feel words are suitable to describe what I have in mind.
· I am an expert at mind mapping and sometimes in a very complicated way.

Sequential vs. Global
· I cannot accept the next point until the previous one is verified even when it hypothetical, which makes me a tough debater.
· I often get lost in details till I see the pig picture especially when I read long novels. I often spoil the enjoyment of being surprised by reading a summary.
· Usually, I connect new things to my experience where I can find a point of similarity to build on. Then I apply all old rules to the new events.
· I would like to keep a track of what I’m doing, so I can repeat it the next time.

Conclusions:
· A reflective student is a thinker of higher levels.
· An active student is a good athlete and a disaster in the class.
· An intuitive student causes headache to unprepared teachers.
· A sensory student is a traditional future teacher.
· A visual student is a fast preceptor.
· A verbal student is a woman.
· A sequential student is a tough debater.
· A global student is details free.

Student Centered Teaching

Student Centered Teaching

“This is not a classroom! You are not students! I am not a teacher!” I said when I first came into the first class in my life. “This is a ship sailing to SUCCESSLAND. You’re my sailors and I’m your Captain. Either we sink together or we survive together.”

A captain won’t do most of the work. Sailors aren’t passengers on the deck. To arrive to SUCCESSLAND is everyone’s responsibility. On the other hand, a captain is always there for his sailors.

This is the spirit my students had all over the year and when we made it to SUCCESSLAND, it was everybody’s achievement.

When I was a student, I was a “naughty” one who didn’t accept what teachers said. Everything raised some questions in me, which didn’t get along with teachers’ standards of a good student. That bad student became a good teacher.

Teachers cannot avoid being in the driver seat all the time if they were in the back seats all the time when they were students. We should break this chain for once and forever. By putting the students in the driver seat we are preparing a new generation of teachers who are willing to let students in control. Most teachers are willing to teach in the same way they were taught.

I teach “Elements of Literature”, a book with integrated thinking activities. However, it’s not only the materials that empower students. The same book was used by some traditional teachers and turned out to be a disaster. My “naughty” character that doesn’t obey rules helped me a lot in raising questions and issues when I was a student and enabled me to model this strategy so students became willing to follow it.

Enabling students is more practical than being an announcement to be made. Last year and during the first semester, we had that motto: “Pay It Forward”. In that semester, students were supposed to establish a chain of help. Each student was supposed to help a weaker student and ask a better student for help. This project made students find their own ways to teach the lessons to their friends. These methods they followed were more like them or they were their own. Away from repetition, this raised a sense of ownership in them. In the second term, a similar project under a different motto was launched; “It Takes Two To Tango”. Students started to form groups of two. Everything was made through these groups. An assignment of 10 questions was made by groups choosing the questions they would like to answer. Later, a journal containing answers of students from all the sections was published with the students’ names under their answers. The quizzes that included this kind of assignments were easily passed.

Some answers in the first journals were “rubbish”, but as far as a safe environment is provided, students’ answers became more acceptable. I remember when I drove my father’s car for the first time, he didn’t blame me for knocking the gate down. If he had, I would have knocked every gate I encountered down.

What really helped students in writing the reflective journals was a website devoted for the book they were studying. That website contained informational articles related to the stories in the book, which provided a kind of a background that evoked thinking. Having students read the articles in the website made them aware of different aspects of the issue discussed and consequently determined what the teacher is going to illuminate. Moreover, students were responsible of their learning.

This resulted in a war to be waged by my supervisor against me. That’s because there are no instructional books or materials that determine the steps of empowering the students. On the contrary, each group of students, not to say each student, requires a different approach, which minimizes the possibilities of having efficient materials. Instead, materials about creativity in dealing with different psychological patterns are more available and useful.

The comment that will be made is that this will increase uncertainty because of the experimental nature of this method. However, empowering students focuses on the process that leads to an outcome. As long as the process is ok, the outcome will be in hands sooner or later.

You will pass by different islands in your way to SUCCESSLAND. Once you are there, it will become your colony which you are going to build depending on what you experienced on your way to it.

It isThe Time

Hello all Jordan-Syria. Its the time to start the real work.
The conference is just few days ahead.
Lets give the best we can.Good luck to all of us.

Its

STRATEGIC INTERACTION / SCENARIOS

STRATEGIC INTERACTION

Learning Language through Scenarios

Presented by Joe Matterer

• First of all, I’d like to say that this workshop was one of the amazing workshops I have ever attended.
  
  The presenter started his workshop by giving a brief summary about the history of the strategic interaction/demonstrating scenarios approach which emphasizes students’ interaction or competence.
  There are many definitions for the scenario; the scenario is an open-ended strategic interplay of roles functioning to fulfill personal agendas within a shared context. It is also a key device in making foreign-language discourse strategic in the classroom where the main objective is to use the language in an appropriate way in different situations and different people with different roles (boss - employee), (mother - daughter).
  
  Students are assigned roles in scenarios that oblige them to work out and implement personal game plans through dialogs where they are always themselves providing the input for the content of language instruction.
  
  The strategic interaction approach contains six essential components:
  -strategic interplay
  -non-complementary roles
  -personal agendas relevant to participant’s lives
  -shared context
  -dramatic tension
  -physical involvement
  
  The characteristics of the strategic interaction approach:
  -interactive
  -student-centered class
  -task-based
  -students are themselves
  -develops BICS (basic interpersonal communicative skills).
  -emphasize communication and intelligibility.
  -utilize group-work
  
  The role of the teacher in this approach:
  -model
  -facilitator
  -reference
  -counselor
  
  The Scenario Directions:
  -rehearsal
  -performance
  -debriefing

The language itself is not enough to say that someone is good in it. It should involve the full knowledge of human behaviors. It is not only the cognitive aspect of it but the social and personal one as well. Human beings are concerned with accomplishing their purposes through the tool of language.

New Branch of the Tree of P4T

I can see new generation
Beyond all imagination

Enthusiastic and active
Proud of being interactive

Happy to join P4T
And go as long as a tree

Which originally has deep roots
And ripens there more fruits

We need this tree again
To shade under it and then
To share with students' need
And be teachers indeed.

Dear all , I'm happy to share this poem with you and I enjoyed reading your postings. I'm from Syria but I've just arrived from Saudi Arabia. I appreciate your efforts and I can feel myself with you. Enjoy your time and bless you all.

Technology: Web Resources For Teaching and Teacher Training

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR TESL/TEFL
A Brief Guided Tour
Presented by Grant Wolf
On Tuesday 07/03/07
The presenter went through the following steps:
* = DISCUSSION
I. How are you, as an instructor, already using the Internet in your teaching?

II. How do your students, on their own, already use the Internet in ways
that expose them to English?
III. What are some of the advantages and benefits of using the Internet as a
teaching tool?


IV. What are some of the problems and obstacles of using the Internet in teaching?

V. A Question of Choice

Using the Internet, like any other teaching skill (or life skill, for that matter) is a question of choice. It takes time to survey all the options, evaluate them, test them, and learn to use them effectively. The vastness and flexibility of the internet make choice the crucial element—it all looks good, but you can’t use it until you choose it.
VI. A BRIEF TOUR OF SOME INCREDIBLY USEFUL RESOURCES, FOR YOU TO EXPLORE
One way to help you make sense of the vast resources of the Internet is to classify them . . .
A. Comprehensive Resources for TESL/TEFL
Actually, everything you need (and much more than you need!) can be found in these six sites.

Comprehensive Directory of ESL-dedicated sites:
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/tesol98/webresources.html#esl

Dave’s ESL Café. The “Mother” of all ESL/EFL websites, for students and teachers: http://www.eslcafe.com/search/index.html

Online English Language Center, from the University of Oregon. This one is new for me. It’s professionally compiled, up-to-date, and looks extremely useful: http://oelp.uoregon.edu/

Internet TESL Journal. A free monthly journal, offering a wealth of practical ideas for teachers. http://iteslj.org/

Total ESL. Another excellent comprehensive website, especially dedicated to teachers in Asia and the Middle East. http://www.totalesl.com/
B. On-Line Discussion Groups:


1. A short, easily navigated list of On-line Discussion Groups for teachers: http://www.linguistic-funland.com/tesllist.html

2. On-line discussion groups for ESL/EFL Students, with a variety of topics to choose from: http://sl-lists.net/

3. Another discussion forum for students, through the famous Dave’s ESL Café site: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/student/index.php

4. Find penpals (actually “keypals” for your students) at
http://www.tesol.net/penpalpostings.html

C. Authentic Language Content-based sites that ESL/EFL teachers have found useful

1. LiteracyNet. Ready-made, news-based high-interest lessons designed for literacy instruction. Includes both listening and reading, with full text as well as abridged text. http://www.literacynet.org/cnnsf/

2. English Listening Lounge. This offers a variety of natural-speech listening excerpts, complete with transcripts. It is a commercial site, but some good material is available for free. http://www.englishlistening.com/

Pulse of the Planet. This is a sound and text feature of National Geographic, with many short but fascinating topic selections. http://pulseplanet.com

4. English Listening Lab Online. Native speakers of a variety of “Englishes” along with video, transcripts and exercises. www.elllo.org

5. Favorite Poem Project. Poetry read by many diverse voices, accompanied by video, sometimes with long, natural-speech introductions. Transcripts of poems available.
www.bu.edu/favoritepoem/thevideos/index.html

D. On-Line Activities, specifically for TESL/TEFL students and teachers

1. Hundreds of on-line games and activities for your students: http://iteslj.org/games/

2. ESL Independent Study Lab: http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/toppicks.html

3. Quia: English http://www.quia.com/dir/eng/ Another commercial site, with some good free examples.

4. A Free, Easy Authoring Program for Teachers: Filamentality http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil

5. Phonetics: A state-of-the-art animated visual and sound resource from the University of Iowa. http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#

6. This is one dedicated solely to everyone’s favorite. . . prepositions!
http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/prepositions.html
E. A small sampling of fun and varied websites for you and your students to try (great motivators!)
Simeon’s Cave of Magic: http://www.caveofmagic.com/zndex.html
Amazon.com Activity: http://iteslj.org/guides/amazon.html
Cuisine Net: http://iteslj.org/guides/dining.html
Jokes for TEFL: http://iteslj.org/c/jokes.html
F. Just for Kids
Gokidding. Basic single-word reading, writing, and rhyming for kids. http://www.gokidding.com/Language.htm

Sesame Street Coloring pages, for learning the alphabet.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/coloringpages/

IATEFL Young Learner’s Interest Group Site. This is a huge, annotated list of resources for teachers of children. Definitely worth the time to explore. (Note that it is color-coded by age group). http://www.countryschool.com/ylsig/

Longman’s Young Learner’s Page. A commercial site for Longman’s products, with several excellent free resources and activities. http://www.longman.com/young_learners/teachers/index.html
F. More for Kids:
Phonics and Stories on Line. Many to choose from, with sound and simple animation for various elementary grades. http://www.beenleigss.eq.edu.au/requested_sites/sounds/

PBS Kids. Exceptionally high quality songs, video, animation and games. http://pbskids.org/

Kizclub. A Korean English language site you’re probably familiar with, including stories, phonics, pictures, and crafts. http://kizclub.com/Sbody.html

Korea Englishtown. A nice assortment of children’s songs with motions and video. Also tongue twisters and a few video scripts.
http://korea-englishtown.net/fun1.php

Yahoo Kids. Another wonderful Korean site you’re probably familiar with, including wonderful animation and simple language for young children. http://kr.play.kids.yahoo.com/eng/

G. For Further Research
Designing Your Own Web Activities: Working the Web for Education, by Tom March. A very readable introduction to creating your own websites, it also includes many ready-to-use examples.

http://www.web-and-flow.com/help/formats.asp
H. Independent Exploration:

MAKE A CHOICE!
We began this workshop by talking about making choices. We all agree that the Internet is a vast and amazing resource, but remember: You can’t use it until you choose it. So, right now, before this workshop ends, choose a website that you want to use in your classes, as soon as you get home. Copy the URL (web address), and send it off in an email to yourself. Finally, be ready to tell the class about your choice.


Summarized by Ahmed Sa’d Ad-Deen asap8engg@gmail.com
The Syrian Group
(P4T) UD Summer 2007

Assessment

Portfolio Assessment workshop
UD, Summer 2007
Dr. Jorge cubillos
Wed, 6,27,2007 3,00 PM

Dr. cubillos starts his lecture with a question. Are tests necessary?
-Testes are expected components of academic life
- Tests are valuable diagnostic tool
- Tests can enhance the learning possess
- Testes can also interfere with learning
And then he Said “ TEACHER NEED TO ENHANCE AND REFINE THEIR TESTING SKILLS ON A REGULAR BASIS.

What is a test?
Test is a method of measuring person’s ability, knowledge or performance in a given domain.


Prencipples of language assassment




What is Assessment?
-On going process
-Formal or in formal
-Formative or Summative
-Norm –Referenced or Criterion Referenced

And there are: Informal Assessment, Formal Assessment, Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment, Norm –Referenced and
Criterion- Referenced.

3-History of language history testing
-Direct connection with methodological trends
-Grammar translation?
- Audio –lingualism?
- Direct method?

DISCRETE POINT TESTS: Constructed on the assumption that language can be broken down into its component parts and that those parts can be tested successfully.

Integrative tests:
-Oller’s Unitary Trait Hypothesis (1979). Indivisible view of language proficiency.
-Communication approach. Real- World tasks. Quest of authenticity.

PERFORMANCE –BASED ASSESSMENT: Authentic interactive task.
4- CURRENT ISSUES
- New views on intelligence.
- Alternative assessment
- Computer- based testing

5- BASIC ASSESSMENT TRENDS:
- Ongoing assessment
- Performance –based testing
- Test as milestones of progressive
- Positive reinforcement
- Learners autonomy
- Technology-Assisted Assessment


An ideal one is that meets the five principles of test effectiveness:

1- Practicality
2- Reliability (Student –related reliability,
Inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, Test administration reliability)
3- Validity (Content-validity, Consequential validity, Face validity)
4- Authenticity
5- Washback
Most of the students find this workshop interesting and useful, but some think that it would be more useful if it was divided into two parts or more.

Digital storytelling

Hi everybody,

Don’t you want to be a movie maker of your own story? Don’t you want to be the director in charge of selecting, adding and modifying elements in a way that really serves your purpose and conveys your thoughts in a concise but impressive way? If the answer is yes then join me in my summary of a very illuminating workshop presented by Dr. Tricia Scott, entitled “ Storymaking with Windows Moviemaker ".

First, what is digital storytelling and how does it help in our classroom?

Digital storytelling is the integration of both writing and multimedia to tell a story of your choice; whether it is personal or imaginary.

However, digital storytelling has seven elements that should be taken into consideration:

1. Point of view or the purpose of telling the story

2. Dramatic question which means engaging your audience in your climax
3. Emotional content which means engaging the audience to make them want to listen to you through conveying a truth about yourself that no one knows about

4. The gift of voice by which the personality of paper comes alive

5. The power of sound music that stirs up an emotional response

6. Economy which means using only one written page and three minutes for the movie to covey what you want to say through visuals and recorded voice

7. Pacing which incorporates rhythm, punctuation, and a space for the listener to listen and reflect.

Now, having considered these seven elements you can set off on writing, creating a storyboard, and utilizing windows movie maker to record voice and images.

How does digital story helps in our classroom?
It enhances critical thinking, expository writing, and media literacy. It also teaches how to document real events and reflection, and how to narrow the focus through correct word choice in both the writing and the digital story.In conclusion, it is certainly the organization and the emotional appeal of using an authentic voice which make the digital story a unique experience to remember for both the teacher and the students.

Audience Response
Almost everybody liked the idea of using technology in a creative way to motivate students of all ages to get involved. One of the responses, however, claimed that this technique can only be used once or twice throughout the course. Well, personally I’d say that using this technique would involve all of the students over a long period of time that would allow them to do their research for authentic material, to document it, and to make up a unique story. This alone would certainly have an everlasting impression.

Workshop Design and Delivery , Deborah Detzel / Wed.,6 / 27

The main steps:

1:Welcome and introduction
2:What is the observation?
3:Models of observation
4:Activity
5:Workshop feedback

First of all Baerbel introduced Mrs. Deborah Detzel as the presenter of the workshop. The observation (as defined by my colleagues) is a record or a remark of certain teachers for their lessons.

We were given some models of the observation. There was a Teacher Observation form included the lesson organization,Techniques Used, Assessment and Class Climate.

There many others (Tool 6 Foreign Language Observation Checklist, Tool 19 Cooperative Groups, Tool 5 Anecdotal and Checklist Data Collection Method, Tool 13 Variety of Instructional Methods and Tool 8 Observation Guide using Bloom's Taxonomy ).

There was an excellent workshop which we shared a lot of ideas all together and wrote them down on the chalkboard after discussion.Here's a sample:

1: Response to a problem observation:
- Figuring out why the teacher fell behind the curriculum.
- Adjust ideas by methodolgy.

2: Peer Teaching:
- Teaching / learning ways.
- Highlighting whatever should be done differently.
- Help teacher think outside the box ( an outside eye).
- Comparing both teaching approaches.
- Exchanging ideas.

3: Supervisory observation:
- Evalute teachers.
- Formal observations by supervisors.

4: Learning / Sharing observation:
- To improve / develop certain teachers.

Feedback on Teaching Strategies / Positive and Negative Comments

The questions and the results are here:
1: Materials and methods presented will be adaptable in our own country: 100 %
2: The presenter explained activities clearly: 100 %
3: The presenter involved the participants sufficiently: 100 %
4: The presented explained the goals of the workshop: 100 %

Everyone liked the presentation of the workshop, the discussion , the involvement of the class in the workshop and the smooth flow of ideas.

There were also some suggestions to have a real observation and if we can go over a little bit slower over the handouts:

• There was a question that if the informal observation has the same points of the formal one.
• There was someone who has a lot of questions for Mrs.Detzel so he'd like to observe from time to time.

welcome to the dorms

Wajdi and Amer would like to welcome u all at the dorms.

The Delaware State Legislature – DoverDover

The Delaware State Legislature – Dover

We got in through the back door as if we were family. To the left was the House of Representatives. To the right was the Senate. In the middle stood some stairs that led to the governor’s office on the 2nd floor.

In the House were 41 representatives who were elected by people in their districts for 2 years, while in the Senate were 21 senators who were elected by people in larger senatorial districts for 6 years. Both representatives and senators can be elected for as many terms as possible as far as voters are satisfied.

Every ten years, there is a census that will determine how the state is going to be dissected into representative districts and senatorial ones.

Today is the 26th of June, just 4 days to the closing session of the 144th general assembly which usually starts on the 2nd Tuesday in January. For the other six months, senators and representatives keep in touch with people trying to sensor their needs. Being a legislator is a part-time job. Some legislators are teachers, lawyers or ever farmers.

Neither the House nor the Senate is ethnically dissected. If you are 24, you can be a representative, while you have to be 27 to be a senator. Neither color, gender, education nor religion matters as long as you’re an American citizen.

Ruth Ann Minner, a Democratic businesswoman, is the 1st female governor of Delaware. When she was 16, she left school to work for the governor. She was elected for the House for 2 terms then for the Senate which she presided as one of her duties as a lieutenant governor. In 2001, she became the 1st female governor and she was re-elected for a second 4-year term in 2005. A governor cannot be elected for more than two 4-year terms.

Unlike the Senate that has a Democratic majority led by Senator Deluca, the House has a Republican majority led by Representative Cathcart.

Representative Spence, the Speaker of the House, is the longest active speaker who has been in the position for 19 years.

Unlike Senators, Representatives, Governor and Lieutenant Governor who are elected, the support staff is recruited.

The building of the State Legislature has a federalist colonial architectural style which you find in the Independence Hall in Pennsylvania. The paintings inside go back to 1987, the 200th anniversary of Delaware Legislature.

The seal of the state has been changed 3 times. Recently, some 4th graders have drafted a law to change the dates on the seal. The old dates were the dates of changing the seal. The law was approved and more important dated replaced the old ones on the seal. They are as follows:

1704 is the year that Delaware established its general assembly.

1776 is the year that Delaware independence from Great Britain was declared.

1787 is the year Delaware became the first state by ratifying the US constitution.

For more information jim.rafte@proforma.com
Summarized by Mouhammad Utmah translingua@hotmail.com