Welcome To 

My Blog!

Contents:

Introduction

My Favorite Websites,  Music, TV shows for improving listing 

comprehension

Technology Statement on Tech workshop

Reflection  on Tech workshop

Technology Statement on Article Presentation

Reflection  on Article Presentation

Introduction

Welcome to my blog! Here, I will be introducing my favorite websites, musics, TV shows for learning English, precisely for improving listening comprehension. I want to create an interactive environment here, in this blog so please feel free to leave a comment at anytime. Below my favorites, you'll see my statements and reflection on my Tech Workshop and Article Presentation. Please check them out as well. Now scroll down the page and get your reading started! 

My favorite Language Learning Website 

My favorite language learning website is TED, which contains varieties of lectures from the presenters across the globe. As a language learner, I find this website to be beneficial. Not only does it help improve my language skills but it also allows me to be educated about the topic. Another significant feature of this website is that it offers subtitles in multiple languages, which enable listeners to test their comprehension in the original audio. This website is accessible to anyone interested in academic lectures. The only thing that I do not like about this website is that this website does not necessarily serve the purpose of language learning. Depending on the students' English level, some people might find the videos to be too challenging. Especially for those who are new to English learning might encounter academic words and be disco

uraged from learning further. Overall, TED is an excellent resource for advancing English skills and gaining knowledge of the topic by diving into the academic world! You can check out the website by visiting this link. https://www.ted.com/

TED Presentation related to language learning

Learning a language? Speak it like you’re playing a video game by Marianna Pascal 

Now, take the quiz to test your comprehension!

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5ef32520d7d77c001ee81fdc

The secrets of learning a new language by Lýdia Machová

For this video, go to LyricsTraining to practice your listening, writing and speaking!

Start with begginer's mode and feel free to advance your level!

https://lyricstraining.com/play/ted-talk/the-secrets-of-learning-a-new-language/HcQjK5oKTc

Music

Use LyricsTraining to improve your English with your favorite songs! 

3 Recommended songs!

1. Happy by Pharrell Williams

Easy to sing along because of the repetitive phrases

2. Graveyard by Halsey 

Good mixture of both fast and slow tempo

3. Death by a Thousand Cuts by Taylor Swift

Easy vocabulary, clear intonation

TV Shows

3 Recommended TV Shows!

1. LOST 

Get used to British and Australian English and many other accents

2. Friends

Learn vocabularies and expressions used in daily conversations

 

3. Sherlock

For advanced learners

 

Technology Statement on Tech Workshop

Choice of my technology: LyricsTraining

LyricsTraining app is a fun way to learn languages through Music videos. It allows you to enhance your listening skills, writing skills and speaking skills. All you have to do is to choose a music video that you want to work on. choose the level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert), listen and fill out the blank (either by choosing the right word from multiple choice or type out the words). Teachers have the option to decide which words for students to fill the words out. I have a feeling that students will enjoy this activity as they can interact with the visual (music video)and verbal(karaoke). Interested? GO to https://lyricstraining.com/ and try it yourself! 

 

Reflection on Tech workshop

    

    Working on the Tech Workshop allowed me to see the perspective of both the teacher and the student and also other teachers’ view by getting their feedback. These practical assignments are excellent for aspiring teachers to get hands-on experience and reflect on what makes a good video and what does not.

Giving instructions using Screencast was not as easy as it looked, so I had to redo them until I got it right. After multiple trials and errors, I realized that there is never going to be a "perfect" tutorial. I had to overcome my obsession with making an unrealistically high expectation and be confident in my work. Filming my video has allowed me to rethink and reevaluate the way I'm instructing and interacting with the students and gave me insights as to what makes a good video and what does not. On top of that, getting feedback from my classmates was helpful. I was pleased to learn that many enjoyed my tutorial and gave me ideas I never realized. Some commented that "music plays such a huge cultural role and students often spend a lot of time listening to music, so it's a great activity to connect with them!" I liked how she thought of hos the music app can help students and teachers connect on a deeper level. Another student commented that kids enjoy the music and think of it more as a game than as a classroom assignment.  The only difficult thing might be that artists take a lot of poetic license with their lyrics, word stresses, etc., and some stuff might not be intelligible even to NES. But the benefits of the connection, motivation, and interest, as well as the various levels of game play, can make it extremely worthwhile!! " I liked how she analyzes both pros and cons of the app, which I did not state in the video.

Overall, I had a positive experience of making videos and getting used to online teaching. First, I learned what makes a good video thinking both from teachers' and students' perspectives by looking at my own video. Students would want to watch videos where teachers are entertaining, confident, straightforward and easy to follow. From the teacher's point of view, students should be their number one priority and see online teaching as a tool to help students become better learners. Second, feedback from others has opened my eyes to a new perspective and boosted my confidence. Teachers must consider both the positive and negative aspects of technology. There is plenty of useful technological materials out in the world, so I will continue to keep an eye on them and consider what makes a valuable learning tool and what does not.

Technology Statement on Article Presentation

For my article presentation, I chose Supporting Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Acquisition with Multimedia Annotations by Linda C. Jones. The article discusses how verbal and visual annotations in multimedia environment help students by putting emphasis on students' perspectives of effective language learning. There has been many research on what researchers think is the best ways of  language learning but the number of articles that highlight students' voices are not as many as you might think. That is why I was drawn to this article. Here is the link to the article. 

https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/CALICO/article/viewFile/23212/19217

I have also created a quiz regarding the article so if you want to check your comprehension, please take the quiz. 

Reflection on Article Presentation

    Looking back on my presentation process, I recall many of my learning movements. Whenever I read an article, I write down sentences that I consider vital to process the information and remember them well. As I was taking notes, the material taught me that visual images assist learners in advancing their learning process. As I read that, I decided to add some images associated with the sentences I wrote. Studying this new way enabled me to experience what the students were going thought in the article and relate to them personally. I appreciated having multiple support during and after the learning process. I felt prepared; this confidence does not usually come to me, which says a lot about this article.  Making the PowerPoint, creating a quiz and writing the reflection paper was another plus for me as it contains both verbal and visual assistance. Being able to test yourself and others can be proof of testing your knowledge on the topic and is a great way to retain the information process in the quite long term.

One thing that I should have discussed in the presentation is the downside of this research. Just because I thought the article was convincing should not mean that I should not consider the negative aspects. Teachers should always see things both sides to evaluate the material and sometimes has to put personal feelings aside.

Overall, the article presentation gave me a meaningful learning experience and provided me with ideas as to how to construct various leaning materials thinking from the students' perspective on what makes learning valuable. This article was written around the early 2000 so these theories/hypotheses might be outdated. I'll continue to keep researching to find out what is best for both teachers' and students' points of view.

Interactive Questions

 

Q. How would you assess or measure language learners' success or improvement in their learning?