Hi all,
You can see my first week here
This week was really productive with my Nicenet class. I tried to get my students involved by raising some difficulties they encounter in learning English.
The purpose of this assignment was not to find out "DIFFICULTIES" but just to let them know how to name the difficulties they face. I tried to make them think they are understood by others and the teacher. They, therefore, would be more confident to stand on a common ground of sharing and discussions:
Just have a look at their sharing: HERE
Also this week, my students were asked to talk about their first topic among 8 of this term. The topic was "your ordinary day" in which I provided them with some suggested ideas of how to make it simple and interesting. I gave them a list of relating words and phrases they may use in their talk.
The very interesting part of this assignment was, as I personally thought, the chance of talking to native English speakers using their posted topic on Nicenet. After being encouraged, my students posted their topic on Nicenet. I worked together with an Australian volunteer teacher, Curtis, in the class this week and I showed the posts on the large screen to ask Curtis to have a look at the posts to see how much he could understand from the written version of the posts. After a few post reading, Curtis turned his back to the screen and I asked my students to talk about their posted topics to Curtis using both verbal and non-verbal skills to see how much Curtis could understand their speaking.
The result was quite good. The whole class had great time together with fun. The students, by all means, tried to express their ideas to Curtis. To most of the students, It was the very first time talking with a native speaker and presented their ideas in English. I could see nervousness, shyness, a bit reluctance and even some types of failure. However, it was a great sign to know the students were quite motivated and excited to do their task. And it was so good that the students could recognize how different it was to communicate orally and in written forms.
You can have a look at "My ordinary day": HERE
Hi The,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for being my partner for our project task next week.
It looks like you are doing so many interesting things with your students. I like the idea of co-teaching with a native speaker, which not only adds dynamics to the classroom and motivates the students, but is also a great opportunity for professional development because the two teachers can certainly learn a lot from each other.
It’s also good to see that your students are so engaged in the activities over the past two weeks. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to share with us all, and I look forward to reading the first draft of your report.
Ky
Hi Anh Ky,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
I clearly remember the first day I exposed myself to a native English speaker in Haiphong city. I could understand why a person with almost 10 years learning English could not express a simple message verbally.
Since becoming a teacher, I have tried to bring my students opportunities and challenges working with foreigners. I have worked with different NGOs to have volunteers teaching English. At times, we have batches of 10 or more coming from different countries to help our students. Thanks to working with the volunteers, our teachers have been improved quite a lot.
I am happy to have you as a partner of peer reading.
The
Hi The,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to know how you encourage your students to just name their difficulties. It's really unique. The way you give your students the opportunity to use the nicenet will also give a new experience for them, like me when I started this class. The role of native speaker in an English Class is also important to build their confident.
Great work and I will try for my class too.
Imas
Hi Luh Mas A,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Sometimes, the "GROUPING" phenomenon works well in language learning. Since they thought it was safe to communicate, they would do it without fears. As you can see, some of the posts were really grammar-free. Yet, they had messages to convey to the readers. For first steps in teaching communication, I am happy with what they have done so far.
The
Very nice work, The!
ReplyDeleteAnd don't worry - even if students are reluctant at first and feel shyor frustrated, they will soon get over it and they will see the potential of all thse activities. carry on!
Thank you Luisa Lima,
ReplyDeleteYou are right.
As long as they get started, we can lead them to the destination.
The
This is great, The. I love the way your students are talking openly about their problems. I do that a lot with my students, too. It is important, since most of them need to sort out what they are afraid of before they can start using English. It is great that your students can practice with a native speaker.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a great job. Congratulations.