Last Friday, i.e. on 29th, I launched my project even though I am still struggling to get the learning material ready. All along my mind was set on working on prosodic features but never before had such clarity emerged. I think it is so on account of all the recommnded reading I have done, the tools of technology I have tried out and the interaction I have had with Robert that I now know exactly what I want to do and how. And sure I am most excited about it. In fact I have already taken the first step towards it.
My subjects of study, the teacher trainees arrived on the 26th. A batch of 52 Sec./Sr. Sec postgraduate teachers reflecting significant mother tongue influence in their speech. Their mother tongues quite varied.
On 29th I initiated them into phonetics and phonology through our Sky pronunciation suite. Prosodic Features will have to wait for a while as they need to understand sounds and syllables first.
In the meantime I have begun to assemble a few more equipment like the camera in our 31 computer multimedia Lang Lab to be able to record their speech. Additionally, the questionnaire for the written survey is getting ready to help me profile them individually and as a group. If I can manage to get some software Maria Garcia Busa's article talks about or the one(s) Robert has suggested, the profiling will get fine-tuned further. I have started to put together the reference list of all the resources which have set me thinking in this direction and also those I intend using as resources in the classroom.
I plan to use some video clips from youtube to serve as the model speech and also as practice mateiral for them. My trainees are taking a keen part in helping me transcribe video recordings. Listening for discriminatory purposes, ear training, repeating, marking stress and intonation on scripts, watching the model speech in action intently, etc will be part of the activities planned for the project. I intend to make them refer to a few resources on the websites from the point of view of practising speech on their own and reading in the field to understand Spoken English better. Needless to say the references and resources of the previous weeks of the course will prove to be very useful.
This is something I have never done before--teaching with so much technology. This is something my trainees have never seen--learning with so many resources; helping the teacher assemble learning material. Lack of motivation was an issue of concern to begin with. I can hardly wait to see technology bring about desired changes.
More on this next Sunday.
Sharda
Hello Sharna
ReplyDeleteThanks for making a comment on my blog.
I really like reading yours as well, as you could see I have added all blogs in the blogroll in mine so I could easy access them and read from you all.
This is a life a learning and there will always be something to learn, I usually say that we might keep ldoing even after dying, we do not know what is waiting for us there. you know! (with all due respect to all cultural beliefs)
might not stop learning not even after death, so all these new things are of course interesting but as you said there are lots of technology educational tools for us to try out.
I have learned a lot from all and keep doing it and most importantly. I will never stop doing it.
Thank you once again for your ideas and sharing and knowing fully that we will keep in touch as the end of this course is around the corner.
Take care!
Javier