Week 4 has gone and many things I have learnt since we have started this lovely course. Days and we are going to start week 5 the middle of the course. Till now everything is under control. The course goes smoothly and I think this is because it is well organized and because of the moderator. I have learned a lot from the articles like Krajka article and other articles. This week I more focus on the possible problem that I might face while I am using on-line lesson. I think that all obstacles can be solve as the teacher has got students who are highly motivated and they are willing to learn. Mostly they like the using of the technology. Other staff can be solved. Like the computer lab occupied, I can manage with the school principle and have some lesson there. Also most of my students have iPhone or iPad and can log into the net any time.
I am just worried about the slow learners. There are many good sites in the net but how can I help my slow learners to read fast in the net. Since English language is the L2 language. So some of them are motivated to learn but they still face difficulty to learn fast can catch the outstanding learners. I think I need to ask them to work in group in order to cooperate with each others so I can safe time and effort.
Naiaf:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about your worries, I can share with you my experience. It is very difficult to have a homogenous group, all in the same level. After facing this situation something that I implement in my classes, is that if you sit down or plan a pair work sit an slow student with a normal or fast students, on that way students on the level help those that are under the level, the idea of “help” is by explaining some words, by pushing them etc, but never by translating or giving them the answers because we know that this is not help.
Andrea.
Hi Naiaf and Andrea!
ReplyDeleteIt is great to share our experiences. Thinking of the problems we are facing and of possible solutions is crucial for our learning process in this course. I see some of us have similar problems but we have a different context and we may come up with different solutions according to our teaching styles and frames of mind. This course is enriching us as professional teachers.
Hi Naif and other friends!!
ReplyDeleteI too agree with all your comments and suggestions. As Naif mentioned, using technology in our language classes truly motivates our students and gets them interested in the lesson. Even using simple power point presentations, makes them really keen and focused. So using the internet will definitely make them more interested in their work.
But, as all of you mentioned, we do get students who are not as computer literate as the others. As Andrea mentioned, it is certainly a good idea to pair up a weak student with a more computer literate student so that the one who's weaker can follow the lesson.
In the meantime, the student who need more computer training could be encouraged to get more practice with the use of computers so that they can attend to their work more confidently.
We as teachers should work something out to encourage our students to improve in their weak areas.