Week 3 Reflection

Hi everyone,

Coming to mid-way to week three, many ideas are coming in my mind. One question is whether or not I could have enough time to explore all teaching materials available at hand so that I can adjust, modify and change my current teaching approaches and aids. The other point is the brainteasing puzzle, yes a puzzle, if I could ever easily change my students' perceptions of long-held traditional ways of teaching, and even if I have the panacea to do that, how I could make the ample web-based teaching sources workable in such a poor teaching environment like the one I am teaching now. What keeps me aspirant and optimistic is that, however, learners are always enthusiastic about and interested in new teaching technologies, particularly if presented in such a way that they find themselves involved in learning. That is the merit I have to resort to turn all these brainteasers into  brain powers.

This week I have learned how to create my own Delicious website page (http://delicious.com/dhahawisalih). At the beginning, it took me a couple of hours to create it, and at some point I sought held from Donna . Some hours later, I discovered that with technology at hand one could fix his own  problems by trial and error, and course with practicing great patient.  Delicious is really a delicious website. With it I won't waste any time saving my bookmarks on different PC or browsers; and with it, it is now more easier to save my favorite links in a well-sorted way, consult other links through the participants Delicious links and even import from theirs.

To tell what I have so far learned  might cost volumes to do so. But putting briefly, creating my own Delicious website page, and by going over some lesson plans and reviewing some past project proposals  were the major things I have learned. Articles about oral/aural skill teaching were very scholarly. I have found Miller's article about "Developing Listening Skills" at: http://www.elthillside.com/up/files/article4.doc very useful. I recommend it for all to read. Another useful article is Gong's "Employment of CALLin Teaching Foreign?Second Language Speaking Skills" at: http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edfac.unimelb.edu.au%2Fresearch%2Fresources%2Fstudent_res%2Fpostscriptfiles%2Fvol3%2Fvol3_1_gong1.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzdWqOPCWW2HtO4ltnNNRQDsCwWazw. Teachers interested in enahncing learners speaking skills by employing CALL will find article wonderful.

One more wonderful thing I have learned within this week is the multiplicity of online lessons teacher can benefit from. However, I have to point out here that teaching environments, materials used and purposes of teaching are, of course various. What might look workable lesson in a specific context might be a waste of time and effort in another. Isn't that why, we teachers, are advised to follow the eclectic method while teaching rather than blindly following some lessons tailored for specific learners, for such purposes, in such contexts? For this, I warn my colleagues not to take for granted whatever they come across as  a recommended teaching material or an effective lesson plan. 

Best
Garri