21st Century Students... Funny ^_^

Autonomous Learning: The Key for SLA Success

After I have read the articles about SLA and the way learners could achieve great goals, I can say that learners' autonomy is the first important factor that determines the students' success in SLA.

For me, the best way to encourage the students to be autonomous learners is through motivating them, especially intrinsically. Intrinsic motivation that arises from the learners' own desire to learn is the best way to make them autonomous. This can be achieved through giving the students information about the importance of learning the language. Teachers can provide examples for their own success in learning languages because of their own desire to do so, and encourage students to develop their own skills in learning.  Teachers and instructors, also, have to make a close relationship with learners so as to be aware about the reasons they are learning the language and their questions and concerns.

 

Another way through which we can make autonomous learners is through acceptance of their own opinions. We have to give students full chances to discuss and share their views about learning, and give them a wide space for accepting their understanding for everything. This can be done through open discussions that comprehend sharing their own interests and concerns. Paying attention to the students’ different learning styles and strategies can help a lot in this issue.  Whenever the teacher is aware about his/her students learning styles, the materials he/she will provide have to be suitable for all the needs and requirements of the learners. In addition, I think that using the ABCD model is a very successful way in building learners autonomy for it gives them full details about what they are learning and the way for assessment.

Furthermore, using technology can also play a facilitative role in building autonomous learners. In my opinion, the best way in this situation is using blogs in which students can reflect freely on what they are learning, and if they are satisfied with what they have learnt. It is also important as students can share them together and help each other collaboratively. Rubrics as well are very effective in developing learning autonomy, because it gives the students enough details about what to do and justifies the grades for each assessment. However, giving the students hand in fixing and constructing the rubrics and grades for themselves is a brilliant idea that enables them figure out what was important to be assessed in their courses and how much grades should be assigned for each part. 

Khadija Muhammad Abdussalam

U of K

Khartoum, Sudan

khadijam.989@gmail.com

 

Amazing Games for the classroom

Apple Pass

Have all Ss sit in a circle. Use a fake apple and toss it to one S. But you must say one English word as you pass. The S then throws to another S and says a different English word. If the student you threw it to drops it, he/she is out. And the game keeps going until you have one winner. It can be played with different categories, such as Food, Animals, Etc. My students love it! (Submitted by Kim.S.).

Art Gallery

This is a great activity for reviewing vocab. Draw enough squares on the board for each S to be able to draw in. Have the Ss write their names above their squares. T calls out a word and the Ss draw it (could be simple nouns e.g. "dog, bookcase, train", verb structures e.g. "draw a man running, eating cake, sleeping") or adjectives ("draw a big elephant, an angry lion, an expensive diamond ring"). For each S give a score for his/her picture, and then move on to the next picture. The S with the highest score at the end is the winner.

Backs to the Board Game

This one is good for higher level kids. Make two teams and stand one S from each team in front of the board, facing away from it. Write a word or draw a picture on the board (e.g. "hamburger") and the Ss have to explain that word to their team member (e.g. you can buy it in McDonalds, it's got cheese and ketchup in it). The first S out of the two standing in front of the board to guess the word wins a point for his/her team.

Badminton

Good for reviewing target vocabulary (words or communicative expressions). Set a "court" into the classroom by placing a skip-rope tied up to two chairs. Make two small teams (the other Ss can be the crowd and or challengers). Give each S a flyswatter ("Racket"). Inflate a balloon (this will be the ball). Remember: the younger the Ss, the bigger the balloon must be (slower). Decide who serves and for every winning shot the team to call out the flashcard or picture card shown by the T to get a point. Lots of fun! (NOTE: For very active Ss be careful since they might hit the others' faces when playing). (submitted by Salvador Domingo)

Banana Race

Children just love this! It is basically a QUIZ game in which you ask children questions (Target Vocabulary) like: "What's this? What fruit is red and round? How many chairs are there in the classroom?" or the T simply draws items on the board, makes animal noises so that they guess. You can work with Ss or split the class into small groups/teams if you have a large class. The T draws on the board a race track and each team or S will be a BANANA waiting at the Starting Line. They will approach the Goal line as they answer each question. Each right answer equals a step towards the Goal Line. The BANANA who arrives there first, WINS! (Submitted by Salvador Domingo).



For  more  awsome games you can see: 

Interactive PowerPoint: A Magical Teaching Tool

I do Love PowerPoint. I use it frequently in my classes and it shows very successful results. But, talking about making these PPTs interactive sounds amazing! It is the first time for me to experience creating an Interactive PPT, it is really a very interesting chance.

After reading several articles about interactive PPT, I noticed the big difference between this later and the standard PPT that I used to apply in my classes before. Although the standard ones tend to be useful with some activities, but the interactive ones have much more utilities and advantages. The Interactive PPT is more advanced and supplies the students with more challenging skills, and activities, for it doesn’t follow a linear direction in presentation. It takes the attention from one slide to a previous one or even to the very first slides that seem relevant. This non-linear ability enriches the classes with more refreshment and interaction.  They seem helpful in my classes when reviewing knowledge, for it increases the interactive drill and practice.

For my classes, I think the interactive PPTs are very helpful. They get the students attention all the time and make them more engaged to the lectures. They function as magic, for me, as they enable both control and entertainment at the same time. They increase the tendency of the students to be more active and respond to the questions immediately.

PowerPoint presentation can be made more interactive by applying so many tools and methods, like clip arts, animations, quizzes, true or false questions, action buttons, and even video clips and sound tracks. Nevertheless, before determining the tool used to make PPTs more interactive, teachers have to think about the students’ levels and abilities, as well as the nature of the classes and the condition under which they are teaching. However, handouts tend to be so important for reinforcing the presentations. They give the students more information about what is presented, and give them the chance not only to be attached to what is provided in the PPT slides but also to the material under study.

Thus, using interactive PowerPoint is more professional and practical and brings a lot of fun to the classes.  But teachers have to be aware of the best ways to practice using them and what should they avoid during the presentations.

By: Khadija Muhammad Abdussalam

English Language Teacher

U of K

Sudan, Khartoum

khadijam.989@gmail.com

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