The role of WeQuests in learning a foreign/second language?

 

 

 A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995 with early input from SDSU/Pacific Bell Fellow Tom March, the Educational Technology staff at San Diego Unified School District, and waves of participants each summer at the Teach the Teachers Consortium.

 Web Quests help students meet standards focused on critical-thinking and analysis skills, and may be particularly useful for social studies and science.Students using web quest in the classroom will be an interactive class. Students will work on groups, asking each other, helping each other, searching, finding information with each other. It will be a group class which is full of energy and eager to learn. Webquests foster cooperative learning through guided discovery, they do not generally provide a means for the individual practice of communication skills.It can be used to develop critical thinking skills among students to learn foreign language. Also, It can promote critical thinking because it requires each member of the group to carry out a specific, meaningful role, and then pool their respective research findings to formulate a response to a complex, open-ended problem. It can be multiple solutions to the problem in a Webquest.

A good Webquest focuses on an issue that has multiple viewpoints, such as social, political, environmental, or health-related. It also requires more than information gathering; students must process the information in order to form their opinions. It help students to develop higher cognitive thinking by requiring students to sift through extensive information from the Web until they can construct an understanding that not only connects to their schema, but also builds new knowledge .

Finally, as a teacher I will use webquest in my classroom to my students. Using this website will teach them a lot of thing. They will learn how to work on a group work, how to communicate with their friends even if they did not a close friend, how to deal with others. It will give them a chance to work on different web site and choose the topics they prefer. They also can express their opinion and information. It will give them a confidence to develop their own personality.

 

Evaluating Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab Website

Evaluating Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab  Website

          Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab http://www.esl-lab.com/ is an online, multimedia listening website that is designed to assist Second Language (L2) students around the world to practice and enhance their English listening and comprehension skills. This website has been created by Randall Davis who graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, with an undergraduate degree in Spanish education and a master's degree in TESL. However, Every Site Has a Reason for Being There and Randall Davis site there to enhance listening comprehension, as well as improving the teachers and students  communication skills with natural and interesting themes.

            On the other hand, the design of the website presents the information on easy way to find and use, it has been organized according to the different levels with supplementary links such as, vocabulary exercise. Also, there is a developed quizzes to test the audience knowledge  based on their levels .Moreover, The page on the websites  load in a reasonable amount of time and it is consistently available and load without problems, but the main problem with the site is its background colors as well as the smallest size of the font; it may cause problem to people who has vision problems.

           The content on the website easy to read and understand by the students and teacher also, it has enough information to make visiting the site worthwhile. Moreover, The title of a site has appropriate to its purpose. The voice in audio records very clear and each lesson have activates pre-listening, listening exercise, vocabulary and post- listening. Also, in each lesson clarify the learners’ level, topic, and type of audio record, speakers, and length. Also, readers can easily download the audio record and it found in website as written form also. There are a lot of links in a website as Randall’s other site. It clear and easy for learner to move from one website to another.

             The information on the site not as good as a book on the same topic. Because it has so many additional features,we can not found them in the book. Such as, worksheets with quizzes on everyday conversations for all levels, short listening exercises and long conversations ,students can submit their answers to correct them and they can see the correct answers. and students can see the script of the conversation and can listen to it as they read it.

              The site grade level is appropriate as an extra activity for the students, and  different students are able to choose listening texts according to their difficulty,  needs and interests. Although the site is not that much interactive and engaging for the student, because the website design does not attract students,it is very formal, but the content attracts students and topics for the real life situation.

 

Virtual Classrooms in the EFL Classrooms

 

my Reflect on the live session we had with Peggy. Last week I had the class about "how does Arabic influence the Pronunciation of English?" with Ms. Peggy Tharpe . it was virtual classroom for 52 minuets and only 15 students and 2 teacher were presented. She talked about the difference between the sound system in Arabic and English language and suggest some solution for this problem.

 

     Virtual classroom is describing as an on-line education using Internet, where teacher and student are separated by time or space. Virtual classroom is an revolutionary change in ESL/EFL learning. For teacher is a new methodological resource where it can found a variety of material for teach ESL/EFL.

 

     There have advantages and disadvantages of virtual rooms in the language classroom. The advantage are Students develop their language and critical thinking skills. When assistance is needed, tutor/teacher are available like in a real classroom. Virtual class is accessible via Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days of week for student. With the help of modern technology, an ESL/EFL teacher can create his or her own virtual classroom. Students receive the content and communicate with the teacher via internet. Students do not have to go to the real class to learn.

     

       The disadvantage are The institution does not have enough economy resources in order to implement a virtual classroom. Lack of motivation from students and teachers in the use of technology for the teaching and learning process. Students do not have access to personal computer at home. Teachers do not have knowledge in how to manage technology resources.  

 

       At the end,  I  will consider the use of virtual classroom in the teaching  and learning ESL/EFL. I think  it create a different atmosphere in education program. Student will acquire knowledge and experiment a new way of learn using technological resources such as; studying a video, reading a textbook chapter, discussions of problems, solving exercises,    

 

 

 

“Do teachers need to create web-based language activities for EFL students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Why and why not?

these days, internet is the major tools to connects people together around the world. 

Using the internet  Will  make life's activities more easily specially on learning So, teachers in Saudi Arabia need to create web- based language activities, quizzes ,materials to help the student learn how to use this technology. There are certain  reasons  to create web- based language activities for EFL students in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia which are:    

1_ We can teach using web the vocabulary practice, grammar lessons, comprehension exercises. Also reading and writing tasks and Pronunciation exercises,

2_ For writing, teacher can  create online writing assignments or discussions is through a Weblog, or "blog."  Which is very helpful for students.

3_ Games and exercises designed to help students learn new vocabulary are easily put on the Web. Moreover, comprehension exercises, such as fill-in-the-gap exercises done while listening to audio, transfer nicely to the Web.

 At the end , we can made an interactive in a variety of ways. The usage of webpage activities will enhance language skills. They should make the student get use to technology because it is the language of the age and it will save the time for both teachers and students .

wordle in EFL classroom

“Challenges of creating web-based activites in Sally Morrison” Interactive lanaguge Learning on the Web”

Nowadays, internet is the major tool to connects people together around the world. Using the internet will make life's activities more easily specially on learning So, teachers in Saudi Arabia should creating web- based language activities, quizzes ,materials to help the student learn how to use this  technology.

 There are many difficulties to create your own interactive language learning activities in the Web.These difficulties include maybe the teachers don't know how to create the web then they should be learn how to do it which take a lot of the time and effort.Students don't deal with this type of education in the begging because they are familiarity of traditional education and fear of change. lack of equipment for students in schools, where the use of computers are expensive and not available everywhere. Finally , technical problems as a result of weakness of the internet.

 In conclusion, teachers play a major role in developing the country by educating the generations after generation. Accordingly, They should utilize all possible tools and technologies  to deliver their message in a way that will be interesting for all.

“Normalisation of Bax in the Saudi Kingdom

In the article of Stephan Bax we found that he discussed the development of the CALL through the past, present and future. Also, he found the three phases of CALL which divided previously by Mark Warschauer.

This article seeks answers to three questions: where has Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) been, where is it now and where is it going?

He suggested three steps for this normalized state and after that move across it. The first one is to find the norms factors which normalization requires.  The second is to canvass the practice of teaching sequence in the light of these norms. the final is to set our current practice in each part so as to promote normalization.

a-Bax suggested we will achieve normalization when computers are used every day in our classrooms of learning language by students and teachers. He also suggested that to achieve normalization we have to find what are the criteria we need to reach normalization. Second step is to evaluate what each teaching context need for its practices according to the criteria we'd identify in the first step. The last step is to try our best to set what we use now in teaching so we promote normalization.

b-Normalization is the stage when a technology is invisible, hardly even recognized as a technology,

How these changes and means could be applied to our Saudi context?Why is it possible? When is it possible/reached/achieved? How will it be reached?








 Nowdays in saudi schools, changes start gradually apply to our Saudi context, but we just need some time. It possible becouse The ministry of education allow and has a possibilities to provides these technologies. Nowadays Many colleges and universities  in Saudi Arabia start using technologies nowadays like computers, projectors, smart boards, and tablet as an important tools. Also model schools are start to provide to their students a laptops to do their homework. I think will  be reached by Give students a computer to use it to do the work. Secondly, When students can use it in a proper way. Also, When Ministry of Education provides all of the technologies that the teachers and students need it. Finally, Create educational programs or educational websites so the students can get their lessons and homework and if they have any question they can ask and the teacher or the classmate will reply.