Learning English Outside

 

Information Gap

 An information gap activity is an activity where learners are missing the information they need to complete a task and need to talk to each other to find it.

Example

Learner A has a biography of a famous person with all the place names missing, whilst Learner B has the same text with all the dates missing. Together they can complete the text by asking each other questions.

In the classroom

Information gap activities are useful for various reasons. They provide an opportunity for extended speaking practice, they represent real communication, motivation can be high, and they require sub-skills such as clarifying meaning and re-phrasing. Typical types of information gap activities you might find include; describe and draw, spot the difference, jigsaw readings and listening and split dictations.

Learning English outside

Bad Weather Forces Suspension of Search for Malaysian Plane

Vocabulary			Pronunciation	Meaning
condition (noun)			/kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/	สภาวะ the state of something with regard to its appearance, quality, or working.
announce (verb)			/əˈnaʊns/	ประกาศ make a formal public statement about a fact, occurrence, or intention.
passenger (noun)			/ˈpasɪndʒ /	ผู้โดยสาร a traveller on a public or private conveyance other than the driver, pilot, or crew.
meteorology (noun)			/ˌmiːtɪəˈrɒlədʒi/	อุตุนิยมวิทยา the branch of science concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, especially as a means of forecasting the weather.
acknowledge (adjective)			/əkˈnɒlɪdʒd /	ยอมรับ recognized as being good or important: he’s an acknowledged expert in the field an acknowledged comedy genius.
trajectory (noun)			/trəˈdʒɛkt(ə)ri/	เส้นโคจร the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces: the missile’s trajectory was preset.
absolutely (adverb)			/ˈabsəluːtli/	อย่างแน่นอน with no qualification, restriction, or limitation; totally: she trusted him absolutely.
paramedic (noun)			/ˌparəˈmɛdɪk/	เจ้าหน้าที่ทางการแพทย์ a person who is trained to do medical work, especially emergency first aid, but is not a fully qualified doctor: the government hope to have a paramedic on every emergency ambulance.
	statement (noun)		/ˈsteɪtm(ə)nt /	แถลงการณ์ a definite or clear expression of something in speech or writing:do you agree with this statement?this is correct as a statement of fact.
transponder (noun)		/tranˈspɒndə , trɑːn-/		เครื่องรับส่งเรดาร์ a device for receiving a radio signal and automatically transmitting a different signal.

Learning English inside

On Monday, July 21, 2014, this class, I have learned about assessment and testing, teaching listening, teaching reading and teaching writing. It is important contents for teacher. My friends had a good presentation.

First, my friend presented about assessment and testing. There are 8 types of assessment : formative, summative, informal, diagnostic, placement, progress, achievement and proficiency. There are 2 types of test item is direct test item and indirect test item. Direct test item based on 4 skills is speaking, listening, reading and writing. An indirect test item consist of gap fills, cloze, multiple choice, true/false, jumped sentence, sentence transformation, proofreading and matching. Last content is about rubric. A rubric is a multi – purpose scoring guide for assessing student products and performances.

Second, teaching listening provides the aural input that serves as the basis for language acquisition and enables learners to interact in spoken communication. Strategies of listening consist of techniques, activities and comprehension. There are 5 steps for teaching : listening skill is sound words and emphasize sentence, understanding individual words, identifying and understanding sentence, listening to unfamiliar material and colloquialism or vernacular.

Third, teaching reading that I presented, we all need to be able to read in our own language, whether from book, document, computer or mobile service. Reading also helps student to learn and get English. There are 2 general approaches for teaching reading is extensive reading and intensive reading. Extensive reading is reading as much as possible, for your own pleasure at a difficulty level at which you can read smoothly and quickly without looking up word or translating to English as you go. Intensive reading activities include skimming a text for specific information to answer true or false statement or filling gaps in a summary, scanning a text to match headings to paragraphs and scanning jumbled paragraphs and then reading then carefully to put them into the correct order.

Finally, teaching writing. In the first step, teacher will start teach the “nuts and bolts” of writing. Second, teach to use punctuation features in writing. The process of writing consist of planning that thinking what we are going to write and make a note, drafting, diting is check the mistake of written work, revising and publishing. Teacher can teaching activities by using game, music picture.

In conclude, I think the presentation of each group have useful knowledge for me and my friends. Moreover, we can use that knowledge in the future.     

Learning English outside

Using Games in Teaching English to Young Learners
I. How to Choose a Game

Students may wish to play games purely for fun. Teachers, however, need more convincing reasons. 'Teachers need to consider which games to use, when to use them, how to link them up with the syllabus, textbook or programmer and how, more specifically, different games will benefit students in different ways (Khan, J.1996).' The key to a successful language game is that the rules are clear, the ultimate goal is well defined and the game must be fun.

Below are some questions which we might consider as we choose a game:

·         Which language does the game target?

·         Which skills does it practice? The language skill focus could be any one of the major skills of listening, speaking, reading or writing.

·         What type of game is it?

·         What's the purpose for using it?

·         Does it fit the students? How could I simplify or make it more complex if necessary? Many games require modification in use when the students' need are taken into consideration.

·         How much interaction and participation is there? Maximum involvement is something we are pursuing.

·         Do I like the game myself?

II. Hints and Suggestions

·         When giving instructions to beginners, a few words in the mother tongue would be the quickest way to make everything clear. More English exposure is needed at a later stage.

·         Games are best set up by demonstration rather than by lengthy explanation.

·         It is very important not to play a game for too long. Students will begin to lose interest. It is best to stop a game at its peak.

III. The "Magic Matchbox" Game

This is a guessing game played by teams to practice numbers.

·         Exponent: How many? There are…

·         Additional benefits: genuine communication; hidden drilling; teamwork

·         Language needed: numbers 1 to 11

·         Time: 10 to 15 minutes

·         Material: 1 matchbox; 11 toothpicks per person

·         Preparation

·         The teacher challenges the students to count the 11 toothpicks in his/her hand. To model the game, the teacher then puts some into the matchbox, shakes it and asks the students to guess how many are inside.

·         The teacher explains how to play the game in the students native language if necessary.

·         The teacher divides the class into two teams, giving each team an English name, eg. the Roosters and the Monkeys. Then the teacher write the the team names on the board for scoring during the game.

·         If the class has a large number of students, this is one way to get smaller teams. Choose 10 players from each team by chanting together a 'choosing rhyme' such as the following:

·         One, two, three, four,

·         O-U-T, OUT!

·         (The student chosen is the one you are pointing at on the word OUT!)

·         Each player secretly puts no more than 11 toothpicks into his/her matchbox.

·         During the Game

·         The first player from the Roosters stands up, shakes the matchbox in his/her hand. His/her team members shout together 'How many?.' The Monkeys then give the answer by replying 'There are…'.

·         If the guess is the correct number, the Monkeys wins a point. If not, the Roosters get the point.

·         Then switch roles. This time the Monkeys ask and the Roosters guess.

·         The game continues until all the players get a turn.

·         The teacher keeps a record of the points on the board. The team with the most points wins.

Learning English Outside

Ukraine Confirms Pro-Russians Seized Armored Vehicles

Vocabulary	Pronunciation	Meaning
separatist (noun)	/ˈsɛp(ə)rətɪst/	ผู้แบ่งแยก a person who supports the separation of a particular group of people from a larger body on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or gender: religious separatists.
defense (noun)	/dɪˈfɛns /	กองทัพบก the action of defending from or resisting attack: methods of defence against this kind of attack she came to the defence of the eccentric professor he spoke in defence of a disciplined approach.
intelligence (noun)	/ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒ(ə)ns/	หน่วยสืบราชการลับ the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills: an eminent man of great intelligence.
evidence (noun)	/ˈɛvɪd(ə)ns/	หลักฐาน the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid: the study finds little evidence of overt discrimination.
recruited  (verb)	/rɪˈkruːt/	รับคนใหม่ enlist (someone) in the armed forces: we recruit our toughest soldiers from the desert tribesใ
determination (noun)	/dɪˌtəːmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/	การตัดสินใจ the quality of being determined; firmness of purpose: those who succeed because of sheer grit and determination.
bloodshed (noun)	/ˈblʌdʃɛd/	การฆ่าฟัน the killing or wounding of people, typically on a large scale during a conflict: the president feared bloodshed and disorder if the demands for reform were not met.
rhetoric (noun)	/ˈrɛtərɪk/	การใช้ถ้อยคำชักจูงโน้มน้าว the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques: he is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole.

Learning English inside

Tuesday: Learning Log

Today, this is my third class of Curriculum and Learning Management in English. My friends present about teaching speaking and teaching with technology.

First group present about teaching speaking. Many people feel that speaking in new language is harder than reading or writing. Speaking happens in real time: usually the person you are talking to is waiting to is waiting for you to speaking right then and when you speak, you cannot edit and revise what you wish to say, as you can if you write. Teacher can use information gap, jigsaw activities, interview the picture, prompt cards and buzz group to teach speaking skill.

 Second group present about teaching with technology. Nowadays, technology it very important for everybody. In the school teacher must teach student with technology such as, mobile learning it can help student communicate with many app and student can take picture which are difficult to understanding, presenting online, researching online, etc.

To sum up, I think teaching with technology very important for teacher in 21st century because it can help teacher develop their knowledge.

         

Learning English outside

 This week I practice my listening skill by watch the movie. Despicable Me is American computer animated fantasy-comedy.

           In brief of this film, Gru is a super-villain. Gru decides to do better with the assistance of  Dr. Nefario by shrinking and stealing the moon.The plan is expensive and Gru seeks a loan from the Bank of Evil, where the president Mr. Perkins is impressed by the plan, but will only provide the money if Gru can obtain the necessary shrink ray first.

Gru and his minions steal the shrink ray from a secret base in East Asia but the up-and-coming super-villain, Vector, who was also responsible for the Pyramid theft, immediately steals it from Gru, as revenge for freezing his head earlier. Gru attempts to break into Vector's fortress to get the shrink ray back but is defeated by numerous booby traps. However, he notices three orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, are able to easily walk into the base because they are selling cookies. Gru, faking his credentials as a dentist, adopts the girls from Miss Hattie's Home for Girls, planning on using them to infiltrate Vector's base so he can get the shrink ray back. However, Gru has difficulty nurturing them properly due to their rambunctiousness, their ballet classes, and his own ineptitude as a parent.

Eventually, Gru and the girls arrive at Vector's fortress and Gru manages to steal the shrink ray. The girls then suggest a day at a theme park; Gru agrees, believing he can abandon the girls there but he is later told by an attendant that they must be accompanied by an adult. He is then dragged around the theme park for the day, eventually warming to the girls after they complement him on blowing up a rigged carnival game.

Later, Gru contacts Mr. Perkins, stating that he finally has the shrink ray in his possession. Margo, Edith, and Agnes interrupt the meeting, and Perkins announces that he has lost confidence in Gru and will no longer fund his operations. As Gru tells the minions about the bad news, the girls offer the contents of their piggy bank to fund the plan. His minions then hand over their own savings. Gru, inspired, sacrifices parts of his lair to construct a spacecraft. Gru plans to steal the moon when it is nearest the Earth but this ends up being the same day as the girls' ballet recital. Gru becomes conflicted and Dr. Nefario, seeing this as interfering with the plan, arranges for the girls to be returned to the orphanage. At the same time, Mr. Perkins informs Vector (who is revealed to be his son) of Gru's possession of the shrink ray and the adoption of the three girls, encouraging Vector to take action.

Gru successfully shrinks and steals the moon, but is too late to attend the recital finding a note from Vector, who has kidnapped the girls, and will exchange the moon for them. After arriving at Vector's headquarters, Gru readily makes the trade, but Vector reneges on the deal, flying off with the girls and the moon, much to Gru's anger.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nefario has discovered that the effects of the shrink ray are temporary; the bigger the object was originally, the faster it will regain its original size. As the moon starts to expand in Vector's ship, Gru, Dr. Nefario, and the minions pull off a daring mid-air rescue of the girls just as the moon explodes out of Vector's ship and launches itself back into orbit, with Vector trapped on it.

The film ends with the girls performing their own ballet recital for Gru, Marlena, Dr. Nefario, and the minions.

          To sum up, I think watch the movie can help me develop my listening skill and I can learn English with native speaker.

Learning English outside

Friday: Learning Log

This week I have learnt about type of reading. I’m interesting about intensive reading.

          Intensive reading involves learners reading in detail with specific learning aims and tasks. It can be compared with extensive reading, which involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills.

Intensive reading technique

I.  The intensive Reading Technique is reading for a high degree of comprehension and retention over a long period of time.

II. Intensive Reading is basically a "study" technique for organizing readings which will have to be understood and remembered. One may have good comprehension while reading line-by-line, but remembering is what counts!

III. Intensive Reading is not a careful, single reading, but is a method based on a variety of techniques like scanning, the surveying techniques of planning your purpose, and others.

          I think knowledge about intensive reading very important because it can help me get a good reader.

Learning English inside

Tuesday: Learning Log

Today, this is my second class of Curriculum and Learning Management in English. Teacher teaches about Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).

I have learnt about Communicative Language Teaching. The principle of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the students can communication (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in real situation, give the exam to the learners for test theirs memory, the error is building up of theirs communicative ability, link the different skills and let student discover grammar rules. Communicative effectively in particular situation, learners should have 4 abilities. First, Linguistics competence is about vocabulary, sounds and structure. Second, Sociolinguistics competence is the language that use in social. Third, Discourse competence it need for learners to practice in order to communicate more effectively. Finally, Strategic competence is ability of solve a problem in English.

I think if we can develop Thai Education to CLT in the future Thai students will get the high education quality.