Reflection#7

This week I used a few interesting strategies in both my preintermediate and advanced
classestohelpstudentswithpronunciationandreadingskillsbutIalsoranintoachallenge.

In my PreIntermediate class I tried using speechtotext technology to have students

practice vocabulary by dictating words aloud. Since the computer I have access to is not an
Apple Mac and therefore doesnt have an integrated speechtotext system, I decided to try out
two websites I found: SpeechTexter and Speechnotes. I tried them out athomeandtheyworked
well. However, I ran into Internet connection problems at the school as the WiFiwasextremely
slow so the websites werenotloading.Ihadexperiencedconnectivityissuesinthepastsincethe
network in the school is not very robust in general, so it occasionally fails. After a few failed
attempts at refreshing the websites and reconnecting to the network, I decided to overcome the
challenge by going with Plan B. To continuewiththedictationpracticeIhadplanned,Iusedthe
mini whiteboards to have students dictate the words we were reviewing to each other. Each
student took turns picking up a flashcard with a word and dictating it to the otherstudent.They
repeated the word twice, then checked whether the word was correctly spelled, and if it wasnt
they spelled it and rewrote it correctly. I then asked themtogivemeasynonymofthewordand
explain its meaning. This turned out tobeagreatactivityandstudentswereveryengaged.Since
they were the ones dictating the words rather than me, they were much more conscious about
correctly pronouncing the words so their fellow classmate would understand and write it
correctly. As Doyle (2011) says, the students were doing the work (pg. 8) and making
conscious choices towards their learning. It was fascinating to see how motivated they were
they put effort in writing the word correctly and, if they were wrong, they helped each otherby
explaining how the word was spelled and what it meant. Through this activity, I could witness
what both Doyle (2011) and Weimer (2013) argue a studentcentered classroom should have:
making students feel a sense of control by offeringlearningexperiencesinwhichtheycanmake
decisions and be more independent learners. In addition, this experience highlighted the
importance of having a backup plan in case things do not work as planned. Challenges are
inevitable in the implementation of any new type of technology and, while in my case the
challenge was minor, it serves as a good reminder about being prepared to go with Plan B so
studentlearningisnotinterruptedincasesomethingfails.

On a different note, technology worked well in my Presentation class in which students

used their cellphones to practice pronunciation. This week they prepared a 5 to 7minute
informative speech on a topic oftheirchoice.Becausethisspeechislongerthanpreviousones,I
wanted to make sure students werecomfortablepresentingtheirtopicandthattheycouldclearly
articulate their ideas. Therefore, students used the voice recording feature in theirphones(allof

them have iPhones) to recordthemselvesreadingsectionsoftheiroutlines.Theyworkedinpairs

to record one section (e.g. introduction) and then identified phrases that werenotclearorwords
that were difficult to pronounce. After each section, we came together as a class to list and
pronounce some of the words they had difficulty with. For example, one student had difficulty
with the word management,, so we repeated the word out loud breaking it into syllables until
the student felt confident in how she pronounced it. The exercise was effective in helping
students be aware of their mistakes. In doing so, it aligns with one of the principles laid out by
Erben, Ban, and Castaeda (2009) that indicates that ELLs should be given opportunities to
notice their errors and to correct their English (p. 8). As students evaluated their recordings,
they were able to see their mistakes in pronunciation and correct them. In addition, as Walker
and White (2013) point out, foreign language learners can improve the articulation of words
through repetition and feedback, either from their teacher or classmates.Indeed,studentsshared
feedback with one another as they evaluated their recordings by discussing whether the
words/phrases recorded were clear or not. They were engaged in their own learning and, at the
endofclass,theyallsaidtheyfeltmuchbetterpreparedfortheirpresentations.

Finally, in the advanced reading class, one new strategy that I implemented is the useof
magazines for practicing reading skills namely, summarizing.IbroughtseveralPopularScience
magazines that I had at home. Interestingly, we had read about humanachievementsthroughout
history in the textbook, so I thought these magazines would be fitting for practice. The day
before this lesson, we had reviewed what summarizing was and what steps to follow when
summarizing. To practice, I asked students to go throughamagazineandselectonearticle(with
at least four paragraphs) that interested them and to summarize each paragraph in one or two
sentences. I used this graphic organizer to help students organize the summaries. By using
authentic materials, which are those designed for and by native speakers of the language
(Erben et al., 2009, p. 141), I tried to motivate students to engage with the target language in a
new way, toseeEnglishexpressedinadifferentwaythanonregularESLtextbooks.AsErbenet
al. (2009) argue, giving ELLs opportunities to read English in a variety of ways enhances their
comprehension of the target language. Similarly, because students were given a choice in what
article they summarized, they were more motivated to learn. As Weimer (2013) argues, when
students are given choice over their learning, they become more selfdirected learning and
remain more engaged. She also contends that skill development in astudentcenteredclassroom
can be achieved by encouraging students to take responsibility for developing their skills (p.
131). If they are to learn how to summarize, they should get practice summarizing as much as
possible because being responsible for developing their skills heightens their awareness of
themselves aslearners(p.126).Infact, afterstudentssummarizedtheparagraphsofthearticles
in the magazines, we came together as a class to discusshowtheywentaboutsummarizing.For
instance, some of them shared thatunderliningkeywordswashelpfulwhenwritingwhileothers
discussed that underlining the topic sentence at the beginning helped them. I was happy to see

them engaged and to hear how they applied some of the steps we had reviewed the day before
about summarizing. Students told me they liked to read something different from the textbooks
and feltmoreconfidentinbeingabletowriteasummary.Iplantousemagazinestoreviewother
readingskills(e.g.paraphrasing)inthefuture.

In conclusion, this week I learned two important things. First, technology can bring
challenges so having a nontechnology backup plan is important in order to keep the lesson
going. Secondly, engaging ELLs in skill development through theuseofauthenticmaterialscan
increase theirmotivationandconfidenceinlearning.Asthefinalweeksapproach,Ilookforward
tocontinuingapplyingthestrategiesIhavediscoveredsofar.

References:

Erben,T.,Ban,R.,&Castaeda,M.E.(2009).T
eachingEnglishLanguageLearnersThrough
Technology.NewYork:Routledge.

Walker,A.,&White,G.(2013).T
echnologyenhancedlanguagelearning:Connectingtheory
andpractice.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.

Weimer,M.(2013).Learnercenteredteaching:Fivekeychangestopractice.SanFrancisco:
JosseyBass.

Doyle,T.(2011).L
earnercenteredteaching:Puttingtheresearchonlearningintopractice.
Sterling,VA:StylusPub.