Thursday 30 October 2008

ENTRY 59 Great links 4 u

¹http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/listen-watch/sounds-interesting/phonemic-chart

http://www.e-lang.co.uk/mackichan/call/pron/type.html


http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/tkt/mod/wiki/view.php?id=534


To indicate the pronunciation of the structures, you can use the following two websites:
To hear the sounds:

http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/listen-watch/sounds-interesting/phonemic-chart

To write the symbols:

http://www.e-lang.co.uk/mackichan/call/pron/type.html

Content words
Content words are words that have meaning. They can be compared to grammatical words, which are structural. Nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs are usually content words. Auxiliary verbs, pronouns, articles, and prepositions are usually grammatical words.
Example
‘We flew over the mountains at dawn'.
In the classroomThere is an important difference in pronunciation between content and grammatical words. Content words tend to be stressed and grammatical words are often pronounced in a reduced form or with a schwa sound. Practice of this can be provided in listening comprehension activities that require learners to reconstruct what they have heard.
Content words are called lexical words, stressed words or prominent words. They are main verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Prominent words are usually the words that speaker sees as the most important in a sentence.
When we speak we give more emphasis to some parts of an utterance than to others. We can make syllable stand out with respect to its neighbouring syllables in a word, and some words stand out with respect to the rest of the words in a longer utterance.
Add your example of a sentence with content words below. Put the content words in bold.

ENTRY 58 Assessment types: Re: My Tests

Re: My Tests
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Monday, 20 October 2008, 08:39 PM

As far as I know,taking exams is an important part of our lives,and they will be like that because we, as teachers, need to be in the right track ,the way of enriching our professions and careers.
I have taken many exams in my life.I remember the ones I used to take when I was studying English in primary school.I also remember the exams I used to take when I was at the Colegio Militar De La Nacion, they were really really hard.They consist of academic skills and P.E exams.Very hard.
At the moment,I am preparing myself for the T.K.T exam which is quite relevant for me, this will give international support to my teaching prospects and profession.I cannot wait till the exam,I am eager to take it ,hopefully we will all pass it,and that will be extremely good for our careers.
I have also taken the Michigan exam while I was working in Bolivia,It was ok, I got 80 marks out of 100 I think. It was a fine at that moment of my life,considering the fact that I had drop Lola Mora for working.
It was ok.
That's all I believe.

ENTRY 57 Practice activities: I like drills.

I have done drills,both as a learner and as a teacher.I far as I know,drills are a nice way of engaging and motivating my students.They like to listen to somebody speaking English.Moreover,my students like to repeat the sentences or words I choose for them.
Regarding disadvantages,for instance,I believe that sometimes my students get the idea of being embarrassed in that part of the class.They claim that they feel extremely uneasy ,or/and they start to misbehave during the activity,or to pronounce stupid sounds,silly things.
Apart from that,everything works properly for me.

Enrique.

ENTRY 56 Practice activities: My activities.

My activities.
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Friday, 4 July 2008, 11:38 PM

Hello again my fellow colleagues.
Concerning the use of activities,I can tell you that I have used ;find someone who....I have also used jumbled sentences,unscrambled sentences and my favorite one..... role play.
I have used these activities in order to improve some particular constructions.Such as grammar,phonology,lexis etc.
In spite of the fact that they were sometimes difficult,they were really useful in the end.I consider that the advantages I met while doing the activity outweigh its defects.

ENTRY 55 Assessment types.

by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Friday, 24 October 2008, 11:57 PM

I agree with every aspect of the article.Quite interesting and ready to put it into practice,despite all the problems and different reality we face here in Tucuman.I am not complaining,I am just presenting our facts.
I believe Ms Bedwell is a lucky teacher for having that supportive class.Of course, working in that kind environment is really easy and motivating for both,teachers and students as well.
In my short experience as an English teacher,I have noticed that students prefer the formative assessment rather than the overall assessment or the summative assessment.They are always asking for more opportunities,and they know they have the right to ask them, which is perfect for me as long as they show their commitment to my subject.There is no doubt that Today, there are far more opportunities for students than there were many years ago,when we were studying.Lucky boys and girls.
Finally,I think ongoing assessment is a nice way of displaying their skills,it may be difficult at the beginning for some teachers ,but I consider it not impossible to achieved it at all.

ENTRY 54 Grammar: Re: Age differences

Re: Age differences
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Monday, 29 September 2008, 08:40 PM

I agree with most of your thoughts Celeste! .Keep on going like that,excellent job buddy,would you like to read my post?
It goes like this............
If I have to plan a lesson for teenagers, I would be very careful in my way of selecting the topics and in my way of keeping the class-mood.Such as their favorite clothes,music,etc,in other words themes they appeal most.
Knowing the fact that they are able to concentrate for longer periods,I would take advantage of that.I would try to have them to engage in a Project,or a survey around the school or during breaks.
Considering that the way I prepare my class may affect the whole group, I must take into consideration all the factors I mentioned above, and even more.
Difficult task indeed,but not imposible at all.
What do you think Celeste?
Would you like to enlarge the adult explanation,especially when you talk about the shy ones,please?
Thank you and see y
ou real soon!!!!!!!

ENTRY 53 Presentation techniques: PPP and Task-Based Learning

PPP and Task-Based Learning
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Monday, 15 September 2008, 07:43 PM

Every day, we make many decisions in our classrooms about language teaching/learning processes. These include decisions about
which activities our learners might possibly enjoy, which are most effective, and which would provide learners with skills that they could use for academic and communicative purposes. Ppp or task-based learning, what can I do to increase the level of my students.In the meantime let us discuss about these methods.
By contrast, the PPP model of language teaching ('presentation, practice,performance') is based on the assumption that a language is best presented to learners as a syllabus of structures, and that through controlled practice a fluent and accurate performance of the'structure of the day' can be achieved. Errors are evidence of poor learning, requiring more PPP treatment.
According to what I have read ,the danger in a
task
-based approach to teaching is that learners might be encouraged to prioritize a focus on meaning over a focus on form, and thus be led to use fluent but unchallenging or inaccurate language. Because language does not have to be well-formed in order to be meaningful.
As far as I know,the task-based approach to language teaching has evolved in response to a better understanding of the way languages are learnt. Traditionally,language learning has been regarded as aprocess of mastering a succession of steps, each one building on the one before. Teachers present the target language in rea,starting with the easy parts and gradually moving towards the harder parts. Learners must master each part and incorporate it into their knowledgeof the
target language
.

ENTRY 52 Reading: What I read...

What I read...
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Saturday, 5 July 2008, 12:20 AM

I often read travel brochures,I also like to read small booklets or pamphlets, promotional materials or product information. Such as tv's ,dvd's computers etc. I read them because I like to be in touch with new trends and new technology.
I do not find any differences in the way I read those texts.

ENTRY 51 Getting started: INTRODUCING MYSELF

INTRODUCING MYSELF
by Enrique Ram GONZALEZ - Tuesday, 1 July 2008, 08:18 PM

Hello everybody,I am glad to write this on this forum,finally I could get my username and password.Despite the fact of being very delayed in the activities,I am eager to start and learn as much as I can from you my colleagues and from this course.My name is Enrique RamónGonzález,I am almost 37 years old, I was born the 12 th of august 1971,in San Miguel de Tucumán.
At the moment,I am studying at Lola Mora Institute,doing my 3rd year of profesorado.I am also working for the state at Juan Bautista Alberdi school,teaching 4th,5th,and the 6th grade.I liking my way of living, SIMPLE but I enjoy it very much.

THAT'S ME.
What I like most of my job,is the POWER WE have as teachers, in order to transform lives,the way I can help children to forget their problems and to smile,at least for only 40'.
HOPE
What I like least of my job,I believe as far as I can remember, is the lack of some parents' commitment to struggle for their children's education.THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN.
SAD but true.
I am doing this course,I think I mentioned it before,but anyway,I want to improve in all senses ,in all my skills.
All in all,I want to improve my career prospects by getting a formal qualification like TKT.COURAGE AND DEDICATION!
Watch this:
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5LX9Fl9Spc&feature=related
HAVE A NICE DAY!!!!!
ENRIQUE.