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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Rolling Stones -- Satisfaction [[ Official Live Vide...

Leonard Cohen ~ Dance Me To The End Of Love


Bruce Springsteen - My Beautiful Reward - MTV 1992 (Subtitle ITA)

Bryan Adams - Summer of 69

A business letter

Teach them English

English language needs of young adult learners - ELTRP survey

English language needs of young adult learners - ELTRP survey

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: e portfolio and Mahara

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: e portfolio and Mahara

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Music in Teaching English

Music in Teaching English


Music can be used in the classroom to create a learning environment; to build listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills; to increase vocabulary, and to expand cultural knowledge. Using Songs in Instruction Most classroom music activities focus on lyrics. They contain common, short words and many personal pronouns, the language is conversational time and place are usually imprecise (except for some folk ballads); the lyrics are often sung at a slower rate than words are spoken with more pauses between utterances, and there is repetition of vocabulary and structures. These factors allow learners to understand and relate to the songs.
A further benefit of pop song lyrics is that their meanings are melted, and, like poetry, allow for many different interpretations. Through songs, students discover the natural stretching and compacting of the stream of English speech. Students may summarize orally the action or theme of a song or give oral presentations about a song or musician, playing musical selections for the course. Many songs tell a story, and these stories can be rewritten or retold to practice narrative or summarizing. Pop songs are written to be easily understood and enjoyed.
As discussed above, they tend to use high frequency lyrics that have emotional content. This makes them strong candidates for word study or reinforcing words already learned through written means. If a series of songs is to be used, students can be teamed up and given a song to teach the class. However, the songs may also have idioms in them that might be difficult to explain, depending on the level of the students.
Cultural Knowledge Activities Songs can be used in discussions of culture. They are a rich source of information about human relations, ethics, customs, history, humor, and regional and cultural differences.
Selecting Music
1.    Song lyrics should be clear and loud, not submerged in the instrumental music.
2.     The vocabulary load for the song should be appropriate to the proficiency level.
3.    Songs should be pre-screened for potentially problematic content, such as explicit language, references to violent acts or sex, or inappropriate religious allusions. Teachers will show care and effort when presenting songs they are especially fond of, their favorites are also good.
Finally, students are often strongly motivated to learn the lyrics of a new pop song or an old favorite they have heard and never understood, so their choices for classroom music should not be ignored.
References
Eken, D. K. (1996). Ideas for using songs in the English language classroom. English Teaching Forum, 34(1), 46-47. Griffee, D. T. (1990).
Hey baby! Teaching short and slow songs in the ESL classroom. TESL Reporter, 23(4), 3-8. Lems, K. (1996).
For a song: Music across the ESL curriculum. Tags: Music, singing in teaching English
http://english.wiziq.com/topic/1009-music-in-teaching-english_truncated

BLOWING IN THE WIND - Peter Paul & Mary - Lyrics Video




What is this story about?

About Halina's Karaoke ESL Edupunk



 Halina's Karaoke ESL Edupunk classes where my original materials to go with the song.
As for “are there gender-based or L1-based observable differences in their learning performance patterns in response to these two kinds of presentations?"
I would say that all depends on the requirements of particular learners as well as on our personal teaching preferences.
I introduce a new language by listening to real conversations, and all lessons are made up of talking and listening only. I teach grammar basically through situations with no reference to grammar rules at all.
 I don't teach grammar rules and isolated vocabulary. I teach conversational language.
My adult students are not into “abstract timelines or cartoon stick-figure-based presentations “.They want to speak the language, so I focus on dialogs and communication skills.
This is the link to previous debate;
As a non-native English teacher, I can be first-rate role model for my students who may not believe that they can ever learn the target language ("I learned this language well so you can too!").Personally I am against methods that emphasize learning about the language but for learning by using the language/ Expressions, collocations, models, patterns, language chunks......./
For my part, I don't approve grammar classes explaining rules and language terminology.
Moreover, I believe, the sooner a student learns to think in a foreign language, the faster she/he will learn. This can only take place if no reference at all is made to L1. They must be free from the interference of L1.
Maybe I am wrong?
On the top of this all, I distinguish that anyone who is learning a second language wishes and dreams about communicating as well as thinking in that language.
Teachers are duty-bound to take responsibility of effectiveness and encouragement of their own students, I think.

PS traditional method teaches you to read and write but not speak. Speaking is the main reason for learning a language and the main motivational driver that keeps you trying and improving. / Jason West /


My New Video

ONLINE OR NOT ONLINE (+playlist)

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Halina's English Tutoring

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Halina's English Tutoring: Private Tutor Halina


There are many ways to learn English but the best way is to have a F2F or an online private tutor.
It is clear that a non-native who knows how to teach is way better than a native who doesn't know how to teach.You need someone who can motivate you, can help you learn how to enjoy studying English as well as speaking it.
Someone who can answer your questions, develop your skills, and design a learning package that meets your needs in English.
With an online English Coach, you can learn English from the comfort of your own home or from your office, at a time that suits you.
Communication in English nowadays is a MUST.
https://voicethread.com/share/5680749/
https://voicethread.com/#q.b4181272.i0.k0

 

 

Halina's English Tutoring

Private Tutor Halina
There are many ways to learn English but the best way is to have a private tutor.
It is clear that a non-native who knows how to teach is way better than a native who doesn't know how to teach.
You need someone who can motivate you, can help you learn how to enjoy studying English as well as speaking it.
Someone who can answer your questions, develop your skills, and design a learning package that meets your needs in English.
With English Coach, you can learn English from the comfort of your own home or from your office, at a time that suits you.
Communication in English nowadays is a MUST.
https://voicethread.com/share/5680749/
https://voicethread.com/#q.b4181272.i0.k0


https://voicethread.com/share/5680749/

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: When to retire?

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: When to retire?: http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/04/15/time-to-retire-from-online-learning/ Lastly, I am concerned that the computer scientists seem to be tak...

When to retire?

http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/04/15/time-to-retire-from-online-learning/
Lastly, I am concerned that the computer scientists seem to be taking over online education. Ivy League MOOCs are being driven mainly by computer scientists, not educators. Politicians are looking to computer science to automate learning in order to save money. Computer scientists have much to offer, but they need more humility and a greater willingness to work with other professionals, such as psychologists and teachers, who understand better how learning operates. This is a battle that has always existed in educational technology, but it’s one I fear the educators are losing. The result could be disastrous, but that’s a theme for a whole set of blog posts.
See more at: http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/04/15/time-to-retire-from-online-learning/#sthash.S2oLXqE9.dpuf

Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Secret to a Long Successful Marriage




The secret to a happy marriage is kissing and saying 'I love you' 10 times a week and going on three dates a month, an American report has revealed.
The detailed study of 1,000 married Americans also found three surprise romantic gestures and 10 deep and meaningful conversations each month are key to a harmonious relationship.
Having three shared hobbies and interests and going on two vacations a year are also among the requirements for romantic bliss.



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

We Are Online

http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1793714-we-are-online

I am interested in cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, and cultural skills.  My project is about improving self-understanding, knowledge of the value systems and practices of diverse groups and factors related to age, gender, ability, racial, ethnic, lifestyle characteristics…

How about you?

Thursday, April 10, 2014

DIY Professional Development: Resource Roundup | Edutopia

DIY Professional Development: Resource Roundup | Edutopia

Why wait for a formal workshop environment to start improving your teaching craft, when there are so many opportunities to build your network and learn new skills on your own? We've compiled a list of the best resources for do-it-yourself PD to get you started. (Updated: 4/2014)

Why wait for a formal workshop environment to start improving your teaching craft, when there are so many opportunities to build your network and learn new skills on your own? We've compiled a list of the best resources for do-it-yourself PD to get you started. (Updated: 4/2014)

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

My SCOOP.IT Posts

Can we get lost in learning a language?

Can we get lost in learning a language?

Sting: Mad about you. Live in Berlin 2010 (12/15)

John Mayer with Keith Urban - Don't Let Me down

My Infographic Resume

My Infographic Resume: Check out my infographic resume created via Vizualize.me. Create yours with one click.

Why new technology makes us work more...

http://sciencenordic.com/why-new-technology-makes-us-work-more?utm_source=ScienceNordic.com+Newsletter&utm_campaign=cd9c98206a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3bb7f89ffc-cd9c98206a-239660869

 Face-to-face meetings are especially important when establishing and nurturing relationships to colleagues and customers, assert employees and their bosses in jobs in the fields of management, PR and communications, government and research.
Key reasons given for a physical presence at the place of work include the opportunity to exchange ideas and avert the misunderstandings which could crop up in our physical absence.
Wish to be updated
Despite that, the advances in ICT have reinforced expectations that we stay available after working hours. This has ripped away many of the former boundaries between work and leisure time. As a result we work more than before, often without any remunerative compensation.
Whips are not necessarily being cracked. The office workers who participated in the study often choose to be online and available to customers, colleagues and employers after working hours.

The Best Web Tools for Students to Create Visually Powerful Digital Resumes and Portfolios ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Sugata Mitra

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2014/sessions/2014-04-05/plenary-sugata-mitra?utm_source=09+April+2014&utm_campaign=ConstantContact+26+March&utm_medium=email
The future of learning In this talk, Sugata Mitra will take us through the origins of schooling as we know it, to the dematerialisation of institutions as we know them. Thirteen years of experiments in children's education takes us through a series of startling results – children can self-organise their own learning, they can achieve educational objectives on their own, they can read by themselves. Finally, the most startling of them all: groups of children with access to the internet can learn anything by themselves. From the slums of India, to the villages of India and Cambodia, to poor schools in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, the USA and Italy, to the schools of Gateshead and the rich international schools of Washington and Hong Kong, Sugata's experimental results show a strange new future for learning. - See more at: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2014/sessions/2014-04-05/plenary-sugata-mitra?utm_source=09+April+2014&utm_campaign=ConstantContact+26+March&utm_medium=email#sthash.LfTv1D2R.dpuf

Interview with Sugata Mitra

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Nasty People on the Internet Your Guide to Knowing Your Digital Enemies

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/lockdownyourpc/tp/The-Nastiest-People-on-the-Internet.htm?nl=1
In 2014, cyberstalking is more common than physical harassment, according to the researchers at Bedford University in England. Imbalanced individuals who obsess over others now have dozens of convenient online means by which to follow and attack their prey. Using email, sexting, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, and other social hubs, cyberstalkers can track someone's personal life quite easily. Cyberstalking is a sad and disturbing part of modern society, and things will only get worse before they get better.
 

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: The Future of the Web

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: The Future of the Web: http://webtrends.about.com/od/Social-Media-Evolution/a/The-Future-Of-The-Web.htm Now that we live in an information age with zettabytes of...

The Future of the Web

http://webtrends.about.com/od/Social-Media-Evolution/a/The-Future-Of-The-Web.htm
Now that we live in an information age with zettabytes of data available, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to dig through all of it to find the useful chunks of information we might need. Thanks to Web 2.0, we’re now all content creators adding useful pieces of data every second through our tweets, our Facebook updates, our YouTube videos, photo uploads, our blog posts, our comments, our conversations and everything else we put online. As that big pile of data continues to grow, the problems associated with processing it within an ideal amount of time grow as well.

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Positive Thinking - Use it to Get What You Want

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Positive Thinking - Use it to Get What You Want: http://adulted.about.com/od/timemanagement/tp/Positive-Thinking-Use-It-To-Get-What-You-Want.htm?nl=1 It's easy to get stuck in a routin...

Positive Thinking - Use it to Get What You Want

http://adulted.about.com/od/timemanagement/tp/Positive-Thinking-Use-It-To-Get-What-You-Want.htm?nl=1It's easy to get stuck in a routine. We graduate from school, get married, raise a family, and somewhere in there, we get so busy living a life that happened accidentally, we forget that we can create the life we want. No matter what age you are, you have the power to change your life. We've got eight motivations to create the life you want. Start today. It's really not that hard.

Monday, April 7, 2014

James Taylor - Shower the People (Live/1988)

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor "Live"

I will and you?

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Luciano Pavarotti & Friends - We Are The World (LI...

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Luciano Pavarotti & Friends - We Are The World (LI...: There comes a time when we need a certain call When the world must come together as one There are people dying And its time to lend a ha...

Luciano Pavarotti & Friends - We Are The World (LIVE) HD

There comes a time when we need a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And its time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We are all a part of Gods great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

The Beatles - Let it be Lyrics

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Easter Traditions Around the World

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Easter Traditions Around the World: http://spoonful.com/easter/easter-traditions-around-world In Poland, Easter Monday is marked by an activity known as " Åšmigus-Dyngus ...

Easter Traditions Around the World

http://spoonful.com/easter/easter-traditions-around-world
In Poland, Easter Monday is marked by an activity known as "Åšmigus-Dyngus” where people pour water all over each other. Young children run around the streets with water guns and buckets. The water is symbolic of a cleansing and rebirth as the season transitions to spring. It’s easy to have your kids try out this custom at home with any number of water games, like Fill ‘er Up, or with some plain old-fashioned water play. Just make sure you have your towels ready!

Easter Traditions from Around the World

http://www.womansday.com/life/easter-traditions-from-around-the-world-105074
Pouring water on one another is a Polish Easter tradition called Smingus-Dyngus. On Easter Monday, boys try to drench other people with buckets of water, squirt guns or anything they can get their hands on. Legend says girls who get soaked will marry within the year. The refreshing tradition has its origins in the baptism of Polish Prince Mieszko on Easter Monday in 966 AD

How You and Your Peers are Using Technology and What You Want to Learn More About

How You and Your Peers are Using Technology and What You Want to Learn More About
 If educators, particularly in the latter stages of schooling, don’t see the connection between the modern workplace, technology, and the skills being taught in the classroom, then how are students supposed to learn how to succeed in their professional lives?
It’s also rather unfortunate that many educators don’t see technology as a tool to practice reading and writing, given the fact the it is increasingly the platform on which reading and writing are done (as opposed to paper). Am I missing something in this interpretation?

What is the role of good teaching?

http://www.16kinds.com/2014/04/05/1422/

What language teachers can learn from Sugata Mitra (a subjective list)

  • Don’t ignore the internet in your teaching.
  • Prepare students for dealing with real problems, not for taking tests.
  • Don’t expect all learning to involve teachers.
  • Accept that things will be learned, used and misused outside the classroom.
  • Recognize that there is some potential in teacherless, independent work on learners’ part.
  • Don’t shy away from big questions.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Polish Easter Egg Traditions different techniques...

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Polish Easter Egg Traditions different techniques...: Easter is major holiday in Poland, and Easter celebrations are not limited to Easter Sunday. Easter-related traditions take place for more...

Polish Easter Egg Traditions different techniques from different regions


Easter is major holiday in Poland, and Easter celebrations are not limited to Easter Sunday. Easter-related traditions take place for more than a week in Poland. From Palm Sunday to Wet Monday, this period is marked with religious rites and practices with their origins in pagan times. It is important to note that Easter in Poland is celebrated Western Roman Catholic calendar.

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Mass Incarceration in the US

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Mass Incarceration in the US

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: The 4 Components of a DIY Professional Development...

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: The 4 Components of a DIY Professional Development...: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/4-components-diy-pd-toolkit-dave-guymon  Education has always been a reflection of broader cultural values. ...

The 4 Components of a DIY Professional Development Toolkit

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/4-components-diy-pd-toolkit-dave-guymon

 Education has always been a reflection of broader cultural values. As such, the roles of teachers and students have evolved as our models of education have moved from one iteration to another. Teachers who once traveled to town to instruct a heterogeneous room full of passive learners on matters of rote memorization have come to adopt new roles and philosophies toward learning. As these new models have emerged, educators have been required to hone their skills and adapt to ever changing sets of priorities, needs and expectations.
Where such trainings were once the sole responsibility of state and district organizations, many teachers are now seeing the value of venturing out to amalgamate their own professional learning experiences. While no two paths are the same, there are four components of effective do-it-yourself (DIY) professional development that all educational professionals should consider.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Remember...Hey Jude - Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins...

Bruce Springsteen - Pay Me My Money Down

Easter Teaching Resources

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6185749
Easter marks one of the biggest events in the Christian calendar, from Jesus’ crucifixion to his resurrection and ascension into Heaven. As well as being a time of spiritual reflection and celebration, Easter is also the season of egg hunts, springtime, new life and hope. To help you bring Easter into your classroom, we’ve hand-picked some of the best resources on TES Connect to make your planning easier. You’ll find plenty of card-making, storytelling and egg finding activities to keep your pupils engaged in the run up to Easter.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Tune Into English

HALINA'S LEARNING, TEACHING AND MUCH MORE....: Tune Into English: http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/?page_id=77 You can listen to the song, or watch the video (on youtube). (Note:YouTube often removes vide...