I just made a new Voki. See it here:

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11271875&height=267&width=200I just made a new Voki. See it here::
 http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11271875&height=267&width=200

Sheryl Crow Performing "All I Wanna Do" (Official Music Video '94)

The lyrics for the song are based on the poem "Fun" by Wyn Cooper. Crow's producer (Bottrell) discovered Cooper's poetry book "The Country of Here Below" in a Pasadena, California used bookstore. Crow adapted "Fun" into the lyrics for her song – earning Cooper considerable royalties, and helping to push his book, originally published in a run of only 500 copies in 1987, into multiple reprints.
The opening spoken line, "This ain't no disco", is a reference to the song "Life During Wartime" by Talking Heads.When played on radio or at live performances, the line is also commonly changed to refer to the local listening area (such as "This is VA" instead of "This is LA").

What Are My Needs As An English Language Teacher?

Students guided through learning module that asks and collects questions.
Instructor prepares lecture.	Instructor prepares learning opportunities.
Beginning of Class	Students have limited information about what to expect.	Students have specific questions in mind to guide their learning.
	Instructor makes general assumption about what is helpful.	Instructor can anticipate where students need the most help.
During Class	Students try to follow along.	Students practice performing the skills they are expected to learn.
	Instructor tries to get through all the material.	Instructor guides the process with feedback and mini-lectures.
After Class	Students attempt the homework, usually with delayed feedback.	Students continue applying their knowledge skills after clarificationa and feedback.
	Instructor grades past work.	Instructor posts any additional explanations and resources as necessary and grades higher quality work.
Office Hours	Students want confirmation about what to study.	Students are equipped to seek help where they know they need it.
	Instructor often repeats what was in lecture.	Instructor continues guiding students toward deeper understanding.

http://ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/flipping-a-class/different

Oxford Key Concepts for the Language Classroom | Oxford University Press

Oxford Key Concepts for the Language Classroom | Oxford University Press

As teachers, we base our instructional activities on many kinds of knowledge, including our own experience—not only as teachers but also as learners. Whether intentionally or not, we often teach as we taught last year (or five years ago) or as we were taught when we were students. And when we do try to teach in a different way, it may be because we were dissatisfied with our experiences—on either side of the teacher’s desk.

http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2015/03/26/iatefl-research-and-teaching-bridging-the-gap/#respond

Teaching with Technology

Course Description

The course offers new, veteran, and future teachers theoretical and practical knowledge on how to teach and learn using technology. The course will include weekly synchronous live online classes, course material, and video tutorials.
Participants will learn about and apply:

• E-portfolios (blogs, websites, wikis)
• Learning theories
• Transformational learning
• Transformational teaching
• Teaching as a way to learn
• Project-based learning
• Collaborative learning
• Instructional design theories
• Assessment theories
• Reflective practice
• Blended learning
• Blended online learning
• Teaching in a live online class
• Course design
• Syllabus development
• Lesson plans
• Course and Learning Management System
• Micro teaching

Created by Dr. Nellie 

Dr. Nellie Deutsch

Teaching with Technology

 I am talking about my research.

Book Review | Participatory Action Research For Educational Leadership

= BOOK REVIEW  =

Where to buy this book?

ISBN: 9781412937771

Book Review of Participatory Action Research for Educational Leadership by E. Alana James

If you want to add where to buy this book, please use the link above:

http://www.findbookreviews.info/where...

If you are the Author, Publisher or Partner and want to send us a message, use this link:

http://www.findbookreviews.info/messa...

Action Research in Education.

John Elliott (1991) defines action research as:

“Action research is the process through which teachers collaborate in evaluating their

practice jointly; raise awareness of their personal theory; articulate a shared conception of

values; try out new strategies to render the values expressed in their practice more

consistent with educational values they espouse; record their work in a form which is

readily available to and understandable by other teachers; and thus develop a shared

theory of teaching by research practice.”

   

Hair "Aquarius" AND "Let The Sunshine In" (the original Broadway cast)

Lyrics to Aquarius
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love, will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love, will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

[ These are Aquarius Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Teaching in the 21st Century

 

 

 

 

I cannot comprehend questions like "Should I rent or buy?" or "Which credit card is the best for me?" if I have no knowledge of the basic facts of mathematics (ie. addition, multiplication, percentages, interest rates). How can you ask a student to find out the number of grains of sand on an average beach? Open-ended questions like this seem wonderful to ask, but create anxiety in our students since they usually aren't given the proper tools to answer the question and their short-term memories cannot hold all of the relevant information.

I do think that modelling appropriate behaviour and teaching certain skills is OK to do, but NOT as a substitution of basic facts and working knowledge. The more a student can commit to long-term memory, the more we empower our students to be able to answer the difficult questions they will face later in life.

Edmodo | Home

Edmodo | Home

Halina's Students of English

You are invited to join my group.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Best wishes,

Halina

The Secret to Learning a Language in 10 Days- Revealed!

Traditional Tips for Beginners

1. You are like a new baby
   Babies learn their language slowly.
   First they learn to listen.
   Then they learn to speak.
   Finally, they can read and write.
2. Listen to English every day
   Listen to English radio.
   Watch English TV.
   Go to English movies.
   Use online lessons.
3. Make an English/ESL friend
   Make up conversations.
   Practise dialogues.
   Use beginner textbooks.
4. Read English stories
   Start with children's storybooks.
   Try ESL readers.
   Read advertisements, signs and labels.
   Try EnglishClub.com for Young Learners.
5. Write down new words
   Start a vocabulary (new word) notebook.
   Write words in alphabetical order (A...B...C...).
   Make example sentences.
   Always use an English-English dictionary first.
6. Keep an English diary
   Start with one sentence.
   How do you feel?
   How is the weather?
   What did you do today?
   Write another sentence tomorrow.
7. Visit an English speaking country
   Learn English more quickly.
   Stay with an English family.
   Hear native speakers talk.
   Have a fun experience.

Songs for English Teaching

Different music,
I love this.

Songs for Teaching English

        My songs for English teaching

Copy of Music in English Teaching Part 2 Movies

For my students.

Welcome to Halina's Conversational English

Halina's Conversational English Online

 

Join this free online course on WizIQ.

Are you unsatisfied with your level of English?

Would you like to become a fluent, as well as a forward-thinking speaker?
If yes, my course is exactly for you!

Course Highlights

• This course will help you to become fluent in English
• Astonishing learning methods that work in reality
• Make unbelievable progress through self-study; I'll be your tutor

Opening Meeting Class on WizIQ

http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/2438529-introduction-to-halina-s-conversational-english-course

 

The first class on the 17th of January 2015 is about meeting and getting to know each other.

The main topic is covering a short introduction to the values of being fluent in English as well as how not to learn foreign languages to escape from widespread learning mistakes.

Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly

 

 

Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová – Falling Slowly (from Once – The Movie)

Dave Dodgson: A year in review. Three Quick Ideas to Start your 2015 Classes | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

Dave Dodgson: A year in review. Three Quick Ideas to Start your 2015 Classes | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

 

Idea 1 - R&R: Reflections and Resolutions

An obvious angle to go for at the start of the New Year is Resolutions. However, this lesson can often have the same problems as resolutions themselves – generic, hollow, and something that is quickly abandoned or forgotten.

However, a couple of years ago while focusing on reflective practice during my MA course, I decided to apply some of the principles of teacher reflection to a New Year’s lesson for my students and the results were much better and it has now become a recurring feature of my late December/early January teaching.

1. First of all, I ask students to think about everything they did, were a part of, or witnessed in the year just gone. Their first task is to identify and list the three best things from the year. This is done as a silent individual activity with plenty of thinking time – it’s often harder for people to remember the good things than the bad!
    
2. Next, the students pair up to compare their personal ‘best of’ lists with plenty of questions encouraged.
    
3. To complete the T-P-S (Think-Pair-Share) cycle, each student shares what their partner told them with the rest of the class.
    
4. Now time to focus on the things that could have gone better. Again, students get thinking time to consider what didn’t work out so well (whether through their own involvement or something beyond their control) but they must also identify why these events could have been better. I generally tell them to stick to one or two things so the overall tone of the lesson remains positive.
    
5. Steps 2 and 3 are repeated as the students compare and discuss with a partner before sharing with the class.
    
6. And now for the resolution part. Focusing on those things that could have been better, the students must decide what they can personally do in the New Year to address these shortcomings, solve these problems, or make these improvements. Their goal in this stage is to write out two specific and focused resolutions (with help from the teacher to modify and reformulate when necessary).
    
7. These can then be shared either orally or through Post-Its on the wall or a class blog if you are into that kind of thing. Don’t forget that students will appreciate their teacher taking part in this process too!

Idea 2 - The best (and worst) of 2014

This is a more recent idea that I have used in the last couple of years as part of my game-based learning classes but it could just as easily be done with films, TV shows, music, or books if your students are not gamers.

Depending on what your class are interested in, before the lesson you should pick out one of the many ‘best of’ lists that circulate on websites and in the wider media at this time of year*. Try to keep it short – a top 5 is enough and it shouldn’t be more than a top 10. For low level classes, a simple list will do. Higher levels might be willing to get to grips with the write-ups that accompany the picks as well.

*There is an alternative to this, which is presented below.

The rest of this brief write-up will use games as an example but the principles are the same whatever media you choose.

1. Start with a discussion question: What new games did you buy/play this year? Again, give some thinking time before asking the students to compare their ideas in pairs and groups. In the whole class discussion, direct the class to identify which games they enjoyed and which ones were disappointing (it might be a good idea to get some of the titles up on the board).
    
2. Present each pair/group with the list you picked out before the lesson. Tell them which website/media source it is from and stress that it is just an opinion. Ask them to read through the choices and discuss whether or not they agree.
    
3. Task each group with drawing up their own ‘best of’ list for the previous year. How they do so is up to them – they might try to reach a group consensus, they could each choose one or two titles to go on a list, or they could vote. They must be ready to explain their choices to the rest of the class afterwards.
    
4. Higher level students could be asked to prepare an article introducing each game and explaining why it was chosen.
    
5. At the end of the lesson, students can refer back to the games from the past year they didn’t like and make an alternative list of ‘the worst games of 2014’. If you have time, you could present them with another article to kick-start the activity (plenty of the same websites that present ‘best of’ lists also have ‘worst of’ round-ups).

*As an alternative, you could not pick out a list for students to look at before the lesson and instead ask each group to search online for a list of the ‘best games of 2014’ and present it to the class This is a nice way to hand control over to the students.
 

Idea 3 – Word of the Year

This is a new one I tried out just before Christmas when I read a news story that the ‘word of the year’ for 2014 (as chosen by the Oxford Dictionary of English) was ‘vape’ (as in the action of using e-cigarettes). This is a rough outline of how I did the lesson:

1. Write the word ‘vape’ on the board and ask if anyone knows what it means. If they don’t (my students didn’t), ask them to first guess and then look it up (they will need to look it up online to find the meaning). If they do, great! Ask the person who knows to explain what it means and go to the next step.
    
2. Ask the students if they can work out why you presented them with this word (if they had to look it up online in step 1, they may have found the answer while searching; if they already knew, they may have to get searching now). Invite discussion as to why this was chosen as the word of the year.
    
3. Discuss with students how new words enter languages, especially their own native languages. Is it through common use? Featuring in a dictionary? Through an official establishment? (As many of my students are French speakers, we had an interesting discussion about the Académie Française and I also told them about the Turkish equivalent, the Türk Dil Kurumu).
    
4. Get the students to research previous ‘words of the year’ (they may also find an American version, which makes for interesting comparison). Did they know any of these words already? Which ones did they find the most interesting/bizarre? Why do they think these words were chosen? (One interesting trend my students spotted were the number of words relating to economic problems like squeezed middle and credit crunch, as well as the environmentally themed words like carbon footprint and social media related phrases like selfie, which they felt reflected our times).
    
5. Make a prediction – what words have been circulating in the media recently and could be the word of 2015?

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/davedodgson/dave-dodgson-a-year-review-three-quick-ideas-start-your-2015-classes?utm_source=07+January+2015&utm_campaign=ConstantContact+5+November+2014&utm_medium=email

Teaching with Technology: Week 1

What does teaching with technology mean to you?
To me teaching with technology means development of my approaches. 
Making my classes more challenging and more exciting was my reason to search for the different methods.

After over thirty years of teaching, I felt bored with my traditional technics and wanted 

to find some inspiration, as well as improvement.

Happiness is when... You Learn with Technology ?