For the last couple of years I've been recording my students oral exams. I told students if you have a problem with your grade we'll listen to it again and see. Never had a problem (and must ahve given over a thousand tests) so this semester I didn't record the tests.
Now students are complaining: I said this, I said that, give me more points for using this grammar, etc.
From now on I will always record the oral tests.
Not according to this article about foreign trained CEOs in Korea. Here'a an interesting quote that makes me wonder if one can truly earn respect as an academic while teaching in Korea:
It is a well-known fact that the nation's most prestigious university Seoul National University is not ranked among the top 100 global universities, although Korea boasts the world's 11th largest economy.
Here's my 10 minute introduction to online homework to be presented at the CALL colloquium, "CALL in context: incorporating CALL into specific curriculums in Korea", at the 2004 international KOTESOL conference:
Online Homework
Online homework works well with Korean university students as nearly all have personal computers and all have access to university computer labs. I've been assigning online homework for about three years now and I just had my first student who was unable to do online homework, a woman in a continuing education class who is over 60.
1. Preteaching vocabulary
Having students do vocabulary work at home means more time for communicative activities in class. I like using the internet better than paper handouts because I can use colored pictures and students get feedback as to which answers are correct from the computer.
http://www.eslgo.com/classes/raiders/a.html
http://www.eslgo.com/classes/raiders/b.html
2. Reviewing vocabulary
Imagine you've given the vocabulary test, graded it, and given it back. How can you encourage students to go learn the words they missed on the test now that the assessment is over? I offer extra credit if students post a message about a word they missed on the test. On http://www.learn-english-vocabulary.com/ students can do just that. I ask them to post a message with a sentence that contains the word, the source of the sentence, an explanation of the sentence, and a definition for the word.
Usually there are several students writing about the same word. I ask them to reply to each other because if each person starts a new topic the board will be harder to use. I'd rather have one thread with 20 examples, than 20 threads with one example each. For example: http://www.learn-english-vocabulary.com/viewtopic.php?t=130
Ultimately, this could be a collective vocabulary journal. One student might collect a few example sentences for a few different words, but together our students can share hundreds of examples of thousands of words.
With lower level classes, directions will often be a major issue. It's best to have one or two classes in the computer lab to show students what to do.
3. Extending grammar knowledge
In New Interchange 2, comparisons are studied in the context of houses and apartments. Students spend their time learning how to compare apartments, but will they be able to apply this grammar to other topics?
To help them, I've set up http://www.learn-english-grammar.com. Here students share example sentences that contain the grammar in question in different contexts. In this thread, my colleague's students have posted sentences comparing the number of CDs owned by different family members, the number of home runs hit by different baseball players, the approval rates of different candidates, the popularity of different movie stars, the number of restaurants in different areas of Seoul, etc. - http://www.learn-english-grammar.com/viewtopic.php?t=360
I suggest that my students find their examples in books, newspapers, or on TV shows or web sites, but many of my colleague's students have written their own sentences. This is great in that learners are personalizing the activity and saying something that's important to them. However, there are lots of mistakes and it may take my colleague a while to respond to them all. He should, though, to maximize the learning potential of this task. At the very least he has students thinking about using the grammar to express ideas unrelated to houses and apartments.
As with the vocabulary message board, directions are a major issue here. It's best to show students what you want before asking hem to do it.
4. Repeating tasks
It's generally agreed that learners will produce more accurate language if they have some time to plan what they want to say. Martin Bygate has shown us that when completing a task for the second time students use more complex language.
I want my students to produce more complex and accurate language, but I don't want to do the same task in class more than once. Having students discuss the topic before class on a message board gives them time to plan and since the in class activity would be their second experience expressing their ideas, we can expect more accurate and complex language to emerge during the in class activity.
I have one lesson in which students listen to a song about the death penalty and analyze the song's arguments. Then they express their own thoughts on http://www.eslgo.com/forum/deathp/index.cgi. I read their posts, offer suggestions regarding the language and then the students discuss the issue in groups. There's always a chance that a learner will continue discussing the topic after class with other people using the message board (the website gets up to 1000 visitors a day, but I'm not sure how many end up at he death penalty message board), but so far I haven't seen this. I have seen, however, learners discussing other topics on the message boards with people they would never have met if I hadn't introduced them to the message boards.
5. Authentic audiences
I once had my students writing personal anecdotes in Interactions 2, chapter 4. Of course, writing an anecdote for me isn't very authentic when students could just tell me in person (and I did hear each person's anecdote as they worked on them in class). I sent students to http://www.eslgo.com/forum/sayhi/index.cgi to read some messages and find pen pals in other countries. Each student took a few minutes to read the introductions and find someone interesting (each student had to choose a different person so that we wouldn't be sending 15 emails to one person). They wrote that person an introductory email asking if that person would like to be pen pals. Only about half of the students got a response but those students at least had a more inspiring audience - an interesting person in another country - for their anecdotes.
6. Study aids
After in class activities and the accompanying teacher feedback, students are usually left on their own to prepare for tests. I've developed some online activities designed to give my students practice with the types of questions they'll see on the tests. These activities are better online because students will get some feedback as to which of their answers are correct. Some examples:
http://www.eslgo.com/quizzes/grammar/past_present.html
http://www.eslgo.com/quizzes/pastsimpleirreg.html
http://www.eslgo.com/quizzes/irregpast2.html
7. Optional homework & developing independence
Optional homework is generally associated with intrapersonal intelligence and can help students become more independent. After each activity, students can be referred to a web site on a related topic. For example after doing an information gap based on tigers, I suggested that students read more about tigers on http://www.tigerfdn.com/. During a unit on movies, I suggested that students talk about movies on http://www.eslgo.com/forum/movies/index.cgi. None of my students did post a message on the forum, but at least they had the opportunity for extra practice.
It's hard to get students to use speech acts correctly but this is one of the main topics in my upcoming speech "Teaching world standard English: sociocultural considerations".
I found an interesting lesson idea on teaching students to give compliments at http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~eli/teachers/activities/tesl2/cs/ethno/complimenting.htm and a more in depth lesson plan at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/pragmatics/ishihara.htm. The last one is one chapter of a brilliant online resource for teaching pragmatics: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/pragmatics.htm.
Like many foreigners in Korea, I used to get colds that lingered for weeks. The germs in Korea are tough on most foreigners. And work-related stress and lack of sleep often weaken our immune systems just when we need them most.
Recently I haven't had any problems because I've been taking ResishiMax (standardized Reishi Mushroom Extract capsules) from Pharmanex. This is a safe, all natural dietary supplement. Each capsule contains 495 mg of standardized Reishi mushroom extract and 5 mg of Reishi cracked spores.
ReishiMax is intended for adults who wish to maintain a healthy immune system; who smoke or who are frequently exposed to environmental pollutants; who do not get enough sleep; or who are under constant stress.
ReishiMax is not cheap at 120,000 won for 60 capsules (a one month supply). It works for me and it's worth the money. Becoming a Nuskin/Pharmanex distributor gets you a significant discount (yes I know network marketing has a bad repuation, but it's free to join; I did and have no regrets).
If you want ReishiMax (its available through Pharmanex distributors like myself) or have some questions, you can email me: jtrotta@gmail.com or call me (leave a message with your name and number if I'm not in): 032-345-2046 or call my wife's cell phone: 016-366-2046
ReishiMax FAQ:
What exactly is in ResihiMax?
ReishiMax is composed of Reishi fruiting bodies and cracked spores. The key active constituents found in Reishi include polysaccharides (beta-1,3-glucans) and triterpenes (ganoderic acids and others). Other ingredients naturally found in Reishi include nucleosides, fatty acids (oleic acid), and amino acids. The active ingredients in ReishiMax are standardized to 6% triterpenes and 13.5% polysaccharides. ReishiMax also contains a 1% extract of 100% cracked spores.
How do I take Reishimax?
The recommended use is to take one to two capsules of ReishiMax bid with food and liquid. For optimal health benefits, take one (1) capsule twice daily for health maintenance, and two (2) capsules twice daily for immune modulation.
I take one capsule twice daily and that's all I need to stay healthy.
Are there any side effects?
I haven't noticed any, except for the time I took ReishiMax and then rushed off to class without drinking any water. My mouth and throat felt pretty dry. Remember we're talking about mushroom extract not some chemical formula so its safe.
Here's the official version: ReishiMax is safe and well tolerated at the recommended dosage. In animal studies, Reishi has been shown to be non-carcinogenic, has not produced hepatic toxicity, and has not impaired growth or development. In high doses (1.5 - three pills- to 1.9 grams/day - four pills), some people have experienced temporary symptoms of sleepiness, thirst, rashes, bloating, frequent urination, abnormal sweating, and loose stools.
Take two pills a day and you'll be fine.
So it's perfectly safe?
As usual there is a disclaimer: Keep out of reach of children. If you are pregnant or nursing, or taking a prescription medication, consult a physician before using this product. Consult a physician if you are concurrently using anticoagulants, receiving immunosuppressive therapies or have an immune disorder. Individuals with known fungal allergies should be cautious when taking Reishi. Discontinue use of this product 2 weeks prior to and after surgery.
My contact info once again: email me: jtrotta@gmail.com or call me (leave a message with your name and number if I'm not in): 032-345-2046 or call my wife's cell phone: 016-366-2046