Category Archives: Learning Language Teaching

The 4 Types of Multilevel Class Activities

Posted on January 10, 2009 by admin

Heather McKay & Abigail Tom (1999, CUP, Teaching Adult Second Language Learners, pp. 21-22) suggest teachers differentiate among four types of mixed-ability activity.  Unless the text is in quotation marks, it is my own interpretation. same input, same task What … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaborative Learning, groupwork, language learning e-tivities, Learning Language Teaching, Teacher Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is Studying 1-to-1 Pairwork?

Posted on January 9, 2009 by admin

Does studying 1-to-1 qualify as pairwork? And is it necessarily teacher-centered and bad? Anyone?

Posted in Collaborative Learning, E-Learning Design & Management, groupwork, Learning Language Teaching, Observations | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Sources of Frustration for E-Learners

Posted on January 8, 2009 by admin

According to research, e-learners are likely to be frustrated by technical difficulties communication breakdowns Source: Hara., N (2000). Student Distress In a Web-Based Distance Education Course.

Posted in Course Design, E-Learning Design & Management, Instructional Design, Observations, Statistics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Interactivity & The 5 Ts that Make it Fail

Posted on January 6, 2009 by admin

Ian Forsyth (Teaching & Learning Materials & The Internet, 3rd edition,  p. 135) defines interactivity as emulating the traditional classroom He lists the 5 Ts that cause interactivity to fail on the Internet (pp. 19 -23) time technology timid territoriality … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaborative Learning, Course Design, E-Learning Design & Management, Educational Technology, groupwork, Instructional Design, interactive CD-ROMs, Learner Skills, Learning Language Teaching, Teacher Skills | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

E-Courseware Design: Issues

Posted on January 5, 2009 by admin

Let me list some of the topical issues that keep emerging and need to be addressed asap. usability – what I mean here is all the extra clicks that either my students or I make, which takes time. Distributing courseware … Continue reading →

Posted in Course Design, E-Learning Design & Management, Educational Technology, Instructional Design, Observations, Teacher Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Long Should One Online Language Lesson Last?

Posted on January 1, 2009 by admin

To begin with, I am not aware of any reliable statistics.  I can only draw on my personal experience and summarize a number of related Google search results. It is obvious, I hope, that it is impossible to spend more … Continue reading →

Posted in Instructional Design, language learning e-tivities, Learning Language Teaching, Observations, Statistics, Teacher Skills | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Ideal E-Notebook

Posted on December 31, 2008 by admin

‘Spent the day contemplating Clarke’s e-note-taking advice. Isn’t it amazing? They’ve got it all online but for proper note-taking tools.  I mean Moodle doesn’t have such a module or activity as a notebook. Nor does Blackboard Vista. Well, they do … Continue reading →

Posted in Course Design, Instructional Design, language learning e-tivities, Learner Skills, Observations, Teacher Skills, Using Blogs in EFL, Using Wikis in EFL | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

E-Learning & Note-Taking

Posted on December 31, 2008 by admin

Alan Clarke (E-Learning Skills, 2004, p.  26) made my day today when I read this E-learning does not provide an event at which you are required to take notes. All the content is presented in a form you could save … Continue reading →

Posted in Learner Skills, Learning Styles, Using Blogs in EFL | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Storytelling for Dummies

Posted on December 29, 2008 by admin

Fun lovers are sure to appreciate this exemplary story

Posted in Digital Storytelling, Learning Language Teaching | Tagged | Leave a comment

Learning Tools & Technologies: Implementation Issues

Posted on December 29, 2008 by admin

Whenever I come across a book on web-based learning tools and technologies that seems remotely relevant to my current objectives, it talks about tools and technologies that are either as old as the hills and ever so often do not … Continue reading →

Posted in E-Learning Design & Management, Observations | Tagged | Leave a comment