A Boon in Disguise

Dear Donna and Classmates

This week has brought to me the most coveted gift. My class is organizing an event called 'AdvertoMania - 2013'. It is an inter-class event. There are four different competitions. The first is 'Witty Wits' in which the  participants write taglines for the products given to them. The second is 'ADrama' in which the participants role-play the ads making changes to those ads which they find lacking in one or two aspects. The third is 'My Product and My Ad' in which the participants come up with new ideas  and ways to sell these ideas. The fourth and the last is 'Quizo Quizzo' in which the participants are required to identify which logo represents which brand or company. They are also required to identify the jingles and the products they market.

This is something I had not expected. I was discussing the AIDA formula with the students. Suddenly a group of students stood up with the idea of organizing an event on their lips. This was a song that could not have found words if these students had not taken up the responsibility. I am luckier than I think I am. This event is going to teach a lot to my students as far as sales letters are concerned. In one of my lectures, I asked a boy to write a tagline for a company that sells mineral water. He wrote:

AS PURE AS HEART

Isn't this simply a winner? I looked at him with my mouth wide open. I could not believe my ears. If a teacher can link creativity with teaching, I think he or she can easily promote learner autonomy. As far as the project is concerned, there were some hiccups in the beginning. Now it's sailing smoothly. I have already shared the links to the videos on A-Z of Business Writing Blunders. The response, in the beginning, was not as expected. Some of the students, being busy with the assignments, could not find time to Facebook. I did not force them to Facebook. Instead I sent them to our computer lab where they could see these videos on YouTube during the 30 minute break. They did it. 

I won't write everything here. Wait for my next post. All the best with your projects. 

Dev

I, ME and PowerPoint

Dear Donna and Classmates

I can't believe it's the sixth week of this beautiful journey we've embarked on. Time never stands still. But when we look back, we find it frozen into the frames of joy and sorrow. I am going to miss these days. I am so lucky. I have Donna, Sonia, Ayman, Vinay, Sitaram, Basu, Livia, Pam and so on. This course is a beautiful snap I am going to preserve for years. Look at the way it has transformed us all into what we dreamed to be. It feels great to see your dream materialized. What is greater is to see the dreams of your classmates turning into reality along with your dream in the process of transformation. Still what is greater is to know that it became possible through the course which this course has taken. Active participation, cross-fertilization of ideas, motivation, experiments, permission to share feelings and thoughts, and Donna. What not! This course has everything one needs to be a good learner. I wish I could meet you all personally and have a cup of coffee. Coffee with Dev! 

Well, let me discuss something about my project. I have started it. I started with distributing several copies of A to Z Bloopers of Business English Writing. I also distributed some samples of errors Indians commit when they write applications or letters. 

Examples

- Please allow me to go to village because I am going there to sell my land along with my wife. 

- I am going home. My mother-in-law is off. I am responsible. I am leaving.   

I showed them a video clip and we roared with laughter. Isn't that a great way to start your project? I explained the theory of the topic with the help of a linear PowerPoint presentation.  Next week I'll have a quiz competition in my class. Then I'll be sharing links to the videos on how to write sales letters. I may modify my project. I am planning to add two more things in my project. Let's see how it goes. I'll leave you with the video I showed to my students.

Dev

I AM JUST A FACILITATOR...

Dear Donna and Classmates

The question that has been haunting my mind since I read the articles is - do we really teach when we teach? Can we really teach? I do not doubt our efficiency. What usually happens in our classroom is that students come and listen to us marginally. Sometimes they fake it. When the results are out, the game of blame begins. Students say that some lectures are big yawns. Lecturers say that students are not serious about their studies. And teaching is lost in the clouds of blame. Of course, it is impossible to deliver all your lectures with the same level of enthusiasm every time. Certain topics can not be taught through the traditional method. In my case, letter writing is one of those topics. The most popular technique here in Bhavnagar is dictating letters so that students can reproduce the same stuff in their answerbooks. Isn't that a wow? Poor students. But I teach in a different way. I don't teach. I talk. I show them a sample, and they study it carefully. Now since I have learned to create a rubric, I'll provide them with a rubric for assessing their performances. I think the best way to teach is not to teach, but to create an atmosphere for self-learning. My students should be aware of their progress - how far they have gone. Once they know their progress, they try to find out ways to do better. They approach with a request to guide them. That's where you get a chance to help them. Help them. Be their friend. I strongly believe introducing a rubric can help my students measure their their progress objectively and promote learner autonomy. I'd like to share a video with you. Hope it will help.

PBL helps us to see whether the students can put the theories into practice. It makes learning a fun. But what is more important is they build a team and work together and share knowledge. By introducing PBL we encourage our students to exhibit their skills in diverse ways. In Communicative Language Teaching, the focus is usually on real life communication. That is what is happening here. Building a community is a good exercise. Because there you find motivation and the spirit to work positively. With this I shall fall silent. I'll leave you with one more video this time. Watch it. Hope you will find it helpful.

Dev

The Ladder

Dear Donna and Classmates

I am sure you had a great week. Mine was fantastic, though I am not sure if I did well in all the tasks or not. I was really very busy this week. I was invited to deliver a lecture on Sense and Sensibility by Department of English, M. K. Bhavanagar University. Let me tell you that I was not at all prepared for this. But the students said that they enjoyed my lecture. 

Well, the articles we read acquainted us with the possible webtools that can be used to enhance our classroom teaching. The article by Krajka was exhaustive. And the article by Liang helped me understand how the use of e-books can help us teach reading skills to our learners. At the same time I must mention that the articles were really meant for me. I am going to include some of the activities suggested by Krajka in my research work. Then I participated in Week 4: Discussion - Reading, Writing, and Vocabulary. Next day I read Donna's comment and it infused confidence in me. After a successful completion of the first task, I had a 2 day break. Then I shared the problem to be addressed on  Week 4: Project Task # 3. Unfortunately I didn't receive Donna's comment on that, and therefore have no idea whether I did well or not. The third task was to prepare a lesson plan. To prepare a lesson a plan is to prepare a ladder with every rung helping us and our learners to achieve the objectives. Even a slightly broken rung will not allow you to achieve the desired goal. I was very luck to get a chance to look at some of the best lesson plans prepared by my classmates. But the lesson plan I prepared is quite different from theirs as far as the structure is concerned. I am waiting for Donna's comment so that I can repair the ladder if it is not well-constructed. Moreover Sonia's comment made it clear that the questions I had asked in my previous blog also confuse her and she finds it equally difficult to express her thoughts lucidly in her blog. 

I thank you all for being very good classmates. I need your suggestions. At last I am leaving you with a video on lesson planning. Hope you'll enjoy it. 

Dev