Level : Advance (Form 2)

Time : 70 minutes

Aims : By the end of the lesson, students should be able to :
1. Skim and scan for information from the online article to fill in the task sheet.
2. Write a short paragraph using the information obtained using the task sheet.

Technical Requirements :
1. A computer equipped with internet connection for each groups (3 in a group).
2. 10 pictures of famous international and local athletes. (example : Cristiano Ronaldo, Lin Dan, Datuk Lee Chong Wei)
3. 10 envelopes.
4. Task sheet

Preparations:
1. Choose 10 famous international and local athletes that would be easily recognized by students.
2. Look for or print out the pictures of the famous athletes.
3. Analyze the Wikipedia articles for the athletes to determine the accuracy of the facts presented.
4. Make sure the Wikipedia articles are suitable for the students’ level of proficiency.
5. Make sure the computers are equipped with Internet connection.
6. Prepare the task sheet for the students.

Websites :
1. www.wikipedia.org
2. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
3. www.gmail.com

Procedure :

Set Induction (2 minutes) :
1. Teacher shows a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo to the students.
2. Teacher asks the students if they recognize who the person is.
3. Teacher asks one or two students to tell the class what they know about Cristiano Ronaldo.

Activity 1 (3 minutes) :
1. The students are divided into 10 groups.
2. Each group is given an envelope containing a picture of a famous athlete.
3. The group members need to figure out whose picture it is.
4. After the students have correctly identified the pictures, teacher gives out the worksheet.

Activity 2 (30 minutes):
1. Teacher then asks the students to go to the website www.wikipedia.org
2. The students are then instructed to type in the name of the famous athlete in the search option.
3. Teacher goes around and checks whether the students are able to find the right article.
4. Teacher instructs students to read the article silently in their respective groups.
5. Teacher gives the address of an online dictionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ so students can look up any words that they do not understand.
6. Teacher instructs the students to complete the task sheet using the information they find in the Wikipedia article.

Activity 3 (30 minutes)
1. Teacher models how to write a short paragraph using the information in the task sheet.
2. Teacher instructs each group to come up with a paragraph using their task sheet.
3. Teacher writes her e-mail address on the board.
4. Teacher instructs students to e-mail the completed paragraph to the teacher.

Conclusion (5 minutes)
1. Teacher asks students to reflect on the achievements of the famous athletes.
2. Teacher asks students to think about the attitude that they think help the athletes be successful.
3. Teacher recaps the lesson and inculcates moral values.

TASK SHEET

BIOGRAPHY

Name :


Date of Birth :


Place of Birth :


Profession :


Achievements :

CALL TASK 2 : ARTICLE REVIEW

Title : PODCASTING : AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR ENHANCING LANGUGAE STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION?

http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num3/ducatelomicka.pdf

Journal : The Language Learning and Technology Journal, Volume 13, Number 3, October 2009

Author :

1) Dr. Lara Ducate is an Associate Professor at the German Faculty in the University of South Carolina (USC). Her teaching interests include Second Language Acquisition and Computer Assisted Language Learning. She has published a book titled “Calling on CALL: From Theory and Research to New Directions in Foreign Language Teaching” and written several other articles.

2) Lara Lomicka Anderson is the Associate Professor at the French Faculty in USC. Her teaching interests include French and Technology in Foreign Language Education. She has public\shed a book titled “Teaching with Technology (Volume 1)” and written several articles.

One of the aims of the research is to investigate whether podcasting is effective in enhancing the pronunciation skills of the second language learners. In addition, the research also aims to find out whether the students perception or attitudes towards pronunciation changed over the course of the semester. The subjects of the research consist of 12 learners of German and 10 learners of French. The first language of all the participants is American English. The participants were between 18-22 years old. They were selected based on a convenience sample. Participants were required to record several scripted podcasts in their respective L2 and post it to their blogs. Other students are then free to review their peer’s podcasts and comment on them. The data (podcasts) were then compiled in CD’s and analyzed by language experts. The data is rated in terms of comprehensibility and accent. The findings of the research show no significant differences in pronunciation of the participants. The only significant improvement was noted by the French L2 learners’ comprehensibility and accent. Overall, throughout the semesters, 50% of the students improve their accent, although this could be attributed to factors other than the use of podcasts.

This research interests me because one of the language skills that second language learners or L2 learners struggle with is speaking. Pronunciation is an integral part of the speaking component. In order to enhance the speaking skills of L2 learners, pronunciation must not be disregarded. Using podcasts to help hone the pronunciation of l2 learners is an interesting idea. As mentioned in the article, Swain and Lapkin (1995) suggest that output is important second language learning. Podcasts can be the output source for students as it enables them to listen to themselves and others as well as give and receive feedbacks on their language use. Since podcasts files can also be transferred via cellphones and mp3 players, this makes it appealing to the younger generations. This is why I find a research on utilising podcasts for teaching language very interesting. Regarding the research itself, I think it is not very well conducted. There are several areas in which the research can be improved. For starters, the number of respondents is quite small and focuses on 2 different groups of L2 learners (French and German). This might have an effect on the result of the research. Furthermore, there is no way to control the quality of the podcasts produced by the students. As the researchers themselves noted, there might be other factors that influence the level of comprehensibility and accent used by the students. One of the factors is the students’ attentiveness in producing the podcasts. If they are preoccupied with other works or assignments, they may not be too particular about their pronunciation when recording the podcasts. Although no marked improvement was noted, the research itself opens up new possibilities for using podcasts in language teaching. The implication of the study in terms of its relativity to the teaching and learning of L2 is that in general, technology itself cannot be solely relied upon to boost students’ second language skills. Feedback and guidance from the teacher is still needed in order to fully utilise the technology and make it more effective for the students. In the case of using podcasts, it is proven by this study that simply telling students to record and listen to podcasts is not very helpful in developing their language skills. What teachers can do is to give feedback on the recordings and develop exercises based on the students’ recordings. In the Malaysian context, the implication from this study is for teachers to look beyond traditional audio recordings for teaching purposes. Technology has improved greatly, and using podcasts where students can easily keep with them at all times is an interesting alternative that teachers should look into. In short, teachers need to broaden their minds when it comes to using technology as part of their second language teaching tool.