Saturday, January 22, 2005

ETA2005 Proposal

A Look at Gender Stereotypes in Taiwanese TV Commercials
Click here to see Students' work
Abstract

Landis (in Blandon and Lee, 1995) states that gender roles are learned through the socialization process. Parents tend to treat their children differently based on their gender. Teachers, likewise, have their own preferences when it comes to delegating chores that require physical strength. The media, television (TV) in particular, also plays a great role in intensifying the gender role stereotypes that shape the Taiwanese mentality and way of life. These stereotype roles are frequently used by advertisers and multinational companies when promoting their products and services through TV commercials. In this paper, I will discuss a task-based project that was given to 4th year university level students enrolled in my Language and Culture class at Wen Zao Ursuline College of Foreign Languages. The use of multimedia and online video as tools in the course of this project is also discussed and attention is likewise given to student feedback on a questionnaire administered online. Students’ critical reflections and subjective analyses of their performances reveal positive results, allowing me to conclude that using TV commercials can be an effective way to hone students’ analytical skills, giving them a different perspective in looking at their own culture and the society that they live in.


Friday, January 21, 2005

Final call for papers for JALTCALL 2005

Final call for papers for
JALTCALL 2005 Conference
Ritsumeikan University,
BKC Campus, Shiga, Japan
June 3-5, 2005

The theme of the JALTCALL 2005 Conference is "Glocalization through
CALL: Bringing people together", and focuses on the social dimension of
CALL at local and global levels, as represented by the term
localization.?Submissions that do not deal directly with the
conference theme are also most welcome, provided they demonstrate a
sufficient level of innovation, quality of research, or suggestions for
improvement of the field.

Submissions can be done electronically from the conference submissions
page. Click on the 'Submitting a Proposal' link from
http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2005/

The deadline for submission of proposals is January 31, 2005.

A copy of the conference poster is located at
http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2005/conference.pdf
Please feel free to distribute a copy of the poster to your interested
colleagues.

Any questions regarding the conference can be directed to
enq@jaltcall.org

Best regards,

Timothy Gutierrez
Coordinator, JALT CALL SIG

Final call for papers for JALTCALL 2005

Final call for papers for
JALTCALL 2005 Conference
Ritsumeikan University,
BKC Campus, Shiga, Japan
June 3-5, 2005

The theme of the JALTCALL 2005 Conference is "Glocalization through
CALL: Bringing people together", and focuses on the social dimension of
CALL at local and global levels, as represented by the term
localization.?Submissions that do not deal directly with the
conference theme are also most welcome, provided they demonstrate a
sufficient level of innovation, quality of research, or suggestions for
improvement of the field.

Submissions can be done electronically from the conference submissions
page. Click on the 'Submitting a Proposal' link from
http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2005/

The deadline for submission of proposals is January 31, 2005.

A copy of the conference poster is located at
http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2005/conference.pdf
Please feel free to distribute a copy of the poster to your interested
colleagues.

Any questions regarding the conference can be directed to
enq@jaltcall.org

Best regards,

Timothy Gutierrez
Coordinator, JALT CALL SIG

CSCL 2005 Conference in Taipei Taiwan

I received this email from Tappedin, and thought I might just give it a nudge.

Tapped In is sending this message as a public service to all members in Taiwan,
China, and Japan.

The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) conference is an
international forum for the exchange of research in relation to collaborative
learning supported by technology. In 2005, the CSCL conference will be held in
Taipei, Taiwan May30th - June4th. As part of the conference, CSCL invites
teachers to collaborate in the program. Teachers, especially Asian teachers,
may apply to participate in one or more of the following activities:
??? Teachers will be provided with a Web-space to report on conference
presentations to their colleagues in their home communities.
??? Teachers may take part in the closing session to report on how they could
use technologies, pedagogies and assessments they learned about in their
classrooms.
??? Teachers or teacher-researcher pairs may report on exemplary classroom
practices using computer supported collaborative learning.

More information can be found at http://www.cscl2005.org/CFP_sub_inst_tp.htm
or contact Mary Lamon (mlamon@kf.oise.utoronto.ca) or Hwawei Ko
(hwawei@src.ncu.edu.tw)

-----------------------------
So I wrote and sent in my applications:



My name is Aiden Yeh and I would like to participate at the CSCL 2005 as a member of the panel or a reporter. I’m doing my PhD studies at the University of Birmingham and currently working as a full-time lecturer at Wen Zao Ursuline College of Foreign Languages. I am a Webhead and member of the TESOL’s Electronic Village Online Sessions 2005 coordinating team. I will also be doing an online workshop as part of the Becoming a Webhead 2005 EVO session on Blended Learning. Please find attached a description of various blended learning task-based projects that I have done this semester at Wen Zao and last school year at National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology.


---------------------
Wait and see, that's all I have to do now.

/aiden

Thursday, January 20, 2005


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/videos/create.mspx Posted by Hello
Creating your own movie using moviemaker Posted by Hello

GEPT Training Session

I just got back home from school. I attended the GEPT Training Session that was scheduled by the English Dept. for teachers. The session started on the dot, 9:30 am. The speaker is Taiwanese [forgot his name] but he speaks English quite proficiently, though he used Chinese most of the time. He talked about the GEPT test and focused on some items. At first, I thought, he was giving a lecture on translation. His approach to taking this sort of test is to understand and apply word connotations. I was taught differently. Perhaps, that's what most Taiwanese do during exams, I don't know. Anyway, I was surprised to see two of my students there. I guess, they want to learn some test-taking skills. There's also another session in the afternoon, but I don't think I'd attend that one. I'd rather stay home and updated on my research blog.

/aiden

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

CELTA

In preparation for the online trainings that I plan to do as part of my PhD research, a colleague of mine, Daf, has suggested that I look into CELTA. I did, and this is what I found [see below]. Ok, this is something and I could work something out based on this.
========================================

What does CELTA involve?

Your chosen course:

teaches you the principles of effective teaching
provides a range of practical skills for teaching English to adult learners
gives you hands-on teaching practice
builds your confidence.

There are five main units of learning:

Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
Language analysis and awareness
Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
Planning and resources for different contexts
Developing teaching skills and professionalism.

You will be assessed throughout the course, with no final examination. An external assessor, appointed by Cambridge ESOL, moderates each course. There are two components of assessment:

Teaching practice
You will teach for a total of six hours, working with classes at two levels of ability. Assessment is based on your overall performance at the end of the six hours.
Written assignments
You will complete four written assignments: one focusing on adult learning; one on the language system of English; one on language skills; and one on classroom teaching.

To be awarded the certificate you must pass both components. There are three grades - Pass, Pass 'B' and Pass 'A'.

Who recognises CELTA?

CELTA is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English Language teachers. The Cambridge CELTA has been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) at level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework. Cambridge ESOL also works with international ELT organisations to ensure the acceptance of CELTA globally.

Monday, January 17, 2005

The future of Call

[As posted to the EVonline Webheads List]

Online Fielded Discussion "THE FUTURE OF CALL"

31st January - 5th February

IATEFL COMP-SIG

TESOL CALL-IS



"Where has Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) been, where is it
now
and where is it going?" (Bax, 2002)



The questions raised by Stephen Bax and other scholars are still very
timely. Are we satisfied with the development that CALL has taken? How
would
we like CALL to develop in the future? Should specific areas be given
priority in CALL-related research? The above questions are but a few
among
those which often puzzle our minds. What better time to discuss the
future
than at the beginning of a new year.



Please join the IATEFL COMP-SIG and the TESOL CALL-IS in discussing
thoughts, opinions, beliefs and hopes and aspirations for the future of
CALL. This online discussion will take place on the electronic list of
IATEFL COMP-SIG and will be fielded by Stephen Bax (Canterbury Christ
Church
University College, UK).



The discussion will take place from 31st January to 5th February. Food
for
thought is available at:
http://www.iateflcompsig.org.uk/future.htm#thefutureofcall where
Stephen
Bax's article "CALL-past, present and future" and Mark Warschauer's and
Deborah Healey's article "Computers and Language Learning: An overview
"are
available.



Make sure you join the IATEFL COMP-SIG list so as to take part in the
discussion. You can join by sending a blank email to
IATEFLComputerSig-subscribe@yahoogroups.com



Looking forward to "seeing" you there and "listening" to what you have
to
say!



Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou

Sunday, January 16, 2005

on students' collaborative work

Hello Webheads,
 
Thanks for contributing your ideas; your comments and suggestions provide different perspectives on how to tackle my dilemma. Based on everything that has been said so far, this is what I plan to do the next time I assign group projects:
 
1. Individual grade based on individual contribution to the task and a group grade which is an average of the students' individual grades.
 
2. Grades should be based on the criteria specified on the rubric
 
3. Students also work on their group assignment in class [for a period only- not the entire class session]. I could also take this opportunity to have the group-teacher meeting.
 
4. In connection to #3, groups should also present/show me a project development report, a presentation of records of the completed tasks, grades, filled-in rubrics.
 
 [I did #3 and 4 with my Oral training 1 class on their tele-drama assigment, but I have only 16 students here, I've got 50 in my language and culture!]
 
That's about it. But the crux of the matter still boils down to guiding students on learning how and what it takes to work in groups, and this should be done during the first few weeks of class before assigning projects [like what Daf said]. I would like to do some reading on this, any books or articles online? I know that the EVO2005 is offering a session on this, CLandGE, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CLandGE/ I'm helping the moderator, George Jacobs, with his YG, I might just learn more than I thought.
 
Thanks people.
 
Hugs,
 
Aiden
p.s.
 What will I do without the webheads?
this will be put on my blog as part of my tpd thing ;-) 
 


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