My lips are sealed...sometimes

Teacher Professional Development: Sue Waters Keynote Presentation Webconference

2010-07-31T11:55:00.000+08:00

Teacher Professional Development: Sue Waters Keynote Presentation Webconference: "Reform Symposium http://reformsymposium.com/blog/2010/07/10/keynote-sue-waters/ Saturday, 7/31/2010, 12 noon Day 1 Closing Keynote: Sue Wate..."

Teacher Professional Development: 21C learning environment

2010-07-31T11:48:00.000+08:00

Teacher Professional Development: 21C learning environment: "Shelly Blake Keynote Keynote: What We Do Description: A view from the classroom and a conversation about what 21C learning looks like on t..."

Live Session on Teaching Speaking to Seniors

2009-04-08T18:16:00.001+08:00

Terry Doyle will be giving a brief talk about 'teaching speaking/oral skills to seniors' today at 5 am GMT in Learning Times, http://tinyurl. com/y3eh

Here's a link to his ppt.

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/57376/Teaching-English-to-Seniors

Link to recording is at
https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2009-04-07.2223.M.7AE801FFB697DA460D4BF25AA8C21B.vcr

Learning English kids Website

2009-03-18T11:53:00.000+08:00

As posted by the British Council:

There are some new materials on the
British Council's LearnEnglish Kids website.
This month we have a new story. It's a
traditional tale from West Africa called
'Why Anansi has thin legs'. Anansi is a
spider, and to find out why his legs are
so thin you'll have to listen to the story!

There are some lovely flashcards and a
reading and writing worksheet to accompany
it: http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-anansi.htm

Students are also given the opportunity
to write a traditional story from their
country. They can send it in to us and
we will put the best ones up on the site.
It will be great to be able to read traditional
stories written by children all over the world,
so please encourage your students and/or
children to take part and send us a story:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-your-traditional-stories.htm

As spring time arrives (on this side of the
earth anyway!) we'd like to remind you
about the activities based on the topic
of seasons which you'll find here:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-seasons.htm

Finally, a reminder, that you'll find lots
of tips for how to get the most out of
the material and topics on LearnEnglish
Kids, on the TeachingEnglish website.
Here's the link to the Teaching Children
section:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/teaching-children

Cardiff Online

2009-03-11T09:16:00.001+08:00

Posted on behalf of Gavin Dudeney
------------

Join us for IATEFL Cardiff Online - 'one of the biggest global teacher
development events ever'

The Cardiff Online website is now live at:

http://iatefl. britishcouncil. org/2009

The 'Cardiff Online' project is British Council / IATEFL partnership
which will provide online conference coverage of this year's Cardiff
IATEFL Conference.

If you can't attend the Cardiff conference, follow the event online!

Cardiff Online will provide teacher audiences worldwide with an
opportunity to share ideas with colleagues before, during and after the
conference.

Please see below for some background information, which I hope you`ll
find useful.

Hope you can join us!

Julian Wing
British Council Cardiff Online Project Manager

~~~~~~~~~ PROMOTING CARDIFF ONLINE ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

We'd like to encourage Teacher Associations, ELT institutions and ELT
bloggers to carry a link to Cardiff Online on their website, newsletter
or blog so we can spread the message and encourage more people to take
part in Cardiff Online.

We've produced some web banners which are available in different shapes
and sizes on the Cardiff Online website at:

http://iatefl. britishcouncil. org/2009/ cardiff-promotio n

~~~~~~~~~ CARDIFF ONLINE BACKGROUND ~~~~~~~~~~~~

IATEFL CARDIFF CONFERENCE: CARDIFF ONLINE WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

Online conference coverage of the 43rd IATEFL Conference

The Cardiff Online website is now live at:

http://iatefl. britishcouncil. org/2009

The British Council and IATEFL have launched the Cardiff Online website
which offers web coverage of this year's 43rd IATEFL Annual Conference
in Cardiff.

The Cardiff Online website allows remote participants to take part in
one of the world's biggest ELT conferences through a variety of
resources including:

- Video recordings of selected sessions
- Audio recordings of selected sessions
- Live streamed plenaries and events
- Moderated special interest discussion forums
- Chat sessions
- Blogs and photo albums

To visit the Cardiff Online website, go to:

http://iatefl. britishcouncil. org/2009

This initiative builds on the earlier collaboration between the British
Council and IATEFL.

Last year, 1,600 teachers and trainers attended the Exeter IATEFL
Conference, and over 5,000 participated online.

This year we expect a much larger audience, and this is a real
opportunity to take part in the biggest online ELT training community.

The Cardiff Online website gives you an opportunity to share ideas with
teachers all around the world. There will be interactive coverage with
video presentations, reports and interviews 'almost live' from Cardiff.

We look forward to meeting you online, and hope that you will share this
information with your colleagues worldwide.

Gavin Dudeney - Honorary Secretary, IATEFL
Julian Wing - British Council Cardiff Online Project Manager
Nik Peachey - IATEFL Online Editor

~~~~~~~~ IATEFL Press Release - March 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~

There are many thousands of professionals for whom attending the
conference is usually no more than a dream because of the costs involved
in travel to UK. This year plans are afoot to make the event accessible
to many thousands more participants from around the globe through a
virtual community space, known as 'Cardiff Online'

http://iatefl. britishcouncil. org/2009

This initiative builds on the groundwork laid at our two previous
conferences. It is an exciting and truly ground-breaking innovation made
possible through collaboration between IATEFL and The British Council,
and one that is very much in line with the charitable aims of IATEFL. It
promises to be one of the biggest global teacher development events
ever.

So what happens? A teacher in Mongolia, or Nepal, Venezuela or Ethiopia
will be able to sign up and participate in the conference from their own
country. All the plenary talks, as well as a sizable number of other
presentations will be shown live over the Net or recorded and made
available on the conference site. We will also have forums to discuss
all aspects of our profession, photo albums, chat sessions and prizes
especially for our remote participants. A large team will be in place
behind the scenes to bring the event to the remote audience, which is
anticipated to be in the region of 20,000 participants.

This year certainly promises to be different.

Marion Williams

President, IATEFL

Gavin Dudeney - Project Director, The Consultants- E

c/ Ceramica 54, 08035 Barcelona, Spain

Tel: +34 93 427 4240 | +44 20 7193 0770

http://www.theconsu ltants-e. com

Sole Online Providers: CertIBET and CertICT - http://tinyurl. com/3s3mm7

Winners: 2007 British Council ELTON award - http://tinyurl. com/3e2c54

Winners: 2007 Ben Warren Trust Prize -
http://tinyurl. com/6yolo4

Owners: Second Life EduNation sims - http://tinyurl. com/34l8mw

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLAIMER NOTICE

This email and any attachments are private and confidential. It is intended
for the recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure, distribution, printing or copying of this email is unauthorised.
You may not read, use or take any action in reliance on it. If you have
received this email in error please notify the sender immediately by
replying to this email and permanently delete the email from your computer.
The contents of any attachments to this e-mail may contain software viruses
which could damage your own computer system. While we have taken every
reasonable precaution to minimise this risk, we cannot accept liability for
any damage which you sustain as a result of software viruses. You should
carry out your own virus checks before opening any attachments.

Webheads 2009 Convergence Logo Studies

2008-11-14T13:04:00.001+08:00

CONNECT conference announcement

2007-05-15T09:51:00.001+08:00

This is to remind you of the free online conference starting in a
few days, May 17/18-20.

Our theme this year is CONNECT: Conversations on Networking,
Education, Communities, and Technology, and though not specifically
mentioned in the theme, many members of the Webheads community of
practice, http://webheads. info, are practitioners in language
learning.

This is the second time our community has hosted a free online
conference. You can replay the first one at http://2005. wiaoc.org

This year we kick off in a pre-show event at 22:00 GMT May 17, with
the start of a Webcastathon hosted by http://www.worldbri dges.net.
The conference itself starts at midnight GMT May 18 (evening of May
17 in the USA) with a keynote speech by Leigh Blackall and continues
for three days with more talks by Stephen Downes, George Siemens,
Etienne Wenger, Robin Good, Barbara Ganley, Teemu Leinonen, and many
other presenters whom you can see on the schedule at
http://schedule. wiaoc.org.

To attend the conference you can register for free at
http://www.webheads inaction. org and use the calendar there or the
schedule link above, or our online help pages, to work out how to
access the presentations and make comments or join forums. The will
be a voice stream of most events available at
http://www.webheads inaction. org , as well a live chatroom for use
during the conference, and we hope to have someone live online
available to assist you at any time during the conference at
http://www.tappedin .org

We look forward to your joining us May 17/18-20 for this unique
adventure in online professional development. We hope it will be
educational and F.U.N.

Vance Stevens
WiAOC Coordinator

TESOL 2007, Electronic Village

2007-03-27T12:09:00.000+08:00

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

TESOL 2007 NNEST dinner March 22

2007-03-27T11:02:00.001+08:00

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

TESOL 2007 Advocating for Peace

2007-03-27T10:49:00.000+08:00

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Create Calendar

2007-03-07T22:39:00.000+08:00

Click here to create your own calendar

Posting using writetomyblog

2007-02-27T14:06:00.000+08:00

Testing writeto myblog

2007-02-27T13:59:00.001+08:00

This message is posted using writetomyblog.

skrbl

2007-02-25T16:11:00.000+08:00

Create your own Comix

2007-02-25T16:03:00.001+08:00

Sitekreator

2007-02-25T16:01:00.001+08:00

Aiden, Rita and Teresa: Taiwan, Argentina and Portugal

2007-02-25T15:49:00.000+08:00

Blended Learning: BaW2007 Seminar

2007-02-24T12:47:00.000+08:00

Snippets about me

2006-09-14T16:55:00.000+08:00

I was searching for my own podcast site for a course I was teaching two years when I saw quite a few articles or snippets written about me and my love for using podcast as a learning/teaching tool. I have received a couple of emails thanking me for posting all the good resources I've been using on my class blogs and podcasts and that they are actually beneficial to other teachers, but to actually read something about you that other people have written is really quite something. I was elated. At a time when I was experiening a hormonal related depression, these sites are very uplifting. So thank you to those people who wrote them. I may have met you before but my memory is really getting rusty. I just wish that I could always have clear, crisp memory of what happened in the past. I think, this is also one advantage of keeping blogs and podcast. They help us remember.

Anyway these are the sites that I have found:

Comprehensible input podcast
Literacy tent. org wiki This is truly special. I've been mentioned on a Wiki!
Nifl.gov
Language teaching Moodle
Valrc.org Newsletter (doc)
Summer School podcasts
Discuss it globally podcast
British Council, Hornby

2006-03-04T11:26:00.000+08:00

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING , Master/Ph.D. in ELT & ELIT

Web Casts from TESOL's Electronic Village 2006

2006-03-04T10:49:00.000+08:00

Web Casts from TESOL's Electronic Village 2006

Dear colleagues,

Connect with the 40th Annual TESOL Convention and Exhibit (TESOL 2006) March 15-18, 2006 in Tampa, Florida, USA. If you cannot be there in person, join the Convention goers virtually. For the first time, the CALL Interest Section has organized 4 presentations and 2 interviews to be web cast from the Electronic Village in Tampa. You will be able to hear CALL experts Tom Robb, Randall Davis, Leslie Opp-Beckman, and Chris Jones present their Web projects. By clicking on the links to their presentations, you can follow along and also participate in a text chat. If you have a microphone and a Skype connection, you will be able to ask questions of the presenters directly. Please click the link below to see the schedule of web cast presentations.

Schedule of Web Casts, March 16 and 17, from the Electronic Village—Internet Fair Classics

Please click here for Instructions for Participating in the Web Casts.

We are looking forward to your participation during these events.

The Web Cast Organizers
Jeff Lebow (www.Worldbridges.com) and Christine Bauer-Ramazani
We thank TESOL, the CALL-IS, the Electronic Village team, and the Electronic Village Online Coordinators for their on-site assistance with these events.

(Distributed on behalf of TESOL EV Online Coordinating Team)

What does it mean to be a Dog?

2006-02-01T17:30:00.000+08:00

What does it mean to be a Dog?
from Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/events/cny/

For more on Year of the Dog, click here.

EducationGuardian.co.uk | Advertisement feature | How blogs can make the link

2006-01-19T16:56:00.000+08:00

EducationGuardian.co.uk | Advertisement feature | How blogs can make the link

How blogs can make the link

"Blogs offer connection - between pupils and between schools, and sometimes with surprising results. Chris Alden looks at how some schools work with the medium, and wonders why more don't"

EVO Session on Blogs

2006-01-17T17:54:00.000+08:00

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blog06/

Vlog sent to Bee

2006-01-07T23:09:00.000+08:00

Forwarded podMail originally from aidenyeh:
> Hi Bee,
>
> Here's a 3 minute vlog explaining briefly how I use blogs and podcasting with two of my classes, Speech Training and Language and Culture.
>
> Speech training podomatic is at http://aidenyeh.podomatic.com
> Language and Culture at http://yehlanguageandculture.blogspot.com
>
> Both sites contain students' videos.
>
> Thanks again for allowing me to share my students' work. This is also a way of letting them know that they've done a good job with their class work.
>
> hugs,
>
> Aiden

2006-01-03T16:27:00.000+08:00

Do you speak American? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june05/american_1-5.html#

JALTCALL 2006

2006-01-02T23:24:00.000+08:00

JALTCALL 2006
Conference

Aiden's Forum on Blog at ETL

2006-01-02T23:04:00.000+08:00

ETL Resources in Taiwan, Aiden Yeh's Forum on Blogs

E-card from Penny

2006-01-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

E-card from Penny (UE3B) http://tw.view.greetings.yahoo.com/greet/view?XK3MMATZ2P6B7

Posting Audio Comments in Podomatic Page

2005-12-11T01:10:00.000+08:00

how to fold a shirt, japanese style

2005-12-11T00:16:00.000+08:00

Ads in Films: Peggy's Group PPT Presentation

2005-12-09T15:30:00.000+08:00

Chat with me now software

2005-12-09T13:26:00.000+08:00

E-mail Based Audio-Video Chat: Chat With Me Now

Using Podomatic for my Speech class

2005-12-09T11:39:00.000+08:00

Aiden Yeh's Speech Class Podomatic. I've set up a podcast for my students to try. This is a good tool for doing their impromptu/extemporaneous speeches.

Testing Camtasia

2005-12-08T21:50:00.000+08:00

To help my students use Grouper, I made use of Camtasia to produce a video tutorial. Here is an example, click here.

Camtasia Video Tutorial

2005-12-08T11:38:00.000+08:00

Click here to view the tutorial.

speech class video

2005-12-07T15:01:00.000+08:00

embedding video trial

2005-12-07T13:17:00.000+08:00

This is a trial. I'm pasting the url code available from grouper video hoping that the video will be embedded on blogger.

It works!

And, if video is played on my blog, then what I have here is a VLOG!

Interesting.

Forum for on-demand lecture circulation

2005-12-04T14:41:00.000+08:00

What should be our professional stance as an educator and as an applied linguist?

Shown on the photo: Our dept chair- Isabel Chuo (speaking), on the panel from left: Dean- Dr. Bosco Lee, and Prof. Nakano

Invited guest speaker: Professor Nakano

I would consider Prof. Nakano's on-demand class system as an enlarged version of blended learning activities that I (and many webheads' educators)have done and still doing in my own classroom. The only difference, in my opinion, is the diversity of people who are participating and contributing their time and effort to this project. The list of universities is rather impressive. I wasn't relly surprised to see my sister's and brother's alma matter (De la Salle University) on the list. To take part in this project will somehow promote the school- so I understand why wen Zao wants to join this project. I have volunteered to participate and contribute my lecture materials and I am hoping that our dept. chair will call on me when the time comes.

The principle behind this distance learning project is rather simple and counts on the same blended learning theories (vygostky, gagne, etc) as the backbone of its pedagogical foundation. What Prof. Nakano described in her lecture is practically the same as to what webheads do. She made use of her own terms, i.e. on-demand internet course, or to what many CALL educators would classify as CMC (both synchronous and asynchronous). The platform they use is a combination of various virtual learning environment (VLEs) that webheads have been using, MOOs, Moodle, Yahoogroups, etc.

I was thrilled to know that many of the topics that they've used in their fora are the same with the topics and issues I covered in my Language and culture class.

I was given a few minutes to show Dr. Nakano my website and my projects and she was impressed (I would like to think that she was anyway ;-) ) She was optimistic about our school joining her project and I would be very much willing to participate in it.

aiden

Re: Bonnie's greeting

2005-12-03T11:33:00.000+08:00

Check out these books from your library:

http://books.google.com/print?q=social+semiotic+can+text+convey&oi=print

These articles may also help:

http://accurapid.com/journal/24structure.htm

http://www.adfl.org/adfl/bulletin/V35N1/351009.htm

http://accurapid.com/journal/26liter.htm

http://www.indiana.edu/~educp550/shtcrs.html

Remember, semiotic texts carry different meanings in different contexts. Be clear as to what context you are referring to.

I hope this helps.

aiden

Bonnie Fu <norhan.tw@yahoo.com.tw> wrote:

Dear Aiden,

Actually, I do hope I can get some help from you at
this moment...it is about my essay I had to hand in on
16th this month.

I'm not sure if you have time to help me, but maybe
you could give me some direction for finding info?

Here is my topic: What social semiotic information can
texts convey? How can, or should, this information be
translated?

I borrowed some books titled 'social semiotics' but it
came out that finding a non-existing needle in a hay,
no clue at all. My teacher said they could not help
any students since it would be like favouring students
and till now I didn't find any classmates who is doing
the same topic :(

I hope I didn't sound too abrupt to throw questions to
you right after the greeting letter, though it really
seemed like so.

Thank you for taking time looking at me letter.

Have a nice day,

Bonnie

--- Aiden Yeh »¡¡G

> Hi Bonnie,
>
> It's nice to hear from you.
>
> No, I didn't receive your email :-( but thanks
> anyway. It's the thought that counts.
>
> How's your studies coming along?
>
> aiden
>
> Bonnie Fu wrote:
> Dear Aiden,
> How are you? I wrote to you long time ago, around
> Teacher's Day. Maybe I send to another e-mail
> account.
>
> The weather in Leeds is really amazing, sunshine,
> rain, wind all together in a day...soon there will
> be
> some snow I guess
>
> Hope everything goes well,
>
> Bonnie (YE5A, studies in UK now)
>
>

Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less

Distance learning universities in Taiwan?

2005-11-30T11:36:00.000+08:00

I have always been critical about the Taiwanese government's policy on crediting degrees received by distance learning. Despite the fact that many universities are now offering blended courses and Taiwan's first Open University is now operational, I still feel that there is still a huge number of educators who wants to preserve their status quos and maintain double standards when it comes to online learning. Are they really prepared to go all out? If this is the case, shoudn't they credit those degrees received online from accredited universities in the UK and US (or even Australia)?

Mind boggling really...

Anyway, I have been invited to attend a conference at our school this Friday on Distance Learning, and the speaker will be talking about the various projects that have been implemented by both private and gov't institutions so far. Interesting- but my question still remains, if we advocate for the validity of learning conducted online (given the existing projects/plan above) then shouldn't the government look at their policies concerning the accreditation of degrees received by DL (through accredited universities worldwide)?

12月2日南區英語教學資源中心邀請了早稻田大學遠距教學中心所長中野美知子教授到校發表專題演講。由於中野教授在遠距教學研究已深耕多年，擬請中野教授於上午與校內教師分享「培育亞太菁英合作計畫」，以及了解本校如何加入其中的網路大學聯盟計劃。

時間：12月2日(五) 10:00am~11:00am
地點：行政大樓二樓會議室
與會教師預計邀請：國事系劉俊裕主任、外教系王昱鈞老師、資訊與教學科技中心謝琇薇小姐、英文系林秀珍老師、張純華老師、葉佰賢老師
會議主持人：英文系卓惇慧主任

「培育亞太菁英合作計畫」簡介：（Collaborative Efforts to Create Asian-Pacific Intelligence）分為三個階段執行：
第一階段：加強日本學生的英語能力，其中包括鼓勵學生修習「Tutorial English」。
第二階段：進入跨文化遠距學習（Cross-Culture Distance Learning，簡稱CCDL）。在此階段，亞洲各國學生以英語為共通語言，利用網路教學與視訊會議等遠距教學系統，以認識、探討各國語言、歷史、風俗、宗教等議題為出發點，進而培養了解、接受、尊重異文化之視野與胸襟。
第三階段：網路大學聯盟計畫（Cyber University Consortium Projects）。現有全球二十多所大學提供遠距課程，供學生選修，學生亦可透過視訊會議進行多地遠距研討會。此階段以第二階段跨文化學習為基礎，開設更深入之課程，並加強專業課程的訓練。

2005-11-23T17:06:00.000+08:00

Potentially good blog site form Tagworld. Still in its Beta version, but the server offers plenty of goodies. If blogger allows you to upload texts, photos, audio, etc. Tagworld allows you to upload files, creates Bookmarks, photos (ala Flickr), guestbook, etc. It serves as your own website. I'm leaving my site open so I don't need to enrol all 40 of my studnets! I just hope that it's gonna be free of spam.

Links for postgrad studies for Nina

2005-10-20T09:07:00.000+08:00

M.A. in Mass Communication
University of Minnesota
California State University, Fresno
Texas State University
Or choose the University you like to study in and see whether they have the course that you like.
US Universities by Sate

MSc in Marketing Management
MBA

Michael Coghlan's presentation

2005-10-02T22:29:00.000+08:00

The Role of Technology in Language Teaching: Alternative Delivery or Mainstream?

Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2005 23:30:33 +0930
Subject: [evonline2002_webheads] Presentation Now Online

Hi everyone.

The text of the presentation from last Friday, The Role of Technology
in Language Teaching: Alternative Delivery or Mainstream? (in which
Chris J and Aiden and Bee joined in) is now on the web at
click here
Archive also available via LearningTimes at
click here
Enjoy ( hopefully) :)

- Michael.

A message from Claire

2005-06-29T10:25:00.000+08:00

Wednesday morning.

I received an IM (Yahoo Instant Message) from Claire, a former student of mine. Before the semester ended, she asked me if I could write a recommendation letter for her. I naturally obliged and extended my wishes hoping that she would get the job that she's aspiring for. Well, she did, and I'm so happy for her.
Here's what she wrote:

a70420 (2005/6/26 上午 11:27:14): Dear Aiden, How are you doing? I'm Claire from YE4A . I want to say thank you for writing me the reference for my job. I got the job! I'm now working in Novartis in Taipei, which is a foreign pharmaceutical company with about 200 employees. I've worked for 2 weeks, I'm still learning and adjusting my life style, it's totally different from my life as being a student. I learned a lot from your class, it gave me more in-depth perspective toward things. You are a great teacher and thank you so much. Wish you all the best, Claire

Links to News Videos

2005-06-24T11:45:00.000+08:00

2nd year, Listening to News

[1] Higher salaries for Iraqi professionals

Won't play? Click here to go to BBC

[2] Chinese: The New French or Spanish

[3] Nike openness, BBC Listen to the report.

[4] Non-Japanese heads Sony Corporation, BBC Listen to the report here.

[5] Students Redo Civil Rights History, Watch the video, click here.

[6] Peacocks Swarm Couple's Fla. Home, Direct link to video

Links to News Videos

2005-05-23T14:00:00.000+08:00

MSNBC's The Abrams Report on Scott Peterson, click here.

MSNBC's report on Identity Theft, click here.

CBS's report on Etiquette, click here.

BBC's report on Sony, click here.

CJ's response to Tere's students in Portugal (2)

2005-05-04T22:40:00.000+08:00

Click here to listen to CJ!

In this voice file, CJ greets his portuguese friends with Ola! and continues to introduce his name, I'm CJ (Wo Shr CJ). He then asks, "What's your name?" and translates it in Chinese, "Ni Chao Sha Ma Ming Tz". He ends his recording with, Adios.

Cj was excited in doing this recording. He had to practice 3 times ;-) and he's definitely looking forward to the next audio recording.

Aiden

From Teresa and her students:
Dear CJ,

Here's a voice message that your Portuguese friends in 6G recorded for you this morning in class. They heard your message and said each of the three words in Chinese, English and Portuguese. It's not crystal clear because they recorded it in chorus, but it shows you how they enjoyed your message.

I love listening to you play La Cucaracha on the flute! Way to go!

Hope all is well with you and your family!

Hugs,

Teresa

My voice translation

2005-04-30T15:34:00.000+08:00

Teresa's 6th graders sent me voice messages, asking me how to translate Hello, Good Morning and Goodbye. This is the reason why I asked my son, CJ, to do the Chinese translation for me. I also did my translation and I used my old Avatar to do it. I think, looking at an animated character while listening is far interesting to kids than to simply listen to my voice.

Here's Tere's email message:
Dear Aiden,

Here are the messages that my students wrote and recorded in class this morning with HandyBits. Pedro G. represents 6F and Teresa represents 6G. I hope you enjoy them!

They heard your message twice and understood most everything. Then I showed them the text and had them think about a reply. They really enjoyed learning the new words. In fact, they enjoyed the whole class. You can see what they had to do at
http://wwwin.malhatlantica.pt/teresadeca/school/call-lessons04-05.htm

Thanks for your reply in YM.

Hugs,

Teresa

I'll try to upload their voice files and link them here.

aiden

CJ's got his own avatar from sitepal!

2005-04-30T14:52:00.000+08:00

CJ's Avatar

This is CJ's avatar from Site Pal. I asked him to record his voice translating 3 basic Chinese greetings, Hello, Good Morning, and Good bye. He thinks that it's fun recording his voice and teaching other children (Tere's students in Portugal) some basic Chinese words. I also think that this is a good way for CJ to brush up his English, which is really getting rusty.

This is what we did today. Click here to see and listen to CJ translate!

2005-04-30T14:02:00.000+08:00

Cj is now learning how to play "Fur Elise".

CJ plays the flute

2005-04-30T11:05:00.000+08:00

Click here to listen to CJ, my eldest son, playing 'La Curacha'.

Click here to listen to CJ play the theme song from a Chinese Kung Fu Movie.

SitePal.Com

2005-04-14T21:44:00.000+08:00

I've created an avatar at SitePal.com. It has audio capability and I could record my voice. If I paid the monthly fee, I could also copy and paste the html code and host my avatar on my own site. But, this paid service will have to wait until it fits in the budget- as of now- it's definitely out!

Here's my welcome message to Chrissan which I create a day prior to our online discussion. It is available at http://tinyurl.com/5xwll

I'll be creating another message for Teresa and her 6th grades for giving me the inspiration to create my own avatar in SitePal.

OK, after 5 minutes, here's the url http://tinyurl.com/4sup8

aiden

Text to Speech Software

2005-04-14T19:31:00.000+08:00

http://www.naturalreaders.com/download.htm
Natural Voice Reader free version provides you a good chance to read any text on screen with Microsoft Mary voices.

Text to Speech
http://www.nextup.com/

PureVoice Player-Recorder software

2005-04-12T13:41:00.000+08:00

PureVoice Player-Recorder software

Lectures on Video

2005-04-12T13:39:00.000+08:00

Lectures on Video

2005-04-11T17:37:00.000+08:00

Uncle B, Wai and auntie Glenn in Goldilocks, C.A.

2005-04-11T17:33:00.000+08:00

Wai in C.A. about to watch the Angels.

Kinship Terminology

2005-04-11T14:20:00.000+08:00

URL Links

[1] Representing Anthropological Knowledge: Calculating Kinship

Analyzing and Understanding Cultural Codes

Michael D. Fischer
http://era.anthropology.ac.uk/Era_Resources/Era/Kinship/

[2] Calculating Kin: Analyzing and Understanding Cultural Codes http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Kinship/Kinship/kinCodes.html

Kinship Terminology from

http://www.britannica.com/search?miid=1182105&query=kinship+terminology

[3] Kinship Terminology from Wikipedia

http://www.encyclopedia-online.info/Family#Kinship_terminology

[4] Kinship and Marriage http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/kinship/index.shtml

[5] FORMAL ANALYSIS OF KINSHIP TERMINOLOGIES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT CONSTITUTES KINSHIP (COMPLETE TEXT)
Dwight W. Read, University of California, Los Angeles Published in Mathematical Anthropology and Cultural Theory: An International Journal Vol 1 No. 1 http://repositories.cdlib.org/hcs/MACT/1100DWR/

[6] Kinship and Social Organization {great link} http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/kintitle.html

Pronunciation Software

2005-04-07T17:02:00.000+08:00

Dr. Speech
Speech Analyzer
CoolSpeech 5.0
Pronunciation power [basic]

Free Speech Analysis Software Online!

Wasps

Man Made Language

2005-04-04T23:51:00.000+08:00

URL LINKS

Man Made LanguageSource: Man Made Language (1980) publ. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Just the Introduction reproduced here.

Non-discriminatory language

-learn the meaning of the terms 'non-discriminatory language' and 'discriminatory language'

- learn to recognise discriminatory messages

- practise rectifying sentences that are discriminatory

- learn to recognise sexist language

- learn how to avoid sexist language and

- learn how to use pronouns in non-discriminatory ways

Non-Sexist LanguageFrom Purdue University

Language Matters - Guidelines for the Use of Non-Discriminatory Language at UTS

My former student won the NSYSU's speech competition

2005-04-04T17:44:00.000+08:00

A former student of mine sent me an email informing me of her recent academic achievement. She won the university's speech competition and she will be representing the school during the National competition in three weeks. In her email she was also requesting for my help. I feel honored that she even thought of me during this special moment of her student life. Here's what she wrote:
------------

Dear Aiden,
How have you been? Hope everything is going on well and smoothly.
Last week, the school held a speech competition, and I won, and hence I'll be representing NSYSU to attend the sppech contest of the southern part of Taiwan in 3 weeks. However, I don't know how to prepare it, and would like to ask you if there's any website about speech preperation. It will be an instant speech, and no topic will be given beforehand.
Therefore, if you have time, please tell me some links you know. However, if you have been busy, it's alright as well.
Hope it doesn't bother you and thank you. : )
Best Wishes
Sincerely,
Orin
------------

And here's my letter to her. I asked her if I could post my email to her on this blog and she granted me permission:
------------

Hi Orin,

Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. Representing NSYSU must be pretty overwhelming and I won't be surprised if the pressure is starting to build up. It's OK to feel nervous. Just remember one thing "Mind over matter". Believe in yourself. Believe in your faith. You have three weeks to prepare and get ready. Since you don't really know what topics will be given I suggest that you start getting familiar with news and current events, both local and international news. Take into consideration major issues concerning health, politics and society.

I found these URL links on Impromptu Speeches:

Developing Effective Speeches: The logic behind the scenes http://grove.ufl.edu/~swebster/lecture1.htm

Impromptu Speech Tips
http://www.thebeckoning.com/acadec/impromptu/speech-tips.html
Some guidelines for impromptu speaking from Toastmasters International
http://www.fisherhouse.com/bsu/comm101/impromptu.html

How Toastmasters can benefit you
http://www.doncaster.toastmasters.org.au/how%20toastmasters%20can%20benefit%20you.htm [copy and paste if you get a broken link]

Check out CNN student news at http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com and take note of some highly sensationalized issues. For example:

1. The Terry Schiavo Case [Living or Existing?] When do we let go? Is mercy killing unethical?

2. The Minnesota shooting. Troubled-teenagers. Shooting rampage in school. Gun ownership.

There are many other issues behind the news. When you read or watch these news, look at the moral, political, religious issues that go with them. Remember there are always two sides of a coin, the pros and cons. minimize saying, "I believe..." or "in my opinion..." In impromptu speeches, it's about convincing your audience to believe in what you say and where you stand on an issue. It is very important to show credibility at the begining, middle and end of your speech. You want to show them that you're knowledgeable about the issue that you're talking about. You will need to elaborate in your speech your references or sources or people whom you're quoting from- this is the reason why you need to know current events. It is more than just your opinion.

I have lecture notes on Persuasive speech but the file is in my office in wen Zao. I'll send it to you on Wednesday.

I hope this helps, Orin. I wish you luck.

Godspeed,

Aiden

Vance Stevens 2005 TESOL presentation

2005-04-02T11:33:00.000+08:00

From top left to right:

1st row: Audience 1, Elizabeth, Deborah Healy and Jim Duber, Johanna Katchen

2nd row from left: Deborah Healy, Susan Gear, Mercedes, Michael Coghlan

3rd row from left: Aiden, Bee, Audience 2, Audience 3 [foreground: Elizabeth on the left, and Dustin (Vance's son) on the extreme right]

2005 Internet Fair

2005-03-31T20:31:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to present at TESOL's EV 2005 Internet Fair. unfortunately due to financial reasons, I won't be able to attend :-(

Here's what's posted on EV's CALL-IS website:

“Listening and Speaking” will be represented by Aiden Yeh, who will show various online videos such as commercials, video trailers, and video résumés that can be used to enhance discussion on language and culture-related topics. Lesson plans, task requirements, and samples of students’ projects will be included. Vino Reardon will demonstrate the use of Internet sites for additional listening practice and background information for a content-based speaking and understanding course. URLs of useful sites and sample worksheets will be provided.

http://tinyurl.com/4tbud

How CMC tools for professional development enhance learning environments for students

2005-03-28T23:14:00.000+08:00

Online presence at TESOL conference with Vance Stevens. Michael and I will be joining Vance online. We'll be talking about my blended leanring project, Happy online.

Difficulties in using your first and second language

2005-03-22T23:07:00.001+08:00

If you speak more than one language, describe any difficulties you experienced learning and using your second language (both languages?). Have any of your experiences been similar to Tan’s and/or Kingston's? What are some of the difficulties you encountered when translating from one language to another? Post your answers on the forum at http://languageculture.forumsplace.com/message-5.html

Click play to listen

"In this 1989 interview with Don Swaim, Maxine Hong Kingston, author of China Men, Woman Warrior, and The Fifth Book of Peace loves the English language. She talks about how any language can be translated into English and any non-translating word will become incorporated into the English language. This is why English is almost a universal world language. Kingston explains how she will think in Chinese about what she wants to write and then she will write it in English." From Wiredforbooks.com website

Maxine Hong Kingston After the Fire
Miel Alegre and Dave Weich, Powells.com

Click play to listen

"Author of The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, and Moon Lady, Amy Tan talks with Don Swaim about growing up as the child of immigrants, working with disabled children, participating in a writers' group, and "becoming Chinese" on her first visit to China in this 1989 interview." From Wiredforbooks.com website

Amy Tan's Biography

BBC's article on Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter

Note:

The above audio links are from Wiredforbooks.com. They are linked here for educational purposes only. Taiwanese students in Aiden Yeh's Language and Culture class will be using them as part of their in-class discussion and activities on Kingston's 'Misery of Silence' and Tan's "Mother Tongue".

2005-03-21T16:28:00.000+08:00

I asked my brother who happens to run an ad agency to come up with logo studies for my 'dream' restaurant/take-out place. I've been toiling with this idea for some weeks now and I'm not sure whether I should give it a go. It's the fear of not making it that makes me quiver. But I really need the money to support my studies and at the rate I'm going I'd end up burried in debt if I don't do anything now. So, which logo is better? Which name is better?

Language and Bicultural Identity

2005-03-21T13:31:00.000+08:00

Links to readings on Language and Bicultural Identity

Excellent Find! Language and Identity

Why Bilingual Education? ERIC Digest.
by Krashen, Stephen

Immigrants Suffer from Losing Their Identity by Howard Kim

language and identity in twentieth-century Ireland

Rights and Responsibilities of Educators of Bilingual-Bicultural Children, Jim Cummins, University of Toronto

capturing audio

2005-03-11T21:06:00.000+08:00

What I thought was going to be a good session turned out to be a huge frustration. All the preparations I did last night, the online vocabulary quizzes, cloze tests, all went down the drain when the audio/video material from my online source [CNN] did not work properly. It kept on buffering affecting the students' listening motivation. It was really difficult listening to the material and concentrating on getting the details was becoming a pain.

After class, I went to the office hoping to catch Mr. Tsai, our tech-support guy. He was there alright and I poured out all my frustrations. He suggested that I record the audio but will have to sacrifce the video. At this stage, I have no choice but give up video. He mentioned Total recorder which I have at home, and if it doesn't work, he can lend me a new software that does mp3 recording. I can't wait till monday- my class is on Monday!

Anyway, the moment I got home, I tried recording using Total recorder. It worked alright but I could not get rid of the noise. I think TR has done purposely injected noise so member will add the noise reduction feature which you need to purchase. This isn't an option for me. It's a good thing that BENQ has audio recorder built in so I used it instead. It worked fine but I will have to try this in class to see how clear the audio is if played in the classroom.

sigh. what an exhausting day.

aiden

2005-03-06T20:18:00.000+08:00

And it's times like this when you need to get closer to the person you care about...

2005-03-06T20:10:00.000+08:00

Girls get to throw a chunk of snow, too!

2005-03-06T20:08:00.000+08:00

Too cold for comfort?

2005-03-06T20:04:00.000+08:00

Let the boys have fun!

2005-03-06T19:49:00.000+08:00

Snowman or snow dwarf? Whatever that is, it's the piling up of snow that fills a child's delight.

Wai and her new RAV

2005-03-05T09:31:00.000+08:00

My sister, Wai, showing off her new RAV. Wai is an Information Architect at a Media company in California. She helped in designing the Webheads logo. She's very smart, creative, and witty. I think she has found the man of her dreams and I hope that this one's for real.

Showing bio page

2005-03-05T00:46:00.000+08:00

Showing the students the BIO page I created. Screenshot was taken by Vance Stevens

Class A listening to Vance, James and Elderbob

2005-03-05T00:41:00.000+08:00

Language and Culture, Class A, listening and watching the Alado online conference.

2005-03-05T00:33:00.000+08:00

Showing the students the BIO page I created. Screenshot was taken by Vance Stevens

students having fun after the online session

2005-03-05T00:26:00.000+08:00

Sherry and Josefina having fun after the online session. This screenshot was taken by online guest speaker, Vance Stevens.

/aiden

When a language dies...

2005-03-04T23:32:00.000+08:00

My language and culture class [A & B]wrapped-up their first round of online discussions. Class B kicked it off with Michael Coghlan. I sent my feedback to our language and culture classs yahoogroup which was also a response to Michael Coghlan's email and feedback.

my feedback

"Volunteers for Class B, you did a great job today. Despite the technical glitches and a slight stage fright, I think that in time you'll master the craft of participating in online discussions.

Follow the link below to read Michael's blog.

Aiden

Michael Coghlan wrote:
To: evonline2002_webheads@yahoogroups.com
From: Michael Coghlan
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 01:01:57 +1030
Subject: [evonline2002_webheads] Session with Aiden's Students Today

Hi everyone.

I had the great pleasure today to be the first of many guest speakers for
Aiden's Language and Culture class over the coming weeks. As always, a
thoroughly instructive and enlightening experience. For a few comments in
audio about the experience you might like to go to
http://mikecogh.blogspot.com/ to hear them.

Thanks Aiden! :)

- Michael.

PS Will the archive be posted anywhere? I have a copy but am running out of
server space."

A feedback from my student

One of the volunteer students in Class B wrote and he said, "I'm glad that you like our performance in the online conference.
[name deleted] I would like to share my feeling about the online
conference. I'm really happy that we didn’t spoil it. However, I
have to say that I am still not so satisfied about the conference.
For me, I think the time is not enough for a decent discussion. Take
this online conference for an example, [names deleted] did
a great preparation for the presentation of the article, but they
didn't have enough time to present them before they ask their
question. Also, each one of us can only ask two questions instead of
the questions list that we've made. I had some relative examples and
questions that I want to discuss but I didn't have the time to do
so. I believe that most of my classmates could not raise a proper
question because we jumped one issue from another too fast. I hope
that we can have a longer and more decent conference."

I wrote back

So in respone, I wrote, "Thanks for your feedback. I know what you mean, the time wasn't enough. The discussion was fairly decent, but not exhaustive. True. This was because we started 15 mins late than the time I expected the session to start, which was at 11:00. I forgot about the 10 min. break. I also wasted 5 min. of your time trying to upload your powerpoint- I was hoping to use my laptop for that but I couldn't get my wireless connection to work. Bummer.

I learned something from your session and I hope to improve the situation for the actual group presentations, both for class A and B.

Group presentations will have to be done an hour before the online discussion. In this in-class presentation, the group will present their powerpoints and all other researched materials that they have. They will also make it interactive to engage their classmates in their presentation.

The online discussion will be done after the in-class presentation and online meetings will simply be based on discussion, asking and answering questions. The goal is 'getting and giving' information. The approach is similar to radio broadcasting. If you've listened to the audio recording- you'll find some similarities.

I know you were expecting to talk more, and I was hoping that I could give you that time. I wanted to. I want to. And if you're willing, I could invite you to 'real' online sessions to experience how it's like, to know that there are time limitations and to learn how to appreciate the opportunities in 'free' online or blended learning events.

I'd just like to remind you the limitations that we have and we could only work with what we have. Your class is big, for group presentations, 5-6 members to share an hour for online discussion. One computer- one mic. I am trying to make use of what we have. So, given this situation, let us strive [together] to make the best out of it. Let's not focus on the frustrations that we've had, but instead, appreciate the chance to take part in meaningful discussions.

The online session that you had was a trial run, and I'd like to thank you again for taking part in it.

I learned something from it."

Class A's turn

We started early. I logged on to Alado and waited for Elizabeth, our online guest speaker. When I had the feeling that she won't make it, I logged on to Yahoo messenger and buzzed all webheads who were online. 3 came to the rescue: James Bakker, Vance Stevens and Bob Brannan aka Elderbob. We had a good session- well at least, I think the volunteers felt happy. They even stayed for another 40 minutes to chat with me and Vance who remained online. I'll be posting the screenshots that Vance took. We were having fun.

For class A, the volunteer students prepared a list of questions which was uploaded on the Internet. I pushed the URL during their online discussion and it can be seen all throughout the online session. The list also helped the students follow the outline of their discussion and they were able to carry on until the very end. They also invited their classmates to ask queestions. There were I think 2 representatives who came to the Mic and talked to Vance, James and Elderbob.

Looking back at the comments made by Class B, I think Class A learned the lessons and prepared their questions on a webpage where they could see at a glance what they needed to tackle. They also had a time frame, which I think was necessary.

I must admit that delivering a blended learning activity with 50 students is not easy and it takes a lot of effort and explaining to the students the limitations that we have. Yet, despite this, I feel much better after Class A had done their presentation. They were organized, collaborated well, no one controlled the show, it was well divided. They learned from past mistakes and I am very happy to see that.

The links to the recordings are http://www.geocities.com/wentzao2004/culture/2ndsem/online_sked.htm

aiden

Invitation to join my LC online

2005-02-21T22:58:00.000+08:00

I've invited Webheads and BaW2005 to join my Language and Culture class's online discussions. Michael is available on March 2 but i've got 9 more slots to go. I hope there will be more [crossing fingers].

Anyway, here's what I wrote to the list:

Hello BaW2005,
apologies for cross postings

I was supposed to wait for my BaW session to announce this but my class is about
to start next week and I couldn't wait any longer. I need to plan ahead. I'll
divide my invitation into two categories:

for my Language and Culture class
as part of my research: Taiwanese teachers [in supplementary schools] TPD

Let's start with the most urgent, Language and Culture. In this course, we'll be
talking more about sociolinguistics, the practical and easy ones for graduating
university level students. Less on theories but still rich in meaning and can be
applied at a personal level. I have prepared a website for this which will be
updated, links and other details will be added as we go.
http://www.geocities.com/wentzao2004/culture/2ndsem/index.htm and look at week
2. This is the first round of online discussions. I will still reserve slots in
Alado but will do that later. The online schedule is at
http://www.geocities.com/wentzao2004/culture/2ndsem/online_sked.htm So the first
round is on March 2 and March 4, different class, same topic.

March 2 is at 11-12 noon Taiwan time or 3 AM GMT [ungodly time for those in
Europe]

March 4 is 1-2 pm taiwan time or 5 am GMT [still ungodly but better]

The topic is "What's lost when a language dies?"

http://www.citypages.com/databank/22/1088/article9859.asp

If you have similar experiences, please join my students. I am a good
example of this story- and my students know...but they want to know more,
different people, different perspectives. Inspire them- that's what webheads do
best.

Online discussions for Language and Culture are all student led discussions. At
least 5-6 students to take turns in giving summary and they will ask you
questions, more like opinion, but opinion grounded on teachings would be nice.
These kids are smart and demanding. BTW, both classes are big, Class A 47
students, Class B- 50. So imagine yourself speaking in a videoconference. That's
how it'll look like. I'll be projecting the chatroom and webcamming is
definitely welcome.

I'll be posting some questions regarding the article, or if you could jot a few
for my students, that would also be great.

If you're interested in joining this class online, please send me an email, here
or to my email aidenyeh@y.... Check the topics, they're quite interesting.

---------------------------------------------------------

Now let's move on to teacher professional development, which, I think many of
you here are qualified teacher trainers or if not engaged actively in TPD. This
is in connection with my PhD research. I have about 3-4 Taiwanese teachers who
are participating in my study. Discussions are going on with our yahoogroups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taiwanese_efl_teachers/, and each has they're own
blogs:

Josefina's blog http://josefinachiu.blogspot.com//

Mei's blog http://ameis1025.blogspot.com//

Joy Chou's blog http://joychou.blogspot.com/

April [to follow]

These teachers are teaching English in supplemantary schools, or private
language schools, or the infamous buxibans in Taiwan. you're also invited to comment on their blogs to generate discussion within their blogs and could be extended or passed on to our
yahoogoups [taiwanese thing]. They have already been adviced about your possible
contributions to their blogs and they're looking forward to this.
Other university colleagues do not believe in what I'm doing primarily because according to them these teachers are 'just cram school teachers'. I didn't [don't] like the remark
given because I believe that these teachers play a big role in Taiwanese
children's learning. Buxiban is similar to japanese 'Juku' [am not sure with the
spelling, but sounds like it or something similar ;-) I also believe that TPD if
showed how and explained to them the reason for doing it, then these teachers
could learn and improve at least instrinsically. Financial remunerations for
self-driven actions toward improvement is scarce but to experience the benefits
of TPD for themselves is a good start. I also believe in the role of CMC in TPD,
this is what I want to do and explore. My problem is I'm not a teacher trainer,
but I've got books [plenty] on TPD and action research, but
they're not enough. I need people who could deliver to them an hour session on
TPD related topics, see http://dcyeh.com/aiden_phd/ Online sessions for this
group are scheduled on Saturdays, 9-10 pm or 1-2 GMT. This is free and
voluntary. If you want to know more, please read my research epad at
http://buxiban.blogspot.com/

Questions?

Email.

Thanks.

Aiden

p.s.

I look forward to meeting you some of you on Thursday.

Syndicating Newspix

2005-02-16T14:29:00.000+08:00

I'm a new buzznet user. Creating an account was easy. I even created two, one for personal use [but I don't think I'd be using it] and the other for my News and Current Events class [hence, the Newspix].

I managed to upload a photo from my mobile [Nokia (don't know the model)], followed the instructions on buzznet and it worked! In seconds my photo was published online. Now, my students could do something like this. But managing 50 students (X3 classes), whoah, that would be chaotic. Now, there must be something that could be done to make it more manageable. The Gallery feature should work but one photoblog, I think, would not suffice. One photoblog per class? Hmmm...

Elderbob, a technoguru Webhead, gave some useful tips on syndicating my photoblog to my blog [blogger]. The instructions were in plain English but sounded greek. I had to read it 3 times to make sense of what I was reading;-)I looked at the source code as Bob had instructed and compared his blog lay-out with mine. The script code, I found out, was also available in buzznet syndication help site. After tinkering with the codes, my newspix blog is now syndicated and I would be able to follow my students' photo publications. Thanks, Elderbob;-)

Now, I should take more [nicer] photos of Taiwan. Newspix, afterall, is news about Taiwan.

/aiden

New page for my language and culture class

2005-02-15T20:58:00.000+08:00

'Just finished updating the page for my Language and Culture class this 2nd sem at Wen Zao. I still have to type a lot of lecture notes and I only have a week to finish all.

[sigh]

http://www.geocities.com/wentzao2004/culture/2ndsem_syllabus.htm

My tentative sked for online discussions is on this page http://www.geocities.com/wentzao2004/culture/onlinesked.htm

/aiden

Photoblog for my News and Current Events class

2005-02-14T09:12:00.000+08:00

I've created a photoblog account at buzznet. The url is http://newspix.buzznet.com/

For my first photo entry, I took a shot of the Kaohsiung Mei Su Guan area from my condo using my mobile phone. It was published on my buzznet account in a flash. i also learned how to update my photo and add captions :-)

But i'm still thinking of whether to ask my students to set up their own accounts or post on my galleries. Which one would work best?

/aiden

Building Spelling and Pronunciation Through Games and Activities

2005-01-26T21:51:00.000+08:00

To those who can't attend Cambridge Day 2005, here's another great opportunity that I think should not be missed [see below]. Let me know if you're going to attend. You can just print this invitation and fax it to them.

Thanks.

Aiden

Topic：Building Spelling and Pronunciation Through Games and Activities

講師：Todd Hess

培生教育朗文特約研習講師

於台灣教授兒童英語多年

擁有豐富的教育訓練經驗

活動主旨：透過遊戲與活動之設計來建立拼字及發音基礎之實務教學研討會。

參加對象：從事英文教育之各界人士。

時間：2004/02/23（三） 1:30PM~4:30PM

地點：福東國小高雄市苓雅區福德三路96號 TEL:07-7510048 E xt 150

主辦單位：高雄市政府教育局、福東國小、佩績的店、培生教育出版（股）有限公司

活動費用：免費

參加人數：200名

報名日期：即日起至額滿為止
報名地點：佩績的店 (07-3135109，傳真：07-3135120)

『自然發音教學』研討會報名表

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※相關網頁

http://www.peggy-bookstore.com/Event940223.htm

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Thanks for your continuing support. Hope we all could enjoy reading as we can.

Peggy

Peggy Bookstore ( 佩績的店 )
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高雄市三民區承德街120號
No. 120, Chende St., Sanmin District,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan 807, R.O.C.
TEL: 886-7-3135109 FAX:886-7-3135120
E-Mail: r2215108@ms17.hinet.net
http://www.peggy-bookstore.com/

Cambridge Day 2005

2005-01-26T21:15:00.000+08:00

Jack Richards will be in Taiwan in March to hold a 2-day conference. One in Taipei and the other in Kaohsiung. I'll be attending the one in Kaohsiung. I am also taking this opportunity to invite other teachers who are participating in my research to join this conference. Unfortunately, according to Joy Chiu, this conference is limited to teachers of higher education. It's a pity, really. I was hoping that these teachers could reflect on their experience and write something about it on their blog. Well, I guess, I will have to do that for them [sigh].

TESOL 2005 EV Events

2005-01-26T14:18:00.000+08:00

I wasn't [am not, really, I don't know yet] planning to attend TESOL 2005 in San Antonio. Last year, I was so sure that I am not going to attend. I had second thoughts my Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, our EVO Sessions' Head coordinator, informed the team that our proposal for the Internet Fair has been accepted. So, since I've got two weeks left before the proposal deadline, I sent in my own proposal, "From commercials to poetry: A look into our language and culture Using Online Videos as Samples for Students' task-based projects". This is one of those days when I rely on fate to help me make decisions. In other words, if this gets accepted, I'd be like 60% sure that I'm going, if not, then, better luck next year.

Well, I got an email from Malika Lyon, the Internet Fair Coordinator, informing me that my very own proposal has been accepted. Now, here's my dilemma, I'm broke and my school is not sponsoring my trip because apparently my teaching status has not yet been approved by the MOE. So, TESOL 2005 wasn't [isn't] in my plan, and yet, I'm having second thoughts whether to attend or not.

What should I do?

/aiden

ETA2005 Proposal

2005-01-22T16:18:00.000+08:00

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.

Final call for papers for JALTCALL 2005

2005-01-21T13:45:00.000+08:00

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

2005-01-21T13:42:00.000+08:00

CSCL 2005 Conference in Taipei Taiwan

2005-01-21T13:31:00.000+08:00

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

2005-01-20T22:53:00.000+08:00

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/videos/create.mspx

2005-01-20T22:50:00.000+08:00

Creating your own movie using moviemaker

GEPT Training Session

2005-01-20T17:34:00.000+08:00

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

CELTA

2005-01-19T18:09:00.000+08:00

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.

The future of Call

2005-01-17T08:30:00.000+08:00

[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

on students' collaborative work

2005-01-16T19:57:00.000+08:00

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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Blended Learning Links

2005-01-06T11:21:00.000+08:00

I'm preparing to write papers for all the projects that I've done this semester, and I'll be touching on blended learning. This preparation will also be useful because I'll be presenting online on this topic as part of Dafne's and Teresa's "Becoming a WEbhead" Electronic Village Online Session 2005. I found the following links to be potential:

http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAY02_Issue/article03.html

http://www.brandonhall.com/public/execsums/execsum_blended.pdf#search='how%20to%20design%20blended%20learning%20course'

http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=slv1-&p=how+to+design+blended+learning+course

stereotype in advertising groups 2 and 3

2004-12-29T14:02:00.000+08:00

For those who still have not taken the survey, please do so: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=69662781616

Thanks.

Aiden Yeh

p.s. my aidenyeh@yahoo.com is disconnected. Please use this email to get in touch with me.

civic jingle- transcript and translation

2004-12-16T11:13:00.000+08:00

By Birgit:

I think he's saying "tengo una espinita que marca mi huella, tengo
una espinita que canta al dolor [lo canto??? aÃºn]
Â¿Pa qu?pa qu?seguir llorando pa qu?
??? la puerta y ver?br> ??? la puerta. Oyele.

Tener una espinita clavada means that something is tormenting you
Marcar la huella is to leave tracks

(meaning that the he's got a thorn in his side (figuratively
referring to his sorrow???) which doesn't let him live, it follows
him like a shadow (in his footsteps) or possibly leaves its tracks
on his heart??? and sings of/to his pain ???)

By Andy and his staff:

Hi Aiden:

Well we certainly have a large Mexican staff in our Technology Center in Chicago
and I've had a number of them listen intently to the recording. The consensus
is, this is Spanish from somewhere in the Caribbean, perhaps Puerto Rico.
Peinita is one word not found in the various states of Mexico.
"Whatever this "Peinita" that marks my footsteps and I have the same "Peinita"
that marks my pain. There is no use in crying."
Tell Miki you do have friends and they do come through for you, albeit not
perfectly.
Happy Holidays'
Andy Pincon

By Maria:

Tengo una espinita que amarca? Mi huella
Yo tengo una espinita que canta? el dolor, lo canto?
Pa qu?pa qu?seguir llorando pa qu?
La ??.la puerta? Oyele

---

I have a little thorn that ..... my footstep
I have a little thorn that sings? hurt, I sing it?
Why crying? why?
The....... door? Listen!

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