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Key to Success: TEFL CALL Students’

Web-based Challenging Projects

Presenter: Professor Lyra Riabov Southern New Hampshire University

Presentation at the EV Fair Classics  2007 CALL Interest Section Special Events The 41st Annual Convention TESOL 2007

 March 21-24,  2007 Seattle, Washington

E-mail: l.riabov@snhu.edu; Web: http://acadweb.snhu.edu/riabov_lyra/EFL537_CALL.htm

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Call course philosophy and method CALL course challenges CALL course achievements and rewards Students’ Self Assessment Recommendations Link to Students Projects

Presentation Discussion

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Philosophy and Method

Learning through doing,

Learn from each other: team work,

Learn actively and work hard,

Aim high and do your best.

Link to Students Projects

Student’s web-based projects are the heart of the course.

Hands on activities are every class.

Learn through reading, reflecting, discussing orally and in writing in the Blackboard Forums.

Share your findings. Evaluate your peers. Present and self-assess your

learning achievements.

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Challenges

It takes a lot of energy,

courage, sometimes

frustration, and discipline of daily hard work.

It is extremely time consuming

Link to Students Projects

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Achievements and Rewards Students feel a

breakthrough in their attitude to CALL.

They have got a practical and useful web-based tool for their future teaching applications.

They acquire knowledge of theory and practical techniques of CALL

They are proud of their achievements.

Link to Students Projects

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Students’ Self Assessment “Learning to create my own

website is a big challenge. In this course, we do not just create our own website, but also there is a lot of work to be done every week (reading assignments and website) Overall, I found it a difficult course “

“I have gained a lot of knowledge/ideas from other students during the presentations. They are a great source for my future teaching.”

“ For students, creating their own website is a very valuable tool in terms of learning language and gaining the knowledge in CALL. It also can be beneficial in the future. “

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Students’ Self Assessment

“The course content is very rich. Although I was so overwhelmed during the course, I have benefited a lot from the process.”

“For the students, I recommend that they’d better follow the schedule of weekly assignment that the teacher offered or they would have to work very hard in the end of the term. “

“I enjoyed reaction presentations done as group work. We discussed cooperatively and supported each other.”

“The reflective discussions after group presentations were very interesting and useful.”

Link to Students Projects

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Students’ Self Assessment

“I am glad I could build my website because without this course, I would never have tried to make my own website. While introducing my website and sharing it with classmates and professor, I could better understand how I will use this website for my future teaching. Also, I could see the process of development and application of it starting from the first day when we began building this website and now. I enjoyed reading articles and had a chance to reflect on my situations. Also, building and designing the website was really enjoyable.”

“Use of the Blackboard Discussion was very effective to non native speakers and people who were hesitant to speak during the class. Students had more chance to express what they thought and share ideas by using discussion forum. “

“Choosing an ESL/EFL web site and evaluating it was a useful project. I had a chance to see how to evaluate based on criteria. “

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Students’ Self Assessment “English is not native language

in Taiwan so if I want to create an authentic learning environment, I need to involve CALL into my teaching.”

“Use of technology is not easy. One has to consider so many points before starting to plan a computer-based lesson. Using technology is a good thing but we need to be prepared for the pitfalls.”

“Yes, I will recommend other students take this course. Although the assignments are challenging and they might feel stressed while taking the course, I believe they will be proud of themselves in the end of the semester. “

“This course is actually very useful and fun. The only “burden” is the amount of reading and writing that has to be done. I definitely recommend this course to all students. But don’t take more than one additional course that term! “

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RecommendationsTo CALL Instructors and CALL Practitioners

Consider the composition of the class Use mixed skills of the students to their advantage Remember that CALL course is NOT just

technology course. Knowledge of theory is also essential

Don’t be afraid to challenge students, but provide a great support by tutorials, instructor’s website resources, and peer learning and sharing

Web based project, reading discussions and reflections are the heart of the course

Dedicated Assessment of students’ learning all through the course is crucial