Don't worry about your pronunciation

Spoken English Blog

I like this blog because it brought out a good point of learning English or the same concept of learning the second language. It is being confident to speak every word. So true that we are all afraid to make mistakes in front of the public but making mistakes is reasonable, no matter you are the native speakers are the language learners. Sometimes, teachers focus too much on checking students pronunciation and forget about that the function of language is to communicate results in learners hold no confidence to say the language out. Teachers should encourage the learners to practice more and give them suggestion not correction.

Besides teachers in the class help learners  moreover the Internet is helping , too. I like to use dictionary.com as my learning tool. There are IPA and the actual pronunciation on Dictionary .com. It is really useful  when I need to know the pronunciation without teachers’ assistance.

The Linguist on Language

Furthermore, I want to introduce another website called “The Linguist on Language.” It’s an intriguing blog with many videos shoot by the blogger himself. It is clearer to know his concepts  by reading and listening than only the blog has the reading articles.  

How often do you browse the Internet?

The Internet started being widely in 1995. 1 out of 8 couples got married in the US in 2005 and in Taiwan as well. Undeniably, this is a new trend in the world for this generation, next generation, and even the last generation such as my parents; the Internet cannot be divided by everyone nowadays.

Teachers should take account of this new trend to apply to the classroom and cater their interests to boost their learning motivation.

Check this video:
Did you know?


Check this website:
Internet Dating

SLA and technology

SLA and technology

We all know that learning the second language takes many hours and effort in our life and also creating the language learning environment is crucial to the learners. In my personal learning experience, I love to use the technology to learn second language. Technology is the tool that human develops to meet the world’s needs nowadays. Applying the technology in SLA helps people to gain the latest knowledge and generates the interactive learning without the restriction of the distance. For the next generation, technology such as the Internet is not only the helpful toll in SLA but also the preferred tool. Teachers can take the advantage of the Internet to arouse the interests of students’ learning motivations.

Three ways teachers can use blog in the class

1. Answering questions:
 In a similar strategy to the aforementioned information gathering, some educators streamline the process by   allowing students to answer questions via Twitter rather than raising their hands. This greatly aids studying, too, as they can easily refer back via dedicated classroom hashtags.

2. Enable discussion outside of the class:
 University of Texas emerging media professor David Parry also talked Twitter with Mashable, lauding the ubiquitous microblog as an excellent way for his students to continue class discussions after they’ve already ended. And they frequently do!

3. Share a story:
 Put a social media twist on an old classroom favorite by asking students to play some fun story-go-round games on the famous microblogging site. The first tweets a sentence, the next builds off of it and so forth; try assigning a hashtag to make reading everything faster.

My reference page:
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/07/06/28-creative-ways-teachers-are-using-twitter/

Internet Safty

More and more kids start to use the Internet. How do we teach them to stay safe meanwhile to enjoy the benefits on the Internet?

Teach kids online security basics

1. Encourage kids to keep passwords secret
-Don't reveal passwords to others.
-Never provide your password over email or in response to an email request.
-Do not type passwords on computers that you do not control.
2. Help your kids use social networking safely
-Be wary of identifiable information in your child's profile.
-Encourage your children to communicate with people they already know.
-Teach your children never meet anyone in person that they've communicated with online only.
-Ensure your kids don't use full names.
-Warn your child about expressing emotions to strangers.
3. If your kids blog, make sure they don't reveal too much
-Never share personal information.
-Log off in public.
-Check out other blogs to find positive examples

Friday, September 9, 2011

When Blogging, Blog Safely: Internet and Blogging Safety Tips

It's so important to be aware and safe when browsing the Internet and/or blogging.  The Internet can be dangerous, if you don't know what you're doing, so it's important that you are proactive in your gaining of knowledge on Internet safety.  In turn, this awareness will ensure that you have a positive and safe experience when surfing the Web and blogging.  Here is a list of tips that you should follow... you can never be too careful:

1.) Protect Your Privacy: You should never reveal information about where you live, where you work, your age, your telephone number, or even your full name.  There are bad people out there on the Internet that will take advantage of such information, so don't give away or post personal information so freely.  

2.) Passwords Are Private: Do not share your password with others, even your best friends.  You don't want your password to get stolen because that could lead to the theft of your identity.  Also, you should create a password that is strong (see link below).

3.) Avoid Clicking on Pop-ups/Advertisements: Clicking on pop-ups or advertisements on webpages can lead to your computer contracting a harmful virus that can cause a lot of serious problems.  Furthermore, what is being advertised is usually false/not real/ a scam.  Make sure your computer's "Pop-up Blocker" is turned on (it usually is), and if a pop-up comes up, close out of the window immediately.   

4.) Click "Back" or "Close": If at anytime you come across something that is inappropriate on accident, click the "Back" arrow button to leave the webpage or close out of the window immediately.   

For more information and safety tips check out this website:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html

 

What Facebook wants parents to know about this website"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/08/48hours/main20102037.shtml

 

Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/user/SafetyCenterVideos?blend=7&ob=5