Monday, April 02, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Mauricio Jativa wrote: My Grammar Teaching Experience
The Content of the Grammar Lesson
While it is essential for learners to be able to manipulate grammatical forms, this is not sufficient. Learners also need to understand the concepts expressed and the functions performed through a particular grammatical element Matters of pronunciation are an integral part of a grammar lesson; nevertheless, pronunciation instruction relevant to grammatical forms will not be tackled since it falls outside the scope of this essay.
TEFL Methodology
Current TEFL methodology seems to advocate a two-stage grammar lesson: presentation and practice. The practice stage comprises a sequence of activities/tasks ranging on a cline from controlled (focusing solely/mainly on form) to free (focusing only/mainly on meaning). Presentation is less clearly defined.
The framework which will be used in the evaluation will consist of presentation, awareness-raising, and (controlled to free) practice. I will now briefly outline the nature and content of each ‘stage’.
Presentation
In this stage the learners receive input. Given the multi-dimensional relation between form, concept and function, the time constraints, and the limited attention span of children, the aim of a ‘grammar lesson’ should be limited to dealing with a single form-concept-function combination. This combination should be demonstrated clearly through an appropriate context that distinguishes between situational and linguistic context. This fact argues that the former should be relevant to the learners’ experience, whereas the latter should be ‘‘free from unnecessary language items’’.
Written by: Mauricio Jativa
While it is essential for learners to be able to manipulate grammatical forms, this is not sufficient. Learners also need to understand the concepts expressed and the functions performed through a particular grammatical element Matters of pronunciation are an integral part of a grammar lesson; nevertheless, pronunciation instruction relevant to grammatical forms will not be tackled since it falls outside the scope of this essay.
TEFL Methodology
Current TEFL methodology seems to advocate a two-stage grammar lesson: presentation and practice. The practice stage comprises a sequence of activities/tasks ranging on a cline from controlled (focusing solely/mainly on form) to free (focusing only/mainly on meaning). Presentation is less clearly defined.
The framework which will be used in the evaluation will consist of presentation, awareness-raising, and (controlled to free) practice. I will now briefly outline the nature and content of each ‘stage’.
Presentation
In this stage the learners receive input. Given the multi-dimensional relation between form, concept and function, the time constraints, and the limited attention span of children, the aim of a ‘grammar lesson’ should be limited to dealing with a single form-concept-function combination. This combination should be demonstrated clearly through an appropriate context that distinguishes between situational and linguistic context. This fact argues that the former should be relevant to the learners’ experience, whereas the latter should be ‘‘free from unnecessary language items’’.
Written by: Mauricio Jativa
Monday, April 10, 2006
Mauricio Jativa wrote : ELLIS for the entire World !!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Mauricio Jativa wrote : ELLIS an Effective Tool for Educators around the Globe !
With over 2 billion people worldwide studying English today, the need for quality EFL products is on the dramatic increase. One of the biggest challenges faced by students learning in an EFL setting is the lack of interaction with native speakers, both to talk to and to learn English from. ELL software however is becoming a viable alternative in helping teachers bring native-speaker instruction and modeling to the EFL classroom.
In addition to the capacity for native-speaker modeling, there are several other advantages to using ELL software in the EFL setting:
(1) Students can use technology to access instruction at their own pace and get the one on one attention that they personally need to succeed. As each individual student works at the level of instruction most appropriate to their needs, their attention is held, as the instruction is neither too difficult nor too easy. (2) They can receive personalized, immediate, non-threatening feedback to their answers. Students’ confidence is increased as they can see measurable gains in their quiz and test scores. (3) Practicing speaking first into a computer can be a safe first step in building language production skills. (4) Students can take advantage of a discovery-based approach to learning, where they can actively choose where and how to spend their time learning English. (5) By working in a computer environment, students can develop much needed computer skills to aid them in their future educational and vocational pursuits. (6) Multimedia instruction including video, audio, and colorful graphics help make the language use come alive in a multi-sensory way that helps keeps students attention and is intrinsically pleasurable and rewarding. (7) In addition to on screen feedback, ELL packages often include teacher management systems that allows teachers to monitor student progress and print off reports for students to help build confidence and instill a sense of progress.
In short, the appropriate EFL software can help increase students’ sense of relevance, attention, confidence, satisfaction, and participation. It can also help the teacher provide the one-on-one instruction that is so difficult to achieve in a normal classroom setting, while also providing the benefit of hard to obtain native-speaker instruction and modeling.
All these and more are the different features that teachers around the world can find when using ELLIS, bringing such a great sophisticated technology without doubt will bring the improvement that you are waiting from your peers !!
Enjoy ELLIS, The World's Premier English Language Learning Solution now available in South America..
Escrito por: Mauricio Jativa
In addition to the capacity for native-speaker modeling, there are several other advantages to using ELL software in the EFL setting:
(1) Students can use technology to access instruction at their own pace and get the one on one attention that they personally need to succeed. As each individual student works at the level of instruction most appropriate to their needs, their attention is held, as the instruction is neither too difficult nor too easy. (2) They can receive personalized, immediate, non-threatening feedback to their answers. Students’ confidence is increased as they can see measurable gains in their quiz and test scores. (3) Practicing speaking first into a computer can be a safe first step in building language production skills. (4) Students can take advantage of a discovery-based approach to learning, where they can actively choose where and how to spend their time learning English. (5) By working in a computer environment, students can develop much needed computer skills to aid them in their future educational and vocational pursuits. (6) Multimedia instruction including video, audio, and colorful graphics help make the language use come alive in a multi-sensory way that helps keeps students attention and is intrinsically pleasurable and rewarding. (7) In addition to on screen feedback, ELL packages often include teacher management systems that allows teachers to monitor student progress and print off reports for students to help build confidence and instill a sense of progress.
In short, the appropriate EFL software can help increase students’ sense of relevance, attention, confidence, satisfaction, and participation. It can also help the teacher provide the one-on-one instruction that is so difficult to achieve in a normal classroom setting, while also providing the benefit of hard to obtain native-speaker instruction and modeling.
All these and more are the different features that teachers around the world can find when using ELLIS, bringing such a great sophisticated technology without doubt will bring the improvement that you are waiting from your peers !!
Enjoy ELLIS, The World's Premier English Language Learning Solution now available in South America..
Escrito por: Mauricio Jativa
Mauricio Jativa wrote : Advanced Technology to Learn English !!
I've done a complete research of the needs of many South American countries where teachers need to use and implement Advanced Technology to improve the way they are teaching English. After my participation as an Lecturer and Speaker in a considerable number of TESOL and TEFl presentations around South America, I have confirmed, that teachers need to update all their teacher skills, so they can satisfy the need of a huge number of executives who need to dominate the language due to their duties.
The demand for Effective English Tecahing facilitites in the region is huge, and it goes hand to hand, with the growth of Globalization in the zone.
Ecuador, simple CAN'T stay aside of this fact, since the real level of English of many English teachers in my country need to be improved!!
Thanks,
Escrito por: Mauricio Jativa
Sunday, March 31, 2002
Mauricio Jativa wrote: " Centros Virtuales de Ingles"
Asi inicio el Centro de Idiomas Intisana
En el 2001, a mi regreso de una actualizacion intensiva en los Estados Unidos para Profesores de Ingles en la Universidad Internacional de la Florida, acepte la propuesta de formar un Centro Virtual de Ingles en el Colegio Intisana que cubra las necesidades de los alumnos del colegio, y al mismo tiempo que ofresca una solucion de capacitacion efectiva para los padres de familia del Colegio ejecutivos de prestigio que en algunos casos requieren practicar, mejorar, o aprender el idioma.
Fue un reto muy interesante ya que en ese momento, no existia en el pais ningun centro digital virtual de Ingles y mucho menos dentro de un centro educativo. La tarea no fue facil pero con mucho optimismo y vision empeze la implemntacion del mismo. Una anecdota muy linda fue cuando en el proceso de implementacion del Centro propuse a las autoridades del Colegio Intisana la posibilidad de que el Centro pueda admitir a estudiantes del Colegio Los Pinos que necesitaban nivelacion por medio de clases extracurriculares los dias sabados, fue una gran bendicion para mi que esa propuesta fue aceptada, y de esta manera muchos alumnos empezaron a recibir los beneficios del Centro.
Al inicio la aceptacion por parte de los alumnos para usar un computador como herramienta para aprender y practicar Ingles fue muy limitada, al tercer mes del arranque de los cursos, la asistencia de los alumnos comenzo a crecer, vi la necesidad de usar un sistema de mercadeo personalizado llamando a los padres de familia para invitarles a tomar los cursos de Ingles en el Centro. Finalmente el numero de alumnos crecio de tal forma que incluso pense que dentro del servicio que ofreciamos; debiamos ofrecer mayores herramientas y complementar con mayor eficacia las clases de Ingles, inmediatamente organize clases de conversacion, usando videos con profesores de Ingles Nativos; la acogida integral que estabamos ofreciendo para ese momento fue tan positiva que pedi a las autoridades del colegio permitirme organizar un refrigerio para los participantes a los cursos, refrigerios que LOS APROVECHAVAMOS AL MAXIMO, pues estableci como regla que todos los alumnos sean del nivel que fueren, hablen en Ingles durante ese tiempo. En este primer articulo deseo con gran alegria compartirles algunas fotos de los inicos del Centro de Idiomas Intisana.
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