1. Second Diary
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Licenciatura en Enseñanza del Ingles
04 de Octubre de 2008
Autor: Eduardo Hernández Rangel
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2. October 4th, 2008
Reflexion on the exam
1. What are the advantages of introducing the
concept of autonomy to language students?
Name as many reasons as you can.
• Practical reasons
• Individual differences
• Language learning aptitudes
• Educational aims
• Motivation
• Learning how to learn foreign languages
• Responsibility in learning process
• Learn self consciously
• Learners needs to be freedom from direction and control of others (self corrections)
• Time
• The growth of technology in education.
• Serves as a focal point for educators to re-conceptualize their roles from humanistic
perspectives (information explosion, rapid increase in the number of people attending
educational institutions)
• Our interest in the world around us.
• Our intrinsic motivation.
• Accepting responsibility for their own learning
• The learner is his own teacher
• His success depends on how motivated and committed he is.
Are the main advantages that involve the concept of autonomy, all of these advantages to permit the
students to concentrate in their goals. In my opinion the best are:
Questions 2008
Practical reasons. Its consists of apply different circumstances that permit to improve the skills in
language learning.
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3. Motivitation. If a student doesn’t have motivation to learn something, it is difficult to have a
effective progress.
Learn how to learn language. We need to discovery how to learn languages and how to make
plan for learning something.
Eduational aids. Now day’s technology permit study as autonomous without the necessity to stay
in a classroom.
Cost. Learning English without invest a lot of money is the easy way for people who doesn`t have
time neither money.
In this question I got 10 points.
2. What personal factors may affect an individual in the process of second language
learning?
To have personal positive motivations for learning languages it is the main factor that permit to the
learner have a significative progress. Ages, needs, time and motivation are the primordial factors
that can produce negative or positive attitudes in our progress. If we are younger, we have the
necessity to learn, we have time and motivation it is present, the acquisition of the language is
faster.
Personality and intelligence. How you are convinced of learning something and what it is the way
that you learn better, are fundamental factors that can improve your skills in language learning.
I got 8 points because I omitted to talk about personality and intelligence.
3. You are working for a private school and are designing a course for adult English
classes or the following semester, Develop a needs analysis questionnaire that will
help you to plan an aspect of your course.
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4. In my questionnaire and my teacher make me some questions about “why too many questions about
technology” I considerate the use of technology, because in these days is a useful tool that permit
increase the acquisition of the language, with the internet now you can practice your reading,
writing through chats, listening through audio and speaking through voice, you can contact a
native speaker and practice a lot. Now we have social networks that permit interact between
too many people and practice and practice.
I got 17 points
4. Write a full explanation of the exact purpose of the questionnaire.
My teacher make me the same question that in the 3rd question “why too many questions about
technology”, the answer was the same but I forgot to explain why, but I insist, it s the best way to
have a extra compensatory strategies for acquire a new language..
I got 8 points
In general I am not happy with this score but I am doing the effort for taking a
higher score. Believe me ;)
October 11th, 2008
International Mextesol
I couldn’t go to the International Mextesol event but undoubtedly next year I am going to be
present.
Questions 2008
October 18th, 2008
Learning styles
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5. The theory of multiple intelligences was
developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard
Gardner, professor of education at
Harvard University. It suggests that the
traditional notion of intelligence, based on
I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr.
Gardner proposes eight different
intelligences to account for a broader range
of human potential in children and adults.
These intelligences are:
• Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
• Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
• Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
• Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
• Musical intelligence ("music smart")
• Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
• Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
• Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")
During the class we answer a question based on these multiple intelligence topic for determine what is our
learning style. My results show that my kinesthetic and visual styles are the strongest.
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6. 5.
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7. 11.
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8. October 25th, 2008
Language learning strategies
According to Oxford (1990) learning strategies are divided
in two main classes, direct and indirect, and these are
subdivided into 6 groups. In Oxford's system,
metacognitive strategies help learners to regulate their
learning. Affective strategies are concerned with the
learner's emotional requirements such as confidence, while
social strategies lead to increased interaction with the
target language. Cognitive strategies are the mental
strategies learners use to make sense of their learning,
memory strategies are those used for storage of
information, and compensation strategies help learners
to overcome knowledge gaps to continue the
communication. Here are the taxonomy of language
learning:
DIRECT STRATEGIES
I. Memory
A. Creating mental linkages
B. Applying images and sounds
C. Reviewing well
D. Employing action
II.Cognitive
A. Practicing
B. Receiving and sending messages strategies
C. Analyzing and reasoning
D. Creating structure for input and output
III. Compensation strategies
A. Guessing intelligently
B. Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing
Questions 2008
INDIRECT STRATEGIES
I. Metacognitive Strategies
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9. A. Centering your learning
B. Arranging and planning your learning
C. Evaluating your learning
II. Affective Strategies
A. Lowering your anxiety
B. Encouraging yourself
C. Taking your emotional temperature
III. Social Strategies
A. Asking questions
B. Cooperating with others
C. Empathizing with others
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10. It is clear that in this graph about my learning strategies, I need to find more opportunities to practice my
skill in a real way. Most of them are almost in the same level. I used them in medium level.
November 1st, 2008
Designing activities for class
Add a Word
Creating sentences
Level Any
Main goals Students practice grammar and syntax.
Language focus Nouns, verbs, adjectives,
prepositions, adverbs, pronoun, conjunction and
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interjection.
PreparationNone
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11. Method: One student begins a sentence by saying only one word. A second student must say a word which
continues the sentence. A third must continue, and so on, until someone says a word that does not fit
syntactically or grammatically. If the sentence comes to a logical end without error, the next student may
say "period" and begin a new sentence with a new word.
The teacher may suggest a topic to get things started. What the students say may also be recorded and
played back, so the class can discuss the error that stopped the sentence.
Example:
Teacher: The topic is 'vacations'.
First student: "My . . ."
Second student: ". . . next"
Third student: ". . . vacations . . ."
Fourth student: ". . . I . . ."
Fifth student: ". . . would . . ."
November 8th, 2008
Feature of language learning
While the information from learning strategy studies
seems to offer opportunities for teachers to help language
learners become more effective learners and more
proficient language users, there remain many problems
which still need to be dealt with, both empirically and
theoretically.
These problems include:
• Disagreement over identification and description
of strategies at a theoretical level
• Diversity among claims for the nature of strategies
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• The essentially descriptive nature of strategy studies so far
• The assumption that there are ‘good’ learning strategies (i.e. more effective, generic/task
independent)
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12. • Possible differences between strategies that are useful, on the one hand, for classroom language
learning, and on the other, for language learning in a naturalistic setting
• The lack of evidence for causal connections between strategy use and language learning
Advantage:
• Contributed to the main goal. Gain the objective of the learners.
• Allow learners to become more self-directed learner. To permit the learner to be more curious and
foment to the learner search their own strategies.
• Expand the role of teacher. Teachers are involved in the learning student’s goals.
• Are specific action taken by the learners. Specific action permit to the learner focus your learning.
November 15th, 2008
Project work and portfolio
During this class we focus on portfolio and project work and discuss about how some partner organize their
activities in class, some of them talk about digital portfolio. Project work helps to increase not only the
language skill but also on how they manage their language. These reasons are:
• It encourages students to focus not only on languages.
• It encourages cooperation between peers.
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• It integrates the language skills
• It creates a real life links with student’s experiences outside the classes.
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13. Portfolio
Portfolios are tools that have been used for a long
time by various professions as a means to
document a person's achievements. Especially by
artists, architects or designers, they collect their
work during years in portfolios. They use them to
show evidence of their best practice, but also to
demonstrate how their skills have developed over
the years as a consequence of their learning.
A portfolio consists of three parts.
• The Language Passport section gives information about a student's proficiency in one or more
languages at given points of time. In this part of the portfolio, students record formal qualifications
and give information about their language competencies. This part of the portfolio can contain
evidence of self assessment, assessment by the teacher and assessment by educational institutions
and examination boards, e.g. international exams such as Cambridge ESOL or Toefl.
• The Language Biography/Guidelines aims to encourage students to get involved in the
planning, reflecting upon and assessing of their own learning process and progress. It gives students
an opportunity to state what they can do in their foreign language(s). In this part of the portfolio,
students can also list and reflect upon important language and intercultural learning experiences, for
example, time they have spent studying abroad, intercultural projects they have taken part in, etc.
• Dossier is a collection of materials and data put together by students to document and illustrate
their proficiency and the learning experiences which are listed and reflected upon in the Language
Passport and the Biography.
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