After reading this paper, Second Language Socialization in Bilingual Chat Room, I am interested in the issue of code-switching and the construction of group identity.
I agree with the idea that by using the mixed-code expressions and use of code-switching to romanized Canto and English, it distinguishes them and creates an ethnic identity as bilingual Chinese emigrants. “It is with this new identity that the girls speak English on the Internet, not as English-speaking Americans or Cantonese-speaking Chinese.”(Lam 2004)
In my own experience, when I am chatting in English with my Taiwanese friends in MSN, sometimes I will use the mixed-code expressions and use of code-switching between Chinese and English. However, unlike the girls in the paper, which are function-based code-switching such as "open laugh mei" (are you kidding), for me, most of the time the code-switching is inclined to content-based code-switching. Only when I encounter some vocabulary I do not know how to express in English will I code-switch into Chinese. As an English major, after immersing in English literature and culture studies for several years, it seems that there is a new identity growing inside me.
This paper offers the beginning for further research of code-Switching and the construction of group Identity since there are more and more bilingual or even multilingual people growing awound the world.
2008年12月24日 星期三
2008年12月21日 星期日
Does voice chat generate more repair moves?
In the class, Wienie asked the class: Do you agree that that voice chat would generate more repair moves? Why or why not? After recalling back my experience both in voice chat and text chat, I agree that voice chat will generate more repair moves.
In voice chat, due to lack of visual aids, people have to respond to the other based on what they have heard. However, there are several factors which will influence the communication in voice chat. The linguistic factors (e.g. diverse accent, volume, fast rate of speaking, information gap, and incorrectness of pronunciation and language usage), the mechanical factors (e.g. bad connection and interruption), and the mental factors (e.g. distraction and absence of mind) will all confuse the listener and thus break off the conversation. In order to continue the conversation, most people will use repair moves such as confirmation, clarification, clarification check, self-repetition, or paraphrases in order to receive the correct information.
In the text chat, on the other hand, people use less repair moves. With the help of visual aids, people have less problems of linguistic factors. Besides, if they encounter the vocabulary they do not understand, text chat allows people to have more time for thinking, guessing and even looking up the dictionary instead of asking for repair moves.
In the paper Conversations—and Negotiated Interaction– in Text and Voice, the study also suggests that voice chat would generate more repair moves than text chat. Next time if you are in voice chat, you can take notice if you are using repair moves during the conversation.
In voice chat, due to lack of visual aids, people have to respond to the other based on what they have heard. However, there are several factors which will influence the communication in voice chat. The linguistic factors (e.g. diverse accent, volume, fast rate of speaking, information gap, and incorrectness of pronunciation and language usage), the mechanical factors (e.g. bad connection and interruption), and the mental factors (e.g. distraction and absence of mind) will all confuse the listener and thus break off the conversation. In order to continue the conversation, most people will use repair moves such as confirmation, clarification, clarification check, self-repetition, or paraphrases in order to receive the correct information.
In the text chat, on the other hand, people use less repair moves. With the help of visual aids, people have less problems of linguistic factors. Besides, if they encounter the vocabulary they do not understand, text chat allows people to have more time for thinking, guessing and even looking up the dictionary instead of asking for repair moves.
In the paper Conversations—and Negotiated Interaction– in Text and Voice, the study also suggests that voice chat would generate more repair moves than text chat. Next time if you are in voice chat, you can take notice if you are using repair moves during the conversation.
Characteristcs of interaction in text-based online facilities
Online tools can have lots of people at the same time. As a result, it will become very crowded and hard to follow a conversation. Therefore, this paper suggests that the maximum for people chatting at one time in a virtual place is five people. I agree with it. In my experience of interaction in Second life, the maximum for me is three people at the same time. During the chatting, the log chat only shows up for few seconds. If there are too many people chatting at the same time, it is hard for you to focus. What’s more, sometimes you will miss some information and feel distracted by too much information showed at the same moment. This situation also connects to another characteristic of interaction: have little time to formulate the ideas and respond to the partners. During the interaction in the text-based online facility, you only have limited time to organize your thinking and respond the other. Too much information and low speed in response will cause the pressure for fearing to breakdown the conversation. In the psychological aspect, low speed will influence the self-esteem for people do not want to be regarded as slow and dumb.
Another characteristic is that people will use graphical equivalents of facial expressions like smileys during the interaction. It requires deliberate action. For example, when your partner says something funny and interesting, you laugh in front of the computer. Then you would like to let your partner know your feeling so that you will consciously type it out in order to interact with your partner. That is the characteristic I often use during the interaction in the text-based online facility.
Another characteristic is that people will use graphical equivalents of facial expressions like smileys during the interaction. It requires deliberate action. For example, when your partner says something funny and interesting, you laugh in front of the computer. Then you would like to let your partner know your feeling so that you will consciously type it out in order to interact with your partner. That is the characteristic I often use during the interaction in the text-based online facility.
2008年11月4日 星期二
Why do we use stories for teaching?
Verdugo, D. R. & Belmonte, I. A. (2007)
I like to use stories as a teaching resource. There are many advantages. Take my tutor student in senior high school, Ivy, for example. I taught her English with the song "Travelin' Soldier" whose lyrics was a story about the love between a town girl and an American soldier who was going to Vietnam war. The following is the clip and the lyrics:
Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you
Chorus:
I criedNever gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter saidA soldier's coming home
So the letters came from an army camp
From California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heartIt might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
[Chorus]
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
[Thanks to www.azlyrics.com ]
By using a story as a context, the student can contextulize the new language and also can make the context meaningful to her. Because the background of this story is Vietnam war, which is associated with the student's history knowledge. By this story, the student can learn the cultural value and perception from it. Besides, it is the story about love, which is also associated with the adolescent girl's feeling. Therefore, I found that Ivy wasvery interested in the story and was deeply into it.
Because the student is motivated, she will eaily absorb the linguistic forms, grammar, phrases and vocabulary from the story. Besides, the meaningful story can make the student connect what she has learned together.
Besides, in this story, the writer uses some verbal expression, which the student can learn the verbal usage from the story.
In conclusion, using stories for teaching not only enhances student's motivation but also enhances the comprehensive comprehebsion for reading.
I like to use stories as a teaching resource. There are many advantages. Take my tutor student in senior high school, Ivy, for example. I taught her English with the song "Travelin' Soldier" whose lyrics was a story about the love between a town girl and an American soldier who was going to Vietnam war. The following is the clip and the lyrics:
Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you
Chorus:
I criedNever gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter saidA soldier's coming home
So the letters came from an army camp
From California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heartIt might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
[Chorus]
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
[Thanks to www.azlyrics.com ]
By using a story as a context, the student can contextulize the new language and also can make the context meaningful to her. Because the background of this story is Vietnam war, which is associated with the student's history knowledge. By this story, the student can learn the cultural value and perception from it. Besides, it is the story about love, which is also associated with the adolescent girl's feeling. Therefore, I found that Ivy wasvery interested in the story and was deeply into it.
Because the student is motivated, she will eaily absorb the linguistic forms, grammar, phrases and vocabulary from the story. Besides, the meaningful story can make the student connect what she has learned together.
Besides, in this story, the writer uses some verbal expression, which the student can learn the verbal usage from the story.
In conclusion, using stories for teaching not only enhances student's motivation but also enhances the comprehensive comprehebsion for reading.
2008年10月29日 星期三
ICT-Mediated Learning -- reflect on an activity-reflection cycle
ICT-Mediated Learning
An activity-reflection cycle (Richards, 2004; 2005)
After reading this essay, I am interested in the activity-reflection cycle. It is interested that there is the difference of learning between the western countries and the eastern countries. Eastern countries focus on this line: content—process. It should be traced back to the eastern education system. Take Taiwan for example. The education in Taiwan emphasizes on the content of textbooks. The teachers ask the students to memorizing lots of theories, sometimes even cramming the knowledge without digesting it well. Some of the students do not know how to apply what they have learned to practice. Therefore, the knowledge they have learned becomes “dead”. What’s worse, the idea of cramming kills the creativity of students. They fail to think and reflect what they have learned and do further research. That’s why even though we eastern people stand out in the academic Olympic but fail to achieve the Nobel Prize. Another example is English teaching in Taiwan. The teachers focus too much on the grammar and ignore the importance of listening and speaking. Therefore, many students end up learning English for many years but not able to communicate with foreigners. It is such a pity! On the other hand, western countries focus on another line: doing —thinking. The teachers in Western countries encourage creativity. The students are not afraid to ask questions. They have more opportunities to do the projects, which will apply what they have learned and they really absorb the knowledge. That’s what our education should emulate.
An activity-reflection cycle (Richards, 2004; 2005)
After reading this essay, I am interested in the activity-reflection cycle. It is interested that there is the difference of learning between the western countries and the eastern countries. Eastern countries focus on this line: content—process. It should be traced back to the eastern education system. Take Taiwan for example. The education in Taiwan emphasizes on the content of textbooks. The teachers ask the students to memorizing lots of theories, sometimes even cramming the knowledge without digesting it well. Some of the students do not know how to apply what they have learned to practice. Therefore, the knowledge they have learned becomes “dead”. What’s worse, the idea of cramming kills the creativity of students. They fail to think and reflect what they have learned and do further research. That’s why even though we eastern people stand out in the academic Olympic but fail to achieve the Nobel Prize. Another example is English teaching in Taiwan. The teachers focus too much on the grammar and ignore the importance of listening and speaking. Therefore, many students end up learning English for many years but not able to communicate with foreigners. It is such a pity! On the other hand, western countries focus on another line: doing —thinking. The teachers in Western countries encourage creativity. The students are not afraid to ask questions. They have more opportunities to do the projects, which will apply what they have learned and they really absorb the knowledge. That’s what our education should emulate.
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