Teaching writing using Instant Messaging Software Client.docx

1、Teaching writing using Instant Messaging Software ClientTeaching writing using Computer-Mediated Tools in ESL contextApplications of Instant Messaging Software Clients, email and blog on teaching of writing for Malaysian secondary school studentsYUAN SHI ZHAN (G76966)LI XIAO JIA (G73576), JIA FANG Z

2、I (G76934) BAI JIA LE (G76902), HUANG FEI LU (G76932) AbstractReal-time Text and Computer-based Communication System (Instant Messaging Software clients, Email, and blog) has been widely used around the world. The common instant messaging software clients are MSN Live Messenger, ICQ, TencenQQ. Sendi

3、ng email and writing blog are also the daily activities for Netizens. These internet-based tools could not only enable people to communicate with each other freely, but also have wide applications in language teaching and learning. This article will discuss how teachers and students use them to faci

4、litate teaching and learning English writing in an ESL context in Malaysian secondary school, the finding is based on survey. This article will also put forward some new models of teaching and learning English-writing by using “Text-based Networked Communication System” based technology. Keywords: R

5、eal-time Computer-based communication system, enhance communication, application in teaching and learning, ESL context, Malaysia secondary school, new models of English teaching and learning 1 IntroductionComputer mediated tools such as Instant Messaging software (online chatting), online-forum, blo

6、g, and audio-visual conference have widely used in our daily life and they are good ways of communication. According to “Internet World Stat”, (Chan Foong Mae 2002). In Malaysia there are 16.9millions of internet users in 2009 which accounts for 64.6% of its total population (26.1 millions). Interne

7、t has become the main resources for Malaysian to acquire useful information and important tools of social communication. The application of ICT could not only enable students and teachers to get access to all kinds of learning and teaching material and revolutionize the ways of teaching and learning

8、, but also helps Malaysian secondary schools move away from memory-based, teacher-centered learning and teaching to a new model of education that is students-centered and focus on creativity, thinking, and caring, caters to individual differences and learning styles. Instant Messaging software, blog

9、, and email are important applications of ICT, they are intriguing, convenient, and fashionable so a lot young people especially secondary school students extremely love to use them. According to our investigation, all of the school students in 2 different secondary schools in 4 classes often write

10、blog, email, and chat online. So, as English teachers in the Information Age, they must use the latest internet technology to facilitate teaching and students learning to adapt to the changes of the time and meet different requirements of students. This paper will illustrate how secondary school stu

11、dents in two Malaysian secondary schools utilize IM, blog, and email in order to practice their English writing and the English-writing behavior of secondary school students, and what implications could an English teacher get from students writing behavior in order to help students learn English wri

12、ting.2 Literature review2.1 Conventional English Writing ClassAs for English writing, the conventional writing classes are like this: all of the learners usually seated in the physical classroom, the teacher only use chalk and blackboard as teaching aids, and the teacher usually provides guidance fo

13、r the students on the spots within the limited period of teaching hours by passively disseminating and instilling his ideas and all of the important information about the writing task to students, these information include: (1 ) How to understand a question or a topic. (2) The possible train of thou

14、ght for a topic. (3) The material that students could be used to complete the task such as model articles. The teacher will list the useful information and structure of essay on the blackboard. The teacher may only give students a very short time perhaps less than 10 minutes to discuss the topics an

15、d the content of writing task. And also the teacher does not have enough time to answer all of the questions that students asked. Then without effective ideas exchange and abundant discussion the students are given limited time to finish the writing task. When students finish their writing task, the

16、 teacher gives students feedback on their writing by correcting and evaluating students work. We used to be secondary school students in China, and trainee teachers in secondary schools in Malaysia, and we found that the characteristics of the conventional classroom teaching methods are as following

17、:(1) The teacher is the only resource of information for students writing task.(2) Chalk, blackboard and model articles are only teaching aids.(3) Since all of the information and ideas are provided by teacher rather than students themselves, students will have little opportunities to think of their

18、 own opinions and ideas. Their articles are a lack of creativity and novelty.(4) Lack of effective interaction and communication between students and teacher, students and students. (5) Students dont have enough time to read and understand the requirement of writing task, to brainstorm different ide

19、as, to gather their own materials, to organize their thoughts and to plan their writing because students have to finish their writing in a given time usually not more than 40 minutes. (6) The students may feel stressful and boring, since there is not enough interaction, and no activities could be ar

20、ranged to make teaching interesting. (7) The classroom environment are not conductive to new ideas, for some students, they are afraid of voicing their ideas in the classroom environment due to the harsh classroom management methods manipulated by the teacher. The students are afraid of making mista

21、kes and getting the penalty when they speak out their ideas. (8) Teaching and learning only happen in the classroom, teachers do not make good use of students spare time. 2.2 English writing class using computer-mediated toolIt is not exaggerated to say that the advent of computer and internet has r

22、evolutionized the language learning and teaching. Nowadays computer and internet-based technology such as multimedia and computer-mediated communication, have allowed language learners and educators to do more than in the past. As Kern (1995, p.457) puts “computer networks, both local and worldwide,

23、 provide possibilities for new interpersonal contacts and communicative engagement among language learners as they explore the target language”, however, not only the learners and teachers are connected in this information age, but everything and everybody is connected by the internet. Teachers and

24、students teaching and learning material, different ideas and opinions-everything are in this magic web. As Daniel Linder (2004) puts in his paper, the internet offers five basic possible for networking English classroom: 1) Real-time communication with other network users (using internet as a teleph

25、one or video conferencing device, internet chat and others). 2) Deferred-time communication with other network users (email, mailing lists, newsgroup and others). 3) Source of information (text, image, voice, sound). 4) Outlet for publication (text, images, voice, sound). 5) Distance teaching/learni

26、ng. In the process of language teaching and learning, the internet serves as one of the most important instructional technology for the communication between teachers and students, students and students. The internet based communication could either be in the form of real-time (synchronized) such as

27、 online chatting, online video conference, or in the form of deferred time (asynchronies) such as blog, email. The Internet based communication technology allows the language teaching and learning not only happen in the classroom, but in fact, with the help of the latest computer and network technol

28、ogy, teaching and learning has go beyond the boundary and limitations of time and space, and long-distance education methods (video conferencing) allow students in the mountain and rural areas have the equal accessibility and opportunity to receive high quality education which was once only enjoyed

29、by the students in the urban areas, and as long as you search the internet you can find enormous teaching and learning material of any subject, and you can also watch online video record at anytime. So the teaching and learning could happen at anywhere and anytime as long as you have internet availa

30、bility. Based on the widely applications of computer and internet technology we have lots of new notions and models on language learning and teaching methods, according to Wikipedia (2008) nowadays we have E-learning, Distance education, Computer-based Learning, Computer-supported Collaborated Learn

31、ing (CSCL), Technological Enhanced Learning (TEL), in addition the Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL), Computer-assisted Language Leaching (CALT) are also what we often heard. There is no doubt that the computer-mediated tools such as online chatting, blog and Email could also be used in pro

32、cess of teaching of writing. The advantages of the computer-mediated tools in teaching of writing are as following:(1) The instruction and learning process could happen at anytime and anywhere as long as we have internet accessibility. And the students are no need to go the classroom, they can study at home. (2) Students can communicate with teacher and other students through online instant messaging software, blog and email. They can share and exchange their ideas about the content of their writing as well as the writing strategies. (3) The students could also be able to gath