Reflection on Tutorial Task Week 4/5

For this task, we are asked to choose one article regarding to the checklist for evaluating materials and the article title is “Choosing & Evaluating Textbooks” by Neville Grant.

This is what I can conclude from the lesson:

1. Textbook evaluation is crucial as it gives teachers the opportunity to adjust what they want to distribute to the learners. Different learners require different approaches. Therefore, teachers need to know who their students are, what are their levels what kind of approaches that are suitable for them and so on. From this lesson, I realize that we need to evaluate textbooks or even any materials that we want to adapt in our classroom. This is where we expect the effectiveness of the material or precisely, the textbook.

2. Teachers need to become aware of the range of textbooks and also evaluations available out there. There are abundant textbooks and also evaluations that we can pick and adapt. During this lesson, I realized that there is a need to choose the suitable evaluation checklist in order to end up adopting the right book. There is always a right book for the learners, teachers just need to figure it out.

3. I personally liked the evaluation because it is really easy to use, it is not complicated compared to other checklists. It is also quite moderate and user-friendly in terms of its arrangement. There are also stages where we need to look at the surface, and also in-depth.

There is a lot that we gained from this week lesson as we can apply it later in the future especially the exposure that we get about the importance of textbook evaluation and how to evaluate it critically. Continue reading →

Reflection on Tutorial Task Week 6

For this task, all groups were distributed with different checklist respectively. For our group, we were given Grant's. In completing this task, we were asked to read and internalize how Grant's perspective or point of view in evaluating textbooks and what are the specification he looks for in a textbook. Internalizing Grant's checklist which is Making the most of your Textbook by Neville Grant (Longman 1996), we realized that different people would set different expectation or standard out of a book.

During the presentations from other groups, it is even more clearer that different author would want a different specification in their checklists. Comparing those checklists sometimes can be confusing as most of them are quite useful to be adapted later. However, teachers are the ones who know their students best. Our lecturer once said that we have to make our own justification and comparison in order to take up a textbook to be used in our classroom. Sometimes the checklist can also be useful to measure up contents in book itself. Through the lesson of this week, we also learn that sometimes we need to judge a book by its cover. Especially when we are about to use it with children. Children tend to be attracted to books that will capture their mind, the usage of colours and so on. Some more, when children are the ones who going to use the book itself, we have to consider whether or not the book suitable in the matter of its size, its thickness, its weight and a lot more other justification needs to be considered.

However, comparing our checklist (Grant) with the other groups' such as Byrd, LittleJohn, Cunningsworth, we are glad that Grant can be considered as the most flexible one. There are three stages of evaluation a teacher needs to undergo, and at each stages, there are a set of detailed assessment/judgement a teacher needs to follow up. Grant's checklist is also relevant in terms of its questions. It emphasizes on both big and small matter we should evaluate in a book those which are necessarily need to be minded of.

For our presentation, I can say that.. it is not that we did not do very well but there are parts we were lacking. Based on the comment from our lecturer, it is told that we were a bit off-track. Hehehe. Yes, I admit that we were lacking in putting ourselves in a real teaching experience. Therefore, we cannot relate what we were about to present, with the questionnaire in the checklist. Thus, in the future, we need to internalize what we really about to present, and not just doing it for the sake of presentation but also to understand the underlying concept of a certain topic. This knowledge is important for all of us as we need to apply what we have learned in the future.

Additionally, while working in our group for this task, we realize that each and every one of us have a different perspective. And that different perspective did not turned into an effective collaboration. It should be, but it did not. I can say that we failed in terms of  gathering our opinions into one sort of notion or stand. We should turn it into something that is bold enough as all of us have our own different point of view, however, instead of justifying our personal view, we should come up with one specific group notion. Personally, I think we have learned a lot from this task. Continue reading →

Reflection on Tutorial Task Week 9

In week 9, we are asked to evaluate to which extent does the activity in the textbook portrayed listening process/skills. From what we have gone through, listening process takes up a few stages before one can feedback (respond). There is a need to listen first, understand, remember and evaluate before one can respond. Respond also means that the person has completed the process of listening as he/she would like to give respond/feedback/speak. Through this lesson/tutorial, we as future teachers learnt that in order for a student to be able to respond, he/she must first listen effectively so that they will be able to understand. When they understand, they will be able to remember as they try to recall for information. Next, they will evaluate and compare what they just know with what they have already known. Thus, as future teacher, I am benefited from this task as I realize that listening process is important. Also, I will try to establish an environment or lesson, anything I am able to work for in order to help my students to understand what I (as a teacher) trying to deliver. It also challenges me as a future teacher to think critically (as it develop my own critical thinking) to create an effective listening activities for my students later. Continue reading →

Tutorial Task Week 8: Materials Adaptation

**click here for full view

Continue reading →

Reflection on Tutorial Task Week 2

How does it affect me as a pre-service teacher?

When I was first introduced to this task, I presumed it was quite disfigured. However, with the help of the Jeremy Short's video, and the guidance from the notes as well, I slowly began to gather the info. Through this week's lecture, I have learnt that when we build or create learning materials, there are certain principles that we have to follow. A teacher cannot simply pick a material and not being prepared to teach in the class. He or she needs to pick a suitable material that is able to achieve impact, requires and facilitate learners' self investment, expose learners to language authentically, and many more. To my own preference, this lesson has not just assist us (the future teachers) in some ways but also it has been a good exposure and intro topic for Materials Development.

How does it affect my current level of knowledge?

Previously, I thought there are only certain materials that can be useful for teaching purposes. However, through the exposure of this week's lesson, I found that ALL kind of items, pieces or objects, in fact ANYTHING can be teaching materials depending on how that teacher adjust or develop the material. Some can only be tools if teachers are not inventive and visionary enough to develop the tools into useful teaching materials. For example, before this lesson most of us thought that only certain teaching materials which labelled "teaching aids" or "teaching materials" or anything commonly used by our teachers can be teaching materials or materials for teaching purposes. However, after learning this week's lesson, we have learned the other way around. Good thing is that, when we have material that we want to use for teaching purposes, we have to ask "How do this material help learners to learn the language?"

How can I use that knowledge to improve myself?

I will improve myself in such a way that a teacher should be. Not only act like a teacher but also to challenge myself to think creatively, innovatively, and most importantly, critically. As a teacher in the future, I know that I should surround myself or be familiar with more materials which can be used in my lessons. Continue reading →