ORIGINAL VERSION:
Lesson Plan. (Teaching
Reading in English For Intermediate Student).
Standard or Form:
Form 3 (24 Students)
Language Skill:
Reading.
Level of Students:
Mid Intermediate.
Time allocated:
2 periods. (80 Minutes.)
General Objectives: At
the end of the lesson, student will be able to:
1.
To skim English text.
2.
To read with intonations.
3.
To comprehend reading skills.
Values:
•
Allow student to gain new knowledge
•
Teach student to be a good reader
•
Enhance student reading skills and self confidence
•
Build student interest in reading comprehensively
Materials required for lesson:
Computer or laptop or any other electronic devices that connected to the
internet. Website used:
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/reading/summarising/quiz/q90744486/
Procedures:
Steps
|
Activities
|
Rationale
|
Time
|
Introduction
|
The class begin with the recitation of Surah al-
Fatihah and greetings.
|
·
To
teach manners.
·
To
create a positive intimacy between students and teacher.
|
1 minutes
|
Lesson
Period 1
|
Activity
1:
-The teacher will open the website (KS3: Bitesize).
-The teacher will divide the students into 4
groups.
|
·
To
assist teacher in teaching students about skimming and scanning.
·
To
expose students about the topics.
|
4 minutes
|
-The teacher will explain in details about
skimming and scanning.
|
·
To
give a clear view to students about skimming and scanning.
|
10 minutes
|
|
-For the first question, teacher will ask each
group to find answers in paragraph. Each group must provide different answer.
-This activity requires students to skim the text
to find answer by searching keywords.
|
·
To
enhance student skills in skimming and scanning.
|
5 minutes
|
|
-The next question requires students to identify
the topic sentence.
|
·
To
make students clearly understand on what they need to do next, this requires
them to find a topic sentence.
|
5 minutes
(Briefing)
|
|
-First, the teacher will explain and give example
on
how to identify topic sentence using the paragraph
provided by the website.
- Next, the teacher will ask one group to read the
paragraph out loud and identify the topic sentence.
|
5 minutes
|
||
-Moving
to the next part, teacher will explain briefly on how to scan a text.
|
·
To
make sure that the students understand on how to scan a text.
|
2 Minutes
|
|
- The next activity requires students to read the
paragraph provided.
-The teacher will assign one group to complete the
task.
- The group will
choose one out of three answers given.
-The exercise will be
repeated for the next two remaining groups.
|
·
To
ensure that students completely comprehend the technique of scanning text.
|
5
minutes
(Per group)
|
|
Period 2
|
-The teacher will ask
the students to open the computer and go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/reading/summarising/quiz/q90744486/
-This activity will require students to do the
activity individually.
|
·
The
teacher will make sure the students will go through the process of trial and
error.
|
2 Minutes
|
-The website will
provide ten questions based on 5 short paragraphs.
-The teacher will
give students 20 minutes minimum to complete the questions.
-During the process,
the teacher will monitor the class and provide assistance if needed.
-Students need to
click on “check score” button to view their overall scores.
|
20 Minutes
|
||
Evaluation
|
-The teacher will
check each students overall scores and evaluate their performance.
-The teacher will put
more concerns towards student who got scored less than 5 out of 10.
|
·
The
teacher will make sure the students will go through the process of trial and
error.
|
4 minutes
|
Recap
|
-The teacher will
revise briefly about today’s lesson on skimming and scanning.
|
4 Minutes
|
|
Conclusion
|
-The teacher will
open a brief questions and answers session.
-The class ends with
the recitation of Tasbih Kafarah and Surah Al- Asr
|
-
To
make sure students clearly understand
today’s lesson
|
3 Minutes
|
Reflection
|
CORRECTED VERSION:
Standard or Form:
Form 3 (24 Students)
Language Skill:
Reading.
Level of Students:
Mid Intermediate.
Time allocated:
2 periods. (80 Minutes.)
Theme: Just For Fun
General Objectives: At
the end of the lesson, student will be able to:
1.
To skim English text.
2.
To read with intonations.
3.
To comprehend reading skills.
Values:
•
Allow student to gain new knowledge
•
Teach student to be a good reader
•
Enhance student reading skills and self confidence
•
Build student interest in reading comprehensively
Materials required for lesson:
Computer or laptop or any other electronic devices that connected to the
internet. Website used:KS3 Bitesize (click both links below)
Procedures:
Steps
|
Activities
|
Rationale
|
Time
|
Introduction
|
The class begin with the recitation of Surah al-
Fatihah and greetings.
|
·
To
teach manners.
·
To
create a positive intimacy between students and teacher.
|
1 minutes
|
Lesson
Period 1
|
Activity
1:
-The teacher will open the website (KS3: Bitesize).
-The teacher will divide the students into 4
groups.
|
·
To
assist teacher in teaching students about skimming and scanning.
·
To
expose students about the topics.
|
4 minutes
|
-The teacher will explain in details about
skimming and scanning.
|
·
To
give a clear view to students about skimming and scanning.
|
10 minutes
|
|
-For the first question, teacher will ask each
group to find answers in paragraph. Each group must provide different answer.
-This activity requires students to skim the text
to find answer by searching keywords.
|
·
To
enhance student skills in skimming and scanning.
|
5 minutes
|
|
-The next question requires students to identify
the topic sentence.
|
·
To
make students clearly understand on what they need to do next, this requires
them to find a topic sentence.
|
5 minutes
(Briefing)
|
|
-First, the teacher will explain and give example
on
how to identify topic sentence using several paragraphs
provided on the website.
- Next, the teacher will ask one group to read the
paragraph out loud and identify the topic sentence.
|
To make sure the students understand the exercise by answering several more.
|
5 minutes
|
|
-Moving
to the next part, teacher will explain briefly on how to scan a text.
|
·
To
make sure that the students understand on how to scan a text.
|
2 Minutes
|
|
- The next activity requires students to read the
paragraph provided.
-The teacher will assign one group to complete the
task.
- The group will
choose one out of three answers given.
-The exercise will be
repeated for the next two remaining groups.
|
·
To
ensure that students completely comprehend the technique of scanning text.
|
5
minutes
(Per group)
|
|
Period 2
|
-The teacher will ask
the students to open the computer and go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/reading/summarising/quiz/q90744486/
-This activity will require students to do the
activity individually.
|
·
The
teacher will make sure the students will go through the process of trial and
error.
|
2 Minutes
|
-The website will
provide ten questions based on 5 short paragraphs.
-The teacher will
give students 20 minutes minimum to complete the questions.
-During the process,
the teacher will monitor the class and provide assistance if needed.
-Students need to
click on “check score” button to view their overall scores.
|
20 Minutes
|
||
Evaluation
|
-The teacher will
check each students overall scores and evaluate their performance.
-The teacher will put
more concerns towards student who got scored less than 5 out of 10.
|
·
The
teacher will make sure the students will go through the process of trial and
error.
|
4 minutes
|
Recap
|
-The teacher will
revise briefly about today’s lesson on skimming and scanning.
|
4 Minutes
|
|
Conclusion
|
-The teacher will
open a brief questions and answers session.
-The class ends with
the recitation of Tasbih Kafarah and Surah Al- Asr
|
-
To
make sure students clearly understand
today’s lesson
|
3 Minutes
|
Reflection
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION(CMC)
TASK 1
Title:
Towards the Refinement of Forum and Asynchronous Online Discussion in
Educational Contexts Worldwide: Trends and Investigate Approaches within a
Dominant Research Paradigm
Author:
Michael Loncar, Neil E. Barrett, Gi-Zen Liu
Journal:
Computer & Education. 73 (2014). 93-110.
URL:
From Academia.edu site
http://www.academia.edu/5406584/Towards_the_refinement_of_forum_and_asynchronous_online_discussion_in_educational_contexts_worldwide_Trends_and_investigative_approaches_within_a_dominant_research_paradigm
Purpose of Study:
·
To collect, evaluate
and synthesize data
·
To concentrate
on how the literature is reacting to the changes in classroom and educational activity
based on online discussion
·
To present a general
idea of the research contexts
Research Questions:
·
What are the contemporary
trends in research types, contexts, and platforms for research focusing on
forum and AOD in educational contexts?
·
What study
approaches and paradigms are currently rising in research focusing on forum and
AOD in educational contexts?
Sampling:
·
Corpus of 43
journal papers organized by investigative impulse (Author, Title and Year;
Academic Level and Discipline; Self-reported Research Goal; and Self-reported
Research Outcomes) based from 9 of the most influential e-learning education
and educational review journals published from 2008 to 2012.
·
The selection of
papers based on Wu et al. (202) done by 3 teachers or lecturers with 5 years of
experience using forum and Asynchronous Online Discussion
Methodology:
· Phenomenological
review method
·
Identified
phenomenon under focus: forum and online discussion academic contexts
·
Bracketed
experiences of using forum
·
Collected all
data/corpus focuses on the phenomenon under examination: forum and online
discussion in educational contexts
·
Identified
meaningful statements and themes
·
Attempted to give
“meaning”, “context”, and to critiques these meaningful statements and themes
· Search
strategies
·
Using key words:
forum, threaded discussion and threaded chat
·
Studies for this
review collected based from 3 important factors that resulted to 84 papers:
1.
Academic
journals that easily to find via ISI web of Knowledge or WOK database.
2. Thomson
Reuters (2013) stated to include important and major journals in the field of
e-learning education and educational review with the high IMPACT FACTOR (IF) in
the 2013 Journal Citation Reports
3. The
journal must be worth 20 years of publication history
· Data coding and
analysis
·
Based from the
research methodology of Wu et al.’s (2012) in the article stated that 9
features were identified after several discussion and consultations between the
three researchers. The corpus was coded in order to gain the whole view of the
forum and AOD which are;
1.
Research site by
country and area
2.
Forum platform
(open source web/LMS/CMS)
3.
Academic
contexts from school and university
4.
Academic discipline
5.
Delivery method
either DISTANCE or BLENDED and
6.
Mobile or
ever-present online discussion/forum
· Quantified
research types
·
Identify rising
THEMES contextualized as impulse
1.
Argumentative
impulse
2.
Comparative
impulse
3.
Relational
impulse
4.
Analytical
impulse
Instruments for Data
Gathering:
·
ISI web of
Knowledge(WOK) database
Instruments for Data
Analysis:
·
Consultations
between the three teachers/lecturers based from the criteria of Wu et al.
(2012)
Findings:
·
The result shows
7 type of results which are based on:
1. Distribution
of forum platforms
2. Distribution
of academic context
3. Academic
discipline
4. Delivery
method
5. Research
site by region
6. Research
papers per journal and
7. Number
of papers per year
·
The result of
the study shows that most online forum discussions were carried out through or
on LMS platforms. Most AOD research in educational contexts from the year 2008
to 2012 was carried out through Learning Management System (LMS) platforms in
university settings with blended learning dominating distance learning contexts.
·
The AOD in
school (Primary & Secondary) and university (Undergraduate &
Postgraduate) context and courses has brought in an increasing part on
literature that provides helpful approaches in the issues regarding the use of
online writing, discussion, and distance and blended learning in formal
education worldwide.
Comments:
Based from this
research, it can be seen that:
·
The non-academic
AOD may also be able to be seen as similar to the result as it gives a growing
insight in discussion towards certain issue or topic in a forum.
·
The Quantified
research shows several THEMES or impulse that occurred in a forum discussion or
AOD that can also be seen outside of education context
·
From this
article, it can be seen that the cohesiveness in a forum discussion between the
students and the teacher or lecturer can help to grow their sense to
communicate that they may fail to do in class. Similar to non-academic purposes
as a person may feel burden to find a person that understand about a certain
topic and forum is one of the way tofind solution or asking opinion.
·
Thus, as it work
successfully in school or university surroundings; it may also give the same
result for the non-academic AOD. It also
points out to discuss a certain topic or issue and the cohesiveness of their
conversation that can be seen from that discussion.
TASK 1I
___________________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
As was mentioned
by Herring, Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is a communication which
takes place between human beings via the instrumentality of computers. It means
that, any attempts of communication between human beings through the computer
and the internet are considered as (CMC). It became significant nowadays
because of its widespread usage in today’s teaching and learning process. This research paper will be analyzing on
forum, one of the social network sites which is widespread used by people
nowadays. Besides that, it is one of two basic form of (CMC), which is
asynchronous.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to identify the existence of
cohesiveness within the posts in an online forum. Cohesiveness here refers to
one aspect of Halliday’s textual metafunction: theme and rheme. Using this
guideline, we will trace the elements of cohesivenss in our corpus.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to find ways on how to apply the
aspect of cohesiveness for educational purposes. We believe that the
incorporation of textual metafunction in discussions; not only applicable
within an online forum but in a classroom as well; can help to enhance the
students’ learning process.
METHODOLOGY
This
study gathers forums conversation from the internet in order to analyse the
text from the forum’s conversation. By using Halliday’s textual metafunction
framework, this study specifically attempts to analyze the text using the
account of theme and rheme. These include in analysing the text by looking at
the relevancy of the text, the parallelism between the conversations, and to
identify the types of sentence used in the forum’s conversation.
Other than that, this study will also consider
to analyze the particular textual component such as looking at the
characteristics of the text, the attachment of the one’s emotion and intention
in the text. The attempt in analyzing the text are done manually using one of
the journal article titled “Towards the Refinement of Forum and Asynchronous
Online Discussion in Educational Contexts Worldwide: Trends and Investigate
Approaches Within a Dominant Research Paradigm” by Michael Loncar, Neil E.
Barrett, Gi-Zen Liu as a guide to identify the result and findings.
Sample
The Corpus or the
sample that was used in this paper is a forum which was taken from the gadget
and technology forum entitled ChromeBook or Laptop? This forum discuss on the
differences between ChromeBooks and laptops and the other things related to
computer devices. Other than that, this forum consists of 25 discussions or
dialogues between people and it is around 5 pages long. The corpus was chosen
due to the following reasons:
1.
It
is an online forum.
2.
It
is thematic, topic centered (electronic devices and gadgets).
3.
It
has sufficient amount of data.
4.
Do
not have obscene words.
As for the journal article, we have chosen a journal entitled “Towards the Refinement of Forum and
Asynchronous Online Discussion in Educational Contexts Worldwide: Trends and
Investigate Approaches Within a Dominant Research Paradigm”
by Michael Loncar, Neil E. Barrett, Gi-Zen Liu.
The reasons why we chose this article are:
1. It was published after the year 2010.
2. It is relevant with our topic of discussion, mainly about
asynchronous CMC.
3. It gives insight on how forum and asynchronous online discussion
were used in educational environment.
Framework
The framework that
was used in this paper is based on Hallidays Textual Metafunction: Theme and
Rheme. The textual metafunction can be defined as “creating relevance to
context” and it was mentioned by Halliday, (1994:36). Halliday had
characterized the textual metafunctions into two categories which are Theme and
Rheme.
Theme play the most crucial role in focusing and organizing the
message and theme is the one that determine the coherence and the success of
the message as was argued by Martin (1992b). Rheme can be said as everything
that is not included in a Theme. As was mentioned by Halliday (1994:37), Rheme
is the part of the clause where the theme is developed. So, by analyzing the
text using theme and rheme as a framework; we can identify cohesiveness within
multiple posts in a forum or the opposite.
Method
The corpus was analyzed using the
framework of Halliday’s textual metafunction: theme and rheme. After the
analysis has been made, the corpus was divided into their respective posts. The
posts were then labeled into two categories:
1.
Either Cohesive
or non-cohesive between two different posts.
2.
Either Cohesive
or non-cohesive within one post.
The criteria for it to
be cohesive would be:
1. Whether the Theme of a new post was related to the Rheme of the
posts that preceded it. If yes, those posts were considered cohesive between
two different posts.
2. Whether the Theme of a new sentence within the exact same post was
related to the Rheme of the sentence before it. If yes, those sentences were
considered cohesive within one post.
From these labels, the
number of data received was calculated and the results were analyzed and
discussed.
The
journal article that we have chosen was summarized. The summarized information
was then incorporated into our research in the literature review section.
Literature Review
The rise of technology can be seen clearly as
today it become bigger than before. Communication between two people in
different places becomes easier as chat and forums can get both easier to
communicate. Forum, known as asynchronous CMC is one type of communication that
one can communicate with different people in a group based on certain topic.
One article that can be use as the essence of this paper is the article title “Towards
the Refinement of Forum and Asynchronous Online Discussion in Educational
Contexts Worldwide: Trends and Investigate Approaches Within a Dominant
Research Paradigm”by Michael Loncar, Neil E. Barrett and Gi-Zen Liu (2013).
This article looks upon the asynchronous online discussion in education based
level that can be use as a reference in this paper. In addition to this
article, the understanding of textual metafunctions also included based from
Halliday’s hypothesizes. The article title “Aspects of Theme and Their Role
in Workplace Texts” are used to understand the purpose of textual
metafunction.
Forum
exist not only in general discussion of non-educational contexts, it is also
proof to be essential to the students. Loncar, Barrett and Gi-Zen Liu (2013)
stated that “the growth of asynchronous online discussion (AOD) in primary,
secondary, undergraduate, and post graduate contexts and courses has resulted
in a growing body of literature that provides valuable insights into the issues
surrounding the use of online writing, online discussion and distance and
blended learning in formal educational worldwide”. (p.1). Based from this, not
only it is best used for educational purposes; it also helps to give more
interaction than face-to-face communication.
It
is normal for some people give their thoughts and ideas in certain topic and
some are just posting comments not according to the topic. In forum discussion,
it is always occur that some will open a new topic inside an intended topic of
a forum. This leads to the lack of cohesiveness in the discussion. In order to
understand the cohesiveness of forum discussion in certain topic, the
identification of textual features is needed. According to Halliday (1994),
textual metafunction looks upon the sentence creating relevance to context or
the other way around.
Looking
back on the intended empirical research article, the research on asynchronous
online discussion, educational forum can be seen as asynchronous textual
communicational tool that largely used to go deeper into a course subject
(Gerosa, Filippo, Pimentel, Fuks and Lucena’s, 2010, p. 528). From this, it can
be understand that similar purpose can be put in the context of non-educational
forum discussion as it also focus on similar topic that later involve in a
textual communication tool.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.
Is
there any cohesiveness in an online forum?
2.
Why
is it important to have cohesiveness when communicating?
3.
How
can this cohesiveness be used for educational purposes?
4.
Are
there differences between communicating through CMC and face to face
conversation?
FINDINGS
The topic of cohesiveness in communication, albeit
computer-mediated or face to face can be deemed as broad. Nonetheless, this
paper will focus more on the idea of relevance and continuity within the
context chosen. In order to do that, this paper emphasizes and provide example
on two different level of cohesiveness: Cohesiveness and Non-cohesiveness
between posts, cohesiveness and non-cohesiveness within a post.
Cohesiveness between two different posts
The cohesiveness
between posts can be determined by looking at the theme of the sentence and the
rheme that precedes it. Through this notion, if the theme of a new post in the
forum does have a link with the previous rheme, it can be counted as cohesive.
Examples of cohesive posts:
1.
(a)
I don’t know a lot about Chromebook or Laptops what is the
difference?
T R
(b) Laptops with windows Chromebook with
google chrome OS
T
R T R
2.
(a) The
reason I mentioned Macbook’s is because they have excellent battery
life,
T R
(b) If we rule the battery out, the OS is just as
good and easy as Ubuntu or Mint.
T R
3.
(a) Chromebook is like a laptop totally controlled
by Google. Better go for a laptop
T R
T R
or Mac instead.
R
(b) How is that different than a Mac totally
controlled by Apple, or a laptop totally
T R
T
controlled by Windows?
R
All three examples show the continuation from one rheme with the
theme within the next post. In example (1a), the first sender ask question of
the difference between a Chromebook and a laptop. Hence, we can say that the
question posed is the rheme of that sentence. The reply that he received from
the next person indeed explained about the differences between the two. In the
sentence (1b), both laptop and Chromebook are changed as the theme. Example 2
and 3 are conceptually the same except that the theme and rheme are “battery
life” and “Mac (referring to a Macbook)” respectively.
Non-Cohesiveness between two different posts
Supposedly, the
theme and the rheme must have a connection in order for it to be cohesive.
However, like any other means of communication, miscommunication is likely to
occur. Hence all posts in the forum do not necessarily be considered as
cohesive even when the people involved were discussing about the same topic or
issue. This is because what matters is the notion of whether the rhemes and the
themes act continuously. Examples of non-cohesive posts would be:
1.
(a) Also,
I am looking for a new laptop or a chromebook or maybe stretch to a Mac
T R
for me to do 6th form work on uni work on,
R
(b) I had a chromebook briefly. It wasn’t
bad but was limited in what I could do.
T R T R
(c) I think laptop is better
T R
2.
(a) I
don’t know a lot about Chromebook or Laptops what is the difference?
T R
(b) imo theres a huge difference
T R
Both of these
examples show the discontinuation of context. That is because the theme in
sentences (1b), (1c) and (2b) do not comply with the rheme of the preceding
those sentences. Although some posts seem to be discussing the same issue,
there are posts that are not cohesive due to the distortion of the theme.
Cohesiveness within a post
Cohesiveness was
not only detected between two different posts. They are also several cases that
cohesiveness does apply from two different sentences within the similar post by
one sender. For instance:
1.
And if you don’t mind refurb, check out dell outlet business laptop. They provide
3
T R T
R
year warranty.
R
2.
I almost
always recommend Macbook’s for students. They have great battery
life,
T R T R
From the two
examples provided, cohesiveness can be identified from the usage of pronoun
“they” as the theme. The pronoun “they” in both sentences refer to Dell outlet
business laptop and Macbook that has been mentioned as the rheme of the
preceding sentence respectively. Thus, it is said that both of these sentences
are in fact cohesive.
Non-cohesiveness within a post
Similarly, the
corpus also shows signs of non-cohesiveness within a post. This happens when
the theme of the following sentence does not link with the rheme of the one
preceding it. For instance:
1.
I’ll give you
a reason why you should use a windows laptop for teaching. Macs are
T R T
POWERFUL machines mostly used for video editing,
R
2.
I don’t think
Mac are easier than Windows though, I for example have tried a
few
T R
T R
times OSX and
to be honest I’m a little lost sometimes.
R T R
These examples
signified that cohesiveness do not necessarily exist between two sentences
within a post in an online forum. Thus, the information or the context can be
seen as distorted since the cohesiveness is lost in translation.
Through Halliday’s
framework, the result of the findings can be constructed as such:
Table 1. Between two different posts (exclude the first post since
none is preceding it)
Numbers of
posts
|
|
Cohesive
|
20
|
Non-cohesive
|
3
|
Total
number of posts
|
23
|
Table 2. Within a post (not applicable to sentences with one theme
and rheme in a post)
Number of
posts
|
|
Cohesive
|
13
|
Non-cohesive
|
8
|
Total
number of posts
|
21
|
Evidently, it can be said that cohesiveness does exist in an online
forum. Although non-cohesiveness can also be detected in the corpus that has
been chosen, they did not supersede the existence of cohesiveness.
DISCUSSION
Based on the
findings, few possible questions arise. Is it important to have cohesiveness
while communicating? What is the importance of cohesiveness in communication?
How can the element of cohesiveness be used for educational purposes thus
enhance learning? Are there any differences between using online forum and face
to face conversation? All these questions will be discussed in this section.
Is it important to have cohesiveness while communicating?
First
and foremost, is cohesiveness important in a communication? To answer this question,
we should back track to what had been said by the prominent scholar of
functional grammar. According to Halliday (1994), textual
metafunction looks upon the sentence creating relevance to context or the other
way around. Here, Halliday focused on the context of relevance and did mention
the usage of textual metafunction for this matter. Based on this notion, we can
deduce that cohesiveness, being a component of textual metafuntion, is indeed
important to provide the aspect of relevance while communicating. Without any
aspect of relevance, the strings of sentences would have been a series
discontinued information.
What is the importance of cohesiveness
in communication?
While
communicating or discussing a certain issue, cohesiveness acts as a tool for a
continuation of information. In this case, it supports the argument that one
brings into the discussion. A great example would be:
I almost always
recommend MacBook’s for students. They have a great battery life, the OS is
easy to use, less likely to get viruses or malware,
Here,
we can see a user by the name WRXGuy1 chipped in the idea that MacBook produced
by Apple software is a good choice for a laptop. He then defended his argument
with the advantages that a MacBook might have. Notice that, he presented his
idea by linking the theme with the rheme of the sentence that precedes it.
MacBook was changed as “They” in the next sentence. Due to this, we can infer
that the second sentence supports the idea of the sentence before it. Thus,
they create a smooth flow of information.
Another importance of cohesiveness would be to
bring about relevance into the discussion. Those that are considered as
non-cohesive can be considered to be irrelevant in the forum. For instance:
1.
I
dont know alot about ChromeBooks or Laptop what is the difference?
2.
imo
theres a huge difference
If we look at these two different
posts, we can notice the existence of irrelevance. That is because the second
person did not really answer the question of “what” that has been posted by the
first sender. Instead, the sender merely replied that there is indeed a major
difference between a Chromebook and laptop. The relevance is lost since the
elements of “theme” and “rheme” in the two posts have no link. Hence, sentences
must be cohesive to be considered as relevant.
How can the element of cohesiveness and
asynchronous CMC be used for educational purposes?
From
the results in findings, it can be hypothesized that if the students follow the
pattern of cohesiveness, the arguments that the students bring into discussion
will be more concrete and relevant. This allows the students to provide more
meaningful ideas into the discussion without being deviated from the main
topic. Why would this be important for students? From our point of view, this
exercise can help the students to think more critically. The students would
have to generate not only opinions but ideas with substance by using the
pattern of theme and rheme.
In
the argument of whether asynchronous CMC should be used in learning process, it
is clarified that most universities in Europe and Asia include an online forum
discussion while using the university’s Learning Management System as their
platforms (Loncar, Garrett, & Gi-Zen Liu, 2013). The reason for that would
be the expansion of the internet that we have today. The internet provides an
alternative for students and teachers which do not require both parties to meet
in order to exchange ideas. Hence, people nowadays resorted to the much simpler
option. Due to that, it is advisable to apply the usage of asynchronous CMC for
educational purposes. Nonetheless, it should be supervised by their
instructors.
Are there any differences between
using online forum and face to face conversation?
Differences
between using online forum and face to face conversation are numerous. This is
due to the fact that both means of communication occur in a very different
setting. The former happens virtually without time limitations whereas the
latter is very direct and requires feedback almost instantly.
Having no time constraint gives an
advantage to the internet users. This is because they have sufficient time to
construct their thoughts and to collect evidences before answering questions
that had been posted. By doing that, the posts that were published are more
likely to be more cohesive and relevant. Plus, the addition of links to a
website might make an argument more concrete. That is because the website link
shows that the person indeed have a solid evidence rather than talking
gibberish. However, the website must contain truthful data rather than a faux.
If the data received is not authentic, it jeopardize the reliability of the
user.
Other than that, notice how the
online forum allows the users to communicate with strangers. The advantage of
this would be that the users can listen to other people’s opinion and see their
perception on certain issue. Being brought up in different environment would
definitely give people different perception on things. Nonetheless, the users
can voice out their opinion since they are included in the community of online
forum member. Moreover, online forum gives the introverts a chance to voice out
their thought. These introverts might have difficulty to talk face to face due
to certain anxiety. However, the online forum can discard that anxiety since
they do not have to speak with others face to face online.
In an education setting, online
forum provide students with time to gather all the data needed to make
discussion with others. The data is really needed for the students to provide
substantial evidence. Plus, it can be done outside the classroom since it does
not have to be conducted face to face. Hence, the debate will not obstruct
lessons in the class. As for the introverts, online forum can help them to
express their thoughts. Anything that they might feel shy to speak in the class
can be conveyed through the online forum. In a sense, the teacher can assess
the introvert’s performance through the discussions in the LMS.
Based on the results that we have
accumulated, it can be hypothesized that cohesiveness do exists within an
online forum. The data on the cohesiveness between two different posts proves
our hypothesis. Based on the high number of cohesiveness, we can say that
people have the tendency to give ideas within a specific topic. However, we can
see that not all of these posts are cohesive within their respective post. This
shows their incompetency of coming up with a solid arguments. Hence, students
should be made aware of this technique in order to answer exam questions. If
the cohesiveness is lost within the process, examiners might lose interest to
read the answers given.
Conclusion
The results of
this study are, of course, limited by the size of corpus
that have been chosen and analysed for this paper. The small scale corpus
cannot define the overall competency of the internet users. Through the data,
it can be concluded that cohesiveness do exist in an online forum and it can be
incorporated for educational purposes. Teachers and instructors can take note
of this so that the performance of their students can be improved probably
through such exercise on an online forum. Further study must be conducted in
order to validate the relationship between cohesiveness and students’
performance.
Bibliography
ChromeBook
or Laptop? (2014, Jan 14). Computer Forum.
Forey,
Gail (2002). Definition and Identification of Theme. Aspects of Theme and their
Role in Workplace Texts. International Systemic Functional Linguistics
Association. Chapter 3 46-89.
Retrieved from http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/ForeyThesis/
Loncar,
M., Barrett, N.E., & Liu, G. (2013). Towards the Refinement of Forum and
Asynchronous Online Discussion in Educational Contexts Worldwide: Trends and
Investigative approaches within a dominant research paradigm. Computers
& Education. 73 (2014) 93-110.
and_asynchronous_online_discussion_in_educational_contexts_worldwide_Trends_and_ investigative_approaches_within_a_dominant_research_paradigm
APPENDIX
RAW DATA
Title : ChromeBook or
Laptop?
Date : 14th
January 2014
Source : http://www.computerforum.com/226711-chromebook-laptop.html
Sender
|
Posts
|
MrZand5
|
Hello,
I dont know alot about ChromeBooks or Laptops what is the difference? Also I am looking for a new laptop or a chromebook or maybe stretch to a Mac for me to do 6th form work on and uni work on, I will needing at least 1TB and 4 to 8 GB of Ram but I don't know what is good for my money as im a Desktop guy but my school wants me to have a personal laptop so I can do work in my free lessons without being at a school computer. I am willing to spend up to £500 to £600 Thanks Zach (I am in the UK so need UK prices) |
daisymtc
|
Laptop with windows
Chromebook with google chrome OS Personally don't see the point of Chromebook at the moment. And I don't see 1TB HDD necessary. You can always get an external HDD for your music/ video/ photo. Here are few laptop you can consider (based on spec) Gaming http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOV...3_1492687.html http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOV...2_1533701.html Touchscreen http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOV...2_1507572.html http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenov...FQsKwwodGUsA9g And if you don't mind refurb, check out dell outlet business laptop. They provide 3 year warranty. Look for 3rd/ 4th gen i5 or i7 |
imsati
|
Chromebooks arr great for people who
do 9/10th's of their normal usage stuff on the web. They have small Drives to
store stuff locally, but everything on the system is web-based (even the OS).
|
zeppelin04
|
I had a chromebook briefly. It wasn't bad but was limited
in what I could do. I really only used it to watch netflix and go online.
Couldn't do much else with it. I soon replaced it with a macbook.
|
kiarahtruger
|
Chromebook
is like a laptop totally controlled by Google. Better go for a laptop or Mac
instead.
|
WRXGuy1
|
How
is that different than a Mac totally controlled by Apple, or a laptop totally
controlled by Windows?
Anyways, Chromebooks are great because they are very cheap at $200-$300 for a good one, compared to laptops which start at 2-3x the price for a decent one. The downsides of course are Chromebooks are meant for web use, all video streaming, document editing, photo editing, etc. are done in the Chrome browser. This is usually fine for most people who use computer to type papers, research, use facebook, watch YouTube, etc. If you need to use actual applications like Photoshop, real games, iMovie, you need a laptop. |
Punk
|
I
would definitely go for a laptop, chromebooks are more of a gadget than
anything else right now. The main problem, like Geoff pointed out is that you
do everything on Chrome and to be honest I can't stand doing my papers on
Chrome, I prefer to use either OpenOffice or Microsoft Office.
As far as what kind of laptop you need, if you intend to only do school work, you don't need a high end graphic card (unless you're doing video editing and image processing...) and you definitely don't need a gaming laptop. Asus seems to be a good brand, I'll let others confirm or correct me, and since I don't live in the UK I can't help you on your search for a laptop (will only be able to help you to choose from a list)  |
ada11
|
I
think laptop is better
|
dan1073
|
For
what it seems like you're doing I'd go for a windows laptop. Personally I
don't see the difference between a laptop and a chromebook because
technically a chromebook is a laptop, but I digress. I'll give you a reason
why you should use a windows laptop for teaching. Macs are POWERFUL machines
mostly used for video editing, music making, and photo editing. Not for doing
school work, the chromebook on the other hand is not recommended for you, the
chromebook was as other people have mentioned are mostly used for web surfing
and things of that nature. Chromebooks generally don't come with a lot of
memory seeing as Google wants you to use Google Docs which is reliable but
that's a different story (in case you want to know they give you 250 gigs for
2 years for free isn't that great!).
|
martin123
|
imo
theres a huge difference
|
WRXGuy1
|
You're
splitting hairs here, when people refer to laptops they refer to notebooks,
he's asking about a chromebook vs notebook.
Mac's are great, but they aren't "powerful machines for video editing and not school work". A 13" MacBook Pro Retina only has an i5, 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD, and integrated video. It's actually perfect for school work as the battery life is amazing, they are simple to use, and they just work |
Punk
|
They
do work great for school work but they are damn expansive for nothing
really... A notebook (Windows) would work the same for what he wants his
laptop to be able to do, at a lower cost.
|
spirit
|
I
agree with you Ben. If you want to do school work on a laptop, then a MacBook
with a retina display is not the most cost-effective way of doing it. If all
you want to do is write assignments on a word processor, then even the most
basic £200-300 notebook will be fine.
I know it has a lovely display, but for what you get, the MacBooks are rip offs. Sorry! Look around at other manufacturers and you'll see the same specs (or near enough) for much lower costs. |
WRXGuy1
|
The
reason I mentioned MacBook's is because they have excellent battery life,
which is important for many people - especially students who are mobile all
day long. A cheap Windows laptop will last what, 2-4 hours at the most? With
the new MacBook Pro's you can get 7-12 hours out of them.
I almost always recommend MacBook's for students. They have great battery life, the OS is easy to use, less likely to get viruses or malware, most people have iPhone's and iPad's and they sync perfectly with Mac (iCloud), they work out of the box without having to purchase/find/download tons of other software to make it usable, durable and doesn't feel "cheap", thin and light, and they look good which is important for some people. |
Punk
|
My battery on my laptop is bad and
lasts for four hours when fully charged. May I remind you I found the laptop
and battery in the trash?
If we rule the battery out, the OS is just as good and easy as Ubuntu or Mint. Windows is intuitive, just like Mac OS is hard for me Windows is hard for you (I guess?). Oh and no, most people don't have Apple gadgets (they are too expansive for most people actually), some have. |
WRXGuy1
|
Perhaps
France is different. Our wireless infrastructure breaks down what type of
device is on our network, and on our open public network for 9-12th graders,
80% are iOS devices, 10% are Android, and 10% are mixed laptops and other
devices. These are the kids that will be going to college and looking for a
laptop.
Windows isn't hard for me to use, I use it daily, and have used every OS since 3.1 as my main OS, it wasn't until this winter that I bought my first Mac (MacBook Pro). I'd also beg to differ that Linux is NOT intuitive for your average high school or college student. Windows is definitely easy to use, however after purchasing a Windows laptop you usually need to purchase/download an office suite, AV software, etc. All the trial software and bloatware should be removed as well, unless you don't mind them bogging down you system or prompting you to register/purchase the software. |
Punk
|
Ubuntu
and Mint are very intuitive, actually Mint looks a lot like Windows OS. I
don't see what's wrong with having to download free softwares (you don't need
to purchase anything really)... Especially when comparing the price of a mac
with a Windows laptop...
|
WRXGuy1
|
Good
luck having your average high school student figure out how to download,
burn, boot from, and install Linux. I'm talking about ease of use. What's
easier, buy a Mac, turn it on, go through a 2 minute setup assistant and then
you're done, or having to figure out what free software you need to download
and install before you can work.
I'm not saying that Mac's are the greatest thing in the computer industry, I'm saying that if a student or parents looking to get their child a laptop are trying to find the best laptop for their student, if money is not the biggest concern then Mac's are a great option. This is why iOS devices are so popular. They. just. work. They are incredibly simple to use. Generally speaking when an adult goes from a dumb phone to a smartphone, they are overwhelmed with the choices and what to pick as far as Android phones go, and if they don't have someone who can point them in the right direction and help them use it, they will be lost. On the other side Apple basically holds your hand during the entire process, and since there are so few choices, it's a lot easier to choose which one to get. |
spirit
|
I do
agree with you on most of those points and yes you are absolutely correct
that a good battery life is vital for a student, but I personally don't
recommend MacBooks for students because they're very expensive for what they
are at the end of the day and they are desirable laptops - thus probably more
likely to 'draw attention' to you at school and you put yourself at risk of
it getting stolen. If some menacing school kid had the choice between
stealing a £500 HP or a £1000+ MacBook, what's he going to go for?
 I'm looking at buying a laptop for school later on this year. I cannot afford a MacBook, but what I can afford is a ThinkPad L440 (owned two in the past and loved them) which has a Haswell i3, 14" HD+ display, a 500GB HDD, 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM, very good build quality and an excellent keyboard (because it's a ThinkPad) all for about £650. Far cheaper than the equivalent MacBook. I could spend an extra £80 or so and get an i5, but I'll likely spend that money (and a bit extra) on a 256GB SSD instead to replace the HDD. The battery life of this Lenovo is also very good - Lenovo claim up around 12 hours in fact and there are multiple battery options available - all of which are removable *wink wink*. 12 hours is long enough.In fact, I had a 'cheapo' Novatech-branded laptop which I set up for a customer the other week - i5 4200M, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD and admittedly not the best-built machine with a rather 'squidgy' keyboard and only had an HD display which was a bit mediocre, but it only cost about £500 or so and stick Windows 8.1 on power-saver mode and I got 10 hours of battery life out of that. Even on the default 'balanced' mode, you'd be getting maybe 6 or 7 hours which should be long enough. It was a small battery too. So, there are alternatives. I'm not doubting that the MacBook is a very good machine, I'm just saying that I personally don't think it's the best option for students. Just my thoughts (but generally I am not Apple's biggest fan). |
Punk
|
Agreed
on Linux being hard to install, it will be good if it was setup as an OEM OS.
I don't think Mac are easier than Windows though, I for example have tried a few times OSX and to be honest I'm a little lost sometimes. What mac has is good marketing though, and very good design/optimization |
spirit
|
It
depends a lot on the user. If you've only ever only really used Windows in
your life (like me), it'll take time to adapt to OS X or something else.
Given some time, I'm sure you'd master OS X.
|
Punk
|
Exactly
my point, it works for all three OSes: Windows, OSX and Linux (Ubuntu or
Mint)
|
PCunicorn
|
Also,
saying most people have iPhones and iPads is inaccurate. 3 years ago, yeah
but nowadays Android has over 50 percent market share I believe. I think most
those points aren't completely valid. Many ultrabooks and some lappys have
Macbook long battery life and more. That doesn't mean I wouldn't reccomend
Macbooks, just I wouldnt say it has stuff that no laptop has except OS X.
|
WRXGuy1
|
I do
agree that Android is rapidly gaining market share, but iOS devices (iPod
Touch, iPhone, and iPad's) are more popular than Android phones and tablets
combined. If you asked a high school or college student if they have or know
how to use an iOS device, I'd bet almost all the people you asked would say
yes.
BTW I hate iPhone's, so I'm not an Apple fanboy. And Ben, I'm sure you'd pick up how to use Mac's fast. I never used them before taking my job but within a week or two I was very comfortable with them. |
SUMMARY OF THE
DATA
Type of Corpus : Online forum
Title : ChromeBook or
Laptop?
Date : 14th
January 2014
Source : http://www.computerforum.com/226711-chromebook-laptop.html
Table 1: The
summary of the data collected
No.
|
Sender
|
Cohesive between two different
posts
|
Non-cohesive between two different
posts
|
Cohesive within a post
|
Non-cohesive within a post
|
1
|
MrZand5
|
-
|
-
|
/
|
|
2
|
daisymtc
|
/
|
/
|
||
3
|
imsati
|
/
|
/
|
||
4
|
zeppelin04
|
/
|
/
|
||
5
|
kiarahtruger
|
/
|
/
|
||
6
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
||
7
|
Punk
|
/
|
/
|
||
8
|
ada11
|
/
|
-
|
-
|
|
9
|
dan1073
|
/
|
/
|
||
10
|
martin123
|
/
|
-
|
-
|
|
11
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
||
12
|
Punk
|
/
|
/
|
||
13
|
spirit
|
/
|
/
|
||
14
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
||
15
|
Punk
|
/
|
/
|
||
16
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
||
17
|
Punk
|
/
|
/
|
||
18
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
||
19
|
spirit
|
/
|
/
|
||
20
|
Punk
|
/
|
/
|
||
21
|
spirit
|
/
|
/
|
||
22
|
Punk
|
/
|
-
|
-
|
|
23
|
PCunicorn
|
/
|
/
|
||
24
|
WRXGuy1
|
/
|
/
|
Table 2:
Between two posts (exclude the first post since none is preceding it)
Numbers of posts
|
|
Cohesive
|
20
|
Non-cohesive
|
3
|
Total number of posts
|
23
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3: Within a post (not applicable to sentences with one theme
and rheme in a post)
Number of posts
|
|
Cohesive
|
13
|
Non-cohesive
|
8
|
Total number of posts
|
III. MINI RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The
Study of Mobile Applications as a tool in enhancing student’s language learning
- INTRODUCTION
1.2
Background Study
Nowadays, the usage of smartphones
is more popular compared to the usage of computer. It can be said that the
smartphones somehow replace the usage and the popularity of computer. It
because the smartphones can be carried along with people all the times due to
its mobility and smaller size compared to the size of computer. Both of these gadgets
are important for people in helping and managing their works. Besides that,
people used computer as a tool in learning language and it is called as
Computer Assisted in Language Learning (CALL). So, computer can assist people
especially students in language learning using a various software provided but
this method of CALL had been surpass by the emerging of learning through mobile
phone or hand phone. This method of learning through mobile phone is called as
Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). Both of them had been created in
order to help in language learning and both of them have their own advantages
and disadvantages.
Furthermore,
there is an article that supports the usage of smartphone in learning. In 2012,
Cedergreen and Hellman mentioned that, “students are very positive towards
the idea of practicing vocabulary on their smartphones. It was also found that
students practiced more and began earlier when using the application compared
to traditional methods”(p.2). So, this research will be analyzing on how
(MALL) can help students in improving their language learning process. In short,
throughout this research the selected student will be exposed to the software
in the smartphones and later on the student’s progress will be analyzed step by
step.
1.3
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Technology today has risen up to its
peak as computer can be accessed anyway and can be use anytime. The computer
now has become compact and smart phones as the alternative of it. It can be
understand that mobile phones before used as a mere tool for communication but
today, the generation of smart phones can be use to access the similar webpage
and sites as can be done in class session. Several researches have been done on
the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) more than Mobile Assisted
Language Learning (MALL). Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the student’s
language learning proficiency in CALL can be done as similar in MALL.
1.4 PURPOSE OF STUDY
There are several purposes for this
study to be conducted. The first one is to know the effectiveness using mobile
phones in enhancing the student’s language learning. It includes the process of
learning inside and outside of the classroom. The second is to determine
whether using MALL instead of CALL can benefit and change the student’s
efficiency in language. Then, last but not least is to know the differences in
the learning style of the student who will be undergoing the process of experiment
in his/her language acquisition process.
In this research proposal, the
significance of this study are to find out the use of MALL in enhancing
student’s development in language proficiency and also to identify whether MALL
could assist students similar to CALL in language learning . We believe that
mobile applications in smartphones can be used similar as the one in CALL
except the students can use it not only in class, but also outside class
session.
1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
- To identify the use of MALL in helping to enhance student’s development in language proficiency.
- To examine the use of MALL to assist students similar to CALL in language learning.
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION
1.
Do MALL help to
enhance student’s development in language proficiency?
2.
Does MALL assist
students similar to CALL in language learning?
1.6
LITERATURE
REVIEW
Mobile assisted language learning is
not a recent breakthrough in education. It has been developed ever since the growth
of mobile internet. There are plenty of researches that have been done to
advocate the usage of mobile phones into the classroom context.
According to Sharples (2006), the
definition of Mobile learning has evolved from previously stated as the inclusion
of mobile technology in learning process into the ability of the learner to
learn new things on the go. This means that, mobile assisted language learning
provides an alternative for the learner to learn outside the class and in the
informal setting. Hence, Pertaining to mobile assisted language
learning, Koh and Looi (2012) found out through their research:
There were a total of 114 students
in the 3 smartphone-enabled classes. Students on average scored 22.69 for the
pre-test and 25.88 for the post-test, a difference of 3.18 between the two
tests. A paired samples t-test showed a significant difference of p<.001
between the two tests. This indicates that the smartphone-enabled curriculum
improves the English content knowledge of students. (p.5)
Through their research, it can be
said that mobile learning indeed creates a significant change in improving
language learning, specifically English.
Mobile phone is being vastly used
across all ages. Nowadays, most children already possess their own mobile
phones due to the ease of use and affordability. However, most of these
children misused the technology that they are having. Instead of using the
technology for studies, children might use it for playing games or immerse in
social media.
Mobile learning provides the
opportunity for the learners to learn the language spontaneously due to the
constant attachment of the learner to their smartphones. Furthermore, the
participants of this research found that the method of learning using mobile
application is more interesting and fun. Thus, encourage them to use the
application outside the class (Cedergren & Hellman, 2012).
However, noted that the mobile
assisted language learning should not be used as a primary framework. Rather,
it should be used parallel to the traditional in-class method so that the
learners get the best from both worlds.
These past researches give a ray of
hope that the usage of mobile phones in language learning might be useful to
enhance our education system. If the mobile phones can be used effectively in
and outside of the class, it will be easier to learn a language. This research
is intended to reveal whether mobile assisted language learning is a
possibility in Malaysia.
3.
METHODOLOGY
The methodology for this research will mainly focus on
mobile devices use for language learning. These methods will be based from some
of the element in the literature review. The methodology will consist on the
sample, duration for data collection, method for data collection, framework for
analysis and procedures based on qualitative research.
2.1 SAMPLE
Our research will focuses on one Form 3 student with poor
language proficiency. Our chosen student will be the one with the level of high
beginner in English. We will ask the teacher for the student’s record in his
achievement in language learning to use as a comparison along the process of
the research.
2.2 METHOD FOR DATA COLLECTION
Our
research will mainly center on Qualitative research study which we will focus
on the student’s achievement record, an essay test, observation and interview.
The data will be collected in the period of three months.
2.2.1Student’s
achievement record
The
research will start with collecting the data of the student’s achievement
record from the teacher before and after the research process. The data will be
used to identify the results whether there will be any changes to the student’s
language learning proficiency or the other way around.
2.2.2
Test
We
will conduct two essay tests for the student. Both will be done before and
after the process of learning through smart phones mobile application, BUSUU. The
data collected will see if there are any differences in the student’s
vocabulary and essay writing. The teacher will be the one check on the essay
paper for both test and the data will be collected from him or her.
2.2.3
Observation
Our
research will undergo an observation four times in a month (3 months) in which
we will observe the student capability during class session before and after the
student uses the mobile applications. On the same day, we will go to the
student’s house and observe his or her time using the mobile applications. The
observation will be recorded through video and each observation will focus on
different subject. From the observation, we will collect the data either from video
recording or direct observation.
2.2.4
Interview
The
interview will be done before and after the research process in which to
identify whether there is a difference in the student’s language proficiency or
the other way around. We will also interview the student’s parents and teacher
in similar fashion in order to get their view throughout the process. The interview
will be conducted via video recording for each day of the observation.
2.3 FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS
In
this research proposal, it is undoubtedly true that Computer Assisted Language
Learning (CALL) have proven to provide the best alternative in language
learning. Thus it breaches the border line by taking language learning to
another level by improvising the traditional style of learning. But in today’s
world, CALL seems to be traditional when the innovation of world technology
started to emerged rapidly until the arrival of the smartphone and tablet pc,
the other alternative of computer and laptop. The arrival of the advance
technology seems to put computer as traditional, thus, CALL are taking another
step into the next level, where language learning have been reinterpret or
redefine as Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), representing the whole
new level of language learning which is much more effective, portable, and
convenience.
The
development of smartphone application is getting better and consistent every
single day with millions of developers working on to provide the best
application for users to benefit in helping them to ease their everyday life.
There are millions of applications offered in the Android Playstore or iOS App
Store, consist of different usage depending on people’s choice. As for language
learning, the best application so far is known as “BUSUU” for Android and iOS.
This application gives an enhancement in proving the effectiveness of MALL in
language learning.
BUSUU
provides a helpful interface by allowing the learner to choose their level of
proficiency, so the application can sort or synchronize the level of vocabulary
learning and test according to the learner’s preferences. BUSUU will provide
the learning of vocabulary by providing questions for every five flash cards.
The next step is the reading and listening comprehension where the previous
vocabularies were inserted into the form of conversation, encouraging the
learner to use the vocabulary in communication. At the end of the process, the
learner will be given a test to examine the overall performance of the learner
based on the understanding from the previous step by step lessons.
2.4 DURATION FOR DATA COLLECTION
This
research will be conducted in a period of 3 months.
2.5 PROCEDURES
·
Observe the student’s development of English proficiency once a week for each
month (3 months period).
·
Observe the student’s use of mobile application at home the same day as
the class observation
·
Provide similar essay paper (intermediate level) before and after the
final observation. Data collected from the teacher.
·
Interview the student before and after the final observation
·
Interview the parents and teacher on the student’s performance along the
period of the observation
3. EXPECTED FINDINGS
The expected finding in this research proposal is to
prove how effective language learning through MALL can be implemented in
informal context. The aim of MALL is to encourage continuous learning as a
medium to provide an additional knowledge while not only depending on formal
classroom learning in school. Providing medium in the process of language
learning in informal context as suggested through MALL can really be seen as a
revision and to fossilize the knowledge gained from classroom learning and also
through MALL itself.
This study also expects a result in order to
determine whether MALL can somehow replace CALL in the future of language
learning. This might be possible due to the innovation and improvisation of
technology in language learning in term of handiness and portability of the
access to the knowledge which ease the learner’s attempt of learning language.
People will favor something that is in palm of their hand, thus, smartphone is
the step stone in bringing the innovation of language learning through its
applications which is multiple times better than computer and laptop in term of
its interface and physical preferences.
1.
INTERVIEW
1.
Are you aware about the importance of Smartphone in today’s world?
2.
Does smartphone helps in everyday life?
3.
Do you ever heard of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)?
4.
Do you know that smartphone can help in enhancing language learning through
Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)?
5.
Based on the observation, do you realize any improvement from your
student/children in term of English proficiency?
6.
How far the contribution of MALL in the advancement or development of your student’s/children’s
proficiency? Is it rapidly or gradually improved?
7.
Based from the results, do you think that it can also help other student as
similar as your student/children?
8.
Will you promote this method to your colleague/friend?
2.
PRE-TEST/POST-TEST
ESSAY
Essay
question will be similar for the first and final observation. Write an essay
based from the title below.
·
“My goals and
ambitions”
3.
TABLE OF MAXIMS
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
|
METHOD
OF DATA COLLECTION
|
1.
Do MALL help to enhance student’s development in language proficiency?
|
·
Direct
observation (Manual data recording)
·
Pre-test/Post-test
essay question
·
Interview
·
Video
recording
|
2.
Does MALL assist students similar to CALL in language learning?
|
__________________________________________________________________________________
Name:
Month:
Week/Date
|
CLASS
|
HOME
|
||
Participation
/Topic
|
Remarks
|
Mobile
App Topic
|
Remarks
|
|
1
|
||||
2
|
||||
3
|
||||
4
|
||||
Table 1.0 Students observation at home and class
REFERENCES
Cedergren,
S. & Hellman, K. (2012). Smartphone applications the future tools for
vocabulary learning? Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Koh
& Looi (2012). An implementation of Smartphone-enabled seamless learning: A
snapshot perspective, National Institute of Education, Singapore.
Sharples,
M. (ed.) (2006). Big issues in mobile learning. Report of a workshop by the
Kaleidoscope
Network of Excellence Mobile Learning Initiative, University of Nottingham, UK.
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