FFFASTERRR… or Just Better?

There are no excuses. Reasons, yes, but excuses, no. I have been neglecting this blog for some time now, and it is not all I have been neglecting. The reason is the theme of this blogpost: is it better do things faster, or just, well… better?

The reason – no excuse, mind – there has been little action on this blog (not to mention my social life, outdoor excursions, culinary adventures housekeeping and more) is that I have been completely absorbed in a project. Yes, it is a worthy project. But is any project worth sacrificing one’s happiness and health for?

The project is, of course, the completion of my MA dissertation. Going back to the very origin of this blog, my MA studies were the main driving force behind it. What was really valuable about the blog was having a forum to track and share what I was learning, how I was applying it in my work and where it was leading me. It has been such a precious record of evolution as I have become more self-aware as an educator and expanded my knowledge in the field manifold.

Yet as the dissertation became more of a pressing priority, I became more focused on the product, and less on the process – precisely the kind of thinking I am working so hard to reverse among educational institutions and students alike. Ironically I have fallen into the trap I’ve been pointing out to others!

Now there is a background to this. Members of my MA class technically have until June to submit our dissertations in order to graduate in December 2010. Somehow I got dead set on submitting in February, to graduate in July 2010. While an early graduation would be nice, and I could submit perfectly decent work in time, it has meant that my every waking hour over the past months has gone into this project. Gradually the enthusiasm I have for my research has dissipated as it has become the all-consuming presence in my life, with no room left for play or rest or stepping back for inspiration. Which is sad, because I really love and believe in the work I am doing.

This week I had the revelation that actually there is nothing wrong with completing my dissertation in the normal time allotted, particularly since I have been set back by unexpected relocation, a new job and numerous other false starts in my personal life. Yes, a four month dissertation would be fine, and could perhaps even pass muster for a high mark, but is that really all I want from my studies? It’s called Master’s Degree, after all, because it implies a sense of mastery. Mastery will take more time. And if I am to have mastery over my life, rather than a small academic segment of it, the later deadline is far more likely to make it possible.

That means more living, more blog posts, a better process and a better product.

T42: TESOL Teacher Training for Web 2.0... My Project Reaches Completion

Over the past two years, the central theme of my existence has been my MA TESOL studies. As the finishing line draws closer, I am becoming ever more aware that the degree itself is not really all that important. What is important, vital, absolutely crucial, is what I take out of the experience. Despite all the hiccups along the way (and in the immortal words of Sinatra, I've had a few) the value of this labour is gradually emerging.

My Critical Study, the final thesis, is based on a course that addresses a gaping need in the TESOL profession: training in-service teachers in the use of educational technology. The research element excites me somewhat, but the course itself has me in a kid-before-Christmas mood. This course just might be of service to different stakeholders: the teachers themselves, both in their professional and personal development, as well as their students and educational organisations. That - service to others - is what truly matters.

I won't go into too much detail here (that's what hyperlinks are for), but here is the nutshell roundup.

T42 TESOL Teacher Training for Web 2.0 is an introduction to Web 2.0, social media and social learning. What makes it unique in the public domain is that the course is not only about Web 2.0, it is also presented entirely in Web 2.0 media. This gives participants the chance to experience Web 2.0 for themselves.

The course consists of an audio podcast, video channel and downloadable e-book, all hosted on a social networking site, the T42 Hub.

I have enjoyed every minute of compiling this project. I hope participants will share the excitement and be spurred on to ongoing social learning, both online and off.

The podcast can be heard below :)

Begin It Now

Whatever you can do, or think you can, begin it.
Boldness has power, magic and grace within it.
Begin It Now.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

And so I have begun. After days, literally three days of pottering around and filling my mind up with innumerable things (mostly RSS-based) and just plain unabashed procrastination (mostly on Posterous). Around midnight I sat down and the ideas that I have been structuring for weeks, based on months, based on years and a lifetime just came pouring out. I was actually stunned to discover how all those little details had been sifted and synthesised in my mind while I wasn't looking.

It is past noon now, and I have written up a third of the T42 (TESOL Teacher Training for Web 2.0) e-book, recorded and published the first two podcasts and done some updates on the T42 Hub social networking website. This leaves two thirds of the book, two more recordings (which are easier now that I’m more comfortable with the software) and five videos.

What remains then is recruiting participants for the course. I plan to do this entirely online, in the spirit of Web 2.0. By next Saturday. Mmmm. That should be interesting.

The Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. What never ceases to amaze me is how far that single step takes you.

I am including hyperlinks in this post, even though the materials are not yet complete and the T42 Hub site is not live yet. The emphasis, under the circumstances, is on the first four letters of the word “hyperlink”. It is hard to be objective about one’s own project, but I believe this one can be really valuable to TESOL teachers looking for experiential training in Web 2.0 for learning and teaching. I trust the synergetic serendipity of social networking will bring us together!

Serving T42/ Smashing through Writer's Block

My previous post introduced the planning of T42, my critical study on teachers’ experience of an online, self-access course in learning and teaching language with Web 2.0. Although the academic side of this is flowing quite well (once I strap myself to my desk and get going, that is), restructuring the original course is presenting quite a challenge.

To call a spade a spade, this is the course designer’s version of writer’s block. Come to think of it, I haven’t had writer’s block since my teens, thanks partly to my mother’s emphasis on learning strategies, and partly to the wonders of MindMapping. The course is different, though, because the components are in multimedia, most of which I have dabbled in but not mastered, the participants are unknown to me, and most paralysing of all, I would, of course, like the end result to be simply awesome. With all the breathtaking professional materials out there on the Web, this might be what scares me most.

This is an empathising experience, because I have seen how writer’s block can freeze my students up. They have to write in a second language; I have to create a course in media I haven’t mastered. Like them, I am in an uncomfortable position – yet the slight discomfort of pushing your limits is where the learning happens.

When I used to get writer’s block before a project, my mother was always the one who talked me through developing a strategy, structuring my work and devising little ways to make the end result special. Doing this over an ice cream cone or a cup of coffee didn’t hurt, either. Stepping away from the task is often the best way to get perspective. (As long as it doesn’t happen indefinitely, of course!)

This is why, being the strategic learner that I have been trained into, I am stepping back (with a strong cup of coffee), considering the structure of the project, mindmapping it and getting started. And calling my mom.

Operation T42

T42 (pronounced “tea for two”) is the working title for my online, self-access TESOL teacher training course in Web 2.0 for language learning. Which happens to be my MA dissertation focus. Quite a mouthful, right? Hence T42.

The research will track teachers’ experience of the course. It is prompted by the problem of making training in language learning with Web 2.0 accessible to TESOL teachers internationally. If the prototype course is well received, it will be tweaked and promoted to teachers individually, and TESOL institutes internationally.

The course itself is based on my earlier Teachers as Online Language Learners project. Some modifications have been made in response to the pilot study. T42 revolves around a social networking website hosted on Ning. From here, participants can access several features designed to embody and demonstrate Web 2.0 in a user-friendly way:
• a plain English, downloadable companion e-book.
• a plain English podcast of the companion e-book in audio format
• a plain English podcast of the companion e-book in video format
• five-minute Ignite presentations on core Web 2.0 applications and their uses for language learning. These are available on both YouTube and SlideShare.
• links to further Web 2.0 applications, tutorials and resources
• on-site interactive features, such as on-site blogging, chat, discussion boards and file sharing.
• projects for putting Web 2.0 to use for teachers’ professional development or learning a new language.

The MindMap pictured above shows the dissertation outline. Though the deadline looms way too close for comfort, I have been sitting on this concept for almost a year, and have been compiling a Master Annotated Bibliography to keep track of readings and developments. The main task now is to edit the writing up of the background to the study, literature review and research design, all while revving up to take the site live by Friday, 4 December 2009. There is a lot to be done, but I am thrilled to bits with the way this is unfolding.

Watch this space.

Work vs. Play: a False Dichotomy

There is work, and then there is play. Right? Well, maybe not. Being an arch workaholic, I do not necessarily see it this way. Nor, I believe, do most people who are passionate about what they do. The dichotomy polarising work and play is a false one. The true dichotomy is between ardently doing what we love – work, play, call it whatever you like – and apathy.

Since I first came across the book The Play Ethic by Pat Kane (80s pop star, no less), I have been intrigued by the concept. The sense of deriving true pleasure from work is as precious as finding value in play. Increasingly, the power of combining the two is proving its worth.

One of the playful professional delights I came across this week is the Virtual Round Table, an online conference taking place on 12-13 November. Sessions are held in three online platforms, one of which is SecondLife, (where I am sadly still stuck on orientation island, but have at least managed to get myself an electric blue Mohawk – first things first). The very idea has me thrilled to bits, and I’m looking forward to dropping into a few sessions. Hopefully there will be a chance for a quick report back. Meanwhile, the conference is promoted on a Ning networking site. I doesn’t get much more social than that!

Finally, there is of course, the small matter of my job and my studies, both of which feed off – and into – these wild pursuits. Later this week I will begin a series on the planning behind my dissertation, and share the work in progress of the virtual workshop it will track. Things will need to happen fast: there are 107 days left until submission, if I want to graduate early. And THAT is non-negotiable. (Although I think I’ll just go and resuscitate my SL avatar first…)

But if all this can be tackled in a spirit of Play Ethic – why not?

Classroom Self-Access Learning

In an earlier post I mentioned some of my classroom innovations for provoking interaction and learning. They have worked remarkably well, and not only my own students but also other students spend a lot of time hanging around my class to discuss the displays with each other and with me.

But I'll leave it to the pictures to say a thousand words this time...

A Return to the Etymology of “Education”

There are some who say the principles behind contemporary education are all wrong. I recently commented to a colleague that our question is how to educate students in a way that is appropriate to them. The colleague, though a visionary in his own right, retorted that the perception that we as teachers educate students is what is at the core of this all-pervasive wrongness. Yet the etymology of the word “educate” shows that in fact he and I agree. The wrongness is, in fact, in the warping of the word’s meaning.

As any Latin class survivor can (hopefully) confirm, the word educate is composed of the root “ducare”, meaning to lead, and the prefix “ex”, meaning out. Education, therefore, is the process of leading learners out, guiding them to explore from the strength of the storehouse that is already within them.

Seen this way, my remark paraphrases as “how do we lead students’ existing awareness out to build on it, in a way that matches their individual needs?” I do, in fact, maintain that this is one of the core questions every (good) teacher faces every day. Education is not about where the knowledge is, or where we as teachers stand, but about creating a passable route between learner and knowledge. Thus follows, as night the day, that the route needs to begin at the learner – not the knowledge or the teacher.

Though this view of education sounds simple and perhaps even simplistic, it embraces the core of time-tested as well as contemporary pedagogy. Although other aspects of the equation cannot be disregarded, if the learner is where we want results, the learner is the place to begin.

Guerilla Education and Classroom Ergonomics

What has me up and at my laptop at 1:55 on this weekend morning is a phrase that crept into my mind as I turned the question of my students' learning over and over again in my mind.

Guerilla Education.

A quick Googling shows that the phrase has already been embraced by New York teacher of the year John Taylor Gatto, UrbanDictionary and some music outfit I cannot even pretend to categorise.

The term Guerilla Education came to my mind, however, while pondering the way to capitalise on the boundless enthusiasm my students tend to display the moment we step out of the classroom and off the clock. While the classroom experience is steadily evolving as the students and I dance the two-step of tentative ongoing assessment and feedback, our most meaningful exchanges seem to take place incidentally, in the hallway, the cafeteria, the washroom, the parking lot. Their curiosity is infinite as long as the experience is real.

So the question is how do I make the classroom experience more real, and the outside experience more educational?

My core group stays in one homeroom, which I have not quite outfitted to my liking yet. One sure way to set up a real experience is to let the students take charge of equipping and decorating the room. This allows students to practice the language for expressing opinions, agreeing and disagreeing and making decisions. All this language is also essential for group work in the class.

Inside the room there are several course-related mini-posters already. I would like to add signs for "zones" where information for each subject can be posted. Also, I need bigger, brightly coloured posters on which large print A4 printouts can be pasted.

The teacher's desk has been something of an obstacle in the classroom. It takes up a lot of space and somehow always seems to be between me and the class. It also sends an unequivocal message about the supposed locus of control in the classroom. This needs to change: the students are in charge of their learning. Not me. I have decided to move this desk right next to the side wall, perpendicular to the "front" of the room.

I say "front", because by moving the teacher's desk and some of the other strategies I am devising, the room no longer really has a "front", except when the whiteboard is needed for segments of the lesson. This requires a complete rethink of how lessons are presented - an issue which I constantly find myself needing to address.

I have designated one drawer for students' use, where they can find extra copies of all handouts and some sample work. With the desk-moving operation, I am expanding this: there will be signs allocating a subject to each drawer, as well as a sign for a stationery drawer. There will also be a drawer for newspapers and other authentic materials students may read when they choose to. All drawers are for students' use.

Another way to remove the "front" of the room is, of course, the grouping of desks. This can be done by having two sets of marks on the floor: one for three arcs facing the front, the other for small groups. The groups can also be marked by colours, which can be indicated with small stickers on the desks. Student groups can be varied by randomly handing out coloured cards to allocate students' seating for a particular activity.

A further weapon is a student whiteboard, which can be portable or affixed at the "back" of the room. This can be used during group work sessions. Students write on the board. When not in use, this board can also show important information.

To encourage involvement and active literacy rituals, a class bulletin board can do wonders. This can be used for course-related postings, preferably student-generated, for random posts by students or even real-life notices, like advertisements and the like. Wouldn't it be great to see students huddled round the bulletin board in breaks?

We also definitely need a map of the world.

What if the classroom became a hive of activity? What if there were always something fruitful and stimulating for the fast workers to do when they finished? What if the university class were more like a lab or a studio or even a kindergarten playroom?

Another strategy is to take language learning materials out of the room in a very literal sense. Our students spend a lot of time just hanging around in the open hall between classes (both, incidentally, in space and time). I have been covering spelling with my students by working spelling words into a rhyme and illustrating it. If these were posted in the hallway, would my students start teaching others what they are learning? Would some of the words sink in? Would there be guerilla peer teaching?

I do not know these little tactics will be successful. But in the scientific spirit of enquiry, I am going to try them. And I will report back.

Microscopic; Macroscopic

A very short entry in the crisp predawn… about taking a microscopic and macroscopic view of the learning process. Say the “learning process”, because in terms of results this mysterious process often overrides mundane things like syllabi and curricula.

I was prompted to write this because I just realised that I have been thinking about the lessons of the coming weeks, rather than today alone. As a beginning teacher, I found it impossible to think past the boulder of this day’s lessons. Later I began to force myself to think about this lesson within the unit, the semester and the curriculum. This morning I noticed that it has been happening of its own accord recently.

In a game of chess, each single tactical move counts, but it exists within a larger strategy for winning the game. Education is the same. Every minute of every lesson is important, but weaving this together over weeks and semesters is what allows meaningful building of knowledge, review and, ultimately, recall and application of new principles by learners.

After the initial learning curve, one’s development as a teacher can be difficult to define. It is inspiring when a burgeoning skill shows itself.

DIY, Teacher!

As an apt piece of graffiti on many an art school wall would have it, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” This statement tends to provoke anything from indignation to outright denial from teachers. Whether it is true or not, of course, depends on many things. Yet the vague sense of unsettlement the statement provokes is a challenge to every teacher. We cannot afford for this to be true.

One area where teachers often “can”, but fail to prove it to their students, is writing, and particularly writing for reports and projects. Teachers easily hand out writing and project assignments, but cannot always show students a finished product. Barely ever can they present students with evidence that they, themselves, have done this self-same project.

Of course there are reasons for this, and heaven knows teachers have enough on their plates without adding writing assignments. Yet I have often found that actually doing a writing assignment or project, step by step, before passing it on to students, has exponential benefits.

First of all, it reminds me of the daunting immensity of the assignment – something a teacher can easily disregard. Secondly, it clarifies the planning and execution process, which allows me to better deliver the preliminary stages to students, helping them do better planning. Thirdly, it allows me to anticipate problems before they crop up, improving both the potential quality of student work and the mood of the marking process. Furthermore, it gives me a ready-made, exemplary (hopefully!) sample to show students. This sparks students’ imaginations, and I have often seen that it propels them to greater heights. And finally, it proves that not only do I teach… I CAN. This is infinitely reassuring, not only for the students, but also to myself.

In the past I have often piloted a writing assignment or project in this way, and always found it immensely effective. One of my favourites is the video created as the culminating project of my Language Through Arts course for teacher trainees, where I was always just a few teetering steps ahead of the students, modelling everything from creating puppets and props, to plotting, storyboarding, scripting and filming. It was an exhilarating stretch for me, and stimulated unknown excellence among the students. I am still disproportionately proud of the (admittedly modest) result, and the students felt the same about their work.

My current exploit is to model a research project for my Advanced Foundation students. Although they have free choice on their topic, I will ask them to investigate a problem relevant to students at this college. My sample writing project is called “A Sound Mind in a Sound Student Body”, and addresses the relationship between student health and achievement. It models not only the research process, but also the possibility of pursuing a personal interest through one’s research. In the first class, I am kicking off by handing each student a questionnaire on their health and lifestyle, which will be analysed as a source of primary data. In addition to the research report and presentation (which, of course, will be available on my Youtube channel), I will post the project on a companion website which will document the project process. This can then be accessed by all students and other teachers as a resource and example.

Many teachers would argue that none of this is necessary. It is perfectly possible, they would say, to present a project and evoke quality student work without the DIY. This has, of course, been done. Personally, though, I believe the empathising, insightful process of the DIY makes a course more meaningful, both to students and teachers. I look forward to this project, and the whole new world it will evoke for students.

A New Contract and the Discipline of Optimism

Today, almost four months after completing my last teaching contract, I begin a new assignment. Having running into problems with several of the offers I seriously pursued over the past months, I decided to return to Oman – but it is a very different Oman from the one where I was previously.

The first difference is the climate. I am now stationed in Salalah, which is subtropical, as opposed to the arid desert climate of Rustaq. Salalah is unique in the Arabian peninsula, because as the most brutal summer heat descends on the Gulf, this area catches the tail-end of the South Asian monsoon rains. Tourists from the region and beyond flock here for the cool, natural beauty of the Khareef (monsoon rain) festival each year, making people far more patient with foreigners and foreign ways.

The second difference is the number of educational institutions. In addition to the usual primary and secondary education, Salalah is home to three tertiary institutions: the privately owned Dhofar University, the Ministry of Higher Education’s Salalah College of Applied Science and the Ministry of Manpower’s Salalah College of Technology. This means the town’s professional resources extend beyond any one institution. SCT will be my new taskmaster. Of course, every institution has its challenges, but that remains for later posts.

These first two factors also imply that there is a healthy circulation of people – regional and international visitors, as well as a mix of local and foreign residents who do not all work and live in the same small social pond. It is still a relatively small community in a relatively small town, but the options are far wider than in most Omani college towns.

Another difference is that I am living on the coast, which has always been a dream of mine. I always find it heartening to dip a toe in the ocean and remember that this same body of water extends all across the globe.

Finally, on a rather materialistic note, but one that should not be ignored, I have been placed in the best accommodation I have ever lived in. Ever. I opted for furnished accommodation rather than a generous cash allowance, but it seems I chose well. The landlord has been dealing with expats and tourists for several years, and is responsive to the unique needs of this market. The place is well-maintained, fitted out with quality equipment and positively vast. The spare bedroom alone could house a ballroom dancing class, a martial arts dojo or a sleepover for the entire population of Liechtenstein. And I’m not entirely sure what one human being does with three bathrooms. What is certain, though, is that I finally have a home where I can be shamelessly hospitable. And that is an invitation.

Before I ramble too much more, there is one thing I really want to put down on digital ink in a very public way. I have been living and teaching abroad for almost a decade, and have learnt that the greatest pitfall of expatriation is negativity. I have no illusions that my euphoria at my new posting is a heady concoction of culture shock phase one, travel fatigue and sheer ignorance. Yet I am fiercely determined that the ten short months of this contract will be a time of deep contentment and unparalleled productivity. That is not a matter left over to fate, but a disciplined decision. If I ever go back on my word, please hyperlink me back to this page. Or better yet, come and stay over. If we kick out the ballroom dancers and apprentice ninjas, there’s room a-plenty.

Sounding a Personal Note in a Professional World

Since raising a professional/teaching/study blog from the ashes of my more random, prehistoric personal blog, I have often wondered where the parameters of professional blogging should lie. This blog does have a theme, after all, and the entries should reflect that theme – at least for the most part.

Yet professional blogs, particularly in the field of education, are common. The better ones contain frequent nuggets of solid gold information… but more than that, they have a unique quality. They portray personality as well as professionalism. This has reminded me that every professional is, at heart, still a person. In fact, it is a unique personal history that brings us each to our field, and that personal history may, on occasion, justify a blog post. This, I have decided, is one of those occasions.

As a teacher I have an unwavering belief that learning should be supported by a broad base of meaningful activity. Those I have specifically investigated include technology and the arts. Creative endeavour has always been close to my heart: today it is embodied in my educational philosophy, but it has been integral to my approach to life. Today’s post is about a creative endeavour that has been following me around the globe for almost two decades.

In 1990, an old Afrikaans poem on a friend’s wall sprung into song as I looked at it. Soon I was performing it with my lifelong comrade and collaborator, Krisjan Fourie, who today is an iconic entrepreneur. As my ventures abroad and forays into my on cultural identity began, the poem set to music evolved into an investigation of exile, particularly among young South Africans, one million of whom are estimated to be living abroad. Many of those unaccounted for in the statistics are teaching English. Dis Al ii combines the adapted lyrics with photographs I have taken within South Africa and beyond. It is no masterpiece, but it is an important reminder of my heritage, the questions it raises, and perhaps most significantly that every professional is, at heart, a person with a unique tale to tell.

It is, I believe, justification to sound a personal note in the professional realm.

Educational Technology as a Foreign Language

While pondering the analogy of technology as a foreign language, the idea of educational technology as a foreign language evolved in my mind. I have developed it into an article, which I have just submitted for publication. Unfortunately this limits my distribution rights of the full article for the moment, but the abstract is included here. (Watch this space for info on the publication itself).

My favourite quote from the article is:

"...teachers have long advocated learner autonomy, learning-centredness and ownership. Yet when learners step up as captains of their fate and masters of their souls, we fear mutiny"(p. 10). What qualifies a teacher to navigate ahead in these uncharted waters, is having mastered the process oneself.

Abstract
This article explores a disturbing irony of contemporary education: students are often more equipped than their teachers for the technological demands of life and the classroom. The need for effective in-service teacher training in educational technologies is both urgent and problematic, since educators are often not equipped to grasp the full significance of these tools. Guided by the analogy of educational technology as a foreign language, it is suggested that TESOL educators apply certain principles of learning and Second Language Acquisition theory to developing their skills in using educational technologies. By reflective, experiential learning of – and through – technology, teachers stand to develop not only professionally, but also personally.

Technology as a Foreign Language

Today’s topic is not only very close to my heart, but also allows me to introduce one of the leading academic voices in eLearning. My unfettered enthusiasm (not to be confused with expertise!) for educational technologies often means that I am cast as interpreter between the technology itself and those who are baffled by it. While I can usually resolve the problems – eventually – my success with leading newbies to digital self-reliance has been chequered.

Marc Prensky coined the eloquent terms “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” to describe the contrast between a new generation that is intuitively “fluent” in technology, and those who have not gained such proficiency. Prensky explores digital natives in his articles and books, including "Don't Bother Me Mom, I'm Learning" and "Digital Game-Based Learning". Naturally, this proficiency is not simply generational, but largely based on the cumulative experience one has had with technology from a young age. Those born with a joystick in one hand and a remote control in the other quite simply have an edge over those who find an abacus high-tech.

Digital fluency is not necessarily proportionate to intelligence or skill: it is a mere consequence of being immersed in technology, as Prensky’s metaphor illustrates. Immigrant parents seldom adapt to a new language to the extent that their children do, and our bold migration to a brave new world of technology is no different. While my parents and grandparents are intelligent and capable individuals, and have even mastered several functions of their computers, mobile phones, satellite television receivers and other gadgetry, any step out of their routine is a step into the wilderness.
I am sure they are not alone in this… and worst of all, when they call tech support, they are often unable to make use of the technobabble they are offered as help.

A large part of the problem is that low-tech alternatives are becoming so rare. Manufacturers may find it hard to fathom, but there are still people who would like to use their mobile phone simply as a mobile phone, or a wide-screen LCD TV screen simply to watch a few free-to-air-channels, or a computer simply for word-processing and email. OK, I find this hard to fathom, too, but for many people, especially older people, this is a valid concern. Why should every appliance they buy come preset with hundreds of fancy bells and whistles that simply make it impossible for them to use? They only have interest in a few of these functions.

And aye, there’s the rub. As it turns out, there is a master key that unlocks the potential of technology for young and old, digital native and digital immigrant alike. Because my maternal grandfather has no trouble sending email to the newspaper. My paternal grandmother effortlessly glides across the TV channels to find the nature documentaries she adores. My mother has started a blog about her area of interest. The killer app on my father’s mobile phone is the radio function; I have no idea how to make my phone’s radio work. The master key is passion, and these digital immigrants have each gained fluency in the aspect of technology where their interests lie. This proves that it is possible, provided the learner has the passion.

In the next instalment, we look at leading digital immigrants to self-reliance, and further explore the relationship between learning technology and learning a language, with special attention to motivation and fossilization.

Digital Divides and Developmental Ditches

I unabashedly embrace what technology can do for education, commerce, community and personal development. I have seen it and I have faith. Yes. I believe.

Some say that faith is a belief in that which cannot be seen. As I write this, my faith is in something that does not yet exist. Astounding but true: I am blogging offline on a farm somewhere in Africa.

Urban South Africa has gradually awoken to the digital wake-up call, and internet service providers finally seem to be attracting a growing following. While access to computers is still limited, recent statistics show that two thirds of South African internet users access the web from their mobile phones. This is testament to the resourcefulness of Africa under trying circumstances, as much to a hungry ambition to be part of the world, whatever it takes.

My own quest for independent internet access led me to find several options for wireless modems with pre- or post-paid services. I eventually opted for the MTN wireless modem (made by HuaWei) with 2GB prepaid data, which costs me R2 090, or roughly USD 250. For me this was a matter of life or death and an essential expense, but in Africa that is still a lot of money. By comparison, fixed line service providers offer broadband entry-level services at R199 per month, which includes 1GB of data. At a tenth of the price, it is obviously a better deal, but obviously limited to home lines. For the average family, this is an acceptable investment, and is gaining in popularity as internet use mushrooms after a slow and torturous start in this country.

So why am I blogging offline? After years of alleged irregularities with the national telephone monopoly, my father refuses to have a fixed telephone line. (In their defense, Telkom have come a long way in recent years and are currently offering impressive services.) As to my shiny new wireless modem, internet facilities remain limited. There are 3G services in the cities, and even in the town near our farm, from where I hope to eventually post this entry. In the rural areas, however, access remains limited, where it exists at all. Our farm is out of reach, and I am forced to face the world unmediated, unarmed with my technological artillery. Most South Africans, after all, do so every day.

But changes are coming. Rapidly expanding wealth, education and infrastructure have put South Africa on the brink of an internet explosion. This is a time of tremendous opportunities. The challenge that goes along with this technological acceleration is to equip South Africans and other emerging nations with the skills to make the Web a force for good within our societies.

The phtotgraph, Winter Morning Tree, was taken from my window on our family farm, Esperance. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113715040438136944150.00046e61147b20af025eb&t=h&z=16

JAM: Justification, Attitude, Motivation Part 3

This third instalment in the JAM trilogy addresses Motivation, which is the last word in language learning success, if you will pardon the pun. Motivation refers to the learner’s drive to learn the language. In my experience learning a dozen languages (with widely varied degrees of success J ) and teaching and supervising a few thousand students, I have found motivation to be the single most important determinant of success.

Experts tell us that Motivation can be either extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation hinges on external rewards – be it approval, gold stars, high marks or a sports car from Daddy if you pass. (Yes, that is a true example from a student I met. Interestingly, he did not pass and got the car anyway, which explains a great deal!) Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is an inner drive to learn for its own sake. We all have intrinsic motivation, whether it is to master Kung Fu or flop down on the couch: the question is how to foster intrinsic motivation for a worthwhile cause in ourselves and others. Ultimately, intrinsic motivation is the result of disciplined enthusiasm, and needs to be nurtured with care. I would like to contend that intrinsic motivation can be cultivated, and is a function of metacognition.

An important motivation for learning English often transcends the extrinsic/instrinsic distinction: instrumental motivation refers to a drive for practical rewards. In the case of English, many learners see the language as a means to an end of their choosing, whether it is more income, higher learning, immigration or travel. It is perhaps not to the credit of the language learning field that some of the most successful language learners are not in this field at all, but rather in business, academic life, the diplomatic service or evangelism. (The latter two examples demonstrated the greatest mastery of another language I have seen among native speakers of English, who have an abysmal reputation for learning other languages – when they even try in the first place!). Instrumental motivation may offer a gateway from extrinsic motivation to longer-term, intrinsic motivation.

The proverb says that you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. The language educator’s challenge is to make that horse thirsty. JAM is an acronym for three vital steps in this process: Justification of what is to be learnt, cultivating the right Attitude and fostering a discipline of intrinsic Motivation. We do not have to make the horse drink. We must simply get it to want to drink.

JAM: Justification, Attitude, Motivation Part 2

In the last post we discussed the importance of a language learner’s ability to justify learning material. In this section, we consider the role of Attitude.

One motivational slogan claims that “your attitude determines your altitude”, and the play on words is apt. For a learner, attitude is a gatekeeper that determines what is taken in (“intake”), processed and put to use (“uptake”). The controversial Language Acquisition guru Steven Krashen referred to an “affective filter”, an emotional barrier, which is raised or lowered to allow learners to take in information. In short, when the learner is positive, the affective filter is lowered and learning can take place. If Krashen has a point (and my student memories suggest that he does), we want to do all we can to lower that affective filter.

Attitude involves the learner’s attitude to the language to be learnt, the learning situation and the self as learner. Living in Taiwan and Oman respectively, I found that I easily learnt the local language when positive about the local culture, but stagnated when conflicts with the local culture arose. The linguistic term for this stagnation, if it persists, is “fossilization”. An unforgettably apt term to describe my Arabic abilities, frozen in prehistory!

As to the learning situation, every teacher has seen students learn more effectively when they enjoy a lesson. Even as a supposedly mature student, I find my learning slumps when there are problems with a class or an instructor. Finally, a learner needs a positive attitude towards him- or herself as an individual and a learning entity. In this respect, success breeds success, and the best way to develop confidence is with small victories. Disillusioned learners need to learn that the problem often doesn’t lie with them, but with their learning strategies. An excellent publication in this regard is Rebecca Oxford’s “Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know”. Though published in 1990, this rich resource (brimming with activity ideas) has not been eclipsed.

While these things are important for language learners to know, they are absolutely vital for teachers. As a language teacher, some of the most valuable professional development I have done has been as a student, and particularly a language student. This is why learning a language oneself is such an enriching experience for a teacher.

Many an English teacher abroad is already surrounded by the language, and has every reason to learn it. Motivation may wax and wane with local friendships, interest in the culture and, of course, the inevitable cultural clashes – which add the spice to the living abroad experience! Teachers’ attitudes to their own learning ability may also vary. Native speakers of English seldom experience the same pressure to learn a new language that their students do, and many language teachers have never put their language learning wings to the test. Learning the local language is an outstanding opportunity to enrich the experience of living abroad, while deepening your abilities as a language teacher. For those preparing for a new country, it promises a much softer landing in a brave new world. The Teachers as Online Language Learners tells more about how to learn a new language online as a personal and professional development process, and is a great place to start an adventure into learning, language and the possibilities of Web 2.0 for education.

Whether for teachers or learners, attitude plays a central part in language learning success. Attitude to the language, the learning process and oneself as learner are fundamental to the process.

JAM: Justification, Attitude, Motivation Part One

“But why do I have to learn this?” has been the refrain of many a learner in formal education. What terrifies me as an educator is often that this question is justified: a great deal of what is taught in schools is no necessarily relevant to today’s learners. (More glaring yet is the omission of essential information from the curriculum: health, environmental and financial literacy may mean more than the subjects we actually do teach.) For a language learner, it is vital to Justify why material is being learnt, to have a positive, confident Attitude about the learning and be Motivated to learn it. My next three posts will deal with each of these in turn, starting with Justification.

While the language curriculum tends to prescribe certain elements of language learning, learners often justify their learning with those aspects that are important to them. For example, the curriculum asks for grammar, while students ask for slang. The bare fact is that students will learn better if they have the chance to learn what they feel is important, or justified. This does not mean we should disregard the curriculum, but rather sweeten the curriculum with what learners are interested in. While this may seem to digress from the learning objectives at times, it is likely to leave learners more empowered, and more motivated to learn what is required.

What excites me about learning through online vehicles is that the abundance of resources allows learners to access materials they are motivated about. Successful language learning materials allow learners to tailor their learning to their own interests and needs. This element of free choice is highly motivating, and allows learners to mould their learning according to their perceived justifications and needs. Yes, this may seem to interfere with the structure of the curriculum. Yet the learner’s inner drive to learn what he or she chooses will demand certain language mastery, which the learner is then motivated to attain on self-determined terms.

Ever learner needs a reason. If we are to engage in lifelong learning, the curriculum is one that we set according to our own justifications. The more of a voice the learner has in what is to be learnt, the stronger this reason. Intelligent materials, and wisely selected online learning, make this possible.

A Birthday Present for Nelson Mandela

18 July marks the birthday of the great South African leader Nelson Mandela, and has been declared Mandela Day to celebrate his legacy. In addition to the festivities planned around the world, the man affectionately known to the nation as “Madiba” (an honorary title within his clan) has asked each South African for a special birthday gift: 67 minutes of service, to commemorate each of the 67 years he served the nation.

It has been inspiring to see how South Africans have taken up this challenge, contagiously spurring each other on to collective community service. Asking myself what would most benefit the people I have come into contact with, I discovered that many of the craftspeople I meet are under-employed and could greatly benefit from some help marketing their services. My service is to help them compile and publish portfolios of their handiwork, together with a brief, personal résumé and a letter of reference. This sounds simple to anyone who owns a digital camera, computer and printer – but keep in mind that these craftspeople do not. In fact, one of the people I worked with today cannot read or write.

With a bevy of young women in tow, of course it did not take long for the photo session to turn into a fashion shoot, as the slide show proves. They had a great time, and so did I… and they will come away from this with a promotional tool that can secure solid work contracts. Work for them means better income, improved health, higher quality education and vision for the future.

So why write about this in a language education blog? I believe a community service project can be a great way to bind a class at a deeper level, and can encourage authentic language learning within a context of learning true life skills. Moreover, it can provide material for deeply meaningful blogs, online photo albums, wikis, podcasts or videos that truly matter. True education is about the curriculum of real life. As one enthusiastic supporter of Madiba Day said on South African news, our service to others should not stop at 67 minutes, but continue to 365 days a year.

Happy Birthday, Madiba.

Delicious Learning: Social Bookmarking for Educators

In my Teachers as Online Language Learners (TOLL) project, I found most learning resources (for Korean learning) through Google searches and the ensuing rabbithole of links they lead to. On occasion, I even bookmarked them in my browser, and annotated them on my website like a good researcher should. There is nothing wrong with this, in the same way that there is nothing wrong with reinventing the wheel. It's just that it has been done before, and why would one want to do it all over again?

The spirit of Web 2.0 is all about collaboration, and information searches are one area where we all can benefit from the work that has already been done by the army of fervent internet users across the globe. Search engines, particularly Google, capitalize on previous searches and the popularity of websites to organize their searches. To draw on the searches done by those before us, though, we can capitalize on social bookmarking - the collections of favourite sites constructed by users and shared on the web. My social bookmarking weapon of choice: Delicious.

Delicious offers users the option to import their existing favourite sites or bookmarks from their computer, upload, annotate and tag new bookmarks, share with others and add new bookmarks from their browser's toolbar. The magic of this process lies in the tags. Tags categorize each website, which means that you can access your own or other users' entries under that tag. For example, a tag search for Korean led me to the wealth of sites bookmarked by other Delicious users. After adding my own bookmarks, I could easily call up my own collection of bookmarks for Korean. Of course, the same principle would apply to any topic.

What makes Delicious better than the Favourites or Bookmarks built into web browsers is that the tagging and annotation functions make it easier to browse and keep your own evaluation of sites. Then, of course, you can contribute to building and organizing the vast shared knowedge base online, and benefit from others' contributions.

Because now that the wheel has been invented, we can get on with refining the design, and discovering new purposes for it. There's no need to do it all over again.

A special word of thanks, as always, to my colleague, friend and guru Henrick Borger, whose own smorgasboard of e-learning gems are, of course, meticulously bookmarked at Delicious.

“Blended Learning”: Book Review

Blended Learning: Using technology in and beyond the language classroom aims to address the needs of language and other teachers who are interested in using technology in the classroom, but don’t know where to start. For newcomers to edtech this is a boon, since applications are approached from the point of view of complete (if computer literate) beginners.

Blended Learning covers the definition and reasoning behind the use of technology in the classroom and beyond. Chapters are dedicated to the Web as a bank of authentic materials, the use of portable devices, electronic dictionaries, office applications, materials creation and more. The authors wisely address potential pitfalls in an “Opportunities and Issues” section at the end of each chapter, and illustrate possible uses with case studies. A wealth of useful links can also be found in most chapters.

As a close observer and obsessive user of learning technologies, I do have a few criticisms of this book from the edtech aficionado’s point of view. The first involves its nature as an introductory text: this format is a welcome addition to the literature, and makes the text accessible to many educators. Those with more online experience, however, will not find much here that is new, although they may benefit from the case studies and links. My second criticism involves the double-edged sword of rapid technological development. Although published in 2007, much of the information has been outpaced by new developments. The publishers have tried to address this in the accompanying website, but one wonders whether a technophobic target audience would venture that far.

Blended Learning is highly recommended for teachers seeking an introduction to teaching with educational technologies, and will be an asset to a staffroom resource collection. The book may also be of help to teacher trainers focusing on e-learning. Those educators who are already well-versed in using Web 2.0 are probably better off perusing the Web for new ideas, since this is, after all, a text for beginners.

Sharma, P. & Barret, B. (2007). Blended Learning: Using technology in and beyond the language classroom. Oxford: Macmillan.

“Blogs, Wikis Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classroom Learning”: Book Review

I have a confession to make. I took this book out at the library mainly to fluff out my reference list. Scandalous, I know. What surprised me was that I lapped up every word, thoroughly enjoyed it and found some sterling ideas, not to mention fascinating URLs and leads to further readings. In addition to which I will definitely be using it as a rich reference.

Will Richardson is established as an authority on educational technology, and his Weblogg-ed blog is highly respected. But fear not: his writing style is extremely accessible, and the text is highly user-friendly. Web 2.0 newcomers are initiated into the very basics of online tools, from starting a blog to more advanced procedures like setting up selective RSS feeds. Many of these procedures are illustrated with screenshots. Those with more online experience can dive into a multitude of creative educational possibilities using the tools.

Having tried out and studied ICTs in language learning for some time now, I did not expect the book to warrant a thorough reading, but it certainly did. Not only did I discover novel uses for the applications I am familiar with, I also learnt more about a few I hadn’t contemplated, and some I’d never even heard of. (Which is, apparently, not as rare as I’d like to think.)

Blogs, Wikis Podcasts makes a good read, a thought-provoking discussion piece, a classroom revolution starter and a great long-standing reference. A lone educational crusader could possibly survive without it, but a staffroom reference shelf should certainly not.

Richardson, Will. (2008). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful tools for classroom learning. Thousand Oaks (California): Corwin Press.

ISBN 978-1-4129-5972-8

An Education Parable from an African Farm

I am from Africa. I am in the world, and very much of it, but in a very real way I am from Africa, where I was born and raised and where I sometimes have the chance to return.

In Africa, cattle are regarded as wealth: they are considered to be a form of living capital, and even comprise the dowry in traditional wedding procedures. For this reason, cattle theft is as much part of our lives as samp, strikes and sunshine.

While visiting our family farm this week, I woke to the news that the fence had been clipped overnight, which usually means only one thing: losses. This meant an expedition to the farthest outskirts of the lands to count the cattle and herd them to safety. When I joined the party, the mood made it clear that the numbers were down. The herd was already assembled and ready to move to the other side of the farm while fences are repaired. As I approached, though, I crossed a ridge that was somewhat higher than the others. From that higher ground I could see what they could not: the missing cows were in a distant field, concealed by tall, gold savannah grass. Although this meant trawling through a river and a swampy meadow, the herd was intact.

It is not that I am a better farmer. Far from it. Yet I could find what the farmers could not, simply by having a different point of view. This is no less valid in education than it is in farming: different and diverse points of view are important. They may even realize that which seems impossible.

The picture is of our beautiful mare, Venus, who accompanies the cattle in the background as they graze.

What a Wiki’d World Wide Web We Weave

My private and rather pointless obsession with the internet finally found a purpose in the study of educational technology. The wonderful thing about being a language teacher is that everything is an opportunity for learning and teaching, and the web is the most abundant, self-perpetuating font there is.

What makes current technologies the next step in the evolution of our species – at least to my mind – is that it is such a participative medium. Web 2.0 is not for consumers but for participants. My colleague and visionary rock star of educational technology, Henrick Borger, introduced me to the eloquent and touching video The Machine is Us/ing Us. This was a turning point in the way I see the web, education and life @ large. His e-vangelism went further than talk, and is also demonstrated in the collaborative resources he has started for our college: a general e-learning social network, a social bookmarking site on e-learning and most recently a wiki for new teacher orientation.

These resources are priceless, and demonstrate the potential of Web 2.0: they are constantly, organically evolving, and they continue to evolve as long as collaborators participate. Resources like these are a priceless resource, especially at a small college in a rustic area this one. Most of all this is more than a parting gift to the college: it is a legacy that can have an exponential impact.

Treading Lightly: The Expat Teacher’s Imperative

There are many reasons to tread lightly in this world. Not to cause too much disturbance, not to take away too much, not to change too much. Perhaps, most importantly, to know when to gently rock the boat, and when not to. And not to hoard.

When you are an expatriate, especially in education, the balance is a fine one. To educate and introduce a window on the world, but not to disregard what is right there. To facilitate, but not to interfere. To appreciate what is unique about the here and now, rather than compare it to the heres and nows past. To lead a life where possessions are simple, few and wisely chosen.

There is a classic conversation activity where students debate the top five things they would want to have with them on a desert island. Expat living is a bit like that desert island, especially for the common garden variety English teacher abroad, who doesn’t have the luxury of cargo and shipping budgets.

Exactly nine days away from relocation, I am counting, counting, weighing and measuring every single one of the precious items on my list. Essential? Replaceable? Storable? Scan-able?

Every item I do choose to take with me reminds me to choose simply, choose wisely, choose well. And wherever I move next, I sol

The Apprenticeship of Observation

One of the paradoxes of teacher education is the fact that, no matter what array of methodologies teacher trainees are exposed to, when they reach the chalk-face they are most likely to teach the way they were taught. Teaching practice tends to be history repeating itself. In the 1975 publication ‘Schoolteacher: A sociological study’, author Dan Lortie refers to this phenomenon as the apprenticeship of observation.

In my own teaching I have often found that I do not necessarily practice what I preach, at least methodologically. And I am not alone. Tragically, the greater the pressure – whether from workload, time pressure or disaffected students – the stronger the pull of the apprenticeship of observation. Yet these are the times when education is most in need of solid theory in practice, of sound yet experimental pedagogy and innovative techniques. These are the times when teachers most need to go beyond the craft into which we were apprenticed towards the art in which we were educated.

Mastery of teaching is a mirage that will always stay out of reach. It does not mean that every class will become easy. What it does mean is that experience, schooling, common sense, a healthy sense of adventure and, yes, the apprenticeship of observation, all interact to equip us with principled ways of addressing each class uniquely. Mastery forever remains a work in progress.

Teachers as Online Language Learners goes LIVE!

The Teachers as Online Language Learners project that is the anchor of my upcoming ICT assignment is finally live. Not only that, but I have decided to join the evaluation subjects in piloting the project by learning survival Korean using, well, my own guidelines. This involves the KoreaKast blog, and perhaps a podcast or vlog, too...

Rather than write more here, I am adding the links… watch this space!

Affluenza and the Value of Resourcefulness in Education

This morning I stumbled (almost literally) across the object in the attached photograph. It is an iron pipe connecting two paint cans filled with cement. As it turns out, the workers (at least six of whom share a single room) in a nearby building crafted this inventive makeshift barbell out of what anyone else would have seen as junk. I doubt whether they would have done so on a more generous income. And I have to wonder how many affluent folk possess such initiative, inventiveness and downright gumption.

As I become more embroiled in educational technologies, there is a nagging awareness at the back of my mind that all this fancy stuff can detract from the true quality of what we do. Much as a laud the true potential of ICT for education, I am painfully aware of the fact that, misinterpreted, these frills can easily cover up a vacuum of learning – a danger that is even more acute in emerging contexts, where the nature of quality has not necessarily been defined yet.

Not only that, but there is the danger that the deluge of resources we have access to online today can make us, at best, undiscerning, creatively blunt and at worst just plain lazy.

The Hunt is On

Job-hunting. In my salad days it used to be an occult endeavour fuelled by malevolent Fates. Just finding a job opening was an ordeal. Ensuring an application reached its destination, securing an interview and getting transport to the venue – not to mention getting impeccably dressed and groomed or acing and interview – were ordeals I rarely had the privilege to take on.

Times have, of course, changed. And so have I.

Despite an ailing global economy, anyone in the English Language Teaching business knows that there is no shortage of jobs. Quite the contrary: today I have the opposite dilemma from the past, with a plethora of vacancies advertised online. The dilemma, however, has taken on a new form, both for applicants and recruiters. Because quantity simply doesn’t guarantee quality.

For teachers like myself, this means sifting through swathes of advertisements to separate the chaff from the wheat, delving into the fine print and divining the truths from lies of omission. Since there is no formal standard for advertisements on many ELT websites, this can be a time-consuming and inaccurate process. The number of employers who provide more information on their websites is increasing, and of course online forums and networks are a boon, but many questions still remain unanswered. Innumerable teachers have been burned by unscrupulous ELT employers, and a note of caution is certainly in order.

For recruiters the dilemma is perhaps even greater. In an industry where standards are still not set internationally, there is no choice but to set the requirement of copious checklist items: qualifications, references, criminal record and health checks and the like. Yet even these ostensible facts do not really fathom the true quality of an applicant as an employee, far less a language teacher. In an industry where schools depend on the presence and performance of their instructors, human resources are indispensible to both quality and profit. There is a reason behind the scepticism of language schools towards (especially foreign, “native”) English teachers: employers, too, have been burned by unreliable employees.

The problem is expansive, and I do not have a complete solution. Yet I do believe a few simple, feasible steps will be of great help.

1. A standard format for advertising, provided as an online form by ELT websites.
2. A simple spreadsheet or table for job-hunters’ personal use, showing the different categories of information on jobs applied for, such as the name, school type, location, hours, remuneration package, pros and cons and, very importantly, an update on the application process, interview dates, feedback etc.
3. A portfolio system whereby applicants can demonstrate their organizational, teaching and technical skills through a set of documents. This should include a CV, philosophy of education essay, some lesson plans, materials and other work by the teacher. With online facilities like YouTube, posting demonstration or self-introduction videos is even possible.
These simple steps would guide the applicant towards introspection, raise standards and expectations from both parties and eventually have a ripple effect on the quality of English education internationally.

What’s stopping us?

My own humble attempt at an online portfolio can be found at http://sites.google.com/site/learningcoachm/

The End Is the Beginning

From the window of my study I see a father and son in tribal costumes settle a goat and two kids into the back of a pickup truck. The sonic eruption of the morning call to prayer has long died down, but since it is Thursday, and hence the beginning of the weekend, the road running through the Al-Khalew oasis that gives my neighbourhood its name is still quiet.

My past four years in Oman have been the most challenging time of my adult life, and yet I am painfully aware what a unique world I have experienced here. Unique, not only because of the nation’s strong traditions, but also because rapid economic development is changing the physical and social landscape. Whatever the difficulties of living and working at the friction point between ancient ways and modern means, I have been blessed to share this snapshot of a society in evolution. This is one of the things that makes teaching English abroad a persistently adventurous mission.

The last day at work was simultaneously deeply emotional and profoundly anticlimactic. So much so that after an hour of trying to write about it, I eventually gave up. With so many colleagues and students to whom I am so deeply indebted, no goodbye does justice to a long-standing professional relationship. Thanks to the multitude of online networking facilities, it is possible to keep in touch with these people who have been my surrogate family for so long. But of course, it will never be never quite the same.

The emotional load of leaving my job and home of four years aside, there remain several mountains to be moved in the coming month. Most urgently, an assignment for the final taught module of my MA remains. The course is Language Learning through Information Communications Technologies (ICT), the most inspired and inspiring I have taken yet. An explosive project is brewing at the back of my mind, but with the load of previous modules, and of course wrapping up and handing over my job, I haven’t quite made it concrete yet. With the deadline on 30 June, and my flight out of Oman at 5 AM the next day, things will have to happen very quickly.

In addition, there are the small matters of securing a decent new job with Critical Study-friendly hours and reasonable pay in a reasonably free society, tying up all logistics here in Oman, packing my home into two suitcases and preparing for my month in Europe. Though technically unemployed, I am certainly not under-occupied.

It will be a demanding month, but I am extremely positive about the open possibilities it offers. It feels extremely good to be a free agent again, if only for the ninety days until my next job begins. Just ninety days, but a great deal hangs in the balance.

After all, one of the perks of being a gypsy is licence to reinvent yourself and your life around the next corner. The end of one incarnation is the beginning of another.

Though the goat scene this morning was to far to capture clearly on film, another goat scene is attached. These goats were roaming outside the local supermarket here in Rustaq.

NEW ADVENTURES IN ACADEMIC ENDEAVOUR

This morning, as the local weekend began, I got up at 6 AM, brewed some coffee, sat down and lucidly plotted out my entire upcoming assignment in detail. After months of muddling through a murky mind, I can think again now that my coordination job is done. The assignment is still far from finished, and the deadline is frighteningly near, but I now know that a quality assignment will be ready on time, against all odds.

I do not like flying by the seat of my proverbial pants. This time there was simply no other option than the trade-off: my professional self-respect depends on doing my job as well as I can. But that is done now, and I can concentrate on my studies, my slightly wilted self and finding a job where they need not be neglected.

Equanimity or Enquiry? Two Views on Student Absence

Equanimity, or evenness of mind, is a quality that is valuable in all zones of life. In the English teaching profession, it is invaluable. Though I can hardly claim to have harnessed my rampant mind to achieve complete and constant equanimity, time and experience have certainly helped. (Unless, of course, it is simply what seems like the rapid onset of old age that tends to accompany the end of semester?)

Today marked the middle of the fourteenth week of our sixteen-week semester. It also marked the mass exodus of students from campus, eight teaching days before the exams begin. Of course, the choice is theirs to make ? they are young adults, after all. Stunned as I was to find that nobody in my weakest class had shown up for today?s class, I willed myself not to feel disappointed or hurt. Their actions are not a reflection on their progress, my teaching or my value as a human being.

Or are they?

What could a young adult possibly want to do more than spend two hours in my scintillating company exploring the language in which they will study for a degree next year, the ways they can learn it enjoyably beyond the classroom walls, and most of all revelling in the progress they have made in this near-miraculous three months we have spent together?

Well? they obviously prefer what life beyond the classroom has to offer. Truth be told, most students do. The question is, what can we do to make the classroom an equally tempting contender for their attention. In short, what?s life got that I aint got?

The people have spoken, and they have spoken with their feet. Although this doesn?t justify self-flagellation, it certainly is cause for concern. If formal education is to be meaningful, educators have a responsibility to make our classrooms a destination tantalizing enough to compete with the best life has to offer.

And that is worth our sincere and astute enquiry.

"It's All Make Believe, isn't It?": Online Play in Language Learning

The personal experience of an online role play activity was eye-opening to me not only as a student and educator, but also as the rather anaemic individual that ekes out an existence behind these roles that have permeated, infiltrated and completely run amok in my life of late. I will, therefore, begin this reflection with the insights of my malnourished individual self, before exploring my views “in character” as a student, teacher and educational administrator. Just this once, indulge me.

Personal insights
A profound personal insight was that every human being is far more than the roles that we are assigned by the necessities of daily life. Our behaviour is often dictated by time and circumstance rather than our own choices. Stepping out of our true identity (or day-to-day mask) and into another is both liberating and empathizing.

Another revelation was that participants in a role play may benefit from the traits of the characters they play. In my own case I was assigned the identity of the ultimate blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe – my diametrical opposite. My behaviour as a professional is always spearheaded by reason, logic and frankness. Feminine wiles are simply not in my artillery out of principle. Marilyn Monroe, on the other hand, built her entire career around her womanly appearance and charisma, ingénue behaviour and disarming charm. While I am hardly on the verge of exchanging my rhetoric for eyelash-batting, some re-evaluation may be in order.

Finally, I was reminded that deepened understanding of people often reveals unexpected depth. Monroe is often typecast as the quintessential dumb blonde. Yet my research on her revealed her capacity for profound thought and emotion. In fact, at least 90% of my contributions to the chat were direct quotes of her. The effect was poignant and showed a very different side of the legend.

In short, on a personal level the chat session was both thought-provoking and invigorating.

Student insights
As a student, I very simply enjoyed this chat session, and its preparation, far more than any other within and possibly beyond this course. The value of enjoyment in learning is self-evident.

As a student who is often self-conscious about the imbalance of contributions in the chat seminars, usually with myself dominating, I found the session a great relief. The participation was far more balanced than in any other session I have attended, with all students getting involved. A cursory word count of previous chat sessions showed that there was also far more activity on the whole. The MS Word word count in this session’s transcript was 6 396, as opposed to 3 621 in Unit 2, 3 421 in Unit 4, and 4 672 in Unit 6 transcripts.

One problem is that the activity’s effectiveness suffers if participants come unprepared. The solution in itself, however, points out the strength of CMC for social construction of meaning: other participants helped characters by providing more information on their history.

Educator insights
As an educator, actually participating in an activity of this nature allowed me to uncover potential benefits and drawbacks of online language play, particularly role play, in general and among my current students.

General benefits include those cited by Warner (below): increased motivation, increased participation, increased language input and output and potential for social construction of meaning, decreased contextual information and liberating power of anonymity. I would add to this that the nature of the activity can guide learners towards practice of particular target language. In this case, for instance, all but one of the characters was no longer alive, necessitating the use of the past tenses. The necessity to find out more about other characters, and later also their true identities, makes the use of question and answer forms an absolute requirement.

Benefits in my teaching environment would centre around the particular cultural constraints. Social taboos on communication between the genders severely cripple face-to-face classroom interaction. The mere use of pseudonyms could have a dramatic impact on the quality and quantity of interaction in mixed-gender classes if CMC became a reality in our under-resourced classes. A further benefit of anonymity would be its potential liberating effect on students who are self-conscious, or are more comfortable with computer use than English use.

General drawbacks can include learners’ avoidance of correct or more challenging language forms. This would include learners giving overly brief answers rather than fuller sentences, as well as copying and pasting information when not feeling confident to formulate their own expressions. In the longer term, instructors would be wise to provide ongoing feedback on frequent language errors, since the converse of learners’ increased use of the language is the danger of entrenching a fossilized interlanguage. Finally, systems should be in place to support learners to move from increased confidence in their language use on the screen to increased confidence in the real world. It is important to consider the character or pseudonym as a tool, not a crutch for life.

In my own context, the drawbacks may once again be related to the cultural taboos, which have an inhibiting effect on the possibility of many kinds of language play. Among the small samples of language play that have come up in the reading and in the activity, there were numerous examples (crude language, sexual banter etc.) that would be unacceptable to students and would compromise the teacher legally. Detrimental instances of flaming, due to student frustration in a mandatory course, are a further potential hazard. Since so many social norms are not always overtly expressed, and the price for transgressing them is so high, serious thought would have to be given to the ways in which online language play can be fostered in this environment when infrastructural development finally makes it possible.

Conclusion
Personally engaging in an online role play can provide valuable insights on a personal, academic and professional level. Such an activity can have a multitude of potential benefits. Optimal implementation will demand careful construction of the activity, taking into consideration ways to exploit the potential benefits of CMC and control the potential drawbacks within a particular teaching context.

LAST LAP

That last lap around the field is the one where we truly see what we are made of. It is the time when every athlete has gone beyond the limits of strength and is running on the fumes of willpower alone.

That last lap is not unlike the end of semester.

For me, this is the last lap in many things. Not only are my students’ courses drawing to an end, I am also preparing to move to a different employer and a different country, in addition to completing the last modules of my MA before taking on the dissertation. It seems that each of these things demands the full cognitive capacity of one human being (or perhaps more!), and giving each its due is the greatest challenge I have faced in my adult life.

Perhaps blogging about this is a cunning procrastination strategy. Yet articulating the demands on are an important part of preparing to meet them. Stepping back to see what must be done is, sometimes, more important than to “just do it”.

Which is what I will now proceed to do.

THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

As the end of this semester rapidly draws near, I am delighted at the strides my students have taken. Yet I wonder how their triumphs will show up on the ruthless radar of assessment.

When I first met these students, they needed an interpreter to find out when and where their first classes would be. A month ago they rather actively participated in videoed interviews where they had to introduce themselves and talk about pictures they were shown. They show up for every lesson, doing their part, asking questions when they need guidance. They grasp every opportunity to apply expressions they have learnt, spontaneously and in context. I have never been as grateful for a sneeze in class as when the formerly most reluctant student piped up “Bless you!” without missing a beat.

My brave soldiers have come a long way in the eleven short weeks that we have worked together. All of them passed the midterm exam safely. And yet it is not certain that the final, external examination will do them justice. After all their efforts – and, yes, my own as well – the achievement is clear to see. But will it show up in the finals? I have to hope and pray that it does. It is extremely important that they see evidence that hard work and passion pay dividends. While it already has, my goal for the coming weeks is to ensure that both my students and the powers that be see what they have accomplished.

Failure is not an option. Mostly because they have succeeded. We just need to prove it.

OMANTEL BLOCKS ACADEMIC RESEARCH WEBSITE GOOGLE SCHOLAR

The importance of education in Oman's development is a matter of which the nation is aware at all levels. As an educator and researcher who has been based here for several years, I am acutely aware of the value access to quality information has for Omani students. Due to the dearth of academic books and libraries in the country, the tertiary education sector is largely dependent on the Internet in this respect. While search engines such as Google offer general information, academic research is enabled far more effectively by the research-specific Google Scholar website (http://scholar.google.com/schp).

To my great shock I have discovered that this website - perhaps one of the most vital to research development in this emerging nation - has been blocked by Omantel for the past week (http://www.omantel.net.om/new5.html?category=Pornography). Although I have emailed the company for a reversal of the decision, there has been no response as yet, and five calls to the company's internet helpline have delivered no satisfactory explanation.

The implications of disabling one of the most powerful research tools available - and one of the few available in Oman - send shivers down the spine of any academic community this nation may aspire to. While the World Wide Web teems with morally dubious potential, this is not usually the concern of dessicated academics such as ourselves.

Information, of course, is a dangerous thing. However, we have to weigh that up against the greater danger of the lack of information. Yet the greatest peril of all is the lack of wisdom to select and use information wisely. That is the peril that actions such as these - justifiably - inspire.