Week 9: Writing skill

Did you taste Thai Food?

 Communication is way to learn and share cultures one another. Culture is important for each country. Food is part of culture. Food is important for every life, including animals, human, plants and seeds. If every life is the lack of food, they will be dead at the latest. Food is one of four main factors to live in the world happily. In western countries, people usually eat hamburger, eggs, bread, serials, pizza, etc. People lived in Japan always eat fresh fish such as Salmon. Although, Japanese people live in Asia as Thai, both countries have different culture for eating, dressing and living. According what I said, I mean each country is different from other, but everyone can share culture together. In this chatting, there are topics, including papaya salad, favorite TV programs, and other.

  I chat with my foreign friend. I ask him do you ever taste Thai food. He never tastes Thai food especially papaya salad. He can eat spicy food. In addition, I ask him what favorite channel he likes. He answers me he likes to see these channels such as science, news, movies, sports animal planets etc. But, he does not have time to see them. In UK, people usually use “then” after sentences when they talk with other. For example, who cares then? We should learn and recognize several cultures for comfort communicating. In UK, some people don’t worry about these questions, such as asking age, work, revenue, or status. I can ask my friend how much money you earn each month. He tells me people who are lover at there usually live and go together without getting married. However, in Thailand, it is different from there because Thai women should get married before living with husband. Chatting is way to share culture with several people.

 Briefly, Communication is way to share new experience with other. People may communicate for several purposes such as communication for work, greeting, discussing on business and etc. Most people have to use English as Foreign Language or English as Second Language. When we speak with people, we can know about them such as cultures, favorite food, and profile. In addition, I can know different English using in UK and in American. For example, UK people use take a camera instead of using take a photo. In my opinion, I think we should practice speaking English such as chatting with foreign people on social network or talking with people in English in the real life situations. How can you practice speaking English with foreigners? Why should you speak English in every time? 

Week 9: Listening skill-Bats, flying mammal

Bat: Flying mammals

 In this world, there are many species of mammals. One of them is bat species. The United Nation has discovered about 2011-2012 years of bats. The campaign was laughed last year as a way to protect flying mammals of the world. The bats are the one of flying mammals that people fear. Only three bats species feed on blood. So, most people do not like the bats because they think the bats have been linked to the death darkness and Vampire such as the movie about vampire(The Twilight). The bats can be found in many places such as the cities, deserts, grasslands and forests. There are 1,200 bats species. The smallest spicy is in the Southeast Asia. The bumblebee is long about 30 millimeters. The largest bat is the Giant Golden Crowned Flying Fox. People think the bats will concern them and increase diseases. In this article, I would like to talk about the bats, one of flying mammals. There are main content about how the bats live, benefits of them, and disease spread over the states.

 There are benefits for the bats.  Bats are important for agriculture and our environment. They can spread seeds. In addition, they can control insects because they eat huge insects that damaged crop such as brown bats. According to report, bats can help American farmers save much money from reducing insects lead to less using the chemicals. Next, bats eat insects, feed on fruits, and nectars of flowers.  They are not blind. Most bats communicate and find their way using sound echoes. They produce noise too loud and can know the distances of an object using the sound echoes. When the bats travel in the darkness, they can see using sound. More than 50 bats species are under threat because they are damaged by disease named white nose syndrome last five years. Therefore, the human destroy the natural environments where the bats lived. The white nose syndrome spread at least over the nineteen states and part of Canada. However, Leslie Sturges, director of Bat World NOVA in Washington D.C. area, likes to save bats’ life. She cares the injured bats at her home. She hopes to protect them and bring them to good environment. When the bats look healthy, she move them to area nearly her home. One of her bats named Shaggy.  She cares it until it can eat well. She is nice woman.

  The bats are important for the environmental systems. Most people usually think the bats are bad and affect to the environments. Only three bats species feed on blood. People should make understand how they live without wrong attitude. People usually linked the bats to the death, the night and vampire on movie. In fact, their thought is wrong. The bats are helpful for doing farming because they eat huge insects that destroy products from agricultures. In my opinion, I think we should protect flying mammal such as the bats. They are good for the natural environment but they are damaged by white nose syndrome and destroyed by the human. What do you think about protection the bats species? Do you agree on this article? Why can you do for protecting the bats damaged by destroyed by the human? How?

Reference:

David Keltner.  Bats, Flying Mammals.  Assessed from: http://
            www.manythings.org/voa/v/ja/ (On July 30 th, 2013).

Week 9: Learning Log-on July 29 th, 2013

“Development Education in Thailand into ASEAN community”

   Education in Thailand, teaching Thai students in EFL classroom, is not effective. In Thailand, teachers usually teach students focused on lectured teaching, so students cannot move their physical skills or using authentic language in situation that is familiar with their live. Likewise, students cannot produce the productive skills (speaking and writing skill). This problem comes from main three factors such as teachers, students and materials. Before teaching, teachers should understand how curriculum is leads to planning lesson plan. Next, teachers prepare materials and how to teach students in the EFL classroom focused on CLT method. Then, teachers teach students, teachers should allow them to do activities most. After that, teachers use rubrics to evaluate how they develop English, teachers should tell students what they improve. In this section, I would like to talk about how to plan lesson plan and what teachers should be in teaching.

      Teaching Thai students in the EFL classroom is not difficult. However, teachers should know what they need or what they should be. Teachers should understand English curriculum before planning lesson plan. If teachers need to teach students how speaking skill is, they have to teach students focused on speaking most. In teaching, there are five steps, including (1.) warm-up (2.) presentation (3.) practice (4.) production and (5.) evaluation. Teachers may show pictures and ask students a question what we will learn today in warm-up step. Next, teachers teach students about lesson and ask students to check understanding by using why? or how? Then, teachers allow students to do activities in pair or work group for practice step. After that, teachers use rubrics to evaluate students’ competence. Good teachers should teach students to use English in the real situation.

          Conclusion, teaching English for Thai students should be familiar with the real life situation where they faced. English teachers in century 21 th should be good at planning lesson plan, teaching method, grammar and using authentic materials. Teachers should teach students by using CLT and CBL method together. In addition, students are taught what lesson connected to their live. For example, teachers teach students about asking for direction. Teachers may show a map about Nakhon Si Thammarat and teach students how to ask and answer direction using preposition. Next, teachers should them examples related to the map. Then, students understand how to ask and answer the direction. After that, teachers may let them to work in pair. In my opinion, I think if students can ask and answer the direction with the foreigners in the real situation such as the Phrathat temple, so they can do activities related to aim. How do you think about education in Thailand at this present? Why should Thai teachers teach English for Thai students in the EFL classroom?

Week 9: Learning Contract

Learning Contract

Days of week	Time	Skill
Sunday	07:35	Learning Contract
Monday	18:28	Learning Log
Tuesday	20:25	Listening skill
Wednesday	14:30	Writing skill
Thursday	-	-
Friday	22:00	Listening skill
Saturday	09:40	Reading skill

Week 8: Chatting is Favorite Social Network.

Chatting is favorite social network.

Example dialogue

Chatting is favorite social network.

 As well, good teaching should be both learning inside and outside classroom. Teachers should use new teaching method, authentic materials, and new strategies. Facebook is popular social network using more among teenagers, adults or others in entertainment and communication than using it for practicing English. Facebook is new social network offering Thai students learn outside classroom by themselves. On July 27 th, 2013, I chat with a foreigner for practicing English. The topic I chat with foreign friend who live at abroad is about general things. In this section, I ask him about his hobby.

Chatting is favorite hobby for some students. Before chatting, most people usually greet with this words “hello, hi or hey.” Some words used for someone whom is close friends such as “What’s man?” I ask Costa Pius what his hobby he likes to do besides chatting. He answers me, his hobbies are computing, listening music and etc. In addition, I give some recommendation from him how to read news in public. He recommends even if I can see script all the times but before finished the sentence I have to look at the audience. I therefore see the BBC English news how reporters read. I get new idea from foreign friend how to read English news. Chatting is helpful for students to get new experience.

Briefly, chatting is not same as gossiping about someone. Gossiping usually is not good for everyone. Chatting can be good way in communication, and then we can decide whether something is good or bad. We can know how to directly communicate with the others. Sometimes, I chat something that my foreign friend do not understand, so I have to say something that easily to understand. After I chat with this foreign friend, I can develop my English more than in the previous of time. Now, I know chatting is way to improve how to communicate. Do you like to improve English by chatting on social network? 

Week 8: Chatting to gain new idea

Chatting to gain new idea

Thai students usually have educational problems. They are taught to remember only vocabulary without related to creating new sentences. Teachers also use traditional teaching method such as descriptive teaching, or being teacher-centred. When teachers start lesson, they often tell students to pick the book and open on page… In addition, they don’t give students opportunity to speak English. In 21th century, English teachers should change teaching method and apply Communicative Language Teaching for teaching students to practice macro skills especially speaking skill. Chatting is new strategy that students can do and learn outside the classroom.

Chatting is not new way to practice English as Foreign Language or as Second Language. I also have chatted with a foreigner. He is English who have lived in the United Kingdom. He studies in the BPP University at there. He is studying at accountancy major and working past-time in weekend. He tells me in the United Kingdom, there is teaching grammar as Thai education. He is not good for writing. I ask him “Do you like to read academic journal?” He answers me he does not know about it, but he does not bother it. In Thailand, allowing students to read academic journal is good for Thai students because teachers need to know that all the students should know about the institutions. Besides chatting for practice English, it is way to entertain.

Conclusion, chatting can help students to practice English like speaking face to face with someone. Teachers can help students practice English inside the EFL classroom. For example, teachers give students opportunity to make more conversation in class than teaching only vocabulary, phonetic, grammar. Using materials to teach students, especially authentic material is good strategy for students. Using drama, storytelling, game, power point, songs all are good materials for teaching students to understand and apply English in the real life situation. Do do you practice English outside the classroom? How?

Week 8: Using social network to improve English

Using social networks to improve English

                

    Social networks offer several things to users such as entertainment, chatting with friends or others, getting knowledge or experience. Social networks- Facebook, twitter     , Whatapp, Line are so famous for crowded. Most people usually use them for entertaining. Someone often chat to ask about homework or others such personal profile, post status, gossip with friends or practice English with foreigners. In this section, I chat with foreigners for practicing English coupled with asking about their culture. In addition, I chat for homework that a teacher gives me to do outside classroom for writing skill and speaking skills.

I chat with my friend who lives in abroad. He is friendly and nice on chatting. My friend, whose name is Costa Pius, greets me around 3:40 p.m. Time in the United Kingdom is slower than Thai time about 6 hours. In the United Kingdom is 8:40 a.m. The first time he greeted me, good morning- in fact- that time is afternoon in Thai. After that, he usually greets me, hello or hi only. This week I ask him about what he plans for his future. He wants to be financial director because he wants to get respects from the others. In addition, he needs to have good wife and good family. His dream is very big. However, my dream in future is being good English teacher and having comfortable family. He does not mind to tell about his personal information. When I chat with Costa Pius, I enjoy chatting with him coupled with getting new idea about English such as culture, how to communicate easy to understand and sharing new experience with new friend.

    In brief, every student can use social networks for communicating with foreigners. As usual, I use social networks for communicating with teachers and my roommate about homework and asking what I do not understand in private group. In previous time, I do not like to chat with foreigners because I do not dare to speak English. I also think they do not understand what I say. At this time, a teacher tells me to do homework by chatting with a foreigner for writing skill. I usually chat with a foreigner about general things. I can practice English and understand what a foreigner chat to me. Therefore, I am good at typing on computer as faster than before. I think learning by self is good for students.

Week 8: Using Letters to Tell the Stories in the EFL Classroom

Using Letters to Tells Stories in the EFL classroom

Writing skill is important productive skill like speaking skill. When we write about something formal or informal, we should think of writing letters and writing process. When we write stories, they may be our personal life using our imagination, social experience and how to affect us. In addition, writing may be easy to understand, when we develop it within piece of writing. In this article, I will tell two ways how to use letters for telling stories with different students, beginner and advanced students. Using letters can develop English Language Learning. It is based on teaching English as Foreign Language (EFL) with authentic materials and communicative ability.  In this section, I will describe two activities exploring with secondary school students. The first activity is how to use writing letters for beginners. The second one is activity (epistolary story) for advanced students.

The first activity is how to use writing letters for beginners. Teachers can start a letter exchange in a class of beginner who is 11-12 years old in secondary school. The letter-writing activity can be part of lesson as the following: Class is focused on beginning EFL students. There are several materials used such as copies of a letter found in an EFL textbook, a small box, paper, and envelopes. In warm-up step, teachers photocopy letters of learners and tell them to introduce themselves. Students write their name in upper left-hand and address in the center of envelop like making from post office. During class, teachers ask students using letters in the modern world. After that, teachers give them copying of the letters and ask them some question. Let students see the letters’ structure and know how to use them. Teachers announce received letters to their students and allow students to find their delivery letters. Homework, teachers tell students to reply their letters. After the lesson, teachers can collect the letter and read it. Teachers ask the class to guess who the author is. The first activity is helpful students can write and read received letters.

The second one is activity (epistolary story) for advanced students. The target students are advanced. Materials are used: paper and time used about 1 month. During the lesson, each students write a letter to “Dear you.” The letters can include a true, assuming, or imaginary story. Each student signs their full name in the letter. After finished, teachers collect all the letters and give students the letters that are not theirs. Teachers ask students to reply the letters. In their response they need to ask, “What happened?” Each student has the letters relationship with another, and asks them to continue for a month. Everyone have exchanged like the stories wrapped. After the lesson, teachers give feedback students while they develop the stories through the letter exchange. In the second exchange, teachers organize them to work in small group and brainstorm to develop their story or ask them how the story may be finished. After finished story, let them edit their stories in small group and put all of them for the others read.

Conclusion, using the letters can help students how to make stories. According to two exercises, these activities help beginning student school aged 11-12 and advanced students. Using letters can enhance students to directly gain new experience for learning English to communicate their feel­ings, and emotions. In addition, the activities are related to writing skills for developing social interaction, constructionism, creative skill coupled with using imagination. Using the letters can help students understand how to make up the stories easily and be fun with game in the EFL classroom. In my opinion, both activities can be applied into larger projects or new units lead to spoken development.  If teachers ask students to present what they have written, describe the writing process and how the stories finished. The most important of these activities is focused on student-centred, allowing students truly create, write and edit their task to develop English as Foreign Language

Vocabulary	Pronunciation	Meaning
Engage (v)	/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/	ข้องเกี่ยว to succeed in attracting and keeping somebody's attention and interest Ex: Their pleas failed to engage any sympathy.
Envelope (n)	/ˈenvələʊp/	ซองจดหมาย a flat paper container used for sending letters in Ex: It might be a bit big but this envelope will do just fine. It's better to be too big than too small.
Personalize (v)	/ˈpɜːsənəlaɪz/	ทำให้เป็นส่วนบุคคล [usually passive] personalize something to mark something in some way to show that it belongs to a particular person Ex: All the towels were personalized with their initials.
Autobiography (n)	/ˌɔːtəbaɪˈɒɡrəfi/	อัตชีวประวัติ the story of a person's life, written by that person; this type of writing Ex: His autobiography was released today and was sold out by noon.
Permission (n)	/pəˈmɪʃn/	การอนุญาต the act of allowing somebody to do something, especially when this is done by somebody in a position of authority Ex: The school has been refused permission to expand.
Autonomous (adj.)	/ɔːˈtɒnəməs/	อิสระ able to do things and make decisions without help from anyone else Ex: Teachers aim to help children become autonomous learners.
Mainstream (n)	/ˈmeɪnstriːm/	หลักสำคัญ the ideas and opinions that are thought to be normal because they are shared by most people; the people whose ideas and opinions are most accepted Ex: He was never part of the literary mainstream as a writer.
Epistolary (adj.)	/ɪˈpɪstələri/	จดหมาย written or expressed in the form of letters Ex: What made you want to look up epistolary?
Illustrate (v)	/ˈɪləstreɪt/	แสดง to make the meaning of something clearer by using examples, pictures, etc Ex: Last year's sales figures are illustrated in Figure 2.

Reference:

Dario Luis Banegas.  Using Letters to Tell Stories in the EFL

               Classroom.  Assessed from:  americanenglish.state.gov/

                Files/ae/…/49_4_4_banegas.pdf (On July 20, 2013).