English, Fun & Living in HK, Japan and Taiwan

Teachers should really give OpenOffice.org a look: Office XP compatible, lots of extra features, Mac/Win/Linux variants, and PDF export functions. It is also multi-lingual, multi-system, and uses openly accepted formats.

It is a highly suitable tool for Teachers everywhere and well worth the download from OpenOffice. Its website says: “Ooo is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.”

I’ve been using it on and off since version 1.1 and our school is now solely using Ooo as our shared platform. It takes a little while to get used to it, but reports from Office 11 is that the new ribbon takes even longer. There are one or two problems that we noticed: the Word Table Drawing Tool isn’t there, and I find it very useful for drawing regular grammar tables! Oh, well. And Ooo has some funny errors that reset font changes for some words or others every time you open it.

But for our school, it’s generally the right match for our needs. The conversion process from Office isn’t plainsailing as tables, paragraphs and so on have to be redone. But with such good software, and a flexible licensing program, we’re not going back to Office.

For me, though, the licensing is the part I like best: no activation needed, no problem on installing the same copy on my home machines, my school machines or on my USB Key. Now trying doing that with Office 11! You might manage one or two depending on the licensing, but a USB Key install – hah! Not likely.

As itinerant teachers, we travel from country to country, we build up our book collection, our material collection and our experience. All of these are portable. They can be used with varying degrees of modifications in different countries.

How annoying it is that when we build up a collection of DVDs (legally), that we use as source material for our students, we can’t use them in different countries, too. So, I have found some toys that you might like to try to help ease these difficulties.

Remote Selector can be downloaded and run before you play the DVD you want. I’ve installed it in XP and 98SE and run it with both WinDVD and PowerDVD. I tested it with Region 1 and Region 3 DVDs and it seems to work just fine. I have no idea if it works with Vista, but then why would anyone use Vista?

Other solutions are available: DVDgenie and DVDIdle.

Kenneth

Scott Sommers on the new education law regarding kindergartens and nurseries, and the increasing amount of government interference in this end of the market

I predict that we are seeing the demise of the freewheeling days of bushiban teaching and the introducing of the modern regulation and control of private education

This is not the only area of ESL in Taiwan in which the government has been taking quite big steps, if anything, the introduction and promotion of the GEPT is also part of the government’s stance to increase the standards of English in high schools and above, while to some greater extent standardizing the learning of English throughout the country. It is increasingly being used as an additional measure of selection for students in private schools and universities, and also as an exit criteria.

I do predict that the government will if anything continue to increase the amount of interference in the ESL market at the sub-18’s level to a greater extent, and at the post university level to a lesser extent.

For some of us, this means extra opportunities, but for others, it means a drying up of traditional options for teaching. Some give, some take.

Kenneth

Windows and Piracy Microsoft is due to release its new Vista operating system either toward the end of this year or at the beginning of next year. Will this new operating system be as successful as Microsoft’s other offerings?

Interesting discussion here because of some of the points that people have raised regarding piracy as an alternative form of advertising/promotion esp. in countries that are quite poor. The theory is that getting people hooked on M$ will be good for their own business as people increasingly turn to legal copies…

It’s certainly an interesting argument, though M$ has to talk tough to prevent everyone doing that, I suspect that they do somewhat condone this. Linux could really dent their long term ‘dependency’ relationship, as could open source software in general. Once you’re hooked on, say, OpenOffice… why would you ever pay for M$Office?

Kenneth

A recent report on The China Post Stated
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=27713

88% of students feel intense pressure to learn English: study

“According to a recent poll, a vast majority of students feel immense pressure to learn English.

The survey, organized by the People First Party caucus in the Taipei City Council, polled 1,180 fifth and sixth graders about their reasons for learning English. Eighty-eighty percent responded that they felt intense pressure to learn the language while 84 percent studied English at cram schools outside of their regular schoolwork.”

Actually, this plays very nicely, albeit somewhat late!, into the discussion of students learning of English… and their exam performance.

Are we placing too much emphasis on ‘traditional’ learning methods, at the expense of creating a positive environment for children to learn English?

Kenneth

Planning compositions can often lead to frustrations in students, as one commenter noted: Loretta wrote on Forumosa’s Teaching Board (can’t find the exact reference)…

Taking the ideas and organizing them into a list that becomes the outline of the composition is waaay too hard. It’s far easier to just start writing and then make a list later to show teacher. They’re just going through the motions without really recognizing the importance of it.

They seem to think that planning is a waste of time. The process of getting their ideas together takes so long that they don’t have time to write the composition, so they think it’s better just to start writing. Given say 40 minutes they’ll spend 30 struggling to decide what to say, and when they start writing they stop looking at the plan anyway.

The usual result is garbage.

We’ve done a lot of exercises to help them think of things to say about unfamiliar topics, and they’re better at that now. But the structured presentation of those ideas is another story.

I used to teach a lot of writing classes. Some observations….

1. break the process of writing into different stages (as you have done)…
2. increase the amount of peer review that the writers have to do…
3. encourage your ‘writers’ to evaluate each other’s writing…
4. don’t despair at their writing… they have to write the crap first before they have any chance of writing something decent…
5. try freewriting as an alternative writing task… I always made my students do this, hah!
6. increase students’ actual READING, not just MODELS. A good writer is always a good reader. Most students don’t read enough of the language to get to the subtleties. They need to read a variety of English to understand the textures of English, not just their own ESP variety. That usually leads to a lopsided English ability.
7. don’t forget to see writing as a holistic part of the activity of learning English, not just for passing an exam…
8. set criteria if you can’t find any… and be prepared to score toughly. Fail a few papers, too. Don’t be generous with your marking. They won’t get any favors from the examiners…
9. GEPT writing guidelines are available in Chinese of course! in the exam pack available from GEPT organization for about $200. This includes a model exam. What level are they?
10. most Chinese think good writing means flowery words/sentences with little or no organization, copied phrases/idioms/etc., lots of “Frankly speaking,/etc…” crap, and homily kind of treatments of topics. Yuck! The only answer is a big RED PEN to most of this.
11. We are teaching a VALUE system when it comes to the general Academic writing that is expected in TOEFL/GEPT. Our values are clarity, organization and content. A good turn of phrase helps a great deal! But it won’t get you past an exam.
12. Don’t forget to mold their expectations of how much they can achieve. It took my class 60 hours to grasp the basics over a year. But they usually improved. You might be able to do this in 40 hours or so. But there aren’t any ‘short cuts’.
13. You can offer lots of tips however. BUT students who don’t want to do the writing (that means Homework, too) won’t really make sufficient improvement to pass.

What other tips do readers having for teaching writing? Have you had any notable successes or failures?

Kenneth

Year after year, the local newspapers raise the same questions as this raised by the China Post article published on April 18th, 2005…

According to a recent poll, a vast majority of students feel immense
pressure to learn English.

The survey, organized by the People First Party caucus in the Taipei
City Council, polled 1,180 fifth and sixth graders about their reasons
for learning English. Eighty-eighty percent responded that they felt
intense pressure to learn the language while 84 percent studied
English at cram schools outside of their regular schoolwork.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=27713

Actually, this plays very nicely, albeit somewhat late!, into the
discussion of students learning of English… and their exam
performance.

Are we placing too much emphasis on ‘traditional’ learning methods, at
the expense of creating a positive environment for children to learn
English?

For more discussion of this, please visit here and here where there’s been quite lively discussion of these issues.

Click this RSS Feed for more! Let me know what you think?
Kenneth

One of my favorite online journals has just released a new edition! So, I’m not going to say much but just let you go over there and read it!

Special Issue on Technology and Learning to Read

We are happy to announce that Volume 11 Number 3 of Language Learning & Technology is now available at http://llt.msu.edu. The contents are listed below.

Please visit the LLT Web site and be sure to enter your free subscription if you have not already done so. Also, we welcome your contributions for future issues. See our guidelines for submission at http://llt.msu.edu/contrib.html.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Chun and Irene Thompson, Editors
Marlise Horst, Special Issue Editor
Language Learning & Technology

—– Feature Articles —–

Computing the Vocabulary Demands of L2 Reading
Tom Cobb

Vocabulary Learning in an Automated Graded Reading Program
Hung-Tzu Huang & Hsien-Chin Liou

Reading Authentic EFL Text Using Visualization and Advance Organizers in a Multimedia Learning Environment
Huifen Lin & Tsuiping Chen

Reading Comprehension Exercises Online: The Effects of Feedback, Proficiency and Interaction
Philip Murphy

A Mobile-Device-Supported Peer-Assisted Learning System for Collaborative Early EFL Reading
Yu-Jun Lan, Yao-Ting Sung, & Kuo-En Chang

Commentary: The Promise of Digital Scholarhip in SLA Research and Language Pedagogy
Sally Sieloff Magnan

—– Columns —–
On the Net
LiTgloss
by Jean LeLoup & Robert Ponterio

Emerging Technologies
E-Texts, Mobile Browsing, and Rich Internet Applications
by Robert Godwin-Jones

—– Reviews —–
Edited by Sigrun Biesenbach-Lucas

eSpindle Vocabulary & Spelling Program Online
eSpindle Learning
Reviewed by Justin Olamson

Le Chandail de Hockey CD-ROM
3D courseware/ Les Editions 3D
Reviewed by Catherine Caws

When iPod goes collegiate

When Kenneth Rogerson walked into his newspaper journalism class on the first day of the school year, the professor could barely contain his excitement. After a quick introduction he broke the big news: “We got the grant,” he told his class. “You all get iPods.” (more)

This is part two of the series: You can read part 1 called “Education Agent or Direct Enrolment? Advice for your students.”

Quite often students are studying English because they want to study abroad. EFL Teachers then find themselves in the position of trying to answer questions about which schools to apply to, what is a good way to credits for English instruction, what to study, where, etc.. Although this article is written from the point of view of the student themselves, an EFL teacher could certainly find the information contained in it quite useful for those often difficult questions!

‘Advice on Choosing an Education Agency – A Guide for Taiwanese Students wanting to Study Abroad’- By Steve Sutherland

Steve Sutherland has been an education agent in Taiwan for four years (World Class Education - www.worldclassed.com.tw ) and manages a ‘Study Abroad’ industry forum called www.agentschat.com for Education Agents from around the world.

While most students have a positive experience when they undertake a course of study abroad, some come back disappointed and wish that they had chosen a better option. An education agent can help you to make the best decision but there are many things that you should be aware of before choosing an agent. This article sets out some of the things that you should consider.

Exactly what Services does the Agency offer?
The Agency will enroll you at the school but what additional services do they offer. Will they handle your visa application, make your travel arrangements or give you assistance in case of an emergency abroad?

How Reliable is the Agents Information?
My impression of most education agents that I have met is that they are concerned for the students that they consult and want what is best for them. However as in any business there is always a small minority that doesn’t operate as ethically as they should (this goes for schools as well).

While most agents will try to find the school that is best for you a few less professional agents will be motivated by commission and may talk you into an inferior school so that they can earn more commission. These agents take a ‘business is business’ approach and may exaggerate the truth to talk you into a specific course at a specific school.

Wherever possible you should do a little research of your own into the country, city, your course of study and the school. You may also consider trying to get the agents promises in writing if a dispute arises at a later date.

Talking to a few students that are already at the school or students who have recently completed their studies is one good way of finding out what a school is like.

Which agents are reputable?
Agents that belong to a national association such as TOSA that set standards for their members are more likely to be reliable. However there are also many good agencies that are not members of an association.

Sensible agents realize that it is their best interests that you, as their customer are happy as so much of their business comes from ‘word of mouth’ referrals. Happy students refer friends and acquaintances and the agencies business slowly grows. In general, you could expect that agencies that have been around for a longer period of time would offer a quality service while new agents you would be more cautious about.

If friends have had a good experience studying abroad you may consider asking them which agency handled their enrolment.

Paying Tuition Fees and other Expenses
After your agent has completed your enrollment and it comes time to paying for your course you may consider paying tuition fees and other expenses directly to the school instead of paying fees to your agents account for them to forward to the school.

In the unlikely case that the agency that you are using were to go bankrupt you could stand to lose your tuition fees if the agent had not yet forwarded them to the school.

Some agents also hold funds in their accounts for too long before transferring funds to schools and this can slow down the visa application process.

Schools have also been known to go bankrupt but in some cases Governments, other schools and schools associations have come to the rescue and compensated students in order to protect the reputation of their national education industry.

This decision should be based on the reputation of the agency and the school.

Consulting Fees
It should not be necessary to pay your agent additional consulting fees for a language school enrolment as the commission they earn is already reasonable. The exceptions would be short-term bookings and low cost destinations where the commission is small and a lot of the agents time is still involved.

University commission rates are lower and in some cases more work can be involved for the agent. An agencies consulting fees for a University application is usually justified.

High School bookings usually also justify additional consulting charges as the agent may be involved with the case over several years as the workload can be substantial (communication between the school and parents, translating school reports etc).

Some Questions to ask the Agent
Aside from asking the agent questions about the school, country and your intended course of study you should also question the agent on the following.

Exactly what services does the agency offer?
What is the average class size at the school?
How many Taiwanese students of your nationality are currently at the school?
How far is your accommodation from the school?
Where is the school located and what does it look like? Ask to see a good selection of pictures of the campus.
What Part-time work options are available and how do you apply for permission to work under your visa?
What the agent is able to do to help you if problems should arise while you are abroad?
What are the school or agency policies if you wish to change your accommodation?
What refund and cancellation policies do the school and agency have?
Are there any hidden charges that the school may charge for use of their resources or facilities such as book deposits?

In Conclusion
There are many things to consider when choosing an education agency to consult you on your ‘study abroad’ program. Most agents are professional and their students have positive experiences abroad. If you take a cautious approach to selecting your education agency and course of studies abroad you dramatically increase your chances of also having a positive experience.

Good luck planning your studies abroad!

Copyright – Steve Sutherland 2007