Week 14 Thanksgiving Break!!!

I had so much fun during the break! I got to enjoy my first thanksgiving in the States.

Week 13 Podcasting and Expert Panel

It was interesting to see that podcasts can be divided into 4 categories: discrete-category podcasts, ESL-focused podcasts, general audience podcasts and super podcasts. I spent a lot more on general audience podcasts like TED talks because those podcasts offer more creative ideas from different disciplines while providing language inputs. The ideas acquired from the podcasts can further motivate me to apply the language inputs in my daily learning. However, the choice of podcasts varies among learners. Learners at beginner level may not choose general audience because this category requires more knowledge of advanced vocabulary. However, they can choose superpodcasts for their language learning because this type offers a wide range of podcasts which suit needs of different levels.

The application of podcasts in language learning is highly useful. As an English learner, I started using podcasts for learning a few years ago. The immense input from podcasts has helped me level up to advanced level. This illustrates the potential of podcasts for learning. Moreover, podcasts should be very beneficial for auditory learners because these learners acquire input faster by listening.

Aside from the discussion about podcasts, we also have our Expert Panel presentations this week. My group presented on scaffolding strategies in a telecollaborative project. Scaffolding strategies in a project are provided for all levels of learners. However, the amount of scaffolding for low-levels may exceed that for higher levels because higher levels seem to struggle less in public speaking or understanding. Moreover, scaffolding strategies should be implemented at different phases of a project so that learners can better acquire the knowledge.

Week 12 Learning styles

Before the discussion in class, I have never heard of these learning styles: Auditory, Tactile, Visual and Kinesthetic. However, The awareness of these learning styles gave me a lot of insights into constructing effective scaffoldings in my final project. In my project, scaffolding has been taken into consideration, but it is not student-oriented because I didn't consider students' needs. The discussion about the learning styles really gave me an opportunity to revise my scaffolding. Perhaps conducting a survey about students' styles before the implementation of the project will help me adapt my scaffolding strategies.

Other than the application in a collaborative project, the awareness of learning styles can be applied in my teaching. Honestly, I have never thought about my students' learning styles before, but now the consideration of their styles can help improve the effectiveness of my teaching. Integrating more visuals, audio input and also group discussions may allow students to absorb the knowledge faster.

Week 11 Wiki and language learning apps

Wiki was a brand new tool for me. I don't like its interface, but its potential for pedagogical application was immense. Wiki can function really well for a telecollaboration project because it allows different users to synchronously or asynchronously work on a task or a project. If students from different countries want to learn about cultures, all of them can add the content in the same document on Wiki. In this way, they can compare the similarities and differences between their cultures. Doing this can not only save their time to google sources, but also give them a full picture of what other people do in their countries. Other than the potential for a collaborative project, Wiki can also be used for teaching. As an ESL instructor, we have a number of group discussions or work in class. If students can Wiki for their group work, it can save them a lot of time because they don't need to communicate via emails.

Aside from exploring Wiki, we also investigated a list of language learning tools: Livemocha, BeSpeke, Lingualia and etc. These tools are free to use, and they are user friendly. Language learners can have more options if they don't like some of them.


I introduced these tools to my students in class and gave them around 10 minutes to explore the tools. My students were all excited about the tools because they could have more opportunities to practice their English by using these language learning applications.

With no doubt, these tools are useful for learning languages, but their effectiveness is still debatable. The reason is that free versions place restrictions on access to everything. If learners want more access, they need to pay for premium.