Summer Goals

Well, it's scary to put some goals out there on the Internet, but here I go.  Of course, I have some personal goals to work on this summer, namely de-cluttering my digital and analog life.  Those goals aside, I have some lofty ambitions for the summer which include:  

1. Taking a design course.  Design is important to me because I like to turn out teaching materials and presentations that are visually stimulating and easy to read; I think this adds a lot of professionalism and legitimacy to my job.  It seems hard to find the time in my schedule to take a course like this.  From what I understand and remember from art and design classes, the creative process can be quite slow.  I know I'd have to put more hours into a studio class than I have time in my schedule, so I'm going to try to learn what I can from    Hack Design.

2. Make to-do lists.  I'm always in so many different places, and I usually prefer to hand-write to-do lists, but I really run around too much to keep track of them.  I find it sort of troublesome to have to log-in to an account to keep a to-do list, but I think by adding an extension to my homepage on Google Chrome, I might find it to be less cumbersome.  I'm trying out Wunderlist now that TeuxDeux is no longer free.

3. Learn a new language.  I really don't get a full summer vacation until September, when I plan to go to Zurich.  While traveling is fun for me, it's much more enjoyable if I can converse with the locals.  I've been playing around with Duolingo for a few months to work on the Deutsch, but now it's time to get serious.   Plus, it's a great way for me to remember how my students feel learning English.

4. Take a research methods course.  I'm still hemming and hawing on this one.  My research skills are pretty good right now, but I think they could be buffed up, especially because I'm about to submit an IRB and hope to get another publication in the next year.  Do I just bite the bullet and take the course for a grade, or do I ask to audit it?  There are a few more days before I need to make a decision. 

So, that's it.  Those are my plans.  What's in store for your summer?  Set some goals!

This post was written after reading an inspiring article about managing productivity and creativity.  Check it out.

A word that always amuses students

When I tell my students the word procrastination, they usually look at me like they haven't heard the word.  Then, I give them examples: "Procrastination is starting writing this 5 page research paper at midnight on the day it is due."  "Oooh!"  Eyes light up, heads go down, smiles peak out.  I knew about procrastination too in college, so I smile along with them.  This video about procrastination demonstrates it perfectly.  I think showing just the first minute or so would be fun.  Then, you could have students guess the meaning, and they could share examples of times when they have procrastinated.  Or, they could fess up and tell what they are currently procrastinating on in their studies.

My advanced study class really seemed to get a kick out of this one when I posted it on our class discussion board..

Silent Films

A few years ago, I found this collection of intriguing silent films from the NY Times.  It has famous actors such as: Matt Damon, Javier Bardem, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jennifer Lawrence play in these shorts.  I bookmarked the page but had forgotten about it until recently.  As I was browsing through my TESOL convention program booklet, I found materials and a presentation on using silent films in the language classroom, which reminded me of this resource that has been so well done.​

The possibilities are endless!  I think that unlike traditional black and white silent films, these will add more interest for students because they will most likely recognize at least some of the actors.

​One of my favorite ways to use silent films is to teach the elements of plot. 

Javier Bardem in a silent film produced by the NY Times.​

Text passage selection + song selection

I regularly read Maria Popova's brilliant Brain Pickings, and just discovered her side project, Literary Jukebox.​​

​What a smart idea, and what a way this could really increase student motivation and interest in reading. Asking students to select a passage from what they are reading in class or out of class for extensive reading, and then asking them to pair it with a piece of music that matches the style or ideas of the text could really go far! I would love to see what students could come up with--and what a way to build classroom community. After all, music is the language of emotion.

Does chat sometimes inhibit communication?

Some research that I have read on synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) mainly states that it gives the silent students a voice and enables those quieter students to participate more than they normally would.  However, this video demonstrates how sometimes chat might actually cause us to be more timid in our communication–perhaps because we’re not able to take into consideration body language and facial expressions.  At any rate, I thought that this little video is fun and it makes me wonder how much we do hold back when chatting?  What do you all think?