COMWEB BLOG 2009

ATT - The Best All-In-One Teachnical Teaching System

ENHANCING ORAL ENGLISH :

EFFECTIVE USE OF THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY

STELLA MATUTUINA GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER
JUNE 8, 2006
1:20 - 3:20 PM

Preview workshop video

OUR PURPOSE OF WORKSHOP

OUR PURPOSE

Schools purchase and install expensive language labs, yet the resource remains underutilized by teachers. Too often this expensive investment simply becomes an audio-visual room; a place to show movies at the end of a term. Teachers can be reluctant to change their teaching styles, or to revise their well-tested lessons. Many are intimidated by technology. Sometimes it is simply a matter of not knowing where to begin. The purpose of today’s workshop is to give teachers a starting point; and an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with their local colleagues. Hopefully, it is the first in a regular series of events to promote the use of technology in language teaching.

TODAY'S MENU

TODAY’S MENU
After a brief introduction, we will demonstrate a selection of functions of the ATT system. The students are Junior High 2 basic level conversation students. They have had less than one year’s experience in the language lab, and only a few lessons using the majority of the functions on display today. Following the demonstration, the teachers will have an opportunity to share their questions, reflections, experiences, and ideas.
PART 1: Previewing (Teachers)
o Introduction of the teacher, the students, the system and the lesson.
PART 2: Viewing (Teachers & Students)
o Activity 1: Teaching Mode & Team Work functions
o Activity 2: Group Broadcast function
o Activity 3: Audio Buffet function
o Activity 4: Telephone function
o Activity 5: Quiz function
 Tea Break (10 mins.)
PART 3: Postviewing (Teachers)
o Questions & Discussion
o Words from Jeff and Comweb.
o Mini grammar lesson!

BENEFITS OF THE ATT SYSTEM

BENEFITS
Technology motivates. Technology helps teachers to motivate students. Technology is innovative and stimulating.
Controlled audio environment. A quieter listening environment allows students to focus on language tasks free from distraction.
Controlled visual environment. Teaching with visual media provides a more stimulating language environment. It allows the studnt to experience authentic language content.
Efficient groupings. Teachers can effectively and efficiently arrange student groupings(horizontally, vertically, or randomly) without the need for students to physically move.
Size of groups. Teachers can effectively and efficiently control the size of the groups.
Multilevel options. There are usefull functions that allow teachers to prepare multilevel listening/speaking tasks.
Student choice. Select functions allow students to choose their own task for example, listening to different audio sources, recording their own voices, repeatd listening to and comparing with the sound fo a native speaker.
Easy monitoring. It is convenient for the teacher to monitor or join select student groups.
Reduced student anxiety. Without a teacher's presence nearby, student stress-levels are often lower.
Student privacy. Because Students wear headsets, they are often less reluctant to ask the teacher for help, or to speak English.
Multi-sensory. The system provides teachers with the opportunity to utilize a variety of multimedia with the flip of a switch.
Reduces need for teachers to rewrite notes for each class. In the regular classroom, teachers must continually rewrite the same notes from class to class. In the language laboratory, one well-prepared presentation can be used from class to class, year to year.
Students can work at own pace. Students can work through their assigned tasks at their own pace; this is difficul to do in a regular classroom.
Students can record audio for home study. With the independent digital ATT-280 box students can record audio for home study.
Different students can work on different tasks. In the "general mode" students bring their own language materials and independently work on different tasks.
Provides repetition. The book marks function allow students to repeatedly listen to different vocabulary, phrase or sentence patterns.
Teacher can easily and efficiently collect oral work for later evaluation. The homework function allows teachers to easily collect oral work for later evaluation.
Teacher can give oral/written tests with instant feedback and analysis. The ATT system's "quiz function" provides teachers with instant feedback and analysis.

CAUTIONS OF THE ATT SYSTEM

CAUTIONS
Learning curve. Teachers need to learn how to operate the ATT system.
Requires a change of teacher & student habits. Innovation requires a change in thinking and behavior, both student habits and teacher habits. This requires patience and practice.
Requires preparation. Planning and rehearsal requires time.
Potential breakdowns and bugs. Machines can and do breakdowns; regular maintenance and testing is vital. And having a "Plan B" is necessary.
Potential scheduling conflicts. A popular language lab may result in scheduling conflicts (i.e. different teachers wanting to use the laboratory at the same time). Careful planning can mimimize conflicts.
Loss of instructional time due to classroom changes. Moving from the classroom to the language laboratory may result in the loss of some instructional time.
Students don't have access outside of regular class time. Students should have access to the language lab outside of their regular class time. Daily practice is important.