Sabtu, 29 Juni 2013

Membuat Quiz dengan Wonder Share Quiz Creator

Membuat Quiz dengan Wonder Share Quiz Creator

a.              Kegunaan Software Wonder Share Quiz Creator
Wondershare Quiz Creator merupakan perangkat lunak untuk pembuatan soal, kuis atau tes secara online (berbasis web). Penggunaan Wondershare Quiz Creator dalam pembuatan soal tersebut sangat familiar/user friendly, sehingga sangat mudah digunakan dan tidak memerlukan kemampuan bahasa pemrograman yang sulit untuk mengoperasikannya.Sehingga kita bias membuat kuis dengan mudah, pertanyaan dan jawaban bias kita buat sesuai dengan apa yang kita inginkan.

b.             Kelebihan dan Keunggulan
Wonder Share Quiz Creator memiliki beberapa kelebihan yaitu:
(1)   Penyelenggaraan tes lebih fleksibel
(2)   Pengerjaan soal tetap bias dibatasi seperti halnya ujian konvensional
(3)   Koefisien reliabilitas yang didapat dari ujian online dan ujian konvensional tidak jauh berbeda
(4)   Skor tes dapat diketahui segera setelah tes selesai
(5)   Data siswa mengenai hasil ujian dapat disimpan dalam email guru.

Kelemahan dari ujian menggunakan program Wondershare Quiz Creator yaitu :
(1)   Jika computer atau website pemuat ujian online mengalami gangguan, maka siswa tidak dapat mengerjakan soal ujian
(2) Lebih memungkinkan siswa untuk bekerja sama dalam mengerjakan soal melalui fasilitas chatting
(3)   Dalam mengerjakan soal, siswa merasa terburu-buru
(4)   Apabila lembar instruksi kurang jelas, siswa cenderung bertanya pada temannya dan mengakibatkan kegaduhan
(5)   Memungkinkan siswa mengulang iujian.

c.              Proses Installasi
1.         Jalankan File setup.
2.       Klik 2 kali file software quiz creator hingga muncul jendela seperti gambar berikut

3.       Klik Next untuk melanjutkan instalasi kemudian klik “I accept the agreement”

4.    Tentukan lokasi tempat kita menginstall software ini, kemudian klik tombol Next

5.    Pilih opsi seperti pada gambar berikut, kemudian klik Next

6.    Kemudian klikt ombol Install hingga proses instalasi selesai

7.    Klik tombol Next jika muncul jendela seperti pada gambar berikut

8.    Klik tombol Finish untuk mengakhiri


d.             Cara penggunaan
1.             Jalankan Wondershare Quiz Creator
Ø   Klik ganda pada ikon tersebut, atau dari menu
Start       All Programs      Wondershare Quiz Creator.
Open a recent quiz: Membuka projek yang pernah dibuat sebelumnya.

2.     
Create a new quiz: Membuat Kuis Baru.
3.      Masukkan nama kuis kemudian klik Next, kemudian Next lagi untuk masuk ke menu utama.
4.      Quiz info
Masukkan info dari test yang akan kita buat
      Quiz Title : memasukkan nama Quiz
      Instruction : memberikan instruksi kepada peserta kuis
      Instruction Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada tampilan awal Kuis
    Quiz Image : memasukkan gambar tampilan awal kuis




5.      Question defaults
Pada question default dapat dilakukan beberapa pengaturan yaitu :
    Question Properties
oDefault Point : Menentukan bobot Nilais oal, jika akan diterapkan kesemua soal, maka klik Apply point to All Questions.
oAttemp : Mengatur kesempatan untuk menjawab soal

    Font Properties
o Question Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada penulisan pertanyaan
o Answer Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada penulisan Jawaban

   Feedback Properties :Mengatur umpan balik yang akan diberikan setelah mengerjakan soal.



6.      Question setting
Pada question setting dapat dilakukan beberapa pengaturan yaitu :
§  Randomization : untuk menseeting tampilnya soal secara urut atau di acak
§  Answer submission : bisa di setting submit one question artinya setiap satu soal langsung di submit atau sekaligus semua di isi baru di submit
§  Quiz Result Type :menentukan skor kelulusan, skor standar adalah 80% dan bias diubah dengan memasukkan nilainya pada passing rate.
§  Time Limit :lamanya waktu pengerjaan bisa di limit sesuai dengan kebutuhan. Untuk melimit klik pada end quiz after, masukkan nilai menit dan detiknya.
§  Background Audio : Menambahkan background audio jika diperlukan
§  Others : pengaturan untuk memunculkan tombol Finish, jawaban yang benar, dll




7.      Quiz result
Digunakan untuk mengatur tampilan tes setelah dikerjakan.

8.      Membuat pertanyaan
True / False
Untuk membuat pertanyaan, klik pada tombol true / False.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya.
Multiple Choice
Klik pada tombol multiple choice kemudian masukkan pertanyaan kemudian masukkan pilihan jawaban.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya.

Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)
Klik pada tombol multiple choice Multiple answers kemudian masukkan pertanyaan, isikan jawaban. Perbedaannya dengan single pada multiple answer centang dua jawaban yang benar.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya
Fill In The Blank
Memasukkan sebuah pernyataan yang di antara kalimat ada area kosong yang harus di isi.Untuk membuat pertanyaan ini klik pada tombol Fill in the Blank
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya

Matching
Memadankan dua kata, untuk membuat pertanyaan jenis ini klik pada tombol matching
Kata-kata yang tadinya urut, otomatis diacak. Dan cara menjawabnya dengan mendrag and drop kata sebelah kanan kekiri.
Sequence
Menjawab dengan mengurutkan jawaban.Untuk membuat klik pada tombol sequence.
Masukkan instruksi dari pertanyaan dengan jelas, kemudian masukkan secara urut yang benarj awaban yang nantinya akan diacak.



Word Bank
Hampir sama dengan fill in the blank, bedanya pada fill in the blank kita mengetik manual dan hanya satu pertanyaan, pada word bank dalam satu pernyataan banyak pertanyaan dengan cara menjawab drag & drop
Masukkan pernyataan pertanyaan dengan area yang akan dijadikan pertanyaan diberi kode misalnya huruf a atau…(a)… kemudian masukkan jawaban yang benar untuk setiap kode.
Short Essay
Membuat soal isian.Klik pada short essay
Masukkan pertanyaan, masukkan jawaban kemudian klik ok untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat dulu.
Hasil short easy ini tidak dihitung dalam point, hanya sebagai latihan saja.

9.             Proses penyimpanaan / publish
Langkah selanjutnya yang kita lanjutkan adalah mempublish soal test yang sudah buat. Klik pada menu publish, kemudian pilih type file yang diinginkan.
Kemudian pada jendela Quiz Publishing, silakan pilih opsi CD/EXE seperti Nampak pada kotak merah disamping.
          
Ada 3 macam hal yang akan disetting, yakni Quiz Title (untuk memberikan judul quiz), Options (format pilihan publish), Folder (tempat penyimpanan file hasil akhir). Ketika sudah diseting ketiganya, lanjutkan dengan klik Publish pada bagian kanan bawah.

Membuat Quiz dengan Wonder Share Quiz Creator

Membuat Quiz dengan Wonder Share Quiz Creator

a.              Kegunaan Software Wonder Share Quiz Creator
Wondershare Quiz Creator merupakan perangkat lunak untuk pembuatan soal, kuis atau tes secara online (berbasis web). Penggunaan Wondershare Quiz Creator dalam pembuatan soal tersebut sangat familiar/user friendly, sehingga sangat mudah digunakan dan tidak memerlukan kemampuan bahasa pemrograman yang sulit untuk mengoperasikannya.Sehingga kita bias membuat kuis dengan mudah, pertanyaan dan jawaban bias kita buat sesuai dengan apa yang kita inginkan.

b.             Kelebihan dan Keunggulan
Wonder Share Quiz Creator memiliki beberapa kelebihan yaitu:
(1)   Penyelenggaraan tes lebih fleksibel
(2)   Pengerjaan soal tetap bias dibatasi seperti halnya ujian konvensional
(3)   Koefisien reliabilitas yang didapat dari ujian online dan ujian konvensional tidak jauh berbeda
(4)   Skor tes dapat diketahui segera setelah tes selesai
(5)   Data siswa mengenai hasil ujian dapat disimpan dalam email guru.

Kelemahan dari ujian menggunakan program Wondershare Quiz Creator yaitu :
(1)   Jika computer atau website pemuat ujian online mengalami gangguan, maka siswa tidak dapat mengerjakan soal ujian
(2) Lebih memungkinkan siswa untuk bekerja sama dalam mengerjakan soal melalui fasilitas chatting
(3)   Dalam mengerjakan soal, siswa merasa terburu-buru
(4)   Apabila lembar instruksi kurang jelas, siswa cenderung bertanya pada temannya dan mengakibatkan kegaduhan
(5)   Memungkinkan siswa mengulang iujian.

c.              Proses Installasi
1.         Jalankan File setup.
2.       Klik 2 kali file software quiz creator hingga muncul jendela seperti gambar berikut

3.       Klik Next untuk melanjutkan instalasi kemudian klik “I accept the agreement”

4.    Tentukan lokasi tempat kita menginstall software ini, kemudian klik tombol Next

5.    Pilih opsi seperti pada gambar berikut, kemudian klik Next

6.    Kemudian klikt ombol Install hingga proses instalasi selesai

7.    Klik tombol Next jika muncul jendela seperti pada gambar berikut

8.    Klik tombol Finish untuk mengakhiri


d.             Cara penggunaan
1.             Jalankan Wondershare Quiz Creator
Ø   Klik ganda pada ikon tersebut, atau dari menu
Start       All Programs      Wondershare Quiz Creator.
Open a recent quiz: Membuka projek yang pernah dibuat sebelumnya.

2.     
Create a new quiz: Membuat Kuis Baru.
3.      Masukkan nama kuis kemudian klik Next, kemudian Next lagi untuk masuk ke menu utama.
4.      Quiz info
Masukkan info dari test yang akan kita buat
      Quiz Title : memasukkan nama Quiz
      Instruction : memberikan instruksi kepada peserta kuis
      Instruction Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada tampilan awal Kuis
    Quiz Image : memasukkan gambar tampilan awal kuis




5.      Question defaults
Pada question default dapat dilakukan beberapa pengaturan yaitu :
    Question Properties
oDefault Point : Menentukan bobot Nilais oal, jika akan diterapkan kesemua soal, maka klik Apply point to All Questions.
oAttemp : Mengatur kesempatan untuk menjawab soal

    Font Properties
o Question Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada penulisan pertanyaan
o Answer Font : mengatur jenis, ukuran dan warna font yang akan digunakan pada penulisan Jawaban

   Feedback Properties :Mengatur umpan balik yang akan diberikan setelah mengerjakan soal.



6.      Question setting
Pada question setting dapat dilakukan beberapa pengaturan yaitu :
§  Randomization : untuk menseeting tampilnya soal secara urut atau di acak
§  Answer submission : bisa di setting submit one question artinya setiap satu soal langsung di submit atau sekaligus semua di isi baru di submit
§  Quiz Result Type :menentukan skor kelulusan, skor standar adalah 80% dan bias diubah dengan memasukkan nilainya pada passing rate.
§  Time Limit :lamanya waktu pengerjaan bisa di limit sesuai dengan kebutuhan. Untuk melimit klik pada end quiz after, masukkan nilai menit dan detiknya.
§  Background Audio : Menambahkan background audio jika diperlukan
§  Others : pengaturan untuk memunculkan tombol Finish, jawaban yang benar, dll




7.      Quiz result
Digunakan untuk mengatur tampilan tes setelah dikerjakan.

8.      Membuat pertanyaan
True / False
Untuk membuat pertanyaan, klik pada tombol true / False.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya.
Multiple Choice
Klik pada tombol multiple choice kemudian masukkan pertanyaan kemudian masukkan pilihan jawaban.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya.

Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)
Klik pada tombol multiple choice Multiple answers kemudian masukkan pertanyaan, isikan jawaban. Perbedaannya dengan single pada multiple answer centang dua jawaban yang benar.
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya
Fill In The Blank
Memasukkan sebuah pernyataan yang di antara kalimat ada area kosong yang harus di isi.Untuk membuat pertanyaan ini klik pada tombol Fill in the Blank
Klik OK untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat hasilnya

Matching
Memadankan dua kata, untuk membuat pertanyaan jenis ini klik pada tombol matching
Kata-kata yang tadinya urut, otomatis diacak. Dan cara menjawabnya dengan mendrag and drop kata sebelah kanan kekiri.
Sequence
Menjawab dengan mengurutkan jawaban.Untuk membuat klik pada tombol sequence.
Masukkan instruksi dari pertanyaan dengan jelas, kemudian masukkan secara urut yang benarj awaban yang nantinya akan diacak.



Word Bank
Hampir sama dengan fill in the blank, bedanya pada fill in the blank kita mengetik manual dan hanya satu pertanyaan, pada word bank dalam satu pernyataan banyak pertanyaan dengan cara menjawab drag & drop
Masukkan pernyataan pertanyaan dengan area yang akan dijadikan pertanyaan diberi kode misalnya huruf a atau…(a)… kemudian masukkan jawaban yang benar untuk setiap kode.
Short Essay
Membuat soal isian.Klik pada short essay
Masukkan pertanyaan, masukkan jawaban kemudian klik ok untuk selesai atau preview untuk melihat dulu.
Hasil short easy ini tidak dihitung dalam point, hanya sebagai latihan saja.

9.             Proses penyimpanaan / publish
Langkah selanjutnya yang kita lanjutkan adalah mempublish soal test yang sudah buat. Klik pada menu publish, kemudian pilih type file yang diinginkan.
Kemudian pada jendela Quiz Publishing, silakan pilih opsi CD/EXE seperti Nampak pada kotak merah disamping.
          
Ada 3 macam hal yang akan disetting, yakni Quiz Title (untuk memberikan judul quiz), Options (format pilihan publish), Folder (tempat penyimpanan file hasil akhir). Ketika sudah diseting ketiganya, lanjutkan dengan klik Publish pada bagian kanan bawah.

Difficulties and problems in learning English

Difficulties and problems in learning English

Different students can have different difficulties and problems in learning English. They can make different mistakes in English pronunciation, grammar, orthography and vocabulary usage.
There is a connection between the native language of a learner and particular difficulties in learning and using English and the kind of mistakes a learner typically makes in English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary as there is native language interference in learning and using English.
Listening comprehension and speaking in English are the skills generally more frequently used than reading and writing in daily living in an English speaking country. Listening comprehension and speaking in English are more difficult and more important for learners to master than reading and writing. When reading and writing a text a learner has more time for thinking and pauses than when listening and speaking in English in daily living.
A learner can also look up unknown vocabulary in English dictionaries and use other English reference books when reading and writing a text in English which is impossible when listening and speaking in English. Therefore listening comprehension and speaking in English are more difficult than reading and writing.
English vocabulary for daily living requires more time and is more difficult to master by foreign learners than English grammar.

Criticizes the Quality of the Education in Indonesia

Criticizes the Quality of the Education in Indonesia

The education in Indonesia is still concerned and criticized. The quality has not met the expectation. The causes of the very low quality are the effectiveness, efficiency, and teaching standardization problems. Those are general problems faced by our education.
“While the specific problems of our education are the poor condition of the facility, the poor teacher quality and welfare, the poor student achievement, the low opportunity on education equality, the low education and needs relevance, and the high education cost,” explained the Dean of Universitas Djuanda (Unida) Fisikom Bogor, Drs. Beddy Iriawan Maksudi, M.Si.
Beddy was present as one of the speakers in the discussion forum about Indonesian education themed “The Poor Condition of Indonesian Education” at the Unpad Education Festival (Edufest) 2011 held by the Unpad Keluarga Mahasiswa Student Executive Board (BEM) at the Unpad Rectorate Multifunction Room, Jl. Dipati Ukur no. 35 Bandung, Saturday (09/17).
As for the facility, there are many schools and universities with damaged buildings, poor learning media ownership and use. While the laboratories do not meet the standard, the use of information technology does not suffice. “Let alone school buildings in remote places outside Java Island, the condition of those in big cities inside is also saddening,” said Beddy.
In the forum moderated by Andromeda Mercury, who was host at TVOne, present as speaker was Dr. Megawati Santoso, representing Directorate General of Higher Education (Dikti). She admitted that the high cost of the higher education was caused by the inability of the government to bear the cost. “However, the government gives a minimum of 20% education aid for the disadvantaged student,” said Mega.
The Edufest 2011 event, which was open by the Head of Sub Division of Interest and Talent Student Administration Office, Benny R. Saerang S.Sos., was held for two days, Saturday (08/17) and Sunday (08/18). Besides holding a discussion, Edufest 2011 also had and held debate and bulletin board competition for high school students, Unpad Alumni and Student Meeting, complex mentoring, scholarship stands, student exchange stands, book fair, food bazaar, Unpad Across the Time, Unpad Awards, and many entertaining performances.

Efficient Ways to Improve Student Writing

Efficient Ways to Improve Student Writing
Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty Development Literature


View the improvement of students’ writing as your responsibility.
Teaching writing is not only the job of the English department alone.  Writing is an essential tool for learning a discipline and helping students improve their writing skills is a responsibility for all faculty.

Let students know that you value good writing.
Stress the importance of clear, thoughtful writing. Faculty who tell students that good writing will be rewarded and poor writing will be penalized receive better essays than instructors who don't make such demands. In the syllabus, on the first day, and throughout the term, remind students that they must make their best effort in expressing themselves on paper. Back up your statements with comments on early assignments that show you really mean it, and your students will respond.

Regularly assign brief writing exercises in your classes.
To vary the pace of a lecture course, ask students to write a few minutes during class. Some mixture of in-class writing, outside writing assignments, and exams with open-ended questions will give students the practice they need to improve their skills.
Provide guidance throughout the writing process.

After you have made the assignment, discuss the value of outlines and notes, explain how to select and narrow a topic, and critique the first draft, define plagiarism as well.
Don't feel as though you have to read and grade every piece of your students' writing.

Ask students to analyze each other's work during class, or ask them to critique their work in small groups. Students will learn that they are writing in order to think more clearly, not obtain a grade. Keep in mind, you can collect students' papers and skim their work.

Find other faculty members who are trying to use writing more effectively in their courses.

Pool ideas about ways in which writing can help students learn more about the subject matter. See if there is sufficient interest in your discipline to warrant drawing up guidelines. Students welcome handouts that give them specific instructions on how to write papers for a particular course or in a particular subject area.

Teaching Writing When You Are Not an English Teacher

Remind students that writing is a process that helps us clarify ideas.
Tell students that writing is a way of learning, not an end in itself. Also let them know that writing is a complicated, messy, nonlinear process filled with false starts. Help them to identify the writer's key activities:

Developing ideas
Finding a focus and a thesis
Composing a draft
Getting feedback and comments from others
Revising the draft by expanding ideas, clarifying meaning, reorganizing
Editing
Presenting the finished work to readers

Explain that writing is hard work.
Share with your class your own struggles in grappling with difficult topics. If they know that writing takes effort, they won't be discouraged by their own pace or progress. One faculty member shared with students their notebook that contained the chronology of one of his published articles: first ideas, successive drafts, submitted manuscript, reviewers' suggested changes, revised version, galley proofs, and published article.
Give students opportunities to talk about their writing.
Students need to talk about papers in progress so that they can formulate their thoughts, generate ideas, and focus their topics. Take five or ten minutes of class time for students to read their writing to each other in small groups or pairs. It's important for students to hear what their peers have written.
Encourage students to revise their work.
Provide formal steps for revision by asking students to submit first drafts of papers for your review or for peer critique. You can also give your students the option of revising and rewriting one assignment during the semester for a higher grade. Faculty report that 10 to 40 percent of the students take advantage of this option.
Explain thesis statements.
A thesis statement makes an assertion about some issue. A common student problem is to write papers that present overviews of facts with no thesis statement or that have a diffuse thesis statement.
Stress clarity and specificity.
The more the abstract and difficult the topic, the more concrete the student's language should be. Inflated language and academic jargon camouflage rather than clarify their point.
Explain the importance of grammar and sentence structure, as well as content.
Students shouldn't think that English teachers are the only judges of grammar and style. Tell your students that you will be looking at both quality of their writing and the content.
Distribute bibliographies and tip sheets on good writing practices.
Check with your English department or writing center to identify materials that can be easily distributed to students. Consider giving your students a bibliography of writing guides, for example:

Crews, F.C. Random House Handbook. (6th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.

A classic comprehensive textbook for college students. Well written and well worth reading.

Lanham, R.A. Revising Prose. (3rd ed.) New York: Scribner's, 1991. Techniques for eliminating

bureaucratese and restoring energy to tired prose.

Tollefson, S. K. Grammar Grams and Grammar Grams II. New York: HarperCollins, 1989,

1992. Two short, witty guides that answer common questions about grammar, style, and usage. Both are fun to read.

Science and Engineering
Barrass, R. Scientists Must Write. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1978. Biddle, A. W., and Bean, D. J. Writer's Guide: Life Sciences. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1987.
Arts and Humanities
Barnet, S. A Short Guide to Writing About Art. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989. Goldman, B. Reading and Writing in the Arts. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1978.
Social Sciences
Biddle, A. W., Fulwiler, T., and Holland, K.M. Writer's Guide: Psychology. Lexington, Mass,:

Heath, 1987.
McCloskey, D. N. The Writing of Economics. New York: Macmillan, 1987.

Ask a composition instructor to give a presentation to your students.
Invite a guest speaker from the composition department or student learning center to talk to your students about effective writing and common writing problems. Faculty who have invited these experts report that such presentations reinforce the values of the importance of writing.
Let students know about available tutoring services.
Individual or group tutoring in writing is available on most campuses. Ask someone from the tutoring center to give a demonstration in your class.
Use computers to help students write better.
Locally developed and commercially available software are now being used by faculty to help students plan, write, and revise their written work. Some software available allows instructors to monitor students' work in progress and lets students collaborate with their classmates.

Assigning In-Class Writing Activities

Ask students to write what they know about a topic before you discuss it.
Ask your students to write a brief summary of what they already know or what opinions they hold regarding the subject you are about to discuss. The purpose of this is to focus the students' attention, there is no need to collect the summaries.
Ask students to respond in writing to questions you pose during class.
Prior to class starting, list two or three short-answer questions on the board and ask your students to write down their responses. Your questions might call for a review of material you have already discussed or recalling information from assigned readings.
Ask students to write from a pro or con position.
When presenting an argument, stop and ask your students to write down all the reasons and evidence they can think of that supports one side or the other. These statements can be used as the basis for discussion.
During class, pause for a three-minute write.
Periodically ask students to write freely for three minutes on a specific question or topic. They should write whatever pops into their mind without worrying about grammar, spelling, phrasing, or organization. This kind of free writing, according to writing experts, helps students synthesize diverse ideas and identify points they may not understand. There is no need to collect these exercises.
Have students write a brief summary at the end of class.
At the end of the class period, give your students index cards to jot down the key themes, major points, or general principles of the day's discussion. You can easily collect the index cards and review them to see whether the class understood the discussion.
Have one student keep minutes to be read at the next class meeting.
By taking minutes, students get a chance to develop their listening, synthesizing, and writing skills. Boris (1983) suggests the following:

Prepare your students by having everyone take careful notes for the class period, go home and rework them into minutes, and hand them in for comments. It can be the students' discretion whether the minutes are in outline or narrative form.
Decide on one to two good models to read or distribute to the class.
At the beginning of each of the following classes, assign one student to take minutes for the period.
Give a piece of carbon paper to the student who is taking minutes so that you can have a rough copy. The student then takes the original home and revises it in time to read it aloud at the next class meeting.
After the student has read their minutes, ask other students to comment on their accuracy and quality. If necessary, the student will revise the minutes and turn in two copies, one for grading and one for your files.

Structure small group discussion around a writing task.
For example, have your students pick three words that are of major importance to the day's session. Ask your class to write freely for two to three minutes on just one of the words. Next, give the students five to ten minutes to meet in groups to share what they have written and generate questions to ask in class.
Use peer response groups.
Divide your class into groups of three or four, no larger. Ask your students to bring to class enough copies of a rough draft of a paper for each person in their group. Give your students guidelines for critiquing the drafts. In any response task, the most important step is for the reader to note the part of the paper that is the strongest and describe to the writer why it worked so well. The following instructions can also be given to the reader:

State the main point of the paper in a single sentence
List the major subtopics
Identify confusing sections of the paper
Decide whether each section of the paper has enough detail, evidence, and information
Indicate whether the paper's points follow one another in sequence
Judge the appropriateness of the opening and concluding paragraphs
Identify the strengths of the paper

Written critiques done as homework are likely to be more thoughtful, but critiques may also be done during the class period.

Use read-around groups.
Read-around groups are a technique used with short assignments (two to four pages) which allows everyone to read everyone else's paper. Divide the class into groups no larger than four students and divide the papers (coded for anonymity) into as many sets as there are groups. Give each group a set and ask the students to read each paper silently and decide on the best paper in the set. Each group should discuss their choices and come to a consensus on the best paper. The paper's code number is recorded by the group, and the same process is repeated with a new set of papers. After all the groups have read all the sets of papers, someone from each group writes on the board the code number from the best paper in each set. The recurring numbers are circled. Generally, one to three papers stand out.
Ask students to identify the characteristics of effective writing.
After completing the read-around activity, ask your students to reconsider those papers which were voted as excellent by the entire class and to write down features that made each paper outstanding. Write their comments on the board, asking for elaboration and probing vague generalities. In pairs, the students discuss the comments on the board and try to put them into categories such as organization, awareness of audience, thoroughness of detail, etc. You might need to help your students arrange the characteristics into meaningful categories.

Many students 'lack basic writing skills'

Many students 'lack basic writing skills'

Students starting out in the world of academia seemed to be having problems with basic spelling and grammar. Many lack the ability to form a sentence, said Gerhard Wolf who took part in the survey.

”It is also a problem that some students lack the ability to formulate ideas and to write cohesive texts,” he said.

Wolf, who is based at the University of Bayreuth, was one of 135 humanities professors who took part in the survey which up until now had remained unpublished.

The language professor has called for universities to offer “prep courses” which could bring students up to scratch before entering higher education.

Secondary and tertiary education institutions should be more aware of what their students are learning, and how. This would mean putting more emphasis on comprehension and grammar, he said.

Successfully structuring an argumentative essay was proving too tricky for many students, said Wolf. Many students also appeared to have difficulty collecting their ideas and analysing them verbally.

Part of the problem was an ever decreasing vocabulary, he suggested, which limited the ability to formulate logical arguments.

Many professors said they often spotted phrases in essays which their students had obviously heard, but not understood, and were using incorrectly.

Lack of focussed concentration was another common problem, with professors reporting that ever more students were coming into lectures with the attitude that they could just look everything up on the internet later.

The damning results have sparked debate among German academics about the standard of teaching in the country's grammar schools.

The survey was initiated at a national meeting of philosophy professors last year. Over 135 professors from 62 German universities took part in the survey.

Tips for working with English language learners

Tips for working with English language learners
So how can classroom teachers accommodate ESL students in their classrooms? What are some tips that all teachers can utilize to facilitate their LEP students’ learning of English? What follows is a variety of strategies that all teachers in all classes can employ successfully with ELLs.
Speak clearly and in standard English.
Teachers need to model academic English with clear pronunciation and diction. Teachers should also refrain from using slang
Position yourself so that the ESL student can see your face when you are speaking.
Language learners rely on both verbal and nonverbal cues. Therefore, beginning ELLs will want to watch your mouth when you speak since they are not only hearing the pronunciation but they are also watching the words as you form them with your lips. Also, speaking while facing away from the class can muffle your voice, for example if you are speaking toward the chalk board or wall. Additionally, novice ESL students rely not only on being able to see your mouth when you are speaking but also on watching your face for other nonverbal cues to meaning.
Assign a "buddy" to your ESL student.
These buddies should be strong students who will help the ELL become inducted into the class and into the school. Initially, seat the ESL student next to the buddy so that the buddy can guide the student and answer questions at any point in the class in as unobtrusive a manner as possible.
Learn and use the student’s name.
Foreign names can be a challenge for teachers, but it is important to practice their pronunciation. Students tend to say their names quickly; ask them to repeat their name slowly, and tell them you want to learn how to say their name correctly. If you have not received any written information from the administration in the form of student files, ask the student to write his or her name for you. At the elementary school level, do not give the student an English name to make it easier for you or the rest of the class to remember or to pronounce.
For middle school and high school students, ask the student what he or she would like to be called.
At the middle school and high school levels, some ESL students intentionally change their names to English names because they want to blend in with their American classmates. Honor their choices.
Be as visual as possible.
It is good to say something in clear, concise English; it is even better to have a picture or visual to use while you are speaking that reinforces what you are saying. For example, if you are teaching a science unit on the water cycle, have as many pictures to visualize each part of the cycle as possible.
Comprehension precedes production.
Beginning ESL students understand more than they are able to produce orally. Look for other ways for students to demonstrate comprehension. If you are teaching the science concept of the water cycle, have the student put visuals in the correct sequence of the water cycle to demonstrate comprehension of the topic. Ability to verbalize will follow. Also, do not simply ask students "Do you understand?" to check for comprehension. They will almost always say "yes" to avoid embarrassment. Rather, ask students to demonstrate (if they are preverbal) or to repeat what they understood you to say.
If students can say it, they can write it.
In native language development, the normal progression of skills is first to say something and then to be able to read and write what one can say. Therefore, abundant oral practice needs to be made available to students in order to afford them the first steps of creating with language. The converse of this phenomenon is also true; if students are not able to produce an idea orally, they will probably not be able to write it. A corollary to this axiom is that students will usually write at the level at which they speak. Although there will be some students who will read and write at a higher level than their speaking ability, this tends not to be the norm. This notion becomes clearer when we think of the ability of our native-English-speaking students. It is usually true that our best writers and readers are those who have the highest level of spoken language.
Speaking louder does not aid in comprehension.
Unless the student is hearing impaired, speaking louder does not aid in comprehension. Also, speaking in an exaggerated, slow fashion only embarrasses the ELL student and does not facilitate comprehension.
Create certain predictable routines in your class.
For example, at the elementary school level, start each day with taking attendance, reading the lunch options out loud, and making announcements. If your cafeteria has dedicated lunch days, such as hot dogs on Mondays and hamburgers on Tuesdays, you may wish to have pictures of the meals for your novice ESL students. An example of a routine at the middle and high school levels would be to have homework assignments written in the same corner of the chalkboard each day. If assignments are listed on the Internet, a reminder on the chalkboard that you point to each day will help the ESL students incorporate this into their daily habits.
Learn as much as you can about the countries represented in your class.
As often as possible, honor the diversity in your classroom. You can do this through reading assignments about a particular culture that the entire class reads, class discussions about cultural practices, or assignments where the students can speak or write about their heritages. Also, learning about the cultures represented in your classroom may explain some resistant behavior or behavioral problems. For example, in some countries, students are taught in single-sex classrooms by teachers of the same sex, so some boys have never had female teachers and some girls have never had male teachers.
Keep a student’s linguistic ability in mind when selecting reading assignments.
Learning to read is a major key to any student’s success. Research says that to remain academically competitive, a student should be able to read at grade level by the end of the second grade. Imagine, then, the challenges for LEP students who arrive in the United States in middle or high school. Those challenges are compounded if the students cannot read in their native language. The teacher must plan for differentiated instruction. For example, teachers can help beginning language learners read for key points or underline topic sentences. You can also provide students with essential core vocabulary words for the lesson. The number of words should be manageable so that the student does not become overwhelmed.
A smile is international.
A smile from the teacher is worth far more than the time and energy it takes. Smiles help to assuage fears and doubts.

Importance of Early Childhood education

Importance of Early Childhood education

Early childhood is a crucial stage of life in terms of a child's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. Growth of mental and physical abilities progress at an astounding rate and a very high proportion of learning takes place from birth to age six. It is a time when children particularly need high quality personal care and learning experiences.
Education begins from the moment the child is brought home from the hospital and continues on when the child starts to attend playgroups and kindergartens. The learning capabilities of humans continue for the rest of their lives but not at the intensity that is demonstrated in the preschool years. With this in mind, babies and toddlers need positive early learning experiences to help their intellectual, social and emotional development and this lays the foundation for later school success.
First Three Years
During the first three years parents will be the main influence in the child’s learning experience and education. What parents do and expose their children to has a vast impact on the development of the child. Parents sometimes forget that an interested parent can have a tremendous impact on a child’s education at any age. If the parents choose to participate in a Mothers and Toddlers group or child-care arrangements, including family babysitting or center-based child care, these all have the potential to provide high-quality, individualized, responsive, and stimulating experiences that will influence the child’s learning experience. With this in mind, a child in a negative enjoinment could also result in negative effects as well. This fact makes it essential that the environment that the child is placed in during these early years be as positive and intellectually stimulating as possible. Very strong relationships are imbedded in everyday routines that familiar caregivers provide. It is the primary caregiver that a child learns to trust and looks to for security and care.
Speech development is one of the first tools that a child will demonstrate in his/her lifelong education. Wordlessly at first, infants and toddlers begin to recognize familiar objects and to formulate the laws that systematically govern their properties. With encouragement through books and interaction, toddlers soon pick up vocabulary.
It is really useful to understand how language unfolds. The first words that toddlers learn are normally the names of familiar people and objects around them. Then they learn words that stand for actions. Only then do they start to have the words that describe their world, that are about ideas. This development is usually in the second part of the second year of life. A parent or caregiver can have a vast impact on a child’s speech development by the amount of time that is spent talking with and reading to a child.
Every caregiver can, in culturally appropriate ways, help infants and toddlers grow in language and literacy. Caregivers need presence, time, words, print, and intention to share language and literacy with infants and toddlers. All five qualities are important but it is intention that can turn a physical act like putting away toys or lining up at preschool into a delightful learning experience. Even a trip to the grocery store can be turned into a vocabulary lesson about colors and the names of fruits.
Importance of play
Child development experts agree that play is very important in the learning and emotional development of all children. Play is multi-faceted. Although it should be a fun experience for the child, often many skills can be learned through play. Play helps children learn relationship and social skills, and develop values and ethics, Play should always be considered an essential part of a child’s early education.
Functional play helps children to develop motor and practice skills. This kind of play is normally done with toys or objects that are stackable, can be filled with water or sand or playing outdoors. Water play or sand play is a favorite amongst pre-school children and a valuable teaching tool. This type of play can make up about 50% of the type of play that toddlers through 3year-old children practice.
Constructive play is characterized by building or creating something. Toys that encourage this type of play are simple puzzles, building blocks, easy craft activities, and puppets. Normally 4 or 5 year old children enjoy this type of play, but it continues to be enjoyable into the first and second grades of school.
Hands and fingers are the best first art tools. Soon they will manage thick paint brushes, wedges of sponge, wax crayons, and hunky chalks. It is advised to avoid rushing a child into making something in particular. Letting them do what they want encourages individuality and decision making. Toddlers also enjoy play dough because they can get hands and fingers in it for poking, rolling, and shaping. This type of play develops thinking and reasoning skills, problem solving, and creativity.
Pretend play allows children to express themselves and events in their lives. Normally a child will transform themselves or a play object into someone or something else. This type of play is popular with children in preschool and kindergarten and it tends to fade out as they enter primary school. Pretend play helps children process emotions and events in their lives, practice social skills, learn values, develop language skills, and develop a rich imagination. Because of the important skills that are developed through this type of play, efforts should be made to encourage children to pretend.
Playing games that have a definite structure or rules do not become dominant until children start to enter elementary school. Board games, simple card games, ball games or skipping games that have specific rules will teach children cooperation, mutual understanding, and logical thinking.
A playground can be a turned into a learning experience for a child. Although a playground traditionally has certain elements, these elements may pose an unsafe surrounding for your child if the equipment is not properly supervised or built of unsafe materials. To provide a safe environment that allows gross motor activity it is important that some considerations of the equipment be made. The following elements have been found to be unsafe in group care settings:
Metal slides can cause burns when they are exposed to direct sunlight. The intense sunlight in a tropical climate heats metal to very high temperatures.
Enclosed tunnel slides make observation difficult and can allow one climbing child above the enclosed tunnel to fall on top of another at the tunnel exit.
Traditional seesaws can result in injuries when one child unexpectedly jumps off.
Spring mounted, rocking toys with very heavy animal seats can strike a child. (There are acceptable, lighter weight rocking toy alternatives.)
Swings, other than tire swings, can easy hit a waiting child and cause injury. Light weight plastic seat swings pose a much lower chance hurting a child.
Things to look for in a Preschool Curriculum
It is important that when considering an early education facility, caregivers and teacher in the facility have knowledge of the cultural supports for the language and literacy learning of the children and families they are serving. They need to have sufficient skills in guiding small groups of children in order to give full attention to individual young children’s language and literacy efforts. They need to be able to draw out shy children while they help very talkative ones begin to listen to others as well as to speak. Caregivers or teachers need to arrange environments that are symbol rich and interesting without being overwhelming to infants and toddlers. Even the simplest exchange becomes a literacy lesson when it includes the warmth of a relationship coupled with words, their concepts, and perhaps a graphic symbol.
To be effective, an early year’s curriculum needs to be carefully structured. In that structure, there should be three strands: provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building on what they can already do; relevant and appropriate content which matches the different levels of young children's needs; and planned and purposeful activity which provides opportunities for teaching and learning both indoors and outdoors.
If your child is between the ages of three and six and attends a preschool or kindergarten program, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) suggests you look for these 10 signs to make sure your child is in a good classroom.
Children spend most of their time playing and working with materials or other children. They do not wander aimlessly and they are not expected to sit quietly for long periods of time.
Children have access to various activities throughout the day. Look for assorted building blocks and other construction materials, props for pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as matching games, pegboards, and puzzles. All the children should not necessarily all be doing the same activity at the same time.
Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend all their time with the whole group.
The classroom is decorated with children's original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and stories dictated by children to teachers.
Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences. The natural world of plants and animals and meaningful activities like cooking, taking attendance or serving snack provide the basis for learning activities.
Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play and explore. Worksheets are used little, if at all.
Children have an opportunity to play outside every day. Outdoor play is never sacrificed for more instructional time.
Teachers read books to children individually or in small groups throughout the day, not just at group story time.
Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help. Teachers recognize that children's different backgrounds and experiences mean that they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way.
Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel secure about sending their child to the program. Children are happy to attend; they do not cry regularly or complain of feeling sick.

Why College Students Today Can’t Write

Why College Students Today Can’t Write

College professors have been bemoaning the lack of solid writing skills in their students for decades (see this article from 1974 for proof), but statistics gathered over the past few years suggest that student writing skills are in an even more dismal state than they were in 1974. Today, 28% of college graduates produce writing that rates as deficient, even with tuition reaching record rates and many colleges being more selective than ever. These poor writing skills have had serious ramifications not only in higher education but in the business world, as our information-driven society makes it ever more critical for students to develop the ability to communicate through the written word.
While it’s easy to point out the problem, it’s much harder to figure out a solution. A promising first step can be to pinpoint just what is causing students to arrive and leave college without the skills they’ll need to get by in the real world. That’s easier said than done. The decline of writing abilities in students is a multifaceted issue, impacted by teachers, students, and administrators alike and encompassing all elements of writing education from support to motivation. While not comprehensive, this list addresses some of the biggest reasons so many students struggle with writing in colleges today, from freshman year to graduation.

Colleges don’t demand high-quality writing.

One of the biggest reasons college students can’t write may simply be due to the fact that most college courses and degree programs don’t demand it of them. In the book Academically Adrift most freshmen reported “little academic demand in terms of writing” and half of college seniors reported never having written a paper longer than 20 pages during their last year of college. Students who aren’t being required to submit papers that are academically challenging have little opportunity to learn and grow as writers, which can hold them back academically. In fact, the same study showed that students who took classes with high expectations (those with 40 pages of reading a week and 20 pages of writing a semester) gained more from their courses than their peers in less demanding courses.

High schools aren’t preparing students with writing skills.

Many students enter college with sub-par writing skills because of inadequate writing instruction in their high school courses. A report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2007 found that just 24% of high school seniors could score proficient or better on a writing exam. Things haven’t changed much for the better since then, and many fear that high schools are failing students when it comes to teaching writing. Why is this happening? At some schools, teachers simply don’t have enough time to leave adequate feedback on lengthy student papers when they have 120 or more students in their courses. Another problem that many experts have pointed to is that high schools simply don’t focus on writing instruction. Schools are often so caught up in boosting scores in skills that are tested in state exams like math, science, and reading, that writing simply falls by the wayside. There are schools trying to make improvements, with some making writing a central part of their curricula, but there’s still a long way to go before America’s high school students will graduate with improved writing abilities across the board.

College professors don’t want to spend time playing catch-up.

Whether it’s fair to students or not, many college professors don’t want to dedicate class time to teaching students remedial writing skills they should really already know by the time they reach college. Giving increased attention to writing means that not only do professors have less class time to focus on the true subject of the course, they also have to dedicate hours of time outside of class to rigorously correcting student papers in order to make progress in improving student writing. This kind of grading is time-consuming and frustrating, and with many writing-intensive courses no longer being simply English classes, it’s often a distraction from learning other material.
Students don’t get enough feedback.
It isn’t just professors and employers who’ve taken note of the dwindling writing skills of college students. Students themselves are also well aware that they need a little more help in their writing. In a national study of 30,000 undergraduates, fewer than 50% felt that their writing had improved over the four years they were in school. A similar study reported that just 27.6% of students saw improvement in their writing by graduation. The reason students cited for the lack of progress? Inadequate feedback and support. Eighty percent of students in the study said they felt they would have become better writers if they had received more feedback and direct interaction from professors.

Graduation doesn’t depend on demonstrating writing skills.

At the majority of American colleges, writing requirements are fulfilled by passing a couple of courses deemed as “writing intensive.” Yet that doesn’t always ensure that students will graduate knowing how to write or being any good at it. Some schools, like Old Dominion University, used to require that students pass a writing test before graduation, but tests like these are being phased out or dropped. Why? Too many students failed them. While they may have represented an outdated model for assessing student abilities, the fact that a significant portion of students couldn’t pass them is troubling to say the least. At most colleges, a C or better in a handful of writing courses is a ticket to graduation, but with grade inflation rampant it’s unclear what degree of writing ability that truly represents. With little motivation to push themselves to learn to improve writing, many students graduate without ever mastering grammar, syntax, or analytical writing.

Grading isn’t harsh enough.

Grade inflation is a very real phenomenon (today, 43% of all grades are A’s, an increase of 28% since 1960) and one that is slowly starting to take a serious toll on what students actually get out of their educational experiences. Students don’t just hope to earn a good grade, many actually expect it, whether their work warrants it or not. Sadly, a growing number of professors are happy to oblige, as student feedback on faculty ratings can be key to helping them keep jobs, get tenure, and get ahead. This has had a serious impact on the level of writing that many college students produce, as those who don’t feel compelled to do more than the minimum to pass courses are getting by with less than ever before. While harsh, strict grading and evaluation of papers used to be common practice. The lack of this same kind of rigor may just be a contributing factor to why students can’t write as well today.
Web and text habits seep into academic writing.
From the Ivy League to community colleges, read a classroom’s worth of essays and you’re bound to come across a student using “text speak” or overly casual vernacular in their academic writing. While these kinds of abbreviations and words might work in everyday conversation, they’re generally unacceptable in college level writing. The problem is that many students don’t understand that what works in speech or in a casual discussion doesn’t quite cut it in a college essay. Even worse, many are allowed to get by with these language blunders in their courses, both in high school and beyond. It doesn’t bode well for academic standards or for students who want to earn respect in the workplace.
Required writing courses often aren’t writing-focused.

Many colleges have done away with the basic freshman comp courses in lieu of courses in the social sciences that are writing-intensive. While writing intensive courses in the social sciences aren’t a bad idea in and of themselves (and many social science professors are great writers), they aren’t really a substitute for writing-focused courses that are designed to give incoming students rigorous foundation in writing. R.V. Young, a professor at North Carolina State, recalls that in 1970, students at the school were required to take a composition course spanning two semesters. During the course, students had to write 25 papers all of which were graded harshly by professors. These kinds of courses have largely disappeared in colleges nationwide and have been replaced with other hybrid courses, with few containing the same rigorous, focused attention on writing.
Students aren’t taught the fundamentals.
Before students can become great writers, they have to learn (at least) two basic things: the rules of good writing and how to think critically and creatively. Yet many education experts have pointed out that schools fail to adequately teach students either of those things in secondary school and beyond. Students are more often taught what to think, not how to think, and as a result often don’t understand how to expand on ideas, apply rules in a broader sense, or even begin to understand what constitutes great writing. Of course, there’s a line to walk between the structure and creativity that sometimes just doesn’t get through to students. One example? Students learn to format writing in forms that are rarely seen in the real world (how often do you see the five-paragraph essay?), causing them to have to unlearn what they’ve learned just to progress to the level of their college peers.

Indonesia’s education system; 1 of the worst in the world

Indonesia’s education system; 1 of the worst in the world

Indonesia’s education system is one of the worst in the world according to a recent report. So why did it rank so poorly? The answer, as is often the case with developing countries still finding their feet as a democracy, appears to be corruption. Even more tragic. The funding is there but it ends up in the pockets of corrupt civil servants and not in classrooms. East 101′s recent investigation highlighted some shocking facts about the Indonesian education system including: Only a third of Indonesian students – in a country where 57 million attend school – complete basic schooling. Education experts say less than half of the country’s teachers possess even the minimum qualifications to teach properly and teacher absenteeism hovers at around 20 percent. Many teachers in the public school system work outside of the classroom to improve their incomes. Indonesian Corruption Watch claims there are very few schools in the country that are clean of graft, bribery or embezzlement – with 40 percent of their budget siphoned off before it reaches the classroom. One of the Indonesian government’s responses to these findings has been to restructure the Indonesian curriculum, including postponing teaching science, geography and ENGLISH until students attend secondary school. For a nation economically prospering, geographically located in a region that looks set to be at the forefront of world economics and politics it seems a bemusing choice to make. Moreover the Indonesian education system does not encourage independent, creative thought but focusses more on learning by rote. Discipline is strict, commendation little and many students are expelled for what in the western world we would consider slight misbehaviour.
Pronunciation

Pronunciation is an essential component not only of learning a language but also of using that language. For this reason, the learning of proper pronunciation is a delicate area; students need to feel free to make mistakes and practice their pronunciation in order to increase their accuracy, but there are also times when pronunciation must be quickly corrected so that it does not impede the students' ability to understand and be understood. Below we will look more closely at pronunciation and activities that can help students improve their pronunciation.

Pronunciation is an interesting area because when learning in a classroom context, pronunciation isn’t usually a major factor that influences comprehension however, it may be when the learner uses the SL in the community. The value of teaching pronunciation cannot be underestimated. Besides the difficulty of changing a `bad habit´, early pronunciation instruction helps students understand how to form sounds that are not found in their mother tongue, contributes to decoding ability and lowers the affective filter. Some researchers suggest that pronunciation does not need to be taught and will `take care of itself´ over time.  Others suggest that teaching pronunciation is necessary.

t is very difficult to achieve native like pronunciation in any language. Some language societies have greater tolerance of `accents´ than others; some even find certain accents more appealing. For example, many Canadian documentaries are narrated by people with British accents. In some societies people may appear to not understand someone whose accent does not approximate the native speaker's (e.g. Parisians or Muscovites).  In some countries foreign accents are perfectly acceptable in informal conversations based on helping give directions or sharing simple small talk; however, in the same places the same accent may not be highly tolerated if the person is a paid employee who needs to offer service or advice.
In order to avoid some of the pitfalls associated with poor pronunciation it is important to hear as much of the target language (TL) as possible. This exposure to the TL can be from the teacher, from films or media clips, songs or audio clips, guest speakers and one’s peers. In general, realistic goals surrounding pronunciation are:
Consistency: the pronunciation should become smooth and natural
Intelligibility: the pronunciation should be understandable to the listeners
Communicative efficiency: the pronunciation should help convey the meaning intended by the speaker

Good pronunciation comes from a lot of technical knowledge on the part of the teacher about placement of the mouth, etc. Most teachers in North America, unfortunately, don’t have this knowledge and therefore tend to pass it off as being unimportant but in fact, as you progress in your fluency, pronunciation becomes more and more important. Language learning needs a lot of practice and both mechanical and meaningful practice lead to improved pronunciation. Only through practice will a skill become automatic and drill-like activities are not always considered interesting.  Nevertheless perception practice is a good way to help learners distinguish between certain sounds.

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