The classroom is often an arena of Controlled Productive Ability. Within this system, the teacher... more The classroom is often an arena of Controlled Productive Ability. Within this system, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. Further, this ‘banking’ concept of education, extends the scope of action afforded to students only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. Education is thus seen as a process of depositing knowledge into passive students. Freire (1970) exhorts that ‘…the more completely they (the students) accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited on them’. This research paper will look at how a class of low-intermediate Japanese learners of English, can become more attuned to Free Productive Ability, the active use of productive vocabulary, in their written English endeavors. Writing itself is a production skill, in that it requires learners to produce language, as with speaking activitie...
This research paper presents a case-study of the introduction of a specific software technology, ... more This research paper presents a case-study of the introduction of a specific software technology, Google Classroom, into a College course syllabus. This case study represents an example of an innovation successfully diffused in a foreign language learning environment. The research details one potential use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) at Niijima Gakuen Junior College, hereinafter referred to as Niijima College. The success of the application of this software is judged by the experiences and reactions of the students, and of this researcher by way of questionnaire and observations of student collaboration, peer-support, and completion of assignments and tasks. This paper presents the first English language CALL research at Niijima Junior College and will hopefully lay the foundation for future use of and development of CALL at the college. The paper adds insight into how relatively cheap and easily accessible computer software can be adopted at the tertiary level for ...
This research paper details the extensive use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for a... more This research paper details the extensive use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for a content-based reading syllabus at Gunma University, through the software program Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment ), a free and open-source software learning management system used at Gunma University. The research basis of this paper is within the sphere of Action Research , as a valuable professional development tool (Nunan, 2001) based on this researcher’s perceived valuation of the system and how it could better aid students to perform better in and be more motivated towards their English language and reading studies, introduce new technological skills and abilities, and aid teachers in better preparation, teaching and assessment of reading classes. Moodle enthuses that the Lesson Module ‘enables a teacher to deliver content and/or practice activities in interesting and flexible ways...teachers can choose to increase engagement and ensure understanding ...
This research was sparked off by listening to the Miles Davis recording “What I Say”, a twenty on... more This research was sparked off by listening to the Miles Davis recording “What I Say”, a twenty one minute piece from the jazz album ‘Live Evil’, which was recorded in 1970. This track features Miles Davis and his ensemble of Gary Bartz, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Michael Henderson, Jack DeJohnette and Airto Moreira. Bob Palmer, of Rolling Stone music magazine, stated that “…in an area of music where individual virtuosity is the rule rather than the exception, give-and-take between players becomes all important” (Palmer, 1972). ‘What I Say’ could be a metaphor for student speech. The song doesn’t have an easily determinable meaning as it is purely an instrumental, as such without lyrics, but as with the jazz genre, it carries emotional resonance for each listener. Pérez- Sobrino (2014) in her research paper “Meaning construction in verbomusical environments: Conceptual disintegration and metonymy” looks at how different levels of multimodal meaning are rendered into verbo-musica...
This research paper focuses on student peer interactional relationships in a tertiary level class... more This research paper focuses on student peer interactional relationships in a tertiary level classroom setting in Japan. The research is based on the use of one piece of technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, to illustrate student peer interactional relationships during presentation tasks throughout the 2015 Spring Semester. The application of the particular software used in this research is of little importance, in that any piece of software could be used to investigate student interaction. The important findings of this research indicate that students can be made aware of their self-affirmation through an application of sociolinguistics and an introduction of critical pedagogy that encompasses a significant reduction in the influence of the traditional ‘teacher’ role to the benefit of student empowerment. The role of the student changes from being the passive object to that of a more active Subject role, as that of the ‘teacher,’ or better termed ‘facilitator,’ dispenses their tradition...
The classroom is often an arena of Controlled Productive Ability. Within this system, the teacher... more The classroom is often an arena of Controlled Productive Ability. Within this system, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. Further, this ‘banking’ concept of education, extends the scope of action afforded to students only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. Education is thus seen as a process of depositing knowledge into passive students. Freire (1970) exhorts that ‘…the more completely they (the students) accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited on them’. This research paper will look at how a class of low-intermediate Japanese learners of English, can become more attuned to Free Productive Ability, the active use of productive vocabulary, in their written English endeavors. Writing itself is a production skill, in that it requires learners to produce language, as with speaking activitie...
This research paper presents a case-study of the introduction of a specific software technology, ... more This research paper presents a case-study of the introduction of a specific software technology, Google Classroom, into a College course syllabus. This case study represents an example of an innovation successfully diffused in a foreign language learning environment. The research details one potential use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) at Niijima Gakuen Junior College, hereinafter referred to as Niijima College. The success of the application of this software is judged by the experiences and reactions of the students, and of this researcher by way of questionnaire and observations of student collaboration, peer-support, and completion of assignments and tasks. This paper presents the first English language CALL research at Niijima Junior College and will hopefully lay the foundation for future use of and development of CALL at the college. The paper adds insight into how relatively cheap and easily accessible computer software can be adopted at the tertiary level for ...
This research paper details the extensive use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for a... more This research paper details the extensive use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for a content-based reading syllabus at Gunma University, through the software program Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment ), a free and open-source software learning management system used at Gunma University. The research basis of this paper is within the sphere of Action Research , as a valuable professional development tool (Nunan, 2001) based on this researcher’s perceived valuation of the system and how it could better aid students to perform better in and be more motivated towards their English language and reading studies, introduce new technological skills and abilities, and aid teachers in better preparation, teaching and assessment of reading classes. Moodle enthuses that the Lesson Module ‘enables a teacher to deliver content and/or practice activities in interesting and flexible ways...teachers can choose to increase engagement and ensure understanding ...
This research was sparked off by listening to the Miles Davis recording “What I Say”, a twenty on... more This research was sparked off by listening to the Miles Davis recording “What I Say”, a twenty one minute piece from the jazz album ‘Live Evil’, which was recorded in 1970. This track features Miles Davis and his ensemble of Gary Bartz, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Michael Henderson, Jack DeJohnette and Airto Moreira. Bob Palmer, of Rolling Stone music magazine, stated that “…in an area of music where individual virtuosity is the rule rather than the exception, give-and-take between players becomes all important” (Palmer, 1972). ‘What I Say’ could be a metaphor for student speech. The song doesn’t have an easily determinable meaning as it is purely an instrumental, as such without lyrics, but as with the jazz genre, it carries emotional resonance for each listener. Pérez- Sobrino (2014) in her research paper “Meaning construction in verbomusical environments: Conceptual disintegration and metonymy” looks at how different levels of multimodal meaning are rendered into verbo-musica...
This research paper focuses on student peer interactional relationships in a tertiary level class... more This research paper focuses on student peer interactional relationships in a tertiary level classroom setting in Japan. The research is based on the use of one piece of technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, to illustrate student peer interactional relationships during presentation tasks throughout the 2015 Spring Semester. The application of the particular software used in this research is of little importance, in that any piece of software could be used to investigate student interaction. The important findings of this research indicate that students can be made aware of their self-affirmation through an application of sociolinguistics and an introduction of critical pedagogy that encompasses a significant reduction in the influence of the traditional ‘teacher’ role to the benefit of student empowerment. The role of the student changes from being the passive object to that of a more active Subject role, as that of the ‘teacher,’ or better termed ‘facilitator,’ dispenses their tradition...
Uploads
Papers by Mark Deadman