Introudcing the work and creating a kind of attention grabber is a very important step in writing I guess.
Introudcing the work and creating a kind of attention grabber is a very important step in writing I guess. So, here is a little piece I Wrote sometime ago.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjDsaE1H6epbWdMYjVZYjlhS2c/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjDsaE1H6epbWdMYjVZYjlhS2c/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjDsaE1H6epbWdMYjVZYjlhS2c/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjDsaE1H6epbWdMYjVZYjlhS2c/view?usp=sharing
Hi! I read this with interest since I design and implement many games in my classes, and I fully hold to the idea of 'games with a purpose'. Did you share the document just with view? Because it doesn't open in Google docs.
ReplyDeleteHowever, let me give you some quick thoughts - the tone of this is very academic which does not really underscore your claims that pure academic stuff is generally boring.
You make some good points about how grammar needs to be internalized and the time this takes. I also like the idea that teachers were interviewed about it, and maybe you can use some actual quotes from these interviews? Just a line or two.
In general I like what you've done so far.
Hi Leonie
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I'm trying to make my idea as simple as possible. I'm glad you implement games in your classes. May be you can share some here to enrich the discussions a little bit. I have included other studies to see where I'm heading and how my work will add something new to the ongoing academic conversations. I was involved in this because so much students hate grammar and so much teachers are tired of teaching and correcting mistakes over and over again an endless process. Is there a problem with the document? Would you like me to share it in a certain way?
Aziz - the document as it stands reads like a research paper (in which case it needs more citations and footnotes) rather than a narrative. I think you need to decide how you would like to present this material - do you want to keep it academic? Or do you want to engage the reader in your personal story and experiences? So it's not what I want, just that at the moment it's a mix of both.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Leonie. It is actually a research paper that I would like to turn into a book. I surely want to engage the reader and I also want to share my experience and other teachers experiences using games to teach grammar. What you saw was just an introduction to the work. I was trying to present what other teachers, scholars found out about the topic and from different perspectives. I was also careful not to bombard the reader with too much unnecessary information and theory. My ultimate goal is to create and offer something practical and useful - lesson plans and classroom ideas- for teachers ,and at the same time something based on solid research in general and classroom practice in particular.
ReplyDeleteI get that - but in writing you need to think about what is the essential idea. That's your introduction.
ReplyDeleteFor example: Grammar is seen by students and some teachers as tedious and boring, and games as light entertainment to relieve this. But what if you can combine the grammar with the game? I'll be presenting this idea in this book. You'll find a section on the relevant research behind games as learning tools, a section where interviews conducted with teachers and students is discussed, and of course the main section - actual games you can use in your classroom.
(You can further elaborate here about your own experiences with using games, state why you believe they work, and why you think they'll work for other classrooms and other teachers as well as they worked for you)
Then what you've written will form one section of your book.
The idea of using sections is great and I'm trying to work on that. I'm thinking of writing four to five sections. For example, the first one will present the topic and discuss what research and studies say about games grammar instruction and playing in a more general sense. The second section will explain the findings of the study I conducted: some interviews with EFL teachers in the form of pie charts. Section three will present some language games and how they can be used to teach grammar structures. And here a detailed lesson plan will be shared. In this I will also talk about how teachers can adapt the games to suit their teching context and also what kind of potential challenges they would meet and how to overcome them. There are two games I think they will be useful for teachers: 1. Tic Tac Toe 2. Word search. Section four will be some kind of conclusion I think.
ReplyDeleteDear Catherine
ReplyDeleteThanks for your words of support .I'm not very familiar with google drive and docs, but the document I shared can be edited now I guess. So, feel free to post your comments, reactions and even critics are welcome.
aziz soubai, I still see the document as a .pdf, so ... I can't make comments on it. Did you see the explanation Barb provided of how to upload a document that people can comment on?
ReplyDeleteVery thorough. In addition to what Leonie Overbeek said, I would just add that the font on the cover page could be a bit bigger - and put your name on it, as well! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job Aziz, I want to ask how did you manage the images of graphs when formatting your book?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your words of support Ouarda.I have not started the formatting process yet
ReplyDeleteOk aziz soubai, I wish you all the best!
ReplyDelete