A day to remember

 Today is an important day for me as I am entering into 5th year of teaching profession and also I complete one year at Kameshwar International School (or I can say my second family). I am glad to celebrate 1 year work anniversary. I learnt many valuable life lessons like trust, perfection and unity. I made many mistakes but learnt something new every time. There were times when people have treated me and my dreams like trash, who tried to stop me from doing something good, but, I have people like my parents and some colleagues who have encouraged me to ignore negativity and walk ahead in the path of life. With their support, I never gave up and tried harder next time till  I was able to reach somewhere with my dream. There were times when I thought that it was impossible, where there were many ups and downs but I never backed down. I am really grateful to all those who have supported me every time I needed.

I have learnt many new things from my colleagues and students. I ended up being open and vulnerable which allowed me to grow, adopt and think on my feet! Having these experiences is the true life of a teacher. I got several opportunities to attend trainings, webinars, seminars, and national and international conferences which helped me grow in my field. I got opportunities to host events and it has been a great experience for me as I got more courage to wipe away the fear of standing in front of hundreds and thousands of people.

I spent a lot of time preparing for each lecture to be delivered, many activities that my students would enjoy and made sure that I had all of the materials but sometimes things wouldn't go as planned. Sometimes, technology would fail, or students would require more time to complete a task than expected. At that point of time, I realized that I need to prepare as much as possible but more than that, I needed to prepare to be flexible as we never know what will come up next. The questions asked by the students during discussions and inquiry made me think how a child could think differently. Their thinking makes me an inquirer.

My colleagues have taught me many things. They gave me suggestions, tips and ideas. Not only making friends was helpful but it also made my days joyful. If some day I was upset, some of them would understand my silence and would cheer me up. They have treated me like their own little sister. In short I can say is I ended up making friends for life.

"But I have promises to keep.

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep."

These line have been my favorite since my childhood. These lines have given me motivation to work with utmost dedication to achieve the things I desire for. When it comes to teaching, I have always motivated my students to work continuously as they have many things to achieve. I have loved getting to know each of my students' likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. I believe this helped me teach them in a better way and hence made my classroom the happiest place to learn. I learned the importance of having an open mind as every class has different environment, different personalities, different curriculum and needs. Sometimes, students drive us crazy but it is inevitable that there will be relationships formed and connections made that leave lasting impressions.

My primary reason to pursue teaching as a career was my passion and the strong desire to positively influence and educate. Teaching gives me a sense of satisfaction. This year, I learned to become more independent, self-sufficient and a hard and smart working individual. My experiences have taught me to use a great deal of discipline and time management which are essential in the teaching profession. Balancing numerous activities with my school life, family and social life has provided me with a lot of experience with prioritization and has made me more efficient. I have tried and have come so far. The sense of happiness and satisfaction has reached my heart. I couldn't be more thankful to those who helped me discover myself. Being a lifelong learner has made me a positive person. It has also transformed my fixed mindset to a growth mindset. I am thankful to all (my parents in the first place and then all the institutions) who have given me a chance to work and utilize my skills. 

TWILIGHT MOVIE REVIEW

 

The story is set in a high school where a teenage girl of 17, Bella Swan  who falls for Edward Cullen. He is the most handsome as well as the weirdest boy in school who is different from others. His eyes color changes, his hands are cold. She is attracted towards him despite the fact that he is a vampire. Further, we come to know about his vegetarian vampire family who live in an isolated mansion where they stay away from school on sunny days as their skin glows like a diamond and they try to keep their secrets from others and the other vampires who are not good. This movie shows high school romance. Though Edward is dangerous, still Bella chooses to be with him. Edward is attracted towards her because of her fragrance, but he also doesn't want to kill her. He keeps on saying that they should stay far, far apart because he craves her so much. It's a story of a girl who wants to go all the way with him and doesn't care what might happen. She is ready to do anything for him.

          Twilight is a supernatural fantasy tale which mirrors the head over heels feeling that can cause us extreme joy, incredible pain, great happiness and grueling despair.

Research paper on "The use, advantages and disadvantages of multimedia technology in English Language Teaching"

 

THE USE, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

PRESENTED BY- URVI DAVE

dave.urvi71@gmail.com

SUBMITTED TO-

INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR

ELT & TECHNOLOGY

ORGANISED BY-

SMT. S B GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

MKBU, GUJARAT (INDIA)

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to analyze the use of technology in English Language Teaching, problems faced by teachers and students/learners. As the technology is developing rapidly, better tools are being offered to experiment and explore with the new teaching methods. It also aims to make non-native speakers of English as language teachers conscious of the strategies to use it in an efficacious manner.

Key words - English Language Teaching, multimedia technology, interaction, culture etc.

INTRODUCTION

With the spread and development of English around the world, it has become an important means of communication among the people of different cultures and languages. English language is used as a second or third language by Indians and it holds a higher status than ever. It is used as curriculum in all the institutions. With the growing number of English learners, various teaching methods are tested to check the efficacy of English Language Teaching. Technology has been used from a long time in the form of movies, TV, tape recorder, computer etc.

"Technology has turned into one essential aspect of society that helps students to understand the bigger picture of the world and not just stay confined to what schools and teachers teach them within their classrooms."

                                     - Prajesh SJB Rana

Of course, the technology has proved to be successful in replacing the traditional language teaching. The modern language teachers have new challenges and duties given by the new era. Multimedia technology has now replaced traditional teaching way of English language. Language learners are being attracted towards technology as it makes teaching and learning engrossing as well as fruitful.

"Technology lies at the heart of globalisation process; affecting educational work and culture."

                                 - David Graddol

With the expanding popularity of English language, there is arising a need of change in the methods of teaching. To gain confidence and keep pace with English Language Teaching (ELT), they have to make headway into the world of multimedia technology. The term multimedia technology refers to computes based interactive applications that use both the hardware and software, allowing people to share their ideas and information. It is a combination of text, graphics, animation, video and sound. There are more native speakers and there is diversity in terms of learner's age, nationality and learning background which has become the chief feature of ELT. Growth of English language has been facilitated by the growth of interest. As the ELT models change rapidly, there has been a significant growth of literature regarding the use of literature in ELT. These literatures unequivocally accept technology as the most essential/crucial part in teaching. Technology dominates teachers as if they ignore technological developments, they would never be able to catch up with the new trend. The idea of teaching should be to acknowledge new technologies with limiting the functions of traditional teaching and the role of teachers.

ADVANTAGES

1) Students become passive learners which hampers the achievement of the goal (in traditional teaching method). It also hampers student's capability to acknowledge the structure, meaning and function of the language. For example, the use of PPTs make students think and comprehend the language easily. It creates a positive environment for the classroom activities such as group discussions, debates, quizzes etc and also develop communicative competence among students and between students and teachers.

2) The learners not only improve their listening ability but also learn about the culture of the target language. Technology helps them to share information and also helps them to actively participate where students learn the language more quickly and effectively.

3) "We also need to take into account that as human beings, we are very visual beings, that what we see tends to affect our judgment more and technology helps in bringing that visual aspect to education. Who here would prefer a lecture over a presentation?"

Technology helps in accessing information regarding the culture of the target language and also motivates students to learn language more effectively. While teaching English language, the sounds and pictures can be set together that enhance the active participation of students as well as teachers.

"Bad teaching will not disappear with the addition of even the most advanced technology; good teaching will benefit from appropriate use of technology to help learners achieve their goals."

4) Technology breaks the teacher-centered traditional teaching method and improves teacher's teaching performance as well as teaching contents. It goes beyond time and space and creates more real-life environment for English teaching.

5)  Student's problems have been addressed in the classroom only but now with the use of technology, their problems or doubts can be solved outside the class via emails and conferencing systems. Students can contact their teachers any time through internet and get their problems solved.

DISADVANTAGES

1) Teaching a language needs discussion, formed through questions and answers between teacher and students. Brainstorming sessions take place along with lots and lots of questions, students are guided to build up their capacity to answer. Real- life teaching vanishes with the use of technology as students get pre-arranged content and with this, they are unable to give feedback, which ignores the spontaneity in the students' mind that includes thinking and building up their learning capacity and problem solving.

2) Overhead projectors have been supplemented with blackboards in many institutions. Teachers can turn into slaves if they are totally dependent on it as they may be active in using technology but not competent enough to handle it properly. If the teacher uses computer for teaching all the time, they can't have direct eye contact with the students. Teachers should also use blackboards/whiteboards to write some questions or a few words while teaching.

3) The language learning programmes start with the expenses that are related to implementation of new technologies in education. The expenses include hardware, software and training of staff for at least one networked computer laboratory where everyone including teachers and students can use it. This problem occurs in language classes who do not get enough funds. The hardware itself comes in through a one-time grant and almost very little funding is left for training and software maintenance.

4) Technology helps a lot in understanding the content easily but obstruct their logical and abstract thinking as textual words are replaced by sound and image and handwriting by keyboard. Technology should never replace the role of a teacher rather it should be as an assisting tool only.

SUGGESTIONS

1) Teachers should play the leading role in teaching and also give opportunity to students to think, speak and listen. Technology should just be an assisting tool for them and not more than that.

2) Teachers have to encourage the students to think critically (brainstorming) which helps in becoming active learners rather than passive listeners.

3) Traditional forms have their own advantage. Tape recorders still play an important role in playing the listening materials. Teachers should not be totally dependent on technology and should integrate technology with the traditional teaching tools.

"In the absence of teachers trained to use technological tools in the classrooms, students will be unable to learn English as fast and effectively as they could with technology or as fast and effectively as their fellow students across the globe."

                            - England,399

4) Language teachers should introduce both traditional teaching method and technology so that the students can have the overall training on their LSRW skills as students feel some interest in learning through technology but in real life can feel inactive due to continuous using/looking at the screen. This can ignore their other skills of language learning.

 

CONCLUSION

To promote student's motivation and interest in language learning is the main objective of multimedia technology. A favorable environment should be created in order to achieve this goal which should also be based on the availability of teaching materials as well as information. Students should be motivated to use English language in order to communicate with anyone. Teachers should focus on maintaining the students' communicative competence.

Student's thinking and practical language skills can be improved with appropriate use of technology which can ensure and fulfil the result of English Language Teaching. In spite of some disadvantages, technology can be used effectively in English language teaching classrooms.

Overall, the non-native speakers of English as language teachers can teach English more effectively if they teach with the help of technology.

 

'Dil Bechara' Movie Review

The movie 'Dil Bechara' is adapted from the book 'The Fault in Our Stars' written by John Green. The director of the movie is Mukesh Chhabra. The novel's name comes from the famous quote, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, for we are underlings" (Julius Caesar). It conveys the message that despite the imperfections of our destiny, we can thrive and lead a happy and fulfilling life. It teaches us the value of life, the time we spend with our loved ones, and the value of our feelings.

It is a love story of two lovers who are brought together by a tragic twist. Sushant Singh Rajput acts as Manny who suffered from osteosarcoma and Sanjana Sanghi as Kizie who is suffering from thyroid cancer and has numbered days left to live. Manny enters her life with the image of an irritating person but ultimately with his charms, he makes her fall in love with him. Now she starts to lead a normal life and fulfils her small dreams. What makes the movie memorable is how they both fight for life and take on death as if they were ever prepared. One of her dreams is to meet Abhimanyu Veer- her favorite writer. Manny helps her to fulfil it and they visit Paris to meet him. In the end, Manny dies leaving a heartbroken Kizie who realizes that though they had a limited time with each other, he gave her a forever within the numbered days.

'OMKARA' Movie Review

Othello is a tragic love story written by William Shakespeare and Omkara is the film adaptation of this story directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The movie is based upon the theme of deep love and the deep belief of loyalty amongst the lovers. We can see the dark side of love in this movie. This movie is set in the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh. Ajay Devgan plays the role of Omkara or Omi (Othello in Shakespeare's 'Othello') who believes that his ladylove Kareena Kapoor as Dolly (Desdemona) is betraying him and so he grows suspicious though she was innocent.

If someone puts a doubt in our mind and we believe them more than our eyes, that tiny piece of doubt cab damage everything. Omkara is the leader of a band of outlaws who work for an MP. His friend and his right hand is Langda Tyagi (Iago). Omkara is chosen to be fielded for an assembly seat and Kesu is chosen as his successor in place of Langda Tyagi. Tyagi gets deeply hurt by this and plans to frame Kesu. He plans a conspiracy. Be fills poison in Omkara's mind that Dolly is having an affair with Kesu. Out of rage, he kills his beloved without clarifying anything. Later, Langda's wife, Indu reveals everything that this all was a plan to defame Kesu and Dolly was innocent but it was too late now. Omkara kills himself out of guilt. The movie is filled with emotions like love, jealousy, possessiveness, betrayal and destruction.

'AISHA' Movie Review

 Directed by Rajshree Ojha, Aisha is a movie based on the book 'Emma' written by Jane Austen. The sub-title is Don't be Cupid! Sonam Kapoor plays the role of Aisha, a young, rich and pretty girl from Delhi. She is unsteady in nature and so her interests keep changing everyday. Her current passion is match making and she starts working on her friend Randhir and a small town girl Shefali. Aisha totally changes Shefali's look and tries to bring them together but love doesn't generally follow the rules and designs. Abhay Deol plays the role of Arjun who is her neighbor, friend as well as his enemy (as he never minds chiding about her faults). She herself is attracted towards Dhruv and in the middle part of the movie, she hurts Arjun, Shefali and Pinky with her silly nature, ego and her attempts to get her own way. But in the end, she realizes her fault and declares her love for Arjun and finally everyone lives happily.

In the movie, we can witness no major hurdles to cross, no parental objections, no major conflicts to solve as it generally happens in most of the love stories. The director has remained faithful to the novel. In today's time, most of the relationships are so complicated but here, the plot is simple and so is the story.

"Kai Po Che" Movie Review

 

"Kai Po Che" is directed by Abhishek Kapoor. It is based on Chetan Bhagat's book titled as "The 3 mistakes of my life." It explores one of the most cherished human relationships i.e. friendship. This social drama explores the life in Gujarat which includes the 2001 devastating earthquake, 2002 Godhra riots between Hindus and Muslims and India- Australia test-series.

It is a story about the lives of three friends who open a cricket shop and training center together. Ram Kumar Yadav as Govind is a thoughtful and a serious person and is business minded who helps in maintaining the accounts. He becomes a maths tutor for Ishaan's sister and later falls in love with her. Sushant Singh Rajput as Ishaan is a short tempered and a gifted cricketer who commits himself to coach young persons. Amit Sadh as Omi is a good natured person whose maternal uncle is a local politician and helps him to set up the shop. They open a sports goods store and a cricket training center in Ahmedabad (their hometown). It is an incredible piece of historical fiction. We can witness the devastation caused in 2001 Gujarat earthquake. They are left without food or shelter. Their shop gets destroyed and they are left in heavy debt. When he is unable to pay the damages and heavy loan, Omi gets involved in his Uncle's party and gets into politics completely. His parents get executed in the communal riots and this is the point where their friendship is tested again. Ishaan discovers a child's talent of cricket and he tries to convince the boy's father to get him trained at the cricket center and nurture his talent.

The end is also tragic where we can see the Godhra riots between Hindus and Muslims where thousands died and it also impacted the life of three friends. This movie covers multiple topics like violence, revenge, forgiveness and politics.