|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Message board > A personal message or a message board on your birthday?
A personal message or a message board on your birthday?
|
|
Akanah
|
@ goodnesses  |
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
**********
|
|
This is my contribution on this issue:
Forum
- Forums are meant to discuss issues related to the goals of a community.
- This is a community of practice. What bonds us here? We all are ESL Teachers, so ESL teaching and teaching issues are the ones to be tackled in the forum, to sustain the community in its main goals. A forum is a place for professional reflection, then.
- This particular community of practice builds on sharing and there is professional aid to provide a help desk service. So, the forum can also provide specific help:
- Supporting newcomers
- Supporting members with professional-related needs that can be supported by other members.
How to organize this?
There can be several THREADS in a forum:
- 1) One thread to support newcomers.
- 2) A thread to support members who need professional-related help
- 3)Threads to discuss methodological/scientific issues, which are already defined, as much as I can observe.
- One step ahead: I can suggest two threads a week
- Another step ahead: There could be moderators for these forums, I suggest, assigned by Victor. In this kind of forums we have here, there is no need to solve problems, synthesize, draw conclusions. Members just explore a certain subject and build on it, I mean: think dialogically. If people are focused on a defined subject they are not so prone to end up in a taking-sides type of discussion which doesn�t improve professional reflection.
CAF�
Why did cafes appear in online communities and with what purposes?
Online relationships tend to me more impersonal than other kind of communities. There tends to be less sense of belonging and more isolation of the members.
How can caf�s help on this subject? They provide emotional support, sense of belonging, social presence, which is basically the awareness of being one among others
What do you do in cafes? Celebrate BIRTHDAYS!!!, LIFE, chit-chat, change pictures, change information on countries,
You know there is an awesome tapas caf�, in Barcelona, coming from Catalunya Plaza, two blocks ahead in Paseo de Gracia, on the right, very close to La Pedredra. Just DON�T MISS IT!
change recipes, boys talk about football and restaurants, mind your tongue and adrenaline! Girls, who are, much more assertive, as you can see for yourselves, talk about family and stuff (deliberate stereotype.) Celebrate birthdays and whatever comes to your mind, considering that this is still a community of practice, not the YOUTUBE FORUM, but all of us seem to understand the difference.
Whose is the final decision? Everybody!
VICTOR�S!!!
What do YOU think of THIS?
Can you build on what I propose here? Just as we (I guess) do in our schools. Someone comes up with an idea and we build on it? If we can�t do this, it means we are lacking some abilities here to behave like a community.
EDIT: I suggest everybody comes up with SOUND arguments. |
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
Caroline565
|
@goodnesses.
You are so right. Nobody was against the posting of birthday wishes in last night �s thread.. It was just the opinion of some of us that Victor in his wisdom created the cafe for such things so as to keep the Message Board free for more serious matters. That was all...so simple to understand. But it seems that some who claim to love this site have no problem in rejecting Victor �s wishes in order to do it "their way". I was shocked by the reaction of some "well-respected" members. I was more than surprised at how some reacted to the member who began the thread in the first place. They claimed that her remarks were rude and hurtful. To be honest I thought they were just witty and humourous (my opinion). But what really got to me were the remarks then put forward by the critics of that member. Those remarks were far more hurtful and uncalled for than anything the beginner of the thread ever has or would ever post. So it left me wondering. Sometimes we think that we know people in a little way from the texts that we see them posting from time to time... but now I realise that we (well me anyway) do not know them at all. But I am not going to worry about it. ESl is still a great site and over time I am sure it will develop into something even greater for all of us teachers. My wish is that we will all learn to understand each other better. Maybe last night �s thread was part of that journey. I really hope so.
Take care ,
Caroline
|
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
**********
|
|
Caroline, pleeeease let �s bygones, be bygones. It is a waste of time. Let �s not go over on a
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Quote:
EDIT; complete sentence, as requested
What is the use of the "Caf�" if people continue exchanging those friendly feelings and expressions on the forum?
People, listen, have you heard about LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS?
Humans are gregarious and emotional beings.
How can language teachers use such a line or argumentation?
Do you know how many LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS I deliberately used up there to REASON with you?
I could provide you a grid to check on, but I have it in a table.
Shall we focus here? |
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
goodnesses
|
@Nika
You can quote (me) as you like but quote the whole sentence(s), please.
What is the use of the "Caf�" if people continue exchanging those friendly feelings and expressions on the forum?
Some people can give it a weird completion
Thanks!
|
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
|
|
manonski (f)
|
|
Ok...Just got back from a 6 hour car trip to return back home and I see this thread.
About the birthday wishes in the forum: I believe they did move to the caf� at the beginning but since the posts disappear after a while, some members were unaware or were missing the info. If I �m wrong about that, feel free to correct me.
If there was a calendar with members � birthdays, we could pm them with birthday wishes and not overflow the forum with pictures and gifarts. Personally, it never really bugged me but I can understand why some people don �t like them.
Hope you all have a nice weekend! |
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
Caroline565
|
Yes Nika you are right. I will not post on the topic again. Bygones are bygones now as far as I am concerned. I know I am not a perfect person by any means. I do have my faults and my failings and maybe I am not always right even when I believe that I am. But it �s nice to be able to voice the opinion anyway. So onward we go and let �s keep that smile in our hearts.
Caroline.
|
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
**********
|
|
That �s Caroline talking! We teachers can prove we can think critically and be positive, can �t we, people? |
15 Aug 2009
|
|
|
_babz
|
Why are most her diverting the topic?
Who is that who wants to prevent people from exchanging greetings and jokes and any funny stuff they like?
Who is that who is saying that the site must be other than the way you describe it, Tbabz?
THE AUTHOR OF THIS THREAD, THAT �S WHO!
Hey goodnesses,
this is the first time where you �don �t understand what I �m saying �
I can �t be any more comprehensible.....so either you �re doing it on purpose OR you simply need to brush up to North American English.
In any case, do me a favor and don �t ever use or refer to my name in any forum discussion.
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
|
15 Aug 2009
|
|
< Previous
1
2
3
Next >
|
