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Message board > Don īt forget to mention the sources please!!!
Don īt forget to mention the sources please!!!
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veraviana
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Don īt forget to mention the sources please!!!
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Dear teachers,
could you be so kind to write the source of the texts you use in your worksheets/tests? Thanks a lot.
Hugs to you all,
Vera |
16 Apr 2009
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ggroneet
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I was sure all texts should be written by us, meaning if you upload a worksheet it should be your own text. |
16 Apr 2009
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Ivona
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@ ggroneet
I guess it is supposed to be so, but in a lot of cases (i do not dare say īmajority �) the texts or exercise sentences are taken from some other source and not the author īs head. The proof for that is evident from the discrepancy between the author īs sentences in the posts on the forum and the sentences in the ws exercises.
Good day 
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16 Apr 2009
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mena22
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Good afternoon vera, good afternoon to you all.
What Vera means is very simple. At least for me it is.
We are not (most of us, at least) native speakers and no one can possibly think that we would be able to write our own texts every time we needed to make a worksheet for our students, which, for some of us, means 3 to 4 ws a week. Besides, we have to agree that it wouldn īt even be advisable to do so, because, as Ivona mentioned, and the majority of us agree with her, I īm sure, our English is not always the best, and it could hardly be otherwise, because, as I īve said, we are not native speakers.
So, even though some of us dare from time to time to create our own texts (I know I do, and I īm not talking about sentences for grammar exercises, I īm talking about texts), the fact is that most of the texts we see on reading comprehension worksheets in this site are taken from textbooks or from the Net. Unfortunately, only a few people write the source giving credit to those who have published it. And this is even worse when all the exercises from the textbook are uploaded with it, meaning that, after all, that contributer didn īt contribute much... I know exactly what I am talking about here; for the last 2 months I īve been private messaging some Portuguese teachers about this issue and I īve also written about it on the forum (I can only talk about Portuguese teachers because those are the books I know). A few people reacted quite well, but the great majority simply ignored me. And those are the ones who take everything from the books ... text and exercises.
So, what vera is asking makes a lot of sense to me!
If people start writing the source of the text, they will have to make their own exercises.
Take for example the first worksheet on the reported contributions that everybody has been talking about. Had the user stated the source of her exercise, maybe, just maybe the worksheet wouldn īt be there although in this case the teacher didn īt have to create anything because it is all in a well known English Book of a Portuguese Publisher.
So, thank you vera for bringing up this issue.
Have a nice day!
mena
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16 Apr 2009
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ggroneet
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I really don īt know.... I only know that the worksheets that I upload to this site are mine!
I wrote all the texts myself (only copied the images/clipart)!!
I know that the rules are to upload only worksheets created by the memebers of the site and if some of the teahcers in here copy from books/other webs/ other teachers -- their uploads must be removed!!!
What do you think? |
16 Apr 2009
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mena22
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ggroneet, you wrote all the texts yourself because you are able to do it. I write some of the texts myself when I know I can do it, when they are easy texts for elementary or intermediate level. But even so, I don īt think that is advisable for every English teacher to do it and any native speaker or didactic teacher at the university will tell you so. And this is even more serious when we talk about advanced levels in which we have to deal with extremely difficult topics. See for example the text on grafitti - Art or Vandalism? - from which alex has posted the final task on the forum. It would take me a week to get the information, the images and all to get a similar text. Come on, we are not writers and we are not supposed to be! I know I never let a teacher trainee write her/his own text for the students unless she/he īs very good at English. Students must be in contact with language at its highest level. At least this is my opinion, and the opinion of many other teachers I work with.
Hugs,
mena |
16 Apr 2009
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ggroneet
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Hi Mena,
I never meant to say that a teacher shouldn īt xerox worksheets from textbook - it wasn īt my intention at all.
I only say that if we upload worksheet to the site it should be ours. If I take something from a reading book, I won īt upload it and say it is my contribution because it is not mine!
I think that ws on this site should be unique and not copied - that īs all I say.
have a good day.
roneet |
16 Apr 2009
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mena22
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I īm sorry I have misunderstood you. Just one more thing roneet, you can use a text from a textbook or the net and create your own exercises. As long as you write the source of the text it is legal, and useful to us and our students, I should add. The problem I was talking about in my first post is that many contributors are not writing the source and, worse, they are copying the exercises from the textbooks too. So those are really not their contributions. If they started writing the source of the text, they would have to make their own exercises. That īs why vers īs post made so much sense to me.
Thanks. A nice day 2U2! mena |
16 Apr 2009
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