Hi, guys! During our e-course you'll be working in groups all the time.
Yes! You'll have to interact with each other a lot over the computer - and this is one of the skills to be developed in the course. You will get in groups and work together for the on-line seminars and for the final paper.
Below I have included a list summarizing your tasks during the course:
1) All members of all groups will read all the assigned texts, following the schedule on our programme;
2) The groups will read the text assigned to them thoroughly and prepare an on-line seminar about it using the Powerpoint;
3) The groups will conduct a discussion in our Forum about the topic chosen by the group, clearing out the doubts of your classmates (and yours too!);
4) The groups will write a final paper in which you propose a discourse-based activity.
You'll find details of deadlines and criteria for assessment at
http://discourse-fltprogramme.blogspot.com/
Ok, now I'm gonna go into detail about each of the tasks you will carry out.
I will be responsible for Module 1 - Introduction to DA. This will take the first two weeks of our course. In the first week you are supposed to read text 1 and watch the four slide presentations to complement your reading.
In the second week, you should:
1) Try to solve the problems posed in the Task Sheets; and
2) Engage in a discussion in our Forum.
ON-LINE SEMINARS AND DISCUSSION
1) During weeks 3 and 4 (24/8 a 05/09) all groups read the text assigned to them and prepare a PowerPoint presentation on it. Those who have never used the PowerPoint can check it on http://www.actden.com/pp2003/.
It is important that the group prepare a presentation with unity and coherence, containing the most relevant information provided by the article. The presentation should be visually attractive and easy to follow (creativity also counts). When ready, it should be sent by e-mail to katia_valerio@yahoo.com.br as an attachment. The deadline to mail the presentation is September 7th.
2) In the three following weeks (September 7th to 26th), all the students will read the texts assigned to the other groups and watch the slide shows they prepared. While you do this, you should take notes of the points you did not understand or would like to talk about in order to raise them in the discussion forums that will take place in the last week of the course.
3) From September 28th to October 3th, each group will start a discussion with their classmates in their specific forum (check the forum addresses below) about the topics presented in the text and in their on-line seminar. They should answer their classmates' questions and reflect together upon what was read. I will be following the discussions, but only when I feel you cannot get to a complete understanding of a concept or practice will I intervene.
FINAL PAPER
Your final paper will be done in groups too. Make sure you interact with your group members actively enough so that everyone can contribute, but make sure you produce a unified paper, with coherence and NO redundancy, OK?
Your task is to choose an activity or a set of activities, if you prefer and evaluate it in discursive terms. In other words, you should consider whether the activity views language at sentence or at discourse level, and which aspect of discourse it can be said to touch upon. If the activity needs improvements, you should specify them and write an alternative plan of work. This way, I'll have an idea if you really understood the concepts and can apply them effectively in your teaching practice.
I would also like to be informed about the details of the activity - its aim, the level or any other relevant characteristics of the group it was prepared for. For the critical appraisal you'll do now, it is essential that you also include a rationale for the activity, justifying the pedagogical choices in terms of the discursive aspects it deals with (E.g.: by doing A, we expect to raise awareness on cultural aspects etc.). If the plan of work uses a table format, you can list the procedures on the left and justify them (that is, provide the rationale) on the column on the right, for instance. Remember, for each procedure, there must be an explanation.
I'll assess your activity by answering the following questions:
- Is the critical appraisal of the activity consistent with a discursive view of language?
- Is the rationale provided adequate, that is, is it an acceptable justification (in theoretical terms) for carrying out each step?
- Are concepts brought about in the rationale dealt with appropriately?
Obs.: If your file gets too heavy, you can use the service provided by http://www.yousendit.com/. You can upload your file, address it to my personal e-mail (katia_valerio@yahoo.com.br) and yousendit.com will send me a message with instructions to download it. Simple and safe.
Now a few more DOs and DON'Ts so that our course can run swiftly...
How to Use the Forum
This session is very important and the organization of our forum depends on your following these instructions very carefully. In order to discuss theoretical issues we’ll use our Forum, but make sure you follow these rules. That's what you're supposed to do:
We'll have a new forum for each of the topics of our course.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/217466/ for questions and comments on Introduction to Discourse Analysis.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/217468/ for questions and comments on Grammar and Discourse Analysis.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/217469/ for questions and comments on Vocabulary and Discourse Analysis.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/217470/ for questions and comments on Genre.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/217471/ for questions and comments on Acquisitional Pragmatics.
- Visit the link at http://www.voy.com/218038/ for questions and comments on Cross-cultural Pragmatics.
• ONLY “Post a new public message” IF (AND ONLY IF) the topic you're going to talk about is not the subject of another message.
• Reply to the messages on each topic you want to comment on.
To reply to a message, follow these steps:
1. Click on the topic of the message.
2. You’ll see a page with the message. Scroll down the screen until you see the phrase “Post a public reply to this message”.
3. In the box “Message Subject”, delete whatever is written there and write the topic you are going to talk/ask about.
4. Write your name in the appropriate box.
5. Find a box which says “Type your message here”. Delete the text in it and write your comments/questions there.
6. Click on SEND at the bottom of the page: you’ll see your message there and if you wish to see all the messages you should click on “Main index” at the top of the page.
• To comment on somebody else’s comments/questions, click on the topic of their messages and follow the same steps listed above.
How to use our e-group
Our e-group will be used for notices and questions on tasks and assignments. If you have any questions to me concerning the organization of the course - what you should do and when - this is where you have to go.
You can also resort to our e-group if you have no group to join or if your group lacks one or more members.
You should NOT use the e-group to interact with the members of your group. You can start an e-group yourselves at http://br.groups.yahoo.com/ or use some internet tools which allow conferencing like Skype (http://www.skype.com).
Well, common sense will tell us what should be published in our e-group. I'll be counting on yours!
By the way, my personal e-mail is katia_valerio@yahoo.com.br. Contact me if you need some information in private.