Wednesday 8 August 2012

Speaker Proposal for 47th AITEFL Workshop Liverpool.












1.       Ama-English: Mobile language made in Ethiopia:  A bless or disguise?
Technology is fostering the use of some languages such as English all over the world. One attribute to this is the use of technology in message exchange using computers and Mobile phones. In my presentation I would like to share the findings of my study on why some people use Ama-English rather than pure Amharic (Ethiopic) or English to communicate.

2.     New experience in using technology: Classrooms in Ethiopian
Using technological as a tool of instruction in Ethiopian classrooms is rare. The purpose of my presentation is to evaluate the perception of students towards their experience in using Web-based lessons (WebQuest). Analysis of the type and level of concern in using the tool will be evaluated and lessons learned will shared.

Summary
Understanding students’ perception towards the technological tools that are used in classrooms is a very important issue so as to guide the teaching learning process effectively. In my presentation, I will try to show the perception of students towards the use of WebQuest as a tool of instruction for the first time in their context. The presentation has the following important steps that are based on the implementation and documentation of the experience. The first steps will be to show the background experience of students in using Web-based lessons, specifically WebQuest lessons. Baseline survey data will be used for this purpose. On the second step, I will review the experience of students towards the WebQuest lesson that they will work on. The WebQuest lessons for this purpose will be designed based on the contents in the syllabus of their English language subject. The result of the analysis of the data collected based on the students experience in the WebQuest lesson will be presented on the third stage. This mainly focuses on identifying the concerns of students towards using WebQuest as a tool of instruction. Finally, lessons derived from using WebQuest as a tool of instruction will be identified and communicated. The contribution of the tool towards helping learners to achieve their educational objectives will be given greater attention in this part.