ساز خاموش

All I ever wanted is in you: تو تجلی تمام خواسته هایم هستی
Love, laughter, a pillow for my fears. عشق لبخند، بالینی برای اشکهایم ،
I want to give and to be given to من می خواهم به تو دل دهم ودل بگیرم
So I might feel myself flow through the years احساس می کنم خودم در طول این سالها جاری بودم
Alive in you, the wonder of my tears. زنده ام با تو، ای شگفتی ساز اشکهایم

all و every مي توانند در يك معني (همه) بكار روند با اين تقاوت كه all با يك اسم جمع بكار مي رود در حاليكه every با يك اسم مفرد بكار مي رود.

- All towns have a post office.

- Every town has a post office.

در جملات منفي از not all و not every با همان مشخصات استفاده مي شود.

- Not all towns have a hospital.

- Not every town has a hospital.

each (هر، همه) نيز مانند every با يك اسم و فعل مفرد بكار مي رود.

- Each idea is good one.

the whole نيز مي تواند معني يكساني با all داشته باشد.

- She spent all her life alone.

- She spent the whole of her life alone.

ولي معمولاً all با يك اسم غير قابل شمارش بكار مي رود در حاليكه the whole با يك اسم مفرد قابل شمارش بكار مي رود.

- He ate all the food.

- He ate the whole meal.

Here are some tips which may help you to master the English Language!

1. Speak without Fear

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear.  They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all.  Don’t do this.  The fastest way to learn anything is to do it – again and again until you get it right.  Like anything, learning English requires practice.  Don’t let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.

2. Use all of your Resources

Even if you study English at a language school it doesn’t mean you can’t learn outside of class.  Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster.  There are many different ways you can improve your English, so don’t limit yourself to only one or two.  The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it's perfect.

3. Surround Yourself with English

The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it.  Take notes in English, put English books around your room, and listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television.  Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English.”

4. Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible

There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it.  However, there are several  reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate.  The closer ESL / EFL students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.

5. Watch English Films and Television

This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective.  By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors.  If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.

6. Listen to English Music

Music can be a very effective method of learning English.  In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension.  The best way to learn though, is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings.  There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time.  And if you like to sing, fine.

7. Study As Often As Possible!

Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language. 

8. Do Exercises and Take Tests

Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun.  However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give you a benchmark to compare your future results with.  Often, it is by comparing your score on a test you took yesterday with one you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned.  If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing. Start now by doing some of the many exercises and tests on this site, and return in a few days to see what you've learned. Keep doing this and you really will make some progress with English.

9. Record Yourself

Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time.  You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.

10. Listen to English

By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audio books or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you can’t see the person that is speaking to you.  Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.

MEMORY IMPROVEMENT

Self improvement

Tips for students and teachers on Improving Memory

Most of us express dissatisfaction with our memory, especially when we want to recall some detail and we can't. Some examples are, an address or a telephone number, the time of a meeting, somebody's name, etc. Even people who I think have an excellent memory, complain that they forget things. In their case, perhaps their mind refuses to be cluttered with a detail which doesn't seem important to them at the time. Later, for some reason, they want to contact that person, and they can't recall the name or other details of that person. 

Memory works like a bank. You can get to it, only if you put it there. If you didn't deposit it, you can't collect it when you need it.  

A lot of people insist, "My memory is terrible, or "I can't remember anything." In most of the cases, their memory is fine. The power to remember is certainly there. They just need to take the time to learn ways to "register" the events more clearly, so they can 'recall" them more successfully, later. In this article, I will briefly describe what we need to do to improve our memory and in later articles, I will write in more detail about them.

l. Positive expectation. Believe that you have a good memory. If you believe you have a poor memory and you can't remember anything, your mind will do everything to prove you right. It is better to think that your memory is basically good. When you learn better memory techniques, you will have a better memory. The reason that someone you know has a better memory is that he or she, knowingly or automatically, is using better memory techniques.

2. Interest and importance: Recall of a particular event or detail depends on the interest we take and the importance we assign to that detail or event, at the time when it is taking place. We remember so much more about people, places, and topics which fascinate us. When you are greatly interested in a subject, you pay close attention and your brain releases chemicals to form deeper "imprints" on the cells that store memory. Those can literally become "long lasting impressions."

3. Pay attention: If you want to recall something, pay close attention to it at the time. The problem may not be memory, the problem may be one of attention. People who have a good memory, pay close attention to events as they happen. Also, you may well know that the level of interest and importance we assign to a person or an event, determines how much attention we are going to pay it at the particular time it is occurring.

4. Memory is an active process. The more active attention you pay, the more details you observe, the more you think, reason, and comprehend, the more associations you make of what you know with what you are trying to learn, the more you will retain and be able to recall, later on. Good memory is a state of the active mind.

5. A relaxed mind helps memory: Learn with a relaxed mind. Recall the learned material with a relaxed mind. Let's take as an example a situation where you misplace your car keys. If you get too agitated with yourself in trying to recall something, as is the case in this example, you are in for frustration. But, if you relax your mind, and calmly go through the events backward, you are more likely to remember where you left them.

6. Reduce anxiety. While mild anxiety can increase interest and attention, high anxiety can impair attention and concentration, and therefore, limit the recall of learned material. That is why, if we are too anxious during a test, we forget what we earlier knew very well. Actually, your memory is okay but anxiety is interfering with it. Management of test anxiety has helped many students in their test performance.

7. Monitor depression. Depression can impair the interest and joy in the events
surroundings us. As a result, too little energy is left to recall anything. Some depressed persons become more anxious and depressed thinking, "I have lost my mind." Once depression is treated, memory as a general rule, returns to the normal.

8. Use your favorite sensory channel. Some remember better what they see, "visual memory," and some remember better what they hear, "auditory memory." If you are someone who remembers better what you hear, then listen to a book on tape, rather than reading it. For other material, tape what you want to learn, and then listen to it for better recall.

بيشتر مشکلاتي که زيان آموزان در تلفظ دارند به خاطر ناهماهنگيهايي است که بين صداهاي زبان مادري آنها و زبان انگليسي وجود دارد. براي مثال، اگر يک انگليسي زبان با شما صحبت کند، ميتواند به راحتي تشخيص دهد که زبان مادري شما انگليسي نيست و اين نکته را با گفتن اين که شما "لهجه هندي، روسي، يا چيني داريد" ابراز ميکند.

در هر صورت زبان مادري شما ميتواند باعث شود که شما مشکلاتي در تلفظ صداها و کلمات خاصي داشته باشيد. اين مشکلات تلفظي از يک زبان به زبان ديگر متفاوت است. نکاتي که در زير آمده است ميتواند به شما کمک کند که مشکلات تلفظي خود را به حداقل برسانيد:

·      به حرکات دهان انگليسي زبانهاي بومي دقت و سعي کنيد از آنها تقليد کنيد. زمانيکه فيلم تماشا ميکنيد، به حرکات دهان افرادي که صحبت ميکنند، نگاه کنيد. جملات آنها را تکرار کرده و سعي کنيد که تلفظ و آهنگ صداي آنها را تقليد کنيد.

·      تا زمانيکه تلفظ و آهنگ صحيح جملات را ياد نگرفته ايد، سعي کنيد شمرده صحبت کنيد. اگر با تلفظ و آهنگ نادرست، سريع صحبت کنيد، مطمئنا کسيکه به حرفهاي شما گوش ميدهد، چيزي نخواهد فهميد. نگران اين نباشيد که ممکن است طرف مقابل شما حوصله اش سر برود، مهم اينست که شما بتوانيد منظور خودتان را به درستي منتقل کنيد.

·      موسيقي انگليسي گوش بدهيد. وقتي در حال ياد گرفتن انگليسي هستيد، سعي کنيد به آهنگهاي انگليسي گوش بدهيد. کمتر به موسيقي زبان مادري خودتان گوش بدهيد. هر زبان، موسيقي و نوع خواندن خاص خودش را دارد.

·      از ديکشنري استفاده کنيد. علائم فونتيک زبان انگليسي که در ديکشنري به کار ميروند را ياد بگيريد و با استفاده از آن تلفظ صحيح کلماتي که گفتن آنها برايتان دشوار است را پيدا کنيد.

·      ليستي از کلماتي که نميتوانيد آنها را به خوبي تلفظ کنيد، تهيه کرده و از فردي که آنها را به خوبي تلفظ ميکند بخواهيد آنها را برايتان بخواند. صداي او را ضبط کنيد و با تمرين و تکرار تلفظ صحيح آن کلمات را ياد بگيريد.

·      کتابهايي بخريد که همراه خود نوار يا سي دي دارند. به طور همزمان گوش دهيد و بخوانيد. صداي خودتان را در حال خواندن بخشهايي از کتاب ضبط کنيد. صداي خود را با صداي اصلي خواننده کتاب مقايسه کرده و اشتباهات خود را اصلاح کنيد.

·      انتهاي کلمات را با دقت بيشتري تلفظ کنيد. به "s" سوم شخص و جمع در آخر کلمات توجه کنيد و "ed" انتهاي افعال زمان گذشته را نيز با دقت بيشتري تلفظ کنيد.

·      روزانه 15 تا 20 دقيقه با صداي بلند يک متن انگليسي بخوانيد. اين کار باعث قوي شدن عضلاتي از دهان ميشود که در زمان انگليسي صحبت کردن مورد استفاده قرار ميگيرند. تحقيقات نشان داده است که تقويت عضلات دهان براي صحبت کردن به يک زبان جديد، به سه ماه تمرين روزانه نياز دارند.

·      صداي خودتان را ضبط کنيد و در آن به دنبال اشتباهات تلفظي بگرديد. بسياري از افراد دوست ندارند که به صداي ضبط شده خودشان گوش دهند و از اين کار اجتناب ميکنند. اما اين کار بسيار مفيد بوده و باعث ميشود که شما نسبت به اشکالاتي که در تلفظ خود داريد آگاه شويد.

·      صبور باشيد. هر کسي ميتواند نحوه صحبت کردن خودش را تغيير دهد، ولي اين کار مطمئنا يک شبه اتفاق نمي افتد. مردم اغلب به دنبال اين هستند که خيلي سريع نتيجه بگيرند و به همين خاطر خيلي زود تسليم ميشوند. تنها زماني قادر خواهيد بود بهتر انگليسي صحبت کنيد که واقعا تلاش کنيد و براي آن وقت بگذاريد.

According to The Book of Lists, the fear of public speaking ranks number one in the minds of the majority of people. Far above the fear of death and disease comes the fear of standing in front of a crowd. I was a member of Toastmasters for a number of years. I enjoyed the applause and after effects of successful speeches, but I hated the nerves and stress that went with the delivery.

It goes without saying, great content can be ruined by poor delivery. (Okay, I said it.) It is equally true that no amount of great technique will rescue bad content. You need to develop both skill-sets to deliver strong presentations.

Here are some simple tips that can improve your delivery:

1. Develop a deep voice – Listen to a news anchor and practice speaking in the same way. A deeper voice carries more authority. Find some exercises to lower the pitch of your voice. A quick solution: take three of four deep breathes before standing to speak. It will relax your vocal cords and your voice will be deeper.
2. Slow down – We tend to speak quickly when we are nervous. If you speak too quickly, people will see you as nervous and perhaps even unsure of the topic. Find a comfortable pace and practice. Be careful that you’re not too slow.
3. Give your voice some life – Ben Stein gave us the definitive monotone presentation style in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You want to avoid that example. Speak louder and softer; speak higher and lower; speed up and slow down. None of these need to be carried to extremes, but variety helps you hold the listener’s attention.
4. Speak clearly, don’t mumble. When speaking in public, you need to exaggerate the way you enunciate words. What sounds clear to your ears, is muddy 30 feet into the room.
5. Use appropriate volume – Match your volume to the setting. You will need less volume when speaking to a small group in a boardroom and more volume when speaking to a large group in an auditorium.
6. Pronounce your words correctly – If you aren’t sure how to say a word, don’t use it. Be especially careful with proper nouns. You’ll turn off the audience quickly if you mispronounce the name of their town in your introduction.
7. Use the correct words – There’s nothing that destroys your credibility as a speaker like a misused vocabulary. If you’re unsure of the meaning of a word, look it up. If you can’t look it up, leave it out.
8. Look at people – I’ve seen speakers stare at their notes, at the back wall, at the floor, anywhere but at those sitting in the room. Make eye contact with your listeners. Don’t stare at one person, but let your eyes work the room. Make eye contact for one point, then move on to another person for the next point. You’ll look like you’re trying to connect with the audience.
9. Gesture – with your arms, your face and perhaps your whole body. Unlock your iron grip on the lectern and move your hands and arms to emphasize what you’re saying. Let your face get into the speech: smile, frown, open your eyes wide. You’ll do a better job of communicating your passion for the topic.
10. Step away from the lectern – or, if you’re well prepared and don’t need notes, get rid of it altogether. The lectern can be a large barrier between you and your audience. If you need it for your notes, step from side to side periodically. (Not so much that the listeners get sea sick.) The best presentation you can give is the one you know so well, you don’t need any props to hold you up. It’s just you and the audience.

In one sense these are all instant fixes. You could start using these techniques in a speech you have to give ten minutes from now. However, they’re not quick fixes. Any presenter gets better through practice. Make these tips part of your preparation process and people are going to want to listen to you speak.

Friendship is not a game to play, It is not a word to say, It doesn’t start on March and ends on May, It is tomorrow, yesterday, today and everyday.

دوستی ابزار بازی نیست.واژه ای برای بیان کردن نیست.در یک ماه آغاز نمی شود و در یک ماه تمام نمی شود.دوستی، فردا،دیروز ،امروز و همیشه است.

 -Moon said to me, if your friend is not messaging u why don’t you leave your friend.I looked at moon and said does you sky ever leave u when u don’t shine.

ماه به من گفت،اگر دوستت به تو پیامی نمی دهد چرا ترکش نمی کنی؟ به ماه نگاهی کردم و گفتم آیا آسمان تو را ترک می کند زمانی که نمی درخشی؟

-To live a life i need heartbeat, 2 have heartbeat i need a heart, 2 have heart i need happiness, to have happiness i need a friend, and 4 a friend i need you ALWAYS.

برای زنده ماندن به تپش قلب نیاز دارم،برای داشتن تپش قلب ،به یک قلب نیاز دارم برای داشتن قلب به شادی نیاز دارم برای داشتن شادی به دوستی نیاز دارم و برای دوستی، همیشه به تو نیاز دارم

-Its  not an achievement to make 1000’s friends in a year, but an achievement iswhen you make a friend for 1000’s years.

موفقیت این نیست که هزار دوست در یکسال داشته باشی،ا موفقیت وقتی است که دوستی را برای هزار سال داشته باشی

-Six rules to be HAPPY: Free your heart from hatred; Free your mind from worries; Live simply; Expect less; Give more & Always have ME as UR FRIEND

شش قانون برای شادبودن: قلبت را از کینه پاک کن،ذهنت را از نگرانی ها رها کن،ساده زندگی کن،کم توقع باش،زیاد ببخش و همیشه مرا به عنوان دوست خود داشته باش

-Never abandon old friends. They are hard 2 replace. Friendships is like wine: it gets BETTER as it grows OLDER.

هیچگاه دوستان قدیمی ات را ترک نکن.آنها برای جایگزینی سخت هستند.دوستی مثل شراب است،بهتر می شود وقتی بیشتر می ماند، بهتر می شود.

-GOD is so wise that he never created FRIENDS with price tags, Because….. if He did, I can’t afford a precious FRIEND like YOU!!!

خدا خیلی داناست که برای دوستان قیمتی نگذاشته،اگر این کار را می کرد،چطور میتوانستم بهای دوستی مثل تو را بپردازم

-Ur validity of being my friend is going 2 b expired today, plz recharge ur friendship immediately by delivering 4-5 sweet & cool msgs. So hurry

اعتبار دوستی تان در حال اتمام است.لطفا با ارسال چهار،پنج پیام زیبا ،فورا دوستی تان را مجددا شارژ کنید

-As long as we have memories, yesterday remains; as long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits. As long as we have Friendship, each day is never a waste.

تا زمانی که حافظه ای داریم،دیروز می ماند،تازمانی که امید داریم،فرداها منتظرند،تا زمانی که باهم دوست بمانیم،روزها هرگز هدر نمی روند.

-When God gave friends he tried 2 b fair! When I got u, I got more than my share

وقتی خداوند دوستان را بخشید،سعی کرد منطقی باشد.وقتی تو را بعنوان دوست یافتم،بیش از سهم خود برداشتم.

 -Friendship is sweet when it’s new, Sweeter when its true, but sweetest when its u.

 دوستی شیرین است وقتی جدید است،شیرین تر است وقتی درست است ، اما شیرین ترین است وقتی آن تو هستی.

 If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend

 If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.

اگه تو قراره قبل از من بمیری،سوال کن میتونی یه دوست رو با خودت بیاری.اگه قراره صد سال زنده باشی من می خوام یه روز کمتر از صد سال زندگی کنم،چون من هرگز نمی تونم بدون تو زندگی کنم.

 Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.

دوستان، روشی الهی برای محافظت از ما هستن

 True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known

until it is lost. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

دوستی واقعی مثل سلامتیه.ارزش اونو وقتی می فهمیم که از دستش میدیم. یک دوست واقعی اونی هستش که وقتی میاد که تموم دنیا از پیشت رفتن.

 Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.

از جلو سرم نرو، شاید نتونم دنبالت بیام. از پشت سرم گام برندار؛شاید نتونم رهرو خوبی باشم. کنارم راه بیا و دوستم باش

 Effective Cold Prevention Strategies

1. Wash your hands - The world we live in is filled with viruses and bacteria that can make us ill. Your hands are no exceptions. Wash your hands often to keep them clean. If you cannot wash them, at least use some hand sanitizer, such as Purel.

2. Drink hot fluids, especially in the morning - The rhinovirus incubates in the back of the throat and spreads in the upper respiratory area because it's cooler than the body temperature. Rhinovirus can't survive at 98.6 (hence it doesn't travel far down into the bronchi or the lungs). By drinking hot fluid (such as hot tea and lemon) you can prevent the virus from incubating.

3. Keep your hands out of your face - We have already discussed the germs and viruses on your hands. You cannot wash them continuously, so in between washings keep your hands out of your face. Your face is an open portal to your insides. Keep the germs away from your portal.

4. Drink water - Drinking more water is my answer to everything. Water will help clean out your body and keep it clean. It will also keep your body functioning at 100%. You should drink at least (eight) 8oz glasses of water everyday. This will also help you lose weight.

5. Eat your fruits and vegetables - There are phytochemicals and antioxidants in fruits and vegetables that can help strengthen your immune system and prevent diseases. You should eat at least four servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits every day.

6. Multivitamins - If you are not eating all of your fruit and vegetable servings, you should take a multivitamin to ensure you are getting all of the vitamins your body needs to function properly. Take a simple one-a-day multivitamin everyday.

7. Stay warm - Being cold weakens your immune system and makes your body more susceptible to illness. Look at the day's temperature at weather.com before leaving your home. Wear layers in and out of your home when it is cold.

8. Relax and rest - Stress weakens your immune system. You can reduce your stress levels by relaxing and getting more sleep. Sleep is essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Sleep will also boost your recovery time if you become ill.

Getting a cold can derail your nutrition and activity plans. However, if you follow the strategies I laid out for you, you can prevent this from happening

English acquisition for EFL students is mainly developed through reading and composing English texts. To help students acquire abilities of reading and writing, curricula are usually designed separately under the belief that these two are totally different language skills. This division unfortunately overlooks the interactive relationship between reading and writing and fails to see the contributions that the connection of reading and writing can make on students' language acquisition. To overcome the shortcomings, it is therefore crucial to discuss the rationale and benefits of linking these two aspects of language learning in English instruction and provide a more concrete picture of how to apply these concepts in actual teaching situations. In this article, theories and research on L1 and L2 reading and writing connections are briefly discussed, followed by suggestions on pedagogical applications of L2 reading/writing connection and a variety of teaching activities for a college EFL writing class.

Connecting Reading and Writing    

The reading/writing connection has its origin in L1 or native language contexts. In the 80's, some scholars had considered reading and writing as similar cognitive processes in which readers/authors interact with the texts. For example, Tierney and Pearson (1983) believed that "at the heart of understanding the reading/writing connection one must begin to view reading and writing as essentially similar processes of meaning construction" (p. 568). In the same vein, Petrosky (1982) noted that "reading, responding, and composing are aspects of understanding, and theories that attempt to account for them outside of their interactions with each other run the serious risk of building reductive modules of human understanding" (p. 20).

In L2 literacy contexts, Krashen's (1984) argument that "it is reading that gives the writer the 'feel' for the look and texture' (p. 20, cited in Hirvela, 2004) paves the way leading writing researchers and instructors to the vision of reading/writing connection. He claims that reading, which builds the knowledge base of written texts, helps L2 learners acquire necessary language constructs such as grammatical structures and discourse rules for writing, and facilitates the process of language acquisition. While Krashen's viewpoints recognize the contributions that reading can make to writing, it is reader-response theory that brings L2 literacy researchers to see reading and writing both as processes of composing. Reader-response theory claims that the meaning conveyed by the texts is determined by the reader instead of the author. In relation to reading/writing connection, reader-response theory "serves as a valuable tool for privileging and investigating students' composing processes as readers, processes that can both influence and overlap with their composing processes as writers" (Hirvela, 2004, p. 53).
    
Considering both reading and writing as processes in which students interact with texts meaningfully, researchers suggested ...

Build on What Students Already Know

In my freshmen English class, most students' previous learning experience was all about teacher-centered instruction that focused on grammar and rote memorization. English as a mandatory subject has been taught in junior and senior high schools and colleges in Taiwan for decades. A typical college freshman will have learned English at least six years. Due to competitive college entrance exams, high school students usually have memorized a great deal of English vocabulary words and acquired a certain reading level. Unfortunately, when they go on to college, the teaching methodology remains the same as what they were taught in high schools, such as teacher directed curriculum, passive role of students, basal textbooks and so forth. Most college students still think English learning is all about memorizing vocabulary words and reading for academic purposes. As a college EFL teacher, I wanted to take advantage of students' vocabulary and reading capabilities and help them to explore the English world by using what they already know.

Convince Students that Learning Should Be Meaningful

At the beginning of the semester, they had a hard time to understand what I meant by "discovering your own interests" and start the learning from there. I spent a lot of time trying to convince students that "learning can and should be meaningful". I encouraged the students to find out what they were interested in and read about the topics in English. At the same time, they were learning English and getting information about what they enjoyed. If they continuously read about one topic, they would be more familiar with the vocabulary words commonly used to discuss that topic. It was a new concept for most students and I knew I would have to guide them carefully in the class so they could understand the "meaningful and personalized learning" I was trying to help them to obtain.

An Example of How I Created Personalized Learning

Here is an example of how I created personalized learning in my college freshman class of 55 students. I designed several class periods based on environmental issues. I told them why I chose the topic. I really care about the environment and am very interested in knowing what's going on about the issues. I chose an article from the textbook about car recycling. Before the reading, we discussed different issues about recycling locally, nationally and globally. During the reading, I explicitly showed them how I read an article and what I would do if I did not understand the vocabulary words. I looked at the pictures and scanned through the subtitles. Did I check in the dictionary immediately or not and why not? I told students to keep in mind that we were learning information as well as English at the same time. We did not have to know every single word in order to get new information from our reading. If the same vocabulary words appeared more than three times, it must be an important word. I would circle the words and check with the dictionary either during or after reading. At the beginning, it is important to limit the topic yet still give students freedom to choose the articles they prefer. I assigned them to find an article from http://www.nationalwildlife.org/. They can do the assignment individually or in a group of no more than three. There were a wide variety of environmental issues they could choose to read about. I also told them the reasons for this post-reading assignment from the Internet. In the computer lab, I have noticed most of the students only browsed web sites in Chinese. I wanted them to explore the enormous information available in English. They needed to print out the article, read, and share the information with the class. I asked them why they chose their article to read, how they read it, and what they did when they encountered unknown vocabulary words. I told them if they were interested in environmental topics, they should continue to read more and find out more. If they were not interested in the topic, they should find other topics.

In order for students to share with others, I used two class periods, two hours each and first asked if anyone would like to go in front of the classroom to share with their learning process. If there were no volunteers, I would randomly select students to share with their assignments. This was a good way to indirectly get students to do their homework. They knew they had to be prepared.

There were five questions asked about how they did their assignments.

• First, why did they choose the articles?
• Second, what was the article about?
• Third, how did they read? Questions related to cognitive and metacognitive strategies were asked.
• Fourth, what did you learn from doing this assignment? How was the process of doing this assignment different from your past English learning experiences?
• Fifth, what did they do when they encountered unknown vocabulary words? According to our guidelines, they were supposed to check a dictionary no more than five times. What were their five vocabulary words? Why did they choose these words to be checked? Could you list the five words on the blackboard?

Note that the sequence of the five questions asked is important. This helped students to know that their choice of topic and information learned are more important in their process of learning.

One student's research was about how a frog's skin colors are connected with the environment. She said "I chose the article because frogs are more real to me than a grizzly bear. I can see frogs everywhere, but I did not know how they are related to us environmentally. Now that I know I have a different feeling about human, the animal and the environment."

At the beginning of the semester, the syllabus was designed mostly using myself as an example of how I learned new information and English in the topic I like. In order to guide students through a new way of learning English, at first, I had the control of the topic yet students still had choices within the topic. At the end of the semester, when students felt more comfortable about a different way of learning English, they can choose whatever topics they are interested in. In the classroom of 55 students, we had the same guidelines to follow yet everyone was studying a topic of their choice.

Some students complained about the assignments for the class. They were only used to reading in the English basal textbooks. I told them "What you read in your research is the real English in the real world. You just need to get used to it by reading more. The textbook is not real because it is purposely written for levels. I hope you go beyond the level. Challenge yourself by reading real English. Discover your own interests and research them." Some students had a hard time adjusting to my teaching style. There were times when students were frustrated with the assignments. They didn't know how to discover the topics they were interested in. They just cared about getting grades from the class. They didn't care about critical thinking or global issues. They just didn't understand what these issues had to do with learning English. But I was very determined to implement my philosophy that successful language learners are researchers and lifelong learners. I encouraged them to continue reading in English about their topics of interest even while they are not in school. When they find the joy of reading and learn from the reading, learning will never be a task

مهارت های چهارگانه :

1- مهارت شنیداری (listening  )

    برای آموزش زبان خارجی لازم است ابتدا دانش آموزان در حد لزوم در معرض زبان قرار گیرند تا

    مهارت های دریافتی زبان (receptive skills  ) را در خود تقویت نمایند و سپس از آنها خواسته  

    شود تا دست به تولیدزبان بزنند ، مهارت شنیداری برای رسیدن به این هدف نقش مهمی ایفا می کند .

    مهارت شنیداری می تواند به دانش آموزان کمک کند تا دانش پایه زبانی را در خود تقویت کنند. انجام

    فعالیت های زیر می تواند به توسعه مهارت شنیداری کمک کند:

      1- شنیدن و تکرار کردن (listen and repeat  )

      2- شنیدن و اشاره کردن یا شنیدن جور کردن (listen and point  or listen and match  )

      3- شنیدن و خواندن (listen and repeat  )

      4- شنیدن و انجام دادن (listen and do  )

2- مهارت گفتاری (Speaking  )

    این مهارت به دانش آموزان فرصت می دهد تا الگوهای زبانی جدید را بطور شفاهی تمرین کرده و

    تولید نمایند . انجام فعالیت های زیر می تواند به توسعه مهارت گفتاری کمک کند:

     1- ایفای نقش (role play )

     2- انجام تمرینات شفاهی (oral drills )

     3- بازگو کردن یک متن کوتاه شنیده شده یا خوانده شده

     4- شرح فعالیت های روزمره

     5- حدس زدن و کامل کردن ادامه یک متن از طریق گوش کردن یا یک متن ناقص

     6- توصیف یک تصویر و یا چند تصویر مربوط به هم.

     7- مقایسه بین دو یا چند تصویر

3- مهارت خواندن  (Reading  )

    در تدریس  مهارت خواندن ، زبان آموزان ابتدا به صورت منظم با حروف الفبا آشنا می شوند. سپس

    با روش دیدن و گفتن (look and say  ) بیان کلمات را به عنوان یک واحد به طور شفاهی تمرین

    می کنند. خواندن کلمات جدید با روش  (listen  and  read  ) انجام می شود و معانی آن نیز به

    وسیله تصا ویر درک می شوند. تشخیص کلمات جدید و تسلط بر شکل نوشتاری آنها به وسیله

    تمرینات موجود در کتاب کار و به کارگیری جداول و غیره  تقویت می گردد. در گام بعدی به دانش

    آموزان کمک میگرد دتا بین حروف نوشته شده در یک کلمه وتلفظ آنها ارتباط برقرار کنند (phonics  ) .

     به تدریج زبان آموزان مهارت خواندن خود را با خواندن جملات کوتاه توسعه می دهند تا جایی که قادر  خواهند  بود تا متون خواندنی را خوانده و درک نمایند و به سئوالات آن پاسخ دهند.     

4- مهارت نوشتن (Writing  )

    از آنجایی که نگارش زبان فارسی با انگلیسی که یک زبان خارجی می باشد متفاوت است . لازم ا ست

     که دانش آموزان به  انجام یک سلسله فعالیت های که در اصطلاح  فعالیت های ” پیش نوشتاری“ گفته   میشود

     مبادرت ورزند. هدف از این نوع فعالیت ها ایجاد هماهنگی در کنترل حرکات دست و چشم ، رعایت فاصله و

     تمرین  و ممارست در حرکات روان و سریع قلم با خودکار جهت دست یابی به ریتم طبیعی نوشتن حروف در

    انگلیسی می باشد. مهارت دستخط  با حرکات ساده شروع شده و ابتدا با نمرین الگوهای حروف و سپس به نوشتن

    حروف بزرگ و کوچک ادامه می یابد . در نهایت به ارتباط  حروف با یکدیگر به شکل تقریبا سر هم

    (semi – cursive  ) ختم می گردد . با انجام این کار دانش آموزان به یک دستخط زیبا ، واضح و  روان    دست   پیدا خواهد کرد. در مرحله بعد ، مهارت نوشتن از طریق انجام تمرینات در کتاب درسی و کتاب کار توسعه

    می یابد و در نهایت نوشتن کنترل شده  جملات و ساختارهای گرامری تدریس شده با نظارت معلم انجام می شود.