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Showing posts from March, 2017

Running Dictation Activity | Presented at Celebration of Teaching

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I shared the "Running Dictation" activity during Celebration of Teaching at Teachers College of Columbia University .    Last year, I presented a Reading Activity at Celebration of Teaching, a conference which highlights the practical side of teaching, instead of theory. Presenters are invited to share an activity which was useful to them in their classrooms. This year, I decided to share the Running Dictation activity that I first learned about back in 2007 during my undergraduate days at  Victoria University of Wellington , because it is the most comprehensive activity I know and I'm very surprised that only 1 out of 5 people I've asked at Teachers College knew what it was. Running Dictation: Features:  Fun, competitive, communicative, collaborative, task-based, employs multiple intelligences (interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, & bodily-kinesthetic) & all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, & writing). Desired Outcomes: Stud

Honoring The Iban Language At Teachers College of Columbia University

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I had the pleasure of sharing a meaningful & wonderfully crafted Iban poem during the Mother Language Day celebration at Teachers College of Columbia University.     During last year's "(Un)Spoken: A Celebration of  Mother Language Day ", I dressed up in a red  Baju Melayu  while my wife rocked a  Kebaya  &, together,  we taught the audience some phrases in the Malay language & shared several Lat comics I found in the Columbia University library . It was my duty as a citizen of my country to show the world where Malaysia was & to expose them to our national language; both of which many in attendance have never heard of prior to the event. When I was invited to present again during this year's (Un)Spoken, I was torn between my ethnic language,  Fu Zhou 福州话 , &  Jaku Iban , a Sarawakian language I consider as part of my identity, because it was the final semester of my MA program &, probably, my last opportunity to honor a language at an i