Saturday 13 July 2013

Alhamdulillah and the recent news of us

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullah.


Dear our respected readers, how are you? May Allah grant you with health and happiness.



            Alhamdulillah, praises be to Allah, with his help and blessings we (the four of us) have completed our study in this semester and two of us are officially graduated and the other two will be graduating on the next semester.



           And...guess what? our results for this subject (Computer Applications in Language Studies) have been announced to us. Again, praises be to Allah for the results..and thousands of appreciation to our lecturer Dr.Rozina.



          Dear our readers, the other good news is that our group leader has delivered her second baby girl  Congrats kak Nina! the healthy baby girl was born few weeks after our Final Examination. The mother has officially graduated from IIUM as the previous semester is her final semester in IIUM.


        When she took this subject, she was already in her 2nd trimester of pregnancy. Alhamdulillah Allah assists her in her study and she has completed this semester with a good result. With this newborn baby girl, she will celebrate her convocation with two daughters apart from the Degree scroll (^^,)  
   Introducing...
                           Adni Zahratunnur bt Mohamad Husaini  D.O.B : 3rd July 2013
Weight: 3.52kg
                           Baby of: Nur Ainina Abdul Khalid

          Dear our readers, hopefully this month of Ramadhan will give us an encouragement to multiply our 'ibadah. To all sisters who are still studying in IIUM, best wishes for you and happy study! Insya Allah if we believe in Allah and study hard for the sake of Islam, Allah will always assist us.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

A Brief Introduction: Muqaddimah


Welcome everyone!



Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah with His help and blessings finally we manage to begin our journey in making this blog as a part of requirements for Computer Applications in Language Studies (ENGL4740 ) in IIUM . There are four of us; Ainina, Raihan, Amirah and Mira will cooperate to give our best in this entire blog and  this is our humble effort towards Islamization of Pragmatics. 




Our blog's name, "The Four Da'ies" represents ourselves and our duty to be a part of Muslim community that work together in spreading the Islamic messages.  Thousands of appreciation to our lecturer, Dr. Rozina for assisting us during this blog writing journey. 

With the glory of Al-Fatihah, we officially open this blog:
                                 

Last but not least, enjoy our blog and.....

                               

Hopefully, all the information in this blog can benefit many students, various lecturers, people from all walks of life as well as our community and may this little attempt will somehow contribute to the development of the Ummah.

Monday 25 February 2013

Reflection: 1st lecture, "History of CALL"

Date: 14th February 2013
Day : Thursday
Topic: History of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)



      In this first lecture, we have learnt about the history of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) which emerged in the 1960s as an educational theoretical cycle where it has 3 stages; Behaviourist CALL (Structural), Communicative CALL (Cognitive) and Integrative CALL (Sociocognitive). Before learning the history, we assumed that the development of CALL is very technical and details as it involves the use of technology. During the lesson, we were introduced to the three different approaches of CALL since 1960s. The approaches are foreign to us except for Behaviourist approach as we have learnt the basic theory of Behaviourism in Introduction to Psychology and Psycholinguistics classes before. Furthermore, we have heard about B.F Skinner in the previous courses we took and tried to reflect back our memory about his views on language acquisition.
Some students are using computer in their learning process.


     In order to enhance our knowledge of CALL, we searched for some books in IIUM Library such as Computer Applications in Language Learning by Bongaerts, Haan, Lobbe et al (which discusses about CALL in Netherlands) and Computer and Language Learning (which discusses two main components; IT and language teaching and Using IT in the Language Classroom) edited by Ward & Renandya. They are quiet helpful indeed!
   

     As a conclusion for today’s lecture about History of CALL, we can sum up that the Behaviourist CALL argues that the computer is used as a mechanical tutor while the learners are passive. The second approach, the Communicative CALL regards the computer as a pupil and emphasizes in problem-solving activities. Finally, the Integrative CALL integrates the technology in language learning process and highlights the computer is used as a mechanical tool.

Benefits
                                                
  •    This new information about history of CALL empowers our minds about the use of computer in language teaching.
  •      We can utilize the concepts in language teaching if our career related to the teaching in workplace.
  •      We can relate all the three stages of CALL with our previous studies. In fact, we realized that we have been exposed to the approaches before.
  •     The computer-mediated language learning will help students in many ways because it is interesting, effective and fast.
  •      As a Muslim, we should always improvise ourselves. Therefore, the knowledge of CALL will help us to develop many teaching techniques and build many ways to spread the Islamic message.


         Before we ended the class, we had been given 3 questions- Here, we also provide answer for several questions related to this topic:

     QUESTIONS:
   

       1.  Did the course incorporate the use of computer in the teaching and learning?

       2.   Are the computer-based activities related to any 3 stages of CALL? 


       3. What are the important concepts in the 3 stages relate to the activities?

      ANSWERS:

  1.    Yes, the pragmatics course incorporates the use of computer in the teaching and learning. In every single tutorial, the lecturer used the computer to assist students in the learning process. He showed videos, pictures, and illustrated many examples from the internet.
  2.    The computer-based activities in Pragmatics learning related to Integrative CALL because of the greater emphasizes given on the authentic use of the language and many task-based, content based and project based are used.
  3.      The important concepts in the 3 stages related to the activities is the concept used in Integrative CALL where the use of  the computer as a tool to integrate in learning processes, learner-learner interaction, and the emphasis on the authentic use of the language. For instance, the important concepts in the stages of activities are when computer is used to provide information to students of and certain examples such as the concept of politeness and why it is use. The students are encouraged to be involved in many discussions to analyze the theory of politeness and others in certain conversation that they can find in the texts.



Last but not least, as a reminder for today's post:
THANKS^^,


Additional information about CALL:

Beatty, K.,(2010). Teaching and researching Computer Assisted Language Learning. England: Longman.


Robert, D., (1999). Worldcall; Global Perspectives on Computer Assisted Language Learning. Netherlands :Swets & Zeitlinger Publisher.


http://www.ict4lt.org/en/warschauer.htm


http://www.eurocall-languages.org/


http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2755280

Sunday 24 February 2013

Reflection: 2nd Lecture; Electronic Portfolio

Date  :19th February 2013
Day   : Tuesday
Topic : E-Portfolio





       Dear brothers and sisters, how are you today? May Allah bless us with His mercy and blessings. Today, we would like to share about E-Portfolio. Well, it is almost similar to the manual portfolio we used to have back in school before. However, e-portfolio has multiple advantages.


       Electronic portfolios are much more than innovative resumes or scrapbooks.As we reach electronic saturation, new norms of work are emerging. Arising out of this critical mass is a vision of how educational institutions can benefit, which is with the e-portfolio.       Portfolios are not a new concept. In various guises, digital presentations of skills and competences, online records of achievement and action plans with opportunities for reflection have been in use in education for nearly a decade. Tools and systems built for these purposes are now numerous.
There is a push to free student work from paper and to make it 

  • organized 
  • searchable
  • transportable 


The benefits for e-portfolio user:


                                                                                               

  • increased learning effectiveness 
  • enhance information technology skills 
  • organize the works and information 



Other Benefits:
  • Students’ progress can be observed by parents, teachers and students themselves.
  • It allows teachers and students to do the process of evaluating the learning process in an innovative way and more effective.
This figure is taken from this website : benefits E-Portfolio 




Apart from learning e-portfolio, we also learnt about the Reflection. Let us share!

What is reflection?
Reflection is actually the core or main issue in collaborative and integrative CALL. It promotes self awareness as well as personal and professional growth. Reflection can be done individually or collectively. Furthermore, reflection will bring out a unique perspective in ourselves as student about what we have learned. It will make students understand the topic learned better and thus gaining better insights of particular topics that we have learned. In addition, it opens our eyes about our roles as Muslims in the quest for knowledge. Through reflection, we can get a clear concept of our action therefore we can reflect back whether we have done right things or not while we were in the learning process.

To sum up, it is our duty to share the knowledge and spread Islamic messages. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, we can use the electronic portfolio to provide and share information. Undoubtedly, it is more creative and innovative!

So, today's quote:

 Thanks!


Other links - just click the words below:







Saturday 23 February 2013

Reflection 3: Islamization of Knowledge (IOK)

Date  : 21st February 2013
Day   : Thursday
Topic : Islamization of Knowledge (IOK)


     Salaam to all beautiful souls! Alhamdulillah, we still wake up today with Iman & Islam, the two biggest gifts that has been given by our creator. We’re on week 3 and the topic of the week is Islamization of Knowledge.

     First of all, we would like to give credit to Dr Mahmudul Hasan for his power point slides which we’ve used in his class. What we got for this week? Everything on Earth, almost everything even as small as a sunflower seed has its Islamic point of view. The term Islamicisation is actually introduced by Prof Kamal Hassan who was the former rector of this university.



We ponder upon this beautiful Hadith during the lesson:
“The relationship of the believer with another believer is like (the bricks) of building, each strengthens the other” – Bukhari & Muslim.

What is Islamization?
     Islamization can be defined as desecularisation of modern contemporary human knowledge, reform of thought and development of knowledge together with its Islamic perspectives. The first slide was full of questions which can be taken as food for thoughts, the questions made us think and ponder on our responsibilities as a vicegerent of Allah and made us aware of the current situation of our brother and sisters in Islam all over the world.

Concept of IOK
  • Since IOK is a term describes a variety of attempts and approaches to synthesize the ethics of Islam, it is a duty to academicians and professionals in the field of teaching to integrate this approach in learning process.

  • We have to deal with the concept of existing modern knowledge which has been embodied in current system and how to develop IOK. Muslims are urged to learn from them. However, the Muslim should possess the Islamic worldview necessary to filter out theories that are not in line with the Aqidah (the belief) and Shari’ah (Islamic rules and regulations).

  • It is the process of intellectual reform implies the incalculation of Islamic spiritual values and ethics in the mind. It is also referred to the personality and conduct of the Muslim academic and scholars as expected in Muslim’s university.


How  to inculcate such values and ethics?
It is by reintegrating values and ethics of revealed knowledge likely in Islamic ethics, Islamic Aqidah, Sciences of Quran in the disciplines of social sciences, human sciences and professional sciences like Sociology and Anthropology, Political Science, Medic, Dentistry and History. 
There are two recognized strategies which can help in inculcate the Revealed knowledge’s ethics and values in the secular sciences:
  1.       The reform of the university curriculum
  2.       The refinement of the character and work ethics of all staff & students.

  
Benefits:
  • We have learnt how important it is to reform the curriculum of the university in line with Islamic teaching and to have refinement of characters and work ethic among colleagues. We also had further discussion on the IIUM dress code, either to have it as a rule and regulation or to chop it off for the university laws. However, all of us agreed that the IIUM dress code should be in the rules as students may at least be aware of their dress code from time to time. Without us noticing, the Islamic dress code do contributes to our thinking and lifestyle and it even helps us more in Islamization of knowledge as to improve our code and conduct, spiritual needs and others; our physical appearance has to start first.
  • Learning this topic has awakened us up from the illusion of this world. Everyone reflects back the reason why they have been created by Allah S.W.T. We started to realize the main purpose of we have been living in this world by simply looking at the question who do we represent? Firstly, we represent our parents, then our family, our hometown, our country, Muslim communities, and the most important thing is,we represent our religion-Islam. Therefore we should show good example to others.
  • By becoming good and excellent students in studies, we can help to build the nation and Ummah through Islamic way of life.


Conclusion
     Yes, IOK is a very important concept not just in teaching and learning, but also in everyday management of life. We should learn, practice, and apply this concept in our lives therefore we can fulfill our duty as vicegerents in this earth.

Last but not least, as a motivation for us, let us reflect on this words:
Thanks=)

Books and links about IOK - let's click:


IOK explanation


IOK- article "Yesterday and Today"


The Quest for an Islamic Methodology



Books:


Ali & Muhammad Mumtaz.,(2010). The History and Philosophy of Islamization of knowledge : a Preliminary Study of Pioneers' Thoughts. Selangor: IIUM Press.


Mohamed Aslam Haneef., (2009). A Critical Survey of Islamization of knowledge. Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press.


Friday 22 February 2013

Integration & Islamization of Curriculum


Assalamualaikum,



            Dear our beloved readers, today we feel very glad to share with all of you about what we have read on Integration & Islamization of Curriculum  by Prof. Dr. Sidek Baba from IIUM in his Power Point slides.

             Firstly, the term integration is defined as the process of combining things with other things in a single system. Yet, before this, we always heared this term relating to the concept of nation building. Now, we realize it is also relating to the acquirement of knowledge ^^, Thus, Dr. Sidek Baba bellieved that the concept of curriculum integration is a very important concept to ensure that the the teachers and educational institution play a role in making connections between topics / skills that are addressed in different subject areas. Therefore, by doing this, the barriers between the subjects can be break down and make learning more meaningful to students. Undoubtedly, this will widen the students' perspective and strengthen their knowledge.

            From an Islamic Perspective, all the integrations must concern with the value of Tawhidic perspective. So, how to achieve the integration of Tawhidic perspective? Three other integrations must come first : 


Integrate subjects in curriculum

Integrate the values

Integrate human potential
>Cognitive ('aql)
>Affective (Ruh)
             >Psychomotor (Physical)

Integrate Tawhidic perspective

          What we understand about this is, as the knowledge become the core component in which all the subjects are integrated, the students will aware that those knowledge have many values. Therefore, they should integrate those values and through human potential, apply the values in everyday life. Knowledge + Action will then lead to close connection to Allah. Thus, the tawhidic view can be integrated. Therefore, the integration of curriculum aims to develop tawhidic Ummah.

              One of our group members shared about her experience during secondary school in her hometown. In Kelantan, the government apply this integration for all secondary Islamic Arabic Schools  under government's educational system. The students must learn about 15 subjects (Islamic subjects + Academic subjects) during 1st grade - 3rd grade, and if they take sciences after PMR, they must learn about 24 subjects in 4th grade and this include 11 Islamic subjects and 10 Academic subjects (that will be offered during SPM). However, many students enjoy the learning because in the phase of curriculum integration, they   build up certain values that are needed in integrate the human potential.

            As a conclusion, we believe that this integration of curriculum which also being applied in IIUM will bring a lot of benefit to educational system, teachers, students, and society.

Dear readers, you can view the slides by clicking this link:


Integration & Islamization of Curriculum by Prof. Dr. Sidek Baba





Thank You^^


Thursday 21 February 2013

Reflection 4: Intro of CALL in Language Skills and Improvement of Self-concept as a benefit of CALL






Date  : 26th February 2013
Day   : Tuesday
Topic : CALL in Language Skills




                  Dear our readers, today we enhanced our knowledge about CALL in language skills. We were introduced with several acronyms used in CALL and some of them were unfamiliar to us ^^, Such as:
CELL : Computer Enhanced Language Learning
CALI  : Computer Assisted Language Instructions
CBLT : Computer Based Language Training
NBLT : Network- Based Language Training

and many more...


Alhamdulillah now we learnt the terms and feel good about them=) 


                We also learnt about other benefits of CALL to students based on previous research such as increased motivation, improvement of self-concept, mastery of basic skills, student-centered, active process, higher order thinking skills and others. Yes, we believe that CALL give multiple advantages to teachers and students. As our lecturer asked us to elaborate on one of the benefits, we choose Improvement of Self-concept.




Improvement of Self-concept as a Benefit of CALL


       The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives themselves (link). Computer Assisted Language Learning improves one's self concept in various ways. Firstly, students can be very independent and self reliance because they can gain information from the internet such as from academic journals, online news, e-books and scholarly article. For example, online databases are provided in university library's website such as Academic Search Premier, JetP, ACM Digital Library, Britannica Online and many more. Thus, students will improve their knowledge from time to time and be able to study independently. This simultaneously will improve their way of thinking and their self confidence. In addition, learners will be more open minded because they are exposed with several views from different sources. Besides, many dictionary software available to assist students in learning new words and be more confident in using those words in writing and speaking. 






         Furthermore, the computer adds various attractions since "it gives the learner immediate feedback and the chance 'to have another go' until the quiz is mastered" (Bongaerts, Haan & Lobbe et.al,1998, p.10). Bongaerts, Haan & Lobbe et.al argued that some software that can build up quizzes and drills using the computer such as Adobe Flash Player encourages learners to learn more and grow the enthusiasm in learners. This application is very attractive and suitable for learners in various ages. At the same time, they will gain confidence when they are able to solve the problems given and developing skills which are important for themselves such as thinking skills and time management skill. 



          Apart from that, the computer is usually used to reinforce or to support the existing curriculum. It is true that CALL techniques have been successfully applied to some language skills (Ward & Renandya, 1998). Thus, the users can improve their self-concept in various language skills using the computer. Many computer programs particularly word processors (Microsoft Office, Documents to Go, Apple Pages, and Nisus Writer) are very helpful in improving the users' writing skills. The tools available in the applications such as spell check, auto-correct, sentence structure check, synonym and antonym, words translator enable users to edit and enhance their writing skills. This simultaneously increase their vocabulary and also enhance speaking skills.

        Last but not least, it is true that various applications in computer will improve self-concept among students and computer users. Thus, it is important for computer users to utilize the applications wisely in order to gain more benefits.





Written by: Ainina, Amirah, Amira & Raihan.



REFERENCES:


Ward, C. & Renandya, W. (1998). Computers and Language Learning. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.


Bongaerts,T., Haan, P.D & Lobbe et.al. (1998). Computer Applications in Language Learning. USA: Foris Publication.


Lisa, R.k., Self-concept enhancement, computer education and remediation: A study of the relationship between a multifaceted intervention program and academic achievement. (January 1, 1992)http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9227700/


http://dictionary-software-review.toptenreviews.com/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_word_processors






Last but not least, let's take a look at this words of wisdom:




Thank you ^^ till we meet again in the next post=)

Thursday 31 January 2013

Reflection 5: CALL in Language Skills LSRWG

Date   : 28th February 2013
Day    : Thursday
Topic : CALL in Language Skills LSRWG




Assalamualaikum Wbt everyone!

           How are you today? Let’s say Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) because we are still blessed with his love and benevolent. We still can listen, speak, write, read, and learn! By the way, mentioning all these abilities, they are related with what we have learnt today in Computer Application in Language Studies subject about CALL in language learning. This lesson is a continuation with the previous lesson that had been posted in this blog. 

             Well, we feel glad today because by the end of this class, we gained a lot of beneficial information.

          In CALL, there are five skills that are very important. They are the main elements in language learning in which mastering all of them; listening, speaking, writing, reading and grammar (LSWRG)  will make learners  proficient language users. When lecturer makes use of activities that have been specially designed to incorporate these skills simultaneously, they provide their students with situations that allow for well-rounded development and progress in all areas of language learning.



                In order to master in listening, one need to stay focus and thus will receive a precise and understandable information that is listened to. Hence, focus is one of the skills of listening. Another elements or skills of listening are analogy, perception and synthesis skills.



               Speaking, on the other hand, is not an easy skill - certain aspects need to be concerned and a lot of time is needed to master all the aspects or skills in speaking. The skills are in term of mechanics, function, competence and also social and cultural rules and norms. Mechanically, speaking deals with the articulation organs when students need to know how to pronounce words correctly, apply suitable grammar in terms of tenses and choosing appropriate and right vocabularies when speaking. Only then the function of the speaking will be understood by the hearer or person one talks too.

 Understanding the function of discourse will lead to the implication of social rules and norms in terms of turn taking between two or more speakers, length pauses, rate of speech between speakers and roles of participants. Therefore, this will make the objective and purpose of discourse achieved in terms of understanding how to take into accounts who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, what the discourse is all about and the reasons behind it. As a result, competency will be achieved as the usage of the language get used to all of the elements mentioned above and as they gained a lot of experiences in using that particular learned language. In order to be a fluent speaker, student must enrol in discussion using the new language as the saying goes practice makes perfect.


                  
            Apart from that, another skill is reading. Reading skill is also to be mastered. This is because for a learner to achieve this skill, he needs to understand the meaning and be able to skim and guess the meaning of the words used. By mastering those three things they will understand the attitude of the speakers or the real intention of the speakers or writers though they used different words in which they presented their ideas by chosen words of double meaning. Gaining a lot of vocabularies is a must in order to develop and improve this skill.

               Writing is a skill that is not as tough as others as it is the chosen skills among the researchers. This makes it as a skill that has a lot of ways to master it. Elements in writing are vocabulary, spelling, cohesion, coherence, register, sentence structure, genre and also organization of the ideas, Writing can be practiced and applied through mailing manually or electronically, word processing, chat programs and blogging. Through these ways, writing skill will be enhanced.

              Grammar is the last skill in language learning but it takes up as the basis of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Without knowing the functions of every tense, it will be hard for the learners to understand the function or purpose of the discourse and also the intention of the speaker or author. Grammar will put the ideas of speakers and authors in organized way.

                 All in all, from all of the skills mentioned, reading is the most important skill as without reading, knowledge, experience and vocabularies will never be gained. Students should realize that reading is the key to master the language. It gives students to experience and know the sentence structures, new vocabularies and gain new knowledge that will be beneficial and useful for them to apply in their writing or discourse in future.

                 Looking at the function of reading, it gives a sense of realization why Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad surah Iqra’, verses 1-5 as the first revelation. It shows the importance of reading as the “miftahul ulum” or key to the quest of knowledge. Through reading, people will become a civilized nation.

Last but not least, we will share the links which provide software that can be used in teaching LSRWG. So, let's check it out!


1) For listening skills

2) For speaking skills



3) For writing skills


4) For reading skills
Reading Shape-Up - Unit 2 1.0


5) For grammar

That's all for today ^^,