Manganime o (yo)mimasho! (Let's read and watch manganime!)

Manganime is a term used to refer to two words, namely manga and anime. They are the comics and animations originated from Japan and have gained worldwide popularity to be published in many other countries and many other languages than Nihongo.

In Japan, the cartoonist is called as mangaka and they are often called as sensei as a form of respect, even though they are not really teachers. Like every other profession, mangaka is a serious, lifetime profession although they work on flexible hours from the comfort of their own home. Just as any other magazine that has deadline, mangaka too has deadlines to meet, so to assist in the production of the manga on time, mangaka is often assisted by assistants who do coloring, inking and so on. Nowadays, manga can be read online, and one such web is OneManga.

Manga and anime are closely related. If manga is the comic, anime is the animation of the comic said, that is the 'live animation' of the cartoon characters and the plot. At the moment, three of the most popular manga and anime (hence is called as manganime) are Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. Naruto is drawn by Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach is by Tite Kubo, and One Piece is drawn by Eiichiro Oda. The mangas are published under one very popular and influential magazine in Japan, the Weekly Shonen Jump.

Article Review

The title of the article is

'Class Research on Learning Methods in Movie-based Computer Assisted Language Learning'.

http://www.code.u-air.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/No.6-13kenkyuushiryou06.pdf

It was published in the Journal of Multimedia Aided Education Research 2007, Vol. 3, No. 2, 125 -136.

The authors were as follows:



The article is about investigating the effectiveness of computer assisted language learning (CALL) utilizing the Synchronized Multimedia Interactive Learning Environment for Multi-mode Education (SMILE for ME) program for improving students' English skills, namely helping students become used to listening to natural speed English. In the study, the researchers employed three different methods of teaching. One class used a movie but not the SMILE for ME program, one class used SMILE for ME only at home for preparation, and one class used SMILE for ME in the classroom. For the Movie Group, 39 students were enrolled in the first term of 2004. The class was held in a traditional LL classroom without access to computers. In class, students watched the movie Awakenings and used original paper-based materials that matched the SMILE for ME program. These materials were designed to facilitate the students' CALL activities. They could also use the audio recordings of the movie at any time outside class for practice. For the Self-study Group, 38 students were enrolled in the second term of 2004. The class was held in an LL classroom without access to computers. SMILE for ME was used exclusively for self-study at home. In class, paper-based materials were used and the results of self-study were reviewed. For the CALL Group: 20 students were enrolled in the second term year of 2004. The class was held in a computer assisted LL classroom. In class, students made extensive use of SMILE for ME on computers and used paper-based materials. They had no access to the SMILE for ME program outside the classroom. It was found that the CALL Group, which used the SMILE for ME most extensively in the classroom setting, showed the most significant improvement in their listening skills. The Movie Group that did not use the SMILE for ME program on a computer but practiced the focused dialogue extensively by watching the movie Awakenings in the LL also showed a remarkable improvement. It was therefore considered that the use of the movie was helpful and the combination of the movie with the CALL system was particularly effective.



I found the research to be very interesting to use movies as the medium from which to analyze, listen to and adapt to the English conversation at the most authentic and natural speed, as opposed to the somewhat mechanical utterances usually found in listening coursewares and such. Especially because of the fact that the study was conducted in Japan, it is known that Japan and the people have very strong accent of the Nihongo (Japanese language) and it is not particularly easy for them to listen to and adapt with the speech pattern and speed of that of the English speakers. Given that the research was an extension or a continuation from the 2003 research on nursing students in Niigata, Japan, as previously described (Yamamoto & Okura 2004), where the main objective of the project was to deepen the students' awareness and understanding of medical ethics, and that it succeeded, the research was grounded on the concept of drill-and-practice and in the case of the present study as being the same. Through the thorough researches over the years, the researchers were able to see the connection between using movies as computer-assisted language learning method to help improving certain aspects of learners, in this case being the listening competence. The methods used were also standardized, with standardized tests for general listening competence were used. The tests were given before and after the program. The 32nd JACET Basic Listening Comprehension Test Form A as a pretest and Form B as the posttest were used to name a few, so I do think the research is well-conducted. From the research, there are many implications in the teaching and learning of ESL in the general and Malaysian context. The first one is that using movies that use authentic language and the speed of speech could help to improve students' listening competence better than using the mechanical, unnatural language found in a typical listening coursewares. The second one is that educators and researchers in the Malaysian ESL context could benefit from this research by utilizing this method, with the knowledge of the success of our Asian counterparts, Japan. If the Japanese who are highly imbued and absorbed in their own language could succeed from this, then there should not be a reason why the Malaysian ESL learners could not and must not benefit from the same method.

(743 words)

ESL Website Evaluation

The website I have chosen to evaluate is English Media Lab(www.englishmedialab.com)

1) What does the application attempt to "teach"?

Basically, all ESL websites attempt to "teach' the basic four skills which is the umbrella of language learning. This site is no exception, perhaps only the writing and speaking skill is being left out. This is probably because of its concern towards developing the foundation of the other skills, e.g grammar, vocabulary, and listening that consequently would lead to the development of speaking through series of listening and the development of writing through series of grammar and vocabulary activities. It is also perhaps of the unavailability of the 'real time' interaction, hence it is believed that such skills would be tested through asynchronous communication, e.g email and written feedback on the site. The "teaching" is comfortably tailored to three different levels: Beginner, Elementary, and Higher. Note the wording for the levels is nicely constructed to avoid rigidity parallel to the schooling system and instead focusing on the proficiency of the learners' ability, respectively. Unrestricted to the 'normal' requirement of the proficiency, the application also attempts to 'teach' Survival English, most probably for foreigners to learn just enough English to SURVIVE. How interesting.

2) What sorts of things is the application user expected to do with regards to learning the content?

With regards to learning the content, user is expected to do a series of things. It begins with user being exposed to video lessons which caters to the visual style of learning. The video lessons serve as the replication of the classroom lectures which expose students to the theories and the explanation prior to the application of the theories. Such video lessons entail different categories specific to the needs of the user, e.g. Places, Animals, Fruits, Time, Day and so on. Through the expose, user is then expected to self-evaluate themselves through the means of Self-Grading Quizzes, conveniently located under the video lessons, at the bottom of the same page. This saves the hassles from scrolling through different pages which could frustrate the not-so computer literate user. Just as variety are the video lessons, so do the quizzes, which are categorically separated for individual type of assessment, e.g there are quizzes for grammar, vocabulary and such, respectively.





3) What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

First off, user is expected to have the knowledge of plugins, and to know which applications which are provided operate on which software/application. For example, in the Beginner level, teaching is facilitated through the use of video slides, developed by Kisi, a teacher with many years of experience in teaching English, and the videos run on two formats, which is either Windows Media or Flash. Thus, user is expected to have basic computer/software skills to identify which is which and utilizes the knowledge to operate the video lessons provided on the site.

Secondly, they must have the hyperlink skill to say the least, to know which button or link to click on to, and to know which link goes to which section or page. They must not be baffled at this, or that even simple links as these would turn out to be a maze for them.

4) While you are "playing"/"accessing"/"assessing" the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

Yes, certainly. It feels like a deja vu. First of all, the video lessons, like I said earlier, replicate the Power Point presentation type of lecturing used by the lectures in the classroom. So it actually feels like being in a classroom, more or less even without the lecturer. So the feel is there, and so the motivation ought to be there as well, since, as much as we 'love to hate' the classroom atmosphere, we also 'hate to love' the fact that that atmosphere is what keep us in focus in learning. The quizzes and games available in the application also mimic the use of flashcards, charts and diagrams utilized by teachers in the classroom. They cater to the need of the visual learner.

This application also reminds me of the time when I involve in self-study. I remembered learning Japanese online, and being a self-taught student, one of the things I would look for would be the grammar and vocabulary section, since they are the 'building blocks' of the language, of which without one cannot 'learn' and 'use' and 'function' in the language. As they lay out the section conveniently, user can scroll through the pages with ease, thus facilitate the teaching and learning process better.

5) Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

Let's begin with the theory of behaviorism. Behaviorists believe that language learning is a matter of formation of habit. And in developing such habit, one particular exercise has contributed largely to such formation, and such exercise is known as the drill practice. It also kind of progressing backward to the era of the 'Audiolingual Method', also known as the 'Army Method', where stress on listening drill was profound. Courseware such as Linguaphone highly adopts this method to considerable success, and regardless of the purported extinction of the Audiolingual Method, people always fall back to it to some degrees without them realizing it.

On the other hand, it also caters to the domain of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). The drills provided do provide for the practice towards communicating in real life, albeit superficial as it is. Of course, it is questionable on how 'communicative' drills can be, but as I has said earlier, foundation is very important, and to survive is better than to go adrift.

On the other note, seems to me that Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is also at work. This is mainly due to the inclusion of hint. ZPD lays out that there are zones where students or learners can work on a certain task on their own, and for some others, they require the scaffolding from others, which, in usual case, teachers. However, even without teachers, ZPD is still applied here as the hint works just as much.

6) How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website(s)?

First of all, let's define constructivist theory. Constructivist, or social constructivist really began and pioneered by Lev Vygotsky, a Russian researcher as a dedication to his longitudinal study on his daughter. Constructivist believe in the role of the environment - the society and the people, where meaning is 'constructed' from. One of the salient theme of constructivist is the role and value of private speech. Private speech, as the name suggests, happens when a person is having a dialogue with himself or herself. Thus, especially without the confinement of a traditional 'brick and mortar' classroom, speech is highly encouraged, and such speech becomes even more private with the absence of teacher and/or fellow classmates. Through private speech, a person is trying to make meanings out of things, and in this case, the website. He or she begins to question and query the relevancy, effectiveness and the efficiency of the site and consequently, constructs meaning of which he/she thinks as the best or most suitable. Thus, through very much of the self-regulated hands-on learning, user as learner will almost inevitable adopt the constructivist theory of learning themselves, mainly out of their experience of meddling and fiddling with the website. So I would say YES, given the points I deliberated on.

7) In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on 'whether the computer was "master" of or "slave" to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation - was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

I definitely believe with conviction that computer is a replacement for teachers, AND in a good way. By replacing, I mean that computer will NOT be a permanent replacement, but more of
like marginal or additional 'teacher' wherever there is a computer and an internet connection. Let's face it. However great a teacher is, he or she won't be around to linger upon the students on 24/7 basis. What more with the quality Academic Learning Time (ALT), exactly how many minutes are really used up tactfully is still a big question mark. Thus, computer is the 'master' to learning process, a master who, like Yoda, is a master of knowledge (or be programmed to be so) and we as protege, never a slave.

The case of computer being a total master was nicely highlighted in the movie A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). The case in point was proved when computer, with such rigidity of a pre-programmed system, has zero tolerance on any 'discrepancy' deemed as harmful. Even when the older computers were scraped and wasted away came to the 'realization' and having their own 'mind', to the other computers (or androids), they are just mere defects. A.I., while is still considerably far away achieved from what been depicted in the movie, still suffer from the lack of the 'human touch' to it, as at the end of the day, we are dealing with humans. And so I believe that is the reason why people are stressing on the 'human capital' now, especially for Singapore, a tiny country island who relies very much on the human capital.

8) Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?

I would say, YES, due to a number of reasons.

i) Affordability

ESL Website is relatively cheaper than courseware (even where subscription is concerned of)

ii) Up-to-date

Compared to coursewares which progress literally stopped upon being 'burned' into the CD-ROM, websites are more dynamic and constantly updated for news and views and whatnots. Of course, more softwares are constantly updated now, but to install and upgrade would seem to be quite a hassle, to make a comparison.

iii) Flexibility

The use of computers and website as 'teachers' transcends beyond the traditional classroom, and beyond the normal hours of work and study. Thus, convenience-wise, it is very convenient to cater to different schedule for different people.

iv) Effectiveness

The website is written by credible teachers with years of experience who might not have the chance to produce their own coursewares or books, but nevertheless are equal, if not better than the writers and producers. Given the premise of the web which allows the publication at relatively low cost and much independence (with guidance), there is no reason to be skeptical to not believe in the credibility of the site.

v) Practicality

Eventually, computers WILL surpass other forms of technologies. Books will become irrelevant and replaced with E-Books, and traditional classrooms are already being replaced by virtual classrooms. So, instead of resisting change, we should embrace the development of the technologies which move at a very fast pace.

Suggestions/Recommendations:

As much as the content is good, great or superb, people will still fall into the trap of their first impression. Thus, the layout must be eye-catchy and eye-candy enough to instantly draw them onto the coursewares/websites. This is because, people will ALWAYS judge a book by its cover, whether we like it or not. Similarly, the technology used to develop the wares/sites must not be simplistic and meager to attract yawns than oohss. Expectations are HIGH when it comes to technology, so raise up the bar, make it highly interactive without being too heavy to load and too messy to bother with. Because at the end of the day, humans are just humans. Just give them what they want, but make sure you have your own beliefs and principles as well.

It is from the foundation that a great building is built, a great person is developed, and a great world is evolving into. ^__^