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Contents How should I use the SALL Support Pack? .......................................................................................... 3 What is Self-Access Language Learning (SALL)? ............................................................................... 4 Why does SALL matter? ....................................................................................................................... 5 What you need to complete for the SALL component of the 9820 course............................................ 6 Overview of the SALL Component of 9820.......................................................................................... 7 Learner Profile: 1.1 Learner History ..................................................................................................... 8 Learner Profile: 1.2 Learner Styles ...................................................................................................... 13 Learner Profile: 1.3 Purpose for learning English .............................................................................. 18 Learner Profile: 1.4 Language Needs .................................................................................................. 23 Learner Profile: 1.5 Motivation............................................................................................................ 28 Learner Profile: 1.6 Time and scheduling ............................................................................................ 36 Learner Profile: 1.7 Completing your Learner Profile ........................................................................ 39 Learning Goals Plan: 2.1 Setting SMART learning goals .................................................................... 40 Learning Goals Plan: 2.2 Selecting suitable materials and methods for you goals ............................. 43 Learning Goals Plan: 2.3 Collaborating on your learning goals ........................................................ 46 Learning Goals Plan: 2.4 Expressing expected outcomes .................................................................... 47 Learning Goals Plan: 2.5 General Skills Areas & Integrating Skills ................................................... 48 Learning Goals Plan: 2.6 Completing your Learning Goals Plan ....................................................... 49 Materials and Methods: 3.1 Materials: facilities and resources ......................................................... 51 Materials and Methods: 3.2 Methods - activities, pathways, strategies and techniques ..................... 58 Managing your learning: 4.1 Monitoring your progress ..................................................................... 72 Managing your learning: 4.2 Evaluating materials and methods ........................................................ 78 Managing your learning: 4.3 Keeping a written record of your learning ........................................... 79 Managing your learning: 4.4 Preparing for your SALL Oral Report .................................................. 81 Reflection: 5.1 What reflection is and why it matters .......................................................................... 86 Reflection: 5.2 Reflecting on SALL and your learning ........................................................................ 89 Reflection: 5.3 Preparing your SALL Written Reflection .................................................................... 93 APPENDIX 1: Proofreading Checklist .............................................................................................. 101 APPENDIX 2: Sample 9820 Speaking Test Checklist ...................................................................... 104 APPENDIX 3: Sample Checklist for 9820 Journal Article ............................................................... 105 APPENDIX 4: Tips for Oral Presentations ....................................................................................... 106 APPENDIX 5: Sample Oral Presentations Checklist ........................................................................ 108 APPENDIX 6: Word Attack Strategies Worksheet ........................................................................... 109 APPENDIX 7: Sample SALL Learning Goal Plans with comments ................................................ 112 APPENDIX 8: Sample of a completed Learner Profile ..................................................................... 118

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How should I use the SALL Support Pack? The SALL Support Pack may look big but the following three guidelines will help you use it appropriately.

You are not expected to read/memorize the whole pack or do all of the tasks and exercises - you need only refer to the specific parts of the booklet that are relevant to you and your goals as and when you need them. However, you will need to read certain parts of it and do certain exercises in order to help you with the two SALL assessments and other SALL tasks. These readings and exercises will mostly be done in class or assigned as out-of-class work.

Think of the pack as a manual or a reference guide which you can dip into when you need to. Many parts of the SALL Support Pack provide advice and practice about what you can work on and how you can do it.

The suggestions and advice, particularly on Materials and Methods, in

the SALL Support Pack are not a complete list and you are expected to look beyond those suggested. We strongly recommend that you visit the CAESs English Language Resources in the Student Advisory Zone (Chi Wah Learning Commons, 2/F, CPD, Centennial Campus) and view the CAESs Virtual English Website, especially the Resources on the Internet and Resources in Zone R webpages. The SALL Support Pack has been provided to help you with the SALL component and assessments in the CAES 9820 course. It draws together a wealth of carefully selected, academically reliable and highly practical information from the published literature and research on SALL and independent / autonomous learning. This has been done to save you time and effort and to help you get off to a good start. Most of the concepts and suggestions discussed in the pack are applicable to any kind of learning, not just language learning, and these will help you to develop skills that are transferrable to both academic and professional situations.

Good luck with your SALL on this course!

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What is Self-Access Language Learning (SALL)? SALL is a way of learning where you become increasingly more responsible for your own learning both inside and outside of the classroom and aims to make learners more independent and autonomous. In essence, it is learning how to learn more effectively. It is not homework as you are not told what to work on or how to do it. It requires you to: investigate and decide what it is you need to or want to learn (your learning goals plan); find and select materials and methods you will use to achieve those learning goals; keep yourself motivated and deal with your emotions; evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of the materials and methods you have selected in achieving your learning goals as well as evaluating your own language ability and effectiveness as a learner; manage how best to cooperate, collaborate and draw on the support and guidance of others in reaching your goals (e.g. teachers, classmates, friends, relatives etc.); monitor your progress toward achieving your learning goals and meeting the aims of your plan; reflect on your learning experiences to guide you in the future towards more effective or suitable goals, materials and methods, means of monitoring and ways of evaluation; and, also further developing your ability to reflect, and ultimately become more responsible for and more independent and autonomous in your learning.1

1 This ability to be more responsible for your learning is sometimes referred to as learner autonomy. This is not compulsory but if you are interested, you can think about how autonomous you are by visiting the sprachen zentrum site and reading the can do statements for each of the following areas: planning your studies, motivating yourself, dealing with feelings, choosing materials and methods, completing tasks, monitoring and evaluating.

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Why does SALL matter? 9 On this course and other CAES courses there is a limited amount of time and so we cannot cover all of the English skills that every student needs to improve in. SALL gives you the opportunity to improve on those areas of English you most need to work on. 9 With practice and experience, SALL allows you to study what you need to or want to in a way and at a time that suits you. 9 SALL is adaptable and flexible. If a learning method or resource is not working for you then you can change to another. SALL encourages experimentation and views making mistakes and even failure as a natural part of the learning process and actually useful if reflected carefully on (See Section 5.1 Reflection on the essential stages of reflection). 9 In secondary school students are mostly required to learn the same things in the same way. SALL appreciates that each learner is different and unique in some way and that you have different learning needs and different styles of learning. 9 SALL can make you more aware of how your own emotions, attitudes and beliefs help or hinder your learning. (See Section 5.1 Reflection on the essential stages of reflection) 9 SALL can help you to understand what motivates and demotivates you, and how your own motivation varies depending on how much you need, want or enjoy what it is you are learning. 9 The SALL you will experience on this course is only used for language skills but the principles (i.e. transferable skills) can be applied to any field of study and your career. Here are some examples:

o In order to function effectively, universities (and democracies) require their students (and citizens) to be able to think and act for themselves. Self-Access Learning can enable you to do this. o To succeed at university and in your careers you need to get beyond shallow learning (learning only what you are told to; knowing only the basics) and move toward deep learning (not just learning the facts but understanding principles, causes and reasons behind the facts; appreciating and interacting with complexities; developing an interest in what you study or work at). Self-Access Learning and similar types of learning are a means of doing this. o In an increasingly knowledge based economy like Hong Kong, there is a greater need for life-long learning. Self-Access Learning trains you to be a better life-long learner. o Employers are looking for people who have the skills and qualities that SALL encourages (e.g. being reflective; being able to work independently as well as collaborate with others etc.)

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What you need to complete for the SALL component of the 9820 course There are four tasks that need to be completed as part of your SALL. These are:

Write and submit a Learner Profile near the beginning of the course. (Not assessed) This task is designed so that you reflect on your previous experiences as a learner and see where improvements in your learning might be made. You also need to do the Task: Reflection Practice in Section 1.1 Learner History below.

Write and submit your SALL Learning Goals Plan near the beginning of the course. (Not assessed). This task aims to make your learning more focused and goal-orientated; it allows you to work on areas that you have identified as being important to you and develop your ability to become a more independent and autonomous learner. We strongly encourage you to reflect on what you wrote in your Learner Profile to help you decide on your goals and to experiment with the materials and methods you select and try out new things as much as possible.

Give a SALL Oral Report in which you will discuss what work you have done for SALL and the insights you have gained. (10% of course grade, conducted in Week 8) This assessment aims to develop your ability to reflect on your recent learning experiences with SALL and evaluate the materials and methods you have tried out. This will help you make necessary changes to you learning goals plans and improve your ability to learn independently. It is important to recognize the importance of reflection at this stage and use the insights you gain to modify your learning goals accordingly.

Write a SALL Written Reflection about your SALL experience at the end of the 9820 course. (15% of course grade, submitted on Sunday of Week 13) The assessment encourages you to reflect deeply on your experience of SALL and gain insight into your learning and yourself as a learner. By doing so, you can look for ways to improve your approach to learning and to develop as an autonomous learner in the future beyond this course.

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Overview of the SALL Component of CAES9820

1 Learner Profile

1.1 Learner History (experience, beliefs and feelings about past learning) 1.2 Learner Styles (preferred ways of learning) 1.3 Purpose for learning English (academic, professional, everyday, creative) 1.4 Language Needs (diagnosing strengths and weaknesses) 1.5 Motivation (types and ways of enhancing) 1.6 Time and scheduling 1.7 Completing your Learner Profile*

2 Learning Goals Plan

2.1 Setting SMART Learning Goals 2.2 Selecting suitable Materials and Methods for your goals 2.3 Collaborating on learning goals 2.4 Expressing Expected Outcomes 2.5 General Skills Areas & integrating skills 2.6 Completing your Learning Goals Plan*

3 Materials & Methods

3.1 Materials: facilities and resources 3.2 Methods: activities, pathways, strategies and techniques

4 Managing Your Learning

4.1 Monitoring your progress 4.2 Evaluating your selected materials and methods 4.3 Keeping a record of your learning 4.4 Preparing for the SALL Oral Report*

5 Reflection

5.1 What reflection is and why it matters 5.2 Reflecting on your learning and SALL 5.3 Preparing your SALL Written Reflection*

S.A.L.L.

Learner Profile

Learning Goals Plan

Materials & Methods

Managing Your Learning

Reflection

*Indicates a document that must be submitted or a task that must be completed as part of the 9820 course.

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Every student has had a very different learning experience. Your beliefs, feelings and attitudes towards learning English as well as the strategies and techniques you use have been shaped by your learning experiences inside and outside of school. Your teachers in particular may have had a strong influence on what you believe is the best way to learn English. Some of what you know and were taught / learned are still relevant and useful for your future learning, other things could be adapted or dropped. Reflecting on your prior learning experience can help you select new learning goals that draw on the best of your experience and knowledge and avoid other aspects of your previous learning that are holding you back. Here are some questions that you can try to answer that may bring out most and least useful aspects of your prior learning. Choose one or two from each category to think about or discuss. Schooling

What are some of the strongest memories you have of learning English in primary and secondary school as well as at university? Which memories do you feel positively about and which do you feel negatively about? How have your attitudes toward learning English changed since you were at primary school? Explain why you think these changes have occurred. To what extent do you think your schooling shaped the way you learn? Describe in what ways your learning has been shaped by your schooling. To what extent did you think the way you learned at primary and secondary school was effective for you? Why? Who was your favourite teacher at primary school / secondary school / university? Why did you like his/her teaching? Who has been most influential in the way you learn English? Based on your own experience describe what you think a good (language) teacher is. If you could, what would you have changed about how you were taught at primary / secondary school?

Learning & Learners

What have you been taught or what have you learned that has been MOST useful for your learning of English for your current needs? What have you been taught or what have you learned that has been LEAST useful for your learning of English for your current needs? How does your learner style affect the way you learn? (See Section 1.2 on Learning Styles) Has the way you learn English changed in the last 10 years? Why? Why not? What do you think are the MOST effective ways to learn English?

Learner Profile: 1.1 Learner History

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What do you think are the LEAST effective ways to learn English? Based on your own experience describe what you think a good learner is. What strategies or methods have you used to learn English outside the classroom in the past? Which of the main skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing, grammar, vocabulary) do you feel you are strongest / weakest at? Why? Which of the following do you prefer for learning English? - Learning by yourself - Learning with other people (e.g. friends, classmates) - Learning in a class with a teacher

Feelings & Emotions

What motivates you to learn English? Has your motivation changed over the last few years? (See Section 1.5 Motivation below) Why? / Why not? How do you feel about learning English? Have your feelings changed over the years? In what ways?

Learning and using English now

What do you most need English for at the moment? Why do you believe this? Which skills areas (i.e. speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary) would you most like to focus on? Why?

DO NOT SIMPLY GIVE A LIST OF ANSWERS FOR EACH QUESTION ABOVE IN YOUR LEARNER PROFILE OR IN THE PRACTICE REFLECTION TASK BELOW. YOU MUST SUMMARIZE, PRIORITIZE, FOCUS, SYNTHESIZE AND EXPAND ON POINTS WHICH YOU BELIEVE SHOW MOST INSIGHT INTO YOUR LEARNING AND YOURSELF AS A LEARNER. TIP: Make notes from the questions above and below onto a piece of notepaper. Look for connections, common themes and insights. (Mindmaps are particularly good way of doing this.) Use these as the foundation for what you will write about in your Learner History and what you will talk about in class for your Practice Reflection.

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TASK: Practice Reflection The following task takes you through a cycle of reflection for a particular learning activity you have tried before. Reflection is essential to a successful SALL experience and should be practiced regularly throughout this course (and hopefully beyond). You can reflect on all aspects of your SALL experience from learning goals to activities to your whole approach to learning. Reflection can be applied to almost any aspect of your academic and professional life as well, and while the specific questions that you ask yourself will differ, the basic stages of your reflection will essentially remain the same Read Section 5.1 Reflection in this pack before you do this task. Now go through the full cycle of reflection on a recent learning experience you have had by following the stages and questions given on the pages below. Remember: do not skip any of the stages. However, you are free to miss certain questions in each stage if you think they are not relevant to your particular experience. Stage 1 (Description): Think of an activity that you did recently which you used to help you practice/improve an aspect of your English (e.g. reading an English newspaper, chatting to a native speaker). Try to remember that specific activity and what you did in as much specific detail as you can. Use the Wh questions to guide you. i.e.

o Which specific aspect of your English were you trying to practice/improve? (i.e. speaking in social situations, listening to lectures, academic reading, pronunciation, writing reports, oral presentations etc.)

o What exactly did you use and do? o Where? When? With who? Why? How? How long? etc. Stage 2 (Thoughts & Feelings): o What were you thinking as you did the activity? o Were you engaged with what you were doing or was your mind wandering? Why? o How did you feel during the activity? (Bored? Interested? Distracted? Excited?

Worried? Stressed? Relaxed? etc.) Did your emotional state change during the activity? How? Why? Stage 3 (Evaluation):

o What did you enjoy / not enjoy about this activity? o What aspects were effective / not effective in terms of the aspect of English you were

trying to practice/improve? Why do you think so? o What positive / negative thoughts and feelings did you have about this activity? o Do you think this activity is better / worse than other activities you have tried for

practicing/improving this specific aspect of your English?

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Stage 4 (Analysis): Be honest here and try to detach yourself as much as you can at this stage. See the experience as if you were someone else or as if you were watching the experience from above. Analyse the experience now from the following perspectives. o How motivating was the activity? Which kind of motivation did it relate to? (See Section 1.5 Motivation below) o Did you feel the activity suited your style of learning? (See Section 1.2 Learner Style below) o Were your thoughts and feelings generally positive or negative toward what you did? o Can you think of an activity that you have tried (or would like to try) for

practicing/improving this specific aspect of your English that was (or could be) better? In what ways?

o How effective was the activity in terms of the quality and quantity of what you learned in relation to the specific aspect of English you were trying to practice/improve?

o Was what you learned useful for you in anyway? (Academically?, Professionally?, Socially? Another way?) (See Section 1.3 Purpose for learning English below)

o Were there any other people involved in this activity and what do you know/imagine their views of the activity were and your role in the activity? (e.g. other people in a discussion, a tutor you practiced with, the writer/speaker of something you read/listened to).

o What other perspectives about this activity might there be? Stage 5 (Improvements): o Would you do this activity again to practice/improve that particular aspect of your

English? Why? Why not? o If you decide you would not do this activity again, what activity would you do instead

to practice/improve this aspect of English? Why? o If you decide you would do this activity again, what changes or improvements would

you make? Why? Stage 6: (Future Plan) Describe what you are going to do to practice/improve the same aspect of your English in the future. Again, use the Wh questions to guide you. e.g. o Which aspect of your English are you trying to practice/improve? (i.e. speaking in

social situations, listening to lectures, academic reading, pronunciation, writing reports, oral presentations etc.)

o What specifically are you going to use/do? o Where? When? With who? Why? How? How long? etc If you decide that you wont work on this aspect of your English again, then think of the reasons why and consider what other aspect you will work on (and go through the Wh questions as shown above).

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TASK: Noting your learner history a) Discuss with a friend(s) or classmate(s) one or two questions from each of the areas above (i.e. schooling, learning and learners, feelings). You can do this by yourself if you prefer and make notes for one or two questions from each category above. b) From the discussion you had, write a paragraph or two about your learner history and put this in your learner profile. (See Section 1.7)

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Learner Profile: 1.2 Learner Styles Different learners have different abilities and learn in different ways. It is important to consider this because knowing more about your learner style will help you select materials and methods that best suit you as a learner. Keep in mind that sometimes you will have to balance your preferred learning style with what resources are available to you, what kind of learning you are doing, your purpose for learning and the learning situation in general. There are many kinds of learning style and the topic can be very complicated. You may hear terms like field dependent (learners who rely on the context or the bigger picture to understand new information), field independent (learners who can pick out, analyse and comprehend information without needing to understand the bigger picture), analytic learners (learners who learn step by step and use logic) or global learners (learners who like their learning to be fun and use intuition more than logic). One system of categorizing learning styles that integrates these complexities groups learners into four types: communicative, concrete, authoritarian and analytical. Try this questionnaire below to find out which of these four types of learner you most resemble.2 Put a tick 9 next to the statement you agree with or make a note of your answers on a separate piece of paper.

1. I like to learn by watching TV and listening to people. 2. I like to learn by talking to friends. 3. I like to use English whenever I get the opportunity. 4. I learn words by hearing them. 5. I remember new words easily. 6. I like to play language games in class. 7. I like using audio-visual materials for learning. 8. I like talking in pairs in class. 9. I like to go out with the class to practice English. 10. I like reading English newspapers and magazines. 11. I learn by figuring out my own mistakes. 12. I learn by solving problems. 13. I like studying by myself. 14. I like to figure out grammar rules by myself. 15. I like the teacher to explain everything to me. 16. I like the teacher to correct my mistakes. 17. I like to have a textbook to study from. 18. I take lots of notes when I study English in class. 19. I learn new words by seeing and memorising them 20. I like learning grammar rules with example sentences.

2 This questionnaire has been taken from the Self-Directed Study Programme (SDEP) on the CAESs Virtual English website under the heading Styles of Language Learning by Gardner & Voller (2013). 13

Key to questionnaire The first ten statements correspond to the two Cs, communicative and concrete, while items 11 to 20 cover the two As, authoritarian and analytical. Did you tick more items in the top half or the bottom half? Whatever type or even mixture of types you seem to be, your aim should still be to strengthen your ability to communicate competently, accurately and fluently. Think carefully about the statements you did not tick, as these may give you a clue to any weaknesses. Can you think of any other statements that better describe how you like to learn English? How would you classify them? Cs or As?

Communicative learners like to learn by watching and listening, and by talking to people both in and out of class. They learn quickly, but they dont particularly like grammar, and can be rather in accurate in the way they use language. Concrete learners like to learn by using audio-visual materials and by talking and playing games in pairs and small groups in class. They dont like to use or study English much outside the classroom and may lack confidence when they have to deal with English speakers. Authoritarian learners like studying grammar and like things to be explained to them. In class, they prefer reading to speaking and like to take lots of notes. They may have difficulty using English for communication and they worry about making mistakes. Analytical learners also like grammar, but they prefer to figure things out for themselves. They like reading and problem-solving and are happy working alone. They can be good at communicating in English, but, like concrete people, may lack confidence in using it.3

3 This key and these descriptors have been taken verbatim from the Self-Directed Study Programme (SDEP) on the CAESs Virtual English website under the heading Styles of Language Learning by Gardner & Voller (2013).

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Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic / Tactile (VAK) Learners Some researchers believe that we each have a preference for learning through different senses. These types of learning style are called perceptual or sensory learning styles. It is thought that learners will find materials and methods which are most related to their perceptual learning style more motivating and more effective.

Visual learners are those who prefer to learn through seeing. They prefer activities like reading or using diagrams and pictures to learn. Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening. They find learning through listening most effective and prefer activities like lectures and discussions. Kinesthetic / Tactile learners prefer to learn through physical experience. They like to touch, hold and feel things and like having hands-on experiences. They prefer activities where they can move such as responding to instructions or experimenting with physical objects, building things or making models.

You can find out what kind of perceptual learner you are by downloading and completing this VAK Learning Style questionnaire from the Swinburne University of Technology. This document also suggests learning activities which might be more suitable for your learning style. Other types of learning style There are many other kinds of learner style discussed in the research literature. You are not expected to become experts in the topic but exploring the issue may teach you a great deal about how you learn and by doing so you may find more effective ways of learning. Here is another set of learner types that places your learning style on a continuum. These learner styles are: active Vs reflective; sensing Vs intuitive; visual Vs verbal; sequential Vs global. Try this questionnaire from the North Carolina State University. Once again, note your learner type and the suggestions the site makes for what kind of learning activities you should try. Dont feel that if you are one kind of learner then you must only choose activities recommended for your learner style. Try any activity that seems interesting or motivating to you. Remember what was mentioned at the start of this section: that at times you will have to balance your learning style with your purpose for learning English and your language needs.

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Influences on and origins of learner styles It is still not clearly understood how we develop our individual learner styles and to what extent they change over our lifetimes. It is likely that our learning styles are a combination of innate characteristics informed by our genes and by environmental factors like our schooling, our cultural and social background and even our family and friends. Our personalities too will also have a significant role to play in our learner style as will the beliefs and assumptions we have about our own learning and education in general (even though these beliefs and assumptions may be flawed or inconsistent). Like personalities then, learner styles are unique, at times contradictory, vary from person to person and can change over time. TASK: Matching activity to learner styles After reading about the different learner types above, match the learner style to the suggested activity below. Note that some activities may suit more than one type of learner.4 Learner Styles: Communicative, Concrete, Authoritarian, Analytical, Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic Suggested Activities:

a) making a board game with dice and counters and playing it b) visiting the Student Advisory Services and asking the tutor to highlight and explain common grammar mistakes in his / her work c) reading an article and making a mind map of the new vocabulary and phrases found in the article d) listening to a presentation and noting down signaling language and phrases that show organisation e) chatting to classmates in class to get advice on how to complete an upcoming assignment f) watching the news on TV with a friend and discussing the issues afterwards g) looking at the grammatical structures of several sentences and noting patterns

4 SUGGESTED ANSWERS: a) kinesthetic b) authoritarian c) visual d) auditory e) concrete / auditory / communicative f) communicative / auditory g) analytical

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TASK: Noting your learner styles and suggested ways of learning a) List the learner styles you seem most like after you have completed the questionnaires above (e.g. concrete, auditory, sequential etc.) b) Make a list of the suggested activities given for these types of learner styles. Note which of these you have tried before and which ones you have not. c) Consider the advice you have been given from these various websites. Do you agree with the advice? If you have tried any of the suggested activities, how effective and enjoyable did you find them? d) Think about the origins of your learner style. Do you think it is innate or was it formed by your experience at school? Do you think your school favoured a particular kind of learner style? Did your school teach you in a way that suited your learner style?

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Learner Profile: 1.3 Purpose for learning English What is your main purpose for learning English? You need to think about what it is you use English for specifically and prioritize those which will be most beneficial to you at this time. There are four areas you can work on: academic, professional, everyday and creative5. Your learning goals can all be within one of these areas or cover a range of different areas. For example, if you want to have two learning goals, you may decide that you want to improve your academic and your everyday English abilities. Your goals also need to be focused within one of the general skills areas (listening, reading, speaking, writing, grammar or vocabulary or an integration of two or more of these) and should be specific and narrowly focused (e.g. an aspect of a certain kind of text). For instance, one goal might be improving your organization of presentations (academic) while the other may be learning more slang terms so you can chat more easily to international students in your hall (everyday). What you may also find is that the goal you work on will develop skills that improve your performance in other skills areas or will, with adaptation, be transferrable. Here are a couple of examples to show this. Example 1 (Academic) If you increase your knowledge of key terms and vocabulary for a university course, this will help you with your reading, listening, speaking and writing skills related to that course. Example 2 (Academic, Professional, Everyday, Creative) If you improve your use of stress and intonation when speaking or improve your accuracy at certain grammar skills then this will be useful for any purpose. Your goals may also be something to help you in the short term (e.g. learning a small amount of vocabulary for a course) or in the long-term (e.g. improving multiple aspects of your pronunciation). Below is a list of possible things you could work on improving. Simply select a one of the purposes (i.e. academic, professional, everyday, creative), then a skill, and then one of the suggestions in that skill area. These are just some suggestions and are not a complete list. Feel free to use your own ideas or adapt the ones below to suit you.

5 These terms have been taken from the Self-Directed Study Programme (SDEP) on the CAESs Virtual English website under the heading Styles of Language Learning by Gardner & Voller (2013). 18

Academic What do you need to do in English to succeed at university? Here are some suggestions for things you could work on: SKILLS THINGS YOU COULD WORK ON

Listening understanding lectures; listening to podcasts or watching videos related to

course work

Reading

understanding course readings; following written instructions

Speaking giving academic presentations, improving pronunciation; discussing with classmates and lecturers; taking part in discussions or workshops (face-to-face or online)

Writing writing lab reports, essays and other written forms of coursework; taking part in online course forums; improving your citations and references

Vocabulary learning key terms related to key concepts for one of your university courses; learning how to hedge more effectively

Grammar working on any of the following: tenses, gerunds & infinitives, prepositions, sentence structure, linking devices, articles etc.

Exams/ Assessments

any of the 9820 assessments (e.g. annotated bibliography, journal article, speaking test); improving exam strategies for course exams; preparing for particular papers in IELTS or other English proficiency exams

Professional What do you need to succeed in finding a job or an internship? What do you need to do well in your chosen career? Here are some suggestions for things you could work on: SKILLS THINGS YOU COULD WORK ON

Listening understanding talks, seminars, conferences or training sessions

Reading reading manuals or instructions; reading lab reports

Speaking performing well in job interviews; giving professional lectures or

presentations in the workplace; taking part in video conferences; improving pronunciation skills; improving meetings and negotiation skills

Writing writing resumes, cover letters etc., for job application forms; writing work related documents (e.g. business letters, memos, emails, reports etc.)

Vocabulary learning key terms related to your profession; learning common formal / polite phrases for business speaking situations (e.g. meetings)

Grammar identifying key grammatical features of professional texts (e.g. use of indirect question for politeness)

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Everyday What do you need to learn to get the most out of English in your everyday life or to simply enjoy more things that require English to enjoy them? Here are some suggestions for things you could work on: SKILLS Listening

THINGS YOU COULD WORK ON listening to podcasts, radio programmes or songs; watching TV programmes (e.g. comedies, dramas, documentaries), movies, musicals etc.

Reading reading comics, story books, novels, newspapers, magazines, Internet sites etc.

Speaking chatting to international students and other foreigners; taking part in discussions on campus; speaking to locals when traveling abroad; making your English sound more natural by developing an accent (e.g. American accent); improving pronunciation skills

Writing writing emails, texts etc. to friends, participating in Internet chat forums, online video games etc.

Vocabulary learning slang or informal phrases and words for conversations, texting or informal emails

Grammar understanding tenses in newspaper texts; investigating differences between spoken and written grammar (e.g. short Vs long forms)

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Creative What do you need to express yourself more thoughtfully and deeply and to understand and discuss the artistic and creative expressions of others? Here are some suggestions for things you could work on: SKILLS Listening

THINGS YOU COULD WORK ON listening to or watching challenging literary texts (e.g. Shakespearian plays, theatre productions, operas, radio and TV plays, documentaries etc.)

Reading reading challenging literary texts (e.g. poems, plays, novels, philosophical works, etc.)

Speaking taking part in drama clubs; performing in plays; singing in a band, a choir, music competitions etc.; improving pronunciation to be more expressive

Writing writing poems, stories, plays etc.; learning how to use metaphor, allusion, allegory, connotation and other figures of speech

Vocabulary learning terms to describe different concepts in the creative arts (e.g. literary terms like figurative language; learning terms to describe visual arts like chiaroscuro etc.); learning about the etymology of words

Grammar investigating the use of tenses in storytelling; learning how to use nouns and verbs effectively in story telling

Any Purpose The following things will be beneficial to any of the purposes given above. SKILLS Listening

THINGS YOU COULD WORK ON comprehending connected speech in listening texts; understanding the use of stress and intonation in speech

Reading identifying main ideas and supporting ideas in reading texts

Speaking improving pronunciation (e.g. use of stress and intonation; focusing on certain difficult sounds such as /th/ /l/ /r/ /s/ or difficult consonant clusters such as /cr/ /sl/ /sps/ /pr/ /bl/ /thr/)

Writing improving paragraph structure; using linking words more effectively

Vocabulary developing word attack strategies (i.e. guessing the meaning of new words - see Appendix 7); developing memory strategies for learning vocabulary

Grammar improving your use of any of the following: tenses, gerunds & infinitives, prepositions, sentence structure, linking devices, articles etc.

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TASK: Noting your purpose for learning English a) Which of the following purposes do you want to work on most for your SALL? (i.e. academic, professional, everyday, creative). Why this one and not the others? b) Which skill and subskills will you focus on for that purpose? Why? c) Make a note of a few specific things that you can work on. Prioritize these things putting first what you think is most important for you at this moment.

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Learner Profile: 1.4 Language Needs One of the key aspects of setting your SALL learning goals is considering your language needs. This basically means working on skills areas of your English that you feel you are weakest at or most need to improve on. You can decide this by doing one of the following two things:

Reflecting on your academic performance in the past and noting which aspects of English you have had most difficulty with (e.g. consider which parts of the DSE exam you did less well in such as the listening paper or the grades you received for your CUE course). Assessing your current ability in a skills area that you really need to work on either for a course you are doing or for an assignment you must do well in (e.g. giving a presentation for an end-of-course assignment). Consider the specific purposes you identified in section 1.3 above. The boxes below offer suggestions for how you might diagnose your current ability and which specific aspect of each skill you should work on. These are not the only means and you should feel free to try others or adapt the suggestions below to best suit you.

Methods for Diagnosing Any Ability Book an appointment at the Student Advisory Services with one of the CAES tutors and ask them to help you diagnose your ability in any of the language skills. Compare your work / performance with that of a native speaker or someone who has very good English in all or any of the main skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing). What, specifically, do they do well that you find difficult? (e.g. using stress and intonation effectively in a discussion, expressing ideas clearly and concisely in their writing) How do they do it? How can you narrow the gap between them and you? For each of the skills area you want to focus on, list what you can and cant do well (e.g. READING

Can do: understand popular science articles; Cant do: understand articles from science journals) Consider your performance in past exams or assessments and find aspects of your English that you need to do better in. Look at teachers, tutors or lecturers comments on your written or spoken work and look for specific things you can work on improving.

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Methods for Diagnosing Listening Skills

Find some listening texts that have tape scripts on a topic related to your learning needs from a past English listening exam or from a website (e.g. BBC Learn English or the BBCs 6 minute English) Then try the following steps: (i) Listen to the listening text without the tape script and make detailed notes. Once you have finished, listen again but this time read along with the tapescript. How much did you understand in the first listening? Underline the parts where you made the most mistakes or found most difficult to follow. (ii) Ask yourself what were the reasons that you found those parts most difficult (e.g. speaker(s) was too fast; lack of knowledge of the topic or situation; unfamiliar vocabulary; unfamiliar accents; features of pronunciation such as connected speech etc.). (iii) Work on the aspect of listening that you seem to have the most difficulty with from what you found in step (ii). See the list of listening strategies in section 3.2. Watch or listen to something as similar as possible to what you need to improve your listening skills in. This could be a lecture from an online lecture by another university (e.g. MITs online physics lectures). As you listen, note the timings for the parts which you found easiest and hardest. Note what you think made the hardest parts seem hardest (e..g. complexity of vocabulary, speed or accent of speakers speech) and make those the focus of your learning goals.

Methods for Diagnosing Speaking Skills Book an appointment at the Student Advisory Services and ask them to give you a speaking task similar to a task you need to improve in (e.g. Giving a presentation for one of your courses).

o Ask the Self-Access tutor for comments and suggest areas you can improve in. o Work on that aspect as a learning goal.

Record yourself with a video camera doing a speaking task (e.g. a presentation, a discussion, chatting). o Using a checklist like the one in Appendix assess your own performance or ask a friend / classmate to do so. Note what is most in need of improvement (e.g. pronunciation, grammar, body language, organization, lack of vocabulary etc.).

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Methods for Diagnosing Reading Skills

Select a text that you have to read for one of your university courses. Highlight parts of the text that you find most difficult. o What aspect of those highlighted parts causes you the most difficulty? (e.g. complexity of topic and ideas, unknown terms and vocabulary, complexity and length of sentences etc.) Work on the aspect that causes you the most difficulty.

Look at this list of common reading strategies in Section 3.2. o Which ones do you use most? o Which one do you think you are best at? o Which ones could you try out or improve on?

Methods for Diagnosing Writing Skills Book an appointment at the Student Advisory Services and ask for comments from the tutor on a recent piece of writing that you have done for one of your courses.

o Ask them to suggest learning goals for your writing. Find a checklist like the one in Appendix 3 or create your own checklist for a piece of writing that you have done. (Ensure that the checklist you have is suitable for the kind of writing you are doing.)

o Use the checklist to identify common problems with your writing (e.g. poor paragraph construction)

Methods for Diagnosing Grammar Skills Look at the corrections and comments on your essays and written homework by your lecturers. Focus on the most common grammar mistakes you make. Look at the list of common grammar mistakes on the Error Correction Checklist in Appendix 1 and work on one or two of the types of grammar mistakes you know least about. Ask a friend who has good English to look at some of your written work. Use an error correction code system like the one in Appendix 1 to identify the kinds of errors you are making. Visit the Student Advisory Services in the Chi Wah Learning Commons. Book an appointment for a writing clinic and ask for comments from the tutor about your most common grammar errors and the ones you need to focus on the most. Find an online grammar quiz or grammar practice website and do a few quizzes on an area of grammar you are unsure of. Note the grammar areas you had problems with.

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Methods for Diagnosing Vocabulary Skills

Find a reading text (or several) from one of your university courses that you found difficult. o Underline words, terms and phrases you dont understand. o Note the most frequent words, terms and phrases and write down what they mean. Make a quiz or test from your notes or ask a friend / classmate to make one for you. Quizlet is an excellent online resource you can use to make revision materials and tests (or use others made by other quizlet users).

Describe or explain something that is relevant or important to your current studies (e.g. a scientific concept from a course you are studying, a photograph in a newspaper, a historical event etc). o Describe it in as much detail as you can until you exhaust your vocabulary. Make an audio record of your description / explanation or write it down. o How detailed and effective is your description or explanation? o Notice where there are gaps in your vocabulary for your description or explanation. Find out what those missing words, terms and phrases are. o As with the suggested activity above, make your own revision materials and / or tests using online resources like Quizlet.

Try this online vocabulary test run by the Victoria University of Wellington: VocabularySize.com. It will give you an idea of how much vocabulary you know. From your score and advice given, identify an area or category of vocabulary (e.g. terms to describe scientific experiments) you will work on. You can also try the American SAT vocabulary lists and quizzes though be careful not to learn words that you are unlikely to ever use. You can do one of the online quizzes or make your own.

Using Past Exam Papers to Diagnose Reading, Listening, Grammar & Vocabulary Skills

Do past exam papers in the general goal area (i.e. reading, listening, grammar etc.) you want to work on. The following exam papers are available online and in the Student Advisory Services :- IELTS, TOEFL, FCE, CAE, CAES 2802, etc. Select exam papers and texts that are most relevant to your studies, learning needs or on topics that interest you. o Once you have completed the test and marked it, look at the parts of the exam paper you had most difficulty with and make that the specific focus for your goal. (e.g. If you did a grammar focused exam paper and noticed that you mix up perfect and continuous tenses then improving your ability with these tenses could become your learning goal.)

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TASK: Diagnosing your language needs a) Which of the following skills areas above will you work on? (i.e. listening, speaking, etc.) b) Which specific area of that skill will you work on? (e.g. grammar perfect tenses; speaking using body language in presentations) c) Which of the suggested techniques above will you use to diagnose your ability? d) Once you have diagnosed your ability, note how effective the technique was for diagnosing your ability.

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Learner Profile: 1.5 Motivation Motivation is key to SALL and self-study Motivation is widely considered to be an essential part of effective learning, both in and out of the classroom. There are many different aspects to motivation but for your SALL purposes, they have been simplified into four basic types and two key aspects (see below). You should notice that these aspects often overlap and they are rarely static: the types of motivation you experience will change over the span of your lifetime - even from moment to moment - depending on you and the situation you are in. You may find that you have competing motivations to do different things at the same time (e.g. preparing for a course assignment versus playing a new TV game).

The Four Basic Types of Motivation Integrative motivation This means how much you are motivated by wanting to integrate or become part of the culture or cultures of the language. (e.g. Do you want to learn American English because you prefer American culture over other English speaking cultures? Are you learning American English because you want to be in some way more American?) Instrumental motivation This kind of motivation is to do with how useful you think English is for your study or career goals. (e.g. If you want to study Law in America so you can become a lawyer in America then you really have to improve your English!) Intrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivations come from within you. This kind of motivation is to do with how much you just enjoy learning English. Maybe you like the language itself or you find learning English fun and interesting both inside and outside of the classroom. Extrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivations come from outside of you. This usually means how much you are motivated by rewards or punishments. A reward might be getting a good grade or pleasing your parents. A punishment would be things that you want to avoid such as negative criticism or having to do a task again because you didnt do it properly. 28

Two Key Aspects: affective and (meta) cognitive aspects of motivation Working within and beyond these different types of motivation are what is called affective (i.e. emotions), cognitive (i.e. thinking) and meta-cognitive (i.e. thinking about thinking) aspects of motivation. Cognitive refers to how you learn, for example problem solving, practicing, using a particular strategy and so on. Meta-cognitive refers to how you think about your learning and includes such things as planning your learning, evaluating learning resources and strategies as well as managing your feelings. Affective and (meta-) cognitive aspects are difficult to separate when discussing motivation because on the one hand your emotions can shape the way you think and act while on the other hand the way you think and act can shape your emotions. For example, if you feel that speaking English is easy, but writing English is difficult then you will tend to feel more motivated to speak English and less motivated to write English. As a result you may develop negative feelings about writing and avoid practicing it. Pay careful attention to how each of these aspects impact on your learning.

TASK: Make a note of your answers for these questions a) Which of the four types of motivation do you think you have for learning English? Why do you think so? (Note that you can have more than one type of motivation.) b) How do you feel when you are learning English? How does this affect the way you learn English? c) How do you plan your learning of English? Is this affected by the way you feel about learning English? d) How big a role does motivation play in your learning of English? Give reasons for why you think so. e) Apart from learning English, what motivates you the most? This could be something you do in your spare time like playing computer games or going shopping. Think deeply about what it is that motivates you to do these things. f) Can you think of a time when you had competing motivations. (i.e. You wanted to two or more different things at the same, and had to make a decision about what to do.) How did you decide on what to do? (e.g. flipping a coin)

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Tips on how to stay motivated and develop different types of motivation Use any of the following tips when and wherever you feel it helps. Try also to develop different types of motivation to the ones you have already. Some tips will work better at some times and places than others and there are no fixed rules for using them. You may use one of these tips again and again while others you will use once and never again. Choose what works best for you.

Integrative

Note the differences and similarities between your culture and an English speaking country and culture you are interested in. Ask yourself and find out: What things do you particularly like about that country and culture? What would you like to learn more about that country and culture? Get to know or try to chat to people from an English speaking culture that you are interested in. This can be done online and/or on-campus at any time. Take advantage of HKUs cosmopolitan student and teaching population. Spend some time enjoying things from a country and culture that interest you such as its music, films, food, literature, dance etc.

Instrumental

Consider how you intend to use English in the future. Remind yourself how important it is for you to improve your English for your career or study goals. Choose activities that help in some way achieve these long and short term goals. Choose goals to work on that will benefit your current studies either in the 9820 course or on one of the science courses you are studying this semester. Consider how useful English is in the world and in Hong Kong and its potential to help with almost any field of study or career. Note how useful English is for communicating with people from almost any country in the world.

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Intrinsic

Find learning resources and activities that you find enjoyable and attractive, and avoid ones that you have found boring or unappealing. Consider your learner style and choose materials and methods that best fit your learner style. Remind yourself of the things you like about English (e.g. the sound and rhythm of the language when sung; that you can use it to communicate with people from all over the world; that it gives you access to a huge range of information on any subject or topic, etc.) Look for ways to make activities and resources more interesting (e.g. by making them more like a puzzle or game; by adapting the task to make it more relevant to your personal learning needs, style or interests; by making it more interactive etc.)

Extrinsic

Set goals that are realistic and that you can attain in the time you have. Choose activities and resources that are aimed at your level of ability and you can complete successfully but are still quite challenging. Reward yourself by doing something pleasurable after doing a learning activity. Look for opportunities and areas for improvement. Find out about and develop strategies and solutions for overcoming particular problems you have with English in any of the skills areas (i.e. reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar & vocabulary etc.) Look back at your past successes and remind yourself you can succeed again.

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Affective aspects of motivation

Think of what you can already do in English well (e.g. chat to people from other countries about football). Remind yourself that once you found those things difficult too and so it can be the same for this new task. Rather than viewing what you find difficult as something negative, try to see it positively as an opportunity for future improvement. Note how you feel when learning English or doing an activity. What reasons do you have for these feelings? How can you change more negative feelings into more positive ones? Do some relaxation exercises or take a break when you find studying is making you feel stressed. Encourage yourself to keep studying by talking positively to yourself. Tell yourself to add fuel!, never give up or any other phrase that inspires you to go on. Reward yourself by doing something enjoyable after you have completed a session of studying. Share your concerns and feelings about your learning with your tutor, friends or fellow students. As we say in English: a problem shared is a problem halved. Monitor your progress and reward yourself for any improvements that you have made. Read books that help with motivation and / or inspire you. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is a popular book among students for finding inspiration or overcoming difficulties. Look to the lives of men and women who inspire you and use the approaches they did when faced with difficulties. Try not to compare and compete with other students in terms of your ability and your progress as this may demotivate you. Instead learn from each other and support one another in your shared goals.

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Remind yourself not to worry about making mistakes: its a natural and essential part of the learning process and everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect. Even the smartest people who ever lived made big mistakes. One famous instance of this was perhaps the greatest genius of all time: Einstein. He spent the last years of his life developing a theory about the universe that was completely wrong! Accept yourself as who you are another person with both strengths and weaknesses. Dont become obsessed about success or failure. To quote from Rudyard Kiplings poem If-6: If you can meet with Triumph

and Disaster, And treat those imposters just the same. Here I think Kipling means that we should not become obsessed by success nor terrified of failure but rather soldier on stoically and just get things done. Sometimes it helps to simply consider the actual smallness of your problems in this vast, infinite and mind-bogglingly beautiful and complex universe. It is worth reminding ourselves too that billions of people for thousands and thousands of years have suffered fates far far worse than our own. We are lucky to live here and now where we can learn almost anything just by simply tapping on a keyboard or screen, and live relatively safe and comfortable lives with all our modern conveniences. These technological marvels and social advances that make our lives so easy now were hard won by generations of people and we should feel grateful to them for that. Try to imagine yourself in the future - your future-self - as a successful language learner (One that is possible, not superman/superwoman!). Think in realistic terms of how to close the gap between you as a language learner now and the image of that successful future-self. Think of the positive impacts attaining your goal will have for you. Then consider too what might happen if you fail to reach that target. What might the negative consequences be for you? Do your best to avoid that. Take charge of your learning. Be the captain of your own ship of destiny and let SALL help you navigate to where you want to be.

6 Kipling ends the poem - youll be a man, my son! Fortunately, we live in more enlightened times and the qualities Kipling lists in his poem are equally applicable to women and daughters!

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(Meta-) Cognitive aspects of motivation

Consider which strategies and techniques you have used in the past to learn English (both in and out of class). Avoid those which you felt were not effective and enhance and develop those which seemed to work best. Study with another student or start a study group (e.g. online forum) where you can help and reassure each other. An important part of learning is to be within a supportive community of learners. Practice on your own if you feel anxious about making mistakes for a certain language learning task. Keep practicing until you feel confident about doing that task with other people or in public. Think of yourself like a musician practicing for a performance or an athlete training for a race. When studying in a class, try to find out the names of your classmates and get to know something about them. Find out things that you have in common (e.g. shared goals interests, likes, experiences etc.). Try to get to know your tutor or lecturer if possible too. Developing good relations with each other will create a more pleasant learning environment for all of you and make learning together more motivating.

One final thought

Some people have suggested that waiting until you are motivated to do something leads to procrastination (the inability to get to work on things you need to do), and that you should assign a time and a place to do what you need to do (see section 1.6 below). For learning English outside the class you might want to commit yourself to a certain time each week when you will practice English and make it part of your weekly routine. These people also suggest that it may be more effective to practice the art of detaching yourself from your emotions (both positive and negative) through various techniques (e.g. meditation, yoga) and observe your emotional state from a distance. By doing this you will be less swayed by your emotions and more able to focus on what needs to be done. Another strategy is to simply set a goal of doing something regularly for just one month. This is believed to be the amount of time required to develop a new habit. Have a look at the next section below on time and scheduling. 34

TASK: Keeping yourself motivated a) Have you tried any of the suggested tips for staying motivated? If so, which ones? How effective were they? b) Which of the tips above will you try? Why? c) After having tried some of the tips above, which did you find most or least successful? Why do you think so?

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Learner Profile: 1.6 Time and scheduling Since you will have to dedicate about 2 hours per week on SALL (about 15 hours in total for the whole course) outside of class time, you should think about how you will fit it in. You may need to cut back a little on one activity or another in order to do so. First of all consider the time you spend now on doing different activities each week. Complete the table below7 and then think about where you can save time or cut back to make room for SALL.

Activity Hours spent per week Sleeping Time spent in HKU classes Time spent studying at HKU Time spent at work (e.g. part-time job) Preparing and eating meals - breakfast - lunch - dinner - snacks Freetime activities - Physical exercise - Internet / Video Games - Watching TV / Films - Reading - Club / Society / Hall activities Commuting (travelling to and from university/ work / home) Socialising (with friends / family etc.) Relaxing / Taking Breaks Lost time (e.g. queuing, waiting around etc.) Learning English / Doing SALL 1 to 2 hours Other (please specify) - - TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK ______________ out of 168 hours

7 Adapted from the Self-Directed Study Programme (SDEP) on the CAESs Virtual English website under the heading Time Management by Gardner & Voller (2013).

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How can I fit SALL into my schedule? The best way to get the SALL component of the course done with the least frustration is to assign a time when you will do it each week and follow that. This will require you to organize your time and decide on what to do and when you do it. We strongly recommend that you do a couple of hours each week rather than to try to do all your SALL work just before each SALL assessment. One tip is to make a weekly study plan like the one below either by hand or use any of the online weekly schedule organisers available for smart phones and tablets. These online schedules may also have alerts embedded in them so you wont forget important course deadlines. Remember to make a weekly study plan for each week as course assignments and deadlines will require you to make changes to your weekly schedule. You can schedule the time for SALL in a number of ways. Here are some suggestions.

Do a 2-hour block of SALL once a week Do 2 x 1 hour blocks of SALL twice a week Do several short sessions of SALL several times a week. (e.g. 15mins in the morning and 15mins in the evening for at least 4 days of the week. This short-burst of practice may be actually be better for certain goals/methods & materials, for example, pronunciation practice or vocabulary review) Vary between the above suggestions from week to week. You can comment on which you found most or least effective in your SALL Oral Report and/or SALL Written Reflection.

SEM 2 / WEEK 6 Monday 17th March

Tuesday 18th March

Wednesday 19th March

Thursday 20th March

Friday 21st March

Saturday 22nd March

Sunday 23rd March

8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm

EASC 2048 Revision for PHYS 2250 test (3 hours) CAES9820 PHYS 2250 (Mid Term Test!!!)

Study block (3 hours) PHYS2440 CAES 9820 Sleeping Sleeping

1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

PHYS 2265 PHYS 2265 PHYS 2250 Study block (4 hours)

EASC 2048 Study block (4 hours) Study block (4 hours) Basketball interhall competition

6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm

Science Society Meeting Revision for PHYS 2250 test (3 hours) Study block (3 hours) Study block (1 hour) SALL Freetime

Basketball Study block (2 hours) Study block (2 hours) SALL

Free time Free time 11pm 12pm

Free time Free time Free time Free time Free time Free time Sleeping If time is short, you can do some of your SALL work while you are commuting, waiting in queues or you can think and plan SALL activities as you eat your breakfast! Look for little empty gaps like these in your time which you can use for SALL.

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TASK: Scheduling your SALL a) Complete the table on the time spent on different activities. Compare yours with one of your classmates. Make suggestions for how to fit SALL into your life. b) Make a weekly planner for the next two weeks in a similar format to the schedule planner above. Make sure you have put in enough time for SALL each week (about 2 hours).

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Learner Profile: 1.7 Completing your Learner Profile Having read sections 1.1 to 1.6 above and doing the related exercises, you now need to fill out a form like the one shown below.* Doing this will help you when it comes to writing your learning goals in section 2. Once you have completed your Learner Profile you should upload it to the course Moodle site. *The Word Document for the Learner Profile can be found on the course Moodle site. FULL NAME:

ENGLISH / CLASS NAME:

STUDENT NO.:

MAJOR(S)/MINOR(S):

CLASS: CAES 9820

GROUP:

DAY(S) OF LESSON(S):

EMAIL ADDRESS:

LEARNING STYLE(S): Highlight the type(s) of learner you believe you are: Concrete Communicative Analytical Authoritarian Visual Auditory Kinesthetic Other types (Please specify): [See Section 1.2 of the SALL Support Pack] LEARNING PURPOSES: Highlight one or more of the main purposes you want to focus on for your SALL. Academic Professional Everyday Creative [See Section 1.3 of the SALL Support Pack] LEARNING NEEDS: Highlight one or more of the language skills areas you think you need to work on most. Speaking Listening Writing Reading Grammar Vocabulary Exam / Assessments (Please specify): Other (Please specify): [See Section 1.4 of the SALL Support Pack] MOTIVATION: Highlight the type(s) of motivation you think you have for learning English. Integrative Instrumental Intrinsic Extrinsic Other factors in motivation (Briefly explain): [See Section 1.5 of the SALL Support Pack] LEARNER HISTORY: Write a short summary of your own learner history. You can use some of the prompts below or you can write anything which you think is relevant or important to your learning of English. (Approx. 200-300 words)

thoughts and feelings about how you learned English in primary and secondary school what you think has helped you most and least when learning English what you feel and think about learning English at present in what ways one or more of the following affects your learning: your learning purposes, your

language needs, your learning styles or your motivation changes in your attitudes and beliefs about learning English what specific aspects of English you need to work on most (see Section 1.4 Language Needs above) what you need English for most at present and why you believe this

[See also Section 1.1 of the SALL Support Pack]

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How should I write my learning goals? Your learning goals should be S.M.A.R.T. This mnemonic and its underlying rationales have been adapted from practices in business management and professional development. SMART led goals aim to help employers and employees set goals which are effective and attainable; however, this approach also applies well to learning goals in SALL. Read the following explanations below to understand what this acronym means and how to apply it to your SALL learning goals. S Specific There are three possible ways to make your goal specific:

Make your goal a sub-skill of one of the general skills areas (e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing etc.) that relates to some kind of specific written or spoken text. For example, if you want to work on your listening skills then your goal could be: distinguishing between main and supporting ideas (sub-skill) in physics lectures (specific spoken text). Develop or work on a certain language learning strategy or technique. For example you might want to work on techniques for memorizing vocabulary or techniques for increasing your reading speed. Work on a transferrable sub-skill. The most common example of this is in the grammar skills. For example, if your goal is to improve your use of the perfect tenses then this sub-skill will help you in some way in all four of the main skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing).

M Measurable To make your goal measureable you can choose one of the following: Do something you cant do now (or dont know about) but want to do or need to do in the future (e.g. write a professional resume, read a lab report and understand most of it, know about features of connected speech etc.) Attain a certain score or grade in an exam, course assignment or other form of assessment Be noticeably better in the eyes (and ears) of yourself and/or your peers or someone with good English. (e.g. deliver a presentation more expressively using stress and intonation)

Learning Goals Plan: 2.1 Setting SMART learning goals

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Complete a certain amount of learning (e.g. have memorized 40 terms related to your course major; complete a unit in a book which teaches academic reading skills and then do a test to show you have achieved the learning outcomes of that unit)

A Achievable / Agreed Your goal should be realistic and agreed by your course tutor. Dont expect after 8 hours of SALL you will be a fluent speaker of English. Discuss your goal(s) with your lecturer and see how achievable they think it is. R Relevant / Real Your goal should clearly relate to some kind of purpose (academic, professional, everyday, creative; see section 1.3 above) and / or a language need (see section 1.4 above). Do not waste time on goals that you have no interest in or do not help you improve in some way related to your learning needs or purposes. Your goal should also be a real goal and not an activity or other way of spending time. For example, you cannot put reading newspaper articles everyday as a goal. Reading newspapers is not a goal but an activity. To make this activity a genuine learning goal you could change it to: read two science-related newspaper articles each day for two weeks and aim to record and memorize 40 new items of science-related vocabulary from the articles. T Time-bound Your learning goal must be achievable within the time frame you have. For this course you will only be working on short-term goals with only a few hours for each goal over the next two months. However, after this course finishes you may want to continue using SALL and set yourself mid-term goals (a few months to a couple of years, e.g. maybe goals that will help you achieve a good degree) or even long-term goals (several years, e.g. maybe life-long learning goals that will help you with your career). TASK: Critiquing goals Read the goals below. Decide which goal is the SMARTest and then comment on the problems with the other goals. Part 1 a) To improve my spelling when I write essays. b) To watch movies related to science. c) To improve my reading so I can understand everything I read. d) To increase my score by 2 points for the 9820 speaking test in the pronunciation criteria. e) To be able to think about chemistry in English more effectively. f) To use more eye contact in presentations and discussions.

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Part 2 After doing part 1 above, check your own learning goals with a friend or classmate using the SMART criteria above. TASK: Critiquing goals (ANSWERS) Read the goals below. Choose which goal is the SMARTest and then comment on the problems with the other goals. a) To improve my spelling when I write essays. 8 This would fail for being too achievable. Since almost every word-processing software application has a spell checker in it, then this is something you can achieve already. b) To watch movies related to science. 8 This would fail under relevance. This is not a goal but an activity. c) To improve my reading so I can understand everything I read. 8 This is wrong on almost every SMART level. It is not specific; it is not achievable, and it is not time-bound. d) To increase my score by 2 points for the 9820 speaking test in the pronunciation criteria by focusing on connected speech.9 This is the SMARTest goal. It is a sub-skill of a certain skill (speaking) and relates to a type of spoken text (9820 speaking test). It is clearly measurable, possibly achievable, relevant to the learners needs (purpose academic; language need pronunciation), and it can be done in the time given (i.e. the duration of the 9820 course). Note too that the test itself clearly sets out a time-frame for when the goal should be completed by. e) To be able to think about chemistry in English more effectively. 8 This would fail mostly for being unmeasurable and not specific. You could change this to: improve my ability to write written explanations in English of chemical processes for my organic chemistry course f) To use more eye contact in presentations and discussions. 8 This is too specific and not language focused. This goal could be broadened to improving aspects of body language and gesture in presentations and discussions.

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The materials (i.e. facilities, resources) and methods (i.e. activities, pathways, strategies, techniques, ways of using a resource) you select to help you with your learning goal can be decided by asking yourself the questions below, where applicable: Material(s) Is it relevant to your specific learning goal? Is it up-to-date? Has it been made or recommended by a professional or trustworthy organization / institution / publisher? Is it suitable for university level / undergraduate studies? Is it appropriate for your learning style? (See section 1.2 above on Learning Styles) Can it realistically be used in the time given? Does it seem interesting, enjoyable or motivating? Method(s) Is it relevant to your learning goal? Is it appropriate for the materials you have selected? Will it be an effective means of improving in this goal area? Is it appropriate for your learning style? Is it motivating? Is this method one that you can realistically do or achieve? A list of suggested materials and methods can be found in section 3.1 and 3.2 below. Remember that you should not just select one material and/or method for each of your learning goals but experiment with as wide a variety as possible.

Learning Goals Plan: 2.2 Selecting suitable materials and methods for you goals

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TASK: Selecting suitable materials for your learning goals Comment on the problems with these materials and methods in relation to the learning goal and the questions raised above. Suggest possible alternative materials and methods. a) Learning goal: Improve my ability to use stress and intonation in academic presentations Materials and methods: Watch movies and note and copy how the actors use stress and intonation b) Learning goal: Increase my knowledge of key terms for my major course on bio-chemistry Materials and methods: Make a list of terms from my secondary school chemistry text book c) Learning goal: Improve my use of the perfect tenses Materials and methods: Read grammar book explanations and do gap fill exercises (Imagine you are a communicative and auditory learner.) d) Learning goal: Increase my knowledge of useful phrases for writing cover letters for job applications Materials and methods: Memorize all the phrases in The Kings English for Gentlemen in Business (1951) by Sir Rupert Buckingham-Yarborough e) Learning goal: Improve my ability to distinguish between main and supporting ideas in news articles related to environmental sciences Materials and methods: Read Global Warming is a Socialist Conspiracy by LibertyWatch and make headings for main ideas and list supporting ideas in note form underneath (Retrieved from www.libertywatch/wordpress/blog/diesocialistscum.com)

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Possible Answers a) The way people use stress and intonation is very different depending on the situation. In this case a movie is not suitable. For this goal, the learner should listen to presentations given by experienced speakers on topics similar to the ones he/she intend to present on. b) A secondary course book will likely be too simplistic and not contain the right terminology. The materials you select should be at university level. One simple idea might be to make a list of terms from your university course notes /university course textbook. Also, one of the main aims of SALL is that you try out new things and not go back and do the same old things that you have done before or normally do. c) If you were a communicative and auditory learner, you would likely find this activity incredibly boring and demotivating. You could instead make some questions using the perfect tenses to ask people you know you are proficient speakers of English. d) This book is of course way too old. Anyone who used phrases from this book would likely end up writing stuff that made him/herself look foolish or make the reader think the writer was 100 years old! Also, memorizing phrases for writing this kind of text is an ineffective method and a waste of time. It would be better getting an up-to-date text book on business writing which has a list of useful phrases and use it as a reference guide when writing these kinds of letters rather than wasting time and effort memorizing the phrases. e) From the URL it can be seen that this is a blog so the writing may be of a poor quality, and, therefore, not good for reading practice. The title and the URL also indicate that this article is likely to contain strong political biases, and may be factually incorrect. Check URLs and websites carefully to see if they are written by reliable sources before selecting them.

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One thing you need to decide is whether you will need to work with other people in order to achieve your goal. You are encouraged to do so as much as possible as this will make your SALL experience easier and even more enjoyable. You can collaborate in many different ways. Here are some suggestions. Work on goals that require other people. For example, if you want to improve your discussions skills, why not ask some classmates to form a discussion practice group. You can all work on the same specific discussion goal or work on different discussion goals while taking part in the same discussion. To see how much progress you have made, ask someone (a lecturer, a friend, a classmate etc.) to assess you on the specific goal area you are working on. Use the checklists in the Appendixes to help you. Do the same goal as one or more of your classmates and share the resources, activities and strategies that you try out together. You can do this face-to-face or online. If you have difficulty with your learning goal, ask someone who is proficient in that goal area to help you. For example, if you are struggling to improve an aspect of your writing then ask a lecturer for advice or a classmate who gets good marks in writing assignments. If you decide not to collaborate on your learning goals, you can still collaborate for some of the learning activities that you do. You may collaborate with different people for different activities too. Share resources, activities and strategies that you found particularly useful with your classmates and/or ask them to evaluate activities and strategies they have tried that you are interested in trying out.

Learning Goals Plan: 2.3 Collaborating on your learning goals

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As part of your plan you will need to write down what you think you will be able to achieve by the end of the SALL component of the 9820 course. You should think carefully about what you can realistically expect to achieve after only 15 hours of SALL. Note that if you have two learning goals then you need to divide your 15 hours between these two goals. Knowing how long it will take you do learn something is not easy to predict and it takes practice to do this accurately so you should be prepared to change your targets and your goals accordingly as you go along. Refer again to the suggestions in section 2.1 on the four different ways of how to make your goals measureable and then do the task below. TASK: Realistic Expected Outcomes Look at the example statements of expected outcomes and decide which ones are achievable / realistic given the time allotted. (a) To speak fluently in everyday English (7.5 hours) (b) To be able to get 40 out of 40 in a self-made quiz on the 40 terms that I want to learn. (5 hours) (c) To be noticeably more accurate with the pronunciation of the /th/, /l/ and /r/ sounds when I speak (7.5 hours) (d) To get an IELTS score of 9 for the writing part of the test. (Previous score was 5.5). (5 hours)8 8 TASK: Realistic Expected Outcomes (ANSWERS) (a) Unrealistic (b) Realistic (c) Realistic (d) Unrealistic

Learning Goals Plan: 2.4 Expressing expected outcomes

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General Skills Areas Your learning goal should be related to one or more of the following general skills areas:

listening speaking reading writing vocabulary grammar exams / assessments

Integrating Skills You will note that many goals involve two or more of the general skills areas. An example of a goal that integrates skills would be: memorizing certain expressions for showing agreement, disagreement, interruption and clarification in tutorial discussions. As can be seen, this goal integrates both vocabulary and speaking skills. TASK: Identifying skills areas in learning goals Read the following goals and identify which of the General Skills Areas each one relates to. If you think the learning goal integrates two or more skills then identify what those skills are. (a) to learn forty common nouns, verbs and adjectives that have adjunct prepositions after them that I often make mistakes with (e.g. depends on, acceptable for) (b) to practice the strategies of skimming and scanning texts for the reading paper of the IELTS exam so as to improve my reading speed and scores in that paper (c) to learn 50 of the most common key terms for my PHYS 2265 course to help me with my understanding of the PHYS 2265 lectures and course notes (d) to learn about and practice key features of connected speech (e.g. assimilation, weak forms) to help me in the 9820 speaking test and listening in general (e) to improve in the accuracy of my use of the linking words and phrases I use most in my writing (f) to improve my confidence in chatting in English to people from foreign countries on everyday topics9 See answers at the bottom of the next page.

Learning Goals Plan: 2.5 General Skills Areas & Integrating Skills

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For each of your SALL goals you need to complete one of the forms shown below in Figure 1 and upload it to the 9820 Moodle site.* Although this plan will not be assessed, it is important to write your plan carefully because you can use parts of it t