Goodbye to Hüseyin Can's Chronicles for this year!

Now that I have completed my third year as an ELT student at Marmara University, it is a good time to reflect on this term that has contributed a lot to my development as a future teacher.

The best aspect of the course was the use of interactive methods such as Data-Driven Learning, which make the students act as detectives rather than just memorizing the textbooks. On the downside, the dependence on technology was a problem that I personally encountered, as tech issues such as slow Wi-Fi connection or different levels of digital skills among students could easily turn a lesson into a disaster.

I found the collaborative parts of the course very easy and fun, especially the times when I was working with my friends Ozan, Emir, and Eylül. On the other hand, the most exhausting aspect was the need for technical accuracy. For example, in our “Prompting Your Style” activity, we mistakenly spent hours on PowerPoint while the task required us to prepare a worksheet, which made it urgent for us to work quickly to solve the problem.

The Data-Driven Learning project was my favorite task as using tools like SKELL and AI to teach “must” vs “have to” was super fun. The flipped learning video was my least favorite; even though the outcome was nice, the difficulty of making a video that fits 5th graders’ attention through a visual script and several narrators was tiring.

Always think of a plan B for when technology fails and be particularly careful about the format of your work. I have grown a lot as a professional thanks to this course since it has taught me how to use both AI and Corpus tools to give my future students a chance to learn independently.

Thank you for being part of my journey!

 

We Made "Prompting Your Style" Activity

Hello, I am Hüseyin Can Hacıoğlu, an ELT student from Marmara University, and together with my friend Ozan Kazancı we have made the "Prompting Your Style" activity. The production of these materials was a long journey with some funny mistakes. Initially, we completely overlooked the fact that the project was meant to be a 2-3 page worksheet. A lot of our time went into making a full PowerPoint presentation instead. It was tough and a bit irritating to identify our error, thus we had to work quickly to turn everything into the worksheet format you see now. I really enjoyed selecting the style examples, but it was a challenge to include all of our thoughts into a few pages. Despite the fact that it was a stressful experience, I do believe the final product is very entertaining and encourages students to learn through a different method.

What about you? Have you ever used AI image generation to make an in-class activity for a worksheet? Would you prefer using these AI-generated tools in your classroom? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Here is our materials that we have made:

The Worksheet & The Assure Plan

Our Flipped Learning Journey

 

The Flipped Classroom technique changes the organization of learning time. It transfers first instruction (like viewing our vocabulary video) as a homework giving the classroom time meant for teachers' interactive practice, and the application of various techniques to the support provided to them personally, which is mostly through the teacher.

This change is made by the lecturer moving to the individual learning space outside of class for direct instruction rather than delivering the lecture to all in the classroom, which is the traditional way.

For language classes, it is a big plus that communicative practice can be maximized as class time is no longer taken up by activities like role plays and discussions. Moreover, students being able to control the pace of video content playback is a plus for them However, a significant disadvantage is the reliance on students' accountability and it is a challenge to provide all students with the devices and internet connection they need to be on the same level in terms of access.

A group of 5th grade Turkish students learning English was tasked with creating a flipped lesson to learn 10 words from Unit 3: Games and Hobbies of their textbook. These words were: Hiking, Playing Chess, taking a Picture, Hangman, Skateboarding, Go Fishing, Camping, Climbing, Ride a Bike, and Origami. An engaging video and a comprehensive ASSURE lesson plan were developed in which pre- and in-class activities were integrated to guarantee effective learning.

The main challenge that I faced with my friends Ozan Kazancı, Emir Erdinç and Eylül Emeksiz was to make the ten words easy to understand and to remember in a short video that captures the attention of fifth graders. This was done by making a very visual script, employing easy-to-understand language, and introducing multiple voice narrations from all the group members in order to keep the students interested. The project was done in collaboration as the partners did different things across the main tasks; one of them prepared the ASSURE plan and quiz structure, while the other two worked on the script, visual preparation, and recorded the audio for each of them separately before combining it.

What do you like about flipped learning? Would you enjoy it in class or would you dislike it? Let me know in the comments! 

Here are our flipped class materials: 

Teaching Video & Worksheet & Assure

My Journey into the World of Data-Driven Learning!

Hey there! This is Hüseyin Can, a ELT student from Marmara University, who has just completed a project where he had to come up with a 40 minute lesson plan for 9th graders. The subject matter? The difficult distinction between must and have to. Instead of simply telling them the rules, I applied one method called Data-Driven Learning. It is sort of a fancy way of making students act as detectives with the help of language data.

The main material I used was a basic digital worksheet that prepares the students for four stages. First, they do a very short warm-up to think about "strong" versus "general" . The next step is the fun one: they get to use an online Corpus tool called SKELL to look for sentences containing "must" and "have to." They take the real-life examples and use them to guess the grammar rules by basically teaching themselves! For a modern twist, I incorporated a step where they take their self-made rules and check them with an AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. The AI does not give the ultimate answer; it just helps them compare their idea with what is widely accepted, thus pushing them to think critically about the data they found. The last part is quite simple writing practice: five school rules with must/mustn't and five personal obligations with have to/don't have to. This design really appealed to me since it is interactive and encourages students to find out the language which is far better than just memorizing a textbook. On the other hand, putting this into practice in a 9th-grade class might turn out to be a nightmare. First of all, tech issues. Should the Wi-Fi be slow or some of the computers not working, the whole lesson will no longer be valid as it all depends on the online tools. Secondly, digital skills. The students are brilliant at using their phones, but they need to be instructed how to search through a Corpus correctly.


I find my Data-Driven lesson my friends Ozan Kazancı, Emir Erdinç and Eylül Emeksiz to be engaging because it allows the students to come up with the grammar rules on their own with the help of real language from a Corpus. It is a fantastic concept for a fun, self-directed learning, but its successful application still relies on a tech that has to be constantly available with a high level of moral support given to the students concerning the use of AI.

Have you used such technologies like Corpus or AI for any task before, and which one would you prefer? Let me know down below!

Here are the materials about the task and our assignment revision based on our friends' rubric

the Activities & the Lesson Plan & the Assignment Rubric

Welcome to Hüseyin Can's Chronicles for the 2nd Year!

Hi! I’m Hüseyin Can, an ELT student at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey. This blog is a personal diary that everyone can see at some point in time and can be a witness to my life, memories, and growth as a student and person. You can expect posts about my days, reflections as well as interests like motorcycling, gaming, and going to the gym. I hope to look back on these good old days!

Final Blog Post: Reflecting on My Journey with Technology in ELT

 

Before I started this course, I saw technology in English Language Teaching mostly as a side tool. I would say it could be helpful but not necessary. But after all the things we did and learned, my whole point of view has radically changed. Now, I see technology as maybe not just a sidepiece but indeed a very powerful agent in the teaching and learning of the language in the 21st century.

During the course, I experimented with various tools and performed creative tasks that really helped me understand how technology could be implemented in ELT. For instance, I made an infographic on cyberbullying, which gave me an appreciation of how such visual tools could be used for raising awareness and making the learning experience more meaningful.

Another task that I really enjoyed was making a "how-to" video with some of my peers on how to start a blog. We organized everything on Discord while we shared our personal experiences and edited it together. It felt real and collaborative, and I saw how students can create authentic content using technology.

The task I liked the most was the cyberbullying infographic because I had personal experiences related to the topic. It felt meaningful and emotional. The one I liked the least would probably be the movie review. While I liked the movie itself, writing a review didn’t teach me much new compared to the other tasks.

Overall, I learned that AI could help with writing and thinking, I could observe this when I enhanced my interview with Nikola Tesla using it. The AI gave feedback that I would not have caught by myself; hence, it enhanced my writing. However, I believe students must be careful in using it so that they do not become overly dependent on it.

For a better experience, I think the course is engaging, but maybe, we could incorporate more collaborative group projects. Doing tasks with friends was even more fun and helped me learn better.

Thank you for reading my blog posts this term!

Reflecting on Using AI in Language Learning

 

For this weeks task, I used AI tools to help me improve my interview writing about Nikola Tesla. At first, I wrote the original text, but I wasn’t sure if it was clear or correct in some parts. Then, I asked the AI to give feedback and suggest improvements.

The AI was quite helpful since it pointed out several mistakes that had escaped my notice, such as ambiguous pronoun references regarding the mother and uncle of Tesla. It suggested improving the flow of ideas, expanding explanations for some quotes, and maintaining tense consistency throughout. All these suggestions increased the clarity and readability of my work. There were also suggestions on how to shorten and make more natural certain sentences. It was a little challenging at times to understand what the AI precisely meant or how to rephrase some sentences without losing my own style. In general, though, it helped me with my writing a lot .I think AI tools like this could be a big help in teaching. Teachers could also use AI for immediate feedback on their students' writing, correcting assignments, and teaching new vocabulary or ideas through examples and explanations. However, they have some drawbacks. Sometimes AI might suggest changes that are too formal or complex for students; it may lose sight of cultural or personal details. And then again, students might rely too much on it and not try to think for themselves. In language learning, AI tools can be great for practicing writing, grammar, and vocabulary. But it’s important to use them as helpers, not as the only way to learn. Teachers should guide students on how to use AI well, so it supports their learning without replacing their own thinking.

In conclusion, I found my use of a couple of AI tools for this writing task very rewarding experience; it enhanced my work and taught me other ways to write better. I think AI will certainly figure in teaching and learning so long as we use it cautiously and with some thought.

Have you used AI for any task before, and what are your best experiences with it? Let me know down below!