Overall Reflections

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah the Almighty for giving us a chance to learn and complete this course. Throughout the semester we have learnt a lot from the given tasks. Thanks to our lecturer, Dr. Rozina who has helped us in comprehending the lessons.

Through this subject, we realized that technology does influence us in so many things, including in education. Computer, especially is a very great tool invented by the previous inventors in accommodating us towards greater knowledge which by the information can be received just at the tip of our fingers. There are many softwares and applications in the computer that we can use in order to improve and increase our knowledge. Blog is one of the online applications that is utilized by us to share information with people all over the world regarding the advantages of computer applications in language studies as well as propagating Islamic knowledge to others.

Honestly, all these while, we admit that we usually use computers as a medium for us to socialize and also for entertainment. Everyday we login to our social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter just to update things that we did and posted photos on Instagram that we think people would like to see. On weekend, we often download movies and some new songs to be put into our MP3 player and phones. However, after attending this class, we realized that we use the technology given by Allah SWT for something which cannot contribute to our hereafter. We regretted it. Hence, we pray to Allah that we will be given a strong faith and determination to use every single things that He grant to us as the tools in propagating Islam, our true religion.

Other than that, even though the tasks given by our lecturer are quite tough, we managed to learn a lot of things that we do not know before and we find it very useful to us in the present as well as in our future undertakings. By doing the assignments together in a group, we have learnt that cooperation and teamwork are actually the most important basic things that we need to have. Without them, all the work given could not be accomplished and the group will be in chaos. Hence, as our group has done our best in cooperating with each other, the tasks given are said to be a success. InshaAllah.

#WEEK 11: FORENSIC LINGUISTICS

WHAT IS FORENSIC LINGUISTICS?

o   A branch of applied linguistics which is taking linguistic knowledge and methods and applying these to the forensic context of law, investigation, trial, and punishment.

o   The discipline of forensic linguistics is not standardized; it involves a range of experts and researchers in different areas of the field. Some of the areas are:

REFLECTION

From an Islamic point of view, forensic linguistics is one of the ways in applying justice towards the wrongly accused person. We as Muslims have been instructed to do justice and be truthful witnesses towards other people. 

#WEEK 11: COMPUTATIONAL STYLISTICS

WHAT IS COMPUTATIONAL STYLISTICS?

·         A sub-discipline of computational linguistics.

·         It is the study of patterns formed in particular texts, authors, genres, periods via computational methods.

Relevance or application to Language Learning or Language Research

·         To determine the style of literary works; grammar, lexis, semantics, phonological properties.

·         To identify linguistic features; Arbitrariness, creativity' or 'open-endedness‘, Cultural transmission.

Through computational stylistics we learnt that there are so many ways to interpret or analyse a text especially literary text. By using computer as one of the medium to interpret the text, many negative things can be detected by the analysts and also avoided by the writer such as plagiarism. 

#WEEK 10: LEXICOGRAPHY

REFLECTION

What is LEXICOGRAPHY?

Lexicography means the study of words. Technically, it means the study that deals with everything concerning with words. Lexicographers are people who study lexicography. Lexicographers deal primarily with the creation and editing of dictionaries.

Based on the dictionaries created by lexicographers, language learners can read interpretations and meanings of the target language. An example of a dictionary used by most UIA students is called Kamus Al-Farid that provide meanings of Arabic words in both English and Malay. It also provide the way to use Arabic together with the explanations syntactically and grammatically.

Through lexicography, Muslims are able to create dictionaries to learn Arabic for different language speakers around the world. Nowadays, we have Arabic-English dictionaries, Arabic-Malay dictionaries, Arabic-Chinese dictionaries and et cetera. By having these dictionaries, it is easier for Muslims to learn the words of the Qur'an better and spread da'wah to others.

Ibn Al-Khaldn (d. 1406) defines lexicography as,

"The science of instituted elements of language. That primarily concerned with semiotic relations and contrasts between the elements of vocabulary." 

#WEEK 9: CONCORDANCER

REFLECTION:

Concordance as what has been illustrated above is a piece of software, either installed on a computer or accessed through websites can be utilized to search, access, and analyze language from a corpus. It is very helpful and practical especially for us, students of English language and Literature. In order for us to increase our understanding and fluency in English, the use of concordance helps us a lot in learning the language faster and easier. There are many advantages that we can get from the learning of concordance and one of them is that it helps us to check and reconfirm our assumptions about the way words are used in different contexts. Plus, concordance also helps the teacher or lecturer to use authentic samples as examples to demonstrate the language they are teaching to the students. This somehow is very advantageous to us who want to become the future educators.

#WEEK 9: CORPUS LINGUISTICS

REFLECTION

Corpus linguistics involves the use of large corpora which consists of thousands or millions of words in a database. To make life easier, the computer is the best tool to use for corpus linguists. The roles of computer in corpus linguistics are very important as computers are used to store huge amount of texts or to retrieve a huge amount of texts. Other than that, the computer is also used as a tool to provide accurate reliability of occurrence of specific linguistic terms.

Corpus linguistics also cover various types of languages which include English, French, Arabic and so on. Corpus linguistics is very important for language learners as it provide learners a huge database to learn language. An example of a useful corpus for Muslims is the Quranic Arabic Corpus which shows the Arabic grammar, syntax and morphology of each word in the Holy Qur'an.

In an Islamic point of view, we feel that corpus linguistics can help Muslims understand Islam deeply in a short period of time. Like the example shown above, by using corpora, it is easier for Muslims to understand the true meaning of the Qur'an and also believe the authenticity of the Qur'an. We believe that corpus linguistics is not just important for the English language but also other languages including Arabic which is the language of the Qur'an, our Holy Book.

#WEEK 6: COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION(CMC)

REFLECTION

In the current world that we are living in, we feel that CMC (Computer Mediated Communication) is an important tool in language learning. This is because most of us use CMC, whether it is synchronous or asynchronous, in our daily lives. At this time, we depend on emails, Skype, WhatsApp and etc to communicate with others. Mobile phones, smart phones, tablets and other devices that has the Internet connection is also considered as CMC. 

As language learners, we believe that CMC is an essential tool for learners to acquire language. Learners can learn how to write by reading E-articles and E-books and talk like native speakers by watching videos on YouTube. Nowadays, people often have live video conferences to give lectures and talks.

From an Islamic perspective, we feel that CMC brings no harm to mankind if use wisely. As Muslims, are taught to use the things that we have in our time to acquire knowledge and in this case language. However, we feel that as Muslims, we should only do good with CMC and avoid whatever that can lead us astray. We think that we should use CMC to do da'wah to mankind all over the world. We can use blogs to share what we learn or we can also create video blogs or YouTube to tell stories of Islam to others. There are so many ways of spreading da'wah to others through CMC. It is a matter of whether you want to do it or not.

Al-Bukhari narrated it on the authority of Anas, as follows:

"Make things easy! And do not make them complicated! Be cheerful! And do not be repulsive."

We feel that CMC is a tool given by Allah to men of our age for us to acquire knowledge easily without any problems.

#WEEK 5: Designing Effective Power Point Presentation

Reflection

Islam is the true religion which emphasizes knowledge. This is proven by the first revelation from Allah SWT that says, “Iqra’”. There is also a hadith that says, “Convey from me, even it is one word.”

In order to convey the ‘ilm to others, we have to do it in a correct and proper way. This is just to ensure that the audience gets the real message that we want to convey and of course it is to show that we really want to share with them what we know. One of the method to convey the knowledge is of course through the learning and teaching method in schools and universities. In those two institutions, we usually use power point presentations as the tool in class.

The purpose of creating the power point presentation is to assist the listeners towards things that we are going to present. Therefore we need to take care of some aspects in order to make the presentation affective, yet informative.

We agree on the five points that Madam Rozina had highlighted in last week’s class (4th March 2013). According to the slides, the text of a good power point presentation should be big, simple, clear, progressive and consistent. The text should be simple but all of them should be full with meanings. Using pictures in power point presentation is nice but make sure to put them accordingly and they have to be related with the topics that we are presenting. We can also use mind maps with attaractive shapes and colours in order to keep audience interested to listen to us. The background should be simple with some pictures at the corner or simple borders. If possible, we should avoid using pictures like this,

 as the background. It is too thread-like strand isn’t it ? Do not make the audience feel distracted with the pictures, too much animations and also how the text in the slides are presented. That is the main rule in creating a good power point presentation. 

#WEEK 4: CALL in Language Skills

CALL in language skills as what have been illustrated or shown in the picture above covers every aspect of language skills including listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. The use of computer in language studies has indeed led to numerous benefits and it too, has even been proven by the past as well as present researchers. As students, we are also agreeing with this. The use of computer is very advantageous to students. With the help of the computer, there are ample ways we can improve our skills using the technology and softwares. For example, in listening skills, we are trained to listen carefully on the content words and understand the meanings without being distracted. This is good as it teaches us how to be a good listener and being one has a variety of good outcomes or effects in our life. In speaking skills, there are numerous sites or softwares where or which we are taught how to pronounce words correctly and how the grammar, syntax, intonations and pragmatics work together and simultaneously boost our confidence in communicating with others. In reading skills, the use of colors attracts the readers to focus and read. It also functions to stimulate the brain to remember the important messages. In writing skills, the use of spelling checker is very advantageous as it assists the learners in spelling their words correctly. The learners can also interact with other people on the Internet through social network sites, chatting room, etc. Last but not least, in grammar skills, there are also loads of grammar practice multi-media programs available on the Internet in teaching us how to construct grammatically correct sentences. All these five skills are very prominent in our daily life and without them we may not be able to share, communicate, listen and preach effectively to others. Hence, since the use of the computer and technology nowadays assist in advancing our language skills, we should utilize it as much as we can. 

Reflections

From Islamic perspective, Islam always stresses the importance of gaining and mastering knowledge, and thus, gaining and mastering technology. Muslims with knowledge of computer and ICT could make full use of the technology in improving themselves in their language skills and many others. Technology could also be used to further enhance the understanding of both Muslims and non-Muslims on Islam. There should be a new generation of preachers or daie who could utilize modern tools and technology to spread the correct understanding of Islam. Multimedia, to take an example, could be used to teach young children how to read the Quran correctly. It is interactive and combines the usage of most senses. This would make the learning of the Quran more exciting, especially to today's children.

Using technology for da'wah is in line with using wisdom and beautiful preaching in da'wah as mentioned in the verse. The advancement of technology also demands that the audience be techno-savvy as well. Hence, why not take the advantage of this development in order to improve ourselves with the knowledge of Islam? Why should this technology not be used in our quest to truly understand Islam?

#WEEK 3: Islamization of Knowledge

Reflection of Islamization of Knowledge

                Islamization is the concept of structuring the life of human being in line with the principle of Islamic teachings. Basically it is like changing or having new thoughts regarding our previous ideas and concepts in life.

                Nowadays, most education around the world is secular-based education that separates the religion from the state.  In Islam, we must fulfill our life for Allah and none of our activities, principals and ideas should be separated from Allah.  Islamization of knowledge covers, not just the field of education but practically everything in our lives. As Muslims, we should revert to whatever non-Islamic thoughts that we have learned before into the true Islamic way of thinking.

                For example, the Liverpool tagline, “You’ll never walk alone” can be Islamized by simply taking it as a step closer to remember Allah s.w.t. “You’ll never walk alone as Allah s.w.t. is always by your side, protecting you and guiding you.” 

#WEEK 2: Electronic Portfolio

What is electronic portfolio?

Electronic portfolio or also known as digital portfolio is an electronic evidence collected and managed by users (students), usually on the Web and is then evaluated by their teachers. The use of e-portfolio in learning nowadays is due to the advances in research and technologies. People start to turn to the new teaching methods and strategies which are way more innovative and convenient. E-portfolio, unlike the traditional portfolio where information and data used to be collected in bulky scrapbooks, provides ample benefits to the users. Many universities and schools nowadays are currently working to make sure that students are gaining practice and experience by means of electronic portfolios.

Reflection

As we know, via e-portfolio we can share information and knowledge with other people without any limitations. The learning of this topic in class has really opened our eyes that e-portfolio is indeed very advantageous as compared to the traditional portfolio where time, space, and access  become the ultimate boundaries. In our opinions, besides being the medium of assembling information, e-portfolio can also be the medium of spreading and swopping knowledge; we can get various information from others on the Internet and  we can also be the source of information to them as well. Besides that, as we are Muslims, e-portfolio can also be a good platform for us to spread Islam to the world. 

Indeed, whoever who is in the pursuit of knowledge, is walking their way to heaven. In sha Allah. :)

#WEEK 1: History of CALL

Reflections

The use of computer in the process of learning and teaching is a current way of delivering knowledge to the learners. The reason is simply because technology is giving us so much impact and everyone on Earth tends to use technology in most of their daily activities. We do our laundry using the washing machine, we communicate with each other using the telephone which was invented by Alexander Graham Bell and even to do a simple mathematical equation, some of us would need to use the calculator. Technology made our life easier and it provides so much comfort in life. Without the technology, we would be likely spending most of our time to do some of our basic necessities. Therefore, the deployment of computer in learning and teaching process is something good and beneficial to the learners and also the educators.  

Virtual Classrooms

Attending class does not only mean that we have to literally go to class, sit on the chair with a small table attached to it and listen to the lecturers speaking in front of the class. With the rapid development of technology, now we can attend virtual classrooms and learn anything that is offered by the websites. Here, we provide some websites that functions as the virtual classrooms on the internet:

1) The Cyberitalian site is a place to learn the Italian language, discover the Italian culture and enrich their lives. It provides interactive lessons with audio, pronunciation guides, videos, self-administered exercises and exams and fun learning activities like puzzles, cross-words, reading/listening comprehension, sing along, cooking and many others. There will be also some new activities that will be added regularly.

2) The second example is the Madinaharabic site where learners can learn Arabic without having to pay anything to them. Therefore for students, especially the IIUM students, they can actually surf the website and extract the knowledge simply by clicking some of the buttons there.

Interactive Way of Learning

There are bundles of methods in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Quizzes and fun games are two top approaches of computer assisted learning. An example of the website that uses this kind of approaches is quia.com. It assists the instructors to adopt books, create classes and even to tract students’ progress. For the students, it helps them to complete their assignment in a fun way. They just have to register an account. That’s it!

Compact Disc

Even though we are not connected to the internet, the learning progress can still take place only with the presence of a computer. A CD (the abbreviation of a compact disc), which is a small plastic disc with a metallic surface on which information is recorded, also can be used as a process of learning. We still remember, during out school time, a CD used to be attached in each of our textbooks and teachers usually use it to explain the lessons and to keep students awake during the lesson time.

Virtual Connections

Social networking, instead of using it for the sake of socializing, it can also be used to maintain connections between the instructors and the learners. Connecting students to authentic environments is getting easier and more user-friendly with threaded discussion groups such as Google Groups and also Facebook Groups. It is becoming very popular during these recent days.

Conclusion

With the rapid growth of technology, the ideas and the implementation of it also changes from time to time. Some outstanding things have been done as a result of computer application and we believe that the use of computer as an aid for learners to acquire knowledge will experience an on-going development simply because of the facts that technology will be always springing up like mushrooms after the rain throughout out life.