Welcome to the ABE forum

Hi there,

Just home after today's session and decided to sign in and see what Mark was talking about!
A nice easy to use site and I look forward to using the forum as a support to learning

stevieboy

Is anybody out there? Busy lives, unecessary additional element to training, fear? If a forum doesn't float your boat do we let it sink?

To tie in with last week's session perhaps it's because there's no convention in place for how to contribute in a forum. Is it formal? Is it friendly? Is it easier to read than to contribute? Are we worried that people will be checking our spelling and grammar? These feelings are probably very similar to those of the people we will be tutoring, perhaps if nothing else it proves a useful aid to empathy.

Hi All
Those are very good points Guest has brought up relating to why people are reluctant to post on forums. We are all a little apprehensive when it comes to getting involved in something new that we are not completely sure about or don't completely understand the rules or conventions for, which is the same for our learners.

Do the ITALL volunteers feel we should have shown them examples of other forums and introduced the topic in a different manner? We are all learners after all and we maybe we shouldnt have gone about it as a "have a go and see what you think" attituted, after all with our literacy learners we spend time explaining the rules and conventions of the writing they are doing so that they understand and feel more comfortable about taking part in it. When I think about it, I certainly wouldnt have gone about introducing writing in forums to my learners the same way I did with you all in the ITALL class. It makes you think, just because you are going to become tutors I automatically treated you all differently to people that come to us as learners. 

Gudgie-Coff 

I think that the lack of convention ( although my understanding generally is that they are pretty informal) is a double edged sword. It's harder to find a model to use but we are (for once) free to use our own voice in our own style. However, that initself can be a scary thing for people. Sometimes a convention to fit into can be easier. I guess like lot of situations feeling you are not being judged will help make it easier or, even better, feeling confident enough in your own choice of words and how you use them to communicate and, importantly I think, how you also use them to present yourself. Its an identity thing I think.

I wouldn't worry too much about lack of activity.  The forum has only been available since a couple of weeks ago - and I haven't gotten round to mailing all ABE tutors about it's existence.  I will do that today using the list that MarkR gave me.  This list doesn't include all trained tutors (most of the recant batches) so if you have any more email addresses of tutors please email them to privately and I'll add them to the mailing list.

Forums can be quiet places and can see extended periods of inactivity only to burst into life when a live issue needs discussion or someone posts a lively, irritating, cheeky, hilarious, inspiring or dodgy post. 

We are all fearties when it comes to stepping out on an empty stage (like this forum).  Once there is a record of puposeful activity tutors may well feel easier about posting (hiding in the bushes). 

On the other hand, our trainers and Ital training may be so good that no one needs to discuss anything; you know everything you need to know.  It's easy being a tutor, isn't it?  Nothing to it ... You just tell them wit tae dae and they'll dae it!  See learners.. like sheep ... no really.  No, seriously...

Now just a wee minute to see if I've any spelling mistakes .....  No, not one!  See us tutors we're perfect!

JohnC

Spelling doesn't matter and too many people are worried about. It decreases in importance as more people realise that computers make spelling easier. Language is about 'meaning' not rules. The rules just create fear of failure.

I agree with guest to a certain degree, in a world of txt spk you don't find yourself rotfl when someone makes a spelling mistakd, you just assume they've not used spell chequer.

However as the poem we saw the other week highlights, spell check is not infallible.  We should not be getting too hung up over it, especially in the early days with a learner, the whole point of "correct" spelling and grammar is to allow us to communicate effectively with our target audience if the meaning is obvious does it matter if i follows e or even if it shouls be -sion or -tion?

The English language has been evolving quite happily on its own for nearly 2000 years in the writen form, taking on board bits of Norman French, Scots, Welsh, Norse and sundry other bits and pieces and in this age of global communication we are now seeing the Speakers of English from other parts of the world adding their local spellings and patois.  If English continues to evolve into the 21 century at the same rate that other areas of life are evolving the spelling and language being used next century could be as difficult for us to understand as Piers Plowman or Geoffery Chaucer.

God I've just read that back and realise that I'm getting on a soap box but hey ho! if it can stimulate some discussion it's worth it!!!!!!!!!