Speaking with SOMEBODY in the middle of the night

http://www.reekoscience.com/Games/Ego/

What is this?

Ego the Robot can make a conversation with you anytime online.

How can you use this?

• If you want to speak with somebody in English even after midnight, Ego will be there all the time.
• It means you can practice your English 24 hours a day.

Limitations

• Sometimes unnatural response from the Robot

Useful evaluation sheets

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

What is this?

RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics but does not have the time to develop them from scratch. Choose from topics such as Oral Projects, Research and Writing, Word Skills, Multimedia, Products, Science, Math, Reading, Music, and Art. You also have the ability to view, edit, and analyze a saved rubric. Also, RubiStar now provides a way for you to analyze the performance of your whole class.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• This is totally free.
• This site provides well-oarganized example of evaluation criteria.
• This is easy to make own assessment sheet.
• This is well systematic and easy to follow.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• When the teacher is teaching how to make a presentation, he can use evaluation sheets in order to make students reflect both individually and collaboratively.
• The process of reflection promotes learner autonomy through self-correction.
• It is very important for students to know what aspects will be assessed by the teacher.

here is an example of assessment sheet for oral presentation. 

Limitations

• The teacher should have clear idea of criteria.
• Giving too many assessment makes students demotivated.

Our WebQuest

http://questgarden.com/118/42/5/110204045226/

Podcasting from itunes

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

What is this?

Provides us a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. Once you click the one of program, you can get a latest episode automatically when you synchronize your iPod, with your PC.

If you have any favorite podcast, why don't you share with us?

Learning by WebQuest

http://www.webquest.org/

What is this?

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995 with early input from SDSU/Pacific Bell Fellow Tom March, the Educational Technology staff at San Diego Unified School District, and waves of participants each summer at the Teach the Teachers Consortium.
If you want to know more details about WebQuest, click http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
It explains what kinds of tasks are available. For example, Retelling task, Mystery task, Design task, and Consensus building task.

Why is the content good for language learning? 

• It is all free so no investment for teaching!
• It contains many tasks which learners can learn English both by individual and by group.
• It contains  different kinds of genres.
• Some contain teacher's instruction how to evaluate students' work.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• Once the teacher sets the goal of the course, she can chose from exsited WebQuest focusing on particular skill such as reading, writing , speaking, and listening.

                                                                   My favarite one

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webquests/goldenticket/

 This movie 'Chalie and Chocolate factory' is very popular among the student especially at secondary schools, so it is easy to attract and draw them into WebQuest world.

Here is an example question;

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is more than just a story about Oompa Loompas and Everlasting Gobstoppers.  Willy Wonka thought it was important to have a responsible, honest, trustworthy person running his factory.  The characters that Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, created had qualities that you would and would not want in a citizen. The characters that he created over forty years ago can still teach us about the effects of violence, watching too much TV, fame, fortune, and what happens if you become an instant celebrity.  Why is it important to understand the effects of these types of things?  What qualities are important in a good citizen?  Why did Willy Wonka choose Charlie over the other children?

The teacher can get students discuss this question in group and get a feedback from them in a class.

Limitations

• Some studnets cannnot use their background knowledge if they are not interested in motif like the movie 'Chalie and Chocolate factory'.
• Some webquests contain almost only words so it is difficult for visual learners to concentrate on the task.

Get your presentation ideas from others' wonderful works!

http://www.slideshare.net/

What is this?

This contains a tremendous of created presentations about various kinds of topics.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It contains examples which make learners understand easily
• It contains  different kinds of genres
• It contains easy instructions how to organize the writing
• It gives you ideas of organizing a presentation.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• The teacher can show good presentations and bad presentations and get students think how they are different either in a group or in pairs.
• The teacher can make a check list of a good presentation.
• After the discussion of a good presentation, the teacher get students make their own presentation and upload their presentations online.
• Everyone can watch other students' work and vote the best one.
• The teacher can show the best one to students in the class.

Limitations

• The task needs internet access.

How much do you know about technology?

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUdDhWfpqxg

Just watch this! You can tell that the technology has developed every single minute!

Make your presentation attractive Part 2

http://www.showbeyond.com/show/home



What is this?

This is a powerful tool to make your presentation more attractive. Basically it has same function with Bookr which I already introduced on this blog.

What's the difference between Showbeyond and Bookr?

• Showbeyond can insert your voice and music so you can use sounds effectively. (Click and see below)

        http://www.showbeyond.com/show/view?sid=1058ed347f67ca6ecfdac9d3f3838127

Limitation

• This presentaion style is more suitable for the presentation automatically.

Make your presentation more attractive Part 1

                                                         http://www.pimpampum.net/bookr/

What is this?

This is a great tool to make your presentation attractive by using visual aids effectively. You can search suitable pictures on website and insert them into your slides easily.

Why is the content food for language learning?

• It gives you a lot of choices of images once you put keywords on Tag box (see below)

• Pictures help audience to understand your content.
• It is totally free.
• You can get idea from other people's work. (click ↓ This is amazing example)

                         http://www.pimpampum.net/bookr/?id=12946

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• The teacher can give students examples of great presentation.
• Project based presentation about cultures are suitable.

Limitations

• It might be a little casual for academic presentation.
• It is a little bit difficult to delivery because the pages can go forward and backward easily.

How to learn English through songs!

www.lyricstraining.com

Your task

If you like music, serch your favorite song and take a dictation.

For example, if you are interested in British pop music, have a look at Beatles's songs.

You can select 'begginer' 'intermediate' 'export' according to your English level.

Songs are good tool for improving your listening skill. Once you can understand the mechanism of changing the sounds such as liaison and assimilation, you can gradually hear and understand what English native speakers are saying.

Tell me which song you chose and which part of the song you had difficulty in listening.

Tongue Twister!!! (Betty Botter's Batter)

Can you beat the boy in Youtube?

Betty Botter's Butter and Batter

Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter's bitter,
If I put it in my batter
It will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter
Will make my batter better,
So she bought some better butter
Better than the bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter
And her batter was not bitter,
So 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

Yout task!

Count how many seconds you take, say your achievement in comment box.

Or you can record your voice and post it here. I can count it for you!

Here is the easiest way to record yourself

http://audioboo.fm/

Have fun!

Technology for teaching!

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3135914/Technology_for_teaching%21

This is how people think about the technology for teaching!

Record your voice and send it to your teacher Part 2 (Only voice for shy students)

http://vocaroo.com/

What is this?
This Vocaroo has a wonderful function which can record your voice and send it to anyone.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It can expand the possibility of new style of classroom
• It is totally free

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• This tool is useful outside the class.
• The teacher can get students to record about any topic as homework and send it to her.
• Any topic will be good, it might be about students' family, hobbies and school life.
• The teacher can correct students' pronunciation, intonation and expressions.
• The teacher can introduce the best perfomance in the next class.

Limitations

• You need a microphone for recording.
• It can not include video.

Record your voice and send it to your teacher Part 1

http://mailvu.com/

What is this?

This mailVU can allow you to record yourself and send it to anyone. There are another features below;

-Plays on most smart phones

-Video mails up to 10 minutes.

-Self-destruct after # of views

-Retract video email at will

-Send and Read notifications

-Video stored up to 365 days

-No account or downloads



Why is the content good for language learning?

• It can expand the possibility of new style of classroom
• It is totally free

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• This tool is useful outside the class.
• The teacher can get students to record about any topic as homework and send it to her.
• Any topic will be good, so the teacher can say 'SHOW & TELL' which is an activity to get students have something and simply talk about it.
• The teacher can introduce the best perfomance in the next class.

My soft toy can be a student!

Limitations

• You need microphone and webcamera for recording
• You cannot embed it to your blog

Various kinds of printable worksheets

http://english-zone.com/index.php

What is this?

This site has huge resources such as grammer, idiom, spelling, writing, vocabrary, reading, and pronounciation. One of the unique features is teacher zone which deals with activities and worksheets, but some of them cannot print our if you are not member.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It is basically free. (Some contents only for members)
• It covers a various kind of needs. (Both teachers and students)
• Most of worksheets are printable.
• It contains tips for students.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• The teacher can recommend this site to students to review lessons at home.
• The teacher can use the worksheet from this site in the class.
• The student can learn many kinds of tips like note-taking (see below)

Example

Limitations

• It does not cover much about listening.
• If you are a visual learner, you might have difficulty in making yourself interested.
• If the teacher recommends learners to review this site, learners need to internet access. 

Perfect lesson plans a day

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

What is this?


This site gieve us various and rich activities such as phase matching, listening gap fill, multiple choice, spelling, and word jumble. The article is based on current news and apdates weekly. It is really useful resource for teachers.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It contains many kinds of tasks on one article.
• It updated every three days.
• It gives teachers idea of lesson plan.
• It helps to improve four skills; Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking.
• It is free and printable.
• The article are recorded in MP3 file, so easy to put it into iPod.
• It covers current news.
• The teacher can know the answer immediately.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• At first, the teacher can make students listen to the recorded article without listening
• Discuss what students can get as a group
• The group leader can speak out what they can understand without the article's script
• 
  

  And then, the techer can give students activities on the webpage

Limitations

• It might be difficult for students to study at home if they don't have internet access.

Learning different kinds of writing

http://www.writingfun.com/

What is this?

Writing Fun explains the types of text commonly written in schools with a lot of examples and shows text structures, grammatical features and publishing ideas. It includes reports, procedures, explanations, expositions, discussions, narratives, recounts, descriptions, responses, letters, invitations, news articles and emails.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It contains examples which make learners understand easily
• It contains  different kinds of genres
• It contains easy instructions how to organize the writing

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

      Lesson plan 1

•  Let students exchange emails in formal way in a class and response each other.

     Lesson plan 2

• A teacher can use give students a topic of reaseach and can explain how to organice the report.
• A teacher can refer this site as resource to students.

Example

Limitations

• This writing style is limited within primary and secondary schools not for higher education level.
• It does not contain business context.
• It needs internet access at home if the teacher ask students to review as homework.

 

Improve your pronounciation

http://www.cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/

What is this?

This webpage is helpful to improve not only learners' listening skill but also pronounciation. Though interesting activities, learners can learn the mechanism of phonemic and apply it to words. 

Why is the content food for language learning?
・It is totally free.
・It contains 20 activities.
・The pictures on the site are charming and entertain learners.
・You can listen to the correct pronounciation.
・It contains recording system so you can hear your own voice and correct them.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

・After learning the sound of each alphabet, you can confirm your understanding through a various activities.

Example 1

If you push an alphabet like P, you can see the word using P sound and hear the word!

Example 2

After learning the system of the sound and phonetic signs, you can test yourself with Hangman game. Guess the word from phonetic signs. It is very interesting!

Example 3

Record your voice and checke it or ask your teacher to check your pronounciation

Limitation

・It is more suitable for individual than group activities

・It needs internet access

Program by the University of Victoria

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/

What is this?
The Study Zone is for students of the English Language Centre (ELC) at the University of Victoria. The English-language lessons and practice exercises are created by teachers at the ELC. While the site is designed to support  adult English-language learners.
This site gives you various exercises such as grammar, vocabrary, reading, and puzzels depending on a learner's English level.

Why is the content good for language learning?

・Learners and teachers can choose the English language level:

  Upper Beginner (Level 200)

  Lower Intermediate (Level 330)

  Intermediate (Level 410)

  Upper Intermediate (Level 490)

  Advanced (Level 570)

 ・Learners and teachers can choose exercises to foster specific skill

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

If the topic of today is about adverbs, a teacher can give students immediate practice to see if students can understand 'adverbs' or not by usind this site.
Here is the image of exercise from the site.

・Limitations
・Depending on the level, a variety of exercise are limited. For example, the material for advanced learners are little
・It might be difficult for students to study at home if they don't have internet access.

Learning new vocabularies with lovely picture

http://www.languageguide.org/english/

What is this?
This site gives you abundant resource to learn vocabularies. You can listen to the audio recording of the words.

Why is the content food for language learning?

・It contains more than 15 languages so you compared with your own language and find similarities.
・The pictures on the site are charming and entertain learners.
・You can listen to the correct pronounciation if you put your mouse on the picture.
・It focuses on vocabularies in daily life so you can use them immediately.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

・Good for self-study at home
・Make students speak loud after the audio recording, it will help their pronounciation improve.
・The teacher can print them out and laminate them. They become wonderful flash cards.
・The teacher can use the flash cards for many activities as below;
  - Concentration (pelmanism): When learners can match the cards, they have to shout the word in English and get a point. If they cannot say correctly, they cannot get a point.
  - Sentence making: Make students pick up one card and say a sentence with the word on the card.
  - Plaiying card: When the teacher say the word, learners touch the card as soon as possible. First student whotouch it, he can get a point.

Limitations
・Playing card might be hard to do in very big classes.
・It might be difficult for students to study at home if they don't have internet access.

Learning from masterpiece

http://www.loudlit.org/

What is this?
This gives you opportunities to listen to well-famous masterpiece such as children's story, poetry and noevel.
At the same time, you can read the original.

Why is the content good for language learning?

・The content is recorded in clear voice with nice speed so it is easy for learners to catch up with the
　recording.
・This contains a varaety of genre of story so it meets various needs of learners.
・Each chapter has transcription to understand visually.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

・The teacher can use the transcription from the site and copy it into word file and utilize it for activities.
・The teacher make some blanks on the paper and use it for Closed test both in groups and individuals.
・The teacher make advanced students to write a dictation while lilstening.

・After listening a few time, as a  group leatners can gather information which they can understand and list
  what they got on the blackboard. Complete with each other for maybe getting one point.

Limitations
・Need internet (some schools don't have access to YouTube)
・Dictation activitiy requires quite high level

Listen and Write

http://www.listen-and-write.com/
What is this?This site called 'Listen and Write' is useful tool for English learners to improve not only their listening skill but also writing skills through dictation.

Why is the content good for language learning?・Dictation is good practice to understand the phonological features like Liaison, Assimilation and Flapped t.
　Once leaners notice the language phenomenon logically, it is getting easier to follow native English speaking.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?・One of the good features of this site is allowed learners to chose their  level and diffculties.
　If you are beginner, you can select 'Blank mode' to fill blanks.
　If you want to challenge more difficult task, you can chose 'Full mode'.

Limitations・I think this activity is suitable for individual leaner not for group unless there are enough computers in the   class.