Chat robots could be good tools for students to practice speaking. These could easily be done by homework or also class time. Some useful sites for chat robot includes Alicebot, Fake Captain Kirk, and Voki.
For example, 'Alicebot' site includes chatbox with a robot computer program called Alice. If students go to this site and click 'chat with Alice', students will see the robot Alice and a blank which says 'you say:'. Here, students can freely ask questions to 'Alice' and practice some English forms and vocabularies with her. Students will be 'human' and when they ask her questions, Alice will reply. It is automatic replies but students can have fun. She is not real but it feels like real because some of her questions are funny and some serious. These days, students are really into computer games and like doing something with the internet, this resource could be an excellent tool for students to practice both reading, writing, and speaking. Because the answers Alice provides are the same for all 'humans', the teacher can give homework such as 'find out Alice's interests or hobby' by make them use certain forms they learned during class.
For 'Fake Captian Kirk', the same things reply. Good aspect of this site is that students can hear Captain Kirk's reply through headphones. Also, his character seems like from the space, so many boys would probably enjoy talking to him about their curious questions about the outer space. Many teenage boys are fascinated by outer space.
For 'Voki', students can create their own character, and it is always fun to make your own imagination character. After making one, students can type in the blank some sentence they want to hear from, their own character will say outloud for them. For speaking practice, it will be fun because they get to hear from their own creative image and not some automatic voice mail.
16 November, 2010
05 November, 2010
Listening tools
From the listening tools we have studied, I have realized there are so many good listening materials to be used during English classes through the internet.
Podcasting is the digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program. It is possible to download audio or video file to your PC, and post them on the blog.
iTune U sites could be useful sites for college level students. Many American universities offer iTune U and all the students from around the world can download some of the lectures they want to listen to. I think this is brilliant idea because or else, students not in American would never have any chance to attend a Harvard lecture. These sites could arouse students' attention and motivate them. Since the lecture are designed for English speakers, and they are college-leveled, it could be difficult to comprehend at first. However, as students get used to listening them, it could increase their listening skills and also the knowledge about their major.
There are also podcasting sites for kids.
For example, there is a kids site called 'Storynory' which includes lots of children stories. Children can click on the story they wish to know about. The site provides listening and also the script so children can say aloud while listening to their favorite stories. Since many of the stories are already familiar to them, and they like those stories, children could be motivated. There are no videos available, but children can instead imagine the scenes from the stories because the recorded voice does an amazing job at the intonation and pronunciation, making it sound like a real life story.
Podcasting is the digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program. It is possible to download audio or video file to your PC, and post them on the blog.
iTune U sites could be useful sites for college level students. Many American universities offer iTune U and all the students from around the world can download some of the lectures they want to listen to. I think this is brilliant idea because or else, students not in American would never have any chance to attend a Harvard lecture. These sites could arouse students' attention and motivate them. Since the lecture are designed for English speakers, and they are college-leveled, it could be difficult to comprehend at first. However, as students get used to listening them, it could increase their listening skills and also the knowledge about their major.
There are also podcasting sites for kids.
For example, there is a kids site called 'Storynory' which includes lots of children stories. Children can click on the story they wish to know about. The site provides listening and also the script so children can say aloud while listening to their favorite stories. Since many of the stories are already familiar to them, and they like those stories, children could be motivated. There are no videos available, but children can instead imagine the scenes from the stories because the recorded voice does an amazing job at the intonation and pronunciation, making it sound like a real life story.
04 November, 2010
podcasting example
Target Students: 2nd grade in Korean Girls Middle school, advanced level students
Goal of the lesson: to introduce Brother Grimm' stories, chose Snow White because the girls voted for it in advance. To improve students' listening skills combined with writing and speaking.
Process: to listen to an Snow White ending, which is somewhat different from the fmailiar Snow White ending. Students should talk in groups about the ending of Snow White and provide an alternative ending (write as a group).
Podcasting as a listening resource tool: Students should listen to the ending of Snow White uploaded podcasting file several times and each person in the group should upload their own recorded alternative ending using 곰녹음기, upload the file.
From: http://storynory.com/2006/07/31/snow-white/
-Storynory, audio stories for kids.
Goal of the lesson: to introduce Brother Grimm' stories, chose Snow White because the girls voted for it in advance. To improve students' listening skills combined with writing and speaking.
Process: to listen to an Snow White ending, which is somewhat different from the fmailiar Snow White ending. Students should talk in groups about the ending of Snow White and provide an alternative ending (write as a group).
Podcasting as a listening resource tool: Students should listen to the ending of Snow White uploaded podcasting file several times and each person in the group should upload their own recorded alternative ending using 곰녹음기, upload the file.
From: http://storynory.com/2006/07/31/snow-white/
-Storynory, audio stories for kids.
02 November, 2010
Week 10 Listening
1. Explain the two listening techniques: top-down vs. bottom-up and tell us when you employ each technique for what purpose.
Bottom-up: listening very carefully, to details
Listening test, explain direction, solve the problem
Top-down: get the main ideas using background information, guessing from context, listening to a chunk
Drama, TV, radio, talking with friends, music, novels, lecture, Korean context, predict
Implication: depending on the focus, purpose
2. What type of listening materials do you think good for top-down or bottom-up strategies? Review the listening materials and select some for each.
Bottom-up: academic texts, listening tests, dictation activities, phone #
Top-down: real-life stories, news
3. What is podcasting? Discuss the benefits of doing podacasting for L2 learners.
-digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, regularly. Search and download audio or video file downloaded to your PC, post them on the blog. People who RSS your site could download.
-1. T choose the right podcasting site, authentic material
2. Ss could pick what they are interested in (self-searchable), maybe authentic materials or educational, ESL materials
-Benefits:
1. T can provide more various, interesting materials
2. challenging materials for advanced students (additional materials)
Bottom-up: listening very carefully, to details
Listening test, explain direction, solve the problem
Top-down: get the main ideas using background information, guessing from context, listening to a chunk
Drama, TV, radio, talking with friends, music, novels, lecture, Korean context, predict
Implication: depending on the focus, purpose
2. What type of listening materials do you think good for top-down or bottom-up strategies? Review the listening materials and select some for each.
Bottom-up: academic texts, listening tests, dictation activities, phone #
Top-down: real-life stories, news
3. What is podcasting? Discuss the benefits of doing podacasting for L2 learners.
-digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, regularly. Search and download audio or video file downloaded to your PC, post them on the blog. People who RSS your site could download.
-1. T choose the right podcasting site, authentic material
2. Ss could pick what they are interested in (self-searchable), maybe authentic materials or educational, ESL materials
-Benefits:
1. T can provide more various, interesting materials
2. challenging materials for advanced students (additional materials)
22 October, 2010
wikispaces- sleeping ugly (our own version)
Once upon a time, there was an ugly girl in the little town. Boys in town always made fun of the girl with her face. But the ugly girl doesn't care about what other people said. She always look at the bright side and she nursing her sick mother by herself. One day, A witch came to the little town and see the girl's mother and said. "I think it is not useful to nursing your mother because she is almost die of terrible disease." The ugly girl shocked by what witch said to her. So she begged to the witch for saving her mother. Finally witch said there is only one way to save her mother. It was the way that the girl fall in a sleep forever replace her mother's death.
written by Yoon seon
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She was in a distress. In fact, sleeping forever was already like death. She didn't want to lose her life. But she had to save her mother. Eventually she told her mother the story about the witch. After listening the story, her mother suggested cheating the witch. That is, they prepare a orangutan to transform it into the ugly girl. Fortunately, she looked just like a orangutan. They captured a orangutan that is most similar to the girl in the forest. At last, they got their ducks in a row. And the appointed day was comming. They thought the orangutan would sleep eternally. So it had been no problem.
Written by Dahye^^
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The girl heard the witch's footsteps on the front door. She checked that the orangutan was asleep, dressed up just like herself. She covered the orangutan's face up with the blanket just in case the witch might become suspicious, and hid herself inside the closet behind the bed. Her heart began to beat loudly, she was scared. The girl's mother stood in front of her bedroom to beg the witch, just in case the witch would change her mind. The girl heard the witch talking to her mother, and she was surprised by the witch's voice- it was a voice of a male! The girl heard her mother ask the man who he was, he said he was a follower of the witch and the witch sent him instead to do the job. In just a few seconds, the girl thought of a new plan. That man was popular in the town for having no girlfriend his entire life. So the girls in town all gossiped about him being attracted to really ugly girls. As thinking about this, the ugly girl quickly got out of the closet, put the orangutan into the closet, and lied down on the bed instead. She thought the man would fall in love with her, change his mind about bewitching her, and cure her mother's disease. Her new plan was perfect.
Written by Chanmi
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Eventually, the man came up to the ugly girl. The girl's heart was hammering in her chest. When he saw the ugly girl, he heaved a sigh of despair looking ceiling because of her bad appearance. However, his appearance was worse than her. So, he suddenly thought that this girl could be his girl because her appearance was similar to him. Therefore, he cured ugly girl's mother without any exchange. After curing, he said to the ugly girl, "Run away from here with your mom, and wait for me in the Lampland where nobody knows." In this way, she ran away with her mom and married with the man and conceived twins who were not ugly anymore. Thus, they lived happily ever after.
Written by Sun
written by Yoon seon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She was in a distress. In fact, sleeping forever was already like death. She didn't want to lose her life. But she had to save her mother. Eventually she told her mother the story about the witch. After listening the story, her mother suggested cheating the witch. That is, they prepare a orangutan to transform it into the ugly girl. Fortunately, she looked just like a orangutan. They captured a orangutan that is most similar to the girl in the forest. At last, they got their ducks in a row. And the appointed day was comming. They thought the orangutan would sleep eternally. So it had been no problem.
Written by Dahye^^
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The girl heard the witch's footsteps on the front door. She checked that the orangutan was asleep, dressed up just like herself. She covered the orangutan's face up with the blanket just in case the witch might become suspicious, and hid herself inside the closet behind the bed. Her heart began to beat loudly, she was scared. The girl's mother stood in front of her bedroom to beg the witch, just in case the witch would change her mind. The girl heard the witch talking to her mother, and she was surprised by the witch's voice- it was a voice of a male! The girl heard her mother ask the man who he was, he said he was a follower of the witch and the witch sent him instead to do the job. In just a few seconds, the girl thought of a new plan. That man was popular in the town for having no girlfriend his entire life. So the girls in town all gossiped about him being attracted to really ugly girls. As thinking about this, the ugly girl quickly got out of the closet, put the orangutan into the closet, and lied down on the bed instead. She thought the man would fall in love with her, change his mind about bewitching her, and cure her mother's disease. Her new plan was perfect.
Written by Chanmi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eventually, the man came up to the ugly girl. The girl's heart was hammering in her chest. When he saw the ugly girl, he heaved a sigh of despair looking ceiling because of her bad appearance. However, his appearance was worse than her. So, he suddenly thought that this girl could be his girl because her appearance was similar to him. Therefore, he cured ugly girl's mother without any exchange. After curing, he said to the ugly girl, "Run away from here with your mom, and wait for me in the Lampland where nobody knows." In this way, she ran away with her mom and married with the man and conceived twins who were not ugly anymore. Thus, they lived happily ever after.
Written by Sun
12 October, 2010
How does technology help task-based writing?
3. How does technology help task-based writing?
There are many useful tools to help task-based writing. There are actually lots of fun sites for students to have fun while writing. One of the aspects of task-based writing is providing an alternative ending to the original story or create your own story. For example, in wikispaces.com, the teacher can set up a topic or genre, one student can start creating his own story, maybe a paragraph, then other students could follow, and maybe the last member of the group could finish the story, give an ending. If the teacher gives a topic which is similar to an actual reading book but just change a word or so, then students would be excited to create a totally different story.
These kind of writing activities could be followed by grammar, spelling, or vocabulary checker such as spellchecker.net. If the student puts his paragraph(that he wrote) into the box in spellchecker, it would provide some correct or alternative options for parts of your sentences.
These kind of tools could be shared by many students or groups, therefore is interactive work.
There are many useful tools to help task-based writing. There are actually lots of fun sites for students to have fun while writing. One of the aspects of task-based writing is providing an alternative ending to the original story or create your own story. For example, in wikispaces.com, the teacher can set up a topic or genre, one student can start creating his own story, maybe a paragraph, then other students could follow, and maybe the last member of the group could finish the story, give an ending. If the teacher gives a topic which is similar to an actual reading book but just change a word or so, then students would be excited to create a totally different story.
These kind of writing activities could be followed by grammar, spelling, or vocabulary checker such as spellchecker.net. If the student puts his paragraph(that he wrote) into the box in spellchecker, it would provide some correct or alternative options for parts of your sentences.
These kind of tools could be shared by many students or groups, therefore is interactive work.
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