Week 3



The discovery of the week is delicious. This new bookmarking tool allows you to store useful links and access them from anywhere. It is definitely good news to have my bookmarks at hand any time. It's a kind of online storage which saves carrying the laptop can make things quicker, and allows for sharing. In addition, the site served a wonderful incentive for me to start organising my links.

Creating the account is easy and doesn't take much time as long as you are lucky and the username you want hasn't been already taken. I was:) I have to admit that the Tech Tip by Deborah Healey was very helpful the same way as with the search engines. 

Another useful experience this week has been exploring websites which provide interesting ideas and material on teaching aural/oral skills. Since speaking and listening appear to be the most challenging skills for many learners, especially adults I found the resources completely rewarding. Particularly I liked the article about application of CALL in teaching speaking skills. It led me to organise all the information and thoughts I had around CALL in a clear and mannered way. As for the sites, there is a selection to meet different needs. One Stop English and About.com have been among my favourites for a long time. I believe both are a must. I came across fantastic resources for teaching kids at ESL-galaxy.com. I already used Randal's Cyber Listening Lab with my students this week. There are several advantages to the site. The conversations are organased by topic and level. In addition, they are accompanied by pre-, during and post- listening activities and, what's more, the site allows for self-study. 

I also want to mention The Sounds of English, which I found in Courtney's wiki - Aural/oral skills. I'm very thankful to Courtney as the site is a perfect aid to teach and/or practice the sounds and which I very often need help my students. The visual side allows to see where and how each sound is pronounced and the recording gives further practice opportunities. I'm sure my adult learners will find the resource very beneficial. 


 

Comments

  1. IvanaOctober 20, 2012 at 3:33 AM

    Hello Nino!

    I also liked Randal's Cyber Lab, especially because the articles are divided by level, and because of the fact that there are three types of exercises. I find it useful and plan to use it in class.

    Best wishws,
    Ivana

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    Replies
    1. NinoOctober 21, 2012 at 1:48 PM

      Exactly Ivana, I have already chosen a few exercises for my classes this week.

      Best,
      Nino

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    2. RustamOctober 28, 2012 at 3:35 AM

      Hi Nino,
      Thank you for sharing
      Sounds of American English      .
      I teach English Phonology to Postgraduate students. With this tool they will have a real demo of tongue movement for the articulation of vowel sounds.
      Regards
      Rustam
      You can visit my blog at
      Rustam's Blog

      Delete
  2. vinitaOctober 21, 2012 at 10:46 AM

    Hello Nino,
    I also believe that Delicious has been the discovery of the week. Now I realize that there are so many resources and applications on the internet that I am ignorant about. Larry Ferlazzo's article is going to be a great help for speaking resources. To teach vocabulary you can also try Wordle.

    Regards,
    Vinita

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    Replies
    1. NinoOctober 21, 2012 at 2:08 PM

      Hello Vinita,

      Thanks for reading my blog and suggesting ideas. I love Wordle in fact. It's easy to use and very effective for teaching vocabulary.
      I agree that the speaking resources were really impressive this week. Still, I was most attracted to the listening stuff.

      Best,
      Nino

      Delete
  3. UnknownOctober 21, 2012 at 7:49 PM

    Hello Nino,
    I am impressed by your write-up.You have said the things that we all have experienced in this week.Thanks to Courtney to introduce us to this hidden world of information and technology-based knowledge.The websites developed on second/foreign language teaching and the tools can help us a lot in the teaching process.The individualized monotonous and mechanical ways of an English teacher can be reshaped as an interactive web-based language activities for self-learning at ease and with confidence.
    Best wishes.
    Mahesh

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    Replies
    1. NinoOctober 26, 2012 at 6:38 AM

      Hi M.K.Dey

      Discovering the 'hidden world' is a real inspiration for me and I'm more than happy to share the experience with so many wonderful teachers from all around the world - the real visible world:)

      Best
      Nino

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  4. UnknownOctober 22, 2012 at 6:03 AM

    Hi Nino,

    I agree with you that the discovery of the week is delicious.
    Learning about CALL and using the website onestopenglish was indeed very useful. I wish I could also have written things in such a concise and crisp manner as you have been able to. Truly it is a gift to write in a short way. Verbosity is a bane. I will try to learn this quality from you.

    Keep up the good work :)

    Ashish Pande

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  5. NinoOctober 27, 2012 at 11:32 AM

    Hi Ashish,

    That's how I boil down each overwhelming week of web explorations. In fact, reflecting here feels like coming home from work to have a relaxing talk over a cup of tea, 'what was it like at work' style. I'm glad you like it:)

    Best,
    Nino

    ReplyDelete

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