Developing Listening and Speaking Skills with Technology

ByDe Vega, Fernando

Fraiese, LucíaKramer, JackieRossell, David

Técnicas Informáticas- 2014Teacher: Maria Laura García

The internet provides many examples of spoken language and opportunities for practicing L2

speaking and listening skills.

It allows us to choose updated material and, most importantly, material our students like.

Why use the Internet?

Evaluation Criteria

Accuracy and acceptanceAre references given? Is the spelling and grammar correct? Is the content dated or updated? Authority and coverageDoes the content have authority? Are the authors qualified to provide information

on this topic? Can the author be contacted?Where is the content published? What is the

domain name of the website? Is it published by a large organisation, or on a personal website?

Does the site provide information/advice/ideas/other choices?

Does the site contain any advertising? Does this influence the content?

Audience and relevanceWho is the intended audience for this content?Is the content easy to read and understand?Is the site specifically aimed at children? If so,

is the level and tone of the content appropriate?

Does the material provide everything that is needed?

Educational focusIs there an explicit educational focus to the

content?Will it support learners with different learning

styles? Ease of useIs the site well structured?Is it easy to find relevant information? What

facilities does the site provide to help locate information?

Does the site load quickly?Is the site attractive in design?

English Central

English Central breaks down videos everybody enjoys to maximize the

learning experience and focus on multiple

aspects of the language at the same time

http://www.englishcentral.com/

What is English Central?

● Database of hundreds of videos

● Each video is split in 4 tasks:o Listeningo Vocabularyo Writingo Speaking

● Scoring system● Repository for learnt

words● Track of learning

process

Positive AspectsThe site is very user-friendly and makes the experience of using the website enjoyable. A scoring system is included.

Positive AspectsThe videos included appeal different age groups. A multiplicity of topics are developed in the videos, ranging from documentaries to short stories and movie trailers. These are classified by skills, difficulty level and interests.

Positive AspectsFocus is made on different aspects of the language: phonology, morphology, meaning and use in context.

Negative AspectsAdditional equipment (microphone) is required

Negative Aspects

Subscription is required to access the content. Although Facebook can be easily used to log in, not everybody has Facebook or wants to use the account for this purpose.

The site may be set to Spanish, which impoverishes the whole website experience.

Negative Aspects

The site is mostly self paced, which is good if the teacher can closely monitor the students activity. Otherwise, students may not follow the instructions accordingly.

English Central in the Classroom

Competitions: getting the highest score/leadership board

Testing

English Central in the Lesson

1) Select a video (Take into account target group’s interests, level and the topic that is being discussed in the unit.

2) Play the video to the whole group and focus on certain language elements. Practice pronunciation via drilling exercises. Have students guess the meaning of certain words.

2) Have students explore the entire video and carry out the activities as a competition. Whoever gets the higher score wins.

Tune into English

This website contains many activities to

develop listening and speaking skills through the use of songs, lyrics, and radio programs.

http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/

Positive aspects

● There is plenty of material to work with● The content is easy to find● the content is easy to read and understand ● There is an explicit educational focus● It has a phonological approach

Negative aspects

● Distracting ads everywhere

● You need to sign up to access

the worksheets

● The design of the site is not

attractive and quite confusing,

really;

● There is too much information;

it can be rather daunting.

● Worksheets are not categorised

Karaoke Sample

● Long list of songs

● Updated regularly

● Easy to find and fast to load

● Correct grammar and spelling

● There a number of intrusive ads. http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/?p=390

Lesson Plan

- After doing the listening activity, T plays the Karaoke version of the song (big screen needed) for students to sing along.

http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/?p=4553

- T chooses a song and prepares a listening comprehension activity for Ss (fill in the blanks, order the stanzas, correct the mistakes, etc.)

- T plays an instrumental song and ask Ss to write a stanza for the melody in small groups.

Useful Links● Fergal Kavanagh’s roadshows:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1jtz39q9xo

● Tune Into English on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TuneIntoEnglish

● Opinion by Media and Learning (Brussels 2014): http://www.media-and-learning.eu/resource/tune-into-english

my.englishclub.com

my.englishclub.com is a social network that

spins off the website englishclub.com. In

many ways it works as Facebook and its main objective is fostering

interaction and communication in

English among online English learners.

Positive aspects

Content in this site can be updated by all members and therefore students may find varied topics. This also means content is constantly updated.

Students have access to videos, photos and blogs specialized in different areas or integrated skills.

what´s moreStudents can start their own discussion groups or join existing ones.

Students can chat with other English learnersand have real-time communication

Negative aspects

● You need to create a user account and build a profile. ● Content is too broad: too much information may be

daunting. ● The site is not aimed at a specific age audience and it may

therefore be inappropriate for young learners. ● Anyone can post things so content may include some

mistakes or be inappropriate.

● Although there are privacy settings, students may be contacted by strangers or unfriendly members.

Ideas to use my.englishclub.com in the classroom

● Students could create a class group where they can post videos related to the topics dealt in class. E.g.: If the unit is “animals” students can post videos on their favourite animals and comment on each other’s posts.

● The teacher could choose a topic (e.g. routines) and ask students to post humorous memes on that topic.

http://www.voxopop.com/

The website that takesInternet forums to the next level.Just record your voice andlet people listen to what you have to sayabout different issues.

Positive aspects

● Good Talkgroup settings

● Low digital literacy required

In addition, you can: ● make your profile more vivid by recording your voice

● Have access to many interesting talkgroups

Or you can evenShare the link of your talkgroupon different social networks!

Negative aspects

● Too much text and few visual support

● The home page is almost an invitation not to visit the site; too

basic

● Uploading your recording may sometimes take longer than

necessary

● Latest version of Java needed to operate

● No real-time communication

Voxopop in the classroom

1) Choose a topic your Ss may find interesting2) Create a Talkgroup on that topic3) Invite the class to make contributions as homework

want more?If you want to watch a tutorial on how to use Voxopop click here

For some ideas on how to apply Voxopop in your classes click here

Remember: The sky is the limit!

Let’s share our vision of the world!

have fun!