Following the steps
of the final project, on week 4 I had to find an issue in my class that could
be solved with technology. I have already implemented some tech upgrading on my
class by being in transit into blended learning which has been fantastic.
However, new solutions bring new problems as well. Among the many old issues
that still need to be focused on is the lack of opportunity to exercise student´s
oral production (speaking) skills. There has always been very little chance to
practice it in class since most of my previous classes were absorbed by “silent
reading” and even if they tried reading aloud they would read the material as “Spanglish”
not having a clue of the right pronunciation of words in English.
Unfortunately, I could not help much on that regard. It would be time consuming
to diagnose and make corrections on each one.
Fortunately,
however, I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel. Technology is
offering new opportunities for teachers to tackle this type of problem. There
are a couple of web tools out there that could help motivation and improvement of
speaking skills. Therefore, this will be the issue I will work on:
- · How to improve speaking skills using a web 2.0 tool.
I also would love to
work on tutorial videos for my online classes but I would rather concentrate on
ONE issue at a time. Let´s see.
Hello Julio,
ReplyDeleteGood Noon from India.
The concern which you have raised are similar in most parts, especially in our country where there is very little scope in routine life to use english language.
But the efforts put in by you are really praiseworthy and I have decided to try this attitude from here on.
Basically I am also struggling with the same problem and I have been using some audio clips and radio to make them listen to authentic texts as we have serious power-cut problem.
But I hope that sincere efforts do prove beneficial.
Wishing good luck to you!
Shirish More
Hello Julio,
ReplyDeleteYou are right when you say that technology is a wonderful tool to tackle the problems we couldn't solve in our classes because of lack of time or resources. I especially find the programs to practice pronunciation and speaking very useful for extra practice at home. The sites which include reading and listening are also fantastic. I have recommended some of these sites to my students, they have tried and have got good results. I'm very happy to be able to share such great resources with them, to make the English learning process more productive and pleasant.
Mónica
Hi Julio!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your question with us. I guess there is so much land to explore when it comes to technology and language learning. Speaking was a neglected language skill. As an online English tutor, I have used Skype to help my students improve their pronunciation and fluency by means of a group videocall with me or a native speaker. I usually type the chunks and language they can use to improve their language in use. It is hard work but it is worth it.
Hi Julio,
ReplyDeleteYes, Julio, this week gave us light to focus deeply on our projects. now we have a lot of options and different application which can be used on various context.
I wish you goodluck
samira
Hello Julio,
ReplyDeleteI am sure everybody has the same problem about pronuntation skills, I agree with Roxana, Skype is a great tool to have conference call with any purpose...
And google translator is very useful too!!! because it contains an icon to listen the pronuntation of any word!! so the students can try with this in independent way.
Best Regards,
Diana
Hi Julio,
ReplyDeleteNice blog too! As the week is coming to its end I find myself more informed as to new websites and contents and as you said, now it depends on every one of us to make use of these new tools. I have tried to just work on one skill at a time too, but it gets complicated when so many activities come up to be used in the classroom. I will say that right now I am interested in practicing pronunciation which I found a little dificult to find when it comes to activities and free downloads.
Maybe you can help me out with some information.
Greetings!
Chiara.
Dear Shirsh, Monica, Roxana, Samira, Dianalira and Chiara,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for dopping by and leave a nice comment. This is indeed a good way to learn from each other and share our thoughts. I wish you all the best luck in completing this course.
Hello Julio,
ReplyDeleteI am always happy to follow your blog as well as the tasks you've done on the nicenet. Your comments always gave me an inspiration on the issues that Janie brought up. You are always setting the trend of how we go for the jobs given. Actually, I have the same agenda with you. How can I improve EFL students' speaking skills throught web-based education? I'm thinking that reading articles on a topic,watching video clips on the same topic, summarizing in writing and then making a presentation on a topic will be good in terms of process. Then how can I put the results of students' verbal outcomes in the web? Making video clips using PPT like lecture of Professors that's what I could think of now. If anybody else who have a brilliant idea, please share with us!! I can't wait to catch up your story.
Wow. Michelle, blush over here. Thanks. I have also learned a whole bunch from all of you.
ReplyDelete