MailVU-- You Can Have My Greetings Also With My Smile!

What is MailVU?

http://www.mailvu.com/

MailVU is an easy and efficient website to send email to each other with videos from recording or URL address. It is free to record up to 10 minutes and send it to several receivers. In addition, it is available both computers and smart phones. Here are a video introducing how to use it.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Originally, emails can be a tool to practice English writing; however, with this website, students are motivated to practice speaking in the process of emailing each other. Also, it can be a great tool for learner autonomy and distance learning.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. Teachers introduce MailVU in class, and show the functions of it. The tool can make email a very easy thing and save a lot of time. Try to make it popular among students as email method and make them practice speaking and listening during this process.

2. The teacher can leave homework of certain topics and ask students to send MailVU email to talk about it. Teachers also give feedback through this mail.

3. Students can practice for speaking test, such as IELTS exam. They can pretend it as real situation, record their performance and play it, modify, and record it again. They can send the MailVU email to teachers to give feedback according to the specific requirement of the exam.

4. Teachers can also use this method to give feedback of other homework. It is usually persuasive and sweet to see the face when talking. Teachers may also use it to give feedback to students’ parents regularly.

5. Before certain festivals, such as Mother’s Day, the teacher can arrange students together to think about ideas to make video. Then, they can send a celebration message to their parents.

Limitations

1. It is a very useful tool, but without certain task, teacher may be not sure if students would use it after class, or use L2 (English). And students may feel not interesting when it relates to homework.

2. Easy for adult learners or teenage learners to use. Young learners should use under parents guidance.

3. It can be engaged only related to speaking and listening tasks, few opportunities of integrated skills.

WebQuest-- A Treasure Map For Learners

What is Webquest?

http://webquest.org/

http://questgarden.com 

Webquest is “an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web”. Simply speaking, teachers can make a Webquest according to certain task, and students find their own results by searching on it. Here are a series video about what is Webquest and how to use it step by step.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

It can be used in tesk-based teaching. According to the task content, it can cover all speaking, listening, reading and writing in English, and integrated four skills. If students are required to use it in class, it also can be built as communicative classroom. usually group work are encouraged in doing Webquest work.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. The teacher makes a webquest with certain task, ask students to form into groups and work on it and find the result.

2. The teacher makes a webquest to be an assistant tool of the lesson topic, and ask students to finish it after class.

3. The teacher introduces how to create a webquest, ask students to form into groups and make a webquest in turn weekly, as a replacement of presentation. Then, other students finish the task in/out of class. However, this requires students to have a high ability of language and computer knowledge. It may not suitable for students of young age.

Limitations

1. It is a complicated process to make a full webquest. It may take teacher’s too much time on it, and require teachers with high capability on computer knowledge.

2. Once the webquest is done, it usually contains too much information to help students finish the task. It may distract students in doing it, and demotivate them.

3. It is also difficult for teachers to fulfill students need and interests in designing the Webquest, including content, pictures and colors, information amount.

Breaking News English--Massive Reading and Listening Materials Even with Exercise!

What is Breaking News English?

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Breaking News English is an excellent website founded by Sean Banville, which provides massive English news lessons. Lessons are based on stories of latest world news, and updated every three days. Each lesson has a reading material with downloadable MP3 and PDF files, which follows series of before/while/after reading/listening activities (e.g. filling in gaps/synonym match) and 8 online quizzes. Furthermore, those lessons have covered whole activities of the class, including warm-up and homework related to the reading/listening materials. However, teachers may choose several activities from the whole lesson plan that Banville provides, for it may take hours to finish all activities. And, the most exciting part is that: they are all FREE!  Here are some examples from the website.

I would strongly recommend Sentence Jamble and No letters from 8 online quizzies.

Sentence Jamble is a game that user can choose the part of the sentence originally appears in the reading/listening texts. It not only needs learners to have a brief understanding of the whole story, but also sometimes details inside it. The knowledge of English grammar may help as well if content cannot be remembered.

No letter game places all the words into stars. Once the user guesses the right word, stars will be replaced by the word. It is a very interesting game for learners to remember details and even the whole text. Usually function words, such as “a”, “the”, “in” would be guessed at first and then comes detailed notional words.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Breaking News English is an extremely practical websites for ELT in the aspects of reading, listening, integrated skills, ICT, and communicative classroom, etc. Teachers would only pick activities in the ready-made lesson plans. Those activities cover all four aspects of English skills, reading, listening, speaking (opinion of articles), writing (short essay writing task). What’s more, the lesson can be both traditional paper work associated with communicative classroom and ICT classroom with interesting online activities. It is really a masterpiece for ELT teachers and generously made all resources free by the founder.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. All materials can be chosen by teachers to engage mainly reading and listening, ICT, and communicative classroom. Both traditional paper-work classroom and ICT classroom are suitable.

2. For ICT classroom, the teacher can ask students to read/listen to the material at first. Then, students can be divided into groups to finish the online quizzes. Group work can make it quicker and easier. Activities of No Letter and Sentence Jamble can be made of very interesting little competition game for all the groups to fill in correctly in time. However, teachers should be careful about the distractions may be occurred within the groups. It is better that the teacher walk around each group to check their work.

3. Online quizzes can also be homework for students after the teacher gives regular handout activities in class. In addition, teachers can give homework of certain article to students and ask them to do several specific activities themselves and check the achievements next class.

Limitations

1. Articles and follow-up activities from current news are more suitable for intermediate and advanced students to improve English learning. Young learner and beginners may lose interest according to the difficulty level and website design. Alternative choice can be the website of http://www.listenaminute.com, which provides easier acticles.

2. The purpose of the website is more for ELT teachers, so that students may always follow the guidance of teachers except those who have excellent learner autonomy. Students may not interested when use it to practice English themselves.

3. In my context, I think, teachers may not be willing to or less of capability to give so many papers of handout to every student. Teachers may more likely to stick to existing textbooks, and use these materials occasionally. 

Lyrics Training Website-- Learn English in Music!

What is Lyricstraining?

http://www.lyricstraining.com/

Some language teachers believe that students can improve foreign language greatly from listening to foreign language songs. Lyricstraining is a wonderful and easy website for English learners to learn from popular English songs. Just fill in the gaps in the lyrics of each song when you are listening to it! There are other language versions as well, such as German, Spanish, etc.

When you enter in the homepage, you may notice that there are search button on the top, random chosen song in big screen, and sign in request on the right. Signing in can record your score at the end of each practice and give permission to leave messages under the song.

Choose or search a song you like, and be aware of the difficulty level. Each song also has 3 levels to users. When songs begin, you can see dots, which you need to fill in. If you can’t type in time, the song would stop and wait until you get it right. There are also useful tips for all functions, such as reply line, skip word, etc. Finally, you would get a score according to the numbers of words you correct and time length. Top scores of this song shows in the right.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Lyricstraining is a very practical website to improve language learners’ listening in foreign songs. It can improve learner autonomy as well, for the website is usually operated by learners themselves. By popular music and videos, students are greatly motivated. Most of the time, English songs can only be extensive listening materials, except memorizing the whole lyrics; however, filling in gaps makes lyrics the intensive listening. Moreover, it increases learners’ vocabulary (especially oral English, abbreviation, and slang) and spelling correction.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. According to its form, I think, it would be better for teachers to give homework to students, and ask them to finish certain songs related to the content of lesson themselves. Alternatively, teachers can demonstrate the function of this website and practice learner autonomy of students.

2. If in class, I think a possible way is that, the teacher gives the topic of popular songs (or similar topics) for a speaking task. After the discussion, the teacher can guide students deliberately to select some famous songs or singers that almost everyone knows. Open the website, and ask volunteered students to fill in gaps. It would motivate students more if they are formed into groups to answer and compare to other groups. In this way, they may also love listening to English songs and Lyricstraining website.

3. The teacher may also ask students to sing the songs they have learnt at home and perform it as warm-up activity of class.

Limitations

1. The website can only improve listening, vocabulary and a little speaking skills. Teachers need more aids to add integrated skill elements into class. Music is always an enthusiastic speaking topic for students.

2. According to its content, it is more suitable to teenage learners or young adult learners in my context. Children and middle-aged adult learner may be not interested in lyrics of popular songs. To attract young learners like children, more children’s songs from cartoon series, and so on can be added in the website. Parents can help to type and children would only shout out, spell and learn the song.

3. Although it has different levels for various users, I still think beginners to learn English as foreign language may find it is difficult for them to listen clearly when English appears in songs even the easiest level.

Overall, it is really an excellent website for English learners, especially those who love popular music as well!