Wordle-- Making A Beautiful "Word Cloud" and Learn

What is WOODLE?

http://www.wordle.net/

Wordle is a tool “for generating ‘word cloud’ from text that you provide”. Once you choose a text or type in certain words, it makes them into a “word cloud”, and the size of each word is determined by its frequency in text. It is all free, and once you create your own wordle, you can save or share or publish in its gallery. In addition, it has several functions to determine the text (if functional words counts), and to change fonts and colors. Here is a tutorial video about Wordle.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Wordle is like a simple and interesting version of corpus display. It can be used in ELT teaching for reading, listening, writing class, and warm-up activities of lessons. Its simple and colorful interface may motivate students in vocabulary and grammar learning. Moreover, wordle can be greatly useful in writing class as aids of lecture or feedback.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. Teachers may arrange warm-up activity to introduce new vocabulary to students for reading and listening tasks.

2. In writing class, by typing in all students’ essay, the teacher could analyze regular mistake or frequent low-level words. For example, students may always use “very” as adverb of degree even in exams like IELTS, the teacher could show the size of “very” and give replace words to students, such as “extremely”, “extraordinary”. In this way, students could get clear idea of the issue and remember replace words.

3. Wordle can be pre-task of reading and listening activities, the teacher could ask students to guess the main idea of the text according to several larger notional words.

4. Wordle can be homework for students in groups to make after class for certain tasks.

Limitations

1. its simple and colorful interface may more suitable for younger students than adult learners.

2. It may mostly be the pre/after little task for students in reading or writing, however, it would be more practical in essay analysis in writing class.

3. Students may get bored after teacher uses it several times.

Alternative website WORDSIFT: http://www.wordsift.com

WolframAlpha-- Ask What I Do Not Know!

What is Wolfram Alpha?

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

Basically speaking, Wolfram Alpha is a revolutionary search engine. Unlike Google or other search engines just showing you the web pages including your input, Wolfram Alpha insert a brand-new idea of giving “dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods”. Once you enter what you want to know, Wolfram Alpha will analyze the data and show you the direct result of the question, and many aspects may related to your question with statistics, tables, graphs, and so on. It omits the process of collecting information from every websites by ourselves, and very easy to use. As is said on the website, the goal of Wolfram Alpha is “to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone.” The following video is a tutorial instruction of the website by Wolfram.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

As a powerful and practical search engine, Wolfram Alpha can be very useful in Language classroom, such as task-based language teaching, group work, communicative classroom, and so on. Integrated skills can be arranged to the tasks based on this website. So far, Wolfram Alpha is only accessible in English, therefore, students need to type and find answers in English. The website can be used in ELT both for teachers and for students as well.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. In classroom, teachers can use task-based methodology. For example, the teacher could make a list of different questions, and asks students to find answers individually or in groups. Questions should adapt students’ interests and motivation, and also the topic of lesson. It can be the little task of warm-up activity or before/after-reading/listening activity.

2. Teachers could give a list of questions to students as homework, and ask them to use Wolfram Alpha to learn the answers. Make sure that the teacher checks every answer previously. Next class, the teacher could ask students to answer.

3. After once or twice, when students fancy the new search engine, the teacher could ask them to think of questions that they think Wolfram Alpha would not know. This can arouse another round of interests and motivation of students. Let them try, and speak out the question. However, the aim of the activity is also practice English, so students should also be required to read the answers carefully and give reasons why this is not the correct answer or what other information it gives.

4. Use Wolfram Alpha to learn vocabulary. When typing in a word, it has interesting data for all aspects related to it, such as explanations, history of the word, possible answers related to its meaning, etc. Teachers could ask students to learn vocabulary in this way. Maybe it takes more time, but I believe students can learn more and get more fun through it.

Limitations

1. In my opinion, the biggest disadvantage of this website is not very perfect to integrate information. It has great ideas and goals, but so far, many questions cannot get correct logical answers from it. Unfortunately, many people have no patience to paraphrase the question several times and it cannot even give a web page like Google. This may also greatly demotivate learners in using it.

2. It contains much information from all subjects, so that it may more suitable for science subjects or task-based language teaching, rather than simply language teaching and learning.

Anyway, it is a great unconventional and revolutionary search engine, which may bring the whole searching industry to a new era!

Learning Chocolate-- A Wonderful Vocabulary Learning Platform

What is Learning Chocolate? 

http://www.learningchocolate.com/

Learning Chocolate is a wonderful vocabulary learning platform, by connecting nouns of objects with cartoon pictures. In this way, the website not only makes words much easier to remember with concrete pictures, but also stimulate learners interests to memorize by funny and vivid cartoon. One can also know pronunciation of each word. Furthermore, several interesting related games are designed to each group of words, which enhance learners memory of words efficiently. It also has Chinese, Japanese and Spainish versions.
For instance, when you enter in the homepage of Learning Chocolate website, you can choose a group of words within the same topic from about 180 categories. Each word corresponds with a certain picture and sound button. After you remember all the words, you can choose little word games to evaluate achievement.

Relevance to Language Learning

Learning Chocolate can be used to enhance English learners' vocabulary, especially  those of objects close to daily life. Words associated with colorful cartoons and sound, which are totally different from boring word lists of textbooks, can stimulate students' motivation. Moreover, it corrects learners' listening and speaking of those single words with slow and standard pronunciation. It also practices learner autonomy in the process of vocabulary learning.

According to the colorful pictures and vocabulary level, it is better for young English learners (especially L1 learners) to use.

Possible Usages in Class/ outside Class

1. In Chinese schools, there are usually not enough computers accessible to each English learner. I would like to suggest to use this website as homework for students to memorize new vocabulary after class. However, teachers should show the features and guide students to be familiar with this website before they can do it themselves and give certain topic of word groups each time.Teachers can make a little test next class to evaluate if students have done their homework seriously and sufficiently.

2. If teachers want to arrange activities by this website in class, I suggest teacher chooses a topic in advance and shows each word in order. After students know the meaning and usage of every word, the teacher can  let students form several learning groups either to play the following games together and help each other to answer questions, or make a competition for winner filling in/ matching all the words correctly within the least time.

Limitations

1. The pictures are mostly simple colorful cartoon, it is better for young learners to use than adults. And the word level are mostly for beginners rather than advanced or intermediate students.

2. According to the vocabulary chosen, they are all words for objects of almost every category in daily life. It is better for L1 learners rather than L2 learners, because if L2 learners don't need to live in English speaking countries, they probably don't need to know the name of every objects, although there is never too much for learners.

3. The colors and games can stimulate students motivation to learn vocabulary in a different way, however, they may get bored for just looking the pictures and listening to the robotic voice. I suggest that some videos introducing the topic or moving cartoon or stories made up of words from certain topic may arouse more interest from students and help them to memorize as well.

4. The word groups are only categorized as topics, expect the first group "basic". I think it would be better to categorize topics or words with difficulty levels. In this way, it can help those learners who want challenge more sophisticated tasks.