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.

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

Jing-- A Briliant Tool to Capture Images and Videos From Your Computer Desktop!

What is JING?

Jing is a brilliant software that instantly captures images and videos of computer screen. With Jing, you can create a video of every move on your screen and sound as well up to 5 minutes (free version). The URL of video and image can be sent through email.

The download address: http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/

There is also a video that teaches how to use Jing in details.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Jing is a wonderful screen capture software, especially for video making. Thus, it makes various possibilities in ELT area. Jing can be designed into task-based language classroom, or the instruction part of the classroom activities. Students can be motivated a lot by using it in tasks in groups, and in communicative classroom as well. Worth to mention that, Jing can have great revolutionary performance in feedback area, especially for distance essay correction, both teacher-to-student and Ss-to-Ss themselves. Jing can integrate all skills in language learning, as far as you are creative enough.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

As Jing can capture everything you want to show on your screen, it could be very useful in every area in English teaching in/outside classroom. I only give few examples.

1. Teachers could use Jing to make a coherent and moving instruction of every stage of tasks or activities, especially those may cause confusion.

2. In terms of teaching speaking or writing, the teacher could capture a period of movie or video online, and ask students to make dub or subtitle for it, or to make a story according to series of sights. Similiarly with pictures, the teacher would give first paragraph and students follows.

3. Little games can be made to remember vocabulary or grammar points. For example, the teacher could make video showing the new words and change in every 10 (or more) seconds. Then, ask students to answer how many they could remember.

4. As Jing is sendable, teachers could use it to make a list of vocabulary, grammar points, or lesson points and send it to students as preview or review of the lesson.

5. As to feedback aspect, distance essay correction can be made into video with the whole process of correction, both images and sound. Teacher could explain more with feelings by adding voice, and moving process makes feedback more clear and stimulant. Peer feedback about essays and tasks can also be designed in this way.

Limitations

1. Videos made by Jing could only be 5 minutes maximum for free. However, teachers could buy the full version if frequently use is needed.

2. It seems that Jing’s video cannot be uploaded into Youtube website.

Bubblr-- Making Yourself Footmarks With Picures!

What is Bubblr?

http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/

Bubblr is a free website, which users can search and “Create comic strips using Flickr images.” Very easy to use! When you enter in the homepage, you can search flickr pictures either by tags or photographers. Then you can make a strip yourself by click on the result. You may also add bubbles and texts to the strip. It is also publishable and could be sent via emails.

Relevance to Language Teaching and Learning

Bubblr is a simple picture website, but has great use in ELT. It can be used in speaking and writing class with task-based language teaching, and communicative classroom, etc. Moreover, its interesting content can motivate both students and teachers in a very creative way.

Possible Usages in/outside Class

1. Teachers could make a strip previously before the class, and ask students to make a story and extend the story in English one by one according to the picture order. Students may come up with many unexpected and creative stories, which make the whole class more interesting and in turn motivate students. If students cannot tell stories at first, the teacher should use more interesting and easy pictures, or give some hints to students or encourage them.

2. The teacher can ask students to make a strip by themselves after class and make a little presentation of the strip next class. Or students can send their strips to the teacher, associated with the software JING as a video.

3. A strip made by the teacher can also be used in many other ways. For example ask students to compare pictures to find similarities and differences, or ask students to make a whole story individually and write it down, or to add a bubble and comment words of each picture of the strip, and so on. In a word, make full use of online pictures into language learning!

Limitations

1. I cannot find where the pictures come from, and it seems that users cannot upload their own pictures to the Bubblr. Pictures from internet maybe more creative for story-making, but people may be more likely to hear those related to real life experiences. It would be more difficult without own pictures.

2. The amount and accuracy of pictures are limited. Sometimes, we cannot get pictures we want even with same tag. For example, I wanted to find some pictures of “warwick university”, as a result, it came up tens of pictures about ice hockey. The number can be seen at the same time is not enough.

3. We can add bubbles, but it seems that we cannot change the size of bubble and texts.

4. To practice speaking in this way seems more suitable for children and young learners, but not very attractive for adult learners. 

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.

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!

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.