Well done to everyone who completed our CELTA course.
My lovely flowers and card are adorning my Easter table and chocolate delights are for later!
Thank you for being such a great group.
It was a delicious meal last night and I really enjoyed everyone's company.
Keep in touch and Good Luck with all your adventures in the world of TEFL (near or far)!
I look forward to reading YOUR blogs, put links on here.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Be clear about your purpose!
Discuss this question with your partner. Consider presentation, methodology, task variety, motivation and specific ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools.
Here is a suggested list of good reasons to use ICT with your learners:
1. Teachers can produce more attractive e-teaching materials.
2. It uses media which learners use in their daily life.
3. As an international language, English is increasingly being used in computer-mediated contexts and using ICT with learners in class gives them practice for real-life ICT contexts.
4. Access to up-to-date materials via the internet.
5. A change from using paper and pen, books and the board.
6. Adds variety to a lesson.
7. Keeps the teacher learning new skills.
8. May teach the learners new skills.
9. New ICT skills learnt in the classroom (eg internet search skills) can be transferred to real life.
10. Makes the teacher look more professional.
11. Makes the school look more professional and up-to-date.
12. Learners can access authentic websites, as well as websites for EFL/ESL learners.
13. Some ICT tools (eg blogs, chat, email) can enable learners to make contact with learners in other countries.
14. Some ICT tools (eg online reference tools, CD-ROMs) can encourage learners to work alone and can provide personalised feedback and assessment.
15. ICT tools can be used both in and outside the classroom.
16. The internet can give teachers access to online teacher development groups and online training courses.
17. Using a range of ICT tools can give learners exposure to and practice in all of the four main language skills- speaking, listening, writing and reading.”
From “how to…teach English with technology” by Gavin Dudeney and Nicky Hockly Pearson Longman.
Here is a suggested list of good reasons to use ICT with your learners:
1. Teachers can produce more attractive e-teaching materials.
2. It uses media which learners use in their daily life.
3. As an international language, English is increasingly being used in computer-mediated contexts and using ICT with learners in class gives them practice for real-life ICT contexts.
4. Access to up-to-date materials via the internet.
5. A change from using paper and pen, books and the board.
6. Adds variety to a lesson.
7. Keeps the teacher learning new skills.
8. May teach the learners new skills.
9. New ICT skills learnt in the classroom (eg internet search skills) can be transferred to real life.
10. Makes the teacher look more professional.
11. Makes the school look more professional and up-to-date.
12. Learners can access authentic websites, as well as websites for EFL/ESL learners.
13. Some ICT tools (eg blogs, chat, email) can enable learners to make contact with learners in other countries.
14. Some ICT tools (eg online reference tools, CD-ROMs) can encourage learners to work alone and can provide personalised feedback and assessment.
15. ICT tools can be used both in and outside the classroom.
16. The internet can give teachers access to online teacher development groups and online training courses.
17. Using a range of ICT tools can give learners exposure to and practice in all of the four main language skills- speaking, listening, writing and reading.”
From “how to…teach English with technology” by Gavin Dudeney and Nicky Hockly Pearson Longman.
One of my favourite videos
If you have doubts about your computer skills, this clip should make you feel better.
Afew more to finish off!
Here’s the Bell School website
http://www.bell-centres.com/englishonline/online.asp
It’s worth registering, but you can use the username and password ‘teachers’ to try it out now. Could you use any of the exercises? Try Language Exerciser, textbuilder. Can you describe what you have to do?
Here is the address of Jo’s website with great links (and other things too, so explore!)
http://www.elgweb.net/t_links.html
Can you find a suitable site to help with topics to stimulate discussions? And check out the site on statistics, that could also stimulate discussion, don’t you think?
My favourite site to recommend to higher level students for extensive practice outside the classroom probably. http://www.ted.com/talks
I watch it a lot as well.
And remember, there’s lots of humour too.
http://www.slinkycity.com/the-spelling-checker.html
But always remember your purpose!! Good luck with all these exciting things to investigate!
http://www.bell-centres.com/englishonline/online.asp
It’s worth registering, but you can use the username and password ‘teachers’ to try it out now. Could you use any of the exercises? Try Language Exerciser, textbuilder. Can you describe what you have to do?
Here is the address of Jo’s website with great links (and other things too, so explore!)
http://www.elgweb.net/t_links.html
Can you find a suitable site to help with topics to stimulate discussions? And check out the site on statistics, that could also stimulate discussion, don’t you think?
My favourite site to recommend to higher level students for extensive practice outside the classroom probably. http://www.ted.com/talks
I watch it a lot as well.
And remember, there’s lots of humour too.
http://www.slinkycity.com/the-spelling-checker.html
But always remember your purpose!! Good luck with all these exciting things to investigate!
International Phonetic Association!
The IPA conference is set to meet in Hong Kong in 2011. In order to join, you can pay for a Life membership at 900E.
Of particular interest to TEFL teachers is the IPA handbook:
Running to over 200 pages, the IPA handbook provides the basics of phonetic analysis and the principles underlying the Alphabet. Examples are given of the use of each of the phonetic symbols.
The application of the Alphabet is extensively demonstrated by the inclusion of 29 'Illustrations' - concise analyses of the sound systems of languages, accompanied by a phonetic transcription of a passage of speech. These Illustrations cover languages from all over the world.
In addition, audio files to accompany the language Illustrations may be downloaded from the Editor's web site at the University of Victoria, Canada.
The Handbook is an essential reference work for all those involved in the analysis of speech.
I look forward to seeing you all at the IPA conference in 2011!
Of particular interest to TEFL teachers is the IPA handbook:
Running to over 200 pages, the IPA handbook provides the basics of phonetic analysis and the principles underlying the Alphabet. Examples are given of the use of each of the phonetic symbols.
The application of the Alphabet is extensively demonstrated by the inclusion of 29 'Illustrations' - concise analyses of the sound systems of languages, accompanied by a phonetic transcription of a passage of speech. These Illustrations cover languages from all over the world.
In addition, audio files to accompany the language Illustrations may be downloaded from the Editor's web site at the University of Victoria, Canada.
The Handbook is an essential reference work for all those involved in the analysis of speech.
I look forward to seeing you all at the IPA conference in 2011!
Quirkies!
Rod & Simon wrote:
Read this site for some really fun news items that could be used in a lesson to focus on specific language skills.
http://www.ananova.com/news/lp.html?keywords=Quirkies&menu=news.quirkies
This story interested us . . .
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3271000.html?menu=news.quirkies
Poor lady! How far would she have got before her batteries ran down?
We think this text could be used with Upper Intermediates concentrating on reading and vocabulary with a focus on idioms and phrasal verbs i.e. full-tilt, disappeared off the radar, held on for dear life, shot off etc.
The news stories featured change regularly and the site is well worth a look.
Read this site for some really fun news items that could be used in a lesson to focus on specific language skills.
http://www.ananova.com/news/lp.html?keywords=Quirkies&menu=news.quirkies
This story interested us . . .
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3271000.html?menu=news.quirkies
Poor lady! How far would she have got before her batteries ran down?
We think this text could be used with Upper Intermediates concentrating on reading and vocabulary with a focus on idioms and phrasal verbs i.e. full-tilt, disappeared off the radar, held on for dear life, shot off etc.
The news stories featured change regularly and the site is well worth a look.
voxopop example
Here is an example of what voxopop is used for: http://www.voxopop.com/topic/39968a0c-2c3a-4aa7-bf47-d42ad80b6ea7
You set a question and then the students all answer.
You set a question and then the students all answer.
IATEFL Online Team
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/
This site allows you to keep up-to-date with tefl conventions around the country, publications and gives you the opportunity to network with other teachers.
This site allows you to keep up-to-date with tefl conventions around the country, publications and gives you the opportunity to network with other teachers.
Rod & Simon
This is an amazing site! Choose from a variety of word search puzzles such as criss cross and type in your answers plus your clues and within a few seconds, the site will generate a word puzzle tailor-made to your needs.
Click on this link
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
This is an amazing site! Choose from a variety of word search puzzles such as criss cross and type in your answers plus your clues and within a few seconds, the site will generate a word puzzle tailor-made to your needs.
Click on this link
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
ELT blogs...
Blogs are a pretty good way of sharing resources and interesting stuff of relevance.
Here's a decent blog from an ESOL teacher.
http://www.esolblog.com/
Scroll down for the Youtube video of an actress demonstrating 21 English accents.
Here's a decent blog from an ESOL teacher.
http://www.esolblog.com/
Scroll down for the Youtube video of an actress demonstrating 21 English accents.
"enchanted learning" geography website
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography
This is a website that has a collection of maps on it. The layout isnt very good, and the maps of individual countries are really bad. It doesnt show where the countries are in relation to anywhere, and doesnt show cities or landmarks.
To get certain maps - the good ones, you have to be a member and give the website all your money.
Use it at your peril!
There is also pictures of animals if you wish to see them.
This is a website that has a collection of maps on it. The layout isnt very good, and the maps of individual countries are really bad. It doesnt show where the countries are in relation to anywhere, and doesnt show cities or landmarks.
To get certain maps - the good ones, you have to be a member and give the website all your money.
Use it at your peril!
There is also pictures of animals if you wish to see them.
Voxopop
This website is very good. It's an interactive discussion board where you can listen to other people's opinions and record your own. The site focuses on language learning for foreigners - mainly for English but there are also other languages.
We even found language lessons online where a topic was introduced and the students logged on to give their own answers.
As teachers, we could use this for lesson ideas or to talk to other teachers.
www.voxopop.com
We even found language lessons online where a topic was introduced and the students logged on to give their own answers.
As teachers, we could use this for lesson ideas or to talk to other teachers.
www.voxopop.com
phoenemic hangman
http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/
Go here to check out phoenetic hangman. A fun way to start a lesson.
Go here to check out phoenetic hangman. A fun way to start a lesson.
Concordancer
1b.
A concordancer allows the search of a database of language (corpus) for the study of linguistics.
Concordancers vary in capability, but usually provide statistics for frequency of words and phrases. The results provide you with phrases or sentences that contain the word or phrase centred and highlighted.
Googlefight is one which is simple to use, although it searches the whole internet for uses, as opposed to a specific sample of language. This may provide inaccurate results as the uses on the internet are not always correct.
So... the concordancer is only as good as the database that it is searching!
A concordancer allows the search of a database of language (corpus) for the study of linguistics.
Concordancers vary in capability, but usually provide statistics for frequency of words and phrases. The results provide you with phrases or sentences that contain the word or phrase centred and highlighted.
Googlefight is one which is simple to use, although it searches the whole internet for uses, as opposed to a specific sample of language. This may provide inaccurate results as the uses on the internet are not always correct.
So... the concordancer is only as good as the database that it is searching!
Visual for preposition, 'next'
Hello everyone. Check out this freaky pic for 'next'. It uses the context of a queue.
Marcia and Varun's report
use of video clips in the classroom:
http:\\www.teflclips.com is very helpful in explaining how to use various media, music and art in the classroom; also how to use and approach news and current affairs in the classroom, how we approach the subject of the media and how we can organise class film-making projects. It also includes a bank of useful clips which could be used to supplement various lessons.
Utilising other teachers' blogs such as http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/ can provide us with many examples of teaching methods. We thought the pronunciation activity would be particularly useful
Publishers are another good source of information. Macmillan in particular is a very good site with dictation activities with Teacher's Notes and a good online dictionary. http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/home.htm
Every two months there is a new dictation exercise. A good one is
http:\\www.teflclips.com is very helpful in explaining how to use various media, music and art in the classroom; also how to use and approach news and current affairs in the classroom, how we approach the subject of the media and how we can organise class film-making projects. It also includes a bank of useful clips which could be used to supplement various lessons.
Utilising other teachers' blogs such as http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/ can provide us with many examples of teaching methods. We thought the pronunciation activity would be particularly useful
Publishers are another good source of information. Macmillan in particular is a very good site with dictation activities with Teacher's Notes and a good online dictionary. http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/home.htm
Every two months there is a new dictation exercise. A good one is
BBC news for English learners
1a.
The BBC news website for English learners is a fantastic resource!
It provides current affairs in a format and in language that is specifically geared to English learners. It is preferable to the printed form for a number of reasons, most obviously are the advantages that the internet offers to all users.
But this site provides more than giving instant convenient access to a variety of news stories from all over the world. This site gives specific guidance to English learners in relation to the stories on the page.
From pronunciation tips to funky phrasals there is a wide range of activities which are easily accessed from the links in the sidebar.
The reports themselves are written in simple, clear English that intermediate level students could understand. They are also available in audio format. Key-words in the reports are also available in audio to aid pronunciation.
A search in the archives will yield a large bank of teacher's notes and the reports that they relate to, and there is an easily accessed section packed with teacher's resources such as worksheets, lesson plans and videos.
The BBC news website for English learners is a fantastic resource!
It provides current affairs in a format and in language that is specifically geared to English learners. It is preferable to the printed form for a number of reasons, most obviously are the advantages that the internet offers to all users.
But this site provides more than giving instant convenient access to a variety of news stories from all over the world. This site gives specific guidance to English learners in relation to the stories on the page.
From pronunciation tips to funky phrasals there is a wide range of activities which are easily accessed from the links in the sidebar.
The reports themselves are written in simple, clear English that intermediate level students could understand. They are also available in audio format. Key-words in the reports are also available in audio to aid pronunciation.
A search in the archives will yield a large bank of teacher's notes and the reports that they relate to, and there is an easily accessed section packed with teacher's resources such as worksheets, lesson plans and videos.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Tasks for input session
Please work with your partner and complete your three tasks. If you have received an invitation to this blog and replied to it, then you will be able to post a short report with your results to this blog. Otherwise, we'll do an oral report. Good luck.
Steve
1A Situation: Your students are interested in the news, but they find the newspapers too difficult to read. There's just too much vocabulary that they don't know.
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/index.shtml
Question: What are the advantages of students doing this online rather than printing it off for them to do in class? And why is it better than an ordinary newspaper? (And are there any Teachers' notes? HINT: look in the archives)
1B Situation: Your students ask you which is right: a)"different to", b)"different than", or c)"different from". You are about to give an answer, when you suddenly start to doubt yourself. You decide to check what most people say.
Link: http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/
Question: How many instances can you find of these three phrases? To do this, enter 'different' into the web concordancer and then press 'Go'. (You could also try http://www.googlefight.com/ for a more visual comparison).
1C Situation To develop as a teacher, this blog, which originally started from the Celta course technology sessions at IH in Barcelona, should prove useful.
Link: http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/
Question: Can you find one post you can recommend for us?
Kyle and Addya
2A Situation: You want students to talk about their countries in a multicultural class. If each had an outline of their country, they could use it to illustrate their talk.
Link: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/
Question: Can you find an outline map of your student’s country?
2B Situation: Your students really want to practice listening and speaking and communicating with other people.
Link: http://www.voxopop.com/
Question: Can you explain to them how this site could help?
You may like to look at this discussion
2C Situation You may want to attend conferences to develop as a teacher. One has just finished in Cardiff but you can look at many sessions online. It’s worth registering and you may want to find out about IATEFL and join later. IATEFL stands for the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language and it exists to link, develop and support English Language Teaching professionals throughout the world.
Link: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/
Question: Can you find something to recommend?
Rod and Simon
3A Situation: You're looking for some short but interesting reading texts to use off-line with your learners.
Link: http://www.ananova.com/news/lp.html?keywords=Quirkies&menu=news.quirkies
Question: Can you find an amusing story (under Quirkies) that you think would interest them? What language focus do you think could arise from this text?
3B Situation: You want to revise vocabulary in a fun way. Perhaps by making a word search puzzle. Even better, the students could make puzzles for each other later.
Link: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
Question: Can you make a Criss-Cross puzzle with names of six different vegetables.
3C Situation: To help your development as a teacher, the British council have a wonderful teachers’ site
Link: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
Question: In addition, there are lots of activities for your classes. Click on Try, Can you find an activity you could possibly use with our TP students?
In addition, The British Council have a wonderful resource for learners too.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish.htm
Philip and Martin
4A Situation: Visual aids are invaluable for eliciting and clarifying vocabulary. You are teaching prepositions to a beginner's group in the morning and food to an advanced group in the afternoon.
Link: http://hcmc.uvic.ca/clipart/ (Look under’Topic Gallery’ and http://images.google.co.uk/
Question: Can you find something to illustrate the preposition "next", and something for "toad in the hole".
4B Situation: You want to find a fun way to help your students to improve their pronunciation.
Link: http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/
Question: Can you find an appropriate activity for your students.
4C Situation:You may want to subscribe to various professional magazines (or ask your institution to do so). But there is a lot of material available online for free. Have a look at the excellent journal English Teaching Professional. This link is to a column which gives tips on useful websites.
Link: http://www.etprofessional.com/content/view/1130/50/
Question: Could you use the recommended site? Or could you check out any other of Russell Stanard’s Webwatcher columns (click on his name for more) and recommend one?
Marcia and Varun
5A Situation: You’re interested in using video clips with your students and want some ideas.
Link: Go to www.teflclips.com.
Question: How could this site help you?
5B Situation: There are many teachers who are very generous and share so much. For example, Nik Peachey writes several blogs that are very useful.
Link: http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/
Question: Can you find a helpful post that you could recommend.
5C Situation: Publishers offer some very good resources. A good example is Macmillan. There are dictation activities with Teachers’ Notes and a good online dictionary.
Link: http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/home.htm
Question: Could you find a suitable dictation for our TP students?
Steve
1A Situation: Your students are interested in the news, but they find the newspapers too difficult to read. There's just too much vocabulary that they don't know.
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/index.shtml
Question: What are the advantages of students doing this online rather than printing it off for them to do in class? And why is it better than an ordinary newspaper? (And are there any Teachers' notes? HINT: look in the archives)
1B Situation: Your students ask you which is right: a)"different to", b)"different than", or c)"different from". You are about to give an answer, when you suddenly start to doubt yourself. You decide to check what most people say.
Link: http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/
Question: How many instances can you find of these three phrases? To do this, enter 'different' into the web concordancer and then press 'Go'. (You could also try http://www.googlefight.com/ for a more visual comparison).
1C Situation To develop as a teacher, this blog, which originally started from the Celta course technology sessions at IH in Barcelona, should prove useful.
Link: http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/
Question: Can you find one post you can recommend for us?
Kyle and Addya
2A Situation: You want students to talk about their countries in a multicultural class. If each had an outline of their country, they could use it to illustrate their talk.
Link: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/
Question: Can you find an outline map of your student’s country?
2B Situation: Your students really want to practice listening and speaking and communicating with other people.
Link: http://www.voxopop.com/
Question: Can you explain to them how this site could help?
You may like to look at this discussion
2C Situation You may want to attend conferences to develop as a teacher. One has just finished in Cardiff but you can look at many sessions online. It’s worth registering and you may want to find out about IATEFL and join later. IATEFL stands for the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language and it exists to link, develop and support English Language Teaching professionals throughout the world.
Link: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/
Question: Can you find something to recommend?
Rod and Simon
3A Situation: You're looking for some short but interesting reading texts to use off-line with your learners.
Link: http://www.ananova.com/news/lp.html?keywords=Quirkies&menu=news.quirkies
Question: Can you find an amusing story (under Quirkies) that you think would interest them? What language focus do you think could arise from this text?
3B Situation: You want to revise vocabulary in a fun way. Perhaps by making a word search puzzle. Even better, the students could make puzzles for each other later.
Link: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
Question: Can you make a Criss-Cross puzzle with names of six different vegetables.
3C Situation: To help your development as a teacher, the British council have a wonderful teachers’ site
Link: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
Question: In addition, there are lots of activities for your classes. Click on Try, Can you find an activity you could possibly use with our TP students?
In addition, The British Council have a wonderful resource for learners too.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish.htm
Philip and Martin
4A Situation: Visual aids are invaluable for eliciting and clarifying vocabulary. You are teaching prepositions to a beginner's group in the morning and food to an advanced group in the afternoon.
Link: http://hcmc.uvic.ca/clipart/ (Look under’Topic Gallery’ and http://images.google.co.uk/
Question: Can you find something to illustrate the preposition "next", and something for "toad in the hole".
4B Situation: You want to find a fun way to help your students to improve their pronunciation.
Link: http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/
Question: Can you find an appropriate activity for your students.
4C Situation:You may want to subscribe to various professional magazines (or ask your institution to do so). But there is a lot of material available online for free. Have a look at the excellent journal English Teaching Professional. This link is to a column which gives tips on useful websites.
Link: http://www.etprofessional.com/content/view/1130/50/
Question: Could you use the recommended site? Or could you check out any other of Russell Stanard’s Webwatcher columns (click on his name for more) and recommend one?
Marcia and Varun
5A Situation: You’re interested in using video clips with your students and want some ideas.
Link: Go to www.teflclips.com.
Question: How could this site help you?
5B Situation: There are many teachers who are very generous and share so much. For example, Nik Peachey writes several blogs that are very useful.
Link: http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/
Question: Can you find a helpful post that you could recommend.
5C Situation: Publishers offer some very good resources. A good example is Macmillan. There are dictation activities with Teachers’ Notes and a good online dictionary.
Link: http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/home.htm
Question: Could you find a suitable dictation for our TP students?
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