Sunday, 23 February 2014

Ready Steady Go Ahead learning languages site review

In general I found the website to be quite well designed and user friendly, the availability of different languages was also quite impressive. The language categories were well defined with pictures to help choose an area of interest.

I checked out the French section and the translations offered were of good quality. I also liked the fact that there are audio recordings of the texts in the various sections.

I think that the website could be improved if there were more categories in the Spanish learning section. For example, in the Spanish section one can only learn about the catering industry. This is a bit of a stereotype as in the French section one can also learn about cars etc.

I think that the exercises offered could also be improved as they are very basic. More multimedia exercises could be offered in order to generate and maintain interest.

Content Management System examples

After checking out all of the various websites that were created using website templates I have come to the conclusion that I do not like the format of these websites - the reasons for my decision are many. Firstly, I do not like the fact that they are templates as they all look generic and uninspiring. Secondly, I do not like the fonts, or the white backgrounds that are used on many occasions. There are so many user friendly websites that these ones look inferior in comparison. I also dislike the cheap graphics that are used for the icons and the fact that there are few visual design features that are easy on the eye.

In addition, I do not like how the menu options of these sites treat every choice equally. When I visit a website I want the most common task to be the one that is most easy to identify. In these sites one has to search patiently for all the options instead of them 'jumping out at you'.

I am aware that the 'beauty' of these websites is the fact that they are easy to set-up and maintain but I personally do not like them.

Joomla

I have chosen the Text Scroller extension because I think that it could be useful to put a new scrolling idiom on a web page everyday for visitors to a site to learn.

The idea of Joomla seems interesting as it seems flexible and, most importantly, free. However, although I regard myself as tech savvy, I find some of the jargon to be difficult to understand. I think an entire course on such an application would be useful in order to take advantage of its resources fully. I also wonder about the technological capabilities required of a computer in order to work smoothly with the package. At the moment I have a netbook and it can be painfully slow in executing even the most simple tasks. Therefore, I wonder how much raw processing power would be needed to create and manage content efficiently.

Sunday, 16 February 2014

British Council newsletter

I recommend the British Council newsletter because the British Council is a reputable institution and the newsletter provides links to interesting ideas and resources that are found on the website. Therefore, one can keep up to date with the latest developments in the English teaching world.

Reflections on resources

1. Voxy

I found this app to be easy to use and it has an attractive interface. It’s simple to sign up to using a Facebook account. It allows you to choose the topic areas that most interest you. This facet would bolster learner autonomy and increase motivation. As it’s an app it can be used on the go using a phone or tablet. The only downside is that in the end you have to pay for the package. Also, it tends to crash quite frequently.

2. ESL podcast

This website allows learners to practice their listening skills. This is an important skill that is often lacking in Spanish learners of English. The podcast can be accessed in a slowed down version for people that find it hard to understand. The website is easy to use but there is distracting advertising. There are also parts of the site that are only available if you buy a subscription.

3. 1984

My favourite eBook is ‘1984’ by George Orwell because it is a book that has the possibility of generating lots of discussion. Lots of the predictions postulated in the book have actually come to fruition. Therefore, students could be asked to identify elements from the book that they can see in their real lives.

4. Weather whiteboard activity

T The whiteboard activity is made of a series of flashcards with audio. It isn't very spectacular and the voices used for the audio to not inspire much interest.

London tour worksheet

This worksheet is relevant to many learners of English as many people have spent time in London or at least they would like to spend time there. It is a communicative activity because the students have to adopt the roles of a tour guide and a tourist.

Linoit link

Web tools and apps

Linoit

Monday, 3 February 2014

The Cloud

The 'Cloud' is a name for the virtual space where we can store files of any type. Our files is stored on servers and they are available to us anytime that we have an internet connection and an appropriate device. The main advantage of using cloud based services is that our information is always available and, quite often, the service is free. We therefore do not have to worry about dropping a computer or losing a pen drive because our information has been backed up on reliable servers. The disadvantages of cloud based storage revolve around issues of privacy. We can never be sure who has access to what is being stored in serves (see NSA and Snowden for more details). Also, if we have large files or we wish to store many photos etc. then we have to pay for extra storage space. I have just started to use Dropbox and Google drive. I find them to be useful services and I'm happy that they are free. As I mainly use these services on my own computer I sometimes wonder how I would access them from other computers as it is not always easy to remember so many passwords. I find sharing information and files on Google drive to be particularly useful but I have never tried to share a large file like a film so I don't know if it would be possible. https://www.dropbox.com/home https://drive.google.com/#my-drive

Friday, 24 January 2014

Interaction in ESO

Interaction in ESO I would like to teach in English in ESO. I would use a Communicative approach to teach English. I would like to interact with my students in various ways. I would like them to feel comfortable asking me questions and, hopefully, be able to send doubts through an electronic medium so that I could answer any problems that occurred to the students whilst they were connected to the Internet at home. I would include a class blog in my class so that the activities carried out in the class could be recorded in a central place. All the students would have access to the blog and some tasks would be required to be carried out on the blog. For example, students would have to find a song that they liked and post it with the lyrics and a glossary of the most important words with their meanings. Inside the class the students would work in groups and pairs to complete tasks and there would be feedback sessions so that all of the ideas created in the class could be shared. The sensation of working in a team would increase motivation levels in the class this hopefully would have a knock on effect on student behaviour. Another advantage of interacting in the classroom would be a decrease in anxiety levels as students would be able to have their doubts solved quickly and effectively. A disadvantage of student interaction through electronic devices would be the fact that some students may not have a computer or internet connection at home due to financial constraints.

Sunday, 19 January 2014

Definitions of words from Wordle

Pairs- 2 people working together. Deadline - The date when you have to give the teacher your work. Hand-in - To give your teacher your work. Teamwork - To cooperate with your classmates and work together. Presentation - Showing the teacher and your classmates your work.

Wordle

Corpora 'get by'

The verb 'to get by' according to the following Corpora

http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/

http://www.linguee.es/

Ejemplos de traducciones de otras fuentes para 'get by'

inglés	español
If sanctions are retained over time, the country will get by, but at a much lower rate of productivity and at a much higher social cost to the population. fride.org	Si se mantienen las sanciones a lo largo del tiempo, la región saldrá adelante, perocon una productividad muchísimo más reducida y con un coste social mucho más alto para la población. fride.org
I have enough savings to get by for a year or so, and I have faith I'll be able to find another job when the time is right. aarpsegundajuventud.org	Tengo ahorros suficientes como para un año o más y tengo fe en que seré capaz de encontrar otro empleo, cuando llegue el momento de hacerlo. aarpsegundajuventud.org
The economic and social hardship has engendered a culture of hatred. People get by as best they can and delinquency is on the rise. missionidonbosco.org	Existe una cultura del odio alimentada por las dificultades económicas y sociales, cada uno se arregla como puede y la delincuencia se expande. I prefer the results of the second Corpus because the context is clearer.

Thesaurus

Synonyms for beautiful

adj physically attractive

After looking up the word 'Beautiful' the Thesaurus website gave me a list of synonyms and antonyms. I liked the feature where you could filter the results according to how common or informal they were. You can also choose words that are more complex or longer/shorter.

I didn't see much help with actually choosing the correct word as each word has its own nuance in English so choosing an appropriate word may be difficult.

Which dictionary is best?

As you can see from the previous entry on the definitions provided for the verb 'to follow up' in English there is great deal of difference between the results.

I think that the first two dictionaries have the advantage that they provide concise definitions however, I think that learners should be 'trained' to use the wordreference dictionary because it encourages them to investigate the various meanings that a word has depending on its context. Context is hugely important when learning the meaning of word in my opinion, therefore, I think students would benefit from realizing that there are many different translations and uses for almost every word in a language.

However, I also recognize that many learners would be incapable of expending the mental effort in order to be able to find the 'correct' translation or meaning of a word and therefore, the first two dictionaries would be more appropriate in these cases.

The learner's dictionary does not give a definition for the verb 'to follow up' therefore, in my opinion it is useless.

Dictionaries 'Follow up'

Definitions of the phrase 'Follow up'

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/

follow up

[CASE] seguir*, darle* seguimiento aMr Simpson promised to follow the matter upel señor Simpson me prometió que investigaría el asuntoI have an idea for an article that you may like to follow uptengo una idea para un artículo que quizás quieras desarrollar
http://www.merriam-webster.com/

follow up

verb

transitive verb

: to follow with something similar, related, or supplementary <following up his convictions with action — G. P. Merrill>

: to maintain contact with (a person) so as to monitor the effects of earlier activities or treatments

e: http://www.wordreference.com/es/

follow up

English definition | conjugator | English synonyms | in context | images

See 'follow up' in the Legal dictionary.

Principal Translations
follow up vi phrasal	(take next step)	continuar⇒ vi
Note: hyphen used when term is a noun or an adj before a noun
	The young gymnast performed a dive roll and followed up with a cartwheel.
	La joven gimnasta realizó una vuelta de carnero y continuó con una rueda de carro.
follow up, follow-up vtr	(take next step)	proseguir⇒ vi
	Debido a que se presentaron efectos secundarios severos no se pudo proseguir con el tratamiento.
follow [sth] up (with [sth], by doing [sth]) vtr phrasal sep	(make further communication)	dar seguimiento loc verb
follow [sth] up vtr phrasal sep	(investigate)	investigar⇒ vtr
Note: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun
	* Vamos a investigar a fondo todo lo relacionado con las acusaciones de fraude.
		estudiar⇒ vtr
Note: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun
follow-up n	(further communication)	seguimiento nm
follow-up adj	(visit, call: further)	sucesivo adj
		subsecuente, subsiguiente, posterior adj inv m/f

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

Compound Forms:
follow-up adj	(next in sequence) siguiente	próximo adj
	I've been told I have to make a follow-up appointment with the doctor.
	Me dijeron que tengo que hacer la próxima cita con el doctor.
follow-up inspection n	(examination to review [sth])	revisión nf
	Before the closing on the house we need to do the final follow-up inspection.
	* Cuando los empleados acaban su trabajo a mí me toca hacer la revisión.
		control nm
	Before the closing on the house we need to do the final follow-up inspection.
	A las cuatro hago los controles de rutina y lleno las planillas correspondientes.
follow-up investigation n	(supplementary police enquiry)	investigación posterior nf
	La investigación posterior fue fructífera y permitió identificar y capturar al asesino.
follow-up materials npl	(resources that supplement learning)	material suplementario nm
follow-up question n	(additional enquiry)	repregunta nf
	The Member of Parliament then asked a follow-up question for which the Prime Minister was totally unprepared.
	Es una maestra de la repregunta, te va a resultar muy difícil darle respuestas evasivas.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

'follow up' found in these entries

In the English description:

booster shot

Spanish:

labores de seguimiento - seguimiento

Forum discussions with the word(s) "follow up" in the title:

Ask in the forums yourself.Visit the Spanish-English Forum.

Required contents for 1st ESO

I would like to be an English teacher so the required contents for teaching an English lesson follow closely the stipulations set out in the official laws which govern education in Spain. The curriculum highlights that learners should become autonomous learners therefore, students should be capable of following written instructions. In order to do this students need to have a good knowledge and understanding of 'Imperatives' and the present tense as well as a lexical knowledge of words such as 'Match' 'Read' 'Write' 'Draw' Fill in the gaps' etc.

Being able to use and understand the 'Present tenses' is the most important grammatical area at this level. As they have been working on these tenses throughout Primary school they shouldn't have too many difficulties. However, their Speaking and Listening skills may not be as well developed as their Writing or Reading skills. If CLIL types of activities are to be carried out in an English class students must have a certain level of fluency to be able to communicate with each other in order for the class to continue to use the target language and to not switch back to their mother tongues. I would prefer to employ a communicative approach in my future language classes but the worry is always there that the students will not have the required fluency to be able to discuss topics with their classmates. Therefore, apart from the typical structures of which students must have an adequate knowledge such as: There is/are, Can, Order of adjectives and nouns, Possessive 's' etc, it is necessary that students are able to use those structures in the real world in order to carry out activities.

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Using ICT in the classroom

I chose this video because I'm currently teaching English Didactics for Primary Education at the University of Alicante. This video shows 5 ICT tools that can be used in the Primary classroom. They range from tools to help control behaviour to websites that group together resources for Primary teachers. It is a short easy to follow video that briefly highlights the uses and benefits of using the ICT tools.

Blog uses and advantages

In my experience blogs have been mainly used as part of educational tasks set by teachers as part of my degree subjects. I have also had experience of blogs as educational resources that have helped me to find information on learning languages and other general information about a wide range of topics. As mentioned in the article ‘Project Work through Blogging’, blogs can about any subject and their writers can have differing levels of expertise on the subject that they are writing about. I usually use blogs to find links to other websites which the blogger has compiled on his/her blog therefore; I do not need to worry so much about this facet of blogs. In the journal article by Baker (2009) the advantages of using blogs to encourage students to write creatively in a foreign language are highlighted. As blogs constitute a real form of communication I can see how this would motivate students in an EFL classroom as the entries that are published in the blogs would be accessible to fellow students and the internet community in general. Similarly, Amir (2010) noted how the nature and low cost of blogs can be used to help students to write collaboratively. Using blogs as a tool to encourage teamwork is, therefore, another advantage of using blogs in the classroom. Yang (2009) highlights an additional benefit of using blogs. He describes how blogs can be used to enable students to reflect critically on their learning process. The nature of blogs enables comments and feedback to create discourse between students. This process has the advantage of creating a situation where students can respond to each other’s ideas and comments thereby creating a situation in which reflection can take place about the learning/teaching process. Reflecting upon learning is a valuable and worthy experience in my opinion. In conclusion, blogs have been shown to have numerous benefits in the learning process as they improve communication, motivate and allow reflection. All of these benefits are in addition to the fact that students are also developing their IT skills whilst they are interacting with the blogs. Therefore, blogs can been seen as highly beneficial to the learning process. References http://www.lte-project.com/images/stories/documents/guidelines2.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1481/1/kemboja.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281101192X http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ836288

Sunday, 12 January 2014

About me!

Hello, I'm Ryan Davis (sometimes the user of this account is set as 'Selina' because I made a blog for a friend and so I put her name on it)I'm an English teacher and a University teacher at the University of Alicante. I use a lot of technology and always have my smartphone with me (and usually a tablet too!) I haven't tried to use this blog or the website that we use for the course using Android yet but it will be interesting to see if it works correctly. I made the blog for my friend during an IT course that I did as part of my English Studies degree at University. We also did various similar IT things during the Master in teaching so I am quite familiar with these types of things but, as with everything, if you don't use the tools frequently it is easy to lose some IT skills. I mainly visit websites such as Techradar, the Guardian and Facebook when I'm using the Internet. This isn't my first online course and I have to say that I'm not a big fan but we will see how it goes!!