Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Podcasting for EFL Learners

Podcasting for EFL Learners

            Podcasting is an effective and innovative way to teach students specific content and skills through audio or video. This week I discovered a podcast that is catered to English language learners: ESL Pod. It was a pleasant find and I could search through the hundreds of episodes on varying topics that my students could benefit from.  Furthermore, ESL Pod has a “learning guide” feature where lessons are created based on the audio podcasts; although, this is only available through a monthly subscription fee. Nonetheless, the podcast is free, the target vocabulary terms are bolded and teachers can create lesson on their own based on the audios and transcripts, which are available to anyone on their website. ESL Pod is also available on iTunes.


            One podcast I came across was entitled, Parts of a Hospital and I found that it would be a great and relevant topic for my oral skills course, since it consists of all pre-medical and pre-health sciences students. If I were to create a lesson or activity using this podcast, I would first begin the session introducing the target language (i.e. vocabulary terms). The target vocabulary terms in this podcast are: emergency room, trauma unit, heart condition, cardiology, ICU, pregnant, obstetrics, gynecology, neonatal, neurology, oncology, burn unit, look her up, admitted, go out of my mind, and bedpan. I would have images on a slideshow to first elicit the meanings from students and then define words they may not know. Afterwards, my students would go to the CALL (computer-assisted language lab) center and I would have them listen to the entire podcast at their computers individually. Students will then complete a gap-fill worksheet testing their knowledge of all 16 terms. This would be a two-day lesson, so on the next day, I would group students and have them create a short skit, role-playing a hospital scenario in which they would have to use at least 8 of the target vocabulary terms. I look forward to utilizing this new resource and hope to develop my own podcasts in the near future.

Performance Indicators My Students Could Demonstrate from this Podcast:

Performance Indicator- ESL.C.9-12.1.1.7: Students present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms for different audiences and purposes related to all academic content areas.

Performance Indicator-ESL.C.9-12.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language, using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.

Performance Indicator-ESL.C.9-12.4.1.9: Students use appropriate vocabulary, expressions, language, routines, and interaction styles for various audiences and formal and informal social or school situations, noticing how intention is communicated in different ways through language in various contexts.


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Saturday, November 5, 2016

Comic Strips for Language Learning

Comic Strips for Language Learning
           
            Comics in academia—we’ve come a long way in defining what is considered ‘educational.’ With 21st century learning, students can engage in activities which were once viewed as leisure, but can now be incorporated in academics. Today I made my first digital comic strip using an online tool called Strip Generator. There are several other tools to create comic strips, dialogues and stories, such as Dvolver and one I personal like Storybird, however, Strip Generator is an easy start for beginners.

            The comic strip I made is entitled “At the Doctor’s Office.” This semester, I’m not teaching Medical English, but this comic strip could be used to introduce new vocabulary words (by teachers) or show the proper use of new words in context (by students). In this comic strip, the target vocabulary words are: symptoms, temperature, blood pressure, fever, prescription, medication, and follow-up.  



Performance Indicators My Students Could Demonstrate by Creating Their Own Comic Strips:

Performance Indicator- ESL.C.9-12.1.1.7: Students present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms for different audiences and purposes related to all academic content areas.

Performance Indicator-ESL.C.9-12.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language, using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.

Performance Indicator-ESL.C.9-12.4.1.9: Students use appropriate vocabulary, expressions, language, routines, and interaction styles for various audiences and formal and informal social or school situations, noticing how intention is communicated in different ways through language in various contexts.


How Will I Assess My Students?

            Depending on what the purpose of the assignment is, I would assess my students accordingly. For example, if my writing students were making a comic strip to create a narrative, then I would assess whether they follow the structure of narrative writing that I have taught them, using time-order signals, and whether or not there is unity in the storyline. On the other hand, if my oral skills (or any) students were using this tool to create a comic in order to use their new vocabulary in context, I would assess whether or not each vocabulary term is used accurately and if the dialogues are meaningful.

The Bottom Line


For a quick, simple, and easy storyboard project, I’d say Strip Generator is the tool to use. However, for more elaborated projects, Storybird is a better tool.

Photo Stories



Photo Stories with Stupeflix


Having amazing visuals is a key part of having a great and effective presentation. There are various online and offline presentation tools that students and educators can use. This week I experimented with a new tool (well, “new” to me) called Stupeflix! It’s similar to Animoto, but you can have a free account with longer slideshows/videos, but they will contain a “Stupeflix” watermark. The ideas are countless when it comes to using this tool. Teachers can create photo stories and narratives, or even introduce vocabulary and target language. For my first Stupeflix project, I created a photo show answering the question: What do people eat in Turkey? You can watch it below.


Performance Indicators My Students Could Demonstrate by Creating Their Own Photo Stories

Performance Indicator- ESL.C.9-12.1.1.7: Students present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms for different audiences and purposes related to all academic content areas.

Performance Indicator – ESL.C.9-12.1.1.8: Students select a focus, organization, and point of view for oral and written presentations, and justify this selection.

Performance Indicator-ESL.C.9-12.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language, using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.

How Will I Assess My Students?

            For my Oral Skills 1 students, we use a detailed rubric to assess their oral presentations. Part of the rubric include specific indicators stating the following which are relevant to the slideshows in their presentations:
·       Uses correct language (grammar and vocabulary) in visual presentation
·       Organizes material in a logical and coherent way
·       Slides are not overloaded, blank, contain only pictures
·       Text is easy to read and view

The range for each category is from 1 – 3, 1 being poor and inadequate and 3 being excellent. I would grade my learners accordingly.


Overall, Stupeflix is a creative, easy, and free presentation tool that I encourage other educators and their students to use in the classroom.