This is what I am looking for, Podcasts!

Podcast is a great tool that can be used in the language calssroom. I have chosen ESL Podcast 180. This can be quite useful for students who want to learn authentic English. It provides students with a lot of different situations where people can experience real-life conversation.

I tried listening "Airportlayover". First of all, when I listened to it, the speech speed was a little slow so that I did not miss a single word. The transcript of the conversation was given. One advantage of it is that users can be offered definition of words, additional sentences, and cultural notes. Especially cultural notes can be very helpful for students to experience different culture. After I listened to it, the speaker explained about important expressions in detail. Since many people may experience airportlayover, certain terms such as book, roller bag, or carry on will be effective to learn. For example, when the speaker said lug, he introduced 'schlep', which is a Jewish word. It will be a good chance for students to know new words. Lastly, I could listen to the same conversation, but the speed was faster. I could catch the expressions I learned very well. 

How can I utilize this podcast? Most of all, this kind of conversation can be a prefect listening and speaking material. Students can listen to the conversation without a transcript. They can also have a discussion cultural topics before or after listening the conversation. During the lesson, vocabulary can be taught so that students can do a writing activity, using the words or phrases they learned. When students practise speaking, a role-play can be done in a pair or in a group. Since there is not a visual image or video clip, if teachers find or create some images or videos, it would be a perfect lesson.

Are you ready to start the adventure in learning?

When I was young, I had a friend who lived in the U.S. I wrote a letter before I went to bed and sent it to her. She answered my letter a few days later. Even though we had never met before, we communicated through letters. I remember asking the expressions that I want to know to my teacher. My friend liked them. She was my pen pal.

Now, I can make a thousands of friends online. It is ePaLs that I am going to talk about. ePaLs is a web-based tool that K-12 students can use both in the classroom and at home. Not only that, children can read stories and play games on the web.One thing that I really like about it is that not only teachers and students but also parents can use this tool.

For teachers, Toolsforschool can be very useful. A lot of teaching resources are given so that teachers can choose what they want to employ in the classroom.Teachers can select grade, price, and language. Global Community is also beneficial for both teachers and students. It is a free community that enables teachers and students to experience collaborative, project-based learning. Users can choose region, the number of students, and a type of collaboration. I really want to use this tool because students can experience authentic collaborative learning. If students work together with friends who use a target language, it will be motivating them.

Cobblestone & Cricket are tools that students use for reading. Users can read printed books or have digital ones. The tools encourage students to read literature, which leads to learning.

ePaLs is really worth trying and I want to experience with my studetns. I love the espression on the first page of the site. "Your passport to learning adventures!"  I am ready to start!

Your textbook today is a comic strip!

Students love comic strips. What if the textbook of lessons is comic strips students made? It will be easy for teachers to draw students' attention and the lessons will go well.  GoAnimate is one of the greatest tools that both teachers and students can create.

One thing that I really like about using these tools is that grammar and vocabulary lessons which students might feel bored can be turned into more exciting ones. In order to make a story, students can choose characters, voice, and actions or emotions.They can record their own vioce,too. The most important thing is that they have to think about what they are going to do. The story should be not only grammatically correct but also coherent. When they are done, they will feel a sense of achievement, which helps them keep learning. 

Students will be studying L2 with the material they make by themselves. It is really cool, isn't it? There is no reason not to use the tools. 

Engaging students? This is the answer!

Teachers sometimes have difficulty in making students engage in lessons. The main reason is that students feel bored. However, teachers do not have to be concerned anymore. The photo story tools will help teachers make lessons more exciting.

                     

There are a few ways of using the tools for teaching. Especially the tools can be employed in vocabulary and grammar lessons. Since the tools allow users to combine images, texts, and music, students can remember the words and phrases they learn in the class more easily. Grammar section is one thing that teachers care about because students readily get bored.Traditional grammar material is a piece of paper where a lot of questions with a few pictures are presented. However, if the material is created with visual images, texts, and music, lessons would be far more interesting. This will encourage students to keep learning. 

Students can also use the tools effectively. They make thier own story about themselves or summarize what they read or listen during lessons. By doing so, their writing skills can be improved. Since there are many options students can choose, they feel a sense of responsibility and try to make quality work. 

Photo story tools have many advantages in learning as well as teaching. Am I going to use the tools in the classroom? Definitely, yes!

Let's WATCH your story!

Story-telling was very attractive in that every students gathered in front of a teacher and picked up their ears not to miss a word. Nowadays, however, students just sit on the chair watching a monitor where the content and the narrative of the story are combined. It is digital story-telling that I am talking about. What is digital storytelling? It is the practive of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component, according to 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling. When people first hear the word, they might think it requires professional skills. However, it does not. Everyone can try making it. Then, how can the tool of digital storytelling be used in the classroom?

A teacher shows students a videoclip which is about her hobby. Students watch a lot of images, videos with sound effects and listen to her narrative. After watching it, students share their hobbies in a group. Making their own digital storytelling will be the assignment. Before making students do it, it is necessary for a teacher to demonstrate first so that students know what they are going to do. Talking about themselves or discussing certain topics can be a great way to use the tool. There are a few advantages of using it. First, digital stories let students express themselves not only with their own words but also in their own voices, fostering a sense of individuality and of 'owing' their own creations. (Quote from 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling ) Students will be motivated because they feel a sense of responsibility. Second, students who participate in the creation of digital stories may develop enhanced communication skills by learning to organize their ideas, ask questions, express opinions, and constructed narratives.(Quote from The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling ) This will keep students' autonomy. Third, the tool may help students develop integrated skills since listening, reading, writing, and speaking are combined. For instance, students write what they heard from the story, or speak their reflection after watching the story. It will be a useful tool for students to be encouraged to keep learning. 

People tell stories to teach beliefs and values to others. (Quote from 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling ) Although the way of conveying stories changes, the reason of it remains the same as before. As a teacher, using this tool is worth trying.

Keep learning outside of the classroom? Serious Games can make it!

According to Wikipedia, a serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. Serious games are simulations of real-world events or processes designed for the purpose of solving a problem. As a teacher, I can use them to educate students.

I have chosen Budget Hero and played twice. At first glance, the game has a lot of information so that students can learn various things after playing the game. The target learner should be adults and the level should be advanced since vocabularies are very difficult and general knowledge about economy, society and national security is needed.

First of all, in the classroom, we are going to learn new vocabularies and discuss general concept about a national budget. Also, I can use walkthrough as a demonstration to make sure that every student understands what they are going to do. The objective of the lesson is that students will be able to speak and write not only target words such as investment, defense, and deficit but also relevant expressions. Then, they need to make a budget considering pros and cons of the policies. After the lesson, students are able to speak and write their plans in English. In the lesson,  their plans can be presented in a group and students can choose the best one. Also students write an essay about the federal budget. During the presentation or writing an essay, I can assess whether the learning objectives had been met.

Although the lesson can be a little demanding, students can learn a lot of things from it. Most important thing is that they are given  much chance to think about the topic and speak or write what they have learned, which gives them autonomy!

Today's homework? Play games as much as you can!

What is gamification? Gamification is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior. In academe, gamification typically employs elements such as points, badges, or progress bars to engage or motivate students in the learning process, according to 7 Things You Should Know About Gamification. Also, there is another term, Digital Game-Based Learning(DGBL), which is coined by Marc Prensky. DGBL means the use of computer games in delivering educational content. (Quote from : A Comparison of Computer Game and Language-Learning Task Design Using Flow Theory )

Using games in L2 classroom has several benefits to students. First of all, it is fun. Although there can be a variety of activities in the classroom, playing games is definitely the best. It will allow students to engage in learning. Second, it gives students greater autonomy in their own learning process because it is voluntary work in a some sense. More specifically, it is said that there is almost always a problem to resolve in playing games, which requires engagement and effort. (Quote from: Sculpting Flow and Fiero) Students can get payoff from the games and the payoff will give students movivation to keep learning. I am excited to know this novel process. Gamification is absolutely worth trying in my classroom. 

I have chosen Family Restaurant Game at OgiGame. I payed it for about thirty minutes a day for three days. I imagined that how I can apply this game to the lesson. The objective is to  make students learn words about ingredients and recipes for cooking. Students can speak and write the words about ingredients and how to make the food. At first, students listen to the story about the restaurant. The story is introduced at the beginning of the game. I might  not be using walkthrough because it is quite easy to follow. Also, new vocabularies are taught. Before playing the game, students have  opportunity to do brainstorming so that they are enough aware of what they are going to do. Afterthat, students can play games at home. Since the goal is to make a five-star restaurant, students need to make delicious food and serve it on time. While they are playing the game, they are to review vocabularies and learn the process of making different kinds of food. Since instruction is given every step, it will be easy for students to follow, but the steps are going to be more challenging. As a teacher, I can help students as a mediator when they have trouble doing it, but there will be not too much intervention from me. Next class, we will review what we have learned. Using some images from the game, we can not only remind the story but also check the vocabularies students have learned. Also the activity which is to write dwon the receipes can be done, or students make a group and have a cooking competition.(Speaking) During the review session, I can assess whether the learning objectives had been met.

The lesson is competed! Students played the game and learned English. Since the game is about cooking which students are usually interested in, it would be a little easy to make them participate in the game. I believe that this lesson will be a success because both the explicit goal and immediate feedback are to given. In addition to that, the more students play game, the more they can learn. By doing so, students will be able to experience "Flow" state. Playing games to learn English? I cannot wait to try it!