The History Channel

Hi Everyone,

The History Channel's website includes a lot of interesting, fast-paced videos of 3 to 4 minutes called History of the Holidays.

I've linked the title of this post to the material on Independence Day; you will see the Search bar there if you'd like to peruse other topics.

Even if your students can't understand all of the spoken content, as the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

(By the way, some proverbs are really hard to translate into other languages. You've been warned!)

Clint T

microsoft lesson plans

Microsoft is advising using live essentials movie maker to make lesson plans. I linked the title to the site but it actually includes lesson plans (although some of questionable content). I thought some might be interested in this. I used iphoto on the mac in class for my lesson. However, I will probably try live essentials as well this summer.

Keeping it going

While I have not posted as often as I should have, I have read everyone's posts faithfully and have really enjoyed this chance we have had to share our discoveries and experiences. While the internet is ripe with resources for us as teachers I was wondering if any of you would be interested in keeping this thing going. This one stop spot to share ideas, activities, articles and to ask for advice from other teachers and friends is something I would not like to lose.

Anyone interested?

Anyone else have their own blogs? (We could become friends. *giggle*)

-Kari

Fun with puctuation and spelling

If you haven't visited this site (click on the title), you're missing an off beat look at common misspellings and assistance with punctuation. You do need to preview it before use because it can be somewhat off-color for certain age groups.

http://theoatmeal.com -- main site

punctuation and spelling .....
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

Importance of manual proof reading

A little tip, when depending on technology.
While recent net browsing I saw a very interesting poetic way of bringing attention to an important issue, important because it may turn out to be embarrassing. When we run spell check while making a document on an unreliable software package and you have typed ‘then’ instead of ‘than’, it will not be filtered as it is not a misspelled word, so my point is pretty much related to writing skill that student must have an ability and habit to proof read their written material instead of totally relying on the technology, following is a short poem which is very nicely written carrying instructions regarding the relevant issue. It is taken from a site named ‘Funny tips’.

Spell Checker

I halve a spelling checker,
It came with my pea see.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the era rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

I've scent this massage threw it,
And I'm shore your pleased too no
Its letter prefect in every weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.

Though in office 2007 it gives suggestions, for some words in the poem above.

Humor and fun in ESL classrooms
I read an interesting and useful article titled ‘effects of humor in the language classroom’ written by Lance Askildson, which suggests humor to be the most dominant feature in an ESL class as the study has shown a very supporting outcome.
Humor which is often ignored in the classrooms stands as one of the few universals applicable to all people and all languages throughout the world (Kruger, 1996). It does not mean that element of humor causes improvement in ESL proficiency directly rather it creates an environment which facilitates teacher-student relationship, because of light and fun environment students are psychologically charged and participate more enthusiastically in their classes.
The effect of such a class as relaxing, comforting and tension reducing device has effects on teacher image. In my learning experience, I improved a lot because of the fun activities, in the following I would like to mention few activities which could be help.
Skits
Dramatizing short skit was my favorite activity and very useful as these short skits were written, directed and acted by students, in front of their classes or even the whole institute and judges who are usually the teachers, decide the best performers, theme and so on, sometimes students come up with very creative, interesting and fun ideas. In the process of writing dialogues, rehearsal and directions the learners get ample opportunity to listen, read, write and speak in the target language.
Press conference/ Court martial
In this activity the class is divided into three, four, five groups depending on the total number of students in class and each group is asked to choose a celebrity (dead or alive) and then the groups represents that celebrity, the remaining students in the class play reports or journalists and the groups that chooses the personality defend the personality and answers controversial issues in defense.
Alibi
Two students are chosen from the class and then the class decides a charge form them e.g. they committed any crime on a specified time and date, then these students go out of class and decide an alibi for that particular day and time, one of the students is called in the class the other remains out of class, the first students is interrogated by the class and then the second student is called and asked the same questions, if there is difference in their statements they are guilty otherwise innocent.
These few games are just an example there could be many activities which could be interesting, humorous and fun.

Building Pronunciation Skills

While I have been able to teach my student many grammatical principles and vocab items this semester, the most fulfilling part (besides growing a relationship) has been to help her strengthen her pronunciation skills. She let me know at the beginning of our time together that she wanted to sound like native speaker so I have kept that in mind as I teach my lessons, adding pronunciation practices in where I see issues. We have learned how to pronounce the past tense /-ed/. It gives me such joy to see her stop in the middle of a reading and remember to feel for vibrations in her throat to know whether to end her word with [t], [d] or [ed]. I can see her improving and having to use that technique less and less.

This Monday there was a particularly high amount of st-, sp-, sc- words in our reading. As a native Spanish speaker she is always tempted to add a schwa to the beginning of these words: eschool, she says, or estop. While babysitting a sweet 4-year old with a speech impediment over the summer, I saw her mother stop her while she was having troubles with her S's, have her drag her finger along her forearm as she pronounced the S in snack and then finish the word when she reached her palm. Ssssssssssss nack. Every time she was made to focus on the S she could easily say the word afterward and had less trouble with similar S words for at least a few minutes. I tried this with my student. "You may feel silly trying this but as a Spanish speaker you are not used to starting a word with S and another consonant. This will help you think about the S!" She loved it! She tried one word (Ssssssssss top), sat back and said "Wow! I can do it!"

Have you guys had any interesting pronunciation teachable moments this semester?