A brief self-introduction using myBrainshark.

What is this?


Click to access ->Mybrainshark
Mybrainshark is a fantastic website which allows you to add your voice to various kinds of documents including ppt, doc, pic and etc...It is totally free and available to anyone. In plus, it is fairly user-friendly, so don't be afraid to start using it even if you are a technophobia.

Why is the content good for language learning?

1.you can create, share and track the video you make, making it possible for fellow students to exchange their ideas outside the classroom

2.it is a perfect way to practise our oral English when adding our voice to the pics, ppts, or docs.

3.it allows the teacher to check on the students' pronunciation and understanding of some specific konwledge.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

1.Ask every students to make a self-introduction video like the one above, using pictures and words to describe themselves. It will not only force the students to speak more in English and give the teacher a chance to know the students' level, but also allow the teacher to better know the students.

2.Give a certain topic, assign each student to make a video presentation independently and ask them to give peer feedback afterwards.

3.The teacher can make a video presentation as well to introduce to the students a particular topic.

Limitations:

1. it can be quite time-consuming for the students to make a good video

2. it needs internet

3. it can be pretty tiring for the teachers to give individual feedback

Using youtube to learn English

What is this?

This is a video from Youtube that demonstrates how we introduce ourselves and greet in English properly.

Why is the content good for language learning?

1.English subtitles are available, making it perfect for beginners
2.with background music on, relaxing the nervous students.
3.it shows the basic patterns when doing an English self-introduction

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

1. When teaching beginners how to use English to introduce themselves,the teacher can play this video before teaching, familiarizing the students with what they will go through next.

2.The students might watch this video again and again after class to review what they learned in the class

3.Also, when they click on the video, they will see other related or similar videos available there on youtube, which means they can enhance their understanding about some specific area with various resources as long as they are willing to.

Limitations:

1.Since this is an online video, the students might get easily distracted by other stuff when watching this on their own.

2.Watching the video alone and not being able to talk to someone in real conversations can be pretty boring for the students.

Enjoying Music or Learning English?

What is it and why is it good for language teaching?

Learning English for most Chinese students have been long stereotyped as something boring and difficult, especially memorizing some new words.

However, it is a brand new scenario with Lyricstraining. As the name of this website shows, it's about lyric training. You may wonder how we can apply this tool to English teaching, let me explain how this works for you:

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

The above picture is a screeshot from the web when I am doing the training. When you select a song, you will watch the music video of it from youtube and need to fill in the blanks of the lyrics as the song goes. If you fail to fill in with the right word, the video will automatically pause. Then you can replay this single sentence by simply typing the "up" button on your keyboard. You can listen to each sentence as many times as you like. You can also skip a certain blank when you really feel desperate. Further, you can start over anytime you like.

This website is perfectly suitable for training intensive listening skills. With visual aid while listening, the exercise stands to be much less boring.

Also, we don't have to spend too much time on it. 10 to 15 minutes per day is quite enough for a student. They don't have to treat this some exercise, rather, it can considered as some unwinding and entertaining activities when they get tired from homework.

Limitations:

1.Some students might be an expert in music, and they might've been fairly familiar with the lyrics before listening, so not really much of exercise for them.

2.Most of the videos are from youtube, which is still blocked in China. In this case, lyricstraining is not that practical in China now.