IMing in L2

I think there is a lot of value in the potential of real-time communication to facilitate language acquisition. I've always enjoyed polishing up one of my super-rusty L2s in IRC or similar media.

In the interest of accountability, I think a mechanism should be implemented to give the activity some long-term value. Editing a printout or something might be one solution, maybe peer editing on googledocs or something like that.

And, IM works well for English but a lot of other languages have diacritical marks that aren't convenient or even available in most real-time exchanges.

Everyday Expressions: Exploring Common Phrases Defying the Dictionary

http://matesol.podbean.com/

Immersed in the English language and American culture as ESL students, advanced level students are seeking to step beyond manuals to grasp a large, but difficult to teach, concept: idioms. In this ESL podcast, speakers Aja Gorham and Jesse Ackles, examine how common phrases or expressions are used in speech, as well as possible meaning for these expressions, and a helpful tip for thinking about the use of expressions. This podcast steps away from English as theory to transition into decoding the cultural puzzles that define expressions.

While students do not need a particular vocabulary set, it is important to understand phrases as a lexical unit, and not just as individual words. For classroom use it may be helpful to reacquaint students with phrases such are “ how are you” “ I’m fine” “ what’s up,” etc. Reminding students of units acquired as phrases may prove helpful in introducing expressions as a collective unit. Though the abstract nature of most idiomatic expressions make the units impossible for common translation, it is important that students be introduced to non-literal phrases as a means of gaining fluency and confidence in exchanges with native speakers.


For more information regarding the abstract nature of expressions or definition of common idioms please visit the websites below.


http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/Default.asp?dict=I (you can even follow this one on TWITTER!!!! omg!)

Concordance? But I'm a terrible dancer...

I think with concordance that it’s important to remember that conjunctive thinking is an acquired skill. We may be dealing with people that are unable to use the tools available for reasons that have very little to do with language processing. In fact, I’d like to open this issue up for general discussion, if anyone is willing.

Podcast Info

Tackling Tipping: A Discussion of Paying for Service

In this two-person podcast English Language Learners living in the United States will hear differing opinions on the act of tipping. Speakers, Aja Gorham and Jesse Ackles, present two different views on popular American practice of tipping to rouse class debate/discussion amongst beginning and intermediate students about tipping practices and beliefs in the classroom. These opinions do not represent rules about American practices, but two viewpoints on a large scale.

For more thorough, researched facts regarding tipping practices please consult the independent website listed below:

* http://www.tipping.org/tips/us.html
* http://www.essortment.com/all/tipping_rdef.htm

This podcast can be incorporated as the cultural competency component into a restaurant-themed lesson: set-up by the restaurant subject matter, used the crux of a listening activity with the question serving a follow up activity.

Vocabulary

While this podcast is intended for cultural competency purposes, students may need to know the following words:

* Waitress
* Job
* Service

Voicethread/Prehistoric Beasts

I can see how Voicethread could be a useful tool but I’m a little confused by the purposes of the demonstrations on the “Voicethreads 4 Teaching” site. I guess the idea of having a common theme around which to organize the students’ thoughts could have some relevance, but only if the purpose of the exercise is to encourage production. What is the theory behind this approach? It’s sort of a non-linear, theme-based brainstorming exercise, from what I can tell.

I think isolating the program for a specific purpose could work; it could be an excellent way to have students “turn in” their pronunciation assignments. Here we’re starting to see some real potential benefit to the internet as an alternative forum. I would think that Voicethread would still have to be relegated to one aspect of a multimedia course, however; the way it functions here is almost as an audio chat room. And I, too, would probably avoid walking by all those crocodiles if I could. I don’t even like driving near them unless there’s a glass wall between us, or if I know that they’ve recently eaten.

Good French Lesson, Questionable English Lesson

“Ma France” (L2 French)
This is part of the BBC series of language videos. This particular series is for French but they have dozens of others. They seem to have the bases pretty well covered; the lessons are interactive, allowing the user to navigate to vocabulary and grammar exercises in the course of the video. One can also choose to turn the French or English subtitles on or off at will—I think this is a good blend of interaction and passive learning, allowing the user to select the proper approach. There is also an overall choice of topic, but I found that within each theme there is a lot of material to cover.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/flash/#

“Real English” (L2 English)
Um, what? This is a series of interviews with people on the street about their astrological signs. This is purportedly lower-mid-level L1 material, with the purpose of introducing the verb “like”. Problem #1: The introduction of terms like “Capricorn” and “Taurus” into L1 vocabulary doesn’t strike me as being terribly useful. Problem #2: the speakers they interview are often a little awkward and I don’t think their body language really matches what they are saying about their own personality traits. They simply should have some editorial restraint in choosing which videos to use—“dogmatic” is also not an L1 word, to name one example. Neither is “ostentatious.” I’ll stop there.
http://www.real-english.com/reo/7/unit7.html

Second Language Learners Stay Away!

http://eslbears.homestead.com/Contact_Info.html

In terms of "deep processing" i'm not sure anything on this website is helpful at all. These games look like they were probably created as a class assignment rather than in the interest of writing a useful tool for esl instruction. The first set of exercises is not so much a lesson as teaching by association/elimination. The "hangman" feature could be useful but not any more so than the original game. There is a series of homonym/synonym games and cloze exercises that strike me as being really trite and outdated. They are the equivalent of online flashcards.