Talk About It: Speaking Resources

I found this site useful: English Conversations. It's important for students to hear the interchange between speakers. There are sections titled "Easy English" and "Bilingual." I think I saw a link for a Liverpool accent as well. Seeing full conversations will help students become more aware of discourse rules.
One that would work well in my context is this re-telling of "Jack and the Beanstalk." It will give students some information on Western culture, help them practice using technological resources critically, and give them access to authentic speech beyond the classroom. After they hear this example, I would ask the students to retell a fairy tale or folk tale of their own choosing--either from their own culture or a foreign one. The main focus of such story-telling is conveying the passage of time and making sure the listener understand the sequence of events. When students are able to move back and forth in time, they are able to be more creative with their compositions.

Tongue Twisters can help students practice troublesome sounds. It's better for them to have a model of some kind, but many online resources don't offer that. I did find one site, Tongue Twisters for English Language Learners that offers audio along with the text, and explains which specific phoneme the twisters can help students practice. It takes a while to load, but sound files seem to be intact. A favorite of mine "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?" is good for when I teach rhythm and rhyme. Practicing tongue twisters can help teens better understand pop lyrics. The ways that native speakers connect speech and omit sounds should not be foreign to them. There is a different register for the classroom than what they will use with their peers when they study in an English-speaking country.

EnglishClub.com offers a useful page on pronunciation. The writers discuss some distinctive features of English and how students can practice using them. Attention is paid to word stress, sentence stress, linking, and homophones. Some students are more analytic. This kind of focus will help them identify weaknesses in their speaking patterns and offer some practice exercises. There is no way for students to check their progress, so I would probably use this in class and then break into individual work to check the features. Perhaps a good way to synthesize this information is with a role play or skit.

Skype offers a few communities that could be helpful to learners: AddLang, Worldia, and Osnavi. When you click on the link, you can read user reviews. I think these sites were rated 3 of 5 stars. My only caution is that learners beware of online predators and bullies. Again, I would like my students to become familiar with the applications these software programs offer. Using an online chat can help them gather new language partners away from the classroom. This can be an exciting process for students because they will use their English to share information about their country, culture, interests and studies.

The most fun way to practice speaking outside of class is to find a friend. Language exchanges are a good way to learn about culture, build relationships, and expand your vocabulary. Newspaper classifieds have these type of listings, but there are also Facebook communities, list serves and school resources. The Language Exchange Community can help you find a partner, but I think face-to-face communication is what students in a foreign language setting lack most. For my junior high students, exploring the language through social connections can help them create a different sense of self and express themselves beyond the classroom. With friends, people are somehow more themselves. Students present themselves one way to their teacher, but they should have opportunities to fully share their ideas with someone who is not evaluating them. Interacting with others brings up questions about culture and current events. This will generate more speaking, which will give students fodder for academic writing and research because they will be building background knowledge naturally.

Radio Anyone?

I wanted to share the link to Voice of America News-Special English. This is where I found a modified version of Poe's classic "The Tell-Tale Heart."
This site features Podcasts, MP3s, social networking links (to Facebook and Twitter), and regular stories with 45 language options.

For the Bibliophiles- Ideas for Authentic Reading Texts

I love books, and I encourage my students to read. When you read, you can experiment with different types of language without fear of criticism, you can discover new kinds of discourse, and you can acquire all types of vocabulary that will help you write and speak about things that really interest you.

In class, I tried to read something to my students each class whether it was a newspaper article or a short story. Words have power, and helping students develop an awareness of syntax is part of what language teachers do.

The Digital Book Index. I haven't used this before, but I think e-books are ideal for foreign language settings. Libraries don't seem to spend as much money or effort acquiring printed texts. The school I worked at had a library, but it was full of Chinese materials. To help expose students to authentic texts, I was having to order sets of books or asking for a budget from my supervisors. Free text sounds great to me, and it gives learners the option to read something beyond what's presented in their textbook.

ESL Reading is a site that seems to be developing. It's easy to navigate and the writers have provided activities so students can check their comprehension. The stories include a 'Before You Read' link to give the students some background on the text before they tackle it. And, there are color-coded tags to tell learners the level (pre-intermediate, upper intermediate) of the story.

Read.gov is a site that offers full text selections for free! I focused on the teen section because reading some of these texts will give students some insight into American culture. In more advanced writings, authors make allusions to some of these classic texts and expect the reader to be familiar with them. The site is very well-organized, and sleek in design. It's easy to navigate, and the students have the option of downloading the PDF or viewing the text in HTML. So the Library of Congress cares about literacy. Nice.

One way to include culture in language lessons is to compare folk stories. The tall tale, for instance, is unique to American literature and is related to U.S. history. Exposing students to folk tales helps them generate questions about the culture and examine its contrasts with their own culture. Some of the stories on the American Folklore website include podcasts so the students can listen as they read. I used stories from site for learners of all ages. There's even a special link for English language learners who need a little more support.

LibriVox is quickly becoming another of my favorite sites. Students, again, can read the PDF files themselves, or they can listen to MP3 files of the texts. Some of them are longer, which I think is ideal for students who may transfer to a mainstream high school setting. There are links to young adult short works, which is perfect for most students. They can benefit from outside reading without making a huge time commitment.

The International Children's Digital Library may not seem very exciting to all teens, but some readers may enjoy reviewing familiar stories from their childhood. Children's books provide more contextual support and repetition than other genres of books. Also, children's books deal with complex issues and questions young people want to have answered, but don't want to ask. Plus, students can learn more about the patterns of discourse between English-speaking adults and children.

No reading selection is complete without access to a good dictionary. If the context clues aren't enough, a dictionary is your best friend. I recommended the Cambridge Online Dictionary for Advanced Learners. It covers basic vocabulary and also gives students a little of that 'i+1' with clear and succinct definitions.

Integrated Skills II - Real English

Here's just one more site which I find impressive. Students can watch the videos and then complete the exercises. Or-- you can create the exercises.
They can choose to watch the lesson with or without subtitles. Go ahead and take a look. You can tell that someone put some thought into these.

Real English: Lessons

Integrated Skills for a Foreign Language Context

This site is one I recommend for my more advanced learners. I use this site when I want to do a Web Quest, or if I want the students to access news that pertains to them.
The stories are more advanced, but the teacher resource links offer scripts which can be adapted for classroom use.
I chose this site because Washington Bilingual High School aims to prepare students for classrooms abroad. This materials you find here give cultural background information which will be invaluable to students should they study in the United States. It also gives the teacher to authentic input. With guided practice, students will become more confident users of full-English resources.

Channel One

Authentic Listening

Here's a link to one of my favorite sites. I've used this resource for one-on-one sessions as well as classes. Some of the topics are perfect for high school students. The stories are current, so if they want to follow along on MTV, it's fine. There are plenty of news sources, but this one has high school students in mind.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Each story has handouts and usually an MP3 for listening. Some even include some kind of supplemental activity. It's a good idea to review the handouts carefully and adapt them for your class.

Past Revisited

I am an EFL teacher originally from Cajun Country-- Lafayette, LA. I taught English for a little over four years in Taiwan, earned my CELTA certification in the summer of 2006, and am now pursuing a master's in Foreign Language Education. Here I would like to generate and evaluate teaching resources that will be applicable to my teaching context.

The students in my language arts class attend a private bilingual Chinese-English high school in Taiwan. They are working to qualify for mainstream, full-English, content classes. There is a mainstream class for each grade level, but this preparatory class is a mix of seventh through ninth graders. Because of the disparity in age and maturity among these students, it’s important for me to make my presentation methods and activity choices relevant. Most of the students speak well and are able to socialize in English, but they have trouble with academic English skills.
My philosophy on language is that it’s similar to music. In an ensemble, each individual has a unique sound to contribute and a different part to play. But, when the members of the group work together, they are able to convey a powerful—almost tangible—meaning. Just as a great song expresses a range of volumes, melodies, textures, and intensities, a successful language class is versatile. My goal is to help this group of students gain enough linguistic competence to succeed in mainstream classes whether at this bilingual high school or at an institution in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United Kingdom.