Thursday 6 June 2013

Russell Stannard's Teacher Training Videos

Here you are some of Russell's videos:


Scoop.IT
ScoopIt  creates a magazine type format taking different content from the internet. You  choose a topic and then ScoopIT will find content from a variety of sources which it suggests that you can add to the magazine. You simply choose the content you like and ScoopIt does the rest. It is so easy to use and very popular. It finds content from all over including Twitter, Slideshare and youTube.
http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/scoopIt/index.html
Audio recordings with Sound Cloud
This is an interesting audio tool. YOu can get your students to make recordings and then you can listen to them and add comments. So great for providing feedback and great for encouraging students to make audio recordings. It is free and simple to use.
http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/soundcloud/index.html

Tricider with discussion board
This is a great tool for getting students to collaborate and discuss topics. It is useful for brainstorming, group and project work and debates. Simply add in a question, Tricider generates a page and the students can access it and add in their answers. They can even embed the resulting discussion into their blog or Moodle site
.http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/tricider/index.html

Scoop.it

Red de buenas prácticas

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Mingle activities: Talk when the music stops



Level: Starter/beginner, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper intermediate, Advanced Type: Extra

A lively mingle activity to get students moving and talking about various topics.
This is a great activity to:
a) wake students up in the first lesson in the morning,
b) make students move e.g. during a double lesson, when concentration decreases or after
    sitting for hours,
c) make students talk to somebody in the class they would not necessarily address,
d) encourage lazier or shyer students to speak.
Procedure:
  • Find a tape/CD with lively music.
  • Students divide into two groups which are the same size (with odd numbers the teacher joins with remote control).
  • Students form two concentric circles.
  • When the music starts, the outer circle moves clockwise, the inner circle anti-clockwise.
  • When the teacher stops the music after some time, students have to stop too and everybody faces a partner in the other circle.
  • The teacher calls out a topic which students have to discuss until the music starts again. The topic depends on the level of the class e.g. Elementary/pre-intermediate: weather, hobby, family, pets, holidays, school.  Intermediate: neighbours, favourite invention, future ambitions, going out. Upper-intermediate/advanced: pollution, generation gap, beauty craze, alienation, politics.
  • When the teacher starts the music, students move on until it stops again (make sure new pairs are formed)
My students have always enjoyed this activity (really eager discussions develop) as a welcome break to the usual routine.

Festival WebQuests: St Patrick's Day



Who was St Patrick? Where in the world celebrates St Patrick’s Day? In this WebQuest you will find the answers to these questions and discover a range of Irish cultural traditions.
On the 17th March, the whole world becomes Irish. It’s the day we celebrate St Patrick’s Day in honour of Ireland’s patron saint. But who was St Patrick? And how do we celebrate his day?


Activity 1: Who was St Patrick?

Visit this site: http://wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm and read the article. Look for the answers to these questions. Share your answers with your classmates.
1. Where and when was St Patrick born?
2. What happened to him when he was 16?
3. When did he become a Christian?
4. How long was he a slave?
5. Where did he study and who was his teacher?
6. What did he want to do with his life?
7. Where did he want to go?
8. Who was sent there in his place and how long did he stay there?
9. What did Patrick achieve in Ireland?
10. How long did he work in Ireland?
11. Where did he go when he retired?
12. When did he die?
13. What legends developed about St Patrick?
14. What is the traditional icon of the day and what does it symbolize?
Using questions 1-14 above, now finish the biography about St Patrick below in your own words.

St Patrick was born in Wales in AD 385. He was sold into slavery when he was 16 and became a Christian after he arrived in Ireland.

Activity 2: What is the history of St Patrick’s Day?

Visit this site: http://socyberty.com/holidays/the-history-of-st-patricks-day-parades/ and read the article. Then complete the following sentences.
  •   The first recorded St Patrick’s Day celebration in the USA happened in _______________ [1] in the year _______________ [2].
  • In 1766, the St Patrick’s Day parade in ____________________ [3] was so successful that they decided to hold one every year.      
  • ____________________ [4] societies were formed by protestants in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
  • These societies organised big celebrations for St Patrick’s Day, where local groups played _______________ [5] and _______________. [6]
  • In the year _______________ [7], the ___________________________________ [8] in Ireland meant that many starving immigrants moved to America, so the Irish population there greatly increased.

Activity 3: A St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt  

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world. You have 15 minutes to visit these sites and answer the questions about various international celebrations.
Questions:
In which city …
1. … does the parade end at University Avenue?
2. … is the second largest parade in the world?
3. … can you run a five-mile race called Runnin’ O’ the Green?
4. … is there a photographic exhibition about County Mayo?
5. … is the river coloured green?
6. … can you take part in a walking tour ‘in the footsteps of St. Patrick’?
7. … is the parade on Fifth Avenue?
8. … is ‘happiness’ the theme of the 2011 festival?
9. … can you attend the 20th St Patrick’s Day parade in 2011?
10. …can you visit the Irish Village at Kiener Plaza?
Now, summarize for the class how St Patrick’s Day is celebrated.

Activity 4: Irish Culture

There are many traditions connected with St Patrick’s Day. Visit the links and investigate one of these aspects of Irish culture and report on it to the class. The questions will help you.

The Shamrock
Questions
1. Why is the shamrock related to St Patrick?
2. In what year was the first reference to the shamrock and what was it
used for?
3. Why is three the Irish magic number?

The Blarney Stone
Links:
The Holiday Spot:http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/shamrock.htm (scroll down)
How Stuff Works:http://people.howstuffworks.com/saint-patrick3.htm (scroll down)
Questions:
4. Where is the Blarney Stone?
5. What legend is told about the Blarney Stone?
6. What gift does the stone give?
7. What does “blarney” now mean?

Leprechauns
Link:
The Holiday Spot: http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/shamrock.htm (scroll down)
Questions:
8. What is a leprechaun and what does it look like?
9. What kind of treasure do leprechauns hide from people?
10. Why must you keep your eyes on a leprechaun if you want his treasure?

Irish Blessings and Sayings
Questions:
11. What are blessings? How can you tell which of the texts are blessings? What word do they begin with?
12. Choose one blessing and memorize it. Recite it and explain what it means.
13. Choose one of the other sayings. Explain it to your classmates.
 

Activity 5: St. Patrick’s Day Collage

Have you ever made a collage? Collage is an art form in which the artist takes a number of images and/or words and puts them together on a piece of paper, in a frame or on a screen. The goal is to make a message or feeling by the very patterns, content and interactions.
Usually you cut and paste images and sentences from magazines, but you can also make collages on your computer. All you need is a word processing program, Power Point, or a website editing program (like Front Page). You can see some collages at Collage Town:http://www.collagetown.com/gallery.shtml
In this activity you will make a collage about St Patrick’s Day. How would you like to celebrate that day? Let your collage reflect how you would like to celebrate.
The links below will help you find images to include in your collage. Start by briefly looking at each site. When you see an image or read a sentence you like, save it in your computer. For images, just put the cursor over the image you are interested in and click with your right mouse button if you are using a PC or double click if you have a MAC. Choose “save” and decide where you want to save the image. For words or sentences, just select the text, and copy it onto a document in a word processing program.
As soon as you have a collection of images, open the program you will use to make your collage and paste images wherever you want on the page. You can also add words and sentences if you want. You can edit the images using a photo-editing program and you can edit the sentences in your word processing program (change the size, the font, the colour).
When you finish making your collage, share it with your classmates and explain why it represents your personal view of St Patrick’s Day.
Links: (you can also use any of the links in the other activities)
The Best Collection of Webimages & Clipart:
http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/patrick-htm/default.htm

Extra activities

1. Do you think you know a lot about St Patrick’s Day? Take this quiz and find out:
The Holiday Spot: http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/quiz.htm
2. Send a free St Patrick’s Day card to your friends or teacher. These sites have lots of free cards available:
Hallmark: http://www.hallmark.com/occasion/st-patricks-day
123 Greetings: http://www.123greetings.com/events/saint_patricks_day/
3. Do you like to cook? Check out these Irish recipes. Are they very different from your country’s dishes?
All about food:http://www.ireland-information.com/irishrecipes/index.htm
4. Would you like to know more about St Patrick? Visit:
Saint Patrick Centre online:http://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/
The Centre offers an interpretative exhibition that tells the story of Ireland’s Patron Saint.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Libros interesantes

- "Teaching Chunks of Language"
   From noticing to remembering
   Authors: Seth Lindstromberg and Frank Boers
    Hebling Languages

- "Once upon a time"
    Using stories in the language classroom
    Authors: John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri
    Cambridge University Press

- "Dictation: new methods, new possibilities"
    Authors: Paul Davis and Mario Rinvolucri
    Cambridge University Press

- "Using Phrasal Verbs for Natural English"
Authors:Liz WalterKate Woodford
Series:Delta Natural English
Level:Intermediate - Upper Intermediate / B1-B



- “Advanced learners. Resource book for teachers” by Alan Maley


- “Using collocation for natural English”. Delta natural English.

Jornadas APEOICVA

Elena Rodríguez Halffter nos estuvo esplicando que en la LOMCE, ya aparecen estructuradas las enseñanzas de idiomas en 6 años (Básico, Intemedio y Avanzado), que corresponden a los niveles del MECR (A1, A2 // B1, B2 // C1, C2) y que gracias a Ángeles Ortega, que está en el Ministerio colaborando en la redacción de la nueva ley, se ha impedido que a los profes de EOI se les pueda mandar a "enseñar música en primaria".

Por otra parte, a la vista de la gran confusión en el conjunto de los países europeos sobre los niveles del MECR y su aplicación, entre Mª Angeles Ortega y Brian North generaron un documento que intenta servir de ayuda para poder guiar en la correcta implementación de los niveles: BRITISH  COUNCIL-AEQUALS Core Inventory for General English. puede ser consultado en www.britishcouncil.org o enwww.eaquals.org (sólo para inglés). En el resto de idiomas está por hacer así es que hizo un llamamiento para que el profesorado del resto de  idiomas hiciera algo parecido.

Por último comentó que se ha creado una COmisión Técnica de EEOOII en el ministerio y que han solicitado un técnico de idiomas de cada Comunidad autónoma para que asista a las reuniones en Madrid. El de la CV todavía no ha llegado... 

ALFREDO JUAN "Tratamiento del error" Aquí podéis ver la presentación:http://www.slideshare.net/alfrejuan/def-ppt-novadors12-trat-error-sin

Posibles métodos sugeridos para recoger los datos de encuestas con eficiencia:GOOGLE DOCS, SURVEY MONKEY, BLACKBOARD, AULA VIRTUAL, MOODLE.


BEN GOLDSTEIN
 "Building the speaking skill" Interesante reflexión sobre los tipos de speaking que pueden resultar motivantes para el alumnado: lo que usan en la vida diaria. Los no motivantes: los artificiales que no tengan un uso ni finalidad práctica.

Conclusión: a veces prestamos mucha atención en la riqueza y corrección tanto al evaluar como al generar actividades orales y podemos olvidarnos de la importancia que tienen los giros coloquiales, expresiones y funciones en la expresión oral. Por tanto, quizá deberíamos prestarle más atención a este último grupo.

Para ver la presentación: www.bengoldstein.es/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/building-the-speaking-skill-LABC-abridgedI.ppt 

También estuve en otra ponencia que daba ideas para hacer hablar a los alumnos y en la que se enumeraron una serie de tareas (muchas sacadas de libros archiconocidos por los profes de inglés) y alguna otra algo más original; pero curiosamente el efecto que causaba la voz de la ponente (totalmente monótona, sin pausas, sin control de los silencios, sin inflexiones en la voz) convirtió hasta las propuestas menos manidas en desmotivantes. Lo cual nos llevó a concluir que por encima de todo el ponente o profesor que plantea cualquier actividad debe estar motivado (¡y reflejarlo en su lenguaje corporal y entonación!) caso contrario la actividad -por motivadora y bien diseñada que pueda estar hecha -se convierte en desmotivante y sin interés!!!) 

Para los de inglés, parece ser que la mayor parte de las EEOOII de la comunidad se inclinan por incluir el plurilingüe en la oferta propia y -si no huiera otro remedio- seguir como hasta ahora.

Y esto es todo por mi parte... 

Saludos y ahora os envio otro sobre la formación en centros...

P.D Por cierto, una de las cuestiones que resonó bastante en el conjunto de las ponencias fue la importancia de laautonomía en el aprendizaje y la autoconciencia del alumnado. La idea es que los profesores seamos más orientadores, guias y ayudantes en el proceso del aprendizaje (¡en vez de papas y mamas!) a la vez que el alumnado "aprende a aprender" por sí mismo. Pero para ello hay que fomentar la autocrítica (autoevaluación) y la evaluación inter pares (coevaluación). ¡¡Así es que Beatríz, a ver si nos guías un poco en este terreno!!