[W8] Ello : Online Listening Library

Hello English language teachers!

Have you ever thought about expanding your recording and listening activity collections for English class? If you have, then you can easily log on to Ello and be surprised that you can find more than 1000 listening activities with multimedia, mp3 files, vocabulary task, language notes and many more that you can choose to be carried out in just a click. 

Ello Website Link

How to Use Ello:

Ello promises 5 active sections which can be explored by teachers such as Views, Mixer,Games, Videos, Scenes, and News. It is so well-organised that teachers can easily look up for the activities according to the number of task set and topics. So let us explore some of the section and see what it offers...

Picture 1: VIEWS section

1. VIEWS

• VIEWS provides a downloadable recording conversation based on the topics with transcription for teacher use. 
• The quizzes provided are vary according to the focus for example- Quiz 1: Vocabulary Focus and Quiz 2: Comprehension Questions. 
• There is also an embedded video response with subtitles available that is shared by a respondent and learners can enhance their knowledge about related topics while listening to other people's opinions. 
• VIEWS section also provides learners with Audio Notes which focuses on the elaboration of the vocabulary items that are introduced in the conversation.  

2. MIXER 

• In MIXER, there is a combination of speakers from different regions with different accents.

3.GAMES

• GAMES provides merely the same tools and functions of what VIEWS has, but the only difference is on the task. GAMES provides 3 tasks which are believed to be more focusing on the language skills involving vocabulary, reading and speaking quizzes. 

4. NEWS

• In NEWS, learners may choose to listen to more than 20available news broadcastings before answering some vocabulary and listening questions. However, there is a slight drawbacks in this section, which attempts when we start to play the video. When we have played a news video, we cannot pause it until you answer the question. However we can still replay the video.   

Picture 2: VIDEOS section

Advantages:

• One of the good thing about Ello is that it offers tutorials for new users to explore this website. 
• It involves speakers from various regions and this may expose learners to variety of accents and  may as well enhance their intercultural competence. 

Disadvantages:

• Ello can sometimes be confusing since there is no clear instruction for each sections, regarding how to carry out the task and how to use the audio notes (especially!).
• Since anybody may send a video response, we may want to know about the background or perhaps the reliability of language and ideas being presented (but not really a limitation, because the world of internet is a free place for all!). 

[W5] My Brainshark : Online and Mobile Video Presentations & Database

My Brainshark is another website that I learned this week in ICT in ELT class. This website is a cloud based software in which users can keep and modify their data from 'a static document' into a more active presentation. For example, My Brainshark allows users to change a boring Power Point presentation slides into an interesting video presentation by installing their voice and background music. Apart from that, My Brainshark can be a convenient database manager as it is capable of managing documents that it keeps. With these types of application, My Brainshark can be a powerful tool for ELT teachers to improve their teaching style for example, they can prepare a video presentation with recorded voice as a source of reference for students at home. Since My Brainshark has many features for learning purpose, it is sometimes complicated and acquires much skills to handle , therefore it is rather suitable for secondary school or advanced learners than the primary ones.

My Brainshark Website Link

Advantages:

• My Brainshark can be an interesting tool for teaching and learning. 
• A very useful tool for 'connected classroom' - students and teachers' speaking activity outside classroom
• Students can practice to use language and grammar and also record their practice so that they can revise it later
• Users can embed the documents made and they can use it for blog or email it too

Disadvantages:

• Its multi-features is sometimes complicated and can possibly be handled by advanced students or teachers 

[W2] Listen and Write: a CLIL Approach

One of the substantial roles played by language teachers is that they need to help learners to brush up their language proficiency as well as help them to build their knowledge about the world. This approach is well-said in the Content-Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach which acknowledges the use of authentic materials in developing learners proficiency of the language. The concept of bringing up the current news and events happening in the world into the language class is applied in the website Listen and Write in which students are allowed to practise their listening skill while hearing to the latest news around the world.

This website provides learners with three different types of activities which are; Full Mode, Quick Mode and Blank Mode. In Full Mode, learners are asked to listen to the recording and type the full words in the box provided while in the Quick Mode, which is much easier, they can just type the first letter of every words mentioned. The Blank Mode on the other hand allows learners to fill in the blanks with the suitable words.

Listen and Write Website Link

Benefits:

• Learners can choose either or not to make an account in order to use the tools in this website. Having an account allows learners to save and view their score history later.
• Users who own an account can build groups so as to share listening archives that are available only for their group. Apart from that, making groups allow users to conduct group discussions and view statistics of members activities. 

Drawbacks:

• Users without an account can only play the Full Mode and they can never use the other levels. 

[W2] Lyrics Training

Lyrics training is one of the famous websites that tackles language learners, especially teenagers who are keen to music to improve their language. This website allows learners to transfer their listening skill into other important language skills such as spelling, through an easy and fun method. Learners of foreign language can improve these language skills by completing the lyrics of thousands of music videos provided. Lyrics Training allows learners of different ages and language levels ability to choose the different levels of challenge and difficulty that are suitable for their own pace. It provides 3 different levels of exercise which are beginner, intermediate and expert. For the beginner level, learners are asked to fill in the blanks in which only 10 percent of the full lyrics are removed whereas for the intermediate and the expert level is 100 percent.  

Currently, Lyrics Training provides videos of seven different languages (English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German) besides a translation button to help learners check the unsure vocabulary.

Lyrics Training Website Link

Benefits:

• Lyrics Training lets another method of teaching that regards young learners' interest and thus link it with learning approach. 
• Lyrics Training allows learners to record scores and analyse their performance by creating account. Learners can choose to use this website either by registering for free or without registering.
• While completing the blank fills, Lyrics Training allows learners to pause the song if they are not sure of the correct words and also, it is automatically paused whenever it approaches a blank so that learners have ample times to type down the answer. 

Weakness:

• Since there is a skip button (Tab) where learners can leave the unsure vocabulary that they have heard, there is a possibility that learners may become demotivated to try and tend to use this assistance tool.  
• There may be a small distraction towards learners' attention while using this website since there is a Facebook social plugin at the right site of the page
• Language teachers may have to deal with the inappropriate content of videos which opposes to the society for example videos and songs that promote yellow culture and abusive behaviour.