VOSCREEN: a fun tool to learn&practice languages

This sounds like an interesting tool to help learners.

teachingwithedtech

I knew about this tool long before when it was in the project stage – which I thought was a brilliant idea. In a nutshell, you watch a really short extract from visual media (film, series, ads, etc.) and choose from two options the correct transcription. When you google “voscreen”, here is what you’ll see:

001When you click on the link, it asks you to choose your mother tongue:

002You can then sign up if you want or just to see how it feels, you can play as a guest. If you sign up, you will be able to monitor your progress and your scores, etc. You can also edit your profile and upload a photo.

004 I should work on my score 🙂

How it works

When you start using this tool, you’ll see that the video is covering most of the screen. After you press the play button, you…

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Changes to the First Certificate exam, 2015

As most of you will know, there are major changes coming up from January 2015 in both the Cambridge: First (FCE ) and the Cambridge: Advanced exams. Both exams move to the four paper format from the five paper format they have had up till now, in line with the changes made in the Cambridge: Proficiency exam last year. Here is a video from Cambridge English TV which explains the changes in the Cambridge: First exam.

Exploiting video in the language classroom: IATEFL Harrogate

iatefl-conference-sign

I’ve just got back from my first IATEFL Conference, in Harrogate, still feeling elated from the buzz that such big conferences always produce. It’s been great to meet up with so many people I’ve only seen online before, and make new friends. It’s also been great to attend so many fantastic talks and workshops.

I’d like to thank everyone who came along to my session on exploiting video in the classroom. As promised, here is the link to the powerpoint of my presentation. The video clips used are in the same folder, just in case the links in the presentation don’t work. I hope you find it useful.

Write-ups for some of the activities included in the session can be found in the following posts:

Pigeon Impossible

Dubbing exercise (Armstrong and Miller RAF Pilots)

Video listening comprehension

Real Beauty – Film English

How to … use video in the classroom