This presentation deals with the different web tools that may be used in the English lesson to work on listening and speaking skills. The sites analysed in this presentation are: VoiceThread, Peanut Gallery, PBS Games, Voscreen, Lyrics Training and Vocaroo.
1. Listening tools Group 2
Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Joaquín V. Gonzalez”
Taller de técnicas informáticas aplicadas a la enseñanza
de la lengua extranjera
Garcia, Maria Laura
2014
2. Students
Daniela Livetti (Voicethread)
Eliana Lemberger (Peanut Gallery)
Jorgelina Fittipaldi (PBS Games)
Lucia Alvarez (Lyrics Training)
Gala Algranati (Lyrics Training -
Voscreen)
Gabriela Gonzalez (Vocaroo)
4. PBS Fridge Game
This webpage is a
collection of several
interactive games and
worksheets designed to
help elementary school
students.
You are asked to sign up for free
to have access to the resources.
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/psu11la.r
eading.brrfridge/blue-ribbon-readers-fridge-magnet-
game/
5. PBS Fridge Game
To get started, you
should search for
a specific content.
In this case:
Speaking Skills:
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/search
/?q=speaking+skill
Listening Skills:
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/sear
ch/?q=listening+skills
6. PBS Fridge Game
Speaking Skills Listening Skills
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/hs1
1.living.evodiv.hum.lpsoskill/social-skills/
SOME EXAMPLES
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/m
srb/
http://pbskids.org/superwhy/
#game/freezedance
http://www.exploratoriu
m.edu/listen/activities/
memory_game/deploy/
MemoryConstructor.swf
7. PBS Fridge Game
● The information found on this site is accurate.
● The content is current but some links are not available in some
countries, Argentina, for example.
● The content has authority, since each source is explicitly given.
● There are a lot of additional references, which sometimes is overwhelming.
● The information on the speaking skill search is not easily found.
● The adjacent advertising does not affect the content.
8. PBS Fridge Game
● The listening games can be
used to practice sound
recognition, vocabulary,
spelling and pronunciation.
● These game tools should be
used to revise what has
already been discussed.
9. PBS Fridge Game
● The storytelling videos found on the
site can be used to explore the tasks
of:
○ Anticipation
○ Retrospection
○ Picturing
○ Interaction
○ Evaluation
○ Textual expansion
○ Reduction
○ Point of view transfer and
media transfer
10. Vocaroo
Vocaroo allows you to:
● Record any piece of writing
(max. size 50MB).
● No need to sign up or create a
vocaroo account.
● You only need a good
microphone.
11. Vocaroo
● If you are not happy with your
recording, you can try it again.
● When your recording is ready, you
get a link and you can:
● shared it by facebook, twitter or
any other site.
● Send it by email.
● Embed it in blog sites.
● Download it as an mp3 and save it
as an mp3 file.
13. Vocaroo
Useful ideas:
● Vocaroo can be used for speaking skills with very shy students. Teacher can
ask students to record certain sentences about themselves, and then share
them in class. They can even play a game where they have to guess whose
recording they are listening.
● Students could be asked to prepare a piece of news and record it as a radio
programme. Then the recordings can listen to each news and answer
questions about their partner’s radio news.
15. Peanut Gallery Films
Peanut Gallery is a
website that allows
you to add intertitles
to old movies using
your voice.
16. Peanut Gallery Films
You don’t need to sign up. To get started, you just have to choose one of the
films.
17. Peanut Gallery Films
As you will be dictating the intertitles,
you will need a microphone
-most laptops have integrated microphones, and
they work just fine-
You will also need Google Chrome
-As Peanut Gallery is a Chrome Experiment, you won’t
be able to use another browser-
19. Peanut Gallery Films
Once you’ve finished adding the intertitles, you are given a link to
your movie. You can change its title, and publish it on facebook or
twitter if you want to.
Take a look at our first film!
http://goo.gl/ugahlw
20. Peanut Gallery Films
Useful Ideas
★ This webpage is great to practise storytelling. After working with
storytelling for a while, students will be able to create their own movies
and share them with their classmates.
★ They can use their own ideas, or use the scenes to infer what is going on
and put it into words.
21. Peanut Gallery Films
★ They will have to work on their pronunciation as well - if not, the
software wouldn’t recognize the words.
★ Students can also use these scenes to explain some grammar topics,
instead of creating handouts.
★ Films could also be used as icebreakers.
22. Peanut Gallery Films
You don’t need to log in *
There’s no advertising *
It’s easy to use and well structured *
The site loads quickly and it’s visually appealing *
You don’t need to download your movie *
* You cannot access this website using any browser.
* There aren’t many films to choose from.
* This site wouldn’t work with young children,
as old films may not be suitable for them.
* You can’t correct what
you’ve done, so you
have to start all
over again.
23. Peanut Gallery Films
Useful Links
➔ Introducing the Peanut Gallery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd8HzLCIstE
➔ Some articles
http://www.geek.com/chips/google-shows-off-smart-super-fast-voice-
translation-using-chrome-and-silent-films-1543405/
http://9to5google.com/2013/03/19/google-launches-the-peanut-gallery-
chrome-experiment-to-showcase-web-speech-api-video/
24. Lyrics Training
This webpage offers a variety
of songs to complete their
lyrics - constantly updated.
There are four different levels
of difficulty:
After the song finishes, the user is
assigned a score.
You don’t need to sign up to use it,
but you need to in order to save your
score.
25. Lyrics Training
● You press play and the song
and game start.
● The lyrics are displayed with
empty spaces to be completed.
● Dots represent missing words
→ Easier to complete in time.
26. Lyrics Training
● Once the phrase is mentioned, the songs stops to give you time to complete
it.
● If the user needs repetition, there is a button for that.
● Advantage of web page → Even if the user fails to complete the lyrics in
time, they can choose to keep on completing them.
27. Lyrics Training
● The teacher can suggest this webpage for students to practise listening
skills at home. As the songs are known to students, they may be more
engaged in such an activity.
● The teacher can use it in class as a competition, if there are enough
computers. Students are asked to complete the same song at the same
level, and then scores are compared.
28. Lyrics Training
USEFUL LINKS:
● Lyrics Training website:
http://lyricstraining.com/
● A Full Introduction to Lyrics Training:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpiUTBSfkkw
● A Quick Guide on How to Use it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL-hBYOW0HU
29. VoiceThread
The page offers a definition of
“voicethreading” so as to get
an idea of what we can do with
this page:
1) To communicate ideas using
more than one of the senses.
2) To connect with an audience
in an authentic and simple
manner.
3) A discussion that simulates a
live presence.
30. VoiceThread
With Voicethread you can upload pictures or text, and add your voice or video.
You can also check what other people have posted, and comment on their work.
31. VoiceThread
How to use it ...
* VoiceThread is a cloud application, so there is no
software to install. The only system requirement is an
up-to-date version of Adobe Flash. VoiceThread will
work in any modern web browser and on almost any
internet connection.
* With VoiceThread Mobile, all of your content is
available on your Apple mobile device.
32. VoiceThread
* There are some “VoiceThread Products” to which you can only have
access by paying. Anyway, you can also register for free.
A free account includes:
➔ 3 minutes of phone commenting
➔ 5 voicethreads with up to 50 slides each
➔ unlimited voice and text comments
33. VoiceThread
Creating: Upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images,
audio files and videos. Over 50 different types of media can be used in a
VoiceThread.
35. VoiceThread
Sharing
Keep a VoiceThread private,
share it with specific people,
or open it up to the entire
world. Learn more about
sharing VoiceThreads.
36. VoiceThread
Turorials
On VoiceThread.com you will find offical tutorials on how to use
this tool.
Here’s the link to another tutorial, “An Introduction to VoiceThread”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0wod6JZIU
37. VoiceThread
Useful Ideas
➔ The teacher can upload a picture, on which students will have to comment.
In this case, students had to say a sentence using
verbs followed by gerund or infinitive.
To learn more about this project visit
https://voicethread.com/about/library/infinitive
_or_gerund/
38. VoiceThread
Useful Ideas
➔ Another good idea is to use VoiceThread to create a story. Students can
upload their own images and read their own stories.
If it’s an open ended story, students can ask
people to provide different endings.
39. VoiceThread
Useful Ideas
➔ The teacher can create a VoiceThread for students to talk about certain
topic. In this case, students chose a book, explained why and then talked
about the story.
To learn more about this
project visit
https://voicethread.com/a
bout/library/1st_grade__
Reading_Analysis_from_L
eanne_Windsor/
40. VoiceThread
Useful Ideas
➔ Students could use VoiceThread as an e-portfolio, and so upload pictures
of all the things they’ve done during the year and record themselves talking
about those experiences. Then they could share their e-portfolio with their
relatives and friends.
To learn more about this project visit
https://voicethread.com/about/library/
5th_Grade__Digital_portfolios_for_stu
dentled_parent_confs/
41. VoiceThread
Useful Links
★ 7 things you should know about VoiceThread
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7050.pdf
★ VoiceThread Blog
http://blog.voicethread.com/
★ VoiceThread on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/VoiceThread
★ Article
http://www.edutopia.org/voicethread-interactive-multimedia-albums
42. Voscreen
● Voscreen is an innovative way
to help learners improve
English on their own in a fun
way.
● It is based on voscreenology -
a method and teaching
approach making second
language learning more
effective as a result of research
on mother tongue learning
environment and process.
43. Voscreen
HOW TO USE IT:
● You can sign up, access through
your Facebook account or start as a
guest. Whichever method you
choose, Voscreen is free.
● select your mother tongue.
● Next you will be shown a 4-5 second
video segment ranging from a wide
variety of genres (films,
documentaries, songs, speeches,
ads, and so on).
44. Voscreen
You click on play, and when the video clip is over you have two choices:
● I understand (you are given a choice of two translations in your mother
tongue for you to click on the right one) or
● Show me the script (the transcript of the video segment is shown with
the correct translation in your mother tongue highlighted in green).
45. Voscreen
EVALUATION:
● It is free - you can play as a guest for a couple of times or sign up to play
unlimitedly.
● There is no advertising in the website.
● It looks professional.
● It is regularly updated.
● The sound quality is generally good, but there are some clips which
bring about difficulties.
46. Voscreen
SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS:
● Voscreen is great for students to practice listening to everyday phrases and
repeating them.
● Students can learn pronunciation and rhythm in English.
● Students learn through translation.
● Useful for primary school children. A bit hard for kindergarten students
and a bit too easy for secondary school students.
Note: If you play as a guest, it will allow you to play for a couple of times and
then ask you to sign up.
47. Voscreen
USEFUL LINKS:
http://www.voscreen.com/
● Voscreen on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Voscreen
● Voscreen on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/voscreen
● Voscreen on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Voscreen
● An article on Voscreen:
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/08/18/voscreen-is-a-new-online-video-site-for-
learning-english/
