Jeff Puccini, jspuccini.com
Using the Computer Lab Workshop
University of El Salvador, Santa Ana “Using the Computer Lab”
Part I. Speaking tasks.
One way to help students build speaking fluency and accuracy is to give
them focused, timed speaking “tasks.” After students have had multiple
chances to practice with the target language, you might consider:
Practice 1: Sample Speaking Task
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Describe an experience (positive and/or negative) you had as a tourist.
Explain some advantages of tourism for a community.
Explain some disadvantages of tourism for a community.
Compare/contrast tourism in El Salvador and another country.
Offer some suggestions for improving the tourist industry in El Salvador.
Explain how tourism (in El Salvador or globally) has changed over the years.
Speaker’s job
Listener’s job
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15 sec. prep/60 sec. speak
Control recording device
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Post: What are some things that can be done with the recordings?
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After speaker finishes,
summarize his/her main points
Ask 1 or 2 follow-up questions
Part II. Listening logs.
Logs can be used to help students improve their listening skills (and
vocabulary) and become more autonomous learners. Let’s see how a
teacher might set up this activity with students…
Practice 2: http://www.esl-lab.com/. Go to Medium, World Cup
Soccer. Listen, take notes. Then you choose your own.
Sample Listening Log Front Page:
Date Site/topic I heard
I think…
4/27
I know how he feels! When the
US didn’t make it to the 2nd
round in Germany, I was upset!
Esl-lab
A guy tells a woman he is
upset about his team being
eliminated from World cup.
Jeff Puccini, jspuccini.com
Using the Computer Lab Workshop
Sample Listening Log Back Page:
Vocabulary
Word/phrase
Ex. Squeak out
Meaning
To achieve or reach smth. by
a very small margin.
Example
Bayern was able to squeak out a
win against Madrid.
Useful links:
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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Cafe. This is one of best listening
websites out there. There are many listenings to choose from and
there are quizzes where students can check your understanding.
Elllo. This website has hundreds of interesting conversations with
transcripts about many different topics. Students can also click on
new vocabulary words to get definitions.
Listen a Minute. This site has many short listenings that students
can do to practice their skills. They can choose from many topics
and do just a few minutes of practice every day.
VOA: Special English. This is a great website to practice listening
and learn about the world and the United States. The recordings
are a little bit slower so they are easier to understand.
TED. This is an amazing collection of short lectures (20 minutes or
less) by some of the most intelligent people in the world.
NPR. This is the website for National Public Radio in the US. There
are many interviews, programs and news reports.
Pronunciation Guide. Click on 'American English' and then click
on any sound. Students will see how to make the sounds and they
can hear sample words to repeat.