Informed Teachers

Speaking Avatar Click here_Speaking Avatar In this blog we feature free tools (apps and websites) to help out in students'speech and speaking development! Let's consider how much the speaking technology has advanced in the past few years as well as the accessibility of hand-held devices and put them together. One of the worries of a teacher of English as a foreign language (be them native or non-native speakers) has to do with the inteligibility of students'speaking production, especially in elementary and pre-elementary levels. Here are useful resources : Voki     http://www.voki.com/ It is a voice enabled avatar and the possibilities for teaching and learning a foreign language via this tool are way too many. Among them, the individualized feedback. I have used this tool with my adult and teenage students. They create an avatar and record their voice. I listen to their production and send my spoken feedback via Voki. scan me! QR Voice    ...

  Support Learning with Apps_a digital walk , by Raquel Gonzaga This post is in collaboration with The 30 goals challenge , by Shelley Sanchez Terrell Goal: Learn with an app To accomplish this goal, learn with an app or help your students learn with an app Motivation to go digital A quick time-travel is required here. The year was 2011. The very beginning of smartphones & tablets epidemic in Brazil. I realized I had something in my hand called smartphone, which was said to have many resources and possibilities, so I decided go check it out. I got fascinated by the number of free resources that could be adapted for an educational purpose and decided to give it a try. How was I then to share my findings with colleagues and students? A blog seemed to be the answer and then the idea turned into 'InformedTeachers' , my channel to share my app suggestions and other tech-related EFL activities. For each learning purpose, an App       The fi...

  Are you a student of English as a foreign language ( EFL student )?        Are you on vacation from your English course ?  Are you an adult learner who needs English for communication in      work-related situations?  Would you like extra classroom practice and challenge?  Are you in a very crucial moment of the English language learning process: pre-intermediate or intermediate level ?       If you answered yes to any of the questions above, chances are that the two apps below can help you practice and expand your English. How is that ?                             Personally I recommend you have a go at the Listening and Vocabulary topics at first, because there are many practical situations there such as :  Business conversations,  Interview,  Flight details,  Health,  Shopping ... ...

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success". Henry Ford Let's get ready to go back to studying English ! Check out my tips on apps for your learning success: Also read:  Apps for studying_this is the kit For more details, also read:  QR Codes in education_An innovative way Your feedback in comments is welcome :) I hope you can have a great semester in learning English and that your choices right now can result in great progress soon enough ! Teacher Raquel   +Raquel Ribeiro Prado Gonzaga  

A quick comment ! Learning how English is cognitively organized plays an important part in the way to fluency acquisition. This time my app recommendations have grammar & vocabulary expansion in mind. Both are free and were developed by the trustworthy British Council team. Basic - Intermediate  This is Johnny Grammar Word Challenge . You can register or use it as a guest. There are three categories to choose from: Grammar / Words / Spelling and a variety of topics such as Food & Restaurants, Travel & Getting around, Small talk .... or Grammar topics : Prepositions/Irregular Verbs, Modals, Linkers ...and levels: Easy/Medium/Hard. At the end of each task the app provides feedback so that you can learn from your mistakes as well. Badges  are given according to your accomplishments. Upper - Advanced The IELTS word power app is mainly targeted at upper intermediate - advanced  students and IELTS test takers. For each que...

How about having a quick access folder with useful apps at the tip of your fingers ? I have tested the apps below and strongly recommend them to teachers and students. All apps can be found for free for both iOS and Android phones. KINGSOFT OFFICE   -  A superb office app that enables the use of Word, Powerpoint, Excel & PDF files in your mobile device. A lot better than other similar paid versions. Free and Offline Dictionary FARLEX FREE DICTIONARY - Once you download the app, look for the option "Add/remove dictionaries" and choose the offline version you prefer. QR CODE Reader to create your e-business cards, scan info from magazines, sites... create classroom activities... Classroom activities using QR Codes Build your own Vocabulary Book (Lexical Book) MYWORDBOOK 2   This is a great app to enable students of English as a foreign language to keep track of new words learned. You can creat...

Hi :) On the subject of using mobile technology to help us learn, I came across a very interesting article by Julie Halpert, with very positive findings about how to blend technology into the learning experience to add challenge and bolster achievement. This is called "blended learning". http://mashable.com/2012/08/12/tech-in-the-classroom/ Even though the article focuses mainly on children, children with special needs and how parents can make sure the school they choose is "tech savvy", it provided me with precious insights on how this approach can very well be applied to learning a foreign language and the different age ranges as well. A very effective way of engaging students with technology for a pleasant learning process is via Apps. There is such a variety of all sorts of Apps for both IOS and Android platforms.The challenge lies in getting one which can effectively fulfill the user's expectations. Keeping in mind the learning, practice and org...