conference curriculum EFL eikaiwa elllo ES ETJ expectations extensive listening extensive reading high school Japanese junior high school Language learning online resources oxford owl Oxford Reading Tree phonics popjisyo presentations renshuu reviews rikai self-study teaching technology TED university video
by sendaiben
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Annotated list of websites from the “SRS, RSS, LMS: Online Tools to Boost Learner Efficiency” presentations
Hi everyone
A friend from Sendai reminded me that I promised to post the list of websites from my presentation on the blog. Here it is:
Anki is a spaced-repetition program
elllo.org is an amazing listening resource: over 1200 short conversations with transcripts
EnglishCentral.com has short videos with interactive subtitles as well as vocab and pronunciation practice
Facebook needs no introduction
Google search settings have some interesting tools, like reading level
Google translate is partially useful
iTunesUniversity great content for advanced students and teachers can now use it to show their classes
Network (Oxford University Press textbook) new series based around social media
OxfordOwl incredible resources including Oxford Reading Tree ebooks with sound
pikifriends a closed social network for junior high schools
popjisyo.com amazing resource for reading online content
readthekanji.com a simple (paid) system for learning kanji
renshuu.org a very powerful site for learning kanji and vocabulary -freemium but most of it is free
rikaikun for Chrome/rikaichan browser extension Firefox gives popup translations within the browser
skype for video calls
starfall.com phonics and reading practice for children
TED.com great content for teachers and advanced learners
youtube.com you know this
Hope you find something useful in there.
conference curriculum EFL expectations language courses Language learning presentations teaching university
by sendaiben
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Building Effective University Language Programs
I’m quite proud of this one. Here’s my talk from the seminar yesterday, entitled “Building Effective Language Instruction”. It’s actually about how to think about university language programs, what they should include and, more importantly, not include.
The outline is below for anyone who doesn’t like videos.
Introduction: the world has changed
Students, employers, and most importantly, language learning techniques have all changed in the new millenium.
What is effective foreign language instruction?
What are the desired outcomes of foreign language instruction? How can they be achieved?
Proficiency, independence
Things students don’t need
Foreign language instruction often includes extraneous material or goals that reduce its effectiveness: technical and social skills
A model program
What would an ideal foreign language program look like atTohokuUniversity? How could it be implemented? Blended learning, serve different types of students, lifetime learning
How to measure results
How should language learning outcomes be measured? How can the effectiveness of a program be judged? Not just standard language tests
conference curriculum expectations language courses Language learning presentations teaching technology university
by sendaiben
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Tohoku University Seminar: Building Effective Foreign Language Instruction
I’ll be giving a 30-minute presentation on “Building Effective Foreign Language Instruction” at an event at Tohoku University in Sendai on Monday. Details are here.
Time: 13:00-17:50
Place: Sakura Hall, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University
Entrance: free
If you can’t make it I hope to post a video of my talk here next week.
conference curriculum EFL expectations extensive reading language courses Language learning presentations teaching university video
by sendaiben
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Extensive Reading presentation in Japanese
This presentation is from the ER Seminar held in Nagoya on July 1st, 2012. It is a short (25 minute) presentation in Japanese about how to design and introduce an extensive reading program.
Spring (summer) cleaning
After the storm of grading comes the calm of sorting papers, clearing up the office, and throwing things away.
This year I have more than usual as I am continuing my journey towards minimalism. I have hundreds of novels in my office that I am slowly disposing of, re-reading where necessary. It’s slow but enjoyable.
After last year’s earthquake, I had to move my office twice: once to temporary quarters, then to the prefabricated building we’re in now. Our actual offices are being fixed up and reinforced, and we should be able to move back by sometime next year (I say sometime because the actual date they’re supposed to be finished has already been moved back severa times).
My goal is to have very few things to move back, so that my office ends up being a peaceful and tidy place where I can work.
As you can see from the picture above, I have a long way to go.