My search for new technology tools led me through many twists and turns this week. First, I browsed the App Store for English language learning apps with a focus on speaking in particular. Some good results turned up but not what I originally had in mind. I downloaded an app titled “Hello-Hello” created by ACTFL with excellent graphics and teaching layout. The lessons are easy-to-follow segments centered on a practical theme: at the bank, the hotel, a restaurant, etc. Each lesson begins with a short, animated story that presents new language. The user hears only audio the first time. The second time captions are added under the video clips as the characters speak. Following this, learners are encouraged to practice saying what they have just heard, record their performance, and play it back. They are also encouraged to write (or rather, type the words). Finally there are two quiz sections for reading and listening. In the more aesthetically appealing one, users hear a verbal prompt and tap the correct response in a bubble as it floats up the screen. There are several bubbles containing answers. Only one of them contains an appropriate response to the prompt however. A vocabulary builder ends each lesson. This is a wonderful app for an EFL course at the beginning and maybe intermediate levels. In many ways it is analogous to the Pimsleur foreign language series: excellent content and presentation but very limited as far as achieving fluency is concerned.
My second catch was a website that came up on Zite called FluentU.com. It features learning languages through videos with enhanced captions. I had to abandon this path as soon as it said English was not a language offered (after I had gotten half-way through the sign-up process). I included it in this blog because it still looks like a promising prospect for anyone who wants to learn Chinese or Spanish.
The third website I found is titled Story Time for Me (http://storytimeforme.com/resources). It is obviously designed for young children ages 1-8 but adults may find it useful if they can tolerate the juvenile content and presentation. The main attraction for me in this site is that the words are highlighted as the narrator reads them. The stories are recorded in high quality audio by professional narrators and are accompanied by cute little animations of the characters. The second big attraction is that many of the stories are free to hear.
While I am disappointed that my quest for advanced speaking apps has failed, I nonetheless am happy with some of the other tools the search has uncovered.
My second catch was a website that came up on Zite called FluentU.com. It features learning languages through videos with enhanced captions. I had to abandon this path as soon as it said English was not a language offered (after I had gotten half-way through the sign-up process). I included it in this blog because it still looks like a promising prospect for anyone who wants to learn Chinese or Spanish.
The third website I found is titled Story Time for Me (http://storytimeforme.com/resources). It is obviously designed for young children ages 1-8 but adults may find it useful if they can tolerate the juvenile content and presentation. The main attraction for me in this site is that the words are highlighted as the narrator reads them. The stories are recorded in high quality audio by professional narrators and are accompanied by cute little animations of the characters. The second big attraction is that many of the stories are free to hear.
While I am disappointed that my quest for advanced speaking apps has failed, I nonetheless am happy with some of the other tools the search has uncovered.