Mission Europe is a language learning programme that uses radio broadcasts in different languages. As a listener you participate in a story, which on the website reads:
Immerse yourself in the world of languages with three exciting Mission Europe adventures. Mission Berlin, Misja Kraków and Mission Paris offer an interesting approach to language learning in 26 episodes. You experience three missions from the perspective of a computer player who joins virtual heroines on adventures in France, Poland and Germany.
In Mission Berlin, the player and the virtual heroine Anna fight against the enemies of re-unified Germany. In Misja Kraków, the player and Suzanna must halt the opponents of Poland’s EU accession. In Mission Paris, the player and the heroine Eva compete against an enemy who wants to return France to the era of Napoleon III and restore the Second Empire. After you’ve successfully completed your mission, you are rewarded with insight into a country, its language and its culture. Choose an adventure and discover the French, German or Polish language. And remember: Danger is lurking everywhere.
VUE or the Visual Understanding Environment is a freely downloadable concept mapping programme, available under an Open Education Resource license. It is a project by Tufts University and is available here.
Luciano Mariani just self-published an interesting book on communication strategies, using the excellent Lulu (www.lulu.com) website.
From the author:
Communication Strategies
Learning and teaching how to manage oral interaction
Published by www.lulu.com, also available in downloadable format
ISBN 978-1-4457-7953-9
For a preview of the book go to:
http://www.lulu.com/content/libro-a-copertina-morbida/communication-
strategies/8906511
Communication strategies is a book about the verbal and non-verbal ways and
means that learners and users of a second or foreign language can employ when
they have to face problems due to gaps in their linguistic, communicative or
intercultural competence. Strategies also enable them to deal with uncertainty
in personal and intercultural contacts and to increase their autonomy in using
languages.
Communication strategies is both a handbook for teachers, teacher trainers and
educators, providing them with a sound methodological background, and a
collection of 30 practice activities, games and tasks for language learners and
users. Photocopiable worksheets are provided, as well as freely downloadable
recordings of native and non-native speakers of English.
CONTENTS
PART ONE – Methodological background
1. Communication strategies: defining the area
1.1 Introducing strategies
1.2 Focus on oral interaction
1.3 Strategies as problem-solving behaviour
1.4 Communication vs compensation
1.5 Product vs process
1.6 The consciousness issue
1.7 Intra- and inter-cultural strategies
Further reading
2. Types of strategies
2.1 Reduction vs achievement
2.2 Reduction strategies
2.3 Achievement strategies at the word and sentence level
2.4 Achievement strategies at the discourse level
2.5 Factors affecting strategy choice and use
2.6 A proposed typology
Further reading
3. Strategy learning and teaching
3.1 Strategic competence
3.2 The teachability issue
3.3 Approaches to strategy education
3.4 Designing learning tasks
Further reading
At E3 a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft unveiled its latest gaming product, due for release this autumn (fall really, as Europe is scheduled for early 2011 release). Xbox Kinect, as its called, takes the Nintendo Wii’s interactivity one step further; you don’t need a controller at all. By using multiple cameras Kinect recognises who you are and registers your movements. In this way it directs you to dance, jump, wave or do yoga poses and matches these against the game and against other players. This is pretty cool and could be a real fun way to get beginner learners (maybe especially kids but I’m sure adults too) get to grips with basic action verbs in the target language. By coupling it with a speech recognition engine you’d have a very friendly and entertaining learning environment. Will this herald the return of Total Physical Response?
Debut is an online peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate students of languages, linguistics and area studies. You can find it here.
An excellent initiative!
Recently, educators have begun to consider what is required in literacy curricula and best teaching practices given the demands placed on the educator sector and on literacy in general.
Multiliteracies and Technology Enhanced Education: Social Practice and the Global Classroom features theoretical reflections and approaches on the use of multiliteracies and technologies in the improvement of education and social practices. Assisting educators at different teaching levels and fostering professional development and progress in this growing field, this innovative publication supports practitioners concerned with teaching at both a local and global level.
Dan Willoughby, A colleague of mine, just alerted me to Runrev, a natural language programming interface. Of course there are many authoring tools, ranging from the very easy such as Hot Potatoes (very popular with language teachers), to the more advanced such as Adobe Captivate or hybrid programmes that allow both visual authoring and programming (such as Illuminatus’s Opus Pro). Runrev is certainly towards the more advanced end of this scale but stops short of requiring you to learn a full-blown programming language. I haven’t used it myself yet but intend to play with it over the summer. If you’ve used it and would like to share your experiences, I’d be very interested to hear from you - please drop me a note.
At Middlesex University where I work we are very interested in peer-assisted learning. The Department I head will be responsible for approximately 150 ’student learning assistants’ who will be working with lecturers, writing and language specialists, numeracy and dyslexia tutors, and of course students. In peer-assisted learning potentially everyone gains. More senior students get some teaching experience (and learn a lot in the process) and valuable skills for employment, the students benefit from the support they get, and the lecturers have extra help during seminars and tutorials.
Here is an interesting video from Queen Mary in London about Peer-Assisted Learning (original here):
