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  • Hi guys, I’m back! So, this is about speak and listening technology.

  • Listening and speaking and technology have come a long way in a few short years. The

  • textbook does not take that completely into account. Because of amazing advances with

  • the Internet and other technologies, listening and speaking through the computer is a very

  • viable learning activity for students today. I have found students to be most motivated

  • when theyve had an interesting activity where they could speak to or through the computer.

  • So concentrating now on speaking technologies first, let’s look at Skype as an example.

  • SYNCHRONOUS SPEAKING TECHNOLOGIES Skype is one of those. This is used for audio

  • calls, or it could be used for video calls. Hi! Eric doesn’t know I’m using him as

  • an example. Some versions of Skype include conference calls. Although I’m not sure

  • if you have to pay extra for that. A conference call is when more than one person is one the

  • line, using the line. Of course, video calls allow for work with the pragmatics of the

  • language. Pragmatics looks at language use in a social context and it includes the intention

  • of the language and non-verbal communication as well as tone of voice. Other software that

  • can use webcams are MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger. Most IM, instant messaging programs, can also

  • be used with webcams or voice only in addition to texting.

  • Teachers can do information gap activities with students using Skype in the school lab.

  • It does take some initial preparation by the teacher and the lab technician to set up generic

  • Skype accounts that match the station numbers in the lab and make sure the microphones are

  • working on each computer. Also, the computer stations should be added to the contacts.

  • So you would just click onnew contact”. And then students would justcalleach other. So they

  • would call each other by clicking on the name, and then click call if it’s an audio call.

  • If you have webcams on your computer, luck you, you can do a video call. So they would

  • call, this would say like station 14 for example, and they would call that person. Now, if it’s

  • an information gap, then maybe one student has a simple picture and they describe it

  • to the classmate and the classmate tries to draw it and then afterwards, they get together

  • and see the results. Let me show another possibility.

  • Elluminate vRooms is another website that can be used to pair students for activities.

  • You can create accounts for free vRooms that can accommodate up to three people at one

  • time. Elluminate is really designed to deliver online class instruction synchronously (I

  • have trouble with that word) using text, voice, video, and PowerPoint or other visuals. It

  • also allows the teacher to take control of the student screen and assist them if they

  • are struggling with a technical issue. But, the free accounts could allow students to

  • talk to each other, perhaps practicing conversations from a textbook, and the instructor could

  • be listening in and offer feedback on the exercise.

Hi guys, I’m back! So, this is about speak and listening technology.

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