Answer the following questions#2 - Essay Example

1. Debra Hardison I chose the website http www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/. It provides animated libraries of the phonetic sounds of three different languages: English, German, and Spanish. Each letter has an animated articulatory diagram. An example is a stop, which is a consonant that is described a full obstruction of the outgoing stream of air, build up of air pressure, and release. I can use this for my own professional understanding of the stop, and other aspects of the language. The animated video can show learners how every speech organ part works, so that they can visualize better and follow it.

The model gives exact video guidelines that can be easier to understand for students, since they can see organs that are not seen during actual conversations, as these organs move inside the mouth. The model also provides examples of words for practice pronunciation, where learners can feel how these organs work together in providing a specific sound(s) for a specific letter. Another example I found is this website: http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/. It has many applications that help students learn the English language, such as the Phonemic Reader.

It shows the actual sounds of the consonants and vowels. It can guide students in seeing each letter, not just physically, but also audio-visually, in a phonemic way. The application also offers several games, such as the Phonemic Pelmanism. It asks students to match the phonetic spelling with the real spelling. The game helps readers practice what they know about phonemics already. There are also plenty of mobile applications that help children learn sounds and letters. These applications test learning too, which provides automatic feedback and positive reinforcement once kids learn them.

I can use them to help students reinforce learning in class by doing tasks that they can do at home at their own pace and time.2. Vedder discuss the application of speaking and writing tasks to SL performance. Information gap tasks are done orally by asking learners to determine differences between pictures, ordering sentences in stories, and restoring missing portions of maps and charts. I can use this game to help learners think about the uses of words in context. The advantages of the task are contextual learning of language and interactive learning.

The disadvantages are possible lack of writing reinforcement and some students with poor vocabulary will struggle with the tasks.An example of the task is making an appointment game. I can use this game to help young learners understand the concept of time and time management. The advantages of the task are helping students understand the meaning of words in actual settings and practicing actual usage. The disadvantages are for those students who lack the vocabulary to meaningfully engage in such conversations and possibility of poor oral confidence.

The next task is argumentative writing task. I can use this to help students convert opinions into logical and objective arguments. The argumentative writing task has the advantages of helping learners analyze the concept of argumentative criteria and to apply them, which, by application, they can learn L2 in its actual setting and uses. The disadvantages of the task are it may be too difficult for learners with poor vocabulary and the speed of writing may affect quality output. The subsequent task is dictoglass task.

I can use the task by letting learners help memorize and construct the short text in groups. The advantages of the task are collective learning and learning both by sound and words. The disadvantages are the teamwork ability of students and problems with free riders.