Hi Everybody,
This month I will start an online ESL webcam tutoring site, ESL Webcam for Kids. My plan is to offer English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language to students in elementary and middle school. I am looking for someone who is interested in moderating a forum on the best children's teaching and learning activities for ESL students. I am not starting with any big investment money, nonetheless, I can pay a small honorarium for the person who takes this responsibility. Moreover, I think that there is a good research paper in this for a person who wants to evaluate online material for academic purposes.
There are a number of sites with content specifically created to address the needs of students leaning English. Sometimes ESL teachers can use non-ESL sites by repurposing them with extensions and activities to invigorate student learning.
In my years as a classroom teacher working with English Language Learners (ELL) in English Language Development (ELD), my understanding of the best way to use the Internet to teach is to take advantage of the many excellent content area resources in math, science, and social studies, as well as those specifically designed for ELL's. For that reason, I think a good moderator for this forum will be a person who has used these kinds of sites, not only ESL sites, to teach. That said, I think that we ESL teachers really want good material to use with our students to enhance ESL-specific skills in grammar, and pronunciation, as well as reading, writing, listening and speaking.
I have been gathering resources for about ten years, but I need to find someone who has extensive experience in using sites with students and evaluating them according to the following criteria:
1. Productivity
2. Ability to engage young learners
3. Good and novel use of technology
4. Creativity
5. Visual appeal
6. Interactivity
7. Ease of use
A real plus for the moderator for this forum will be a person who can look at bilingual sites in Asia, Europe, and South America. You don't have to be able to read all - or any - of the languages, just knowing what is where is useful. There are also some great sites with innovative material in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and - especially the U.K.
Last, the moderator for this forum will be a person who is comfortable using the academic jargon of ESL, EFL, ELD - whatever one calls it, but also knows how to break that code down for non-ESL teachers, students and parents who will read and participate in the forum. I would like this to be a venue for everyone to discuss and evaluate sites.
My timeline for finding someone is two weeks. I think that it will take another two weeks to set the forum up. Please let me know if you are interested in working on this. My hope is that the website will evolve into a good place for teachers, parents and students to go to get expert guidance in finding the best resources on the Internet.
One more thing - My next step will be to set up a forum topic on teaching online with a webcam. Since I am also setting up sites to teach Chinese and Arabic to children, as well as one to teach Chinese to folks headed for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, I think it will be a good idea to look at topics such as setting up online teaching and tutoring sites from a business standpoint -, getting a job with a service which offers online teaching, as well as curriculum development, online content development, and technology. I hope that anyone who has experience and interests in these topics will contact me about moderating this topic. I realize that online teaching is new, so I would not expect to find someone who has in-depth experience, but I am interested in talking with folks who have an interest in developing their own expertise.
Take care - hope to hear from you soon,
Kathy Felts
Looking for moderator - The Best ESL Internet Sites for Kids
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
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xiaqingvcS
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:35 pm
Can i help you?
I could use English,Chinese, and my friends can help too, they can use German,Japanese, Korean.
My contact ways on msn. [email protected]
I could use English,Chinese, and my friends can help too, they can use German,Japanese, Korean.
My contact ways on msn. [email protected]
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Thanks for your reply and offer of help!
Hi,
I will be happy for your help. Perhaps a good place to begin would be for you to tell me which sites you particularly like and why you like them. That would be a good starting point. I am particulary interested in Chinese sites, but am also interested in European and other Asian sites, so your friends can paticipate too. We have talked about cultural issues on this forum before. Please include information about how you think the sites that you like are appropriate and valuable because they are bilingual. Information about the language aspects are important, but the design, layout and graphics are important too. Maybe you have a "Pick of the Week" for Chinese. My site will go up this week and it would be nice to include it. In the meantime, all of the readers of this thread can get some good information.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you and your friends soon.
Kathy
I will be happy for your help. Perhaps a good place to begin would be for you to tell me which sites you particularly like and why you like them. That would be a good starting point. I am particulary interested in Chinese sites, but am also interested in European and other Asian sites, so your friends can paticipate too. We have talked about cultural issues on this forum before. Please include information about how you think the sites that you like are appropriate and valuable because they are bilingual. Information about the language aspects are important, but the design, layout and graphics are important too. Maybe you have a "Pick of the Week" for Chinese. My site will go up this week and it would be nice to include it. In the meantime, all of the readers of this thread can get some good information.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you and your friends soon.
Kathy
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xiaqingvcS
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:35 pm
Well.
First,some of my plans and suggestions.
We can start with several parts :
a)Oral communicating
b)Grammer teaching
c)Online Test
d)Online listening
e)teaching resources
f)Fun Reading
g)Fun Game
h)Question & Answer
Im not sure how oral communicating works, but i think its an important part of learning english as a ELL,if you have idea, that would be fine.
Then grammer teaching. Teach students grammer online! After they learn
some grammer, they can turn to Online Test to see how they understand.
Teaching resources.This part is for teacher and parents to get informations and material to teach their students or children.
Next is Reading part. In my opinion, this part is the MOST important part in learning english. English is a communicating tool that help someone express his\her idea or understand others. So students" reading ability is so important.
To attract students attention, we can put fresh and funny reading materials in this part. And also the material should include different culture as our visitors may come from different part of the world.
And we can add some questions after a reading material such as " what do you think of this passage" " how do you feel about it " etc...
By the way, if a reading material has some pictures with it, it would be perfect !
Fun games. Let students play english games! They can enjoy themselves while learn something.
For the last part. Q&A, that means students can ask questions online or leave their questions on message board, then we can help them solve it.
Thats just some general plans. To make it come true,still a lot of work need to do.
The following is what i can do.Sure , if you need, i can learn as soon as possible.
Right now, Im learning Web design and Logo design to meet the need of opening this forum.( just started yesterday xD)
And you ask me which sites im particulaly like and id say i like English sites and Chinese sites.
The resources should be updated all the time. So i can search informations from all over the world through internet.
Also website promotion is important. I can do this without doubt coz i did this before and have enough experience.I can spread this site to the ELL all around the world.This is an important way to make our sites known.
Im your personal assistant too xD. If you need me, just tell me and i will try my best .
Thank you for reading.
P.S. We could contact on MSN or through email. that would be nice ^^
First,some of my plans and suggestions.
We can start with several parts :
a)Oral communicating
b)Grammer teaching
c)Online Test
d)Online listening
e)teaching resources
f)Fun Reading
g)Fun Game
h)Question & Answer
Im not sure how oral communicating works, but i think its an important part of learning english as a ELL,if you have idea, that would be fine.
Then grammer teaching. Teach students grammer online! After they learn
some grammer, they can turn to Online Test to see how they understand.
Teaching resources.This part is for teacher and parents to get informations and material to teach their students or children.
Next is Reading part. In my opinion, this part is the MOST important part in learning english. English is a communicating tool that help someone express his\her idea or understand others. So students" reading ability is so important.
To attract students attention, we can put fresh and funny reading materials in this part. And also the material should include different culture as our visitors may come from different part of the world.
And we can add some questions after a reading material such as " what do you think of this passage" " how do you feel about it " etc...
By the way, if a reading material has some pictures with it, it would be perfect !
Fun games. Let students play english games! They can enjoy themselves while learn something.
For the last part. Q&A, that means students can ask questions online or leave their questions on message board, then we can help them solve it.
Thats just some general plans. To make it come true,still a lot of work need to do.
The following is what i can do.Sure , if you need, i can learn as soon as possible.
Right now, Im learning Web design and Logo design to meet the need of opening this forum.( just started yesterday xD)
And you ask me which sites im particulaly like and id say i like English sites and Chinese sites.
The resources should be updated all the time. So i can search informations from all over the world through internet.
Also website promotion is important. I can do this without doubt coz i did this before and have enough experience.I can spread this site to the ELL all around the world.This is an important way to make our sites known.
Im your personal assistant too xD. If you need me, just tell me and i will try my best .
Thank you for reading.
P.S. We could contact on MSN or through email. that would be nice ^^
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Your ideas
Thanks for your speedy and enthusiastic reply!
Since my plan is to use a forum on my site to talk about good places to find interesting material activities, could you tell us some of your favorite sites and activities on those sites? You listed many kinds of activities in your post and why they are important. You said that you think that reading is very important and that fresh ideas with pictures make for good material. Do you know of a site that has this kind of activity? If so, let us know the site and its URL.
The reason I would like to have a forum about good sites for kids is that webcam teachers need good material to use with students. Sometimes I use a book because good books approach English language learning in a systematic order. But often, a good website can help children understand parts of learning English in ways that books cannot. The story that pops into my mind when I think about a good story with pictures is The Witch's Stew. It is a cute and funny story that students like so much they are will to read it again and again. It is animated with great pictures, teaches a good lesson, and has useful vocabulary and sentence structures. Please take a look at it. Do you know of any other sites that can be used for reading and have good pictures? The Witch's Stew is very colorful and the animations help students understand the text. You can find the story at http://www.createatale.com One of the things that kids really like about this story is that, at differnt points in the story, they get to choose what the witch will do next.
Please share the sites with activities that you think other teachers could use. Although I plan to have some content on my site, my site will focus on online teaching and learning. I do not plan to have a lot of different activities on my site.
I look forward to hearing from you again! Please tell us a little about the area in China where you live. Do many children use online learning sites? If they use computers, do they use the computers to learn English. Are online "PC games" popular?
Thanks,
Kathy
Since my plan is to use a forum on my site to talk about good places to find interesting material activities, could you tell us some of your favorite sites and activities on those sites? You listed many kinds of activities in your post and why they are important. You said that you think that reading is very important and that fresh ideas with pictures make for good material. Do you know of a site that has this kind of activity? If so, let us know the site and its URL.
The reason I would like to have a forum about good sites for kids is that webcam teachers need good material to use with students. Sometimes I use a book because good books approach English language learning in a systematic order. But often, a good website can help children understand parts of learning English in ways that books cannot. The story that pops into my mind when I think about a good story with pictures is The Witch's Stew. It is a cute and funny story that students like so much they are will to read it again and again. It is animated with great pictures, teaches a good lesson, and has useful vocabulary and sentence structures. Please take a look at it. Do you know of any other sites that can be used for reading and have good pictures? The Witch's Stew is very colorful and the animations help students understand the text. You can find the story at http://www.createatale.com One of the things that kids really like about this story is that, at differnt points in the story, they get to choose what the witch will do next.
Please share the sites with activities that you think other teachers could use. Although I plan to have some content on my site, my site will focus on online teaching and learning. I do not plan to have a lot of different activities on my site.
I look forward to hearing from you again! Please tell us a little about the area in China where you live. Do many children use online learning sites? If they use computers, do they use the computers to learn English. Are online "PC games" popular?
Thanks,
Kathy
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xiaqingvcS
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:35 pm
haha..well, i think i misunderstand your plans.
but its okay, now i got you.
You mean you want to make your site a place providing different rescources of other websites, that is to say, your site is a guide to help kids,teachers, parents find what they need.
That is a good idea,at least, we neednt search for large amouts of informations and put them on our sites.. just need to search for some useful sites related to ESL teaching .
If so, the most important step to get enough sources of website.
The website you showed me is a nice one.Yeah, it can really impress on a kid while he reading this.
Right now, i get some like this. Here you goes.
http://www.ywhc.net/article/info_Show.a ... cleID=3064
just an example Try whether you can open it.
i think i can get more and the latest one like this.
There are Chinese on that site but it doesnt matter.
And I live in the south part of China.
I could tell you some informations about English in China.
I guess you will be enouraged by this xD.
China has a population of 1.3billion and now in China, English become more and more popular,(damn it,in my opinion.. in some parents eyes,English is even much more important than Chinese =_=)
Many parents take their children to learn English at the age of 5-8
Then in middle school and university,English is still need a subject or major.
So yeah, English has a bright promise and future .
Also, many parents buy their children computers to learn english online or use english teaching software.
Sure, if someone instersted in learning English, they will focus on it.
Still some children are at their youth, they want to play. So computer become a playing tool to play online games ( haha , I like play computer games too xD)
As far as I know, most children prefer to use computer to learn english online becoz its lovely and interesting.
Thats some basic informations I know. Wish it will do some help to you ^_^
If get other questions , feel free to ask me .
but its okay, now i got you.
You mean you want to make your site a place providing different rescources of other websites, that is to say, your site is a guide to help kids,teachers, parents find what they need.
That is a good idea,at least, we neednt search for large amouts of informations and put them on our sites.. just need to search for some useful sites related to ESL teaching .
If so, the most important step to get enough sources of website.
The website you showed me is a nice one.Yeah, it can really impress on a kid while he reading this.
Right now, i get some like this. Here you goes.
http://www.ywhc.net/article/info_Show.a ... cleID=3064
just an example Try whether you can open it.
i think i can get more and the latest one like this.
There are Chinese on that site but it doesnt matter.
And I live in the south part of China.
I could tell you some informations about English in China.
I guess you will be enouraged by this xD.
China has a population of 1.3billion and now in China, English become more and more popular,(damn it,in my opinion.. in some parents eyes,English is even much more important than Chinese =_=)
Many parents take their children to learn English at the age of 5-8
Then in middle school and university,English is still need a subject or major.
So yeah, English has a bright promise and future .
Also, many parents buy their children computers to learn english online or use english teaching software.
Sure, if someone instersted in learning English, they will focus on it.
Still some children are at their youth, they want to play. So computer become a playing tool to play online games ( haha , I like play computer games too xD)
As far as I know, most children prefer to use computer to learn english online becoz its lovely and interesting.
Thats some basic informations I know. Wish it will do some help to you ^_^
If get other questions , feel free to ask me .
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Pigs
Hi _______(Please let me know what you would like me to call you.)
Good choice! I watched and read "PIGS."
This is what a review of the story would look like:
URL: http://www.ywhc.net/article/info_Show.a ... cleID=3064
Site name: ___________ (I didn't write it down - what is it?)
Level: High intermediate
Type of activity: Animated story with text
Binlingual: yes
Can be used by non-bilingual teacher: yes
Require account? No, not for samples. Does it require an account for other stories? I did not check this - can you tell me?
Instructional features:
Do you think it is a good idea to write the review in Chinese, too? The people who are most likely to use a Chinese site are Chinese. Do you think that having the reviews in Chinese and English is a good idea? If we include Chinese, parents and students would be able to read it regardless of their English level. My hope is that kids will also tell which sites they like and why. We could ask them to write in both English and Chinese - it would be good for their English writing skills.
Can you make any other suggestions about what you think parents, students and teachers would like to see in this kind of review?
Thanks for your help!
Kathy Felts
Good choice! I watched and read "PIGS."
This is what a review of the story would look like:
URL: http://www.ywhc.net/article/info_Show.a ... cleID=3064
Site name: ___________ (I didn't write it down - what is it?)
Level: High intermediate
Type of activity: Animated story with text
Binlingual: yes
Can be used by non-bilingual teacher: yes
Require account? No, not for samples. Does it require an account for other stories? I did not check this - can you tell me?
Instructional features:
- Audio
downloadable
can navigate through story,
word repeat (but not bilingual)
- The story is interesting with funny pictures
Navigation buttons allow user to stop story, repeat text, and listen to
individual words.
Audio can be turned off or on
Audio file can be downloaded
- Narrator reads very quickly
No bilingual features for vocabulary
Do you think it is a good idea to write the review in Chinese, too? The people who are most likely to use a Chinese site are Chinese. Do you think that having the reviews in Chinese and English is a good idea? If we include Chinese, parents and students would be able to read it regardless of their English level. My hope is that kids will also tell which sites they like and why. We could ask them to write in both English and Chinese - it would be good for their English writing skills.
Can you make any other suggestions about what you think parents, students and teachers would like to see in this kind of review?
Thanks for your help!
Kathy Felts
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Good websites
It was good to talk to you on MSN today. For an 18-year old university student, you certainly know a lot about English language websites! No wonder your English is so good.
Since this is a public forum, I need to go on the record about copyright issues as a follow-up to our IM chat. In order for us to recommend any particular site or material, it is important to make sure that the site only uses materials they have obtain permission to use. Therefore, I will contact both the site and the owner of the rights before recommending any material, OK? I think that people who go to the time and expense of creating material for a website need to be very careful about first obtaining rights. Otherwise, they are making unlawful use of intellectual property, and that unlawful use can cause them legal trouble as well as credibility problems.
Since this is a public forum, I need to go on the record about copyright issues as a follow-up to our IM chat. In order for us to recommend any particular site or material, it is important to make sure that the site only uses materials they have obtain permission to use. Therefore, I will contact both the site and the owner of the rights before recommending any material, OK? I think that people who go to the time and expense of creating material for a website need to be very careful about first obtaining rights. Otherwise, they are making unlawful use of intellectual property, and that unlawful use can cause them legal trouble as well as credibility problems.
Hey I would recommend you to www.efenglishtown.com there are lots of things to practice there. Good Luck!!!!!!!
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Xia Qing will moderate kids forum!
Xia Qing has a agreed to moderate the children's section of the forum, Best ESL Kids' Websites. He has been hard at work coming up a with a good format. In this protected forum, students ages 5-14 will not only be able to talk about the ESL websites they like, but will also be able to discuss their friends, family, favorite sports, and hobbies. The forum is divided into three sections based on age, so that students interact with near same-aged peers. They will also have the chance to answer simple questions about math, science, and social studies. At this time, the site will include Chinese and Korean, and will provide an opportunity for students to take "jobs" on an online multilingual kids magazine.
One of the needs I see with teaching online is that students need to be able to interact with others in English and to see their work online. However, this community-building must done in a a safe manner. This forum is my foray into that type of activity.
If you are teaching children online and would like to participate with your students, just drop me a line.
One of the needs I see with teaching online is that students need to be able to interact with others in English and to see their work online. However, this community-building must done in a a safe manner. This forum is my foray into that type of activity.
If you are teaching children online and would like to participate with your students, just drop me a line.
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Place for Kids to Write
Xia Ching has moved over to moderate the English Corner and Chinese Corner kids' forums. We have the site up, so if you would like a place for your online students to write - it is up and ready to go. I will need permission from the children's parents, of course, but the kids will not use any identifying information on the forum. We will monitor this forum very carefully.
So... the forum's moderator job is up for grabs again. PM me if you are interested.
Other parts of the forum are for teachers, parents and content developers and folks who have hardware, software and other products or services to introduce. I really think we need a place for people who would like to collaborate on line projects to meet.
Although www.chinesepod.com is a Chinese-teaching site, I think everyone who is interested in online teaching would enjoy and benefit from a look their little video lessons. I think any western teacher who has spent time in Asia will appreciate the humor they incorporate into the lessons. Remember - find the videos. I am noticing some very nice user interfaces in Chinese teaching sites lately and Chinesepod is one of them.
So... the forum's moderator job is up for grabs again. PM me if you are interested.
Other parts of the forum are for teachers, parents and content developers and folks who have hardware, software and other products or services to introduce. I really think we need a place for people who would like to collaborate on line projects to meet.
Although www.chinesepod.com is a Chinese-teaching site, I think everyone who is interested in online teaching would enjoy and benefit from a look their little video lessons. I think any western teacher who has spent time in Asia will appreciate the humor they incorporate into the lessons. Remember - find the videos. I am noticing some very nice user interfaces in Chinese teaching sites lately and Chinesepod is one of them.
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kathyfelts
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:45 pm
Online video
I spend a good bit of time looking around on the Internet for good ESL teaching material. Yesterday I was looking a lot of the videos posted on Google videos and came acroos a few videos that can be used for teaching. Generally, the commercial videos on these online broadcast sites are of lower quality that the videos you can buy ($1.99-$2.49 seems to be the going price). Some companies offer one free download so that you can have one video for free. I think that the very best videos have audio and bilingual text subtitles.
The first one listed is best one have I found so far - you can download one for free. The others are in no particular order. Since the videos change day by day, you need to use Google's search engine and enter 'kids' or 'children'. Cut and paste the entire URL and you will go directly to the video.
1. First Well (English): Read-along children's stories from BookBox
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-6167610385491042409&q=bookbox1.
2. Let's Sing Together with Gigi & Mike - with subtitles
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-7775159184794655838&q=kids
3. "How2Cook" Segment on "How2Kids" -- How to Make an Omelet no
subtitles
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-2620012125667441404&q=kids
4. Teen Kids News Show 316 - January 2, 2006 - no subtitles - for teens -
topical
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
4158076538170065067&q=children+chinese
5. Dora the Explorer - Nickelodeon
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
3955102061031219497&q=owner%3Amtvn+dora2.
The first one listed is best one have I found so far - you can download one for free. The others are in no particular order. Since the videos change day by day, you need to use Google's search engine and enter 'kids' or 'children'. Cut and paste the entire URL and you will go directly to the video.
1. First Well (English): Read-along children's stories from BookBox
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-6167610385491042409&q=bookbox1.
2. Let's Sing Together with Gigi & Mike - with subtitles
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-7775159184794655838&q=kids
3. "How2Cook" Segment on "How2Kids" -- How to Make an Omelet no
subtitles
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-2620012125667441404&q=kids
4. Teen Kids News Show 316 - January 2, 2006 - no subtitles - for teens -
topical
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
4158076538170065067&q=children+chinese
5. Dora the Explorer - Nickelodeon
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
3955102061031219497&q=owner%3Amtvn+dora2.
Re: Thanks for your reply and offer of help!
Hi Kathy how is your site going, did you have a link? I skimmed this and couldnt find...kathyfelts wrote:Hi,
I will be happy for your help. Perhaps a good place to begin would be for you to tell me which sites you particularly like and why you like them. That would be a good starting point. I am particulary interested in Chinese sites, but am also interested in European and other Asian sites, so your friends can paticipate too. We have talked about cultural issues on this forum before. Please include information about how you think the sites that you like are appropriate and valuable because they are bilingual. Information about the language aspects are important, but the design, layout and graphics are important too. Maybe you have a "Pick of the Week" for Chinese. My site will go up this week and it would be nice to include it. In the meantime, all of the readers of this thread can get some good information.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you and your friends soon.
Kathy