Lingualeo - A Mobile Learning App

Hello everyone!

Today I am going to introduce you a mobile learning app. I selected English with Lingualeo. It is an interactive application aims to teach English.

Firstly when you enter the app, you have to log-in  with an account. After you log-in, It ask some personal questions about yourself like: your age, sex, how often you want to study, how do you feel about your skills in English and your interests.

After you have done giving personal information then your grammar skills are tested trough a quiz. This test is done so as to the application can determine you grammar level, your strengths and weaknesses. Later the application ask you What is your aim to learn English ? You have plenty options I can say like for an special exam ( e.g TOEFL), for business, for myself, for improve my skills or for my English level.

After you have selected your aim, you have a lot of activities,options and sections to achieve it. In My Profile section you can see and follow your progress. In Materials section you can find a lot of videos about different topics. In Grammar Courses  section you can find grammar topics, in this section you can read the courses then you will be tested if you have understood the topic. In Words and Phrases section you can find lots of words and phrases divided into sub-groups. In this section you can select the words or phrases you don't know to add your dictionary.

Lastly there is  Exercises and My Dictionary section. In Exercises section you can work with word and their meanings while in My Dictionary section you can follow which words or phrases you are to learn or you have learned and you can listen pronunciation of any word you want.

Well as a conclusion I can say I found this application very useful. It is both for children and adults.You can find a lot of material in it. As it is a mobile app, you can take it anywhere you want and you can continue your learning anytime you want. This is what mobile learning means so I like mobile learning ! The only negative thing I found about this app is that there are more contents but only if you are premium user. So if you want more contents you have to pay for it but anyway I think free contents should do good enough.

Here is the link for the application you can look and download it from here.

All pictures above are taken by me while using the application.

Thanks,
Ahmet Enes

Learn English - A Website Evaluation

Hello again everybody! After a long period of time ( after a harsh midterm week) I am here with you again!

In this post I am going to share my experiences about  an English learning website. As you know in 21st century almost everything can be found on the Internet. So why we shouldn't use it to learn English ?

This week,for Material class I was assigned to visit a website, evaluate and introduce it to you. I looked a few sites and I selected Learn English Free website. 


The picture above is taken from here.

While evaluating the website I used a evaluation form which was given by my teacher. It includes 9 question. Lets look at the  questions and my observations one by one.


1.Who authored the website? Is there any information about their qualifications or
credentials?

The website  authored by The Learn English Network (voluntary organization) is a not-for-profit organization registered in the UK.
  

Picture 1

2.What is the content of the website?

The website  provides content related to English teaching, such as English grammar and extensive British English vocabulary sections along with a free English magazine, diary, games, lessons and tests and an insight into British culture, traditions and customs.

Picture 2

3.Who is the target audience?

ESL and EFL learners and teachers.



4.What is the purpose of the website?

The purpose of the website is to help learners who want to learn English or improve their language skills. Also supply resources for teachers to enrich their lessons along with lesson plans, handouts and help them share their experinces and give each other some advices.



5.Is there a date that shows when the site has last been updated?

Yes at the bottom of the website there is a date.

Picture 3

6.Accuracy of the information- Are there any errors?

As far as I saw there was no mistake in the context or information. As the website is prepared by an organization, I can say there would be no or minimal mistake.

7.Are there any broken links?

I haven’t seen a broken link in the website. As the site is up to date, I think there wouldn’t be any broken links.


8.Are the images of high quality and appealing to the target audience?


Most of the images seem  high quality for me  and  are suitable for the context.
 

Picture 4

9.How can it be applied to EFL teaching?

Well teachers can find a lot of materials and advices to use. Students on the other hand can learn many different information and test and consolidate their knowledge about English.


To sum up Learn English Free website is very useful both teachers and learners of English.
I think the most important thing about this website is it is FREE for everyone. Another important thing I realised is that there is a calendar system which shows which activites are going to take place when. 

Picture 5

I recommend this website for teachers as they can benefit from it to find materials and take some tips or advices. Also I recommend this website for learners as they can improve their English.


You can visit Learn English Free by clicking here.

Thank you, Ahmet Enes Özdemir 

Suicide Squad - A Wiki Work

Hello everyone!

In this post I am going to tell you about my experiences about the Wiki. Firstly I want to explain what a wiki is then I will share my experiences. A wiki is a free online encyclopedia which Internet users can create and edit collaboratively.

This week, for Material class my friends and I were assigned to create a wiki page about a movie that won an academy award. Well as always I teamed up with my pair Alper Rahmanoğlu. We selected the movie Suicide Squad for our wiki project. In our assignment we were supposed to give some basic information about the movie we would choose, but apart from that we were also supposed to review the movie and give our comments about it. We started with adding a poster then we wrote actors, the director and added a synopsis. Finally we added our reviews, some gifs and a trailer.

I think wikis are useful as they are created and can be edited collaboratively. They are easy to create and as they are Internet based people all around the world can reach it and contribute it. I recommend you to use wikis.

These are the pictures from the wiki page we created.

You can visit and read the wiki page from here.

You can visit my friend Alper's blog from here.

The picture above is taken from here.


Thank you.

The Kid with the Balloon- A Podcast Work

Hello everyone, I want to share my experiences about an assignment. For Material class I was supposed to create a podcast. There were 3 options but I will tell you about the option I selected. In that option my friend Alper Rahmanoğlu and I were supposed to create short sound-rich story podcast around 2 minutes.

The introduction of the story was determined by our teacher. There were some key words, we were supposed to use at least 4 of them. We wrote our story and found appropriate sound for the story. Then we decided who to speak which line. When all the planning was over. We started to record the story. In the recording process whenever we made a little mistake like some slips, mispronunciations we laughed and we started over and over again.I think we enjoyed it.

Making a podcast is very funny as we did some different accents to make the characters real and while doing it actually we felt it. We acted like actors. I think creating and using a podcast in a class would be very useful and enjoyable. I want to use podcasts in my class when I become a teacher. I would recommend you to use podcasts.

-You can visit my friend Alper's blog here.

-You can listen our story bellow here.
Thank you.

21st Century Learning

In 21st century a lot of things have changed. Some terms like world languages, creative thinking, Internet and media have entered our lives. I think as these terms are already in our lives we should utilize them in education as well.

Technology in 21st century helps teachers to create more enjoyable classes as they can add visual contents, attractive videos,podcasts etc.. As it is less time consuming, it helps both students and teachers to create the content they want in easy ways.

Lessons in 21st century are more student-centered. Students are more creative, productive and enterprising. Teachers have become counselors more than tutors. As almost everyone has smartphones, tablets or computers, teachers and students can easily access information, assignments news etc... Everything is just one click away.

To sum up for me  learning in 21st century, is an on-going process that can be done in anywhere, at anytime and by anyway. Here in bellow you can find my world cloud about 21st Century Learning.