SpellQuizzer - Help your students master their spelling

Today, I was contacted by Dan Hite, a corporate software developer, who talked to me about his useful educative programme for Windows, SpellQuizzer. SpellQuizzer helps students that need help learning their spelling and vocabulary words and it has very nice features.

SpellQuizzer was not designed with any one spelling curriculum in mind. In fact, it should compliment virtually any spelling curriculum since you create your own custom spelling lists. Teachers can enter their students spelling words into the software and record them by speaking into a microphone. After that, the students can listen the recorded words and type them. The software has a built-in spellchecker that recognizes both US and UK English spellings.

Another great feature is that the spellchecker warns the user when creating a spelling list if they enter a word that appears to be spelled incorrectly. Because of this safeguard it's reasonably safe to let students create their own spelling lists guided by the curriculum they are working on. If the teacher or parents creates the lists in SpellQuizzer, it's always a good idea to try to make the sound recordings amusing for the child. Funny phrases or voices make this tool funnier for the child and help to keep them engaged.

There is a video demo you can watch, click here. Besides, you can also find a page of free downloadable spelling lists with audio recordings for use with SpellQuizzer, click here. Finally, you can belong to the community web site which has discussion forums and a place where SpellQuizzer users can upload and download one another's SpellQuizzer spelling lists, click here, I mean, SpellQuizzer users can easily export and import SpellQuizzer spelling lists to share with other SpellQuizzer users. Because of this members of homeschool groups can share their lists rather than everyone having to record their lists individually (assuming everyone is on the same curriculum).

This software is not free, it costs $29.95 to download the software, but the creator has generously offered Sharing Learning readers the opportunity to get a free copy of the software to the first five people who contact him referring to my blog. To get your free copy of SpellQuizzer fill out the contact form, click here. Be sure to mention that you are a Sharing Learning reader and educator and use an email address associated with an education institution when requesting a free license. You have also the opportunity to download a 30 days free trial to know how the software works. After this time, you have to pay for the service. It costs nothing to try out SpellQuizzer and once you have purchased you can still request a full refund if you are not completely satisfied during the first 60 days after purchase.

I don't earn any money spreading this information, I'm just passing along this information for teachers who are interested in getting this useful software with their students or children.

Read More

20 Websites to Practice and Learn the English Language

Some students need extra practice outside of class. Fortunately, there are many different websites to practice and learn English online. Here are 20 free sites to recommend to your students:

Learn English

Livemocha - Livemocha is a popular language learning site used by millions of people around the world. Students can learn from online language lessons and chat with other language learners.

VerbaLearn - VerbaLearn is an excellent place to learn and practice English vocabulary. Students can customize the way they learn and receive mp3 study lists.

English as a Second Language - This About.com site provides thousands of free ESL resources to help people learn English. Resources include free English courses, grammar and vocabulary practice, tests, quizzes, and other English learning tools.

Transparent Language - Transparent Language offers a number of free resources to students who are trying to learn English, including an overview of the language, learning software, and online quizzes.

The English Club - This site offers free lessons, videos, games, stories, quizzes and other helpful resources to students who want to learn English for free. Students can also chat online and practice their English with other club members.

Learn English - Learn English has been a valuable resource for EFL/ESL learners for more than ten years now. The site teaches students English vocabulary, grammar, and conversation and then tests their knowledge with quizzes and games.

Learn English Online - Learn English Online offers a free 52-lesson EFL/ESL course for beginners. Each lesson includes writing and pronunciation practice.

Fonetiks - This site offers free audio pronunciation guides for nine varieties of the English language, including American English, British English, Irish English, Scottish English, Welsh English, Australian English, Indian English, and South African English.

Merriam-Webster - The online version of Merriam-Webster is an excellent place for ESL students to learn new words. The site offers a search feature, a "word of the day," and fun word games.

Babel Fish - This free online translator from Yahoo! can translate single words, a block of text, or entire web pages--a great way for ESL students to learn new English phrases.

Practice English

ManyThings.org - EFL and ESL learners can practice their pronunciation with the free audio games on this site.

ESL Fast - Digital robots help ESL learners practice their English on ESL Fast. Visitors can practice conversations for hotels, apartments, college, transportation, travel, employment, entertainment, shopping, and daily life.

ESL Forum - This online forum is the most popular ESL forum on the web. It can be used by both students and teachers who want to practice writing and discuss ESL learning.

Dave's ESL Cafe - Dave's ESL Cafe offers a wide range of resources to ESL students and teachers. Students who want to practice their English writing and communication skills will especially enjoy the large student forum.

ESL Flashcards - ESL students can practice their English with this enormous collection of free ESL flashcards and printables.

Online Books Page - Students can practice their English reading skills with the free books found on the Online Books Page. There are more than 35,000 books to choose from in all.

Bibliomania - Like the Online Books Page, Bibliomania offers a large selection of free English literature. The site also provides study guides to popular books as well as other learning materials.

IPL - The Internet public library is another good place to practice English reading skills. This online library offers free books, magazines, newspapers, and other reading materials.

Ohio University Department of Linguistics - Ohio University has assembled a nice collection of links to online English language tests. ESL students can use these tests to assess their knowledge level and determine where they need practice.

Peterson's TOEFL Quiz - Students who want to practice for the TOEFL can take this quick online quiz from Peterson's. The quiz tests reading comprehension and can be scored with the click of a button.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes for the Online Colleges Database at OnlineColleges.net.

Read More

Improve your English and be supportive!

Today, David García, from Aprende Inglés Online (Learn English Online) sent me an e-mail inviting me to participate in the great campaign he is carrying out to fight hunger through FREE RICE. Freerice is a simple and well-designed website where you can practise English vocabulary and grammar but also other subjects such as Art, Geography, Maths, Chemistry, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Each time you guess a question, the UN World food program donates money to buy 10 grains of rice. Up to now, we have got 65,230,828,950 of grains. Your time can save lives, don't forget it!!

Did you know that, according to the United Nations, 25,000 people die from hunger every day, most of them children?

These news are not on TV every day, politicians haven't been able to solve this problem up to now, but people together can do much more to help solving this terrible situation. Do you think that you can donate a bit of your time for a good and worthwhile cause? How much rice have you donated today? Let me know!

Read More

Lexipedia, where words have meaning and sound

If you teach Languages like English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch or Italian this is the educational tool you and your students need.

Lexipedia is a visual tool for learning languages, a mixture of a dictionary and thesaurus, which provides a visual net of semantic relationships and it is free. Besides when you introduce a word it doesn't give you only the meaning but you can also listen that word pronunciation. Therefore, what are you waiting for enriching your vocabulary?

Read More

Using flashcards in class

What is a flashcard?

A flashcard is a card which has a picture on one side and the word in the other side, or the picture and the word in one side.

What are they useful for?

They are really useful for many things, it depends on the vocabulary or grammar point you are teaching to your students. You can use them to introduce new vocabulary or to ask your students to tell a story based on the pictures shown in the flashcards. They give students interesting and challenging speaking practice. And, students can remember the vocabulary easily because they can see the image.

Using flashcards our students will be able to understand the new vocabulary without the need of translating it.

How do I make a flashcard set?

You can buy them but making them it is quite easy and cheap. You only need to buy a blank big card and do little ones. After that, you can draw the pictures if you like it, write the word with a thick pen, or crayon and put them into in a little plastic pocket to avoid they break.
If you are good at computers, you can do them easily using a word processor, searching for pictures on the net since there are a lot of them, and finally, writing the word. Besides, there are free flashcards in some links I have posted in the blog.

Flashcards games

1. What is missing? (school objects or another topic)

The teacher puts the set of cards on the table. Then, the teacher asks to a student: Have you got a pen? The student answers: Yes, I have got. Then, he/she goes to the table, takes the flashcard with a pen, and gives it to the teacher saying: Here you are. The teacher asks him/her to stick the card on the board. When all the cards are on the board, the teacher asks a student to leave the class. Then, another student takes a card and hide it. After that, all the class says: Come in to the student who is out, and ask him/her What is missing? The student has to guess it.

2. Who is who? (yes / no questions)

The students sit down in a circle. The, the teacher sticks a flashcard with a famous person picture on each student's forehead. After that the teacher asks one student to start making a question to guess who is him/her. For example: Am I an actor? They only can ask yes/no questions but not the question "Am I a girl or a boy? They game finish when everybody has guessed the character.

3. Tell a story (past simple)

Divide the students in groups of 3 or 4. Give to each group some cards with interesting pictures to retell a story in the past simple. They have to put the cards in order and then, make up an story with them and tell it to the rest of the class. They have to reward the best story.

You will find great ESL/EFL Flashcards Website on my blog right column. And if you are interested in more ideas related to flashcards to use in the classroom you shouldn't miss this site: TOP ENGLISH TEACHING

Read More