MyBrainShark

 MyBrainShark.com

Purpose:

Mybrainshark, originally designed for the business community, has amazing potential for use in the foreign language classroom.

The free version allows users to create, share and track video presentations of their PowerPoints, documents, photos or video clips.

Relevance:

An important aspect of language learning is review/ revision. This tool allows students to make, edit and replay their audio recordings.

They therefore benefit from an increased awareness of their pronunciation and fluidity in the target language.

It would also allow them to track their progress in developing their speaking skills.

Tip:

Outside the classroom, one great way to use this tool to develop speaking skills is by asking students to make an audiovisual presentation on a chosen topic: family, food, favorite hobbies, life accomplishments, vacation, etc and then email the link to the teacher. My video illustrates how this can be done.

In the classroom context, as part of a lesson, students can work in pairs and record themselves conducting an interview, which can then be shared with the teacher or their classmates in a larger online forum.

Limitations:

While the basic service is free, sign-up is required in order to upload documents.

Also, the quality of the content created depends greatly on the teacher/ student’s ability to manipulate the software used, for example PowerPoint.

LyricsTraining

Purpose:
LyricsTraining can be described as the fusion of language learning and karaoke. This website provides a wide selection of free subtitled music videos.

Relevance:
Music has always been incorporated into language learning in some or fashion. This site is excellent because it not only allows the students to challenge his/her pronunciation skills but it is also a fun way to memorize idiomatic expressions.

                                                         

Tip:
This website can really be exploited for listening activities. For example, to develop students’ listening skills, songs can be printed and distributed with missing lyrics. Students can then, either individually or in groups, listen to the song and try to fill in the missing words.

It can also be a creative way to introduce grammar points. You can try choosing a well-known song that contains a particular grammatical structure or tense. That song can be sung at the beginning of the lesson and then students can be asked to identify examples of the particular structure or tense. The grammar lesson can then be continued according to your regular teaching style.

Limitations:
The site is not designed to offer ideas about how you can use songs in your teaching; that depends entirely on your own creativity.