Language Resources

Language Resources

CESI 2005

Katrina Keogh & Cara Greene

National Centre for Language Technology,

School of Computing, DCU, Dublin 9.

Mail: ;

INTRODUCTION

It is impossible to create a fully comprehensive list of online language resources. This list contains sample links and resources to get you started. There are countless resources available online which can easily be found using a search engine e.g. http://www.google.ie

If you want to find text in the target language, you are better off using a search engine for the target language.

e.g. German – http://www.google.de

French – http://www.google.fr

A useful link to get you started is the ICT for Language Technology website. It contains all the background knowledge you need to get started.

http://www.ict4lt.org/

This list of resources will also be available online to save you typing in all of the URLs (web site addresses): http://www.computing.dcu.ie/~kkeogh/cesi/resources.html

Trinity College Tandem e-mail project: http://www.tcd.ie/CLCS/tandem/

ENGLISH

English curriculum

http://www.iol.ie/~jenko/

Description: Leaving Certificate English Resources – John Jennings

Topics: Studies in language text: language of information, argument, persuasion, narration and the aesthetic use of language. There also links to sites connected to material in “Studies in Language” by John Jennings.

http://www.skool.ie/

Description: English revision for Junior and Leaving Certificate students.

Leaving cert topics: Language genres, Standalone texts, comparative texts, film studies, prescribed poetry, unseen poetry

Junior cert topics: Poetry, media studies, improve your English

English as a Foreign Language

http://www.englishforum.com/00/interactive/

Description: Resources for students and teachers of English

Language exercises: Grammar, vocabulary, idioms, spelling

Exercise Types: Sentence-construction exercises, find the pairs, crosswords, gap-fill, hangman, matching, word choice, correct sequence exercises

Grammar: Grammar quizzes - prepositions, pronouns, plurals, conjunctions

Extras: audio, video, images, graphics, instant feedback

http://www.englishclub.com/

Description: Website for students and teachers of English as a second language (ESL)

Language skills: Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, listening, speaking, reading, writing

Exercise Types: Multiple-choice, matching, jumbled-up sentences, true/false exercises

Grammar: Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, interjections, prepositions etc.

Extras: audio, video, images, graphics, instant feedback

http://a4esl.org/

Description: Quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles to help you learn English as a Second Language (ESL)

Levels: Easy, Medium and Difficult

Language skills: Grammar, vocabulary, writing

Language topics: Animals, clothes, body-parts, food, countries, classroom items etc.

Exercise Types: Crosswords, gap-fill quizzes,

Grammar: Prepositions, word & sentence combining, verb-forms, irregular verbs etc.

Extras: audio, images, graphics, instant feedback

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslstudent.html

Description: ESL resources for students

Language skills: Grammar, spelling, idioms, vocabulary

Language exercises: Quizzes, exercises, interactive sites

English – Special Needs / Literacy

David Wray - Professor of Literacy Education

Institute of Education, University of Warwick, UK.

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/D.J.Wray/index.html

·  Information on literacy research projects

·  Ideas & resources for teaching aspects of literacy

o  Ideas for teaching writing e.g. writing frames

·  Useful articles about literacy teaching and critical literacy

·  Links to related sites and book reviews

Teachnet.ie

http://www.teachnet.ie/mhickey/2003/pupilactivitiespg1.html

·  Pupil activities - English Language Exercises for Special Needs Students

Description: Online activities for students with special needs

Language skills: Practise with confusing words in English e.g. of and off

Exercise Types: Multiple-choice

Extras: images, graphics, instant feedback

http://www.teachnet.ie/mhickey/2003/weblinkenglang.html

·  Web links for English Language Exercises for Special Needs Students

o  Writing skills, spelling, punctuation, puzzles and riddles

·  http://www.teachnet.ie/mhickey/2003/weblinkspneeds.htmlInformation on Special Needs – e.g. dyslexia

The Literacy Centre http://www.literacycenter.net/

Description: The LiteracyCenter.Net serves more than a million free literacy lessons a month to children in 141 countries. It provides learning activities for parents and teachers to share with young children. A virtual pencil draws the shapes, letters etc. they student is looking at.

Language exercises: Uppercase/lowercase letters, shapes, writing, full words, numbers, colours, keyboard. For example, in the keyboard task, the student presses the letter on the keyboard and the letter is high lighted on screen.

Extras: video, images, graphics

http://www.teachnet.ie/mhickey/2003/spellinginto.html

Description: INTO resources – English Language Exercises for Special Needs Students

Language Skills: Spelling, phonological awareness, high-frequency words.

http://www.into.ie/html/interactive/resources.htm

Description: INTO resources – Learning support, English comprehension, plays & drama, hand-writing

Also covered: Irish, maths, ICT, music, visual arts

Language Skills: Spelling, writing, comprehension.

Exercise types: Lessons and gap-fill exercises

IRISH

Web Sites

BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/blas/learners/beag1.shtml

GaelTalk

http://www.gaeltalk.net/

Need to register 4 weeks=$20, 8 weeks=€50

www.Skool.ie

list of Irish resources

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/gaeilge.html#clann

Just phrases

http://www.leyline.org/cra/languages/IrishPeople/

RTÉ Turas Teanga

http://www.rte.ie/tv/turasteanga/learning_irish.html

Daltai
www.daltai.com/grammar.htm

Dictionaries:

Foclóir Beag Online

http://www.csis.ul.ie/focloir/

Gramadach Lexicon

http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/Gram/index.html

Tobar – Irish dictionary for vocabulary needed in the public sector

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~smacsuib/bng/tobar/

List of computer terms

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/foclora/abhair/riomhaire.html

English – Irish dictionary

http://www.crannog.ie/focloir.htm

Irish – English dictionary

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~smacsuib/focloir/gaelic-l/

list of dictionaries

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/foclora/

Fun

Curse engine

http://www.lincolnu.edu/~focal/scripts/mallacht.htm

CD-ROMs

EasyReader
Talk Now! Irish
World Talk! Irish
Learn Irish Now

Thanks to Alison Boardman for contributing to the Irish List of Resources.

Alison Boardman BA (Hons) in Information Systems, is a freelance ICT trainer and is currently doing her Masters (by research) on Learning Irish & Multimedia technologies at the Institute of Technology,Tralee, Ireland. If you would like to take part in her online survey, please email her (a blank email with ‘Survey’ as the subject will suffice) at:

GERMAN

Goethe Institut

In German: http://www.goethe.de/dll/mat/deindex.htm

In English: http://www.goethe.de/dll/mat/enindex.htm

Resource information:

·  Tasks and exercises

·  Business and special languages

·  Chat, Fora, E-Mail

·  Specialist journals

·  Training for teachers

·  Early language learning

·  Grammar

·  Regional and cultural studies

·  Textbooks

·  Learning with new media

·  Methodology and didactics

·  Texts and literature

·  Dictionaries

Goethe Institut: Lina and Leo.

Learn German with Lina and her parrot Leo as they travel around different German cities. This site is suitable for primary and post-primary students.

http://www2.goethe.de/z/50/linaleo/mainmen2.htm

History of Germany for the past 1,000 years. Great site for projects.

http://www.goethe.de/in/d/gaz/zeitgeschehen.html

German for Travellers

http://www.germanfortravellers.com/

Language Topics: weather, travel, numbers, colours, body, orientation, music, sports, communication, animals, plants, jewellery, shapes, games, landscapes, buildings, time, food, furniture, cooking, university, clothes, emotions, expressions, family…

Exercise types: crosswords, gap-fill, click on the correct picture, listen and type, exercises with movie video, multiple choice, flash/shockwave clicking games

Extras: video, audio, images

Ideal for revision or starting out. Geared more towards post-primary students.

Gut

http://gut.languageskills.co.uk/Home.html

Description: Excellent resource for learners of German, Spanish or French. It offers a huge number of exercises on the topics listed below. Most suitable for post-primary students.

Language Topics:

Beginner: Numbers, colours, talking about myself, school, food, clothes, time, pets, families, hobbies, in town, my house, weather, holidays, travel and transport, free time, body and illness, TV, food and shopping, myself, tourism, environment, media, jobs and money, family and relationships.

Intermediate: Self, family, friends, interests/hobbies, home, home life, local environment, daily routine, school, travel, tourism, finding the way, tourism, accommodation, services, healthy living, part-time jobs, work experience, leisure, shopping, character, relationships, environment, education, careers, future plans, social issues, choices, responsibilities.

Exercise Types: concentration, matching up, re-ordering, word-search, gap-fill, listen and type, multiple-choice, hangman

Note: Some of these exercises were generated using Quia.

Extras: Three of the four skills can be practised using the site: reading, listening, writing. Audio, images, flash.

BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/index.shtml

BBC languages – German section. Complete the German test to find out which course suits you best. Choose from German steps, Talk German, Deutsch Plus and GCSE Bitesize German.

Grammar:

Verbix

http://www.verbix.com/languages/german.shtml

Conjugate any German verb.

Lingofox

http://konjugator.lingofox.de/de/konjugieren_deutsch.htm

Conjugate any German verb (also for French, Spanish, Italian and English).

Grammar review and exercises

http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/german/grammar/grammar.htm

TV/RADIO

Tagesshau

www.tagesshau.de

The famous German TV newsjournal. Three versions daily can be viewed as video and or text. Also contains an extensive archive. Very helpful!

Deutsche Welle

www.dwelle.de

A nice collection of news and reports, texts and radio excerpts in the old Real Audio format, possibly also some TV transmissions later on. Very good and useful, sometimes slow. Most of the information can be read in many languages, so far Spanish, German, English, soon French.

ard

www.ard.de

News stories, tv, radio

Dictionaries:

LEO

http://dict.leo.org/

Culturally authentic pictorial dictionary

http://www.washjeff.edu/capl/

Great for finding related words.

Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.2rhyme.ch/Search/Default.asp?WordEnding=ichten&Submit=Reimen

New German - English dictionary

http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/wernerr/search.sh

Miscellaneous

LEMO – Lebendiges Virtuelles Museum Online

http://www.dhm.de/lemo/home.html

online History of Germany

Vocabulary training exercises

http://www.vokabel.com/

German internet project on the Berlin Wall

http://www.uncg.edu/%7Elixlpurc/GIP/berlin_wall.html

Cultural magazine

http://www.perlentaucher.de/

Vocabulary

http://www.languageguide.org/deutsch/index.jsp

Vocabulary builder with audio, graphics and mouse over translations.

Magazine for young learners of German – about Germany and German life

http://www.juma.de/v.php?fl=welcome.html

Online exercises:

http://www.colby.edu/german/deutsch_ueben/

Index of online German newspapers, arranged by topics

http://www.zeitungen.de/

AATG

http://www.aatg.org/

List of German language links for teachers

List of German links

http://www.uq.net.au/%7Ezzkmunr1/german/index.htm

List of German exercises

http://www.uncg.edu/%7Elixlpurc/publications/NetzUeb.html

CD Roms

Vocabulary Builder German
EuroTalk interactive
Learning German with a Cartoon disc for 4-12 year olds

FRENCH

http://www.frenchtutorial.com/- Hervé Foucher

Description: The French Tutorial is a web-based lesson covering basics, pronunciation, but also grammar, vocabulary and everyday French. It offers audio support for better oral comprehension, a table of contents and an index for faster searches.

Language Topics: basics, ownership, counting, comparative language, time & date, family, at home, Christmas, pets clothes, colours, weather, IT.

Exercise Types: drop-down menu

Grammar: pronouns, articles, present, past and future tense, negative phrases, number agreement, interrogative phrases

Extras: audio, gap-fill

Standard / Personal / Deluxe
Number of chapters / 13 / 13 / 13
Number of pages / 133 / 133 / 134
Audio files / 277 / 277 / 277
- / - / yes
Access to forums / - / yes / yes
Exams / - / demo only / 1
Support / none / none / dedicated and monitored forums
Registration / - / yes / yes
Access / free! / free for registered users / donors only
$11.00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/gauge/(Also German)

Description: This website assesses the learner at the beginning and recommends sections of their online course e.g. “The French Experience”, “Make French your Business” and “Painless grammar”.

Language Topics: Getting around, hotels & camping, shopping, working life, eating out, working life, holidays.

Exercise Types: gap-fill, listen and type, multiple-choice etc.

Grammar: Sounds, nouns, adjectives and verbs.

Extras: audio, video, images, key-word index, instant feedback

http://french.about.com/cs/francophonie/a/learnfrench.htm

Description: This websites contains links to beginners, intermediate and advanced French lessons and associated exercises.

Language Topics: The basics, travelling, school and education

Exercise Types: gap-fill, listen and type, multiple-choice etc.

Grammar: All levels of grammar covered.

Extras: audio, video, images, graphics, instant feedback

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/

Description: A number of different online courses for all levels of French: Online topics with audio, video and quizzes. There are also Talk TV programmes, which are repeated regularly on BBC Learning Zone (http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/?languages_and_travel_all)

Language Topics: Greetings, family, origins, town & country, sports, direction etc.

Exercise Types: multiple-choice, true/false statements

Grammar: Present, past and future tense covered during each language topic

Extras: audio, video, images, graphics, key language, key words, transcript of your results can be printed (for a teacher to look at later), instant feedback

http://www.realfrench.net/

Description: Free resources for learners and teachers of French. This website is split into three sections: Grammar, Vocabulary and Tools.

Grammar (http://www.realfrench.net/grammar/)

Intermediate topics: Lessons covering clauses, parts of speech, accents and pronunciation, verbs – regular & irregular, all conjugations, all tenses.

Advanced topics: Lessons covering the origins of French, English and its relationship with French, clauses, simple & complex sentences etc.

Exercise Types: Gap-fill

Extras: instant feedback

Vocabulary (http://www.realfrench.net/vocab )

Options: Play a game, listen to some vocabulary, get a vocabulary list to learn

Games

Language Topics: Numbers, colours, animals, date & time, shops, adjectives etc.

Exercise Types: Tic-tac-toe, crossword, wordsearch, hangman, memory game, matching game, spelling test

Extras: Instant Feedback, gap-fill

Listen to some Vocabulary

Language Topics: A-Z of general beginner vocabulary

Exercise Types: Listen and repeat

Extras: audio

Get a Vocabulary List

Levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced vocabulary lists to be printed

Language Topics: Adjectives, colours, countries, days, months, function words, time, verbs, sport, jobs, food, daily tasks

Exercise Types: Read and learn, spelling tests and games

Tools (http://www.realfrench.net)

Verb Conjugator – Type in any verb and it will give all conjugations

Accent Codes – French accent codes for typing

http://languagecenter.cla.umn.edu/index.php?page=links_french

Description: Links to French search engines and French language sites. A lot of the content on these sites is intermediate to advanced. There are plenty of links to comprehension exercises etc. In the ‘French 1003 links’ and ‘French 1004 links’ sections, click on “Révision pour les examens” for vocabulary exercises and games.

Exercise Types: matching, gap-fill, multiple-choice

Extras: audio, images, graphics, instant feedback

http://eleaston.com/

Description: Links to materials for teaching and learning

Languages covered: English, French, German

Language Topics: Links for Exercises and quizzes for each language

http://www.realfrench.net/links/

Description: Over 700 links to websites relating to all aspects of French language and culture.

AUTORING TOOLS

Hot Potatoes http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/

Description: The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web.

QuizMaker Javascript Wizard http://www.edict.com.hk/quizmaker/

Description: The JavaScript Wizard creates a stand-alone test that can be run from any PC or server. The test is scored and reviewed using a JavaScript program that is written into the document. There are so some ready-made quizzes for English.

Language Skills: Reading comprehension

Exercise Types: Multiple-choice

Extras: Frames

ClozeMaker Test Author Utilities http://www.edict.com.hk/ClozeMaker/default.htm

Description: Stand-alone cloze tests can be created easily to run from your own PC or serve. There are already some ready-made cloze tests for English. Students listen to a recorded piece and then fill in the cloze test.

Language Skills: Aural comprehension, spelling and writing

Exercise Types: Multiple-choice

Extras: Frames

Quia http://www.quia.com/

Description: 30-day free trial. You must pay after that. They host your exercises.

http://www.memorylifter.com/download/program.html

Memory Lifter - the superlative memorization flashcard software

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/4631/authorng.htm

List of available authoring tools

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~creitan/quizclass/

Set of links on creating interactive exercises for the world wide web