Sample activities that use CLEAR’s Rich Internet Applications

Activity: Speaking Homework

Goal: Improve students’ pronunciation and fluency.

Level: Beginner

Tools: ViewPoint, Audio Dropboxes, Mashups

Preparation: Create a recording, an Audio Dropbox, insert them into a Mashup, add text instructions.

Procedures:

  1. In class, show students the web page, explain the purpose of the exercise.
  2. Students are to
  • Record themselves.
  • Listen to their recording and find areas that they want to improve.
  • Make a second recording.
  • Repeat until they are satisfied with the quality of their speaking.
  • Submit their recording to the instructor.
  1. Teacher listens to the recordings, gives feedback to students individually.

Activity: Listening to Pictures

Goal: Improve students’ global listening skills.

Level: Intermediate

Tools: ViewPoint, Mashups

Preparation: Select a picture, write a “script” with questions.

Script:

There are many people in this picture. I can see some adults, and some children. There are also some animals in this picture. I see a dog and a cat. There are two dogs. Question 1:Are there two cats? Look at the sky. There are fireworks in the sky. Question 2:Is it night? Some of the people are wearing glasses. Question 3:Are two people wearing glasses? Question 4:Are they both children? Some of the people are tall, and some are short. Question 5:Is the tallest person a woman? Some people are standing, and some are sitting. Question 6:Are more people sitting? The woman on the right is holding something. Question 7:Is she holding a bag? The littlest girl has her hands in the air. Question 8:Is she sad? The woman in glasses is smiling. Question 9:Is her sweater red? Question 10:Is her hair yellow? The boy next to her has a shape on his shirt. Question 11:Is it a square? Question 12:Is it a circle? Question 13:Is it a star?

Record the script with ViewPoint, put the recording and the picture into a Mashup.

Procedures: Students are to look at the picture, listen to the description, and on a piece of paper, write “yes” or “no” to each of the 13 questions in the script.

Activity: Interactive oral language practice

Goal: Improve students’ listening, speaking, and ability to use the language spontaneously.

Level: Beginner or Intermediate

Tools: Conversations

Preparation: Create a series of sentences that target key vocabulary words or phrases from the textbook.

Procedures: Depending on the level of the students, the activity can be easy or hard. Some example activities that are appropriate for various levels are listed below:

Beginner: Interactive oral cloze.

Example: Original sentence: Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.

Record yourself saying: Mary had a little “blank,” its fleece was white as snow.

Students must respond with the word that goes in the “blank” (“lamb”).

Intermediate: Change the tense or voice of a sentence.

Example: Original sentence: “The dog bites the man.”

Students must say the same sentence in past tense: “The dog bit the man.”

Or, students put the active voice to passive, saying: “The man is bit by the dog.”

Intermediate: Give students a noun and a verb, they must create a descriptive sentence.
Example: Give your students the words “My friend” and “hungry.”

Students can create a sentence such as “My friend wasn’t hungry, so he didn’t eat lunch today.”

Contact info: Dennie Hoopingarner