http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C0dMYbg0Yk&feature=related
From the point of view of a student, this is a great YouTube video for someone learning Spanish. The whole video is only 6 minutes long which is a good length. It's long enough for the video to teach multiple vocabulary words but short enough to keep your attention. Also, the speaker in the video speaks at a good pace and uses pictures to help students understand the vocabulary word she is introducing.
http://tarlespeech.com/podcast/?p=39
As an ESL teacher, this website is a great resource. The podcasts focus on accent reduction and are about 1 minute each. Most podcasts focus on two words that are similar and are frequently mispronounced by ESL students. For example, the podcast listed above focuses on the difference between saying live and leave. I like that there is a video along with the podcast so students are able to watch the speaker as she pronounces the words.
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Hi Erin. I agree that the length is fine and that the teacher's rate of speaking was good and her pronunciation clear (even if she's clearly using the Castellano lisp... love it!). I thought perhaps the most interesting part was actually the conversation taking place below where the speakers were talking about the verb that she uses for "ride" which she says is "montar." It appears that they only use "montar" for animals in Argentina while in other countries its fine for inanimate objects. It makes me realize that it's important to teach vocab. distinctions like from time to time esp. if the students might speak English in different countries (England for instance).
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this video is a good length and I like that she gives the listeners many chances to hear the pronunciations, and better yet, many chances to practice themselves without having to pause the video. I also liked that she used a lot of different types of vocabulary to say the same things. For example, when she wants the listener to repeat, she says the equivalent of "repeat" and then "and you" and then "one more time." This way the learners do not get stuck with the same repeated vocabulary over and over again.
ReplyDeleteFor the ESL podcast, I liked that she gave practical advice as to how to tell the difference between live and leave--"pull your mouth back into a smile for leave!". I have always thought that ESL podcasts for pronunciation could be difficult without clear explanation into what your mouth should look like when you're talking.
ReplyDeleteBill - good point about the vocab distinctions in other English speaking countries. I haven't really thought about this but you could definitely run across this problem with podcasts
ReplyDeleteBailey and Christina, thanks for your input!
I like that the ESL resource chucked the pronunciation lessons into a small units. It makes the lessons really student and user friendly. These podcasts could easily be used to reinforce what was learned that day in class for homework as long as students have computers to access them.
ReplyDeleteGood point Christine, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the ESL resource is good for focusing on specific pronunciation issues. The speaker uses natural yet slower speech so that learners can really notice the differences in pronunciation. It might be useful, however, if a close-up of her mouth was provided so that learners could not only hear but also really see the differences in pronouncing these sounds. Overall, though, a good resource for hearing the differences in sounds.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good traditional lesson. I learned a great deal & am looking forward to buying roller skates in Mexico. My only concern was that the order of instruction seemed a little backward to me--as an instructor I would expect car, bus and airplane to come first--but as a hypothetical student I didn't have any trouble keeping track.
ReplyDeleteKristen - I like your idea of a close up of her mouth. This could be easily added and still keep within a reasonable timeframe.
ReplyDeleteJesse - thanks for the comment. I wonder what the reasoning was behind the order she chose...