Listening (30/11)

Listening: the visual context, gestures, drawings, body language

• Implication of the learner as listener. It means that the child must learn in action.
• The use of gestures, drawings and body language is recommended to create an encouraging atmosphere in the classroom.
• Background disturbing noise must be avoided.
• Sounds or acoustic references may encourage comprehension.
• In time the acoustic material should become more realistic.
• Visual support is always necessary in early listening exercises in order to create a context and assist the listening effort.

Early descriptions

• Early descriptions may arise from the use of some commands as a simple answer to the questions why or what for. 

The use of the mother tongue as a compensating strategy

• Though the use of the FL is the goal, the first language can be used as a helping hand to maintain motivation. 
• The first language can also provide context. In this case it is the equivalent to a picture. 
• Some conclusive parts of the listening interactive task may require the exclusive use of the FL. 

Reasons for listening

• We, as non-native speakers of English, need to understand more than we should be able to produce. 
• The samples of spoken language in all course-books do not contain a sufficiently high proportion of the features of natural speech. 

/ʊ/ and /u:/ (29/11)

7./ʊ/

Approximate Castilian production

• The Spanish sound is produced at the back and it is tenser.
• A similar sound can be heard when it is nect to “r” and “l”: hurto, pulso.

Articulation: 

• The tongue and jaw are raised as the back of the tongue is used to articulate this vowel. Hence it is a back, close (high) vowel. The lips are rounded.

Most important spellings that represent /ʊ/:

• U: full, put.
• Oo: book, look.
• Ou: could, should.
• O: woman.

8. /u:/

• This vowel is towards the back and is a close sound. The lips are only moderately rounded.

Approximate Castilian production

• It is more closed and tenser than the Spanish “u” (apart from being longer).

Most important spellings that represent /u:/:

• Oo: spoon, shoot, troop, boom.
• Ou: soup, route.
• O: do.
• U: June, flu.
• Ew, ue, ui, oe: jew, blue, suit, shoe.

Minimal pairs

/u:/	/ʊ/
Fool Luke Cooed Shoed Pool	Full Look Could Should Pull

Here I post a video where they explain the differences between /ʊ/and /u:/:

/ɒ/ and /ɔ:/ (29/11)

5. /ɒ/

The organs of articulation maintain similar positions to the ones of /a:/.

• The tongue and jaw are lowered as the back of the tongue is used to articulate this vowel.
• The lips are slightly rounded.
• Portal, cortar, cordial, loro. 

Approximate Castilian production

• For the realization of /o/ the articulation organs maintain very similar positions to those of /a:/, with the difference that the lips can be lightly widened for /o/. Another difference is the double duration of /a:/ and their potion.

Most important spellings that represent /ɒ/:

• O: not, box, dog.
• A: want, what, watch.
• Au: because.
• Ou: cough.

Minimal pairs: 

/ɒ/	/ʌ/
Cop Shot Lock Strong Mock Long Gone	Cup Shut Luck Strung Muck Lung Gun

6. /ɔ:/

For many English speakers in the opposition between /ɒ/ and /ɔ:/ quantity is a fundamental feature. In these cases, the Castilian realizations are the same ones that thoses pretended then speaking of /ɒ/.

Approximate Castilian production

• But it is evident that /ɔ:/ it is a much more open vowel that the next Castilian one, and nowadays more English people do not base the opposition on quantity but n other features, as, for example, rounding of the lips, almost null in /ɔ/. To many Spanish-speakers it sound more proximate to /u/ than to /o/.

Most important spellings that represent /ɔ:/

• Or: horse.
• Oor: poor.
• Ore: more.
• Aw: saw.
• Oar: board.
• Ou: bought.
• Our: four.
• A: all.

Minimal pairs:

/ɒ/	/ɔ:/
Caught Sport Short Stalk	Cot Spot Shot Stock

Here I share a video where they explain the differences between /ɔ:/ and /ɒ/:

Oral communication - Listening (29/11)

3. Listening

• Teacher should provide student with sufficient listening practice to enable them to understand with reasonable ease both native and non-native speakers of English when they speak at normal speed in unstructured situations. 
• Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. 

• A student will learn a great deal by listening to the teacher.
• The teacher is the most important model on which the student will base his/her own behaviour. 
• It is important, therefore, that you speak English at a speed consistent with normal stress and rhythm and intonation patterns. 

• It is simply not sufficient to expose the learners to those samples of spoken language which are, for example, the presentation of the unit.
• These samples are simplified to provide the students with models for oral production.
• Le. There are oral texts specified as a presentation of the unit, for specific practice, as reinforcement or even revision.

• A silent period is recommended for beginners.
• Together with a great deal of listening activities. 
• The teacher provides comprehensible input. 
• Use of CDs, video recordings, ICT based resources.
• Beginners may feel paralyzed when they do not understand.

• A single speaker with a clear voice is recommended in early listening tasks.
• When there are two or more speakers, their voices should be clearly distinguished. 
• Children must begin by getting involved in the listening task.
• Following recorded directions with some descriptive clues is recommendable to improve the listening skill.
• If the task is easy to perform and the comprehensible input understood, an exchange of role is the next step. 
• The more advanced pupils will adopt the leading role.
• Children will reproduce TPR techniques. 

Free screencast softwares (28/11)

CamStudio

• CamStudio: open source software.
• Only for windows.
• Output formats: AVI and SWF. 

Jing (free version)

• Image: capture an image of what you see on your computer screen.
• Select any window or region that you want to capture, mark up your screenshot with a text box, arrow, highlight or picture caption, and decide how you want to share it. 
• Jing videos are limited to five minutes for instant, focused communication.
• Videos can be shared through social media.

Wink

• Open source software.
• Several output formats.
• For windows.
• You can capture screenshots, add explanations boxes, buttons, titles, etc.
• www.debugmode.com/wink . 

BB Flashback Express

• The free version just allows just swf and avi files.
• For windows.
• http://bbsoftware.co.uk/BBFlashBack_FreePlayer.aspx

Web-based Screencasts

• You do not need any external software.
• Just go to the web page and record.
• The recordings can be shared in social networks.

Screenr

• Just clicking on the record button, capture the screen (and voice, if you want).
• Share it through social networks.
• It is not free anymore. 

Screencast-o-matic

• Direct recording.
• Different resolutions can be selected.
• Sound is also available. 
• Direct upload to the internet. 
• http://screencast-o-matic.com/home

/æ/ and /a:/ (24/11)

3. [æ]

Approximate Castilian Production

• It is the lowest front vowel of English. It is a short, lax, unrounded vowel, a little higher than the cardinal vowel /a/.
• In Castilian there is not a similar vowel, on the other hand it is in the speech of many Valencians.
• The most approximate sound can be found in syllables containing a palatal consonant.
• E.g. chanza, ancha, llano, fallo. E.g. wide, plain, failure. 
• A didactic resource to get an approache to be pronounce the phoneme /e/ with a much bigger separation between the jaws. 

Most important spellings that represents /æ/:

                - “A”: hand, match, lamp.

Minimal pairs

/æ/	/e/
Flash Mass Rack Bad Bag Man Pat	Flesh Mess Wreck Bed Beg Men Pet

4. /a:/

Approximate Castilian production

• It doesn’t exist in Spanish. This vowel and /æ/ and /ʌ/ are focus of confusion for beginners.
• Some Spanish people pronounce /g/ as a guttural instead of velar, specially between vowels, this /a/ is similar to the English corresponding.
• E.g. haga, traga, saga, etc.
• The important aspect is to give double quantity, because it is a long vowel.

                - It is normally spelt by the letter a. 
                - Followed by a silent r in syllable or word-final position: jar, carpet.

                - It is often followed by a silent l in words like pal, calm, balm.
                - Sometimes f or ff can follow: after, staff.

                - Or ss: pass, class.

                - Or s or n followed by another consonant: past, demand.

                - Or th in word-final position: path, batch.

                - Or, exceptionally, other letters: aunt, Berkeley, hearth, father. 

The most important spellings that represent /a:/:

• "A": ask, grass, car.
• "ER": ear, clerck, heart.
• "AL": half, calm.
• "AL": aunt, laugh.

Minimal pairs

/a:/	/æ/
March Lark Bark Carp Barn	Match Lack Back Cap Ban

Here I share an interesting video for Spanish speakers, where they explain differences between /a:/, /æ/ and /ʌ/ (which is explained in this post):

Video "Imagine" (24/11)

Today, we were watching the videos that we were told to do.

They had to have "Imagine", by John Lennon for the soundtrack. Each one of us chose a topic. Mine was about the marchs from Selma to Montgomery, a fight for the black people's civil rights.

The objective to do this exercise was to learn how to create a video using only images.

I used a presentation in PowerPoint and then, I recorded it.


Click on the image to see the final resault on Google Drive: