Anthony Burik’s ESL Blog

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Anthony Burik’s ESL Blog

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December 11th, 2010 · 9 Comments · Uncategorized

Please post your blog URL in the comments section.

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Transforming teaching with wikis and blogs

December 10th, 2010 · 12 Comments · Uncategorized

This is the title of a workshop that I am giving on Saturday, December 11. For each workshop participant, please write your name and what your level of familiarity is with wikis and blogs. Also, what are some things you would like to learn about at the workshop? You will want to leave this information in the comments section.

I have to approve the comments as the blog administrator, so they may not show up right away. But I will approve them at some point!

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Getting Started with Blogs!

September 4th, 2008 · 17 Comments · Uncategorized

I taught a workshop on getting started with blogs at the 2008 professional development day for Mt. Diablo Adult Education. I asked my attendees to consider this question:

“Why do you want to start a blog for yourself or your class?”

Please read the comments for some great ideas!

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English Listening Language Lab Online (ELLLO)

April 23rd, 2008 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized

Here is an exciting website I came across with all kinds of listening activities:

http://www.elllo.org/english/home.htm

As you can see in the toolbar across the top of the home page, there are many different kinds of listening activities: interviews, mixers, listening games, talking points, situations, and songs are just some of the things to explore on this site. 

On the Interviews page, for example, there is a listening activity with a text (at a minimum) so a student can follow along with the listening. Some of the listening activities (for example, look at #870 “Weight Lifting” or #874 “Personality Traits”) also have a worksheet that a student could use in class, as well as an audio slide show that shows pictures related to the listening with segments of the text shown underneath the pictures (look under “Multimedia” and “Support Materials” at the top on the right-hand side after you select the interview you want to listen to).

I looked at some of other activities on this site (e.g. mixers, news stories, songs), and there is a lot to explore here and practice with students.

Let me know if you explore ELLLO listening activities!

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The Learning Edge

April 7th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized

The Learning Edge, created by the Wellington County Learning Centre in Ontario, Canada, is an online newsletter that in recent issues deals with workplace and job-related topics and, at the same time, helps students work on basic listening and reading skills. I think the newsletters and related activites would be good for VESL students and students working on developing the aforementioned skills.

Here is the link to The Learning Edge:

http://www.thewclc.ca/edge/

Let me know if you use The Learning Edge in your classroom!

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HotChalk

March 31st, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized

I’ve been exploring the HotChalk website, a site set up primarily for K-12 teachers but with some intriguing content for other. Of most interest are the many lesson plans submitted by teachers and video clips from NBC News on many different topics.

You can search the website for lesson plan ideas (the “Lesson Plans” tab near the top, located in HotChalk’s ”MyLibrary”) without having to register at the site. If you want to access the NBC video clips, however, you will have to register, but it’s fast and free. The site is keeping current with the 2008 presidential campaigns, so this is a good site if you are spending time on that with your class.

Here’s a link to the website: http://www.hotchalk.com/

Let me know what you think of HotChalk!

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TeacherTube

March 27th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized

TeacherTube is a website that houses videos made by teachers and educators on all kinds of subjects. If you are familiar with YouTube, then you might enjoy exploring TeacherTube for videos that you can use in your classroom. Also, your school district may block access to YouTube, but TeacherTube might be more palatable to the people in charge of your computer network.

Here is a short but sweet video that would be great for a beginning level class studying utensils:

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=963395fbab4a85d0b8f8

Here is another video on the apostrophe:

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=27f2033848630133bbf2&page=1&viewtype=&category=

Many possibilities here! Let me know what your favorite TeacherTube video is!

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WordChamp

March 21st, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized

Here is a website recommended by a person who has volunteered for one of my projects at school. It’s an online resource called WordChamp, designed for students who want to learn languages and for language teachers working with students. There are resources available for teachers (once you register for free) to use in their classrooms, especially for teachers trying to integrate technology into their lessons.

http://www.wordchamp.com/lingua2/Home.do

One great feature is that the website tries to connect students around the world learning a multitude of languages with teachers from around the globe who teach all of the world’s languages.

Here is an online article about WordChamp for more information:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_April_2/ai_n18769400

I would love to hear comments from teachers and students who use this website.

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Getting Started with Blogs!

March 15th, 2008 · 22 Comments · Uncategorized

I taught a workshop on getting started with blogs at the 2008 CCAE Bay Section Winter Conference hosted by Mt. Diablo Adult Education at the Loma Vista Adult Center in Concord, CA. I asked my students to consider this question:

“Why do you want to start a class blog?”

Please see the comments for some great ideas!

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Hello world!

January 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

This is the official hoo-hah from Edublogs: 

“Welcome to Edublogs.org. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!”

I want to welcome you to my blog. My goal is to help people teaching ESL classes by providing some resources that you can use with your students in your classrooms. Young or old, beginners or advanced – I hope to provide a little something for everyone who works in this exciting field.

Hello brave new world!

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