I wonder if other participants will agree with me when I say that ANVILL - A National Virtual Language Lab - is one of the course's highlights. Focusing on oral and aural language skills, it provides what other learning platforms miss: the opportunity to include speaking practice in a language online distance course in the form of asynchronous communication with no other external programmes for sound recording and editing. With tools such as Voiceboard and especially Tcast, teachers can record and embed audio and video files commenting on the lessons, posing questions or telling stories. We were presented this speech-based toolbox by Jeff Magoto, one of its creators.
Of all the useful and creative ideas how to use ANVILL he shared with us, the one I particularly liked was 'Jigsaw possibilities'. After watching a short movie, students are to discuss and determine whether they have seen the same slides and find the differences out. The reason why I like it is the fact that it lends itself to communicative language teaching. Providing an authentic and realistic situation for communication, a meaning focused task and exposing students to language in use, it creates the desire and motive for communication and students 'have a dynamic chance to see how much they're able to accomplish... and learning can't help but occur' (Jeff Magoto).
Hi Nada!
ReplyDeleteTalking about ANVILL is something interesting but enjoying creation in it is something much more rewarding! I agree with you on the necessity of such incredible huge portable online virtual language lab, I even devoted a whole page in my website about it: https://sites.google.com/site/listeningincontext/virtual-learning-environments
Yet, working on ANVILL is a peculiar experience, so I warmly invite you and all of our colleagues to participate!
Khaled Hafdhi, Tunisia.
Hi Nada
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say ANVILL is one of the highlights since it provides students the chance to practice oral communication skills as well. It has a wide source of listening activities for students to exercise. Using this lab, students can work not only on receptive skills but productive too like speaking.
It is said that about 70 percent corresponds to listening practice when one learns a language. This skill is linked closely to speaking in order to produce oral communication. So ANVILL is giving us the tools to improve the quality of our classes by working oral and audio competence.
Sometimes students and teachers complain about the fact that students say they do not have somebody else out of the classroom to speak English with some purpose. Here is this Lab to solve some issues about speaking. After using this Lab, students will not have any reason not to foster communication.
Mory – Ecuador.
Hi Nada, i sure agree with you and Khaled and Mory. ANVILL is a MUST.It's one of the best ideas I've heard about lately. As I wrote on the discussions, it's an answer to my needs and a step into the future of teaching/ learning. There are so many exciting possibilities it is difficult to decide where to start. Let's make the ANVILL fan club! ;)
ReplyDeleteHello Nada I would like to congratulate you because I can see that yo have use jed´s work with Anvill and it is really fantastic to realize that you are putting in practice these important resources we have to make our classes more dinamic and learn by getting fun
ReplyDeleteFernando Ecuador
Hi Nada,
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I am connected with high bandwidth, my first option will be to explore ANVILL. It seems there is great deal to tools for us. I believed that this is especially for developing children’s oral/aural language skills, which is must.
You are blessed with high speed net connection I am sure will make best use of this creation.
All the best!
Jigme Norbu
Hi Nada
ReplyDeleteI agree with you ANVILL is a great opportunity for learners to develop the skills for talking and listening in the English language, especially if the language of the students native language different from English, which also may help some students who can not enroll in institutes specialized in the languages, and all students who wish to participate can registration without any obstacles or to pay any amount of money.
Zainab
Bahrain