Sample activities that use CLEAR’s Rich Internet Applications http://ria.clear.msu.edu

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.

3. Teacher listens to the recordings, gives feedback to students individually.

Contact info: Dennie Hoopingarner hooping4@msu.edu

Sample activities that use CLEAR’s Rich Internet Applications http://ria.clear.msu.edu

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.

Contact info: Dennie Hoopingarner hooping4@msu.edu

Sample activities that use CLEAR’s Rich Internet Applications http://ria.clear.msu.edu

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 hooping4@msu.edu