The activities she suggests are almost exactly what I created on the voice thread. You can see it here. The scoring system that she mentions can be seen here. It's kind of hard to understand, but here is basically what you should be trying to do:
1. Your speech should flow (continue without stopping). Short pauses are ok. Pronunciation errors are ok if we can still understand you. 2. Vocabulary and grammar errors are ok if we can still understand what you are talking about. You should use a variety of sentence patterns. For example, instead of saying, "I like cats. I like dogs. I like fish." You should say, "I like cats, but I also like dogs. I kind of like fish because they are easy to take care of. However, they aren't so fun to touch." 3. You should stay on topic. In other words, if they ask you about your hobbies, don't talk about your work.
I made a new voice thread. Don't be shy, let me hear your voice and practice your output here! If you want to write just to warm up, post your comments where it says "questions" below.
Human beings are built to learn languages, so I agree with Mr. Wintsch in this video when he says that learning a language is simple: "it's just speaking and doing it in a continuous way."
That is true if you have many people to speak with. English learners who are living in an English-speaking country have millions of people to practice with - in fact, they are forced to speak the language any time they go to a store, or a restaurant, or to work.
However, after living in Asia, I realized that many students who live in non-English speaking countries do not have anyone to practice with. That is why ELLLO was created; to give you a lot of short, natural conversations so you can listen a little bit everyday just like if you were living in an English speaking country.
If you listened to me on TOEFL TV last week, you should know that listening and reading are just 25% of language learning. You also need "output" (speaking and writing), language focus (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation), and fluency practice (speed training).
Everyone feels shyness when learning a new language. I know I did and I've seen it a million times in my students... but shyness is a bad excuse. Get over it. If you want to learn, shyness is not an option. You WILL make mistakes. It's ok, because, if you are human, you WILL learn quickly.
In the words of Mr. Wintsch, "if one wants to learn the language, one has to speak the language." So far, 28 of you said that you need more output. Here is your chance to practice some speaking. Don't do it tomorrow. Watch the video then click here for some speaking practice.
Hello, my name is Leslie Wintsch and I live in the Canary Islands. I've been teaching for more than 40 years and there is only very few secrets to learning a language. If one wants to learn the language, one has to speak the language. The more contact one has, the better. So it's just speaking and doing it in a continuous way. The most important if you are going to study the language is to come to class regularly. If you are going to study on your own, set up an hour where you are doing it regularly each day.
If you practice the language daily, you will learn the language. I have never had a failure. I have never known anybody who did not learn the language who practiced continuously. Why do people not learn? They don't learn because they stop. But you can learn. All you have to do is say, "This time, I'm going to practice my language. I'm going to do it regularly and I will be successful."
Many of you responded that you want more OUTPUT. Here is your chance. Don't be shy. Listen to the introduction, then click "comment" and record a short response to the question, "How do you stay in shape?"
If you have problems using the software, please comment so I can try to help you. I'll make a couple of comment on pronunciation and grammar for the first 5 people that respond. If it seems like you all like this activity, then I'll create a version that is larger and has unlimited memory storage.
Thank you for your responses! It doesn't fit so well on this blog so here is a link to a full screen.
