CALL Lessons 2005-2007

Monday, 18 June 2007

CALL Lesson 11 (June 18, 19 & 21)

There are things that we didn't have time to do: (1) explore a link about DST (Daily Saving Time, or "Summer time") sent by our dear friend Dennis Oliver; answer a couple of questions from our teacher-friends in the Google maps you created with messages for them; and, watch a video about bears in Slovenia made by a student of teacher Sasha Sirk. I feel sad, but the end of a school year is always complicated. There are too many things going on...

Today we have another "first time" project. It's a voice chat with someone you don't know and is far away. You prepared the 12 questions for the interview last Thursday, so you're ready for action!!!

Before we start, I'd like to have 4 volunteers - 2 girls and 2 boys - to ask the "mystery guest" three questions each. The interview will be recorded. After it's over, we will listen to it and write a short text about our guest. If there is still time, we will insert that text in a Google map that I created.

Objectives

Students will:

-- "experience" their first voice chat in English

-- practice language learned in a real situation and with a purpose

-- have contact with communication tools, such as Yahoo Messenger and Audacity.

Activities

1. Find 4 students who will ask the "mystery guest" two questions each

2. Open Yahoo Messenger, then a Conference window, and invite guest to join us

3. Open Audacity and click "Record" when the chat starts

4. Start the voice chat

5. Locate where our guest lives in the World Atlas, after s/he says so

6. Thank the guest and stop the recording

7. Listen to the recording and write a short text about him/her

8. Write the text in the Google map created for this lesson.

Enjoy!

Work done in class by 6.C

An interview with teacher Michael Coghlan in Australia (Be patient with the download! It's worth it!!!)

Google map with a text about teacher Michael

Work done in class by 6.E (19 and 21 Jun)

An interview with teacher Hala Fawzi in Sudan (Be patient with the download! It's worth it!!!)

Google map with a text about teacher Hala

An interview with teacher Cristina Costa in England (Be patient with the download! It's worth it!!!)

Google map with a text about teacher Cristina

Message I sent to teacher Michael Coghlan and his reply

Dear Michael,

Thank you so much for a lovely time during 6.C's interview this morning. The kids were totally fascinated and absorbed. Their eyes and ears were "glued" to the screen and speakers the whole time. I'm sure that most of them just couldn't believe their eyes, especially, their ears.

First, I was amazed at their interest in the surprise about to come when I announced what we were going to do for the rest of the lesson. My amazement continued with the degree of interest and absorption in the dialogue that was taking place. Finally, I was totally surprised by their interest in the recording. I wanted to listen to it for a while to see if everything was ok. It is!!! And when I was going to stop, because I knew they had understood enough to be able to write the text, they asked to listen to all of it. Wow!!! I decided to make some pauses and comment on the content (such as the time difference and the temperature) or explain something (the southern hemisphere and the different season, as well as the difference in size between a twon and a city). It was fantastic!

Then they wrote the text about you in the Google map (with a little guidance from me), always following the sequence of the questions. They did a great job with the interview questions and the text.

http://tinyurl.com/2gechl

It was a fabulous and very special feeling for me to see those excited and happy expressions. It was a real and totally unexpected treat! When I asked if this had a been a "grand finale", they all said "Yeeeeeesssss!!!" at once.

I'll be uploading the recording tomorrow after the second class interviews Hala at the same time as today. You're welcome to take part. BTW, I asked 6.C to keep this a secret from the other class, because they had enjoyed the "surprise" this morning. I sure hope they can keep a secret.

I'll send the rest of the links tomorrow: "CALL lessons" blog and recording.

Thank you for being there for me and 6.C. It'll be an experience they will never forget! :-))

Warm hugs, Teresa

Fantastic Teresa! And what a great paragraph they created on the map. Thank you for inviting me to do this, and for this great feedback.

- Michael

Message I sent to teacher Hala Fawzi and her reply

Dear Hala,

It was another fantastic lesson! "Thank you" so much for making it possible for my students. They behaved very well and were also "glued" to the screen and speakers.

Right from the moment the students came in I felt that they were expecting something. Maybe someone from yesterday's class wasn't able to keep the secret!!! They seemed very anxious to know what their "surprise" would be, but didn't ask. I could feel their curiosity growing as 9:00 approached and I started to go over the interview with them.

I was very happy that two of the weaker students, Barbara and Pedro, volunteered to ask you questions. The other two, Catarina and Francisco, are good students.

They loved listening to the recording, writing the text about you and seeing your photo. I explained that you are from a different culture and that you dress differently in your country. Some also noticed a couple of differences from me in terms of pronunciation, which is very curious. Good ear for languages!!!

Everything is now in the blog, the recording of the interview and the text in the Google map. I love both, especially the interview.

http://call05-06.motime.com/

Once again, I feel that this is an experience they'll never forget! :-))

Warm hugs, Teresa

Good evening there! I was trying to reply to your last email, but my yahoo mail seems to have gone crazy:). I just wanted to thank you for a very new experience that I have not gone through before. Talking to kids synchro in their class and helping them to learn! That was amazing to me too, not only to your kids.I loved the map and the interview.

Beijinhos, Hala

Message teacher Cristina sent after the interview and my reply to her

Teresa!
What a great class! What a great blog.
I got really emotional at the end. I had tears in my eyes.
Thank you so much for getting me involved.
It's projects like this that make me believe that it is worth all the hard work.
Way to go.
thank you once again for the shining example.

beijinhos, Cris

Dear Cristina,

"Thank you" for being there for me and 6.E this morning. I was happy to be able to have you "live" with us and to have four students in the class who were not present on Tuesday experience this synchronous event. Three of them interviewed you: Martim, Duarte and Daniela from Moldova. I'm sure they loved it as much as you did.

I'm listening to the recording as I'm writing: it's very cute. We can hear all the interaction going on. We are all so lively! And I've just noticed that you were "emotional" at the end. You're such a dear friend. :-)

The text may have a couple of minor incorrections, because we didn't have time to listen to the recording. It was from memory and things I'd jotted down on the whiteboard.

They loved to interview you and it was a great second "grand finale" for this class.

Beijinhos, Teresa

* * * * * * * *

Report on CALL Lesson 11

6.C (18Jun07): Ten minutes before the interview started, we went over the questions they had written in class last Thursday. I told the students that they were going to interview a mystery guest, a friend of mine who lived far away. Each of the volunteers - Rodrigo, InêsT, Lourenço and Margarida - would ask 3 questions. The interview was going to be recorded and then we would listen to the recording to write a text about the interviewee.

I asked them to behave and not make much noise with the chairs when they changed partners at the computer!!! ;-)

We used my laptop, a cable connection, a video projector and speakers. The lesson went on exactly as planned above: (1) interview with timely comments (= comentários pontuais) from me, (2) a look at the World Atlas to locate Australia and see the distance between both countries, (3) listening to the recording and (4) writing a text in a Google map I had created for this purpose.

This was a memorable lesson for the students, for me and, I dare say, for Michael Coghlan.

6.E (19Jun07): Ten minutes before the interview started, we went over the questions they had written in class last Thursday, included a comment about the weather - it was pouring at the time!!! - and repeated the questions. I told the students that they were going to interview a mystery guest, a friend of mine who lived far away. Each of the volunteers - Catarina, Pedro, Bárbara and Francisco - would ask 3 questions. The interview was going to be recorded and then we would listen to the recording to write a text about the interviewee.

I asked them to behave very well and not to make much noise with chairs when changing partners at the computer!!! ;-)

We used my laptop, a cable connection, a video projector and speakers. The lesson went on exactly as planned above: (1) interview with timely comments (= comentários pontuais) from me, (2) a look at the World Atlas to locate Sudan (they located Khartoum while we listened to the recording) and see the distance between both countries, (3) listening to the recording and (4) writing a text in the Google map I created for yesterday's class.

This was a memorable lesson for the students, for me and, I dare say, for Hala Fawzi.

Two days later I was able to have the Computer Room with 6.E again and have Cristina Costa be interviewed by them. While they wrote down their self-evaluatuion text, I reordered some questions and suggested 2-3 that they translated correctly. This time the volunteers were boy-girl-boy-girl: Martim, Patrícia, Duarte and Daniela.

It was fabulous! I even got to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo, the famous Portuguese football player in Manchester United.

posted by: teresadeca at 05:04 | link | comments (27) |

Comments:

#1 18 June 2007 - 16:00

Hi teacher!
I loved the last CALL lesson of this year!It was very nice!:-D

Guilherme 6ºC

Anonymous

#2 18 June 2007 - 18:56

Dear Guilherme,
Your comment makes me sooooo haaaapppyyyy!!!!!! :-)))
I also loved this lesson and felt that you all liked it too. What else can I ask for?
Teacher Michael also loved it. Tomorrow, after 6.E's lesson, I'll include the message that I sent him this afternoon and his reply in CALL lesson 11.
Let's stay in touch, always.
Hugs

teresadeca

#3 20 June 2007 - 20:40

Hi kids and Teresa!

Wow! What a terrific job you did! I'm listening your interview with Michael and hearing the silence in the background I can only imagine how interested you all were in speaking to a real person, a native English speaker, on the other side of the world!
Wow! You were great kids! Congratulations :)

And Teresa, what a great activity! I imagine all the work it took you to prepare. Thank you for showing us another example of how we can bring the internet into class and provide students a real environment to interact with a real person in a foreign language. This really brings motivation into class. I loved it!

Clap-clap-clap to you all!
Grande abraço from a friend in Trofa,
Susana Araújo

Anonymous

#4 20 June 2007 - 20:42

Kids and teacher!
Congratulations!
I am going to show your wonderful work to my classes here in Brazil.
Warm regards,
Bee

bdieu

#5 21 June 2007 - 01:04

Dear Teresa and kids,

Congratulations on the successful outcome of your final project! It's good to know that you enjoyed it and that you had a great time doing it. Isn't it wonderful to talk to someone whom you've never met before (and very unlikely to meet in person) and lives far away from where you are? It must be very exciting!

Here's a big hug to you all for a job well done :-)

Aiden Yeh in Taiwan

Anonymous

#6 21 June 2007 - 11:25

Hi kids and Teresa!
Very impressive work, congratulations! I loved how you integrated all the different tools, and I'm sure you kids must have been really excited! Thank you for sharing this wonderful project with us.
Um abraço do Brasil,
Mônica

Anonymous

#7 21 June 2007 - 12:24

Hello, "Radical Teacher" and wonderful students.

I enjoyed the interviews with Michael and Hala very much. Students, you asked some very good questions!

I was also impressed with the written summaries of the conversations with Michael and Hala.

You've done a wonderful job with your CALL lessons this term, and each class was also very successful in conducting a live international conversation.

I wish all of you continued success with your use of the Internet and in your studies of English!

Muitos abraços!

Dennis in Phoenix

DennisOliver

#8 21 June 2007 - 14:00

Dear Teresa and students: What a fantastic job you´ve done. I got clued to my compu seeing everything.
A very tight hug from Venezuela to everybody. Horacio Idarraga Gil.

Anonymous

#9 21 June 2007 - 14:40

Dear Teresa and 6.C students,
I am always amazed by the creativity of your radical teacher and how she inspires you and guides you to learn English in such a motivating way. Congratulations on another awesome class activity, a grand finale for this academic year.
Hugs from Berta, a Venezuelan teacher still in Toronto, Canada

BertaLeiva

#10 21 June 2007 - 16:40

Dear Teresa,

I can imagine how anxious and delighted your students were on the day of the interview. Your report on what you´ve developed was so clear and vivid I could almost see the interview taking place. What a wonderful experience! Congratulations.

Anonymous

#11 21 June 2007 - 17:02

Dear Susana, Bee, Aiden, Mônica, Dennis, Horacio, Berta and commentator #10 (??)
Thank you all dearly for your sweet, warm, supportive and extremely enthusiastic messages about the work my students were able to do after two years of English with me. What amazed me most was how comfortable they were at the computer. Some talked low, but that's the way they are in class. It wasn't "mic intimidation"!!! ;-)
I feel very gratified and very happy that Michael, Hala and Cristina (in order of appearance) accepted my invitation.
The two classes enjoyed these lessons immensely and they were a total surprise and a fabulous "grand finale" for our two years of work on and off line.
Beijinhos all, Teresa

teresadeca

#12 21 June 2007 - 20:25

Wonderful! You are amazing.
A big hug from Slovenia, Sasha

Anonymous

#13 21 June 2007 - 20:46

Congratulations to the students who participated in this project! And kudos to Teresa and special guests. Thank you for sharing your classroom activities with us; you all are inspiring!

MaryH

#14 22 June 2007 - 07:38

Hi Kids,
I did have a great time yesterday!
It was great fun, and i really enjoyed meeting you through Yahoo!

We should do this more often.
Thank you so much for inviting me.
beijinhos
Cristina

Anonymous

#15 22 June 2007 - 09:15

Dear Teacher Teresa and all her lovely students!

You did a great job this whole year! I'm sure you learned and enjoyed a lot! Your interview projects and your voices are also fantastic! Congratulations to each of you and have a very nice holiday!
Hugs to you all!

Teacher Derya, Istanbul-Turkey

Anonymous

#16 22 June 2007 - 17:59

Hi teacher!! How are you?
This call lessons are very fun... I love this call lessons!
Good holidays teacher
kisses an hugs
abigail 6.E

Anonymous

#17 22 June 2007 - 22:15

Hello students and your wonderful teacher. What a great experience it was for me to see and hear what you have accomplished. I am doing a workshop with Cristina and she shared the link with us. Great work and thank you for sharing it with all of us.

Anonymous

#18 23 June 2007 - 12:08

Dear Sasha, Mary, Cristina, Derya and commentator #17 (I'd like to know your name and location),
Thank you all for great and enthusiastic comments about the work of my students and me.
For me it's been a "labor of love" and for my students it's a "labor of enthusiasm and commitment" to innovation and learning. These ingredients generally produce very nice and rewarding work.
Hoorray for such fabulous students!!!! :-)
Hugs all, Teresa

teresadeca

#19 23 June 2007 - 12:12

Dear Abigail,
You're my best collaborator and fan. You always have a sweet word for your colleagues and me.
I also love 'these' CALL lessons and, as you can see, many of our teacher-friends also love them.
Thank you for your constant presence and congratulations on what you learned in these two years. You made great improvement!
Enjoy your holidays! You deserve them. And don't forget to visit our blogs now and then.
Hugs and kisses

teresadeca

#20 23 June 2007 - 15:10

Hello again, "Radical Teacher" and Superstar Students.

I just heard the interview with Cristina Costa in Manchester and once again, I was greatly impressed with the questions that I heard from the students and the summary of the information that Teacher Cristina gave. It was also good to hear the voices of both Teacher Teresa and Teacher Cristina.

I will always be a fan of this site! You're doing exciting things with CALL!

Best wishes to all for your vacation! I'm already looking forward to next year's "Have Fun with English" and CALL Lessons!

Muitos abraços--

Dennis in Phoenix

DennisOliver

#21 24 June 2007 - 11:25

Hi teacher!

I loved that Call Lesson. Specialy the part that I talked with Michal. =D

Happy Holidays!

Rodrigo, 6ºC

Anonymous

#22 25 June 2007 - 15:37

Dear Dennis,
I'm glad you heard Cristina's interview. It went very well. I must say that it feels so good to be online with friends and students at the same time. :-)
I'm very sorry that we didn't have a chance to look at your link about DST in Arizona. The last two weeks were a marathon to leave everything in order.
One last "thank you" for your enthusiasm for and regular collaboration in our blogs. I sure hope ther will be a third version next year.
Beijinhos, Teresa

teresadeca

#23 25 June 2007 - 15:38

Dear Rodrigo,
I'm so happy that you enjoyed this CALL lesson. I did too. Very much.
Happy holidays!!! :-)
Hugs

teresadeca

#24 26 June 2007 - 10:07

Dear Teresa,
after hearing and reading what you do with your students ... I can only admire all your work and fantastic project. I congratulate you and your students. It ´s important to say,too, that your CALL lessons ( and your blog) are an excellent message for teachers who want to improve their methods of teaching English.Thank you :)
Beijinhos
Margarida Miranda
Portugal-Parede

Anonymous

#25 26 June 2007 - 19:16

Dear Margarida,
Thank you very much for such nice words about the work my students and I did in the past two years.
I must say that I have helped several teachers with blogs, including you, and will continue to do so with great pleasure. :-)
Beijinhos, Teresa

teresadeca

#26 02 July 2007 - 09:22

Dearest friend,

I don't really know why I am surprised, because I shouldn't be, since I know your work well enough to know better, but even so you SURPRISED me!!!! This is a FANTASTIC job - the blog itself (organization, layout, colours chosen, every little detail is just great), the lessons, the ideas, and (last but not least) the children's work and enthusiasm, which is visible through their work. Thanks for sharing this with me. I wish I could do things like this, but you know my technological skills... Keep up with the excellent work, my friend.
Um abraço

Florencio Moniz

Anonymous

#27 02 July 2007 - 17:22

Dear Florêncio,
What a pleasant surprise to have your visit and very sweet comment. Thank you! :-)
It's very exciting and gratifying to work with enthusiastic and participative students. They are my reason for keeping these projects going!
Beijinhos, Teresa

teresadeca

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posted by: teresadeca at 05:04 | link | comments (27) |