Online Language Learning...

As I sat to contribute to my blog I was hit by sudden writers block! In desperate need of inspiration I googled, ' online language learning' and came across this site: http://www.livemocha.com/learn/view/l:2/n:1

As part of my blog I am going to take a crash course in French, through this site, and evaluate my experience through my blog.

Tonight is my first class so I'll keep you posted on my progress....


(Oh the excitement.....!)

This could be interesting...

OK so I'm going to take an online test to see what type of learner I am, even though I think I know..

Pre Test: I think I am a traditional read-write leaner. I am sure I am not a auditory learner as I never learn anything from just hearing it...

This is the test I am taking... http://www.quizilla.com/quizzes/7073446/what-type-of-learner-are-you-extreamly-accurate-results-will-help-you-learn-in-life

The Results: Results are in and I'm a........ 'Visual Learner.' This is the feedback I got..

"Visual learners like to arrange their space and their work; remember what they see rather than what they hear and don't relay on verbal messages. Write them down. Visual learners respond to color, art, and mapping; and may know what to say but have trouble difficulty coming up with the right words. Visual learners like to have to have plan, good organizers, and would rather show you than tell you. Visual learners usually don't mind outside noise, doodle during phone conversations, classes, and meetings. Visual learners are often good spellers, and usually need to have verbal instructions repeated. They enjoy reading and would rather read than to be read to; need to see the 'whole picture' before they have a clear idea. For making decisions you might list out the pros and cons. For asking directions you might prefer a map or landmarks. And for learning skills you'll probably respond better to diagrams or watch someone else do it"

(I'm not too sure how reliable this site is but it's the only free one I could find!!)

Unhappy Blogger! :(

I have to be honest and say that I'm not very good at this 'online language learning.' I keep getting distracted and opening new tabs and procrastinating, its really frustrating me as I cant help it!!

I think I learn much better with a book as I don't waste nearly as much time. I do enjoy using the online software but I think overall its not beneficial to me as I just keep wasting time :(

I am trying to make an effort though! I changed my bebo and facebook profile settings to French. I'm hoping that subconsciously I'll learn some new vocab and that I'll pick up a little bit of extra language practise..

I'm still hoping that I can come around to successfully using online language learning, but its going to take a while!

Interesting language site for learning French online!

This week I've been looking at a nice site for learning French online, its called "Bonjour De France!" http://www.bonjourdefrance.com/. I hadn't heard of this site until recently in a 'Language and Technology' lecture and have since spent a few minutes, here and there, trying it out.

As a future language teacher I liked this site and would consider incorporating its usage into some of my future lessons.

It is very easy to familiarise yourself with how the site works as it is very clear and simple. On the homepage there are links for grammar, vocabulary, comprehensions, idioms, business french..etc. which bring you to a range of options. These options include your level of french, theme of lesson, topic of the theme, different games and different materials. By being so manageable the usability factor is increased!

The site is well presented, using subtle colours rather than anything flashy and has nice images which I think makes it more appealing to students. I think this site caters for all as there are activities for visual, auditory, read-write and kinesthetic learners.

Bonjour De France makes certain aspects of learning more fun with games and activities. I enjoyed testing and trying them out and I was surprised to discover how much elementary vocab, that I wouldn't use often, I had forgotten! I also liked having the option of hearing the French vocab be pronounced as some sites I've tried don't offer this.

I have practised some grammar using this site and I think it is a great form of revision as you can submit answers for grading and get the results immediately. I haven't went through any of the grammar lessons yet, so I cant comment on them, but I imagine they would be aimed at beginner/elementary learners...

(To be continued.. I've run out of time!)

Lab Task: Week 1

Now that I have set up my blog I have looked at some other blogs related to my target language.

• The first blog I looked at was ''Laura's French Language Blog'' http://french.about.com/b/

I am familiar with this blog as I frequently look at Laura's posts. It is an excellent blog full of tips for learning grammar, improving pronunciation and how to become more fluent. There are sections designed for beginners, students and teachers.

For each section of the blog there are lessons and quizzes to test what you have learned and to see if you are ready to progress to the next stage.
There are regular updates to the blog and a different verb is chosen weekly to be studied.

I really like this blog as it is student friendly and a great study guide. The only thing I don't like about it is that at times it can be difficult to navigate around.

Overall I would give this blog 8/10.

• The next Blog I looked at was the ''Learn French Blog'' http://www.200-words-a-day.com/learn-french-blog.html

This Blog has some good information, however it seems to be outdated now as the last post dates back to 2007. This blog uses quirky ideas to help students learn, eg. to remember La mèche: Imagine a mesh of candle wicks!

This site is slightly bland as it is not bright or colourful, it does have some nice tips though.

Overall I would give it 5/10

• The next Blog I had a look at was ''Learn French Blog'' http://www.learnfrenchblog.com/

This was another interesting blog which had a series of posts that you could follow on the home page.

There also was a list of the most popular posts which makes it posible for new followers of the blog to look at the most useful posts written in the past without having to search for them.

This site has the potential to be a great resourse but has a major fault. The blogger gives excellent advise on why certain topics should be learnt but no help in HOW to learn them.

I think that if this blog had more advice on how to improve your language skills it would be perfect.

I would rate this as 7/10

• Lastly I looked at ''Vardhman's Blog'' http://vardhman.wordpress.com/learning-french/

This blog does not have a lot of information about French but instead offers advice on how to learn the French language.

Vardhman lists some sites which he recommends as helpful to students who are studying the language. He also allows comments which facilitates feedback from followers of the blog.

I think this blog deserves 6/10 as although there is not a lot of information, what is there is very helpful.

My favorite of these blogs is ''Laura'a French Language Blog'' as it is the most helpful and has the most information.

I will continue to follow this blog ('',)