ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO BLOG IN A SECOND LANGUAGE

Students have to learn a second language in most countries as part of their school curriculum, and that includes Spanish, French, German, Japanese,Chinese,etc.. Indian school students need to learn both a second and a third language, such as English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, as part of their curriculum. And some opt for Foreign languages such as French and German when there is a choice. Learning a language other than their mothertongue can be difficult, especially the Grammar aspect. And some students master the language Grammar, but are not fluent in their speaking. Most students master the English language especially if it is the medium of instruction in their school. It is essential that students get good grades in their chosen language so as to maintain a healthy overall average of their subjects. Teachers and parents can encourage their children to create a blog in their chosen languages. Having a blog in English

HOW TO MAKE AN INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE BLOG

Blogs can be used in the classroom in several ways to teach a language or to make it more interactive.Keeping the students engaged can be a daunting task particularly if the language to be taught is part of the academics and the students do not like the language.I have been experimenting with learners of all ages teaching English,Kannada and Hindi conversation and find that the levels of interest and the keenness to learn make all the difference in the progress made.
Creating a blog to teach Kannada conversation was important to me since I found many professionals wanting to learn the language but not finding good resources online.Whether you are in USA or UK,or in Bangalore city,wanting to be able to speak Kannada is of utmost importance for many for various reasons.
Over the past week,I have endeavoured to create a blog dedicated to teaching you Kannada conversation and fluency. Each blog post will have an English to Kannada translation of commonly used sentences pertaining to a particular topic or situation. Instead of reading on your own and not knowing if you pronounced it right,I have given an audio snippet from snapvine,reading out the same sentences at the bottom of the blog post.You just have to read along as you listen to the audio and practice till you perfect it. You may also add your voice comments at the end of the audio snippet,so you are welcome to use this feature to record the Kannada you are trying to learn and play it back. And then try it out! Before you know it,you will have mastered the art of conversing in Kannada.
Recommended Reading: Learn Kannada
How To Connect With A Voice Blog
Creating a Talking Avatar

CREATE A TALKING AVATAR TO ENGAGE YOUR STUDENTS

Engaging students online can be tough on an educator,but it can be very interesting for both teacher and student if an avatar or two are created and used in the class blog or wiki. Emails with an avatar also are much more interactive particularly if the avatars are given a personality and a voice.Yes,a voice! Voki is a website that allows you to create an avatar using the ready library of faces,clothes,hair,colours and then changing the background .Once ready,you can lend it your voice,using a microphone or use the phone in option or the text to speech option or even upload an audio file.You can then choose a player and also choose whether the Voki should load onto your blog/email and begin speaking as soon as the page loads onto the recipient's browser.Teachers have been experimenting with speaking avatars and find that the class becomes at once more lively and engaged as the teacher is able to increase the attention span of students.When students are given the opportunity of creating their own,and using their own voice to record,they learn faster,especially languages.
Teachers who have successfully used these speaking avatars have used it in the following ways.

1. Creating a personality very much like herself,a teacher changes the dress and colours of her avatar every day according to what she will be wearing that day and uses the phone in option to record her voice and tells the class to prepare for a certain lesson to be done that day. Assignments are also given out this way.
2. Another language teacher asks her students to create their personality avatars and engage in fruitful conversation in the language being pursued.
3. Embedding an avatar in the classblog's sidebar can be fun,too,as children are allowed to comment in their own voices with their own avatars.
4. Visitors to any blog can be welcomed with such a speaking avatar,and readers quickly respond to a human voice urging them to sign up for a newsletter,or subscribe to the blog.
5. Announcements to any upcoming event can be effectively announced with a personal avatar.
6. An avatar can be used in emails as well.