Friday, June 27, 2008
July MEC clinic

 

 

 

Join us for our next MEC clinic presented by Steph Earnshaw. This clinic will include:

  • Tips on the different ways you can use MEC
  • Ideas on using MEC resources in class
  • A post clinic workshop where participants will share their ideas

MEC clinics are short sessions (maximum 90 minutes) involving small groups of no more than 10. They are on a first-come, first-served basis to any teachers who use MEC.

There is no cost involved: we will set up and host the sessions. Those attending simply need their web-linked computer and a separate phone line to dial a freephone number. 

Our next clinic will be held on Thursday 3rd July 2008, 12.30pm GMT (to be confirmed)

 

There will be a post clinic session for participants to share their own ideas on the 4th July 2008, 12.30pm GMT (to be confirmed)

 

Presenter: Steph Earnshaw

Subject: Using MEC in class

 

If you are interested in attending this event or you require any further information, please let us know through the 'contact us' section of this site or by emailing s.earnshaw@macmillan.com.

Friday, June 27, 2008 4:19:02 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Thursday, June 26, 2008
MEC in China

MEC Training Coordinator, Steph Earnshaw, writes:

 

On the 17th and 18th June we ran Campus training for teachers and administrators from Overseas Education Investment Management (OEIM) Chengdu, China. There were seventeen participants in total for two days of MEC Basics, MEC in use and MEC Administration training. Training was held at the Chengdu University of Technology. 

 

Teachers working hard during the training

 

OEIM is based in the centre of Chengdu and the team provides English lessons for students at the Chengdu Technology University who are going on to continue their studies in the UK. They also work in partnership with the University of Staffordshire, along with other Chinese and British universities, organizing exchange programs and between the UK and China. The Chengdu University of Technology will be using Campus as part of their English courses for practice in class, for homework and also in their self-study centre.

 

A night-time street scene in Chengdu, China

I was really impressed with the participants' enthusiasm during the session and look forward to seeing how they expand their English Campus project.

Thursday, June 26, 2008 7:45:05 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
News item update!

MEC Senior Editor, Jeremy Smith, writes:

 

Cosmic stepping stone

 

 

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about an asteroid that could become a landing site for NASA astronauts.

 

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out why NASA is planning these landings.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 2:40:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Yolango

MEC Marketing Assistant, Julian Chant, writes:

Yolango is a new ELT resource with a selection of transcribed and captioned videos. Captions are clickable, enabling users to receive definitions, usage examples and translations in 13 different languages for words they don't know or would like to study further. The videos also come with a bunch of fun activities through with which they can improve their language skills.

One criticism of the site is that the selection criteria for videos is not strict enough. In response to a recent article posted on the very useful Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day blog, the CEO of Yolango had this to say:

 
I appreciate your comment about the existence of some 'edgy' content on our site. While we are confident that there is nothing that could be called obscene at Yolango, we acknowledge that some videos cover topics better suited for older kids or adult learners and occasionally contain, ahem, authentic use of adult language... stimulating us to think about a 'school-friendly' version [for future release]...

 
Take a look for yourself - check out this demo video!

Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:04:45 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [1]  | 
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
1000 images on the tip of my tongue


MEC Marketing Assistant, Julian Chant, writes:

 

1000 images on the tip of my tongue is a great site from France that teaches English idioms through the use of cartoons, audio and games.

 

 

The site focuses on idiomatic expressions that have the same meaning in French, English and Spanish, but cannot be translated word for word. Phrases are classified according to theme and each one is inserted into a short text that illustrates its meaning and contains a digital audio file.

 

The site also includes exercises, games and brief, humorous animations. Take a look at a selection of 30 great little cartoons by clicking on Activities > Cartoons at the top of the page.

 

To find more useful resources on English idioms, simply go to the onestopenglish homepage and type in 'idioms' into the quick search function on the right-hand side of the page.

 
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:27:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [1]  | 
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
A Picture’s Worth

MEC Marketing Assistant, Julian Chant, writes:

A Picture's Worth is an excellent online gallery which collects photo essays between 300-1000 words. It's based on the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures and essays are sent in by users, with a new photo essay posted every day.

 

The picture above is entitled 'My Home Town' and is accompanied by a short essay about living in Sydney. Nik Peachey outlines a number of ways in which the site can be used for ELT purposes in this article from his learning technology blog.

Some suggestions include: getting students to photograph/write their own photo essays and submit them to the site; printing out a few images and essays to see if students can successfully match them together; and using the site as a stimulus for an in-class show and tell.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 10:45:47 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [2]  | 
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The internet movie script database

MEC Product Trainer, Sarah Milligan, writes:

 

 

Using a film during lesson time is a brilliant way of motivating your learners and exposing them to authentic English. It livens up a class and always sparks debate.

 

Try this website The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). It has a wealth of film scripts which you could easily use in class.

 

Use the scripts to make gap fills, text reconstruction activities or even get your learners to act out part of a scene.

 

Here are some MEC resources you could use as part of your movie lesson plan:

 

 

  • The Sony Ericsson Empire Film Awards – Language Exercise (Level 6)
  • Film trailers – Pronunciation Activity (Level 6)
  • Horror films – Language Exercise (Level 6)
  • The making of Titanic – Listening Activity (Level 5)
Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:46:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
July MEC clinic

 

Join us for our next MEC clinic presented by MEC training Coordinator, Steph Earnshaw. This clinic will include:

 

  • Tips on different ways of using MEC
  • Ideas for using MEC resources in class
  • A post clinic workshop where participants will share their ideas 

MEC clinics are short sessions (maximum 90 minutes) involving small groups of no more than 10. They are on a first-come, first-served basis to any teachers who use MEC.

There is no cost involved: we will set up and host the sessions. Those attending simply need their web-linked computer and a separate phone line to dial a freephone number. 

 

Our next clinic will be held on Thursday 3rd July 2008, 12.30pm GMT (to be confirmed)

Presenter: Steph Earnshaw

Subject: Using MEC in class

 

There will be a post clinic session for participants to share their own ideas on the 4th  July 2008, 12.30pm GMT (to be confirmed)

 

If you are interested in attending this event or you require any further information, please let us know through the 'contact us' section of this site or by emailing s.earnshaw@macmillan.com.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:40:24 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
News item update!

MEC Senior Editor, Jeremy Smith, writes:

 

Big-bucks cricket comes to India

 

 

 

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about a new cricket tournament in India (the Indian Premier League) that is very popular and worth millions of dollars.

 

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out more about this tournament and why it is proving so successful.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:54:42 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Friday, June 06, 2008
Onestopenglish update!

Onestopenglish Web Editor, Lucy Williams, writes:

This month we think you should... enter the Lesson Share competition! The onestopenglish Lesson Share competition has launched several successful writing careers. Why not raise your own profile by being published on the world's best ELT website? We all know that the best lessons are created by teachers, for teachers and our Lesson Share competition gives you the opportunity to share your ideas with English teachers across the globe.

Teachers from Academia Blue Door in Córdoba, Spain, had the right idea and have impressed us with some great winning lessons. Find out what Head Teacher, Paul Ashe, has to say about how his teachers use onestopenglish and how the Lesson Share competition can be a great way to motivate teachers when incorporated into your teacher development programme.

Download this free Lesson Share poster to put up in your staff room. Go on, share the love!

This month we've launched a brand-new section on onestopenglish, featuring exclusive interviews with our team of expert authors. We ask about their teaching and writing careers and find out just what makes them tick. This month, one of onestopenglish's longest-standing authors, Lindsay Clandfield, talks to us about his life and work, offering some great tips on how to become a top ELT author.

Calling all summer school teachers! Onestopenglish is packed with hundreds of bright ideas for your summer school programme. We've picked out a selection of resources that we think will help make for a stress-free summer.

There's lots of other great content, so please take time to explore and enjoy another packed edition of onestopenglish!

 
Friday, June 06, 2008 11:29:48 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
May MEC Clinic – Using Voki and VoiceThread with MEC

The MEC training team, Steph and Sarah, write:

On the 29th May we held our 10th online Macmillan English Campus clinic. The title of the clinic was:   

 Tips and ideas on how to use MEC resources with Voki and Voicethread.

Ann Foreman

The clinic was written and presented by Ann Foreman, a teacher trainer and ICT coordinator for the British Council, Bilbao. Ann also has her own blog called Encouraging Learner Autonomy where you'll find all sorts of great ideas about how to use technology in the classroom.

Click here to see the clinic presentation on Ann's sample class blog. Scroll down the blog or choose to read about either Voki or VoiceThread by selecting a blog archive link from the list on the right.

Voki
Voki is a free website where you can create on-screen characters and create podcasts to give them a voice. Ann demonstrated how to set up a Voki account and create and edit a character. She also suggested how the site would be good to use with MEC exercises on Likes and dislikes and Gerunds and infinitives. For an example of Ann's PET level students using Voki to make oral presentations, click here or here.

VoiceThread
VoiceThread is a free website where you can create annotated slide shows with a voice over to describe the contents of your presentation. Ann demonstrated how to set up a VoiceThread account, choose photographs for a slide show from www.flickr.com (a great site for high quality photos) and create annotations and an audio description for the presentation. VoiceThread is particularly useful for preparing students for the speaking part of the Cambridge Suite of exams (KET to Proficiency) in the section where candidates are asked to describe and compare photographs. It would be a great complement to the current exam preparation resources in MEC which offer reading and writing practice for the Cambridge exams. VoiceThread lets learners choose the photos they use which means they are much more likely to be enthusiastic about what they have to say.

Tips for using online tools like Voki and VoiceThread

·         If you are working in an IT suite you can ask your learners to create Voki or VoiceThread material during the lesson. Otherwise, creating a Voki or VoiceThread presentation is a fun way for learners to do their homework. If you have an interactive whiteboard or a computer and a data projector in your classroom, you can review the presentations together in class. It's a great way to compare ideas and correct errors.

·         If you're using MEC for a distance learning course, Voki or VoiceThread presentions are a great way for students to submit oral homework to you and make a great change from telephone lessons. They provide a record of your learners' speaking skills which could also be used for assessment purposes.

·         VoiceThread is very teacher-friendly. It has privacy controls, comment moderation, and a system of identities that allows all students in a class to work within one account.

Do you have any ideas for using MEC resources with Voki or VoiceThread? Have you made a presentation with your class and would like to share your experience with us? We'd be delighted to hear from you either by email or as a comment on this posting.

Our thanks to Ann and everyone who participated in the clinic. The participants were:

·         Travis Rout - British Council, Czech Republic 

·         Astrid Krake - VHS Munich, Germany

·         James Frith - BELL Cambridge, UK

·         Roberto Murakami - Cultura Inglesa, Brazil

·         Pat Clay and team - AISLi, Italy

·         Ian Gordon - Study Group, New York

 

Please don't hesitate to contact us with your questions and comments. If you are interested in attending the next MEC clinic you can contact us by leaving a comment or emailing s.earnshaw@macmillan.com
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 10:54:55 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  | 
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
News item and word games update!

MEC Senior Editor Jeremy Smith writes:

 

Bolivian hip-hop

 

 

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the emergence of a hip-hop culture among Bolivia's indigenous youth.

 

Why is hip-hop popular with many young people in Bolivia? Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out.

 

June word games

 

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'ordinal numbers' (Easy), 'verbs related to the senses' (Average) and 'words describing how much money people have' (Difficult).

 

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'words that follow ''I had''' (Easy), 'holidays' (Average) and 'prefixes' (Difficult).

 

The Wordsearch topics are 'nationalities' (Easy), 'items in the kitchen' (Average) and 'words connected with fear' (Difficult).

 

There are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

 

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008 4:18:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  |