Tag: online resources

  • Further Learning: Teaching and Learning Online

    Further Learning: Teaching and Learning Online

    I have been experimenting in the last year with bringing my language teaching methods to a wider audience. Offering face-to-face lessons in the Vancouver area has been extremely rewarding for me over the last 12 years. That said, as more people than ever wish to learn foreign languages,  I have started offering some new and exciting options for my clients further afield.

    Beginning in January of this year, I began selling my self designed curriculum, readings and worksheets online through a wonderful forum called Teachers Pay Teachers.  I only discovered this website myself a couple of years ago and became an avid buyer. It was my New Year’s resolution for 2015 to sell my products on this website. It was a lot of work up front, but it is finally paying off. I have created an online community with teachers which has been a wonderful experience as being a solo teacher can sometimes be a lonely endeavour! Furthermore, there are a lot more Spanish teachers in the United States than there are in Canada. I am happy to report that I have received a lot of positive feedback on my products and my current and future students have also benefited from my online feedback as I continue to improve my course content. To access my online resources for teachers click here.

    As a number of my clients are required to travel for work I have now regularly started offering lessons over Skype. While it may not be as ideal as face-to-face lessons, I have had a large degree of success with teaching people online and look forward to continuing to offer this option particularly for those people who live further out of the city or travel frequently.

    Finally, just this month I have begun to create an online school for my courses! It is my intention to offer this for free to my existing clients for further practice at home where they may review lessons we covered in class together. This online platform will offer yet another avenue to pursue your language goals. I have just released my first course on German pronunciation and I look forward to continuing to work on my new online school in the coming months. For my new online school click here.

     

  • Further Learning: Online Resources

    Further Learning: Online Resources

    Online translation service concept

    Learning a language has never been easier for those who are unable to go and live in a foreign country to study their target language. There are numerous online resources available to help with listening and comprehension skills as well as to practice verb conjugations and build vocabulary. The challenge can be filtering through these resources to find the best ones. Below are my recommendations of podcasts, websites and apps that can serve as excellent supplemental materials. All sources are free unless otherwise indicated.

    In Spanish:

    Podcasts: (all available for free on iTunes)

    Notes in Spanish: Inspired Beginners/Intermediate/Advanced/Gold

    Spanish Obsessed

    Coffee Break Spanish

    Real Deal Spanish

    News in Slow Spanish

    Lightspeed Spanish

    Learn Spanish on Spanishdict.com (video series)

    Spanish GED (from Spain)

    VOA: Buenos Dias America

    Radio Ambulante (for advanced speakers)

    Websites:       

    www.quizlet.com (great flash card practice)

    www.tunein.com (international radio)

    app.fluencia.com (all around learning *fee based)

    www.spaleon.com  (verb conjugation practice)

    www.conjuguemos.com (verb conjugation practice)

    www.duolingo.com/course/es/en/Learn-Spanish-Online (all around learning)

    www.babbel.com/learn-spanish-online (all around learning)

    www.spanishpod101.com (*various fees great for audio!)

    www.spanish.yabla.com  (*pay site with audio, videos)

    www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/  (newspaper from Spain)

    www.elcomercio.pe (business newspaper)

    www.elpais.com/global (general interest newspaper)

    www.hola.com  (society/gossip newspaper)

    Youtube Videos

    www.youtube.com

    Apps:

    Duolingo (very popular!)

    Word Ref (great dictionary)

    Spanish Dict! (great dictionary+ online practice)

    Language Lab by McGrall Hill (free flashcards)

    Gengo Word Power Spanish (*small fee)

    Babbel Spanish

    24/7 Tutor Spanish

    Busuu Spanish

    In German:

    Podcasts: (all available for free on iTunes)

    Yabla German (videos)

    DW: Deutsche im Alltag

    DW: Typisch Deutsche

    Coffee Break German

    Learn German: Pod 101 (audio/video)

    Audio Tutor Learning German

    News in Slow German
    Deutsche Welle Warum Nicht.
    German LingQ
    Learn German by Podcast
    Radio D

    Slow German with Annik Rubbens

    Websites:   

    www.quizlet.com (great flashcards!)

    www.nthuleen.com/teach/grammar.html  (grammar helper)

    www.germanpod101.com (*various fees great for audio!)

    www.german.about.com/library/blregverb_qz01.htm (verb conjugation practice)

    www.duolingo.com/course/de/en/Learn-German-Online (all around practice)

    http://www.babbel.com/learn-german-online (all around practice)

    www.tunein.com (international radio)

    http://german.net/verbs/conjugation/present/ (verb conjugation practice)

    www.deutsch-perfekt.com (Multimedia website for learners)

    www.spiegel.de (general interest newspaper)

    www.stern.de (society/gossip newspaper)

    Apps:

    Duolingo (very popular!)

    Leo (great dictionary)

    Language Lab by McGrall Hill (free flashcards)

    Gengo Word Power German (*small fee)

    Babbel German

    24/7 Tutor German

    Busuu German

    I am always looking for new ideas to recommend to my students. If you have had success with an online resource you would like to share please post your suggestions!