{"id":4487,"date":"2016-08-02T09:30:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T08:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=4487"},"modified":"2016-11-09T12:31:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T11:31:38","slug":"technology-enhanced-language-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/08\/02\/technology-enhanced-language-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology Enhanced Language Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Language\"<\/a>

flickr photo by Thomas Hawk<\/a> shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license.<\/p><\/div>\n

In this post we\u2019ll look at technology that can help you or your students to learn a new language. <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve covered the popular language app, Duolingo<\/a>, previously in <\/span>Gamifying language learning<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

But w<\/span>hat other digital tools and social networks are available\u00a0to help you learn?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meetups<\/b><\/h3>\n

Use the web to find and meet others to practice your speaking and listening skills. <\/span>Meetups<\/span><\/a> are <\/span>\u2018neighbours getting together to learn something, do something, share something\u2019. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There are many groups that you\/students can join, most are free to attend or have a nominal fee (50p – \u00a31). For example, <\/span>Brighton Intercambio<\/span><\/a> is one group that meets every Thursday to practice Spanish and English.\u00a0<\/span>
\nThere is also an <\/span>International Friends<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Language Exchange and Social<\/span> which offers international students an opportunity to improve their English as well as speaking\u00a0time for those interested in practising a new language. You will also find <\/span>French<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Polish<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Japanese<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>German<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Italian<\/span><\/a> Meetups locally. You can also <\/span>start your own<\/span><\/a> Meetup easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Capture\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Google Voice Typing Tool<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Language\"

Click\u00a0the arrow\u00a0to change your default language.<\/p><\/div>\n

You can adapt your use of the Google Voice Typing to help you practice your speaking skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve covered how to use the Google Voice Typing Tool for dictation fully in <\/span>\u2018Speak your documents with Google Voice Typing Tool\u2019<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

To use the tool for practising another language, activate the tool by opening your Google doc, select <\/span>Tools <\/b>from the menu options and then select <\/span>Voice typing<\/b>. Now you just need to:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Change the language from the drop down box from your default\u00a0to the language you want to practice <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Click the mic <\/b>to activate<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Start speaking!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    See the instant dictation of your speaking and check to see if you are pronouncing your words well enough for Google to translate.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I’ve\u00a0made a short screencast<\/a> to demonstrate Google Voice using <\/span>Screencastify<\/span><\/a>. In the example you will see that I’ve changed the default language from English to Spanish (but there are over 50 languages available, from Afrikaans to Zulu).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n