Name of Database: Powerspeak Languages

Transcription

1 Name of Database: Powerspeak Languages Suggested Training Timeline Intro Navigate to Powerspeak Overview Exercises Creating an account Tracking progress Questions 5 min 1 min 3 min 10 min 2 min 3 min 10 min Description: Powerspeak Languages helps you learn foreign languages through a combination of lessons and activities. About Powerspeak: This is not a one size fits all program. Each unit has been built specifically for that language. The languages are taught using a variety of tactics. These include using context to guess the meaning of words, matching, listen, record, and compare, quizzes, narratives, and more. There is a conversational and practical emphasis. Includes basic information about the cultures where the languages originate. You do not need any special equipment to complete the modules; however headphones and a microphone may be helpful for the listen, record, and compare exercises. The courses are designed to meet the standards outlined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages You ll leave here knowing: What languages are covered The types of activities contained within How to create an account How to track your progress Show how to access: Go to tntel.info click on Powerspeak Languages on the right side

2 This will bring you to the Powerspeak Languages homepage. The easiest way to keep track of your progress in Powerspeak is to create an account. All this requires is an . At the top corner of most of the screens you will see a log in button. Click on Log in You ll see this popup: As soon as you put those in your account has been created and you are ready to keep going. To start using Powerspeak Languages, select the language you want to learn from the left side. The bottom two are for native Spanish and Chinese speakers looking to learn English. For our example, we ll choose Spanish. Click on Spanish

3 This is what the beginning of the language modules look like. Each of the languages have six units: 1. Getting acquainted 2. At the café 3. Leisure time 4. Shopping 5. At the hotel 6. Getting around Each of these units has 8 lessons consisting of approximately activities. The introduction lessons, as shown here, may have a few less. Click on Lesson 01 to show these tabs. You will have to pause the video that will come up. There are also options for people who are familiar with the material and are just looking for extra practice: MP stands for more practice and DD stands for digging deeper. More practice are extra lessons on the same topic. Digging deeper introduces additional words and phrases related to that lesson.

4 In the first lesson, you meet the virtual learning coach. She or he will reappear throughout the lessons periodically in the instructional videos. Click on Lesson 01 Activity 02 in the yellow box on the left. It will automatically start reading aloud, so pause the recording. After the video introduction, the next activity is a narrative, where you can see how words and phrases in the foreign language work in context. There are several stories like this throughout the lessons, gradually introducing more and more of the foreign language.

5 Next, we ll quickly review some of the types of activities you may run into during the lessons. Click on Lesson 01 Activity 03. In this exercise, you are supposed to match the Spanish phrase with its English equivalent. You can listen to the Spanish phrases by clicking on the sound symbols on the right hand side of each of the purple bars. Click on Sound Symbol. When you think you know the answer, drag and drop the purple bar to the corresponding slot on the opposite side. Once you have completed the activity, you can click on Check Answers to see how you did. It will allow you to try again if you got any wrong. Click on Lesson 01 Activity 05. Another activity lets you play with magnets on a fridge. You can drag and drop the words onto the line, arranging them in order. When you click Check Answers, those that are in the correct spot will stay while the other words will move back below the line. You can do this as often as you need to in order to get the correct answer.

6 Click on Lesson 01 Activity 09. Here is one of the listen, record, and compare activities. If you click on the blue listening icon then the Spanish pronunciation will play. To test your own pronunciation, click on the red microphone symbol and speak the word or phrase. Click it again to stop recording. You can then compare and see how well you are pronouncing the word or phrase. You may rerecord this as often as you like. Having a microphone or headset is helpful for these activities, but if you are in a quiet place you can often use the embedded microphone in your laptop or desktop if you have one. Click on Lesson 07 Activity 07. Another type of exercise helps you test your memory and pronunciation. On the left will be a list of phrases in English, and you are supposed to try to speak the Spanish translation. Once you think you have gotten it right, you can click on the? to the right of it to reveal the correct translation. By clicking the blue sound symbol you can also listen to the pronunciation.

7 Click on Lesson in Activity 13. And one of the most fun exercises is a matching game. When you click on the purple outlined cards a blue sound symbol will appear which you can click to hear the word or phrase. The blue outlined cards feature pictures which correspond to one of the spoken words. The goal is to match all of the cards. This is an example of what you see when you click on one sound card and one picture card. If you select yes and you are correct the cards will disappear from the board and you are free to continue matching. Otherwise the cards will return to the board. You can take as long as you need to in order to match all the sounds and pictures. There are some additional kinds of activities as well, but the ones I ve shown give a good idea of the variety available in Powerspeak Languages. All of the activities come with easy to follow instructions.

8 Now that we ve done some of the lessons, we can check our progress. Indicate the Score box in the bottom left. If you have completed activities it will be at least partially filled in. The first is to keep an eye on this box on the lower lefthand corner. It will update as you complete the various activities. The other way is to click on one of the tabs at the top of the screen marked Spanish, Unit 1, or Introduction. If you click on one of those you can see your overall progress. Click on Introduction or Unit One. If activities have been completed the bars will reflect that. Your progress will be saved because you have an account. If you just dive in without creating an account, all work will be lost at the end of the browser session. You can set up an account before closing the browser as well.

9 This is also a good way for teachers who assign these modules as homework to check the progress of their students. You can ask them to print out screenshots of these pages to ensure the student has completed the assignment. Your progress is saved because you have an account. You can set up an account before closing the browser as well. If you just dive in without creating an account, all work will be lost when you click to close the browser. Powerspeak Languages helps you learn a language in lots of different ways. It s a great tool for students and travelers of all ages. Questions Be sure to leave time for questions. It s ok to get back to them with an answer later. The TEL trainer website has: handouts for you to provide. Backup Power Point with screenshots Additional resources Remember to fill out the online workshop form so TEL can count your workshop! It s at Or just send an to wendy.cornelisen@tn.gov. This also puts you in the running for the TEL Trainer of the Year Award! It s presented to the best trainer at the Tenn-Share Fall Conference each year. Be sure to contact me if you need anything. Thank you so much for everything! Wendy Cornelisen TEL Coordinator wendy.cornelisen@tn.gov