Vocaroo: Voice Recording Made Simple

Literacy Network ESL instructor Jen Sell has been using a website in her classes that might also help  volunteer tutors. Vocaroo.com lets people make digital recordings of voice that are as long as as you want them to be. All you need is a computer with internet and an internal microphone or a headset. Click the big red 'RECORD' button and you're in business. Once you have recorded something you want to share, Vocaroo gives you a link to a website that allows you to play the recording back as many times as you like. Here is a link to my recording of the opening lines of the Gettysburg Address: vocaroo.com/i/s1CyrKj1Sit6  You can send a link like that via email for your learner to click on at home or at the library. Try recording a half dozen lines from an assignment that you and your learner have been working on. Then send them the links between lessons for brief homework practice that can be done at a convenient time. You might also have a little fun—try recording tongue twisters for practicing pronunciation. Think, "Thirty three southern thieves sip thick shakes."

Something I just learned about is the ability to share these recordings via numerous third-party websites. The illustration at the right shows the options that came up after I finished my recording. Clicking the little blue 'f' in the corner made the link show up as my Facebook status, there for anyone who wants to hear me say "Four score and seven..." You may notice the other options for sharing via Twitter, Gmail and StumbleUpon. Clicking he red addition sign at the end of the row brings up more options, including Pinterest, Tumblr and Literacy Network favorite, delicious.com. 

Thank you tutors everywhere for what you're doing. Keep up the good work. Share the knowledge, share the love. And now share your voice. 

American Slang From 'Airhead' to 'Zapped'

Here is a website to help you introduce slang expressions to your learner: www.manythings.org/slang/. You should be able to find a wide range of reasonably up-to-date slang, plus a few slightly dated expressions. But, while chintzy  and collar are words you'd more likely hear in a gangster movie than in a 21st century street, others like glitch, couch potato and veg out are still au courant. As you may see in the screen capture below, the entries are listed alphabetically, and anyone who wants to teach him- or herself some slang can make an educated guess about the meaning of the word from the context of an example sentence. If they still need help, they may click on the arrow where it says "Meaning" to get a short, simple definition.

As always with new vocabulary, you may start by explaining the word with a simple definition, which this site gives you. Then model the word for your learner, coming up with a good example. Then, through guided practice, work together with your learner to create more examples. Finally, apply the word to your learner's own life experience:  "Do you like to get wired before you go to work? Are your kids wired after eating Lucky Charms?" and so on.