Hot Potatoes

Last week, we learnt about the software Hot Potatoes, which enables teachers to generate clozes, matching exercises, crossword puzzles, etc.

I think this application is useful for teaching vocabulary as I can create vocabulary exercises easily.

For example, for a lesson about tourism in Hong Kong, first I can extract the essential words from the textbook, e.g. tram, the Peak, tourism.

Next, I will write a hint for each word and use Hot Potatoes to compile a crossword puzzle.

During the lesson, I will first introduce the words to them. Then, I will distribute the crossword puzzle to them.

The exercise will be conducted in the form of a competition. The first three students will be awarded with a small prize.

In this way, students' interest in the learning materials can be aroused.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ICT for Listening

Today we've come across a website, posetest.com. We can use it to help students learn the subtle differences in pronunciation. I deem this site useful as many of my students are unable to distinguish the differences between some consonants, e.g. /f/ and /th/, /b/ and /p/, etc. Procedures in the classroom: 1. Students create their own accounts using their email addresses. 2. A demonstration about how to use the website will be performed by me. 3. I will use the first section about vowels to demonstrate. 4. Students need to complete a section per week. 5. In seven weeks' time, all the sections will be completed. 6. I will use the interface for teachers to check their progress. Pronunciation has long been a big problem for students in Hong Kong. By listening to the demonstrations on the website repeatedly, they can have a better impression of the sounds in English.
Read more

Reflections on "Grammar Checkers"

Grammarly: Basic errors can be detected, such as third person singulars, tenses, etc. However, the system fails to recognise “Chinglish errors”. Ginger: More grammatical mistakes can be located. Nonetheless, the “rephrase” function is sometimes misleading as additional meanings are added to the sentence. In general, these tools are useful for English learners as most of their mistakes are pointed out. However, my concern is that if some errors are not detected by the system, then students might consider that correct and use them in their writing.
Read more