The web page was
designed for young learners (preferably between the ages of 6-9) of EFL with
the aim of teaching animal-related words and verbs. In designing the web page,
Dreamweaver 8 was used, accompanied by Macromedia Fireworks as image editor.
Additionally, sound files in mp3 format were used in order to teach children
the pronunciation of the words. Furthermore, some mp3 files are animal sounds,
which are said to be effective tools in teaching animal sounds in related
activities and exercises. The exercises were designed using Hot Potatoes 6, and
range from matching to quiz exercises.
There are navigation buttons on the left side bar, which help the teacher
and the learners navigate between the vocabulary page, the activities and
exercises. The vocabulary page includes the target words to be learned, with
their pronunciations (audio files), additional sound files (sounds of the
animals) and image files. The suggested activities to be found on the
activities page are just some recommendations and can be expanded by the teacher.
The exercise page includes sound and picture matching exercises, an odd-one-out
quiz and a flash card exercise, which will be discussed below. Although the
page was designed for classroom use, it can also be used as a self-learning
tool, as the instructions are clear and the website is user-friendly. However,
as Reinders & Lewis (2005) put it, materials that may be perfectly suitable
for use in a classroom environment may not be in a self-access context. So
clear instructions should be supplied by the teacher before the students are
encouraged to use the activities and exercises themselves.
As stated above, the vocabulary link includes the target words to be
learned. The images of the animals can be clicked to listen to the sounds. In
separate boxes, the verbs related to each animal are supplied. Additionally,
again in separate boxes, the pronunciation of each word is given to the
students, as pronunciation is considered to be an integral part of speaking
skills. The teacher should use this page to introduce the words to students and
this can be either accompanied by a story prepared by the teacher, or directly
navigating through the image and sound files. It should be kept in mind that
children learn best if learning is made fun for them.
source: Olcay sert, Newcastle University, UK (http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/animals)
1.
Vocabulary
Design: merancang
Link: menghubungkan
Sound : suara
Accompanied : menemani
Separate : memisahkan
Mind: pikiran
Focus on
Enrich vocabulary with
games
The activities link consists of three
suggested activities in which student are asked to form groups below are the
games that presented on the web page:
1. Guess What
|
- First students are introduced with the animals and their sounds via the
animal chart on the vocabulary page.
- Then the teacher forms two groups. - A child from the first group clicks one of the pictures and one child from the other group tries to say the name of the animal. - The child from the first group clicks to the player link to listen to the correct pronunciation. - The game continues until all animals have been reviewed. |
2. Online Flash Cards
|
- In groups of 4 or 5, the students open the flash card page to review the animal sounds.
- As the picture of the animal appears, one of the kids chooses someone from the group and asks for the appropriate verb. - If the student cannot remember the appropriate sound, he is asked to imitate the animal. - All students in the group repeat the full sentence. |
3. Logical Reasoning
|
- The teacher opens the odd one out quiz.
- S/he introduces information about domestic, farm and wild animals. -The students try to find the odd-one-out and discuss. |