Words Worth English Language Lab

 Words Worth English Language lab is designed to develop English language proficiency among the ESL learners of English as a second language.  

[wordsworthind]

Making the Teaching of Grammar Fun

Teaching of grammar in form has been a debatable issue for some time now. On one hand it is contended as being an important facet of language teaching, seen beyond the informality meted by the functional approach to teaching a language. On the other hand, grammar teaching and learning is considered to be a regressive approach to teaching the nuances of language which takes away the simplicity of acquiring a language through communication in use.

Whatever the stance, schools and teachers have to contend with the fact that teaching of grammar is an unavoidable part of the school curriculum. As with other regional languages, so with English as a subject, grammar teaching is important to teaching English at schools.

English grammar classes have oft been considered to be mundane, bordering on being considered pointless and boring. This can be avoided to a large extent through the introduction of games and puzzles in the teaching-learning process, while integrating short stories into the lessons. Animated videos are also known to add zest in the otherwise lack lustre atmosphere of a grammar class. These animated audio-visual lessons if knitted around relatable contexts, help the learners understand even complex concepts easily. Also, the use of short stories or anecdotes in teaching grammar removes the notion of ‘irrelevance’ of grammar teaching, making grammar session meaningful and useful to learning a language.

An additional benefit of using audio-visual sessions to teaching English grammar is the ‘audio’ element.  The ‘audio’ element of an ‘audio-visual’ tool provides opportunity and access to correct English pronunciation- a much needed support for the language learner. This is especially helpful when the voice recording used is in neutral accent and is done by a local English language expert. The benefit so generated is much higher as against the benefit accrued off recordings in the voice of a native speaker.  When the voices of local English language experts are used in the audio-visual tools, the challenges faced by the learners in ‘deciphering’ the language spoken by a British person are removed.

Grammar teaching when done by integrating the above mentioned aspects helps in letting students learn a language easily. The teaching of rules pertaining to a grammar concept should ideally be kept to the minimum and the focus be laid on the actual use.  This method of covertly teaching them the rules and various aspects of language learning will not only allow the lessons to be engaging for them but will also present to them an understanding that is seeped in context. Such learning assists the enhancement of their critical thinking and polishes their comprehension skills- which in the true sense are the real objectives of any teaching and learning of grammar concepts.

[wordsworthind]

English as a Second Language

Don’t you as an English language teacher want your students to learn and use English with enhanced proficiency? Do you think it is possible for students coming from non-English backgrounds to acquire or learn English and be at par with students from privileged environments in terms of English language use?

[wordsworthind]

One of the biggest challenges that an English language teacher faces is the disinterest of some students in learning English.

One of the biggest challenges that an English language teacher faces is the disinterest of some students in learning English. Though this is seemingly a non-urban problem, its prevalence can nevertheless not be denied. The ever so enthusiastic teacher is thus left high and dry, with all her zeal to impart learning rendered futile.

The only foreseeable solution to this problem is that the learners begin to like English as a language. This is most likely to happen when they see it not as another challenge to meet at school, but as a useful skill that they will be able to use to enhance their immediate needs and their future life.

Learners, when able to realise that the use of English in everyday use impacts their social standing will be motivated to learn the language. Yet, it has to be understood that, only when the learner is able to actually converse in English in his day to day encounters, will he see the importance of learning this language.

It is thus important that the learner be exposed to scenario based communicative skill programmes, where they get ample exposure and opportunity to use the language in a controlled environment. This exposure will in turn rev up their confidence in themselves towards the language, making English as their language of communication a reachable goal. They will no longer perceive English as a threat and an impossible challenge to overcome.

This accessibility of English as a skill will thus remove their negative association with the said language, thus tickling their zeal to learn or acquire it further. The teacher will realise that when this stage is reached, teaching and learning of English becomes a smooth sail for both the learners and for themselves. A proactive attitude in the learners towards learning the language will become evident; a far cry from the days when the teacher would have to cajole them into using the language at least in the school premises.

A good English language lab, catering to the communicative needs of learners can speed up this process of ‘loving English’. The learners when taken through standardised and audio-visual based teaching-learning content are able to learn the language faster than they would in their given environment.

Words Worth English language lab, caters to these needs of communication skills in English. Scenarios based on identifications made by CEFR are used to generate inactive sessions in the classroom. The teacher uses the software to ensure that ample and relevant listening and speaking is happening in the class. The learners over a period of time and with sustained practise are able to acquire the English language. This invariably results in the learners developing confidence and love for this language. The learner exhibits an inclination to learn more and make English his day to day language.

[wordsworthind]

Language learning and interaction are strongly linked with each other.

Language learning and interaction are strongly linked with each other. Of the four language learning skills, listening and speaking are perhaps the most important if proficiency in communicative skills in a particular language has to be achieved. This is why interactive sessions using role play or group discussion is highly recommended as a language teaching strategy.

Teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) is positively impacted when the teaching-learning experience is affected by communicative sessions in class. When learners speak English in a controlled, yet open environment, it influences their fluency and accuracy in the language. This in turn lets learners gain confidence in using the language in out-of-classroom scenarios.

More often than not, English language teachers feel that the effort that goes into teaching English does not have a corresponding reflection in the communication skills of the learners. With the learning of any language being measured in terms of the proficiency level of the communicative skills of the learners, the frustration of the teachers is thus justified. On the other hand, the reality also is that, the actual time spent in speaking or listening activities in real classroom scenarios is far from being sufficient. The focus on reading, writing, and on rote learning inhibits language in use and truncates creativity of the learner. The learners are not likely to become proficient in communicating in English under such conditions.

The onus thus lies on the teacher to create an interactive environment in class and ensure oral and aural participation of the learners. This is expected to trigger the use of English language in class. While doing so, it helps if the topics identified are meaningful for the learners. The learners are then able to see the relevance of these themes or topics in their day-to-day lives. The introduction of vocabulary and expressions suitable to such topics if made at this stage can be put to use and practised. The learners then feel empowered and confident about their ability to use the language.

It has been seen that, the same objective can be achieved by using English language labs; of course the said lab should provide content for interactive sessions involving the learners and the English language teacher. Where on one hand the importance of a language teacher cannot be denied, on the other hand, the value that a standardised language lab software adds to language learning has to be appreciated. Using blended methodology, the benefits of the expertise's of the teacher and technology can be optimally accrued.

Words Worth English Language Lab is one such software that uses blended methodology. Day-to-day scenarios identified by CEFR form part of the software. They are used to create interactive sessions in the class, ensuring access to standardised teaching-learning content and experience. The involvement of the teacher during the interactive session accelerates the language acquisition process. The human touch that the teacher brings into the class facilitates the process further. Many a school and learners have benefited in improving their English communicative skills using this software.

[wordsworthind]

English Language Labs Positive Impact on Learning the Language

English as a skill has been identified as the hallmark of personal and professional success and this realisation has brought its teaching to the fore. The result being, STEM is giving way to the new acronym STEEM- Science, Technology, Engineering, English and Mathematics. Much has been written and discussed about the importance of English as a skill.

[wordsworthind]

Words Worth English Language Lab, provides ample teaching material in enhancing the learners' speaking and listening skills.

Words Worth English Language Lab, provides ample teaching material in enhancing the learners' speaking and listening skills. The rich content of this language lab not only allows learners to practice these skills, but also provides good teaching material for the teacher to impart them; making the preparation for ASL test relatively meaningful.

[wordsworthind]

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers recognise the importance of teaching of this essential skill.

Listening is perhaps the most important skill in any language learning. An individual spends a lot of time listening, whether it is during a one to one communication with a friend, or when taking in information through a public medium like the news. Teaching of this language skill thus becomes important, even more so when teaching a second language.

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers recognise the importance of teaching of this essential skill. It is known that any language is best learnt when there is a lot of opportunity to listen. The exposure to the aural input enhances the scope of learning this language. Yet, with listening not exactly a passive activity for the listener, the onus of imparting this essential skill in the learner falls on the curriculum or in other words on the English language teacher. The English as a Second Language teacher has to help the learner to learn how to process the information received through aural means.

Processing information (that the listener hears) is no mean job as it involves interpreting data with no aid of backtracking or foreseeing what was said. In addition to this, the listener has to depend upon the choice of vocabulary of the speaker, his pronunciation, rate of speech and other speech patterns. This activity becomes even more complex for a second language learner. With their limited hold on the second language principles, the job to process aural information becomes even more complex.

Given the importance of listening in a language, the English as a Second Language should use listening strategies to teach this skill to her learners. They should help the learners attune themselves to the sound patterns of English, and to adjust their processing according to the situation. Top-down and bottom-up strategies are two such techniques that the teacher can teach the learners.

The top-down strategy is listener based. The teacher asks the listener to listen for the main idea of the aural input. They then are shown how they can tap into their own background knowledge of the topic or their understanding of the language to process the information. This step triggers a set of expectations of the information at hand and the listener is able to predict and also to infer meaning more easily. This helps the learner comprehend the input faster and more effectively.

The bottom-up strategy on the other hand is text based. The teacher guides the learners to use this strategy to by exploiting their understanding of the language used by the speaker. Thus, the combination of sounds, vocabulary or the language structure is processed and interpreted to make sense of what was said.

Over a period of time, the ESL learner will have learnt how to use these strategies, varying their use according to the situation. This will enhance their ability to comprehend language, in other words, their listening skill would have improved. This serves as a stepping stone to improve their spoken skill and the overall learning and acquisition of English as a language.

[wordsworthind]

Advantages of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), as the name implies is an evaluation system aimed to assess in totality (among other things), the learners’ progress in any academic set-up. The term also implies that this evaluation system is not conducted over intervals of time but is an unbroken chain of assessments. It is comprehensive in the sense that all areas of a learner’s development are taken into account while making an assessment.

Words Worth English language lab is a digital language lab with a good reporting system that supplies reports and feedback about a learner’s performance during his practice sessions. This facilitates teachers with real information about the individual learner’s or the group’s challenges faced during practice time. The teacher collating data gleaned from the report of this Digital English Language Lab, with her own information generated during an on-going class is able to address these challenges more effectively. The reports thus assist the CCE system to the extent that they make the English teaching and learning process more meaningful.

[wordsworthind]

Words Worth English Language Lab, is a digital English lab fully equipped to meet this parameter of language teaching.

Teaching formal grammar helps in making such learners aware about the structures and patterns in the target language. This awareness enables them to pay attention to the form and structure of the target language and notice their own speech patterns that have been internalized in the said language. This exposure to ‘formal grammar’ teaching - it is hoped will help them rectify such errors.

[wordsworthind]

Assessment of Speaking and Listening (ASL) is a test formulated by CBSE with an aim to improve and standardize the listening and speaking skills of learners of English.

Assessment of Speaking and Listening (ASL) is a test formulated by CBSE with an aim to improve and standardize the listening and speaking skills of learners of English. This test is conducted for the learners in schools that are affiliated to this board.

Words Worth English language lab, a digital language lab for English language development is one of the best language labs in the country. This digital language lab has the facility to record and save audio files integrated in the software itself.

[wordsworthind]

Words Worth English Language Lab, a digital language lab provides teaching-learning content for enhancing English language skills.

Success in the professional world depends upon a number of factors. Confidence, appearance, language skills and attitude are just a few such attributes to mention. The personality of an individual is defined by these success determining factors. Some of these have been recognised and addressed to a reasonable degree, both by professional institutes and by candidates themselves.

Words Worth English Language Lab, a digital language lab provides teaching-learning content for enhancing English language skills. This digital language lab has a special version catering to the needs of adult-learners. This version has an extensive content, describing the do’s and don’ts of professional grooming. The learners can take advantage of an understanding of what a professional look means and the effect it can have over a their career, thereby enhancing this significant aspect to their personality.

[wordsworthind]

There is no denying the importance that English enjoys as a global language. To acquire social and professional success in this world, proficiency in this language has become a very significant factor for the youth of today. In fact, now with the whole world being connected through electronic means, the ability to speak well in English has taken predominance over other skills of this language. It may not be farfetched in saying that, one is now required to excel in speaking English as much as they are expected to be proficient in other core skills, to define success.

Words Worth English Language Lab, a well-known digital language lab, addresses this vital aspect of language learning. This digital language lab has a fully integrated teaching-learning content to facilitate spoken English using day-to-day scenarios.

[wordsworthind]

http://www.wordsworthelt.com/blog/the-importance-of-teaching-figures-of-speech-to-esl-learners/

The lexicon of English is huge. To claim to understand and use the English language effectively, one needs to know both the denotative and connotative meanings of the words. With their increased understanding of the figurative language, the user of the language will experience an enhancement in their proficiency.

Though common in use in the native language, the teaching of figures of speech plays an important role to the ESL (English as a Second Language) learner. Learning figures of speech, like similes, metaphors or personification in English, helps the learners to improve their understanding of the figurative aspect of the language while also exposing them to the use and understanding of clichés and slangs. It is also believed that they help sow the seeds of imagination and stimulate the learners’ creativity in the language.

Figures of speech are widely used, across all forms of language expression. Be it in written or spoken form, in formal or informal structures or in standard speech or in slang, the use of the various figures of speech is pervasive. The importance of learning and using them is thus very obvious for an individual to be able to fit in the world where English is the language of communication.

The lack of understanding and using figures of speech leaves the user of the English language at sea, as to the real meaning of what is being said or written. The unseasoned learner may confuse the figurative meaning with its literal connotation. This may lead to a sense of frustration and lack of self confidence in the learner towards the English language.

Learners who begin to effectively use figures of speech show a better understanding of the language. They display an enhanced understanding of the subtlety of English. These meanings conveyed by figures of speech are culturally specific in nature; where two or more words are used together in order to produce a particular effect.

Learners learn the use of these expressions and their specific meanings using contextual clues. There is a huge repertoire of figures of speech. When integrated into the teaching curriculum, they are easily assimilated, albeit through conscious discussion in the ESL class. The lessons on figures of speech can be imparted through an activity based learning programme. To make it interactive and to ensure the optimal participation of the learners, it is helpful to use the services of an English language lab. A good English language lab ideally will have content integrated into the software, providing ample teaching material on this topic both for the teacher and the learners.

Words Worth English Language Lab has content catering to this aspect of English language learning. This English language lab has been successful in extending the learning of a number of types of figures of speech to trigger the nuances and understanding of the English language in the learners.

Read more at: http://www.wordsworthelt.com/blog/the-importance-of-teaching-figures-of-speech-to-esl-learners/

[wordsworthind]

Tongue twisters are a great way to practise pronunciation.

“Tongue twisters are a great way to practise pronunciation.  A common knowledge with teachers of most languages, these short and difficult to pronounce lines are often used by English teachers to help meet the pronunciation needs of the learners. They are especially helpful in teaching-learning pronunciation when catering to specific phonemes or sounds.

The repetitive use of tongue twisters involves altering a number of times between different sounds, making the learners improve upon the physical movements needed to articulate the sounds in a particular phoneme set. This is especially of use when the particular sound pattern being practised is not present in the learner’s mother tongue. Such phoneme or sounds when present in the tongue twisters give the learners to practise the sounds when they shift from one phoneme to another in a pattern that is not normal to the learner. They in this process learn to handle these shifts to produce accurate sounds.

Tongue twisters are also helpful aids to the teacher to demonstrate the differences between sounds especially those with minimal differences. The fun element associated with using them in the classroom scenario adds to their easy acceptance by the learners. While the use of tongue twisters helps in exercising the pronunciation muscles of the learners, they invariably enhance their pronunciation skills.

It is always helpful for the teacher to be provided with select tongue twisters for practise in the class. Some English Language Labs do have an integrated content in their software catering to the same purpose. Words Worth English language lab provides this facility in the teacher’s software. Tongue twisters typical to the needs of the ESL (English as a Second Language) learner added into the software, allow the teacher to ensure the practise of the same sounds inside the class. Learners repeat the tongue twisters, which at times may be senseless, but the alliteration and rhyme contained therein help remove the issues related to pronunciation and clarity of words.

The minor changes in the mouth required to produce the strategically positioned sounds are the focal areas of using the tongue twisters. Whether young or old, most second language learners benefit from practising sound patterns using them. Every language teacher should try and incorporate these in the language class."

[wordsworthind]

The Words Worth Adult Learners programme tailored to the needs of learners of higher learning institutions, is designed to run parallel to the academic syllabus for graduation.

The Words Worth Adult Learners programme tailored to the needs of learners of higher learning institutions, is designed to run parallel to the academic syllabus for graduation.

[wordsworthind]

The Words Worth Adult Learners programme tailored to the needs of learners of higher learning institutions, is designed to run parallel to the academic syllabus for graduation.

The Words Worth Adult Learners programme tailored to the needs of learners of higher learning institutions, is designed to run parallel to the academic syllabus for graduation.

[wordsworthind]

Elicitation is the technique that a teacher uses to make learners to participate actively in the classroom. When h/she is asking questions instead of providing information to the learners, h/she is eliciting.