Category Archives: In the Computer Room

A bit of magic

Funny Stuff, In the Computer Room, ,

Hi!  Welcome back!! After this, some-would-say, longish holiday (you know there are some things you never get tired of ) I am back and so are you, if you are reading this post.

Today I want to introduce you to Akinator, the Web Genius. Akinator can read your mind and tell you who you’re thinking of by answering a few questions. Think about a real or fictional characte, and he will try to guess who it is !
You too can try to trick Akinator. You will see that he is not infallible. But hush… he does not like to hear it. Be careful though: you must answer honestly. Remember the frightening warning of our genie!

“I am capable of guessing who you are thinking about with a few questions. If I cannot, if you beat me, then I shall leave you alone. But be careful! Answer my questions accurately or… or you will take my place in the lamp.”

Click on the genie or follow this link http://en.akinator.com/.

Kind of creepy,isn’t it?

Talking Photos: Fotobabble

freeware, In the Computer Room, Resources, Speaking, , , , ,

What a great tool this is!!

The Certificación exam is  just around the corner and bumping into this little tool right now got me thinking whether some things  happen by sheer chance or by  some divine intervention. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with .

Now, as you know , in the oral part of the exam you’ll be asked to describe  a/some picture(s)  in three minutes. Well, here’s a good tool to help you rehearse for this part of the exam. It’s called Fotobabble and it looks promising.

This is what you have to do to use this app:

  • First, sign up. Don’t worry it’s free and it only takes a few seconds.
  • Upload a photo from your computer.
  • Record your voice using a microphone
  • Listen to your recording.

This is quite OK as far as you are concerned but I’d like to see what you are doing , so why don’t you send me your fotobabbles ? No idea how to do it ? Click on the link below and in  a video and in Spanish I’ll explain it all to you. No excuses now!!

http://www.screencast.com/users/cristinacd/folders/Jing/media/a9ed9e6f-4356-468f-82d9-8c10558a9a8b

Some help with pronunciation

General, In the Computer Room, Listening, Reading, Resources

I know some of you, dear readers, have problems with English pronunciation. No wonder!!! English pronunciation is , arguably, unpredictable. Maybe some of you won’t agree with me that much if you have never experienced the frustration of not being understood but if you don’t believe me , read this article I published last year https://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=295 where I challenged my advanced students to read it without mistakes … the prize? Not taking the final oral test.Actually, the title of the post was I am feeling generous . Only one of them accepted the challenge,( dear Mario I hope you’re reading this ) and I still take my hat off to him (what a hard slog it must’ve been looking up all the words ) but he only managed to read two paragraphs and this, with some mistakes.
Anyway , some of you have been asking me how to improve pronunciation. I advised you to borrow books from the library with audio to listen and read along and here I’m going to show another nice way to improve pronunciation should you get tired of reading in the traditional way. This comes from a well-known site where there are plenty of things to do, should you have some time to spare.

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If  you want to do some more go to http://www.manythings.org/listen/ and help yourself.

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Having fun with my computer

General, In the Computer Room, Listening, , ,

‘Cause this is what it is for me… fun!!!!
If you have read my previous post ,Becoming a housewife, you’ll by now know that I was left in the lurch … yes ,because this is how I felt , by my darling Carmen. And now that we are on that subject I have to confess that although I have been happily married for 17 years , it’s now that I understand that what makes me really happy is having Carmen by my side…(I hope my husband never reads this post). By the way, Carmen has returned home …it finally dawned on her that her place is by my side taking care of me and my family. God bless her!!!

Anyway, ‘cause I feel I might be boring you to death with my domestic problems let’s get to the point. What I wanted to share with you is that , apart from spending the summer cooking and cleaning, I also had some fun exploring a new programme (new for me , at least) which I think has lots of potential for my classes. I am just beginning to produce some videos and they have been a lot of effort but I also think it’s been worth the while.

First and taking as a sample a video from YouTube I had already used in my classes ,I produced a listening comprehension and uploaded it to YouTube. In fact, there were two videos and so you had to watch one and then see the answers and then the other one and see the answers too, which was quite an achievement but now I have managed to create a menu where you can choose what you want to see.
The first ,uploaded to you tube, is just below. The other one with the menu is here.I know it needs a lot of polishing but it is the first one  … I am still learning.

ELLA: English Language Lab Asturias

Audio, In the Computer Room, Listening, Resources, Speaking, Vocabulary, Writing, , , , ,

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to recommend you this wonderful site , but …better late than never!
This site has been created and is maintained by three colleagues from three different EEOOIII . On their own they have been awarded different prizes and together they have created this wonderful site. My admiration and thanks to you three: María (from EOI Oviedo), Carmen (from EOI Mieres) and Javier (from EOI Luarca).

Now , for you my dearest students and because I can guess that right now you must be frantic (exam is on Monday) looking for new listening comprehensions to do, I am going to link you straightaway to the listening section of ELLA. The link will lead you to a page with all the listenings , find the ones for you level…. ADVANCED.
http://web.educastur.princast.es/proyectos/ella/?cat=17
If you like the site , don’t forget to send them a post. It is always nice to hear that all you effort has been worthwhile !

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