Ed-Tech: China vs. U.S. Ed-Tech Showdown (infographic)

How does the use of educational technology differ in the U.S. and China?

Chris here again with an an infographic brought to us via braintrack.com. The focus is exactly on these differences ed-tech between the U.S. and China and the data might surprise you. Take a look at the graphic below and then share your thoughts on educational technology and students' needs by commenting below or on our Twitter.




Let us know what you think! Connect with us @C_LaCross #edtech, #langteach, #langlearn

News: China struggles to replace aging translators

According to industry experts, China faces a shortage of individuals with the skills and training to translate scientific content from other languages into Chinese. "Science and technology translation requires one's high proficiency in science knowledge and language, but people with such skills usually choose other occupations other than translator, because the importance of translation is minimized in China," said Zhao Wenli, deputy secretary-general of the Science and Technology Translators' Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. You can read more about this developing issue via the article linked below:

China struggles to replace aging translators


Let us know what you think! Connect with us @C_LaCross

News: Chinese parents spend more each year on learning English

Increasingly, Chinese parents are investing in English education for their children, with some even spending more than $1,500 a year on lessons. Several of these programs use American textbooks and curricula as well as some which hire native English speakers from other countries to teach students. "It is expensive, but worth it," parent Zhang Xue said. You can read more about this increasing trend via the article linked below:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-11/03/content_15871639.htm

ESL: Speaker Series (Nov 2)

News: University creates course on learning Chinese for business

The University of Oklahoma has introduced a noncredit course for students interested in learning basic conversational skills in Mandarin. According to university officials, the class seeks to help students communicate during business transactions and travel, and was formed in response to more local companies interacting with China. You can read more about the course via the article linked below:

University creates course on learning Chinese for business

EFL: Role-play videos

Chris here again. We have uploaded a couple of videos of our teachers using a role-play activity as part of their lesson plan preparation. This group in particular really enjoyed this type of activity and successfully used it later on during their lesson demonstration.

How do you use role-plays in your classroom?

EFL: Listening activity videos

Chris here again. Today we have a couple more EFL videos to share with you. These are clips from a listening activity our teachers demonstrated. In actual practice you would play a song or other audio file and students would attempt to find a space to sit when they hear the target word(s). This could be a fun activity for teaching children and early levels in a high school setting.

What types of activities do you use for listening comprehension?

EFL: Speed Dating (Video)

Chris here again. Today we have a few more EFL videos to share. Below are two brief videos showing our teachers during a Speed Dating activity:




Speed Dating is an excellent activity for students to practice their listening skills as well as putting them under some pressure to produce a lot of language in a relatively small amount of time. Have you tried this type of activity in your classes?

EFL: Memory Chain activity videos

Chris here again. Today we have a couple more EFL videos to share with you. These two videos feature our students doing a memory chain activity. Each successive student must state their own required information as well as that of the previous student(s), thus the activity requires good listening skills and is a nice way for students to practice first and second person conjugations. Comments welcome!

EFL: Vocabulary Brainstorming & Description

The teachers formed two teams, and each team was given 5 minutes to generate as many vocabulary words as they possibly could for a given category; for example, insects or animals.

The chalkboard was divided into two sections, and the teams had 5 minutes to write as many words as possible on their side of the board.

Then, after the 5 minutes were over, they were instructed to close their dictionaries and notebooks. The teachers were asked to draw the animals on the board, and each team received a point for a vocabulary word that a team member could describe or drawn, and a point was taken away for a vocabulary word that could not be described or drawn. The pictures drawn by the teachers facilitated their verbal descriptions, unaided by their dictionaries.


How could this activity have been more challenging? More interesting? Did this activity help to build vocabulary? Why or why not?

EFL: Tweaked cloze activity

For this activity, certain nouns, verbs, and adjectives in five sentences were replaced with blanks. These sentences were then displayed on the screen in the classroom.

The missing words were written on note cards and then passed out at random to the teachers.

The teachers were put in 5 groups, and a sentence was assigned to each group. The goal was to be the first group to complete the assigned sentence within the 5-minute time limit.

Since the cards were passed out at random, this activity required quite a bit of communication and negotiation between the teachers. For the example sentence given here, the teachers were overheard screaming, "Do you have a verb in the past? Do you have a noun?"

How could this activity have been improved? How could it have been more challenging and/or engaging?

Have you used an activity like this before? Let us know what you think!

EFL: Crazy English (Huse)

Here is a video of Crazy English in HUSE. This is an interesting method for 'teaching' English. It does apprently work for building speakers' confidence but as to how much English you can actually learn this way .... it may be rather limited.

As always, comments are welcome!

EFL: Teacher presentation - Weather Bingo

Chris here with our next EFL video. This one is also part of a weather lesson and features a part of a Weather Bingo activity. Parts 1 & 2 are below:

EFL: Teacher Presentation 1

Chris here again. Today we have another EFL video to share with you. Here we have another clip from a lesson on weather that our teachers created. Enjoy!

EFL: Teacher presentation - Weather 2

Chris here again. Today we have another video featuring a brief part of a lesson on weather that two of our teachers created as part of their evaluation. Enjoy!

EFL: Teacher presentation - Weather 3

Chris here again with the next video in our EFL series. This video featured another pair of teachers presenting one of their activities for teaching weather. Comments welcome!

EFL: Teacher presentation - Weather 4

Chris here again. Today I have some older videos to share with you from an EFL training program a few years ago. There will be several of these in the the series as we bring these from the vault so to speak. This first video features two of our teachers presenting their lesson plan for about weather. Comments welcome!

News: Luxury retailers add Mandarin phrasebooks to help sales

In 2011, a record 1.1 million Chinese visitors came to the U.S., and are increasingly coming here to shop for expensive products. Their home country puts a sizable tax on luxury goods, making the products significantly cheaper in U.S stores. The trend has prompted companies, such as Tiffany and Burberry, to employ Mandarin speakers on their sales staffs. Retailer Montblanc is now creating brochures in Chinese as well. You can read more about this trend via the article linked below:

Luxury retailers add Mandarin phrasebooks to help sales

News: Pros and cons of Confucius Institutes on college campuses

The Chinese government has sponsored hundreds of Confucius Institutes at universities, giving students on college campuses around the world the opportunity to learn about Chinese language and culture. Accepting an institute generally helps a college's bottom line. However, critics of this arrangement worry that the restriction the Chinese put on schools taking their funding force universities to avoid topics disliked by the Chinese, such as the Dalai Lama or Taiwan. Critics also worry that these centers can serve as means to disseminate propaganda.You can read more about Confucius Institutes and criticisms of it via the NY Times article linked below:

Pros and cons of Confucius Institutes

Does your college or university have a Confucius Institute? How has it been received on your campus?

News: U.S. & Chinese schools build virtual partnerships

A number of schools in the U.S. are establishing virtual education partnerships with China to help students better compete in the global marketplace. Some schools are also offering the opportunity for their students to study in China. You can read more in the article linked below:

U.S. & China schools launch virtual exchange programs