PowerSpeak Languages
Tennessee Electronic Library
About PowerSpeak:
- TEL presents PowerSpeak using a variety of tactics, including using context to guess meaning of words, matching, listen, record and compare, quizzes, narratives to name a few.
- Both the conversational and practical aspects are emphasized.
- The courses includes basic information about the cultures where the languages originate.
- No special equipment is needed to complete a module, however headphones and a microphone may be helpful for the listen, record and compare exercises.
- The courses are designed to meet the standards outlined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
What you'll learn today:
- Which languages are covered
- the types of activities contained within
- how to create an account
- how to track your progress
To access PowerSpeak Languages, go to tntel.info
Then click on :
This will bring you to the PowerSpeak Languages homepage.
The EASIEST way to keep track of your progress in PowerSpeak is to create an account. It does require an email; students may use their gaggle account even if they haven't accessed it yet. At the top corner of most screens there will be a "log in" button.
CLICK on Log In
As soon as you have entered your email and password you may begin using PowerSpeak.
Selecting a Language
Select a language you wish to learn from the left side. The bottom two are for native Spanish and Chinese speakers looking to learn English. For our example, we'll choose Spanish.Click on Spanish
Each of the languages have six unites:
- Getting Acquainted
- At the cafe
- Leisure time
- Shopping
- At the hotel
- Getting around
Click on Lesson 01 to show the tabs. You will need to pause the pop up video.
There are also lessons for people who are familiar with the material and are just looking for extra practice. MP stands for more practice while DD denotes digging deeper. More practice lessons are extra lessons on the same topic. Digging deeper introduces additional words and phrases related to that lesson.In the first lesson you meet the virtual learning coach. She or he will reappear throughout the lessons periodically in the instructional videos.
Click on Lesson Activity 02 in the yellow box on the left. It will automatically start reading aloud, so pause the recording.
After the video introduction, the next activity is a narrative, where you can see how words and phrases in the foreign language work in context. There are several stories throughout the lessons, gradually introducing more and more of the foreign language.Now for a quick view of some other the types of activities you may run into during the lessons.
Click on Lesson 01 Activity 03.
In this exercise you are supposed to match the Spanish phrase with its English equivalent. You can listen to the Spanish phrases by clicking on the sound symbols on the right hand side of each of the purple bars. CLICK on the Sound Symbol.When you think you know the answer, drag and drop the purple bar to the corresponding slot on the opposite side. Once you have completed the activity, you can click on Check Answers to see how you did. It will allow you to try again if you got any wrong.
Click on Lesson 01 Activity 05
Another activity lets you play with magnets on a fridge. You can drag and drop the words onto the line, arranging them in order. When you click Check Answers, those that are in the correct spot will stay while the other words will move back below the line. You can do this as often as you need to in order to get the correct answer.Click on Lesson 01 Activity 09
Here is one of the listen, record, and compare activities. If you click on the blue listening icon then the Spanish pronunciation will play.To test your own pronunciation, click the red microphone symbol and speak the word or phrase. Click it again to stop the recording. You can then compare and see how well you are pronouncing the word or phrases. You may re-record this as often as you like. Having a microphone or headset is helpful for these activities.Click on Lesson 07 Activity 07
Another type of exercise helps you test your memory and pronunciation. On the left will be a list of phrases in English, and you are supposed to try to speak the Spanish translation. Once you think you have gotten it right, you can click on the "?" to the right to reveal the correct translation. By clicking the blue sound symbol you can also listen to the pronunciation.Click on Intro Lesson Activity 13
One of the most fun exercises is a matching game. When you click on the purple outlined cards a blue sound symbol will appear which you may click to hear the word or phrase. The blue outlined cards feature pictures which correspond to one of the spoken words. The goal is to match all of the cards.Now that we've done some of the lessons, we can check our progress.
Click on the Score box in the left column
If you've completed some activities you will see them here.
You may also click on the tabs at the top of the screen Marked, Spanish, Unit 1, or Introduction. If you click on one of these you can see your overall progress. Progress is saved once you've create an account.
Other uses for PowerSpeak:
Teachers may assign these modules to students. You can ask them to save a screenshot of their progress page. Or you can view their page while they work on the modules in class.Other Spanish Resources:
The TEL also offers a Spanish Language World Book option.Go back to tnel.info and click on the square, blue World Book icon.
From there you will see the grid featuring all of the World Book options.
Click on the ñ to visit the site.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.