SPEAKING TOOLS

English Central

This site  has video clips with subtitles. The speech  is  divided  into chunks and students can listen and copy  the chunk. They can record themselves and compare their pronunciation with  that of  the  native  speaker. The programme grades how well you do with a score and  helps you with the sound  of each word,  as well as the definitions. The English is  generally American.

If you  want to use it you can go to  http://www.englishcentral.com and try out one  of the demos on the homepage.This guides you through how to use it. It  is very simple and  takes just a  minute or so to get the hang of it. In short, you can listen to  the text in full or check the Pause after each line  if  you want to listen  to each  chunk at a time. You can slow the line and you can record  your voice and play  it back. If  you  like  it, you  can register and try out more videos in depth.

Fotobabble

This site allows you to upload photos  and record yourself talking about  them. It is a great way to  personalise speaking practice and share information about each other.

To use  it you  have  to go to http://www.fotobabble.com.  You can look at one or two examples  and then you can register with the site. Once you have registered  you can create a  fotobabble by browsing for the picture you want to add. Once you have  found your photo, click on  Create and you can then record your voice by clicking the Record button. Press Pause when finished and play it to check  you are happy  with it. Add some tags if you like and then Save your fotobabble. You can  now  share  your fotobabble with  friends on Facebook, Twitter  or MySpace,  or embed it into a blog.

Voxopop

Voxopop  allows you to create a voice discussion group where students can leave messages about anything they like. It is  a great way to set speaking homework for students who can then listen to each other.

To use it you have to  go to http://www.voxopop.com. You can  have a look at an example and then you can register. Once registered, click on Create a talk group. Give your group a name and choose  a type and a category that it falls  under. Choose the Access level carefully if you want  it to be invitation only. Add a description. Then  click on Create my  talkgroup. You can now add a  voice recording - add a discussion title and some keywords to describe it. Then record your message, stop it and play  it back before you commit to saving it. Once it is saved, the others in your group can  listen to it and record their own messages.

To invite others to  your group, go to the talkgroup page(click on your photo or icon on the top right of the page and it takes you to your homepage where you can choose your talkgroup) and click on Invite others to this talkgroup. You can then add in the email addresses of the people you want to invite so they can join the group.