Self-Study Log

Name: Gabriela Josefina Castillo Baz

Each week during the PALSS course, you will be exploring at least two websites on your own. One should be for improving your own
listening or speaking skills, and one should be a resource you may want to use for teaching listening or speaking in your own
English classes. You should explore two different websites each week and write your reflections about them here in your Self-Study Log.
Comments should be in note form (not prose) and brief (less than 100 words) but thoughtful, useful and substantive. This will help you
keep track of what was useful for you so that after our course ends, you can use this document as an English Tool Kit.
Please type your assignments into the correct boxes on this same document each week. Just save to this document to our wiki in
Blackboard, updating it each week. Do not create a new document each week. Take a look at the rubric in our Blackboard course site for
information on how this will be scored. Each weeks self-study log is due on Saturday at 11:59 PM (Oregon time).
Website URL for your own improvement in
Listening or Speaking:

Comments:
What did you
learn?

Website URL for a Listening or

Speaking resource to use in your
English classroom with your students:

Comments
:
Can you
use this
for your
class?
How?

http://americanenglish.state.gov/resources

This site
has many
different
resources
for listening
in English.
It has
stories,
songs, VOA
activities
and
podcasts. I
listened to
a story and

How can this

help you
improve your
listening/spea
king skills?
We
ek 1

http://www.voxopop.com/

This site is
fantastic to
practice my
listening and
my speaking. I
listened to
different
people
introducing
themselves
and giving
their reasons
to record their
voice in this

site. One of
the most
common
reasons was
to improve
their speaking
which I think it
is a good idea.
When I was
listening to
people from
different
countries I
could notice
different
pronunciations
and some of
them were
difficult to
understand.
Here, we can
create a
talkgroup or
participate in
one.
I also listened
to people in
the section
Most active
users and I
could listen to
people who
had different
audios where
they could
record a kind
of journal
which I think is
a great idea

a traditional
song
railroad
and I also
listened
and worked
on VOA
activity and
Listened To
a VOA
podcast
There are
beautiful
stories such
as The Gift
of the Magi
by O.
Henry. The
stories are
in PDF
format and
MP3 audio.
I could
observe
that in this
site the
stories, and
songs have
classroom
activities.
I could use
the stories
with my
students to
practice
their
listening
and
speaking by
asking
them to

too to practice
our fluency,
vocabulary
and
pronunciation.
Actually, I have
started my
own journal
but I used
http://vocaroo.
com/ for this
purpose
because I had
problems with
java program.

We
ek 2

http://www.npr.org/templates/listen/

This site is
very
interesting. I
explored this
site and I
listened to
some news on
a program
called NPR
Hourly News
Summary. I
listened to
news related
to the attacks
in France by
terrorists and
they also talk
about some
conflicts in
Syria. I also
listened to an
interview with
Jennifer

retell the
story or to
share in
pairs what
they liked
the most
from the
story.

http://www.esl-lab.com/

Depending
on the level
the
students
could read
and listen
to the story
or just to
listen to it
and retell it.
This site is
kind of a
listening
Lab. This
site is
classified
into
different
sections
such as:
quizzes,
learning
tips and
vocabulary
lessons
among
others.
Each
section has
different
topics and
each topic
has pre-

Aniston about
her new film
named cake
which is about
a woman who
suffers a lot of
pain. I heard
she is a coproducer in
this film too.
There are
audios about
stories and
programs of
music which I
liked very
much.
I think that
listening to this
kind of sites
where I could
listen to news,
is a good
chance to
have practice
and train my
ear to
understand.
Sometimes it
is difficult to
understand
and I have to
play it again
but thats the
way it is.

listening,
whilelistening
and postlistening
activities.
Each
section also
is divided
into the
levels easy,
medium
and difficult.
There are
vocabulary
and
grammar
activities
where
students
could check
their
responses
independen
tly. It also
has a
grammar
lesson with
simple
explanation
s about an
specific
grammar
point with
exercises to
check
understandi
ng. These
exercises
are focused
on real use
of the

We
ek 3

http://esl.about.com/od/conversationlessonplans/

This site
caught to my
attention. I
explored it and
I found many
interesting
things. There
is a section
which gives
some tips to
improve
listening
comprehensio
n and
vocabulary
skills. Its title
was: How to
use DVDs to
improve your
English. I
learned that it
is better to
work in many
short sessions
(about 20 min)
focusing on

http://blabberize.com/main/

language.
I think that I
can use this
site with my
students to
reinforce a
specific
grammar
point by
asking
students to
listen and
practice
with them
for
homework.
I liked this
site very
much. I had
seen this
kind of
images with
mouths
which move
as they
were
talking, but
I didnt
know it was
available
for
everyone
and free. I
found this
site from
the blog:
Best sites
to Practice
Speaking.
Here, we
can upload
an image

one scene
each time than
one long
session. The
materials we
need is a pen
or pencil,
paper and a
dictionary. The
suggestion is
to listen to a
scene six
times; five
times in
English and
one in our
native
language. The
first times we
should watch
the same
scenes is
without
subtitles and
taking notes of
phrases and a
short
description of
it. In general I
think it is a
great idea to
improve
listening
comprehensio
n and
vocabulary. I
think I will try
it. There were
other tips but
this was the
one I liked.

which can
be an
animal, the
photo of a
person, the
picture of a
famous
person from
History, etc.
We can
place
mouths to
the image
which move
in a funny
way and
speak our
voice. I
tried it and
it was not
very
difficult.
There are
steps that
you can
easily
follow.
These are
some
steps: Pick
an image
you can
browse
from your
computer,
place
mouths,
and pick a
sound. I
think this is
a great idea
to lower

pressure in
students
who feel
nervous
when they
speak.
http://www.pronuncian.com/Podcast/Default.aspx?
We
ek 4

This site is
very
interesting. It
has several
sections. It has
episodes and
podcast which
focuses on
particular and
difficult English
pronunciation
issues. I think
this site is
helpful
specifically for
intermediate
and advance
levels. I chose
some
episodes and
the
explanations
are very clear.
I worked on
some
episodes
where I could
read along
while I was
listening. It
gives an
explanation of
how to
pronounce
some words

http://www.soundsofenglish.org/pronunciati
on/index.htm

I liked this
site
because it
looks
attractive
for the
students.
Its site
design
looks very
simple and
interesting.
This site is
very
interactive
too. There
are
activities
where a
learner
listen to a
minimal
pair and
choose
from a
group of
words and
submit their
answer to
get graded
immediately
, which I
think is
excellent
for the

We
ek 5

http://video.mit.edu/

with certain
group of letters
as patterns
which not
always apply
to the same
pronunciation.
It explains and
gives some
tips to
pronounce and
then below it
has groups of
words that I
repeated after.
I liked this site
because I can
review and
check my
pronunciation
and in this way
I could teach
my students
better. It also
has a section
to learn how to
stress
syllables and
words. I will
definitely use it
to foster my
teaching
pronunciation
skills.
I liked this site
very much. It
is about many
interesting
topics, all
related to
science,
technology,

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

students; to
get prompt
feedback. It
also has a
section
called
word
stress
where it
explains
clearly and
gives tips
too. I liked
this site
because it
has audios
and open
without any
problem. I
would like
to use this
site with my
students
and ask
them to do
a specific
exercise for
homework
or in class
when
teaching a
specific
pronunciati
on.
I think this
site is
excellent. I
had been
looking for
a site I
could
suggest my

biology, etc. I
have always
been
interested in
topics related
to History,
technology,
etc. I would
like to use this
site to improve
my listening
and my
vocabulary.
Also, I think,
this site could
help me to get
prepare and
certify the
language. I
watch a video
about how the
raindrops
splash down
on leaves,
spread
pathogens
among plants.
The video has
subtitles and it
can be fixed to
a slower
speed.
Although it had
the subtitles I
tried to listen
to it without
looking at
them. What
was very
helpful to
understand
what was said

students to
practice
their
listening
skill. They
usually
have
listening
exercises
but they are
not enough
or real. In
this site,
students
can have
access to
news in
different
levels and 5
different
speeds.
There is
also a
section
called
Lesson
page with
exercises
such as
matching,
filling in the
gaps,
surveys,
free writing,
etc. which I
think are
excellent.
Another
idea I could
think of is
that it is a
site which

We
ek 6

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/

were the
images. The
quality of the
videos was
awesome Of
course another
advantage of
this type of
sites is that I
could learn a
lot about
science which
is very
fascinating. I
watched the
video several
times so I
could
understand
more what
they talk
about.
I explored this
site and I saw
it is very
original. It is
possible to
download the
app in our
mobile or ipod
or ipad.
However it
costs about 39
dollars. I think
Ill buy it but
not now.
Anyway, I liked
the graphics
and the short
videos that
open in a
small window

my
students
could visits
to then take
every week
a self-study
log. The
topics may
be
interesting
to them.
Besides
they can
learn
vocabulary.

http://www.real-english.com/reo/index.asp

I liked this
site
because it
focuses on
communica
tion. The
sites name
is Real
English
and the
lessons are
supported
by short
videos
depending
on the
level. I
explored
only
English for

next to the
graphic which
by the way is
interactive.
There is a
section called:
Phonetics:
The Sounds of
American
English where
it opens a
window which
is divided
mainly
between
consonants
and vowels. I
explored both
sections. I had
some
difficulties to
distinguish the
difference
between the
monophtongs
of the words
farmer and
earth. They
are very
similar. In
conclusion I
think, it will
help me to
study
phonetics and
phonology and
teach my
students better
pronunciation.

beginners
because I
am
currently
teaching
this level;
there are
other levels
though.
Each level
is divided
into
different
lessons and
each lesson
is divided
into
exercises.
There is a
video to
introduce
the topic
and then in
the
exercises
the video is
presented
in
segments
to review
each
phrase. I
tried the
first two
lessons and
I did the
first
exercises.
What I liked
the most is
that it
explains the

We
ek 7

http://www.voanews.com

I liked this site

very much
because it has
a wide variety
of news. I
listened to the
news about
The Oscars
event. The
news title is:
Hollywood
Gears up for
Sundays
Oscar. I listen
to this twice
and I could
understand
that here they
mentioned
several
nominees and

http://www.eslvideo.com

way native
speakers
pronounce
and we can
record and
compare
our
pronunciati
on with the
original. I
could post
the link to
my
students to
ask them
do this as
homework
and review
what we
saw in
class.
This site is
perfect for
my
students. It
is a site
with videos
of trailers
where it is
tested the
listening
with some
quizzes. It
doesnt test
only the
content of
the video
but also the
images. So
we have to
pay
attention to

in different
categories,
such as best
actor, actress,
director,
supporting
roles, best
movie, etc.
One of the
movies they
mention were
Birdman,
Boyhood, the
theory of
everything,
and others. I
also watched a
trailer of the
movie Still
Alice the story
of a woman
who despite
her intellect
she suffers
from Alzheimer
disease.
She was
known as a
very intelligent
woman with a
genetic
disposition to
this disease. I
think it is
another
opportunity to
improve my
listening,
besides the
topics are very
interesting.

the whole
video not
just the
information.
I saw the
trailer of the
Hunger
games and
did the
quiz. At the
end of the
quiz you
can get
your score
which is
also
important. I
also
watched
and
listened the
trailer
music of
the movie
50 shades
of Grey
sung by
Beyonc. In
the quiz
section
there were
three parts:
Questions,
Transcript
and Notes.
I think my
students
will like it
and I could
also add it
to the list of
sites where

We
ek 8

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
grammar/pron/

I explored this
site and I liked
it very much.
The contents I
worked on
were
introduction,
The sounds of
English,
similar sounds
exercises and
quizzes. There
is also a
section of
videos which
are very funny
too. First, I
worked on the
section similar
sounds
exercises.
Here I saw the
different sound
i: (key) vs I
(pin) or
differences
between u as
in book and
u: as in do.
Then, I
watched some

http://www.eslflow.com/pronunciationlesso
nplans.html

they can
access to
practice
their
listening
and write
their
comments
on their
self-study
log.
I liked this
site better
because it
has very
attractive
exercises of
word
stress,
stress
pattern, and
pronunciati
on as in
minimal
pairs. For
example, in
the
exercises
unstressed
words
show a box
with words
which
students
will choose
as they
listen to the
teacher
read the
sentence
and check
their

videos. For
example, in
the video
sounds of
English, I
learned that in
written English
there are 26
letters of the
alphabet but
there are over
40 sounds in
English. We
see the
difference of
written English
because the
symbols are
written
between
slashes. After
that I tried
some other
videos where
are located
below on the
same section
by clicking on
the chart
choosing the
symbol we
want to know.
Next, I
explored the
quizzes
section but
unfortunately,
it didnt load
correctly.
However, I
could see the
quizzes

answers
below in the
same
worksheet.
I also liked
a work
sheet which
actually
was a quiz.
It was
about
stress
patters by
the BBC
Learning
English. It
also has
the answer
sheet. I
could see
there is a
word stress
bingo too,
so I think I
could adapt
this game
to my
lessons.
Anyway, I
think I could
use this site
to work with
my
students to
help them
to develop
their
listening
and
speaking
abilities and
it will be

We
ek 9

http://www.azlyrics.com/

downloading
them. I think I
will use it to
learn about the
correct
pronunciation
of some
sounds and
teach to my
students better
those sounds.
I explored
some sites
about lyrics
but this one is
the one I liked
more. I could
notice that the
music in this
site is very
popular. It has
options of full
lyrics and print
the lyrics. Here
you can get
the MP3
format and
email the song
you choose. I
liked in this
site that the
songs are
played
automatically.
At this very
moment I am
writing my log
and at the
same time I
am listening to
different songs
because I can

very helpful
for me too
because I
can
download
the
exercises
with their
answers.
http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/learnenglish-with-songs.html

I liked this
site a lot
because it
has
different
activities
such as fill
in the
blanks
while we
watch and
listen to the
video,
which is in
the same
space. First
I worked
with the
song Here
comes the
song.
Below there
is a small
window in
the same
page with
the video.
There, right
below the
video, there
is a section

forward to the
next song if I
wish. I can
choose from
different radio
stations such
as The
revolution
Smile Radio,
Far Radio,
etc. so I think I
will use this
site to listen
and read the
lyrics and
improve my
pronunciation,
intonation and
vocabulary.
Another thing
about this site
is that
sometimes the
music is
interrupted by
some
commertials.

with
instructions
and an
activity. The
activity, it
says, we
can
practice our
spelling,
and
listening
skills. The
exercise I
did, was a
multiple
choice
exercise
which gives
an
instantaneo
us
feedback.
There I
found a
Gap fill
activity with
the song
imagine
and word
options
above the
exercise.I
think I could
use this site
with my
students as
another
option for
their selfstudy log.

We
ek
10