ESL+and+Voki

ESL and Voki
ESL students, because of their lack of experience with the English language, find themselves in a very difficult new environment when they enter an English-speaking classroom. Due to the language barrier, these students tend to struggle with fitting in and expressing themselves within the educational setting. Moreover, ESL students often lack self-assurance in their communication skills and refrain from contributing to the overall social classroom context. To alleviate some of this anxiety, the online tool Voki would be a great strategy to help with overcoming some of their language and confidence obstacles.

Voki is a free Web 2.0 tool that provides users the opportunity to create personalized avatars with speech capabilities. This speaking capability can be harnessed through typing in (text-to-speech), phoning in, or recording a message that the Voki will verbally recite. The Voki avatar could be used in classroom presentations or introductions to vocally express the ESL student’s words more fluently and give them a greater sense of sureness in their English-learning abilities. Besides oral classroom presentations, the Voki could be used by ESL students to practice vocabulary and language-building skills. By typing in words or sentences and having the avatar narrate back, the ESL student can learn by hearing and repeating the language. They can even record their own speech and have the Voki repeat it back; hearing one’s own voice when attempting a new language can be a very helpful tool in acquiring confidence and verbal skills. However, since these students are new to the English-language and may not be skilled in writing out or typing in the English text, there is another online tool that will aid them in this pursuit. Using a translator website like Yahoo’s Babel Fish or AjaxTrans, ESL students can type using their first language and have it translated into English script. The student can then copy and paste the text directly into his/her avatar’s speech box. Voki also has the option to change the avatar’s language accent with over 25 different accents available. Thus, the ESL student can use their own accent or one of the English speaking characters. Teachers could also use Voki and the translators to more effectively communicate or give instructions to their ESL students or share with the rest of the class the ESL’s native language. Voki’s can further be embedded into websites or blogs, even directly linked via URL. See example below:

ESL Test Voki saying, //“Hello how are you?”// in English and Spanish with a Spanish language accent. Phrase translated from English to Spanish using AJAX Translator: @http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=5366417&height=267&width=200

__ Resources __

AjaxTrans EduBlogs – Collaborative ESL ESL and Voki Lesson Plan – Utilizing Voki in the ESL Classroom SlideShare - I am Voki: Who am I & What I can do The Official Voki Blog – Interviews with Educators: Erica Hartman Understanding and Meeting the Needs of ESL Students Voki Yahoo’s Babel Fish