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    Inventory of ICT tools

Inventory of ICT tools and open educational resources

Welcome to the inventory of freely available online tools and open educational resources for language teaching and learning developed by the ICT-REV project! The inventory contains a list of tools that have been evaluated with specific criteria in mind. Read more
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This tool was developed within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the European Centre for Modern Languages and the European Commission

ESL Bits

Principal function(s): AudiobooksAutonomous learning

ESL Bits is a website that offers free English language audiobooks, audio stories, poems and essays in English, together with their transcriptions and comprehension exercises. ESL Bits was developed by a team of educators and language learning specialists. It is free to use, offering open access to its resources online, but no downloading. It does not require having an account or logging in. Evaluation: ESL Bits is a valuable tool for English teachers and learners since it offers a wide range of high quality audio content and other materials. These are organised into 6 sections: classics, novels, novellas, short stories, intermediate material, and advanced material, so that teachers can filter out content and find what they need for their students. It is also interesting that, for every audio, there is a faster and slower version. Basic IT skills required for browsing.

Cost: Free without registration

Website: http://esl-bits.net/

  

Categories

Type Of Interaction

  • Individual work

Skills

  • Listening
  • Reading

Content

  • Website/other users supply

Usability

Interface User-friendliness/complexity of the tool´s interface

Simple

Time efficiency Time needed for mastering the „how-to“ of the tool and a production of a task

High

Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to

English

Respect for privacy Does the tool require registration? Who can see my data? Can I remain anonymous?

High (?). ESL Bits is completely non-profit and contains no advertising. Although it lacks a well-developed privacy section, it presumably does not collect user information or cookies. It abides by the U.S. Code 17/Sec. 107 as regards copyright since it uses materials only for the purpose of teaching, thus being consistent with ‘fair use’. ESL Bits does not state compliance with the GDPR. See more here.

Saving work for future use Possiblity to save your or others´ work for reuse/reproduction

No

Tailorability (If so, how?) Possibility of the tool to be used for a range of different activities (e.g. to what extent you can organize a project assignment with a central activity based on this tool)

Low

Interactivity

Engagement

Collaboration

Communication

Technical requirements

Installation required?

No

Compatibility/ Operating System

All operating systems

Other technical requirements


Search for a keyword

     

Filter these tools

Principal Functions
Type Of Interaction
Group/pair work - classmates
Group/pair work - outsiders
Individual work
Presenting (e.g. lecturing, storytelling)

Skills
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Vocabulary
Grammar
Pronunciation
Intercultural

Content
You supply
Website/other users supply

 


Latest addition to the ICT-REV inventory

Playphrase (Tool to find the pronunciation of words from movies )

Playphrase is a tool that searches specific words or phrases out of movie snippets from a database of audiovisual media with over 60,000 phrases. In this manner, it provides real-life examples of words’ and sentences’ pronunciation. Users just have to type specific phrases, watch them being used naturally in context within popular movies and TV shows, and listen to their pronunciation. Playphrase works mainly with English. Playphrase is not open-source, but it is freely available. It does not require setting up an account or signing in. ... View details

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