This site is really helpful for me and I have already tried it in my intermediate class. It was also an evident that one computer classrooms can also benefit from it actively. In fact, as it has been suggested in
, there are many things the teacher can apply using one computer in class. At least I realized that many of my friends in this program use youtube. By the way, youtube was forbidden in my country before but now we can use it.
Additionally, learner autonomy has a crucial importance in teaching. If you come and talk to teachers in my workplace, you will hear many teachers complaining that the students don't do their homeworks, don't study the units, don't know important vocabulary etc.. The solution for these complaints is interactivity in class, different audio-visual sources, group works, projects etc. Many things can be added to this list. However, the students should be given a chance to explore their own way of learning or they should be directed to explore it through different methods. The teacher should give them the room for taking their own responsibility to learn by themselves.
This one is another page in the same web-site. It is about the life of Beethoven.
"Beethoven was born in the
attic room of his
family home in Bonn, Germany during December of 1770. Because his birth record is missing, no one can be sure of his exact birthdate.
His baptism record did survive, however. It reveals the child was christened on
December 17, 1770 - at a time and place when infants were typically baptized the day after birth. As a result, Beethoven's birthday is commemorated on December 16.
As a lad, Ludwig had a difficult life.
His father was a heavy drinker who never actualized his potential. Although Beethoven greatly loved
his mother, she was unable to mitigate her husband's shortcomings.
Their home, in Bonn, was generally an unhappy place.
Ludwig inherited his
grandfather's musical talent, but his father treated him harshly. Although the senior Beethoven boasted of his son's ability, he did not praise him in public. Historians and biographers believe the young boy never knew his father was proud of him.
Beethoven, an impressive keyboardist, was composing by the time he was twelve. Greatly encouraged by his teacher -
Christian Gottlob Neefe - the youngster thought he had
a muse who whispered in his ear.
Later Carl, his brother, recalled how fortunate it was - for the entire family - that Ludwig had
such talent. Soon his skills produced income. The timing could not have been better since the family's inheritance - from Beethoven’s paternal grandfather - was nearly gone.
Escaping the turmoil in his own house, Beethoven found peace at the
home of friends - Eleonore and Stephan von Breuning - whose mother (Helene) understood the growing child was fragile, needing protection. "It's our job," she would say, "to keep the insects off the flower."
Lost in music, the teen-aged Beethoven went to
Vienna where he could study with the best teachers. Plans changed, however, when his forty-year-old mother became extremely ill.
Returning home
to Bonn, Beethoven lost the person he loved most. Thereafter, his father's drinking problem worsened.
Music lessons
in Vienna were put on hold as Beethoven remained
in Bonn. Realizing his father was incapable of managing the family’s finances, Ludwig persuaded the Elector of Bonn (his father's employer) to pay him half the earnings, so he could care for the family's obligations. He was then nineteen years old.
By 1790, Bonn's leaders knew about Beethoven's skills. They selected him to write a cantata commemorating the death of
Joseph II, the popular Hapsburg emperor. "Cantata on the Death of Joseph II," was the result.
This work, never publicly performed during Beethoven’s lifetime, provides an early clue to the composer’s blossoming genius. With its simple-yet-beautiful melody,
the musicinitially rises - then falls back into itself.
It was a technique Beethoven would use - to great acclaim - for the rest of his
composing career".
This is the color-coded text I provided in my post. Lets imagine that the students did not understand the phrase "attic room" in the first line. Clicking on it the students will see the picture on the left. Additionally, there are videos, other texts to read provided in each chapter of the reading.
This web-site can even be used for different reading activities; not only for autobiographic purposes. And it is really helpful if the teacher wants to bring variety of sources into one computer classroom.
I also mentioned about a quiz which the students will listen at the end of the lesson after reading the above mentioned website. Here are the quiz questions.
Listen to Professor Sykes talking about George Orwell. Choose the correct answers. Listen twice
1 Professor Sykes works
a at Oxford University. b as a writer. c for the radio station. d for charity events
2 George Orwell came back from India
a when he was three. b in 1903. c in 1913 d when he was four.
3 Orwell’s family
a paid a lot of money for his school. b paid a lot of money for his university education.
c didn’t pay for his education. d was poor
4 In Paris, Orwell
a wrote a book. b had a number of poor jobs. c couldn’t find work. d got married
5 The Road to Wigan Pier is about
a real people’s lives. b Orwell’s time in Paris. c the war in Spain. d ill people
