Is there a need for more websites with resources?

 

One admirable quality with which I was very impressed when I evaluated the website islcollective.com, is the fact that it is serviced by a community of  foreign language teachers.  It is clear that these teachers work tirelessly to create and share materials which would assist with the teaching and learning of foreign language. From this collaborative effort by these teachers I was able to deduce that we need more websites such as these. I am aware that there are others such as liveworksheets.com and tes.com, which also provide worksheets and other materials. Nevertheless, what is preventing us Barbadian teachers from creating such a website which would cater more to our syllabi? We are all working towards a common goal and we all want the best for our students. Thus, I believe that a collaborative approach such as the one by the teachers of islcollective.com, would augur well for us and our students. There is without a doubt a need for more websites such as these, which would be of more benefit to both students and teachers.  We are currently experiencing a decline in the number of students who are pursuing foreign languages` not only in Barbados but across the Caribbean. I firmly believe that with websites such as these we can promote and encourage the pursuit of foreign languages. Let us not forget that as the Chinese proverb states:

Foreign Language Teaching for Impaired Persons

 As I evaluated the website islcollective.com one of my disappointing discoveries was the lack of resources and software for impaired persons. This made me ponder on foreign language teaching  here in Barbados and our capability to teach persons who are visually or hearing impaired. In recent times we have seen children with vision and hearing loss enter our mainstream education system rather than be educated at the school dedicated to person with disabilities. This practice was made on the premise that being differently abled doesn't mean unable. While I believe this to be true, I also have to evaluate our resources here in Barbados and I must beg the question are we foreign language teachers here in Barbados equipped to teaching children with physical impairments? Have we been trained to do so? Are we familiar  with programs such as JAWS and Google Live Transcribe and other assistive technologies which can be used in the teaching of such persons?

If we are to be honest, we can say without a doubt that we are not certainly not sufficiently equipped to teach foreign languages to students with such impairments. Below I have posted two short video on Google Live Transcribe and JAWS in the hope that this will pique our interest. 

Video? Is this effective in foreign language education?

 

ISL collective features video as a major tool for the teaching and learning of foreign languages . These videos  address both vocabulary and grammar. The videos can also be very interactive, allowing the learner to hone his/her aural, oral, reading and writing skills. To see this video interactively visit: 

https://fr.islcollective.com/francais-fle-lecons-video/pratique-de-la-grammaire/pratique-de-la-grammaire-generale/verbe-etre/les-indestructibles/879051   

However, not only does the website offer videos which are already done, it also allows learners to create their own videos, allowing them to express themselves in the target language using the various skills that they are being taught. 

Nevertheless, one must beg the question, how effective are video as a learning resource? Can we use this website in our classrooms? Do we have the resources to use such a site when we are teaching in the classroom or asynchronously?