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Amplifying Teaching with AI: Digital Tools for Inclusive Classrooms

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This blog is an extract from a full webinar by Laura Broadbent. You can watch the full webinar here.

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AI is doing students’ homework, writing their essays -- and probably replacing a lot of their future jobs. Is it time to rethink what schools are for?

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The Global Scale of English educator resources | Pearson Languages

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Unlock the power of the GSE with these free, downloadable resources to help you plan your lessons and fast-track your learners’ progress.

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Research Notes is a free quarterly publication reporting on research, test development and validation within Cambridge English. Read previous editions.

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🤖 AI Resources

All of my resources are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 United States license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) In short, you can copy, distribute, and adapt these resources as long as you give proper attribution and do not charge for them.

AI in Education: What Educators Need to Know (42 min) - YouTube link

The Bard's Tale: Google AI Tools in Education (1 hour) - YouTube link

Artificial Intelligence / Natural Misuse - Managing AI in Schools (45 min) - YouTube link

Super Tutor: AI to Support all Learners (1 hour) - YouTube link

Cyber Assist: Your AI Teaching Assistant (30 min) - YouTube link

Coding with AI for Schools (55 min) - YouTube link

AI Images in Google Slides (11 min) - YouTube link

Google Bard Overview for Educators (10 min) - YouTube link

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🤖 AI Resources All of my resources are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 United States license ( https://cr...

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Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits

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The Psychology of Career Decisions | Sharon Belden Castonguay | TEDxWesleyanU

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Use cases of generative AI in education: module 4

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Free support materials to help all staff in schools and colleges use generative AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively.

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Safe use of generative AI in education: module 3

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Free support materials to help all staff in schools and colleges understand the risks of using AI (artificial intelligence) and how to mitigate against them.

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Interacting with generative AI in education: module 2

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Free support materials to help all staff in schools and colleges use generative AI (artificial intelligence) in education settings

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Free support materials to help all staff in schools and colleges understand how to use AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively in their settings.

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Using AI in education settings: support materials

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Support materials to help schools and colleges use AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively.

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Tongue twisters like the one above are a lot of fun to say. They're also one of the best ways to practice English pronunciation because they're filled with English sounds for you to master.

Below, I'll get you started with 24 of my favorite tongue twisters in English. I'll also explain the important vocabulary for each tongue twister, and you can practice along with the audio!

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Warm up with these beginner level tongue twisters:
Vocabulary:
This short tongue twister will help you with the hard k sound, like in " coo k," and the kw sound in " qu ickly."
Vocabulary:
For all of those having trouble with the v sound, this is the tongue twister for you.
Vocabulary: Vocabulary: Vocabulary:
Rural - countryside (as in, not a city)

Great practice for the There are also some short i sounds, like in "v ivacious" and "v iv i d."
Vocabulary: in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock,
awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock
from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.

This English tongue twister is filled with repeated sounds, including the consonant sounds d, l, s and b. It's also common for English learners to mistakenly pronounce the sh in " short, sharp shock" and the ch in " cheap and chippy ch opper" as the same.
Vocabulary:
For more of a challenge, here are some intermediate tongue twisters:
Vocabulary:
This one covers l, two sounds that are commonly mispronounced by English learners.
Vocabulary:
It's clear that this one is great for practicing the It's also perfect for those having trouble with the
Vocabulary:
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Here, you get to practice the as well as that tricky as in "wood chuck could chuck." You also get to practice the vowel soundin "c ould," "w ood" and "w ou ld," which can be made by different spelling combinations.
Vocabulary:
This one is good for saying the as well as the ee vowel sound, as in "gr eener gr ee n."
Vocabulary: to twelve teachers' tipping trek tents.
This tongue twister almost exclusively (only) uses the so it's great for learners struggling with those. There are also several instances where the long i sound comes up, like in "t ied t iny tw i ne."
Vocabulary: Vocabulary:
As you can see, there are lots of here. Go slow at first so you don't get confused with the short i and short u sounds, as in "b ig" and "b u g."
Vocabulary:

Bite - to use one's teeth or mouth to cut or chew something

Back - to do the same thing (That is: The bug bites. The bear bites back.

But a noisy noise annoys an oyster most
This sentence is perfect for students who need to practice the strange English like in "n oise ann oys an oy ster."
Vocabulary:
One of the trickier consonant clusters is fl, making this tongue twister a great one for English learners.
Vocabulary:

Flee - to run away

Flea - a tiny insect that drinks the blood of mammals

Flaw - an imperfection or weakness

Flue - the pipe or opening in a chimney

Here you can practice the which are aspirated (followed by a puff of air) when they are at the beginning of words.
Vocabulary: Vocabulary:
These advanced tongue twisters can be tough even for native English speakers:

This one can easily trip up native English speakers! You'll work on the as well as the consonant clusters
Vocabulary:
This one is very good for practicing the You also get the like in "si xth," the sh sound like in " sheep" and thelike in "six th."

Vocabulary:
but the stump thunk the skunk stunk. Vocabulary: Upon a slitted sheet, I sit.
This tongue twister teaches you the sl consonant cluster and the difficult like in " sh eet."

You also get to practice the vowel sound ee, like in "sh eet" and the as in "s it" and "sl i t."

Vocabulary:

Slit - to make a thin, straight cut in something

Slitted - describes something that has been slit

While these fleas flew, freezy breeze blew.
That's what made these three free fleas sneeze.

This English tongue twister is particularly hard, even for native speakers.
Vocabulary:
How to Practice Pronunciation with English Tongue Twisters

If you want to focus on a specific sound in English, you can check out this table to find the right tongue twister:

The Tongue Twister

Sounds to Practice

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

s, soft c

Seventy-Seven Benevolent Elephants

v

Cooks Cook Cupcakes Quickly

kw, hard k

Betty Loves the Velvet Vest Best

b, v

Vivacious Val Vacuumed Violet's Very Vivid Vehicle

v, short i

To Sit in Solemn Silence in a Dull, Dark Dock

d, l, s, b, sh, ch

She Sells Seashells by the Seashore

s, sh

As He Gobbled the Cakes on His Plate

g, gr, n, ee

The Two Tibble Twins Tied Tiny Twine

t, tw, long i

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry

r, l

A Big Black Bug

b, short i, short u

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck

w, ch, ou

Any Noise Annoys an Oyster

oy

A Flea and a Fly Flew Up in a Flue

fl

Frivolously Fanciful Franny Fried Fresh Fish Furiously

fr, l

Pad Kid Poured Curd Pulled Cod

p, k

Betty Bought Some Butter

b, t, r

He Threw Three Free Throws

thr, fr

A Skunk Sat on a Stump and Thunk the Stump Stunk

st, sk

I Slit a Sheet, A Sheet, I Slit

sl, sh, ee, short i

Fred Fed Ted Bread

f, t, fr, br

Through Three Cheese Trees Three Free Fleas Flew

fl, fr, z, th, ee

Sixth Sick Sheikh's Sixth Sheep Sick

s, ks, sh, th

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of these tongue twisters:

Repeat, repeat, repeat. You probably won't pronounce everything correctly the first time. When it comes to tongue twisters, repetition is key (very important).

Focus on articulation. Saying tongue twisters quickly is fun. But if you're trying to learn the English sounds, forget speed and focus on saying everything clearly and correctly.

Study mouth positioning. There might be certain English sounds you'll struggle with because your mouth has never made those shapes before. If you need guidance, check out icSpeech or Pronuncian.com.

Use tongue twisters as a warm-up. Tongue twisters prepare your mouth to speak clearly and correctly. Say a few before you give an English presentation or participate in a practice conversation to get prepared.

Identify your weaknesses. Any tongue twister will be great pronunciation practice, but you'll get the most out of your time by focusing on the English sounds that are most difficult for you.

Use authentic resources. Anything that you stumble to say can be used as a tongue twister. Look for sentences and expressions in videos that you struggle to say, and repeat them back until you can match the speed of the native English speaker. Use a program like FluentU for this, which has English videos with expert-created subtitles.

I hope you've had a lot of fun trying to master these tongue twisters in English. Keep practicing!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing...

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you're learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words-and reminds you when it's time to review what you've learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or from the Google Play store.

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24 Tongue Twisters in English for Fun Pronunciation Practice (Audio Included!) | FluentU English Blog

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These tongue twisters in English will help you practice clear pronunciation. Read on for 24 tongue twisters that focus on different sounds in the English language, like b, fr or th. Each tongue twister comes with audio, plus an explanation of major vocabulary words. Choose from beginner, intermediate or advanced!

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Classroom Talk, Interaction, and Collaboration in Language Learning

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"Teaching Language Skills" by Jonathan Newton

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Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

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Episode 17: Comparing language teaching settings

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Supporting digital accessibility remains a key priority for schools and organizations. As a blogger and website designer, I often despaired of my efforts in the area of digital accessibility. What actions should I take to make content more accessible for others? How could I better optimize my text for screen readers?

When I began working as a school district technology director, I was able to address the issue, and I'll share several digital accessibility rubrics.

Did You Know about WAVE?

WAVE is suite of tools to help web you make your web content more accessible. Use the form at https://wave.webaim.org/, enter the web page address of your page and submit the form. You can find Firefox and Chrome extensions for evaluating pages. You can also find site-wide WAVE tools for evaluating pages. Learn More.

Why Make Content Accessible

For me, the answer is simple. When I don't make content accessible, there is a world of people who are cut off from the content. As Kaitlyn Nielsen points out, accessible content improves access for all. She says:

Content is a critical part of your accessibility strategy. It improves the web experience for all users, not just people with disabilities.

In 2020, Raymond Rose, a TCEA member, wrote this as a comment on a previous blog entry:

"I wish that you'd include some information about making the website fully accessible (WCAG 2.1 AA). A survey of some 6k LEA websites a year ago found that only ~60% passed the webAim WAVE review.

We know that tool does not pick up all the accessibility issues. If teachers are doing websites for communications, they should be communicating with everyone."

As you might surmise, there are a wealth of tools available to content creators. The question I have: How can we leverage these tools to improve digital accessibility? It's an important question, and one that I can't take credit for asking.

The Need for a Simple Rubric

In a recent TCEA Community chat, Raymond made an assertion I had to respond to.

"It would be nice if there were a simple rubric to assess digital accessibility," said Raymond Rose. He then said, "Unfortunately, that doesn't exist." How could I resist the challenge of trying to make a simple rubric?

The rubric I curated and adapted addresses some key areas that Raymond identifies as important, as well as others. In his TCEA Community remarks, he highlights the United States Department of Justice. The US DOJ says:

...businesses "can currently choose how they will ensure" web accessibility. DOJ identifies the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards. The federal government uses these for its own websites... (Source: Morgan Lewis)

Keep in mind that creating a simple rubric can be difficult. The topics are tough and can be technical. It's important to have some way to assess the tools we use as educators.

I wish that you'd also include a comment about the accessibility or lack of accessibility for students with disabilities for each tool you review. Teachers should not be using a tool if it is not fully accessible. Source: Raymond Rose

It's easy to get lost in the weeds, especially with a holistic or analytic rubric. To avoid confusion, I decided to use a single point rubric format.

The Single Point Rubric

Mary Dietz (2000) created the single point rubric. As Jennifer Gonzalez (Cult of Pedagogy) points out:

For teachers, they are easier and faster to create. Why? You don't have to spend time thinking up ways people can fail to achieve the ideal.

For students, they are simpler to understand and process.

You can also use them to focus users on reflection, as you will see in my version of the single point rubric. It's simple! The header has three columns:

Glows: How do you address this in your work?

Outcome(s): Identify intended outcome

Grows: How can you get better at this in your work?

When I first started, I had more complex column headers. I stripped out unnecessary words. The rest of the rubric tries to do the same. Give it a try, either for your organization or for your content and resources.

View complete rubric | Get a copy of the Google Doc

Reading and reflecting on the Grows question for my own work, I could see there might be room for growth. How would such indicators and questions cause your organization to grow?

More Rubrics and Resources

What? You wish there were more rubrics? You wish the rubric above addressed more areas? You may be longing for more complexity. If you'd like to see other examples, explore this Wakelet Collection.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author

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Want a simple rubric to get you started down the road of digital accessibility? Explore this rubric inspired by a TCEA member.

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Changing Perspectives on Native Speakers in ELT

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Curriculum Insights_ Language Teaching & Learning

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Welcome to Challenges in ELT. In this series of articles, teachers from around the world tackle the current and pressing issues in English language teaching.

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Are BANA & TESEP necessary terms for understanding teaching contexts?

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Are BANA & TESEP necessary terms for understanding teaching contexts?

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Speaker Series: Dr. Suresh Canagarajah (Multilingual and Translingual Practices of the Global South)