My Sixth Week Reflection

 This week, we talked and reviewed websites that improve speaking skills, such as video podcasts and podcasts. You can reach podcasts on Spotify, youtube, and google podcasts, but google podcast is the only free one among them and it also has an excellent library, which shows that it is more advantageous than others. First, in Castos, students can create their own video podcasts. Afterward, we reviewed Voki, and the best part of this app is that it helps shy students wear a social mask and create their podcasts that way, in addition to that you can add your own voice. It's a good site where you can give assignments to your students. Then we looked at Powtoon and Vyond. You can create your digital character in Powtoon, the characters can talk among themselves, and you can also make a marketing video or presentation. In addition, it has features such as adding audio, storing and sharing videos. In Vyond, you can design your video, and you can also choose the action your character will take on this site. That's why this site caught my attention more. Then we looked at the EdPuzzle site, where you can put questions between the videos, both multiple-choice and elegant, which makes the course more interactive. We also talked about Youglish, on this site, you search for a word you want, there are pronunciation options, and the site shows you a compilation of youtube videos using the word you searched for. It is very useful for students to see different pronunciations and improve themselves. The site that caught my attention the most was Voscreen because I think it is very useful for teachers. On this site, you choose topics related to your curriculum and watch videos about them, and there are questions in the videos, and there is also the option of closed or open subtitles to support students. It's a very interactive website. Lastly, we talked about Ello and the British Council. At Elllo, you can have the kids listen to podcasts when you don't find your curriculum adequate, there are also written versions and questions about the podcast. Important words are underlined in the texts, which I think is very important for vocabulary. The British Council's LearnEnglishKids side is more beginner-friendly so it's poor, but it includes activities, videos, podcasts, which is pretty good for younger learners. As a result, we hear many words or listen to different pronunciations thanks to podcasts. The best way to learn a new language and to be able to speak it is to be exposed to that language, as well as not being able to do this one-on-one, you create that environment for yourself by listening to podcasts like this. Apart from that, sites with podcasts like these are sites for teachers where they can show them different resources and activities outside of the curriculum, which will greatly improve students' speaking abilities. Thanks to these sites, you can make your lesson more interactive, which will attract the attention of your students to a great extent. As a student, sites like these are a good opportunity to improve your speaking skills on your own.