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Database of Teaching Sources

A database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 18 different European languages.

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Slovak Language – Slovak Alphabet

Date of Publication

29 March 2021

Target Group

Lecturers
Students

Domain Area

Teacher Education

Learning Scenario

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Target Language

Slovakian

Language of Instruction

Slovakian

CEFR level

A1

Type of Material

Video

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary
Pragmatics

Skills

Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Writing
Reading
Mediation

Description

This teaching resource suits the needs of beginner university students who study in Teacher Education, Pedagogy, or Slovak major and aspire to acquire or teach Slovak as a foreign language. They need to develop their listening skills and at the same time they need to expand their vocabulary. This resource assists both the lecturer, who can use this video with students in the classroom, and students who, rather autonomously, can explore it as well.

Case study

The target students are primarily the ones attending teacher training, pedagogy, or Slovak major programmes of any level (Bachelor, Master, PhD, or even Post-Graduate). The teaching resource is ideal to be used in small seminar groups (up to 15 students). The employed method should incorporate clear instructions from the teacher who is to guide the activities in which he or she gradually takes on a facilitator role from the initial one of an instructor. Cooperative project work is also essential for an effective discussion of the topic. As a result, students will practice the Slovak language by developing their listening and speaking skills while widening their vocabulary. To avoid any risks, students are to be in a safe distance to see and hear the video well. The resource can be used in subject-specific intracurricular or extracurricular university seminars.

Guidelines

Warm-up activity: Discuss the role of alphabets in language learning and language proficiency with the students. Cover questions like: “What are the areas of language the alphabet plays the most significant role in?”, “What language skills are directly based on the alphabet?”, “What language skills are only mediately connected with it?”, “How many different alphabets do you know?”, “Can you show us letters that do not exist in your mother tongue?”, “Can you give examples for the same sounds represented by multiple letters from multiple languages?”.
Step 1: Pre-watching activity. Tell the students they are going to watch a video on the Slovak alphabet. Ask the students to pay special attention to the way of writing and pronouncing the initial letters. Ask them to write down the letters preferably with the phonetic symbols standing for their pronunciation while watching. The video will allow students to recognise and practise vocabulary, in addition to practising their listening skills. Watch the video till 4:30.
Step 2: Watching the video. Students watch the video once or twice and do their task. Make sure the quality of it is acceptable and that students can hear the video with no interference, and also that they can see it well.
Step 3: Students asked go to the blackboard and write the letters of the Slovak alphabet on it. Afterwards, all the students practice the pronunciation of the respective letters with the help and guidance of the teacher.
Follow-up activity: Ask the students to write down as many words as they can remember from the video. Alternatively, extra meaningful Slovak words can also count. Give them sufficient time to take down what they can remember. Then ask the students to tell the words they jotted down. This can also be done as a competition. In that case, start with asking the students how many words they could collect and start with the one having collected the most, after which words not having been mentioned and collected by other students are also to be mentioned as well.

Review

Category
Rate
Comprehensive approach
Capacity to match the needs of lecturers and students

5

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

5

Motivation enhancement
The capacity to motivate students to improve their language skills

5

Innovation
Effectiveness in introducing innovative, creative and previously unknown approaches to LSP learning

3

Transferability
Measurement of the transferable potential and possibility to be a source of further capitalisation/application for other language projects in different countries

4

Skills assessment and validation
Availability of appropriate tools for lecturers to monitor students’ progress and for students to assess own progress and to reflect on learning

5

Adaptability
Flexibility of the contents and possibilities for the LSP lecturers to adapt the contents to their and to students’ need

4

Usability
Assess the technical usability from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Accessibility
Assess the accessibility from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Comments:
This video is useful for students who learn Slovak at a beginner level. While watching the video, they can study the letters of the Slovak alphabet together with their pronunciation, and simultaneously they can learn vocabulary. Lecturers can incorporate the video in their lessons to cover subject-related activities with its help.
With the accompanying activities, students study the letters of the Slovak alphabet in writing and speaking alike, learn vocabulary and build their Slovak skills by listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Different activities and types of student work make this compulsory part of language dynamic and interesting.The alphabet is a must when it comes to learning any language. Even if the study material is fixed, the variability potential of accompanying activities can make the students discover the importance of autonomous, indirect, passive, and subliminal learning and skill development what they can extrapolate to other fields of studies, making the whole learning process closer, more natural, and enjoyable to them and their future students. The language of the resource is Slovak, therefore it cannot be used in classes of teaching other languages. However, the accompanying activities can fit any other language.The students’ understanding, and acquisition of the video’s material can easily be monitored before, during and after watching it.
Although the video represents a fixed content, it can be played once or twice, altogether or interrupted while the accompanying activities are variable.The essential language topic of the letters of the alphabet in the video, its length, accompanying activities, and little technical requirements makes this resource easily usable.The video is usable in classrooms with computers with internet, speakers, and projectors. Students can also watch it at home.
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