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Database of Teaching Sources

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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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Learn Estonian

Date of Publication

n/a

Target Group

Lecturers
Students

Domain Area

Arts & Music
Business & Communication
Law
Medicine & Nursing

Learning Scenario

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Target Language

Estonian

Language of Instruction

Any language

CEFR level

A1
A2
B1

Type of Material

Audio
Reference resources (online Dictionaries/ grammar guides/phrasebooks)

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary
Grammar

Skills

Listening
Speaking
Reading

Description

Learn Estonian is an Android application best suitable for the beginner level. It is arranged as a topic-based phrasebook. Inside each of the topic the user will find both useful expressions and individual words. Upon pressing on the item of interest, the user will hear it pronounced by a native Estonian speaker. The language in which the translation is provided from Estonian may be modified in the settings, by selecting the relevant language.

Case study

The application has the potential to be used by in a broad variety of LSP classrooms, as well as those focusing on conversational Estonian. There are many pages where core lexical items are introduced, and these may come at a fairly advanced level. The instructor may assign the students one of such pages for individual work and practice, and then test or use the relevant (learnt) items in the classroom context. Individual learners, too, may opt for going over various topics and exercises offered by the app at their own pace and guided by their own interests. The app is convenient in that it offers both basic phrases and more specialised vocabulary. What may be a little annoying is the advertising that keeps popping up when one is trying to return to the previous page. Otherwise this is an interesting app, offering a broad range of activities.

Guidelines

1. Download the app.
2. Explore and enjoy. On the first page, you can either go directly into some basic introductory topics, such as Family, Weather, Greetings, Introductions, Transportation, or click on the book image under which it says Vocabulary. Then you will get to another page with more advanced and diverse topics, each of which offers a variety of self-check and testing modes, once click on.

Review

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

4

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

5

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

3

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:
The application is a convenient tool to practice basic Estonian. While it is most immediately suited for individual learners willing to learn the language, instructors could just as successfully use the app in the classroom, practicing the pronunciation or introducing new vocabulary items as well as short grammatical constructions. A simulation of the testing mode could be created in two ways: 1) by showing the target lexical item or expression and asking the student to translate it, prior to pressing on the item to get the answer provided by the app itself. 2) by clicking on Vocabulary on the top of the page, which then transfers the user onto another page with a broad range of topics, e.g., Family, Market, Economy, Restaurant, Office and many others. Inside each of them, there are various ways practicing and testing the acquisition of the relevant core vocabulary: Choose the word, Write the word, Listen to the word, Mixed tests, Match the words, and Speed test.
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