by Carolina | Jun 12, 2012 | apps, REVIEW
Technology has become a great teaching tool that goes hand in hand with language learning. You often hear that language educators are using Skype, interactive boards, Google Earth to take virtual trips, and many more kinds of technology to support their curriculum.
I recently came across Noyo, a very colorful app that has vocabulary to support a variety of themes. It contains 8 units: los viajes (trips), la comida (food), los deportes (sports), la ciudad (the city), la casa (house), los animales (animals), la estaciones (seasons) and la escuela (school). It has over 1200 words and about 200 scenes. The pictures are very clear and get one’s attention while making it very engaging for children. Another great feature is that the voice that goes with every picture was recorded by a native speaker.
This app can be downloaded in iPads and Android tables, and if you are lucky you can plug your device into an interactive board to screen the game with the whole class.
How to Use This App
This app can be used to introduce or review vocabulary. Choose one of the units and ask your students to show the vocabulary they already know. This way you are using their previous knowledge of the language. Ask the children to tap the picture after they name it. If they don’t know the word, they can take guesses and tap on the pictures to hear the right answer.
You can put the vocabulary into context by creating sentences. Say a sentence and have the children tap what they hear. For example:
La manzana es roja.
Me gusta comer la manzana roja.
Play a guessing game: Ask a volunteer to close his/her eyes. Point at one of the pictures and have the volunteer guess.
Play the “Veo, veo, ¿qué ves?” (see, see, what do you see?) game: Teach the game first.
Class: Veo, veo (I see, I see)
Student: ¿Qué ves? (What do you see?)
Class: Una cosita (A little thing)
Student: ¿Dé que color es? (What color is it?)
Class: Rojo (Red – or any other color)
Student: La manzana (apple) – then the student taps the right answer.
Play charades: This is a great opportunity to bring TPR (Total Physical Response) alive! Teach gestures to go along with each picture in one of the units. Invite a volunteer to show the gestures and another volunteer to guess by saying the word and showing it on the app.
This app also has an assessment feature for each unit which can be used at any time. If your students are very young or just learning how to read you can read the sentences aloud for them to choose the right answer. For children who are in older grades, they can take turns reading the sentences and choosing the right answer. It will also show you a score at the end of the assessment.
If you are looking for a fun application to either bring technology to your class or recommend to the families at your school who are looking for resources to support your curriculum, this is a great app to recommend.
OUR GIVEAWAY: Two Codes to Download Noyo to Your iPad or Android Tablet!
Last, but not least, here is our giveaway:
3. The two winners will be announced on June 15th, 2012. You will have 24 hours to contact me to claim your prize!
4. Once you have contacted me, I will send you (via e-mail) the code and the link to download the app.
5. Enjoy the app!
Carolina
