Its the final countdown blog! Fortunately we have reached the end of the semester, but that also brings an unfortunate end to my weekly blogs. What will you all spend your Saturday nights doing from now on?! Anyways I just wanna say thanks to my huge following for sticking with me and hope all 4…
Blog 8: Analysing my social media usage
Hi everyone, This week I’m gonna be analysing my phone usage. Apps such as Quality Time and Moment are really helpful in breaking down not only how much time you spend on your phone but also on which apps etc. Over the course of a week or so I used Quality time and the results…
Blog 7: Gaming and language learning
I never have been into gaming, but I’d rather do literally anything than study, especially during study week, so I said I’d give it a go. So, upon delving into the world of games revolving around language learning, these were some of my favourites: Mindsnacks: This app is easily available and great fun. Some of the pros…
Blog 6: Corpus Linguistics
Don’t let the title of this blog bemuse you, as I’m about to try my best to explain as clearly as I can, exactly what Corpus Linguistics is. So, lets begin… Firstly, definitions. I’ll offer several definitions below and you can take from them whatever you like. I find that combining definitions to suit your…
Blog 5: ICC explained.
So today’s blog will be about ICC and it’s importance in our day to day lives. First off, lets define ICC: It stands for Intercultural Communicative Competence, which essentially means understanding the cultural differences and being able to communicate effectively and appropriately with others from different cultural backgrounds who may speak another language. In his…
Blog 4: Digital literacy
So, digital literacy seems a lot more complicated than it is. Luckily for my sanity i found a nice, simple YouTube video to help sum it up. The AudioPedia (click it!) channel on youtube defines digital literacy as “The set of competencies required for full participation in a society, including knowledge, skill and behavior involving…
Blog 3: The importance of personalisation for language learning
To put this blog into context, I’m going to offer my understanding of a PLE – personalised learning environment. I see it as education built around the learner, using their interests, needs and capabilities to maximise the effectiveness of the content. It has been praised for years for ditching the old fashioned view of “one size…
Blog 2: My ideal CALL package
Although there are thousands of great Computer Assisted Language Learning resources out there, it seems to me that each one is lacking in one section or another. So, I’ve decided to create my own Multimedia CALL package wish list, enlisting all the criteria I find essential for the perfect site. Error correction and feedback Practice…
Blog 1: Talk foreign to me.
Anyone who has ever studied a second (or third, fourth, so on..) language knows how daunting it can be. The good thing is, we are not alone. There is comfort to be found in other language learners struggles, be it your classmates or your friends. The sense of solidarity we feel, knowing that you are…
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! My name is Tara and I’m studying Applied languages at the University of Limerick. I will be writing a weekly blog for the next 12 weeks to document my learning experiences about language technology and to reflect on various topics I have learnt. I am looking forward to the challenge of…
Tara's thoughts 