Oral English assessments and ESL speaking English activities

HOME

MY TEACHING TOOLS

FORUM

And the Winner is...

Choi Kilho of Johanna Haas's College English 026 class representing Seoul National University! Congratulations Choi Kilho!

Choi Kilho's enthusiasm for Guus Hiddink, Korea's soccer coach in 2002, inspired him to transform his English speaking skills. Watch the videos and see his improvement!

Message from The Judges

Thank you to the more than 90 contestants from around the world who participated in the ESL Oscars! It was difficult to choose just one winner because many students showed significant improvement in their spoken English skills. In particular, those who applied techniques in the areas of pronunciation such as word stress, sentence stress, rhythm and intonation made notable progress. Likewise, the more engaging video presentations were creative, enthusiastic, and expressive.

We are impressed with the students' dedication, talent and the improvement they have achieved over the 4 week period. Keep up the good work!

Sebastian Okada, Kenneth Beare and MaryEllen Welton (meet the judges)

Would you like your students to participate in the next event?

Plug into YOUR students' net culture. Learn more about the Fall 2008 ELVIS Competition.

"I found this to be the best project I've done all year (maybe in all my teaching career)."
Lori McCune, Teton High School

"My students and I found your video competition to be extremely helpful and engaging, and would love to participate in the future."
Johanna Haas, Seoul National University

Finalists

Each class teacher selected the student that would represent the class in the finals.

	Student: Fatima Manzano Personality: Bruce Willis School: Culturlinga Teacher: Alyse Pearce	Student: Eduardo Personality: Gael Garcia School: Teton High School Teacher: Lori McCune

	Student: Hyeseung Jeong Personality: Muse School: Seoul National University Teacher: Siyeon Lee Class: College English 5	Student: Choi Kilho Personality: Guus Hiddink School: Seoul National University Teacher: Johanna Haas Class: College English 026

	Student: Mabusa Personality: Michael Jackson School: Daniels Middle School Teacher: Alis Gorcea	Student: Oh Hye-Won Personality: Nicole Blonsky School: Seoul National University Teacher: Johanna Haas Class: College English 021

	Student: Sungjun Son Personality: Queen School: Seoul National University Teacher: Siyeon Lee Class: College English 28	Student: Sungsoo Lim Personality: "My own Private Idaho" (movie) School: Seoul National University Teacher: Siyeon Lee Class: College English 36
View all of the participants...

Winner

First Video (Week 2)

Final Video (Week 4)

Student: Choi Kilho
Personality: Guus Hiddink
School: Seoul National University
Teacher: Johanna Haas
Class: College English 026

Choi Kilho wins for his class a $500 gift certificate
from Amazon.com and a six-month-license of the
SpokenSkills Language Learning Lab.


1st Runner Up
	Student: Oh Hye-Won Personality: Nicole Blonsky School: Seoul National University Teacher: Johanna Haas Class: College English 021
Oh Hye-Won's charming video shows off her beautiful voice and her improvement in English! Her enthusiasm in her interpretation of Hairspray really makes her shine! Congratulations Oh Hye-Won!

Honorable Mentions
	Students: Jung-hun Bae & Sangjun Bae Personality: Julie Delphy School: Seoul National University Teacher: Siyeon Lee Class: College English 36
Look at this creative and entertaining video! They have great props, body language and expressions. Their tremendous effort deserves a round of applause!

	Student: Yeonbum Jeong Personality: Homer Simpson School: Seoul National University Teacher: Johanna Haas Class: College English 021
Yeonbum Jeong's use of gestures, a funny song and visuals make for an interesting and humorous presentation. Way to go Yeonbum Jeong!

	Student: Karina Personality: Celine Dion School: Daniels Middle School Teacher: Alis Gorcea
Karina engages the audience with her smile and her use of her handmade prop. Not only does Karina do a great job with her English, but she is talented too!

What is the ELVIS Award?

The SpokenSkills Elvis Award is an activity where students representing schools from different countries will demonstrate how much they can improve their spoken English skills in 5 weeks.

Your ESL students will have fun practicing spoken English by creating a video describing a movie/TV personality of their choice. Guidance of the process is provided to students by SpokenSkills instructors. One of your students will then represent your school in the finals for a chance to win $350 in classroom CDs and books for your school.

However, more than a competition, the ESL Oscars is a fun activity where all students that participate have a chance to practice, get valuable feedback and improve their spoken English. See how students (to the right) have improved in the past event. > > > > >

Register your class for the Fall 2008 event.

Print the ELVIS Competition brochure for your colleagues.

View rules and regulations.

A Simple Process

Each school's teachers register a class or a group of students that would like to participate in the ELVIS Competition.

Each school teacher selects a day that his/her students will start working on their videos. Students will have 4 weeks from that day to create and practice their video presentation. A SpokenSkills' instructor will guide students through the process.
Each student will log in and complete a series of activities that will help complete the final video.
During the 4 weeks the teacher will be able to review the work students are completing.
On week 5, the teacher will select the student from the class that has demonstrated the greatest improvement and who will represent the school in the finals. To select the student that demonstrates the greatest improvement, the teacher will simply compare each student's first and final video.
SpokenSkills will then select the winner from the representatives of each school.

Students' Steps

Week 1:	Student registers & submits script	SpokenSkills instructor feedback

Week 2:	Student submits final script & 1st video	SpokenSkills instructor feedback

Week 4:	Student submits final video

Week 5:	You select the student in the class who has improved the most and will represent your school in the finals

NOTE: for the competition, students will need access to a school or home computer connected to the Internet, speakers and a webcam, video-enabled cell or video camera.

Samples from past events

Student: Choi Kilho
Personality: Guus Hiddink

Student: Oh Hye-Won
Personality: Nicole Blonsky

Student: Junghun Bae
Personality: Julie Delphy

Student: Yeonbum Jeong
Personality: Homer Simpson

Student: Karina
Personality: Celine Dion

More participants...

Why Participate?

In recent years the concept of participatory media (PM) has become more than a catch-phrase, but an easily accessible reality. For students and teachers, this opens the door for assignments that can remain relevant and accessible long after an instructor gives it his/her own assessment. – Learning Interchange at Apple

The success of YouTube proves that today's audience not only consumes media, but also wants to participate. Computer savvy language learners take advantage of these sites to improve their comprehension skills. SpokenSkills' ELVIS Competition takes the next step by providing students of all levels the chance to practice and improve their spoken English skills by using SpokenSkills tools to create an online video.

Benefits for Students

	Student use video & the Internet - mediums they are familiar with and enjoy.
	It's a simple process for students. Students can complete the videos in their free time over a 4 week period.
	An activity for students of all levels. The competition is based on improvement from the first to last video so all levels can participate.
	Students will improve their English speaking skills. Though your students will have a lot of fun, they will also be working hard on improving their English communication skills and receive valuable feedback that will help them improve.
	Ideal for shy students - It is a challenge to get some students to speak. Get them talking and enable them to share their own interests and talents in a more comfortable setting.
	Independent self study - Instructions and activities are designed with the option for students to work independently and/or in class.
	Intensive language practice that targets all English levels.
	Fun - Students can express themselves and show their creative side while practicing their English.
	Individual feedback - SpokenSkills English tutors are assigned to each student free of charge!
	SpokenSkills Pronunciation Exercises - Students can use the resources at SpokenSkills to practice their pronunciation. There are many to choose from or create your own!

Benefits for Teachers/Schools

	Simple process for the instructor. The class instructor simply has to watch students practice with the option to provide them with tips of how to improve.
	Test drive an amazing tool. Teachers will get a chance to see how participatory media tools work and one example of the types of assignments they can create.
	It's FREE to participate AND your school may win the grand prize! The winner takes home $500 in classroom CDs and books and a six-month FREE subscription of SpokenSkills Tools for one class.
	Class projects - A great way to assign a class participation grade and evaluate the oral skills of all students equally and fairly.
	Excellent Customer service A professional staff can provide you with technical and pedagogical assistance.
	Message Board - Communicate with the entire class at one time.
REMEMBER - though your students will probably not become instant Hollywood stars, they may make your school famous!

Class Registration
Registration closes September 30th, 2008. If you would like to register more that one student class, simply complete the registration form again.

* indicates a required field

Step 1: School/Institution Information

* School Name:

* Address:

* City:

Province/State:

* Country:

Postal Code:

School Website:

School Logo:

(Select a .JPG or .GIF logo/image that represents your school.)

Step 2: Teacher Information

* Teacher Name:

(First) (Last)

* Teacher Email:

(Only used for registration purposes.)

Phone:

I would like a SpokenSkills instructor to provide feedback to my
students. (Free of charge.)

I don't need an SpokenSkills instructor. I will provide my students
with feedback. I will receive instructions on how to provide online feedback to students. (Free of charge.)

Step 3: Class Information

* Class Name:

*Day you would like
your class to start:

(mm/dd/yyyy)		Deadline September 30th
(Your students will have a total of 4 weeks from the start date you select to complete the script and the 3 practice videos. On week 5, you will select the student who has demonstrated the most improvement.)

Class Level:

Step 4: Submit Your Registration

I agree to the rules and regulations of this contest.

Why participate?

	Student use video & the Internet - mediums they are familiar with and enjoy.
	It's a simple process for students. Students can complete the videos in their free time over a 4 week period.
	Simple process for the instructor. The class instructor simply has to watch students practice with the option to provide them with tips of how to improve.
	An activity for students of all levels. The competition is based on improvement from the first to last video so all levels can participate.
	Students will improve their English speaking skills. Though your students will have a lot of fun, they will also be working hard on improving their English communication skills and receive valuable feedback that will help them improve.
	Test drive an amazing tool. Teachers will get a chance to see how participatory media tools work and one example of the types of assignments they can create.
	It's FREE to participate AND your school may win the grand prize! The winner takes home $500 in classroom CDs and books and a six-month FREE subscription of SpokenSkills Tools for one class.
	Class projects - A great way to assign a class participation grade and evaluate the oral skills of all students equally and fairly.
	Ideal for shy students - It is a challenge to get some students to speak. Get them talking and enable them to share their own interests and talents in a more comfortable setting.
	Independent self study - Instructions and activities are designed with the option for students to work independently and/or in class.
	Intensive language practice that targets all English levels.
	Fun - Students can express themselves and show their creative side while practicing their English.
	Individual feedback - SpokenSkills English tutors are assigned to each student free of charge!
	Excellent Customer service A professional staff can provide you with technical and pedagogical assistance.
	SpokenSkills Pronunciation Exercises - Students can use the resources at SpokenSkills to practice their pronunciation. There are many to choose from or create your own!
	Message Board - Communicate with the entire class at one time.
REMEMBER - though your students will probably not become instant Hollywood stars, they may make your school famous!

Suggest a speaking activity


WEBTOOLS GlobeSmart SpokenTest EnglishPresentations	CUSTOMER SERVICE Privacy Policy Support	COMPANY INFORMATION About Us Contact Us SpokenSkills News