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Category: updates

Website Update June 2023

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi all,

As spring has slowly turned to summer in Utah, work on my website has been nothing but fast-paced, specifically when the opening of a new section called Life Stories.

Behind the scenes for the past couple of months, I have been developing a whole new series of activities that focus on developing discussion and critical-thinking skills using ever-evolving AI technologies. More specifically, I have combined my expertise and experience in materials development with the power of ChatGPT and an advanced AI voice generator to create new content and a wide array of voices and accents.

What does this mean in simple terms?

New exciting content done in new ways that had never been possible. Such technologies will content to evolve at a rapid pace, and what websites and language-learning materials will look like into the future is uncertain, but judicious and thoughtful use of technology in pedagogically-sound ways is certainly exciting.

I certainly invite comments, suggestions, and questions about these developments.

Randall

Website Update April 2023

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Finally . . . . spring has arrived in Utah where I live. Last week, a snowstorm blanketed the state, and some schools were closed. Today, I was outside running in shorts and a T-shirt. That reflects life in the mountains of this state.

I continue to work on new ideas for my Web site and develop several ongoing projects. Several of these include:

Feel free to contact me if you have suggestions or comments.

Randall

Website Update March 2023

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

As we enter the beginning stages of spring, I want to announce the final stages of a major project I have been working on behind the scenes.

Since the start of my website 25 years ago, I have created many of my conversations to make them as natural as possible, not always following a very formulaic script that sounded unnatural. In other words, I didn’t always follow the transcript that I wrote for a conversation, which was sometimes impossible when I was doing recordings with my young children. At other times, I allowed for some real spontaneity as I recorded to provide a more authentic listening experience.

However, I noticed over the years—and you probably as well—that the recordings didn’t always match the transcript exactly, making it sometimes difficult to understand the conversation precisely.

Therefore, over the past few months, and with the help of a second ear—my daughter—we have edited all of the conversations in the easy, intermediate, and advanced level sections of the site to make sure the audio and transcript match.

Having done this, I feel that the conversations will be an even greater tool for learners and teachers.

Enjoy.

Randall

 

Sonix.ai – Fully-Automated Transcription Service

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Sonx.ai, a powerful online transcription software, has made my job much easier.

 

Introduction

Having developed educational Web sites since 1998, I am always looking for innovative tools to facilitate my work with audio and video recordings, along with their transcriptions. As a prominent source of instructional content for years, I have dedicated my career to helping language learners improve their listening and speaking skills by creating and using original recordings.

One key component to achieving that end is providing transcriptions of my content for language review and practice. However, creating such transcriptions can be a laborious process that consumes a content-creator’s time and energy away from other projects.

This is where Sonix.ai steps in to liberate website developers from the transcription task.

Case Study

My Web site contains hundreds of audio and video recordings, and one of the projects involves video interviews on a wide range of language and cultural topics. Each interview forms the foundation of a language lesson that includes key vocabulary, idioms, a listening activity, and conversation questions. However, the backbone of such a learning task is the transcript on which so many other activities are based.

Many of my videos are on YouTube, and Sonix.ai makes the transcription a breeze for my purposes: I simply plug in the URL to one of my videos, and Sonix.ai does the work.

Once the automatic transcription is complete, I can use the in-browser transcript editor to polish the transcription. The software adds timestamps and automatically identifies multiple speakers in paragraphs, saving me time with formatting. Then, I could embed the resulting transcription on my website, alongside Sonix’s own media player (that comes with a variable-speed control function), or I can export the transcript into multiple formats such as MSWord.

A Healthly Lifestyle: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

A Healthly Lifestyle: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Randall:
I think all of us would agree that being healthy, emotionally and physically, are really important to our overall well-being. So, Emily, when you think about a healthy lifestyle, whether it be physically, emotionally, whatever it might be, what would be one or two things that you would think would be extremely important to keep in mind when maintaining a healthy lifestyle?

Emily:
One of the biggest parts of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is self-care. It’s not something that’s often talked about. A lot of times, workaholics are admired, and it’s something that people will strive to be as a workaholic, but as a chronic workaholic, I can tell you that it’s not . . . it’s not something I really enjoy, and maintaining self-care and time for yourself is really important.

Randall:
And you mention about working a lot, but self-care, and what could be one or two things that you could do for self care? And they could be just some things that are just really simple, but you have to put them into your schedule.

Emily:
Something that is really important for me, for self-care is sitting down and reading a book or watching a movie and just trying to shut off everything else going in my brain.

Randall:
Very key Indeed.

Sonix is the world’s most advanced automated transcription, translation, and subtitling platform. Fast, accurate, and affordable.

Automatically convert your mp4 files to text (txt file), Microsoft Word (docx file), and SubRip Subtitle (srt file) in minutes.

Sonix has many features that you’d love including advanced search, transcribe multiple languages, world-class support, secure transcription and file storage, and easily transcribe your Zoom meetings. Try Sonix for free today.

There are too many features to mention here, but Sonix certainly is a game-changer when it comes to robust transcription for a multiplicity of needs.

Website Update February 2023

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

One of the major projects I have been working on in the background deals with editing the transcripts for my listening activities. When many of them were first created, I sometimes deviated from the script as I was recording to make the conversations sound more natural; as a result, the audio and the transcript did not match at times, and this disparity can lead to some confusion.

Thus, I have been working on updating the transcripts to improve their accuracy, which in turn, will make them even better activities for teachers and learners. I am starting with the Easy Level first, and I will proceed from there. I hope to complete this project sometime during the first part of 2023.

Best,

Randall

Website Update January 2023

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year 2023!

Welcome back, teachers and students!

As I have done in the past, I want to remind teachers and students of the many learning resources on all of my sites.

I wish you a successful year!

Feel free to add a link to any of my Websites in your class syllabus or online course.

  1. Watch my video tutorials on how to use my Website more effectively. Often, people tell me, “Oh, I didn’t know that I could do that on your site!”
  1. Download and share my instructional handouts in PDF format that can help inform others about the site’s content. These are very helpful in spreading the word on how to learn English online. Post them to your social media feeds if you like.
  1. Visit the different sections of my site for audio and video listening practice. Some of these areas include:
  1. Try over 300 vocabulary quizzes that recycle the topics and vocabulary from my listening activities.
  1. Watch over 50 broadcast episodes with teachers and students worldwide, where we discuss language and culture. Each episode contains learning activities to extend your learning.
  1. Enjoy language games that engage learners in fun ways.
  1. Watch my video lessons on useful English idioms.
  1. You can also visit my other online channels for learning content and information:

My other Websites:

Web Site Update November 2022

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

I really enjoy the fall months before it gets really cold, and it is a great time to get out in the mountains and enjoy the changing leaves and the evolving landscape in preparation for winter. With many holidays around the corner, I want to share this video activity with my daughter, Emily, as she related her experiences in celebrating special days throughout the year. Enjoy.

 

Web Site Update – September 2022

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

As I posted last month, fall is a time when many schools are back in session, whether that be for face-to-face learning or virtual classes. Many of the projects that I have been working on will continue throughout the fall. Take a look at my post in August for more information. Enjoy!

Web Site Update – August 2022

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back, teachers and students!

August is the time of year when many teachers and students around the world return to the classroom, and in preparation for these new beginnings, I want to share with you information about my sites that might jumpstart your classes. I started my Web site in 1998 (Wow! Now, 25 years ago!), and I still enjoy creating content for language learning.

Feel free to add a link to any of my Websites in your class syllabus or online course.

  1. Watch my video tutorials on how to use my Website more effectively. Often, people tell me, “Oh, I didn’t know that I could do that on your site!”
  1. Download and share my instructional handouts in PDF format that can help inform others about the site’s content. These are very helpful in spreading the word on how to learn English online. Post them to your social media feeds if you like.
  1. Visit the different sections of my site for audio and video listening practice. Some of these areas include:
  1. Try over 300 vocabulary quizzes that recycle the topics and vocabulary from my listening activities.
  1. Watch over 50 broadcast episodes with teachers and students worldwide, where we discuss language and culture. Each episode contains learning activities to extend your learning.
  1. Enjoy language games that engage learners in fun ways.
  1. Watch my video lessons on useful English idioms.
  1. You can also visit my other online channels for learning content and information:

My other Websites: