Software/Website Title: BarryfunEnglish
Website URL: www.barryfunenglish.com
Grade/Age Level: K-12
This site was created to support the teaching of ESL students. Though this is a paid subscription website, there are various free materials and activities that anybody can use to try out the site. Though the site doesn’t mention it, barryfunenglish is supports English learning in an exciting and visually stimulating fashion.
There are numerous features to this website including a vocabulary viewer, flash games, printable worksheets and flashcards, downloadable powerpoint presentations, as well as teacher tools such as stopwatch, random student selector, and an English name maker.
Not only can teachers download from a considerably source of pre-made worksheets, they can also customize and print their own through a user-friendly interface. There are numerous templates for teachers to choose from to effectively suit the needs of their students.
This website has really changed the face of my teaching. Before my class would play games, but there came a point when I was struggling and looked for fresh ideas. Barryfunenglish was my answer. Every week my students practically beg to play the flash games such as Crazy Cups, where three cups move around containing a ball inside. The speed progressively gets faster and students need to recall the correct vocabulary term, or phrase in order to make their choice. There’s another hidden picture game that students love where teams can play against each other in order to get the most points. Another wheel of fortune-type game is a lot of fun and really keeps students actively engaged. Also, the site allows teachers to input student names and create name lists for each class so that students can see whose turn it is in the games. I believe this feature helps make them even more involved in their learning.
For the teaching of new vocabulary, this website is superb. The vocabulary viewer shows students flashcards for each item and gives the option of whether or not to show the text the recorded sound of the written words. Games can be played in class that will help students recall and focus on the vocabulary, and supplementary worksheets can be given as well. Some of the activities also help reinforce grammar points and spoken English in a fun way with pictures and games.
All of the online flash games help students practice the new language and assess by keeping track of the points that teams earn. The vocabulary viewer doesn’t offer a tool yet to keep track of vocabulary terms that they have missed or gotten correct, but the teacher can usually tell which words the students need more practice on. It’s easy to go back to previous pictures if your students are struggling.
Another strength of this website is its user-friendly interface and clean layout. Each of the different features of the site is clearly labeled and easy to navigate. Though this website has many strong features, there are several aspects that could be improved upon. The games and activities which promote speaking and the use of complete sentences could be added onto for example, and more grammar activities would also be nice. Though teachers are able to create customized word lists and worksheets, it would also be great if they were able to upload these onto the website for perusal and use by other teachers. Lastly, though most of the games on the site are fun, they can be time consuming and teachers should cognizant of this. Yet, overall I have to say that this is one of the best websites that I have ever found on the web for ESL/EFL teachers and I highly recommend it.
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This is a really great website. I have heard of it before but have never utilized it in my lesson plans. A lot of the worksheets I viewed were very clear and excellent for students of all levels. I really liked the games that were available. I definitley will try them in my classroom. Many of them are great for large classes. I especially liked the Wheel of Fortune game.
ReplyDeleteI guess the only downside to this website that since it is a paid website some of the material requires that the user have a paid membership. Besides that though a good portion of the site is free. I would highly recommend this website for new teachers and for teachers who have to deal with large classes.
This does look like a fun site with a ton of activities and a lot of flexibility. It is too bad that it can't be for free, but with a $15/yr. membership, most people could easily afford it if they thought they would be using it frequently. The only other drawback is the necessity of having a large screen t.v. or a projector in your classroom. In the school where I teach full-time, this wouldn't be a problem, but in the school where I volunteer, I don't think the technology is available in most of the rooms. Still, the worksheets and some of the game ideas could be used anywhere.
ReplyDeleteClearly this is a very handy website. I like the layout and all the tools and games. Have you found that your students have a high level of vocabulary recall after playing the games? I am curious to know how effective they are. The vocabulary builder looks like a usable vocabulary tool that I might try to implement. Thanks for sharing this resource.
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