Curt Ford

Editor of American Voices audiomagazine, I'm interested in apps and tools to help ESL & other language learners improve their listening comprehension.

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@mixedlinguist This article on Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian is pretty accessible; it's an interesting swing of the pendulum back from the nationalist/separatist tendencies of a few decades ago: https://t.co/SMDDcPQkX9

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@richcauld Sorry to see that it's the last – thank you for all your insights and best wishes for what comes next for you!

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

Is anyone else having trouble with the RTÉ radio app today? Tried two devices (iOS & Android), can't connect to live or Listen Back :( #rtenews

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

Disappointed, but not surprised. Hoping there will be some way to share presentations etc. virtually... #esl #TESOL2020

[TESOL Intl Assn @TESOL_Assn]

It is with great sadness that we announce the 2020 TESOL Convention has been cancelled. Read our full message to attendees here: https://t.co/eyqp1v1foL #TESOL2020

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@Mikem900 @Joyoflanguages It was for me! :)

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@grammartable I tend to stick with plural, to avoid confusion (in my brain at least) with "a fry" in the Irish (and UK?) sense – do a google image search for "Ulster fry" if you're not familiar with it :)

[shaun sweeney @shaunsweeney78]

Exam class listening doesn't always have to be about test-wise strategies and focus on product. @kyletdugan #ihbcnelt

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@fluentlanguage Irish!

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@patricox When they stop smiling in response and start cringing with embarrassment. :)

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@nosword @LinguaCelta Yes! I bought Teach Yourself Persian at an airport while waiting for a friend's late flight. Learned 1/2 the alphabet by the time the plane arrived. :)

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@clover_english @LearnDashLMS Good choice! I'm using LearnDash for one of my projects and have been very happy with it.

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

Before I go, a quick unsolicited plug for @LupaApp (https://t.co/bGS1OZSYqa)- a really interesting approach to authentic listening; its creators are as serious about pedagogy as about the technology, so I hope it's successful. #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@jennifermchow Mini-dictations for bottom-up decoding (if practiced before, to be fair); top-down questions on comprehension ('why did x....?' 'Did you agree with X when she...'?), if there's been in-class discussion

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@AidaAganagic Yes - I've seen research (Cynthia Brame at Vanderbilt) suggesting 6 minutes as optimal for any educational video, even in L1; so makes sense that less is more for L2! #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@eltplanning Yes, and the pace of delivery in audio/video can vary so widely, making a huge difference #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@jennifermchow A2: A new app for Spanish learners (@LupaApp) works with podcasts of 10-20 minutes, but breaks them down into segments of about 3 minutes; definitely challenging enough for my rusty high school Spanish #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@nathanghall When I worked on transcribing a few podcasts I was amazed by how often "like" & "you know" crept in; and how I hadn't noticed when just listening

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@jennifermchow Plenty of exposure to the reductions of connected speech; a variety of voices & perhaps accents #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@nathanghall I get scripted/unscripted, what would be an example of authentic and graded? #CdnELTchat

[Curt Ford @amvoicesapp]

@jennifermchow Hello #CdnELTchat from Northern California - Curt here, I assist with int/adv classes for migrants and develop teaching materials for English & Russian.