Sanako Speak
Sanako Speak – Taking the education to the cloud….
Learning a language requires learners to practise and use the language as much as possible to develop their skills and gain a holistic understanding.
A language lab engages students to actively participate in language learning exercises and encourages them to practise more than would be possible in a traditional classroom environment.
A PERSONAL LANGUAGE LAB – WHEREVER YOU ARE
At Sanako we pride ourselves on having nearly 50 years of experience in delivering the tools for learning a new language. Our latest product, Sanako Speak!, allows teachers to provide pedagogically rich, managed language learning activities outside the physical language lab or classroom. The students can practise the language and complete the exercises in their own time and outside the physical classroom space.
In order to make language learning interesting and efficient, we have engaged an activity-based learning approach with Sanako Speak! It offers teachers a multitude of different activities that can quickly and easily be assigned to students as practise or homework exercises.
These activities are designed to develop all the core skills of language teaching and learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Using traditional language lab activities like listen and repeat exercises gives the teacher many options for providing fun and inspiring exercises to their students.
Speaking a language is generally one of the most difficult elements for language learners to develop, especially without prolonged exposure to the language like when living abroad or having lots of time to practise in a language lab.
Using a simple method of dual track recording and allowing students to insert their recordings into a master track/file enables many engaging activities, including:
- Simple listen and repeat exercises
- Role playing
- Vocabulary games
- Translation activities
- Interviews
- Reading practise (pronunciation)
Listening comprehension is actively used both in and out of the classroom. It facilitates the language learner to engage with active mimicry and enables the learner to understand and hear the language used in context.
Sanako Speak! allows the teacher to quickly build and deliver comprehensive listening activities using either a tutor led voice file or externally sourced video and audio files. The teacher can easily integrate these listening sources with MCQs (multiple choice questions) or gap-filling exercises, thereby creating a fully integrated and managed exercise. Some activities that could be achieved are:
- Vocabulary games
- Translation activities
- Writing exercises (gap-filling)
- Spelling exercises
- Grammar teaching
Teachers using Sanako Speak! are not tied to pre-prepared content within the system. Content supplied by publishers and other media producers can be easily integrated. The users can utilise any content that they believe will engage and interest their students. The system offers the flexibility to rapidly and easily integrate the most up-to-date content from the internet and other sources. Sanako Speak! gives teachers the choice and flexibility to use whatever they want, whenever they want, and to deliver it in the type of activity they want.
▲ Individualisation
Sanako Speak! offers the teacher full individualisation capabilities. Exercises can be assigned as easily to one student as they can to ten or the entire class. If a student joins the class late, the teacher can simply assign any exercises required to that person regardless of what the rest of the class is doing.
Sanako Speak! domains are institution specific. They can include the address, the institution details and the logo on the login page.
▲ Cloud technology
Sanako Speak! uses cloud computing with little need for software installations in the computer lab or software upgrades. All the tools and software teachers and students need to complete or build the exercise are delivered from the cloud after logging in. This offers the user institution scalability, accessibility and agility.
Cloud computing also provides seamless access from anywhere in the world. Students with access to a computer with an internet connection and headphones and a microphone can simply and quickly deploy Sanako Speak! wherever they are.
Video Demo