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Sound
Match - Games and exercises based on matching sounds and texts |
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| Sound
Match Front Page
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Sound
Match Edit Screen
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Sound
Match is one of the 8 exercise groups included in
the TaskMagic package. Sound Match creates a wide
range of exercises based on matching sounds with text
items. You can use sounds from anywhere on your PC
or network. You can also record your own sound files
using Windows Sound Recorder or other sound recording
software. |
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The Sound Match edit screen in TaskMagic Create allows
you to input matching pairs of sounds and texts. The
number of matching pairs depends on you - you can
make exercises with just a few matching pairs, or
with hundreds of matching pairs.
- Import feature allows you to quickly import data
from existing Sound Match and Pic-Sound files.
- You decide which exercises will be available when
the student opens your file. If you make all exercises
available, the students will have access to up to
20 separate games and exercises in Sound Match.
- The Sound Match front page and the Flashcards activity
allow the students to record their own voice so that
they can compare it with the original sound.
- Scroll down or click here
for more information about using Sound Match files,
or click on any of the game screens below to find
out more. |
| Sound
Match Games & Exercises |
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Flashcards |
Drag
& Match |
3
in a row |
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Against
the Clock |
Pelmanism
1 Player |
Pelmanism
2 Players |
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True
or False? |
Multi-Match |
Tower
Block |
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Pool |
Football |
Doors |
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Type |
Hangman |
Flower |
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Maze
II |
Invaders
II |
Snake |
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| Jumbled
Words |
Jump! |
Trainer |
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NB.
Flower is an optional alternative to Hangman, which is the
default game. The user can specify Flower instead of Hangman
by changing their configuration settings. |
Making
Use of Sound Match Files |
The
order in which exercise types are displayed on the Sound Match
front page does not represent a particular sequence. It was
never intended that students should attempt all of the exercises
for a particular file in a particular sequence. In fact, nor
was it intended that students should attempt to complete all
of the available exercise types for a particular file. |
Users
of TaskMagic (teachers & students) should select the most
appropriate exercise types available depending on: the context;
whether they are using a whiteboard or individual PCs in a
computer room (or at home); the level of text input; the type
of information being presented; the point they are at in the
learning sequence; whether it’s for a starter, a plenary,
a presentation or the main element of a lesson; the time available
etc. |
When
working with an interactive whiteboard, the teacher has total
control over the exercises and activities selected. When working
in an IT room, however, it is important for teachers to maintain
control over the exercises and activities that the students
attempt. It was never intended that students should be told
to open a particular file and then attempt the available games
in any order they like. Teachers should make it clear to students
which activities they are to attempt and in which order, or
alternatively they should make it clear which activities they
don't want them to attempt. For example, many teachers tell
their class to start with Multi-Match and not to move on to
the next exercise until they have a 100% score. The activities
you choose will depend on your own professional appreciation
of the value of each activity bearing in mind all of the factors
mentioned above (time, context, stage etc.). A useful strategy
is to reserve many of the more game-based activities until
the end of the session, then allow students 5 or 10 minutes
to choose freely from the activities available. It is also
possible to limit the exercises available by making direct
hyperlinks to individual game files - these can be created
in TaskMagicCreate
- or by limiting the list of activities available when you
create your TaskMagic file. |
This
section looks at all of the exercise types available in Sound
Match and attempts to put them into some sort of order of
difficulty. This is very difficult to do, however, as various
elements need to be weighed up in deciding just how difficult
a particular exercise is:
- the level of support (e.g. number of options in match activities)
- the type of activity (eg. matching, reordering, text input)
- time pressures
- penalties for incorrect answers
- whether items are displayed in a particular order or randomly
- whether the L2 sound is being matched with L1 text or L2
text
The following list is just a suggestion / a guideline / a
starting point. Some of the activities, such as Flashcards
and Jumbled Words, are appropriate for different stages of
the learning process. |
| NB.
The number of games made available in Sound Match depends on
whether or not a check box is clicked by the teacher when creating
the exercise. Type, Jumbled Words, Hangman, Maze II, Invaders
II, Snake and Trainer are only made available when the check
box is clicked, as these games are only really appropriate when
the text is L2 (ie. the target language). |
| When
the sound is to be matched with L1 text (ie. the student's first
language), Sound Match tests the student's ability to recognise
the word and understand its meaning. Because the text is in
L1 (ie. not the target language), you are advised not
to make available exercises requiring the spelling of the text
item by leaving the check box unselected. |
| When
the sound is to be matched with L2 text (ie. the target language),
Sound Match tests the student's ability to recognise the sound
and associate it with the written form of the word or phrase.
Because the text is in L2 (the target language), you are advised
to make the spelling games available by clicking the check box
when you create the exercise. This way students are being tested
on the recognition and spelling of the words or phrases. |
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This is probably the easiest of the exercises.
- 1 in 3 multiple choice activity.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- There is no time pressure.
- Items appear in their original sequence.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give
answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students write answer on mini-whiteboards or in books
before checking answer and moving to next question |
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1 in 4 multiple choice activity, where the aim is to
answer 15 questions in a row and build a 15 storey tower
block.
- No time pressure.
- 1 incorrect answer results in the Tower crumbling
and the student has to begin again.
- There is support in the form of four ‘play safes’,
where clicking on an incorrect answer incurs no penalty.
- This exercise requires a minimum of 8 inputs.
- Items appear in random order.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students write answer on mini-whiteboards
or in books before checking answer and moving to next
question
- play the game as if it were "Who
wants to be a millionaire?", with the teacher offering
a "50/50", students showing hands or using
mini-whiteboards for "ask the audience", or
choosing a class mate for "phone a friend" |
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1 in 4 multiple choice activity.
- Steer the man around the room jumping from platform
to platform, avoiding monsters and other hazards.
- Multiple levels with different hazards.
- Time pressure - oxygen levels run out if you don't
get a correct answer..
- Incorrect answers result in oxygen levels dropping
drastically.
- Items appear in random order.
Suitable for use on individual PCs, not for interactive
whiteboard.
In
terms of linguistic demands, this game is one of the
least challenging, and for this reason it appears early
on in this list. Students are likely to spend a lot
of time on this because of the game element. |
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1 in 6 multiple choice.
- No time pressure to answer the questions, but a time
limit to pot the ball.
- 1 incorrect answer incurs a 15 second time penalty.
A second incorrect answer results in the loss of that
ball (ie. the student doesn’t get to play) and the
student is shown the correct answer.
- The ball has to be potted in the pocket over which the
correct answer was located. Potting the ball in the wrong
pocket or potting the white incurs a 100 point penalty.
- Items appear in random order.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard,
although it may be a bit time consuming in a whole-class
environment.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board |
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Multiple choice, with up to 12 answers to choose from.
- A football game for 2 players or teams.
- There is a time pressure to answer the questions, as
failing to answer in the time provided results in play
passing to the other team. The speed for answering questions
can be changed using the difficulty setting before starting
the game.
- Players can opt for a timed game or a ‘first to…’
game.
- During play, the ball doesn’t always go to the
intended player when you pass or shoot. Shorter passes
or shots have a higher chance of being successful, so
students are encouraged to make short passes and therefore
answer more questions.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in
pairs, or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class
is split into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- for each pass or shot, invite an answer from a member
of the relevant team. The teacher clicks the text as
suggested by the student. If they are wrong, they lose
the ball to the other team. Quickly invite an answer
from a member of this team. etc
- for each pass or shot, invite/select a student from
each team to come to the board. The student with control
of the ball has the first go at the question. etc.
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Up to 16 items are on display, so the level of difficulty
depends on the total number of matching items. If more
than 16 matching items are included, 16 are selected randomly
from the list.
- No time pressure.
- No penalty for incorrect answers, as incorrect answers
are removed when ‘Check’ is clicked, leaving
only the correct ones in place. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students write answers on mini-whiteboards
or in exercise books. Once they have finished the written
exercise the teacher can go through the answers in class,
either by inviting answers or calling students up to
the board
- option to hide answers to use with whole class as
prompt for written work or class activity
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For 2 players or teams - like Os and Xs, but the game
continues until the grid is finished.
- All of the items are on display.
- No time pressure.
- An incorrect answer means that player doesn’t
put his O or X in the grid.
- This exercise requires at least 9 inputs. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in
pairs, or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class
is split into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- invite/select students from each team to give answers
- invite/select students from each team to come to the
board
- option to hide answers to use with
whole class as prompt for written work or class activity
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Up to 16 items are on display.
- Time pressure - the aim is to make all of the matches
before the time runs out. The time available depends on
the number of matching items.
- No penalty for an incorrect answer. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the fastest times for
a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - this
will involve a lot of moving around the room quickly
in order to get the matches before the time runs out
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Memory game - finding the matching pairs.
- No time pressure.
- Keeps a record of the number of attempts, so the aim
is to find all of the matches in the lowest number of
attempts. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the students who manage
to find all the pairs without any incorrect guesses,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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Memory game for 2 players or teams.
- No time pressure.
- Players / teams take alternate turns irrespective of
whether or not they find a pair.
- The winning player / team is the one with the most correct
matches. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in
pairs, or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class
is split into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- invite/select students from each team to give answers
- invite/select students from each team to come to the
board
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Hangman game - guessing the word or phrase based only
on its shape.
- No time pressure.
- Overall score based on the number of correct guesses.
- A record of how many men have been saved and how many
hanged is kept at the top of the screen.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the the highest scores
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- you can ask students to play their
own Hangman game in the back of their exercise books
or on mini-whiteboards, using appropriate vocabulary
from the current exercise (eg. by displaying the Drag
& Match screen)
NB.
Hangman is the default game in the English version of
TaskMagic. This can be changed to flower by changing
the configuration file.
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A bit like a game of ‘Snap’ - you click when
you recognize a correct match.
- Time pressure - you have three seconds to recognise
a correct match. If you don’t click in this time,
the game moves on to another pair.
- A record of correct and incorrect clicks is kept, and
these are combined to give a total score.
- Items appear in random order.
- The speed of the activity can be increased or decreased.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite choral “sí” / “oui”
/ “vrai” etc from class, each time the items
change, if there is a correct match (a bit like “repeat
if it’s true”)
- invite/select students to come to the board in turns
until they have found a True match
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape
of the word or phrase is shown. (If the word or phrase
is longer than 10 letters, then a group of 10 letters
is blanked out.)
- The missing letters are displayed underneath the game
box in random order, and students have to click them in
the correct order.
- Time pressure - the student must click all of the letters
before the blocks fall to the bottom.
- 5 incorrect letter attempts results in all the blocks
falling.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the the highest scores
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - best
to have the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape
of the word or phrase is shown.
- The missing letters are to be found in the grid in snake
form. The grid is made up mainly of letters which appear
in the answer, which helps the student to think of the
answer, but not in the same way as with Invaders II.
- The aim is to click and drag through the missing letters
in the correct order.
- Time pressure - 40 seconds are available. After 10 seconds
the first letter is displayed. After 20 seconds the shape
of the word snake is shown. After 40 seconds the answer
is given. The score depends on how quickly the correct
answer is found.
- No penalty for incorrect answers.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the the highest scores
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to come to the board - best
to have the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape
of the word or phrase is shown. (If the word or phrase
is longer than 10 letters, then a group of 10 letters
is blanked out.)
- The missing letters are to be found in the game grid.
The grid is made up mainly of letters which appear in
the answer, which helps the student to think of the answer.
- Time pressure - running out of time results in the loss
of one of the three lives, as does being caught by the
monster(s).
- An incorrect letter click results in the player getting
stuck for 2 seconds, increasing the risk of their being
caught.
- Items appear in random order.
- Requires the use of the keyboard.
Suitable for use on individual PCs, not interctive whiteboard.
Because of the time pressure students will find this a
difficult exercise to complete. It is a good idea for
you to keep a record on the board of the highest score
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition. |
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All of the items are on display (up to 16).
- The shape of the target word or phrase is shown, but
no other support is given.
- A score is kept, which is the percentage of correct
letter attempts.
- No time pressure.
- An incorrect letter causes the text to go red and stops
the typing. Incorrect letters are shown in the letter
grid on the screen. The student cannot proceed until they
find the correct letter. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the the highest scores
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students can write answers to specific questions (as
suggested by the teacher) on mini-whiteboards; students
can then be invited to the board to check their answer
- students can write answers to all questions
as a written activity in their exercise books, before
going through the exercise to check answers using the
IWB
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The student answers questions in order to open doors,
in order to collect the 6 items required to move on
to the next level. A plan of all of the rooms is shown
at the top of the screen. The higher the level, the
fewer the doors available, so it becomes more of a maze.
- Doors uses a variety of question forms / linguistic
demands, depending on the level:
Level one is a 1 in 10 multi choice.
Level two takes letters from the word or phrase, which
must then be clicked in the correct order (eg. as with
Invaders II)
Level three shows the shape of the word or phrase but
requires the student to type in the missing information.
Higher levels combine elements of all of the above.
- If the exercise file has been saved without spelling
activities available (by leaving the check box in TaskMagic
Create unchecked), Doors operates as a 1 in 10 multi-choice
at all levels.
- Time pressure - you are being chased around the maze
of rooms by a death figure. At first he moves very slowly,
but he gets progressively quicker.
- Penalty for incorrect attempt: the door doesn’t
open.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to
keep a record on the board of the the highest scores
for a particular file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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Jumbled
Words is only available if the teacher makes it available
when they create their exercise. It is intended for situations
where the left and right text items, as well as matching
with eachother, are also a continuation of eachother.
eg. where the left text item is the first part of a sentence
and the right text item is the second part:
1) Je vais à la /// piscine
2) Tu vas à /// la plage
3) Je vais /// au cinéma
etc.
NB. It is important here that the matches are exclusive.
i.e. that there can only be one correct match for each
left text item.
Jumbled words takes all of the text in each row above
and jumbles it up:
1) à la vais piscine Je
2) plage à vas la Tu
3) au vais Je cinéma
Jumbled words is excellent for practising sentence structure.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students can write answers to specific
questions (as suggested by the teacher) on mini-whiteboards;
students can then be invited to the board to check their
answer
- students can write answers to all questions
as a written activity in their exercise books, before
going through the exercise to check answers using the
IWB
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Flashcards simply runs through the matching items, showing
them either in the original sequence or in random order.
- It can be used to present new language to the class
using a whiteboard or projector, or for individual work
at a PC.
- When used on a PC, it allows the student to test themselves
(by saying or thinking what the correct match will be)
to see if they know the answers.
- First look at the information in sequence, then again
in random order. You can do the same thing with an interactive
whiteboard.
- No penalty for getting it wrong, as there is no input
to be assessed.
- When working alone with a PC, the student can click
the "correct answer" button if they knew the
correct answer, or click the "wrong answer"
button if they didn't know it or were unsure. Wrong
answers are then repeated later
The student can choose to hear the sound before seeing
the text or vice versa. By default, if the text is in
L1 (ie. if the spelling activities are not available),
the sound is played before the text, so that the student
can listen to the sound and say the meaning. If the
text is in L2 (ie. if the spelling activities have been
made available), the text appears first, so that the
student can read the text and attempt to pronounce it
correctly before listening to the sound.
If used to test understanding (ie. when sound is matched
to L1) this is possibly the most difficult exercise
in terms of its linguistic demands, as no support is
provided at all, although there is no requirement to
spell the words, and no evidence of a 100% score is
shown. It could be seen as the end objective of your
TaskMagic session. If used to test pronunciation, however,
it could be used much earlier on in the process.
IWB
options:
- present the language in sequence
- at the end of a session (as a plenary) or to revise
previously taught language as a lesson starter: run
through the information in random order and invite/select
students to provide an answer
- to check pronunciation during the learning
process: show the text and invite students to pronounce
correctly before listening to the sound
- students could write the answer for
each question in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards,
before checking the answer and moving on to the next
question
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Trainer
can be used in 2 ways: as a practice session or as a
test.
Practice session:
- Runs through the items in random order.
- Provides feedback for incorrect answers - guidance
intended to help the student arrive at a correct answer.
- Hint and Skip buttons available.
- If an answer is incorrect the first time, or the Hint
or Skip buttons are pressed, that question is repeated
again later (and then again, as necessary for the student
to answer the question without errors, hints etc.)
- Scores are given for the first answer typed in each
round.
- Students can view their scores / progress at any time.
- Students can print a record of their practice session
(name input required). Print-outs give details of answers
given, scores, time taken etc.
- The practice session is designed to focus on accuracy
and spelling, and ensuring that the new vocabulary is
truly learned.
Test:
- Runs through the items in random order.
- No feedback is provided during the test.
- One answer is recorded per question.
- Choice of scoring formats, e.g. case-sensitivity,
100% score for whole answer, only correct words, only
100% correct answers.
- Choice of the number of items to include in a test
(the maximum being the number of items in a particular
file).
- Feedback is given at the end of the test: total score,
time taken, score per question etc.
- Students can print out their test result (name input
required). Print-outs give details of answers given,
scores, time taken etc.
Trainer is the most difficult activity in terms of linguistic
demands, as the student has to answer each question
without support in order to score full marks. Trainer
is excellent for focusing on spelling and accuracy,
and ensuring that the new vocabulary is truly learned.
IWB
options:
- invite students to the board to type in answers
- at the end of a session (as a plenary) or to revise
previously taught language as a lesson starter: run
through the information in random order and invite/select
students to provide an answer
- students could write the answer for
each question in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards,
before checking the answer and moving on to the next
question
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