Using the website Mingoville.com as an ICT resource- Learn English the fun way.

                                                      

 Mingoville is a website for younger children to learn English interactive. It´s available for free but if you want to get full access to all activities you need to sign up and pay for three, six or twelve months. The website also offers school licenses.

The homepage addresses to parents and teachers describing the alternative ways of a diverting learning. Mingoville offers you instructions in 32 different languages, such as Swedish, Urdu, Japanese, Thai and Italian.

The link is:  http://www.mingoville.com/sv.html

Children using Mingoville improve their skills in spelling, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar in a fun way

You need to install Adobe Reader to use the resource, Mingoville offers you the download on their homepage. Adobe Reader is a freeware and it´s easy to install if you haven´t already got it. I think a headset is necessary if your students work in the classroom. The students might disturb each other otherwise.

Mingoville is a community of pink flamingos. The assignments, tasks or missions revolve around a family, The Pinkeltons. The different characters in the family have their own needs and features. The pages are rich colored, animated and appealing for the younger children.

If you sign up as a teacher on a school license you can create classes and you will have access to your students’ accounts. There are many possibilities to stimulate your students approach to the English language by using Mingoville. You can give your students individual tasks and homework’s depending on their knowledge.

When you sign up you create and name your own personal flamingo. Then the adventure starts, there are lots of activities to do. You chose between either Learn now or Play now.

In Learn now you have different choices in to improve speaking, writing, listening and reading skills.

·        Homework and evaluation

·        My book, which consist many different writing-assignment like  presentations of you and your family, animals, food, colors, clothes etc. One section of My book is you private portfolio.

·        An alphabetical dictionary with pictures. You get the word in your chosen language and in English. You can also listen to the word for the right pronunciation and record yourself saying it. 

·        In download extras, you download materials like cartoons, writing-assignments, cut and paste, you can listen to songs and also print the text to the song etc.

 In Play now you walk around with your character on a big area where you can chose between many different games. On your walk you meet other flamingo characters/player with whom you can make friends and converse. This is a selection of games available.

·        Quiz talk, from you recorded dictionary.

·        Menu. You order food from the café, or buy different items from the souvenir shop.

·        Catch words, were you fish letters to build words.

·        Tourist information. You can ask and get answers about different things to do and attractions in Mingoville.

I teach in a grade four and if I would use Mingoville as an ICT recourse in my class, I would sign up for a school license to get full access and be able to give my students individual tasks. I would put Mingoville in the week schedule with some chosen assignments every week. Sometimes the children would work on their own and sometimes I would use the projector to give lessons or instruct in full class. You don´t always need a computer working with Mingoville material. There are Pdf  print files with reading and writing assignments too.

Finally, you can never replace a teacher with a computer or other technique – a computer is just one of a teacher’s tools to reach the pupils, stimulate and give knowledge. 

/ Kristina Espes Voxberg