Mikestar in FLE?
As I appealed to you to use songs in FLE, I thought about how this concept could be furthered. Sometimes you have very ambitious pupils who enjoy singing and would also like to do this in FLE. Of course, this is not true for many others. But if a class is interested in dealing with English songs, we could definitely use this request to facilitate their media usage.
I found out about an internet software called Mikestar. So what is it about? As the name might suggest, it is an online karaoke software. After creating an account, you can choose from hundreds of songs and record your song via a microphone or a webcam. You can simply upload it or do contests with other people, so it is basically like a karaoke software only that this one is free.
One way to use this software in class could be to analyse different songs in groups and as an end result record them or even create a video that stands in relation to the topic. As this requires quite a lot of time, it would be useful to do this as a project during or after school. Therefore, the extra work should pay off for the pupils. Additionally, some people are not really into karaoke, that is why pupils should be able to choose from other possibilities such as creating a poster or other creative approaches. By presenting the software to the class, the teacher should only show them one way of dealing with the topic.
Mikestar in FLE? – Definitely maybe…I think Mikestar is only a gimmick that does not necessarily have to be included into FLE. But as it is quite fashionable and up-to-date it could be a creative way of dealing with a topic. It definitely relates to the lives of the pupils and especially when pupils are in the middle of puberty it is important to find ways to make school more attractive to them. Mikestar could be such an attraction. So why not try it out?
