Skill Boosters
What is a Skill Booster?
Skill Boosters are a collection of 33 learning units designed to help you handle everyday language situations, for when you need to clearly and quickly communicate what you want and understand what is said in a foreign language.
These lessons benefit from the creativity, humour and language expertise of Youtubers, who have created videos to help you through these situations and teach you expressions and vocabulary to help you handle each situation with confidence.
Skill Boosters are designed so that - by playing sections of the video and repeatedly listening to the corresponding dialogue throughout the different steps of the unit - you will gradually become familiar with elements of the language and absorb them into your linguistic reflexes.
Your goal for Skill Boosters should be to obtain a score of 600 points or more per unit, thus earning you a badge for your demonstrated skill in that specific language situation.
Good to know: for all Skill Boosters, you can choose to slow down the playback speed of the video by clicking on the tortoise icon.
What is the structure of a Skill Booster?
Each of the 33 exercises known as a Skill Boosters is based on a video showing typical dialogue in a variety of situations, and is comprised of eight steps in the course of which you will become familiar with both sides of the dialogue. It is recommended to complete all the steps before repeating the exercise to get a better score. The skill and key vocabulary you’ll be working can be seen by clicking on the "See Details" button on the thumnail image of the Skill Booster. The maximum score for a Skill Booster is 1000 points.
If doing a Skill Booster for the first time, a learner must progress through the stages of the unit in the given order.
Each Skill Booster is comprised of the following eight steps:
The Vocabulary step introduces the exercise. It presents the six key vocabulary items needed to understand to fully understand the video. These expressions are practised throughout the unit. Each vocabulary item is introduced with its spelling, pronounciation, translation into your chosen translation language, and is used in a sample sentence.
The Video stage enables you discover the entire video, without subtitles. You can pause or replay the video as many times as you wish, and it will remain available even in subsequent stages.
The Comprehension step is comprised of two multiple-choice style questions verifying your general understanding of the video. The maximum score for this step is 60 points.
The Dialogue step is comprised of six multiple-choice questions based on the dialogue in the video. The goal of this exercise is to correctly continue the dialogue when the video has finished playing. You have to choose between three phonetically similar responses. The maximum score for this exercise is 150 points. The complete transcription of the video is unlocked at the end of this step.
The Sentence Structure step consists of six questions where you are asked rearrange words in the right order to make a sentence from the dialogue. The maximum score attainable for this stage is 150 points.
The Transcription step seeks to test a more advanced comprehension of the video. This activity involves filling in eight gaps in the transcript of the video, choosing from four phonetically similar options. The maximum score for this stage is 80 points.
The penultimate step is Advanced Comprehension, comprised of two multiple-choice questions on more advanced aspects of the video. The maximum score for this stage is 60 points.
Skill Boosters end with a Skills Test. This test is comprised of five exercises (two question / response matches; two fill-in-the-gap texts; and an exercise with open-response fill-in-the-gap sentences). The maximum score is 450 points.
What are the themes of Skill Boosters?
Skill Boosters are organised around the following 6 themes:
- - Assistance
- - Communicating in Business
- - Communicating While Travelling
- - Getting a Job
- - Getting Everyday Things Done
- - Getting Your Message Across
How do I find a Skill Booster?
To find a Skill Booster, you can explore the page or use the search tool to search by title.
How much time do I need to complete a Skill Booster?
A skill Booster takes around 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
What purpose do badges serve?
Badges help you know how far you've come in mastering a particular language situation. To find your badges, go to the Badges page in the Dashboard menu. Badges are automatically earned based on your scores in a Skill Booster: you must earn a minimum of 600 points to gain a Bronze badge, 750 for the Silver badge, and 900 for the Gold badge.
Good to know: the vignettes in the Badges section of the dashboard display the badges you have earned for each Skill Booster module.
: you have not yet received a badge for this Skill Booster
: you have obtained the Bronze badge for this Skill Booster.
: you have obtained the Silver badge for this Skill Booster.
: you have obtained the Gold badge for this Skill Booster.