Technology and ESL Students
As we are wrapping up our class and blogs, I thought that this article was a great wrap up to the summer semester. The article was posted by Andrei Zakhareuski and entitled "10 Modern Ways to Use Technology in ESL Instruction." For me, I don't have too many ESL Students in my classroom but I'm always looking for new ways to use the iPads.
This article goes through 10 ways to use technology and benefits to each. The first is through film and video. Using short videos can keep the student engaged and is a great way to work on vocabulary and comprehension skills. For younger students, you could just use them as supplements to a lesson but older kids could create their own videos. Apps are another way for students to practice their English - there are many apps out there to help with grammar, vocabulary, letters, pronunciation, etc. Other ways to use technology with ESL Students could be thought Podcasts, Pen Pals, Web Quests, Blogging, and so on.
One thing she discussed was online games, which fits right in with our topic for this week! Playing games online can help students master spelling, grammar, and other skills while having fun. Games are an entertaining way to keep students engaged while they are learning a new concept, reviewing a concept, or enforcing a concept. The last strategy that stuck out to me was by taking a digital field trip. Digital field trips provide a more authentic real world application of what they are using. They have sites for virtual tours of a farm, the white house, historic castles, and so on. This would be a great way for students to explore the world or learn from the comfort of the classroom. http://www.middleschool.net/curlink/virtual.htm - is a resource for a list of virtual field trips that you could potentially take.
Technology is a game changer. It can help ESL develop language skills or enhance their learning through real-world applications. Those students don't need to be left behind or lost in class, technology gives them the possibility to meet their potential as learners and to have a voice in the classroom!
Source: http://busyteacher.org/13732-using-technology-esl-instruction-10-modern-ways.html
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of digital field trips! This could definitely be something that would help ESL students see more of our country and see things they may not have ever seen in their country. Maybe they came from a city, so they have not seen many farms, this would also lead to new language development.
I like how the idea of games was also mentioned since that is our topic this week. I bet Pen Pals would especially be a neat idea.
Thanks for sharing! Enjoy the rest of your summer!