Sit down for a minute and think back through your day. What technology did you use in the last 24 hours? Perhaps your GPS to get to an appointment or your computer to answer some e-mails? You more than likely used your cell phone to send a few text messages to friends. At the end of the day, you may have even sat on the couch and watched your favourite series on Netflix. Who wouldn’t, right?
Language students, like us, live in a world where technology is ever-present in their daily lives. Today, younger learners lead very modern lives and they expect teachers to have an equally updated approach to teaching and learning in order to match their expectations. If you know how to adapt your teaching methods to find ones that your students are enthusiastic about, and are able to find effective ways of using their investment in technology, you’ll be able to create a rich learning environment in which your students will thrive.
We know that using technology in the classroom can:
- Transform a teacher-centered class into a learner-centered one
- Boost student investment and motivation
- Develop learner autonomy
- Provide students with valuable tools for their future
- Encourage learning
- Establish a sense of community in the classroom
- Improve reading, writing, listening and speaking skills
What is not on the list, but should be, is that using technology in class can also be a lot of fun. And, when students are having fun, they’re learning without even realising it.
Where do I start?
The secret is to tap into your students’ intrinsic motivation towards technology to help them learn.
Intrinsic motivation is “motivation to be involved in an activity for its own sake” (Eggan and Kauchek, 2007), and it’s no surprise that it’s fuelled by pride, interest, achievement, enjoyment and curiosity.
There are so many applications and websites out there that you may not know where to start. Why not make a list of your students’ favourite applications? Ask them what they most often use to communicate with each other and then see if you can adapt it to your teaching.
Here is a list of some useful websites or applications that you can try:
- Marvel.com: a comic maker that students can use to create characters and write their own stories
- Kindle or Kobo: E-books are less expensive than traditional books, students can access them on smartphones and tablets and they’re interactive
- Prezi: A useful tool for making presentations
- Windows Movie Maker: Students can make and upload videos
- News ELA: A handy tool to increase reading comprehension using current events. There are five different levels to choose from on the website
- New in Levels: Articles with videos that students can comment on and discuss via Facebook
- WhatsApp: A telephone application using the internet to send messages, images, audio and video
- Storybird: A visual storytelling platform which combines professional artwork with writing
I have often successfully used Storybird for both extensive and intensive writing tasks and exercises.
How does Storybird work?
- Professional artists and illustrators provide artwork
- Once students have chosen a collection of images to illustrate their story, they decide how to order the images and what story to tell
- Then they choose a format; either a picture book, a longform book or a poem
- Once they have finished writing their story, they can publish their book to the public library on Storybird where it can be read all over the world and commented on. Or, they can choose to keep it private and publish it only in the virtual classroom for you, their parents and other classmates to read. They also have the option of printing it as a PDF, soft cover or a hard cover book. They could even share it on social networks or by email
- They can read other writers’ stories and give spontaneous feedback, as well as have others comment on their own stories
Young learners and teenagers enjoy Storybird because they feel that they are writing a “real book” that others can read. It transforms a writing task into a fun activity that doesn’t feel as though they are working or learning.
Once students are interested in an activity, are having fun with it and are proud of their achievements, you’ll have established a connection between language learning and intrinsic motivation through the use of technology. What’s more, a young learner’s desire to use technology can quickly transform into a desire to use English – which is a golden teaching opportunity.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, you might also want to read Natilly Macartney’s ideas for combining some fairly basic technology with popular culture to engage your learners.