Comics for ESL Instruction

I played around with making a comic strip as a teaching tool. I thought this would be an interesting way to show how idioms work. Often, I have seen role-playing as the primary tool to teach how idioms work. Usually, the teacher then has to explicitly explain what the idiom means because the students still didn't understand the meaning. I think this is because the students are more focused on the performers (fellow students) rather than the performance itself. Also, this practice can be uncomfortable for the students who are performing the role play in front of the other students. I think creating a fun comic strip like the one I created would be a less stressing situation for everyone. It also keeps the students interested. These comics can be worked into explaining many different scenarios between people therefore they can be used to explain many different exchanges between characters. It isn't as authentic as the actual role play but I think it would provide more positive washback. Finally, you can assign scenarios for the students to create in their own comics to show to the class. 

Idioms by Snoop & Bush

Digital Storytelling

As I reviewed in my last post, digital storytelling is an interesting way to get students involved in classroom participation as well as keeping them excited about learning. I tested out the waters and created my own little short story. I imagined that this would be used in a Spanish foreign language class. Essentially, I would have the students watch the video in class and then ask them as a class discussion what they think the video is about, what it says, and what inferences they can make from the context to learn new vocabulary. Below you can access the video I made with Animoto. FYI, I had an introduction to Spanish course in mind while I made this.

Aventuras de Slim/Slim's Adventures

As you can see the subtitles are all in Spanish. After the video is shown in class and discussed, I would have the students write their own simple sentences that model after what the video showed. To kick it up a notch I would have the students create their own 10 second video either during class as group projects or as a term project where they can show what they learned at the end of the class. This could also be incorporated as a "show and tell" activity on students favorite activity, hobbies, and interests. Incorporating digital storytelling can be modified for a multitude of of topics, it's fun and easy!

Lights, Cameras, Action! Digital Storytelling in ESL Classrooms

Digital storytelling is an effective way to get the creativity juices flowing in either an online classroom or a traditional one. This is because in the day and age we live in we are used to watching documentaries or docuseries, even if we don’t know it. Reality television has been the root of this, I think. Getting the opportunity to be in front of and behind the camera to make your own digital story is compelling. This is especially useful in a classroom where students don’t get to share their hobbies and interests face-to-face. In an ESL classroom this would be a great way to introduce students and their cultures to each other without having the uncomfortable feeling of speaking in front of a classroom of people. 

As Educase showcased the story of David and his love for blues guitar, this can be done on multiple topics. Many universities are now implementing digital storytelling into their curriculum. It can be possible that students entering your class will have already learned these skills but if not it provides a wonderful opportunity for them to learn it for the first time. “Among the initiative’s stated goals are, for faculty, to facilitate various learning styles and connect to students’ interest in technology, and for students, to develop their ability to appropriately evaluate and use  online content and electronic tools as a means of personal expression.” This can be easily developed into an art form. Even more beneficial is its possible use in all content areas or even for group projects. 

If you're interested in incorporating digital storytelling into your class there are tons of information found at storycenter.org. They feature stories and also hold workshops where you can get more information. This would be a great foundation for any instructor to expand on. I would also provide this resource with students so they can learn from examples and also brainstorm. 

Why so Serious... ?

I played a serious game called Budget Hero. I played it twice. The game allows players to “manipulate” the government budget and see how their choices affect the deficit. I would incorporate this game into a unit about elections and political offices. This would be useful in an ESL classroom because it is teaching them about the government of the country in which they live in. This game is a good tool to learn about the vocabulary and issues that are discussed during election time. The aspect I didn’t enjoy about the game is that the numbers seem unreal and out of touch for the students who would be playing this game. Before playing the game the site asks for player information: name, nationality, and email. I didn’t like this either. Students (especially if they happen to be refugees or immigrants) would not feel comfortable with this.

My learning objectives would be for students to learn the vocabulary that is used during election time and also the meaning of the decisions made during election. Another objective would be on decision making or cause and effect. The students would be responsible for playing the game on their own since every student will have their own ideas and opinions. For assessment I would have the students write a reflection paragraph on their experience while they explain their choices while using the vocabulary they learned.

Gamification for ELLs

Gamificiation is the concept of applying game-design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging. As Educase points out the intention is to increase the learner’s interest and motivation to learn. Simply, it’s fun to learn when it feels more like a game than a task.  This is defined as Flow. Flow theory is made up of three features goals, feedback and skill v. difficulty balance. Intrinsic motivation is more likely increased when these three components are integrated in a games design.

I tested out an escape the room game called The Sound Factory. I played it four times. In a classroom setting I would make my objectives relevant to the vocabulary related to the employee/employer relationship. I would do a walk through with the class when introducing the game and vocabulary. The students would work alone and would “check in” with me when they met the “tire quota”.  At this point I would check the student’s comprehension of the tasks and its commands. I would then follow up on the game with an assessment where the students would reenact the work environment while using the vocabulary, sequencing, and commands they acquired through the game. While the students are reenacting the rest of the class can help out if assistance is needed. This would continue the game-like element of a non-game situation. Two birds with one stone!

The Do's and Don'ts of Twitter

After reading a couple of interesting articles on the etiquette suggested when using Twitter for learning/teaching it has become apparent that there are some rules to keep in mind.

10 Twitter Mistakes You Should Avoid reviews the most common mistakes that educators make when trying to harness Twitter as an educational tool. The most valuable one, to me, is the first rule: Over-Tweeting. I'm sure that once a certain level of comfort is attained it becomes easy to tweet every thought that may or may not be related to education. For the purpose of not bombarding any of your followers with irrelevant or "trivial" tweets; it should be a goal to only tweet when it is a good contribution to the community. Seems like just common courtesy, right? 

On the other hand, The Teacher's Guide to Twitter emphasizes the importance of not just "consuming" but "creating". It is easy to re-tweet someone else's ideas but as pointed out by the article, a one sided conversation will not last very long. I agree. I think it is important to use Twitter as a sounding board for ideas or questions you may have. It is a resource full of professionals that could only help. Participation will only help create a network for you to draw from. Also, don't forget to share your own resources this will keep the conversation going and also strengthen your network.

Microblogging in the Twitter-verse

This week opened up a whole new world for me. It has never occurred to me while exploring technology in an ESL classroom that Twitter could be wielded as a resource! How fascinating to participate in a "chat" with other teachers and professionals and exchange ideas and comments on a live feed. The chat is reminiscent of old AOL chat rooms but hosted once a week by topic hashtag. It is hosted for an hour per session with a prescribed topic related to second language acquisition.

I attended the #langchat session dedicated to circumlocution. In laymen's terms, getting students to use as many words to describe what they mean to say. Some attendees suggested playing games like "Taboo" or incorporating word webs. What I enjoyed the most was the sense of community or "we're in this together" feeling shared with the participants.

I believe these kinds of sessions would be helpful in generating ideas for possible teaching techniques. It is also a helpful resource for posting questions and getting answers from other professionals. It is another community resource that can definitely be useful for a budding ESL teacher like myself.

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