top of page
Writer's pictureDidi Zou

Technology use in language classrooms

Updated: Apr 21, 2021

<The images/ videos/ partial content are from the internet. These materials are for educational reference only. >

-- What do you need to know for using technologies in language classrooms? --


10 ways to increase your confidence when using technologies

List what you know

Begin by using the tools that you are already comfortable with

Ask your students for help

Appoint digital leaders in your school

Search for solutions online

Set up short training sessions in your school

Attend a webinar

Take a free online course

Read blogs or (e-)books

Try it out yourself first



10 key technology terms to know

Hardware & software

App

iOS & Android

Browser

Audio & video files

Document formats

URL

Bandwidth

Synchronous & asynchronous

Social network

10 questions to ask your students about technology

How confident are you as a technology user?

What technology tools do you use regularly?

Do you have a mobile phone?

Do you already use technology to support English learning?

Would you like to include the use of some technologies such as mobile devices in your language classes?

What are your favourite technologies and apps?

Do you have any favourite English websites or games?

Are there any technologies or tools that you dislike or would prefer to avoid?

Would you like to use technology in class, or out of class, or both?

What do you think of how we used technologies during this course?



10 questions to ask yourself about integrating technology

What technology is available?

What will students learn?

What does the technology bring to the activity?

What is the syllabus fit?

Is the effort spent on learning to use the tool worth it?

Is the time spend on using the tool in class worth it?

What skills do I need?

What skills do my students need?

Where and when will the tool(s) be used?

Do my students consume or produce information with the tool?


10 ELT technology scenarios

The no-resource scenario

The low-resource scenario

The high-resource scenario

The IWB scenario

The mobile tablet scenario

The classroom stations scenario

The computer lab scenario

The blended learning scenario

The online learning scenario

The in-company scenario



-- How to use technologies to develop various language knowledge and skills? --

10 ways to use technology for listening

Language teaching listening materials online

Podcasts

Podcast dictations

Picture dictations

MP3 audio format

QR codes: audio treasure hunt

Video materials online

Music video lyrics

Movie trailers

Literal videos


10 ways to use technology for speaking

Pronunciation practice

Tongue twisters

Speech to text

Voice search

Voicemail greetings

Opinion piece

Animations

Presentations

Exchange project

Mystery guest



10 ways to use technology for vocabulary

Flashcards

Vocabulary games

Online mind-maps

Virtual stick notes

Word clouds

Vocabulary notebooks

Teens and tens

Close-ups

Photo-find

House tour


10 ways to use technology for grammar

Explaining grammar

Dictations

Grammar games and apps

Grammar quizzes

Group grammar games

Word cloud jumbled sentences

Grammar and spelling checkers

Translation tools

Predictive text

Real-time polling


10 ways to use technology for pronunciation

Phonemic chart apps

Dictionary websites and apps

Word games

Minimal pairs

Sound clouds

Sound-cloud sorting

Speech-to-text minimal pairs

Song sounds

Songs and sentence stress

Speaking along




-- What language learning activities could be held using technologies? --


10 activities with word clouds

Class names

About me

Course topics

Spelling cloud

Phrasal verbs

Contractions

Language cloud

Pre-teach vocabulary

Key words

Word frequency


10 activities with polls and surveys

Concept-check poll

Get examples

Visual displays

‘Before and after’ polls

Favourite words poll

Needs analysis survey

Course expectations survey

Technology survey

Class survey

Language practice survey


10 activities sticky-note apps

Goal setting

Weekly learning points

Essay content

Project resources

Language wall

Feedback on work

Post-class Q&A

Class yearbook

Birthday wishes

Controversial statements



10 online reference tools

Dictionaries

Thesauruses

Translation tools

Online encyclopaedias

Mother tongue translations

Translated translations

Country research task

Simple English Wikipedia

Wikipedia features


10 ways to use blogs

Setting up a blog

Continual professional development(CPD) of blog

Homework blog

Exam tip blog

Class writing blog

Story summary blog

Cultural exchange blog

Student journals

Photo and video blogs

ePortfolio blogs



10 ways to use wikis

Lengthening sentence

Group lists

Good advice

City guide

Famous people encyclopaedia

My story

Preparing presentations

Resource bank

Digital CV

Teacher wiki



4 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page