Looking for ESL teachers who use technology

Hello! I'm an editor with Cable in the Classroom Magazine.

For our December issue, we're looking for teachers who use cable programming &/or websites to help teach or reinforce language, civics, culture, and history to ELL/ESL students.

Perhaps you've used closed captioning to reinforce learning words (printed and verbalized), or maybe you show movies or TV programs to dramatize examples of historical events or social/cultural styles. ... Whatever it is, I'd like to hear from you.

Thanks!

Tags: ELL, ESL

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Permalink Reply by ddeubel on July 12, 2008 at 1:11am

Hi Ellen,

Please see our community, EFL Classroom 2.0. We use technology to the nth degree to promote and foster language instruction. In particular, I give workshops and promote karaoke as a learning tool. See our karaoke page (under Listen) but most of the karaoke files are converted to video for language /classroom instruction and can be found (with a loss in quality) at our youtube channel.

I use closed captioning extensively on the site, for all kinds of things. TTS is a rich way to pass on the gift of another language....Also, please see our bots. I also promote them in workshops/lectures and this will be the future once voice technology leaps forward...

Here's one more mature example of the thousands made / available on our community.

Cheers,

David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Ullman on July 14, 2008 at 8:24am

Hi David --

Wow! You are doing so many innovative and wonderful things. I am assigning an article on how ESL/ELL teachers use tech to teach, and my writer will definitely be in touch. thanks!

--Ellen

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Permalink Reply by Gani on August 18, 2008 at 4:35am

Thanks for the link. Its really great.

Regards,
Gani

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Permalink Reply by Kim Monroe on July 13, 2008 at 8:11pm

Hi, my school district recently purchased iPods to be used with our ELL students and our World Language students in the Fall. If this is something that interests you, let me know.

Kim
email: monroek@gtps.k12.nj.us

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Ullman on July 14, 2008 at 8:25am

Hi Kim --

This definitely interests me. I will pass on your email to my writer, once I assign the story. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Roth on August 23, 2008 at 1:03pm

Great topic!

Perhaps you will be able to include a page of relevant links for ESL/ELL teachers like the PBS for EL/Civics, the OTAN website for California adult educators, and the History Channel materials for history teachers. Like so many other educators, I often find myself relying on other folks to comply vital resource lists. Just a thought.

I'm looking forward to reading and learning from the issue.

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Permalink Reply by Chris G on August 23, 2008 at 11:48pm

I have never met the guy, but Larry (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/) is worth checking out.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on October 13, 2008 at 9:11am

I had the opportunity to teach at a new school where every classroom was hooked up with a projector+screen and internet+sound system. I find that almost every ESL book has references which can be expanded with technology. If the lesson was on animals or nature I used National Geographic for kids, then followed it up with Google earth to show the kids where these animals lived. I found all the kids love Google earth and I always start by showing them where we were and then fly to locations which are related with the topics in our books. With more advanced students I followed up the geography with links to Wikipedia for more information.

Unfortunately that was summer and now I'm back at University and have only 1/6 of my classes in a tech equipped classroom. I must say I miss using tech as part (even if only a small portion) of each class, it can really help to engage the students and provide a more solid picture of the world beyond their own country.

Scott
-Korea

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on December 20, 2008 at 8:26am

Hi
A couple of things I have done or seen done:
Some TV cards for computers save subtitles to a text document, and with a little editing you can have a hard copy transcript of any subtitled show. They also provide TiVo-style recording functionality, and are under $100, so a worthwhile investment.

Cable news channels often have corresponding stories on their websites, which is a good resource if you have laptops or a computer lab.

Finally, I paste all scripts into LessonWriter.com to make a standards-based lesson with pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and comprehension exercises based on the script, so we can practice the pronunciation used in the show, pre-teach the vocabulary and grammar that is essential to understanding, then pause the show scene-by-scene for the comprehension exercises ( end the class with an uninterrupted viewing), and follow up with extensions that apply the skills covered.

It works well: you get the student interest, motivation and excitement of authentic materials along with rigorous, standards-based ancillary materials. And it's simple, fast, and free.

Hope you like ti
Stephen

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Permalink Reply by Tom Welch on December 23, 2008 at 4:28am

It's now December, and I see that the focus of the article was evidently narrowed to looking at websites for ELLs develop a love for reading. Maybe a future article could focus on English Language Learners who use technology for learning, not just teachers who use it for teaching. There is a big difference! My suggestion would be to look at some of the outstanding initiatives by some of the virtual schools in the states.

As I read the other replies for you from colleagues, I am struck by the fact that nearly all seem to focus on teaching and instruction. Well intentioned and certainly admirable. However, ELL/EFL/ESL environments often have more differences between students than other groups. If anything makes "differentiation" possible, it's technology, especially 2.0 technology! Yet too often I see hard-working teachers who think that it's about improving their instruction (using 2.0 tools with a 1.0 mindset) when it's really about improving student learning.

As I look at the mission statement of Cable in the Classroom, I see that it extends beyond just the "classroom" to include "visionary, sensible and effective use of media in homes, schools, and communities." Maybe a future article could examine how cable and other media are used to help esl learners in homes and communities (and the impact this has on them beyond the ELL classroom). Just a suggestion (from a self-professed learning radical lol).

Thanks for a great resource!