Combine language learning and technology to explode your teaching and learning success

Are you looking to increase your English language teaching or learning skills to even higher levels? Would you like to stimulate more interest in your language classes or get out of depression or stagnation? Combine the use of a variety of language learning techniques with evolving technology to fuel your successes. Here are some helpful ideas and websites to get you started.

BLOGS

A Web Log or Blog is no different than a dairy that you keep online. You can write instructions, an essay, or post any kind of information you want. Graphics and pictures can be included to illustrate the written material. Sound and audiovisual files can also be blogged for added impact. A teacher can post a reading or assignment where students can comment directly online. No papers, no clutter and you can watch it almost anytime. Blogs are becoming easier to use and access, and many sites allow you to set one up for free.

ONLINE VIDEO / AUDIO

Most professionals have one or two email addresses. Your email can now become a communication tool between you and your students. E-mail can now also include the use of images and sound or audiovisual clips, as well as the text of the message. Students can send assignments as attachments or paste them into the body of the email. They can ask questions and receive timely comments without waiting for the next class session. Teachers can send instructions, updates or other information to students individually or in a group also without having to wait for the next scheduled class session.

No computer? No problem. In many parts of the world, e-cafes are so cheap that they are actually a viable alternative that students can easily afford. Entire “communities” of young students are based on e-cafe hangouts in some cultures. Talk to your students about this. You would be surprised.

USE OF ONLINE RESOURCES for TEACHING / LEARNING

The use of online games, ESL practice sites, student and teacher forums, communities and activities has exploded in recent months in many parts of the world. Virtual communities and online reference libraries now allow students to solve problems, research an article, or more quickly complete tasks that previously would have taken a disproportionately large amount of time to complete. For example, some sites worth mentioning include:

or http://www.books.google.com/

A website that offers free access to books that can be read on screen.

or http://www.universia.net.co

This is a site that has an extensive list of virtual libraries in almost any genre and connects more than 900 libraries mostly in Spanish.

or http://www.redclara.net

This site interconnects an advanced academic network of Latin American libraries

or http://www.lablaa.org

This site allows you to access and read a large number of his collected works online and contains exhibition pages.

o The official website of the Gutenburg Project contains an extensive list of literary works in English that have entered the public domain. It is online at: [http://promo.net/pg/]

Try some of these helpful ideas and websites to start combining the use of a variety of language learning techniques with evolving technology to exploit your successes in teaching and learning English. If you need to know more about the use of these or other new technologies to boost student interest and motivation and make your English language teaching more effective, feel free to email me at the address below with questions or comments. .