Digital Technology for ELL

One of the advantages that we can get from digital technologies is for learning activities, especially for the activity of English Language Learning (ELL). In ELL, digital technology is the great choice for students to practice English and have fun while learning English, because it offers interactive and motivational media for students of all ages. With this technology, Students be able to explore more knowledge individually. Digital Technology is not only useful for learners but also is the great choice for teachers to help them teach English. Now, many people are sure to find that digital technology has many benefits for learning and teaching. There are so many educational applications that can help us improving our English skills include listening, speaking, reading, and writing skill. In this occasion, I will give the explanation how elementary teachers can help students improve listening and speaking skills using digital technology. There are five ways.

1.      Provide pre-learning activities that enable students to focus on what is important

These activities might include key vocabulary terms, an outline of what will be taught, study guides and objectives. This information makes it possible for students to know where and how to focus their listening and then develop stronger oral responses that are more focused.

2.      Stop repeating instructions

This advice may go against what teachers typically do, which is to repeat directions or steps multiple times to ensure student comprehension. However, giving instructions multiple times trains students that they do not have to listen the first time, and that the information will be readily available if they choose not to listen.

This doesn’t mean students can’t ask clarifying questions, nor does it mean the information is no longer available after the teacher stops talking. Teachers must be clear that students can ask them to clarify themselves, or can ask peers for information prior to asking the teacher to repeat him or herself.

3.      Model good listening and speaking behavior for students

Students learn by how teachers listen and speak, which means it is important for educators to model the behaviors they wish students to emulate. This means that teachers need to practice good listening skills (focusing their full attention on the speaker without interrupting) and good speaking skills — paraphrasing the other person’s ideas before responding, clearly articulating ideas and using correct grammar and structure.

4.      Provide structured activities for students to do during or after the listening activity.

If students are watching a documentary or educational film, the teacher might pause periodically to have students write down questions. Alternatively, if students are participating in a group discussion, tell them to take turns as the speaker and provide specific instructions for those who are listening. This might involve taking notes on what the speaker is saying and reporting or paraphrasing their contributions. This strategies allows students to focus their points or ideas before participating in discussions.

5.      Create ways for introverted students to participate and contribute to conversations

Quiet or introverted students often get left out of large group discussions. In order to make participation easier for them, allow students to show their agreement or disagreement with an idea by holding up two fingers for “yes” or three fingers for “no.” This allows all students to participate and indicate they have been listening as well as respond in a way that best suits their needs.

Several educational Applications to improve writing skills.

a)   ProWritingAid

 If you haven't already added ProWritingAid to your writer's toolbox, do it now. This free online app helps you edit your work in a much faster and more efficient way. It highlights a whole range of potential writing pitfalls like overly complicated sentences, vague and abstract language, passive voice, or repetitive words and phrases (24 writing reports in total). Give it a try.

b)     Bubbl.us

 Getting started on an essay, novel, or any form of writing may require some brainstorming. This website allows you to quickly and easily brainstorm or create a map for your ideas. This simple, easy-to-use site makes it painless to organize ideas with the use of customization of bubble color, text size and formatting, and even hyperlinks. This site is free to use, and you don’t even need to make an account unless you want to save your data.

c)      WiseMapping

WiseMapping is free and easy to register for on the internet. Input simple information, such as your name, email address, and a username and password, to become a member and gain access to this mind mapping tool. WiseMapping is fairly basic, but can really help when it comes to brainstorming or problem solving.

d)     yWriter5

Designed by Simon Haynes, a writer and computer programmer, yWriter5 is a useful tool for novelists. yWriter5 breaks your novel up into scenes and chapters for you while you write, making it easier to manage. Among many other things, this software tracks your progress, and makes it easy to rearrange your novel with its drag and drop capabilities.

Several educational Applications for improving reading skills.

a)      Reading Comprehension: Focusing on non-fiction texts and assessment, with the ability to create your own lessons (text + assessment).

b)      Rainbow Sentences: Like SentenceBuilder, this app focuses on sentence fluency. The who/what/where/why/when of each sentence are color-coded to emphasize word function.

c)      Kids Reading Comprehension Level 1

Similar to the previous two comprehension apps, this provides short passages and brief assessments at their conclusion. Comprehension here is addressed through brief bursts of non-fiction text with the expectation of assessment at the end.

d)     SentenceBuilder: Helping students compose grammatically correct sentences, which helps both reading and writing fluency.

e)      StoryBuilder: Provide an easy-to-use framework to help learners create and understand stories and basic narrative sequence.