TESOL 2013
How can we help our students to stay motivated, take responsibility and succeed in
their language learning? In this session we’ll look at how Internet tools such as
social networks, blogs and other websites can be used to promote learner autonomy
and motivate our learners to continue learning outside of the classroom.
Helen Collins
Helen is a teacher and Teacher Trainer at ELI, Seville. She is also responsible for
implementing blended learning. Her interests include blogging and using ICT as a
teaching tool. Since qualifying as an EFL teacher, she has gained the IHCYL,
Blended ICT Teaching with Technology and the Delta.
Make THEM do it – Helen Collins
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Read the checklist. How often do you allow your students to:
Tick the column most true for you.
My Students
Never
Sometimes
Often
choose material
choose who to work with
decide whether or not to use a
dictionary (including online)
evaluate their own progress
choose topics
decide what to do for homework
choose an area of language to
concentrate on
talk about interests
know how to use a dictionary
well (including online)
know how to use a grammar
book or website effectively
understand their own strengths
and weaknesses
Adapted from Helping Students Learn (Lowes & Target, 1998, Richmond)
Make THEM do it – Helen Collins
The Autonomous Learner
The Teacher
Community Building
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Builds confidence
Encourages self-monitoring (public)
Reduces dependence on teacher
Homework tasks in pairs/groups
Connected classroom/flipped learning
Project-based learning
Use social media:
o www.edmodo.com (for educators – teacher has control)
o www.wiggio.com (group working - equal control)
o www.facebook.com (create a private group)
o Blogs, wikis, google docs, email
and many more
Learner Awareness
Find out about your students and help students find out about
themselves. A blend of in-class and out-of-class activities helps
students to connect what they do in class with the outside world.
Many social media platforms have built-in quiz and poll tools to
facilitate this:
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Questionnaires about past experience, learning styles, attitudes towards
language learning, strengths and weaknesses
Beginning of course and repeat a few times through the course. Get
students to compare their answers now and then.
Students compare each others learning styles and learn that there are
different ways of doing things.
Students find resources and build up information and materials to help their
learning.
Make THEM do it – Helen Collins
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Use frequent mini-polls to help learners identify strengths and weaknesses.
e.g. “What was your favourite/worst part of the lesson today?” “What is the
most memorable thing about today’s class?” “Did you help any of your
classmates today?”
Tools:
www.edmodo.com (students can’t create their own polls/quizzes)
www.wiggio.com (students are able to create polls and quizzes
Google Forms (has a wide range of question types and a useful summary graph
tool)
www.vark-learn.com (Learning styles questionnaire)
www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html (Learning Styles
questionnaire)
Motivation
Motivation is the motor of learning. Learner autonomy involves taking charge of
your own learning which is motivating. Teachers need to give students some
control.
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Goals - Help students identify and state their goals at the beginning of the
course and revisit and revise throughout the course. Create posters,
websites and use fun tools in projects – online and offline.
Students choose homework
Projects – allow students to decide what to do with what they have learned.
Students choose topic/theme/materials/tools – brainstorm topics at the
beginning of a course unit
Teacher gives deadlines (goals)
Teacher creates rubrics
Teacher encourages and gives constructive criticism
Teacher assesses participation (not only accuracy)
Tools:
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Social networks, blogs, wikis
The Internet – students find their own materials
www.voki.com (speaking Avatar)
www.tiki-toki.com (timeline)
www.glogster.com (online poster)
Learning Strategies
Students often don’t know how they learn best. Help them to find out and make
it into a learning opportunity:
 Homework Google search – e.g. “How to learn vocabulary”, etc.
 Create an online “Learning Strategies” repository
 Show students free online tools/materials
 Students find free online tools/materials and share with class
Make THEM do it – Helen Collins
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Compare learning strategies – in-class and online discussions
Tools:
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Social networks, blogs, wikis to store information and facilitate discussions
www.wallwisher.com (sticky wall)
Google – advanced search
Youtube – search by category
http://www.batlyrics.com (find lyrics and video with specific language)
Mobile apps – Grammar and Vocabulary (students share their knowledge)
Self Monitoring
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Questions and polls/diaries online or offline.
o What did you learn today?
o What was easy/difficult?
o How do you feel about today’s lesson?
o What are you going to do to change the situation?
Self-assessment
o Give clear guidelines about what is expected
o Show students how to monitor their own work
 Writing codes
 Speaking
 Listening
Tools
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http://www.paperrater.com/ (free writing checker)
Google translate (L1 to L2 to show how innaccurate it is)
Microsoft Office has inbuilt dictionaries and grammar checkers.
Blogs, wikis, social networks for online diary entries
www.tiki-toki.com (timeline)
www.voki.com (talking avatar)
www.audioboo.com (podcasting)
www.evernote.com (write, collect and organise)
www.penzu.com (private learning journal – educational version)
Google Drive – upload existing documents for easy access
Tools Training
http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com
References
Helping Students to Learn (Lowes and Target, 1998, Richmond)
Learner Autonomy (Scharle and Szabó, 2000, Cambridge)
Helping students become more effective learners (Harris, accessed 31 January, 2013,
www.pearson.com)
Helen Collins
Email:
helen@eli.es
Twitter:
@Helcol200
Make THEM do it – Helen Collins
Blogs: www.helencollinselt.com
www.class.helencollinselt.com