Effective Uses of Technology for English
Language Teaching
by
Mary Ellen Butler-Pascoe
Hufstedler School of Education
Alliant International University
San Diego, California
mbutler@alliant.edu
What Can Technology Do to Support
Second Language Teaching?
1. Provide interaction, communicative
activities, real audiences and authentic
materials
2. Supply comprehensible input and output
3. Support cognitive abilities –critical
thinking skills
4. Utilize task-based and problem solving
activities
What Can Technology Do to Support
Second Language Teaching?
5. Provide sheltering techniques to support
language and academic development
6. Facilitate focused practice for
development of reading, writing,
listening, and speaking skills
7. Be student-centered-- promote student
autonomy
8. Use multiple modalities to support
various learning styles and strategies
What Can Technology Do to Support
Second Language Teaching?
9. Support collaborative learning
10. Meet affective needs of students-
increase motivation and self esteem
11. Foster understanding and appreciation
of the target and native cultures
12. Provide appropriate feedback and
assessment
13. Connect to the home and community
Frequently Mentioned Uses of
Technology in ESL/EFL Teaching
Blogs
Podcasts
PowerPoint with multimedia
Webquests: Task-based lessons using the
Internet and multi-media
VoiceThread --Slideshows with voice
Interactive websites and software for focusedpractice of skills
Voicethreads: http://Voicethread.com
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide
show that holds images, documents, and videos
Allows people to navigate slides and leave
comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a
microphone or telephone), text, audio file, or video
(via a webcam).
Share : A VoiceThread with friends, students, and
colleagues for them to record comments too.
VoiceThreads
http://voicethread.com/#q.b1288581.i6908396
VoiceThread
http://voicethread.com/#q.b1288581.i6908396
VOICE THREAD
VoiceThread: TESOL students at work
https://voicethread.com/?#u74044.b2223614.i11834471
VoiceThread Classroom Applications
Book reports and digital stories
Cultural snapshots of a country
Cultural Traditions from around the world
Grammar practice
Prompts for Speaking and writing
Pronunciation and Vocabulary Practice
How would you use VoiceThreads in your
class? Pair/triad worksheet
WebQuests for English Learners:
Inquiry- based learning--- Critical thinking
Web-based projects—Collaboration
Templates for various stages
Developed by Bernie Dodge
Topic and Name Page
Introduction
The Task
The Process: Googling to Identify
Website Resources
Evaluation
QuestGarden is an online authoring tool and hosting
service that is designed to make it easier and quicker to
create WebQuests. http://questgarden.com/
WebQuest Template
WebQuest Classroom
Applications
1. Group projects in all subjects
2. Provides collaboration
3. Improving writing skills—brochures,
written reports
4. Improving oral skills—PowerPoint
presentations; interviews; oral histories
5. How would you use Webquests in your
classroom? Pair /triad worksheet
Vocabulary Development
http://hotpot.uvic.ca/index.php
JCROSS
http://hotpot.uvic.ca/index.php
Hot Potatoes Classroom Applications
1. Vocabulary Development --cloze
exercises of current classroom readings;
matching for difficult words
2. Grammar and syntax practice with points
of grammar being studied—scrambled
sentences
3. Warm up games—vocabulary that you
have or will be studying in current lesson
4. How would you use Hot Potatoes in your
classroom? Pair /triad worksheet
Making a BLog
www.blogger.com
Name Your BLog
Starter Template Provided
Start Posting
TESOL Class Blog
Blog Classroom Applications
1. Class blogs –writing prompts, class
2.
3.
4.
5.
assignments, materials for students
Student and teacher feedback through
comments
Daily electronic journals
Student blogs about subject matter
issues
How would you use blogs in your
classroom? Pair /Triad worksheet
Making Podcasts with Podomatic
www.podomatic.com
Easy Start Steps for Podcasts
1. Go to home page and register.
2. Click on Publish button at top; Choose “make a
podcast” from the menu.
3. Go to Audio/Video file button and choose ”Record
using a microphone “. Record your message.
4. Click on Photo and upload a picture from files on
your computer.
5. Click on Publish and you can review your file.
6. Promote by sending to friends via email.
Add pictures or videos to your
podcast
http://mebutler.podomatic.com/entry/2011-09-10T14_23_41-07_00
/
Podcast Classroom Applications
1. Into –Through-Beyond projects; interview
2.
3.
4.
5.
lesson
Reading and commenting
Oral practice with daily or weekly journals
reflecting on what they learned that week
Pronunciation practice with teacher
feedback
How would you use podcasts in your
classroom? Pair /Triad worksheet
Websites to Explore
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
USA Learns –Free multi-level; all skill
areas; adult level
Lexical Tutor –Vocabulary Words in
context
TESOL/TESL/TEFL Links—Links to all
skill areas; teacher and student resources
Breaking News English
Hot Potatoes
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
http://www.esl-lab.com
Vocabulary Development
http://hotpot.uvic.ca/index.php
JCROSS
http://hotpot.uvic.ca/index.php
Hot Potatoes Classroom Applications
1. Vocabulary Development --cloze
exercises of current classroom readings;
matching for difficult words
2. Grammar and syntax practice with points
of grammar being studied—scrambled
sentences
3. Warm up games—vocabulary that you
have or will be studying in current lesson
4. How would you use Hot Potatoes in your
classroom? Pair /triad worksheet
USA Learns www.USAlearns.org
Lexical Tutor —Online Concordancer
http://www.lextutor.ca/
TESL/TEFL/TESOL/ESL/EFL/ESOL Links:
http://iteslj.org/links/
Resources
Directions for all technology applications
and the PowerPoint presentation are
located at the following website for you to
download.
http://www.ouralliant.com/mbutler/
References
Blogs:
Podcasts:
Blogger www.blogger.com
Podomatic www.podomatic.com
Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Webquests:
WebQuest.Org http://webquest.org/index.php
QuestGarden http://questgarden.com
VoiceThreads: VoiceThread www.voicethread.com
Exercise Generators: Hot Potatoes http://hotpot.uvic.ca/
USA Learns: www.USAlearns.org Free online program funded by
the U.S.
Department of Education
Concordancer: Lexical Tutor http://www.lextutor.ca/
Thank you!
Dr. Mary Ellen Butler-Pascoe
Alliant International University
mbutler@alliant.edu