The
iPad is a type of mobile learning technology that has many useful features for ESL
learners. It offers students mobility, connectivity,
flexibility, a larger screen size as compared to cell phones, and access to use
it anytime and anywhere. The ability to
boot-up quickly, extended battery life, and a touchscreen that is app-based also
make it a more useful learning tool than cell phones. Students can also record themselves speaking
on iPads and share these recordings with educators who can monitor their
fluency progress. Dictionaries,
translator, and supplementary language-based options can also be integrated
into this device that is small enough to be realistically carried around by students. Moreover, textbooks, videos, apps, Microsoft
Word, and movies can be accessed on iPads through the Internet and offer ESL
learners more opportunities for practice reading, writing, listening, and
speaking English. The iPad can support
ESL students in all aspects of their English learning, both inside and outside
of the classroom, 24/7 (Demski, 2011).
Collaboration is also essential to ESL students’ successful acquisition
of the English language. The iPad presents
opportunities for ESL students to experience this type of interaction with
other learners. “Students may feel
comfortable speaking and writing for..[their instructor, but] it is how well
they can communicate with other peers and leaders that signifies their success
or failure” (Brooks, n.d.) I might
incorporate iPads into my professional ESL practice by using them to enable a
vocabulary competition. Students are
divided into teams and each team is given an iPad. Team leaders are assigned and asked to access
the “Notes” app and list all adjectives they can come up with relating to the
topic of the day and in a certain amount of time. I might also ask students to practice
creating email messages to each other in English and then have them critique
these emails in small groups (Brooks, n.d.).
Another activity would be to have students record themselves reading a
short story out loud at home using a voice memo app. Then, the following day, I would sync their
iPads to my iTunes library to check their progress and level of English fluency
(Demski, 2011).
SpeakingPal
English Tutor is a free app that can be downloaded on Android or iPhone. It is highly-interactive and also
entertaining. It is comprised of
mini-lessons that are five minutes or shorter in length. An example of one session on this app is a job
interview scenario. The interviewer asks
the applicant (the student) questions that she sees and hears spoken on video
and also printed in text format on the screen.
The answer to the question appears next, and the student reads it back
to the interviewer. The conversation
continues in this format until the end of the exercise. Feedback is then instantly provided to the
student and opportunities are given to practice the sentences over and over
again until the English in the responses is spoken correctly. This app allows ESL students to practice
reading and speaking English whenever and wherever they have idle time. It also gives learners feedback that is instant
on their spoken responses. It turns
mobile phones or iPad type devices into English teachers that can be with
students constantly, interacting with them in fun and easy ways. I might incorporate this app into my
professional ESL practice by asking students to use it outside of the classroom. Then, I would require that they keep a log of
the number of times they access the app during the week and the new English words
that they have discovered. Another way I
might use this mobile learning technology is to assign students to view one
learning experience on SpeakingPal as homework. Then, during the next class session, I would
ask students to write a similar, short, interactive scenario in small groups
and then read them to the class. This
would offer learners practice in critical thinking, writing, speaking, and
reading in English (The 9 Best Mobile Apps for Your ESL Students, n.d.; Products
| SpeakingPal, n.d.).
References
Brooks,
C. (n.d.). How to Use an iPad in ESL. ESL Teachers Board, English as a second
language, ESL job overseas, ESL teachers, free ESL materials, free list of
international ESL schools. Learn English free. Retrieved March 28, 2013, from http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/tech/index.pl?read=46
Demski,
J. (2011, May). ELL to go. The Journal,
38(5), p. 28-32.
Products
| Speakingpal. (n.d.). Home | SpeakingPal.
Retrieved March 28, 2013, from http://www.speakingpal.com/products
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post. Very detailed and informative. I believe integrating ipads in the teaching learning experience will benefit adult learners greatly. iPads promotes integration and collaboration among learners which will enhance learning for all individuals involved. Having an iPad will make learning easier and more accessible for especially the shy learners who fear talking in a classroom setting. Plus they are convenient anywhere or anytime for the adult learner who works and studies and can access the various learning apps at a time convenient to him or her.