Have an ESL/ELL/LEP student? These are some great websites they can go to spend quality time in case they are unable to follow the lesson you are teaching.
Hello World
Starfall
Professor Garfield
Visual ESL
Word Builder
Hello English
Kindersay
BrainPop ESL
Lingohut
Pumarosa
Activities for ESL
MES Games
ESL Learners
ReplyDeleteThings I Agree With -
Using an online tool to aid in learning a new language.
Having different websites that focus on different language skills.
Some of these sites were easier to navigate than others.
Questions -
Would a teacher show the sites ahead of time to their students?
Could the students practice the various sites in class to utilize them better?
Aha -
Wish these classes had been available when my cousin moved to the US from Brazil. She was three years older than me and while I was in 5th grade she had to start in 1st grade. Lisa Etherington
Wow, how awkward for your cousin! I think the students could definitely practice the sites in class, the way I have used them is when the curriculum is getting too far over their heads and I can see that they obviously are not getting anything out of it, they are allowed to go onto these sites. I would show the sites ahead of time so they knew how to navigate them without my help. This allows them to be self sufficient and in charge of their own learning.
ReplyDeleteI have been in an ESL classroom observing for my degree. I do agree that we need to use digital aids in the classroom. Using those aids may become crutches for both the teacher and students. I was in a classroom of 4th grade ESL students that were working with K and 1st grade phonics to learn spelling and sounds of letters. They were working on making comic strips of letter "rules" Y and I for the kindergarten classes to help the younger students. It was a great experience in the class.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. What happens when students go home and may not have access to the internet? how do they do their homework?
2. Do the language barriers affect parent-teacher conferences?
a-ha - the online sources are available for everyone but at the same time, translations are not perfect. if students are on the websites how much are they missing in class? I am glad to see so many available different levels of user friendly sites to choose from.
I agree with you, Traci. As soon as a device is turned on, I feel that students often stop paying attention to the person trying to talk to them. I feel that these websites might actually hinder learning. It's good to have resources since it can be incredibly difficult if the student doesn't know what's going on, but perhaps these should just be used as a last resort.
Delete1) I agree with the use of games to teach language, it was always much more engaging for me as a child.
ReplyDelete2) I agree with making an effort to help an ESL student with their English. I think having one adult reach out could really encourage a person to learn English, and if they are a recent immigrant it could even make them feel included by society. Corny as that sounds
Are there app versions of these sites, and/or do the mobile versions work well? Seems like if the child has a smartphone, could be really effective.
How do you approach a child who has no interest or confidence in learning English?
My aha moment was that I might end up teaching an ESL student in the states before I even make it to Thailand. I hope I do!
So I took the time to go through each of the links above and check out the websites themselves. Instead of three things I agreee with (since there's not much to agree/disagree with), here's threee things I liked:
ReplyDelete1. I really really liked the Hello English site (Naver Jr.), it's in Korean with little English words around and videos and lessons for English words. It is also adorable. For a child (or even a teen, maybe? everyone likes cartoons) who speaks mainly/only Korean, this site seems like it would be a very helpful kickstart into learning English.
2. LingoHut impressed me very much. I really liked that at the bottom of the main page is a place for the user to pick which language they speak IN that language (i.e. eu falo galego which is I speak Galician IN Galician language.) Some thing like this is so so simple to assist someone who maybe might not read English (or the target language) well. If the whole site is in the language you don't know well, how are you going to navigate it if you don't know google an translate a page for you with moderate accuracy? PLUS I like that the lessons start small with hello and go to more complex topics and the user can pick what the do in whatever order they want.
3. Pumarosa is a site for Spanish speakers to learn English. First-off, the site is entirely in Spanish except for the English being taught. Second, I looked through some of the lessons and liked that the English was read aloud, then the Spanish, and that a pronunciation example was given in Spanish syllables. (I.e. Ser/estar (Spanish)...To Be (English)...tu bi (Spanish syllables of English sounds)
So that ended up being more like my three favorite sites and why but oh well. The other sites were decent and definitely good tools to have, but some were a little buggy and didn't want to load. Some of the sites have many languages availiable as a starting point, some are in almost completely in English but trying to teach English as well. Professer Garfield has games and activities to help with English practice but does not teach from a beginning level. It does have cool comic books read aloud in English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Chinese though.
Two questions:
Would these sites be better suited for at-home, online play or in-class? If used in class, how would you decide to use them? When? With who?
What if a child does not have computer or internet access?
A-ha moment:
As one can probably tell, I got a little carried away in my analysis of each of the sites. I realized during my journey through each link just how much a dfference the interface language makes. I couldn't help but think, if I was a child who didn't know or understand English well, how daunting would that main page in English be? Immersion is important, sure, but I can speak from experience in trying to read novels (which don't have a handy Google translation prompt) in other languages that first impressions are key. Second language textbooks start in priarily the native language and use more and more of the target language until higher level textbooks are alost completely in the target language. But my second realization was that some of these sites are reference resources, some are ground up teaching tools, and some are just practice through fun and immersion.
I love your insight on this topic! I have mostly used these sites for students who have little to no familiarity with the English language. I let them know that if they ever feel completely lost during class they are allowed to open their laptops and go to one of these sites. That way the time is not wasted for them. Also a great tool for home use. In Buncombe County all students grades K-12 have access to a computer, home use gets a little tricky because of the possibly of no wi-fi. For that reason, I never require my students to do something technology related at home. Some teachers do, sadly, and it broadens the divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots" in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI have also had my English speaking students create flash cards for the non-English speaking student that they can practice at any time during class or even take them home. They write the word and draw or paste a picture to go with the word on the front then the non-English speaking student writes the word for that item in their language. They have loved doing this!
The school I worked with had an after school class that was always full of Hispanic (and some non-Hispanic students that had lived in Spanish speaking countries and wanted to continue their learning). It is not a class to learn English... as you might expect. It is a class to learn to read and write in Spanish! It is one of the most awesome concepts I have heard of. I look forward to being involved in that class when i can go back and work and volunteer.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea because it honors their language and who they are. Complete turn around from the way it used to be.
DeleteI think that if I had no access to any website from the teacher i would pull up Google Translate and let them type in English and Spanish and study with it. I use it constantly and what a great way to teach a child where to go to actually translate in the Real World. They are going to be functioning in that real world and I would be good to know that they have a device (smart phone) that can help them with any situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree and we have the technology to do it so we should use it and teach them to use it well.
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