Integrating Technology for ESL Students in the classroom

Introduction

Technology has made a huge impact on the teaching and learning of English as a Second Language in the U.S.A. No longer are teachers limited to cassette tapes or CD's for pronunciation, or handouts or games for practicing skills. Instead they may utilize a multitude of new technology to help students with the difficult transition from their native language to English.

Integrating Technology for ESL Students in the classroom

At Solebury School the majority of our ESL classes are centered on an interactive whiteboard which supplements our on-line text books. For example, once a chapter section or story has been assigned and read for homework, the teacher can use an electronic “flip chart” presentation, displayed on a screen in front of the class, that visually emphasizes academic vocabulary and important content from the lesson. The flip chart allows a teacher to hide, reveal, and highlight text and images as necessary to motivate students.

To enhance and complement the teacher's chart, each student is given an interactive tool. Using these hand held devices, the classmates can record their responses to quiz or test questions, either in an objective (true-false or multiple choice) format or using complete sentences.

The on-line texts are particularly helpful in trying to get a large group of language learners to focus on one element of a lesson together. The format allows a teacher to have better control of a class and maintain continuous eye contact while directing attention to a particular sentence, paragraph, or picture in the text. The online texts also offer practice quizzes and tests, a writing lab and interactive questions, all of which may be sent electronically to the teacher.

A bank of computers in Solebury's ESL Center enables students to become part of an online community through e-mail, chat rooms, and posting and reading announcements and homework on the school's web site. Students also use the computers for research because they link to all of the school library's resources. All homework assignments, essays, and projects are written and edited on the computer. Students save their work either in personal folders, on the server or to a flash/thumb drive.

Special language lab software helps students practice and evaluate English pronunciation, intonation, stress, rhythm, and structure.

Video streaming is another high-tech tool used in the ESL classroom. To introduce or reinforce material visually, teachers download clips or entire videos to make their classroom come alive and spark active participation. Finally, using video cameras to record presentations helps students observe “body language” and strengthen their organizational and oral skills. They are much more apt to accept constructive criticism when they are able to see the mistakes they have made.

Technology has made learning English much more enjoyable. It inspires U.S. teachers to be more creative and encourages students to be more involved in classroom activities. Lessons now come to life as English is used as a vehicle for studying content and learning skills. It is no wonder that ESL students are performing better than ever and are “mainstreaming” ...