Web tools for Your Quest

Higher Language Education Learning

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Higher Schools Education

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Web Tools for Jennifer Verschoor Luciana Fernรกndez

Education

Introduction

Teaching has changed dramatically in the 21st century with the advent of web tools like wikis, blogs and podcasts, just to name a few. Technology has modified the landscape of information and knowledge. In this scenario, learning poses new questions for teachers. Anyone with access to the Internet has the ability to create videos, text and audio that can be shared with a global audience. Therefore, plenty of new possibilities are at hand waiting to be exploited. The key is to have clear teaching objectives in mind, leaving fears aside. Changes might make us feel overwhelmed, but the worst reaction possible would be ignoring them.

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Bearing this in mind, this booklet provides you with flexible, updated and user-friendly options to motivate young learners in your classroom and it is a perfect complement for Your Quest series. To make the most of this series, it is of paramount importance to understand how today’s children learn, since having been born in a new environment, they process information and stimuli in a different way.

This booklet aims at helping you reflect on these changes and will liven up your lessons by bringing digital tools to the English classroom.

Nowadays, every institution is constantly being challenged to adopt new learning solutions to meet learners’ needs. As a consequence, teachers need to keep up-to-date on the latest trends in ELT. It is necessary to learn new methods, techniques and strategies so that we can be better equipped to face the 21st century challenges. Good teachers will use more than one method or approach to reach their teaching objectives instead of sticking to a few principles.

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Teaching young learners

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Who are young learners?

Young learners are supposed to be children from the first year of formal schooling (5 or 6 years old) to 11 or 12 years of age. So, we can conclude that young learners are children in the elementary grades.

In general, it is assumed that 5 to 7-year-old children are all at the same beginner level. The 8 to 10 year olds may also be beginners or they may have been learning the foreign language for some time, so there are both level 1 and level 2 pupils in this age group (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990).

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We need to state that first and second graders are within young learners for these are the two grades in which children learn to decode and encode (read and write) the foreign language. As from grade 3, children should develop reading strategies and thinking skills independently, reading more complex texts and genres. So, in terms of literacy, we should draw a line between grades 1 and 2 and grades 3–6.

Age group

Very young learners

Young learners

Ages comprised

3–5

5/6–11/12

Literacy skills as a variable

Pre-readers/writers. These children do not read or write conventionally yet, but teachers develop prereading and writing skills in them that will pave the way for the future.*

Grades 1–2 Children need a set of skills to begin to read and write the target language.

By the time children are 7 years old, they should be reading an average of 60 words per minute.

Main literacy aims: get children to read and write high frequency words accurately and decode words by using phonics knowledge.

Children in grades 1 and 2 should read decodable texts with fluency and comprehension. These texts need to be at the right instructional level.*

Grades 3–6 Children should develop higher order thinking skills and apply a range of reading strategies when reading texts.

As for writing, children in these grades should analyze genres and apply that knowledge in their own writing.

The development of higher order thinking skills in reading will enable children to move on to more complex writing (from sentences to paragraphs, from paragraphs to compositions).*

* See further notes on page 5.

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Literacy considerations about young learners

Young learners in grades 1 and 2 should have classroom opportunities to develop the literacy skills needed to begin to read and write the target language. These skills are: ∞ Phonological awareness: the ability to break a word into individual sounds. A child should be able to hear the word ‘cat’ and discriminate the sounds within the word: \c\ \œ\ /t\ ∞ Phonics: the ability to relate sounds to the spelling that represent those sounds. Once the child is able to discriminate the sounds within a word, they will relate those sounds to letters. ∞ High frequency words: these are words that appear in texts very frequently. Though many of them are decodable, ie children will be able to sound them out using their phonics knowledge (eg ‘is’, ‘it’, ‘can’), most of them are not (eg ‘have’, ‘the’, ‘where’). So, children need to learn these words by sight and recognize them automatically.

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are already familiar with and which they can recognize effortlessly, and words which will be decodable for them since their spelling can be worked out making use of their phonics knowledge. Decodable texts at the right instructional level for children aged 5–7 will give them the opportunity to read the average suggested in the table on the previous page; in other words, they will read the text fluently, with automaticity and comprehension.

The literacy skills mentioned above benefit both reading and writing. If a child can recognize and read a high frequency word with automaticity, they can also write it in the same way.

Simultaneously, if a child can see the letters on a page and sound them out, they can use the same knowledge to go the other way round – they can discriminate the sounds within a word and turn those sounds into letters.

∞ Print awareness: children need to rely on paratextual features in order to get a better understanding of what they are reading. They need to pay attention to titles, authors, illustrations, pictures and any other information that is not in the text, for these will back up the comprehension of what they are reading.

Children in grades 1 and 2 should be reading decodable texts, ie texts that will combine high frequency words they | 5

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Reading strategies and thinking skills in young learners Once children are no longer struggling with decoding, and as their knowledge of high frequency words and phonics increases, they are ready to devote their energy to other more complex levels of reading comprehension.

It is important that we consider that there are different levels of reading comprehension to be developed in pupils: ∞ Literal: the information is found directly in the text. ∞ Inferential: something that the text says, together with something pupils already know, makes them reach to a conclusion. Pupils are then asked to refer to the text to back up their answers.

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∞ Critical / Evaluative: pupils are expected to use the ideas presented in the text in order to: choose those that serve a given purpose; understand the author’s intention; and answer ‘What do you think…?’ questions.

Many researchers claim that comprehension equals thinking, in the sense that there is no comprehension unless thinking is involved. That is the reason why teachers should make sure they develop both reading strategies and thinking skills in their pupils in order to get them reach deep levels of comprehension of what they read. As a consequence, this will allow pupils to write more efficiently. Let us have a look at this table:

Reading strategies

Thinking skills (lower and higher order)

Predict: determine what you think will happen in the text. Use the title, author and illustrations to help you.

Visualize: create mental images of the characters, settings and events in the text.

Question: stop and ask yourself questions to see if the text makes sense.

Re-read the text in case you need more information.

Make connections: think about what you already know about the text.

Find ways to make the following connections: text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world.

Identify: determine the author’s purpose, find the main idea, important details and themes within the text.

Infer: use clues in the text together with what you already know to reach conclusions.

Evaluate: think about the text as a whole and form own opinions about it.

Level 1 – Knowledge: observation and recall of information, knowledge of major ideas, dates, events and places Level 2 – Comprehension: understanding information, grasping meaning, interpreting facts, comparing, contrasting, predicting consequences Level 3 – Application: using information, solving problems Level 4 – Analysis: seeing patterns, organizing parts, recognizing hidden meanings Level 5 – Synthesis: using old ideas to create new ones, generalizing from given facts, relating knowledge from several areas, predicting and drawing conclusions Level 6 – Evaluation: comparing and discriminating between ideas, assessing value of ideas, making choices and verifying value of evidence

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Characteristics of young learners

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- Children sometimes have problems distinguishing the real world from the imaginary world. It can be difficult for teachers to cope with it and to understand their perception of reality.

However, it is something to pay attention to when it comes to choosing the reading material, literature, games and songs for young learners. Above all, keep in mind that children’s imaginary world can be exploited in the classroom in different ways. Children are very creative and creativity implies higher order thinking, so teachers should really take advantage of it.

remember this when planning their lessons. Children need to move and they really learn by doing rather than by sitting still for long periods of time. Role-plays and songs are highly recommended to teachers for they are engaging and help pupils develop a positive attitude towards learning.

- When working or playing, young learners like being with others. Most of them do not like to work alone. Nevertheless, it is highly recommendable that teachers vary classroom dynamics so that children work in pairs, in groups, individually and within a class as a whole. The use of technology is one more way in which teachers can offer pupils the opportunity to work on their own at their own pace, as well as interacting with others, either face-to-face or virtually.

∞ 'to present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc.

In relation to this, Saricoban and Metin (2000) have found that songs can develop the four skill areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Eken (1996: 46) states that songs can be used: ∞ to practise a language point, lexis, etc. ∞ to focus on common learner errors in a more direct way. ∞ to encourage extensive and intensive listening. ∞ to stimulate discussion of attitudes and feelings. ∞ to encourage creativity and use of imagination. ∞ to provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere. ∞ to bring variety and fun to learning.'

- Children love to play and the learning itself can be effective, only if they are enjoying themselves. This is the rationale for the use of games with true pedagogical value in the lessons.

- Children learn by mimics, using gestures and body movements.

The physical world is very important and dominant at all times. It is of vital importance that teachers of young learners

Role-plays, on the other hand, provide children with the opportunity to practise language skills in a communicative situation. Role-plays allow pupils to interact with peers in a context in which they will develop an understanding of the functions of the language, ie what the language is used for.

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- Children use language long before they can reflect on it.

This is probably the most relevant aspect to be considered by teachers with reference to the teaching of grammar, vocabulary and functions, since young learners are not able to understand grammatical rules or complex explanations about language. However, it is advisable not to be afraid of introducing structures children cannot systematize and which might be beyond their level of production, since at the very early stages young learners simply internalize the language as chunks which are meaningful to them because they are presented and used in clear contexts.

- Children have a very short attention and concentration span, which the constant and rapid development of technology seems to have strengthened. This is why teachers of young learners should change activities with smooth transitions to keep children’s attention and engagement. Transition songs are highly recommendable because they will help pupils move from one activity to the next in a playful and positive manner. In addition, they will help establish the classroom routines, which are essential for young children to feel secure and confident.

- Children can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak. 21st century learners are exposed to far much language than learners in the past were. Let’s think of video games, TV series from abroad, mobile phone applications, among others.

- Young learners do not always understand the world of adults.

As a consequence, teachers need to adapt their language so that pupils can easily get the message. It should be highlighted that for language acquisition to take place, children need to be exposed to language they can understand, ie teachers need to provide clear contexts. Krashen (1985) would refer to this as ‘comprehensible input’*. * Language can be made comprehensible by simplifying structures, contextualizing it and accompanying it with body movements and visual aids.

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Why teaching English at primary school?

To help children acquire English, let them hear and experience the language. In general, it is known that young children are better at learning languages than older people. In spite of this fact, we still can doubt whether children can learn more efficiently than adults, but we may state some positive aspects about learning the language at an early age: - To begin with, children have more opportunities and more time for learning a language than adults.

- They do not have any worries about failure and they lack the feeling of responsibility. This is true when children are exposed to the language in a risk-free environment where they feel like trying and learning.

- People around young learners are as their teachers, so parents or their friends can help them with their learning.

- Children want to learn the language that people around them speak. They look up to the adults in their immediate surroundings and love imitating them. This is very important and needs to be considered by teachers. The success is certain when children can hear the second language every day.

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- Children spend more time learning than adults and they ‘want’ to learn. They are better at learning languages if exposed to it naturally and in the long term.

- The brain is capable of absorbing much more information before and during puberty than after if children acquire the language in a natural way.

- Learning a language should go hand in hand with real communication, so teachers need to provide these opportunities within their lessons.

- In general, children have no negative experiences with the foreign language and culture as adult learners do, ie they have no prior thoughts or beliefs about the target language and the countries where this language is spoken, so they are better motivated to learn it.

Furthermore, according to Brumfit, Moon and Tongue (1995: 185), there are characteristics which most primary level learners share: ∞ 'In the first years of schooling it is possible to reach and shape children’s developmental changes and so create their expectations of life.

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∞ Young children want to learn and work with willingness and enthusiasm. They do not tend to have similar inhibitions as older pupils. This is no doubt, one of the characteristics teachers need to take advantage of. ∞ As a group, they are potentially more differentiated than secondary or adult learners, for they are closer to their varied home cultures and new to the conformity increasingly imposed across cultural groupings by the school. ∞ Because they are at the beginning of formal schooling, it is essential that their learning is closely linked with the development of ideas and concepts. ∞ To make learning enjoyable and motivating, it is needed to use physical movements and activities that stimulate learner’s thinking.'

However, Brumfit, Moon and Tongue (1995) suppose a number of reasons why English is necessary not only within schooling and the educational system: ∞ The need to expose children from an early age to an understanding of foreign cultures so that they grow up tolerant and sympathetic to others. ∞ The need to link communication to the understanding of new concepts. ∞ The need for maximum learning time for languages – the earlier you start, the more time you get. ∞ The advantage of starting with early second language instruction so that later the language can be used as a medium of teaching.

Similarities between L1 & L2 to be considered in the classroom

Differences between L1 & L2 to be considered in the classroom

- Making mistakes is a part of learning.

- In first language acquisition, children spend several years listening to language, babbling and using telegraphic speech before they can form sentences.

- Learners can often comprehend more complex language than they are able to produce.

- In the initial stages of learning, learners may use chunks of language without breaking them down or processing them as independent units.

- The learner uses context clues, prior knowledge and interaction to comprehend language.

- Age is an important variable affecting proficiency.

- Pupils learning in a classroom setting may also have fewer opportunities to learn language authentically. These factors may reduce the likelihood that second language learners will attain native-like proficiency.

- Acquiring a first language happens naturally, while acquiring a second language often requires conscious effort on the part of the learner.

- Learners go through a silent period in the initial stages of learning.

- Learners need comprehensible input and opportunities to learn language in context in order to increase their proficiency.

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Teaching young learners in a digital era

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The teachers’ challenge

Technology is becoming more and more integrated into educational strategies and the way we deliver instruction to our students. The Internet has become a challenge for educators and, if used correctly, is an empowering phenomenon.

Becoming a 21st century educator implies that your classes should be:

We all know that the Internet can be a fun and rewarding experience. It is a wonderful resource to learn and play, therefore, educators are trying to bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn. We observe daily that there is no connection between what our students learn and the real world. One of the main things we should try to do at schools is to give students a language tool with which to learn, think and talk about the world they live in.

∞ not closed but open to collaboration;

∞ available 24 hours to allow pupils to share ideas outside the classroom;

∞ visually interesting; ∞ student-oriented not teacher-centred.

Technology should be used effectively and efficiently to allow students to learn how to apply computer skills in meaningful ways.

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Effective technology integration into education There are good reasons for integrating technology into language education. Teachers can be encouraged to re-think and re-design their classes by using a blended approach to facilitate communication and to foster creativity. According to Barrett and Sharma (2007 : 7), ‘blended learning refers to a course which combines a face-to-face classroom component with an appropriate use of technology.’

Young learners of the 21st century are sitting at computers for hours on end playing games, accessing information through different means, hyper linking through virtual cyber space and integrating multimedia. They are captured by the colourful and dynamic screens specially designed for them.

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Through the use of meaningful and high quality tech tools, pupils will have the possibility to develop the 21st century skills needed to succeed: ∞ critical thinking and problem solving; ∞ collaboration across networks and leading by influence; ∞ agility and adaptability; ∞ creativity and innovation; ∞ initiative and entrepreneurialism; ∞ effective oral and written communication; ∞ accessing and analyzing information.

Today’s young learners are digital learners. They learn from the world through their mobile phones, gaming devices, laptops, computers, TV and consoles. As a result, many are multitasking, ie they use several devices at the same time.

It is the challenge of educators today to enable pupils to become truly media literate by making them part of an online collaborative environment, where they can put all their higher order thinking skills to the test.

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Getting familiar with web tools

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Before you implement any kind of technology inside and outside the classroom with your learners, first ensure that you talk to your school and get permission from the parents.

At the beginning of the school year, show the different web tools you are planning to integrate into the classroom.

Make sure that you are familiar with the tools you are going to use and that you are ready to answer any question that comes from the learners about those websites/apps.

Plan your lesson before you do your activities and make sure that you have a backup plan in case technology doesn’t work properly. As a plan B, have some ready-made Power Point presentations available on the topic you are planning to teach.

You may also wish to have some ready-made printables.

For example, ESL Games Plus offers plenty of resources.

Check www.eslgamesplus.com/printables-powerpoint and download additional material for your classroom.

In the next section you will find some user-friendly web tools you can use to complement Your Quest series, even with little technological support. We have also created a series of YouTube videos to provide you with plenty of resources.

Please check www.ow.ly/LoXCV and be ready to become a ‘techy’ teacher full of new and creative ideas!

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Web tools for

Vocaroo is a free web-based tool for making voice recordings and sharing them with others by email or by embedding it on a website.

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You don’t need to sign up or download any software to use this tool, but if you do sign up, you can keep your voice messages for a longer period of time (up to six months).

Go to www.vocaroo.com and get your microphone ready.

Click on ‘Click to Record’ to start recording your pupils. Select ‘Allow’ to give Vocaroo permission to use your microphone.

Pupils can sing a song and talk about themselves, their favourite animal (Your Quest 1, 2 & 3), a place they visited (Your Quest 2–6), their favourite food (Your Quest 1–6) or their daily routine (Your Quest 3 & 4). When they finish, click on ‘Click to Stop’. Listen to the recording or click on ‘Retry’ to record their voice again. If you wish, mail the audio file to their parents or friends or post it on the Internet using the link provided. Be ready to share their podcasts! (See visual reference here )

Voki is a web-based talking voice character. Pupils can create a computer-generated version of themselves. It is easy to use and you can embed pupils’ creations on other websites.

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Go to www.voki.com and at the upper right corner click on ‘Register’ to create an account. Log in using your username and password. Start by creating an animated version of yourself. Click on the ‘Create’ tab. Randomly, a Voki will appear as your default. To see another randomly generated Voki, click the dice at the bottom right corner of the Voki screen. Customize your character by changing clothing, head and ‘bling’, and give it a voice by choosing the textto-speech option or by recording your voice from your computer microphone. Choose a background, as well. You could then show your Voki on an IWB or a computer screen and allow pupils to orally spot the differences and similarities between you and the animated version of yourself.

Ask pupils to create their own Vokis. Make them review vocabulary from previous units. You may have them talk about the food or animal they like/do not like (Your Quest 1, 2 & 3). If you have a class blog or wiki, embed their creations and make them talk about their avatar in front of the class. This is a good idea for practising Speaking. Have pupils ask questions about their classmates’ Vokis. (See visual reference here ) | 15

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ABCya.com is a word cloud generator specially designed for young learners, who can safely use this website at school. Allow pupils to create an ABCya word cloud at the end of every Your Quest series unit.

Go to www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm and click on ‘click to start’. Automatically, a random layout will allow pupils to manipulate their word cloud by using the bar at the top of the screen. Pupils can work individually or in pairs and write down the new vocabulary they learnt in each unit. Word clouds help them organize information and check what they remember. (See visual reference here ) You could have pupils compare their creations and check if they wrote exactly the same words. You may also ask children to create definitions for the vocabulary items they included and play a guessing game with another classmate or pair.

You can save or print the word clouds created by your pupils and display them in the classroom.

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Eco Zoo is an interactive site designed to effectively educate people about the environment. This interactive and modern website allows teachers to tell stories in new and exciting ways. The sound and images used in the pop-up books are engaging for pupils.

Go to www.ecodazoo.com and introduce the different animals to your pupils. Click on any of the animals displayed at the upper part of the screen and read the short description that shows up to the whole class. If you choose the ‘Pop-up book’ option, you will be able to see a 3D short story with real-time effects, visually attractive images and fun phrases to teach pupils about preserving the environment. (See visual reference here ) It is a good idea to use this web tool after CLIL lessons related to nature, for example, see Your Quest 2, U3 & 6; Your Quest 3, U2; Your Quest 5, U7.

You may wish to make your pupils create a Vocaroo describing their favourite animal from Eco Zoo (Your Quest 1, 2 & 3).

Have them compare their audio recorded descriptions and save them on a class blog or wiki.

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Switch Zoo® is a web-based service that will allow pupils to create their personalized crazy animal, learn about animals (Your Quest 1, 2 & 3), play games and create jigsaw puzzles. Pupils love creating their own animal. Remember to take advantage of their imagination and make the English class fun! Pupils can change the head, body and tail of several animals and create their own crazy one. They can also read the facts about each animal and add a title and a story to their own creation. You may use this tool to plan creative writing lessons.

Check out www.switchzoo.com and and ask pupils to click on ‘Make and play’. They should choose ‘Switch zoo’ and create their own crazy animal. Once they have finished, you may ask pupils to create a Voki describing their new animal. This way they will be revising adjectives and vocabulary related to parts of the body (Your Quest 3), but more importantly, they will have the chance to speak about a product of their own.

(See visual reference here ) Then you may wish to play the ‘Sound match’ game as a class.

Have pupils listen to a sound and try to guess the animal!

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Write comics is a user-friendly website to create attractive comics. No log-in is required and learners can put their imagination at full swing by creating a comic based on any of the Your Quest series topics, for example: ∞ places in towns ∞ looking after our world ∞ daily routines ∞ favourite animals ∞ food Go to www.writecomics.com and ask pupils to select a background. Then have them include different characters/ elements in the scene (see that they can add people, props, aliens and/or animals). Last but not least, ask pupils to place speech/thought bubbles for each character and write dialogues using the grammar and vocabulary they have been learning. Note that the texts should be written in the blank box next to the ‘submit word’ button. Once pupils complete a scene, they can add as many as they wish. Bear in mind that pupils’ comics will be published online ready to share with a wider audience. (See visual reference here )

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YAKIT is a simple and powerful app to make any picture talk. It is available for iOS and Windows.

Go to www.freakngenius.com. Use this app to help pupils build up their confidence when speaking. Allow them to take a selfie and upload it to YAKIT. They should create their scene playing around with the different options available on the app.

Then encourage pupils to record a one-minute video introducing themselves; describing their routine, physical appearance, personality (Your Quest 2–6); or telling an anecdote using the past simple (Your Quest 5 & 6). Pupils can publish their creation and share it online. (See visual reference here )

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Big Huge Labs is a site that enables you to do some fun stuff, such as motivational posters, magazine covers, mosaic pictures, movie posters and badges with your own pictures or using your Flickr images (a photo sharing service).

Go to www.bighugelabs.com. If you want to use the tool with your class, sign up for a free educator account. This allows your pupils to sign in without entering an email address and to use the website without ads. You may wish to have pupils create motivational posters to decorate the classroom. Ask them to select the option ‘Motivator’ and upload their picture. Then

they follow the steps to create their customized motivational poster. (See visual reference here ) It may also be a good idea to exploit the possibilities that this website offers after finishing any of the CLIL lessons, as a round off activity.

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Build Your Wild Self is a perfect tool to review vocabulary of different parts of the body (Your Quest 1, 3 & 4).

Go to www.buildyourwildself.com. No log-in is required.

Pupils can create their own monster or ‘wild self’ from scratch.

Ask pupils to choose a boy or girl body. Point out that they can click on different animal body parts to attach to their human body. Ask them to select a background. When they have finished, they click on ‘I’m done’. Have pupils compare their creations. They can also describe the different parts of their new body. (See visual reference here ) Pupils may create two different ‘wild self’ animals and write a paragraph comparing both creations. This is a creative writing activity, which requires learners to manipulate the language in interesting and diverse ways. Also, you can encourage them to read the information about the habitats and the behaviour of the different animals they have selected. Then they click on ‘Send to friend’ or print it out to show what they have done. An alternative task is to make your pupils describe their animals using Vocaroo.

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Introducing virtual worlds into the classroom represents a challenge and change in any curriculum. Learners will be able to create, combine and share written and oral work with their classroom. More importantly, ‘(w)hen a student is engaged with one of these environments, they are not just working out the answers to problems, but they are actually actively projecting themselves into the virtual environments in a way that personalizes the conflicts involved and causes them to become mentally and emotionally invested in the resolutions’ (Barab et al., 2009: 6).

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Motivate pupils by allowing them to have fun playing the following virtual world games:

EekoWorld (www.pbskids.org/eekoworld) is a virtual world that will teach pupils how to take care of the world we live in. Take a look at the teacher’s guide as well as a family guide for more information.

Handipoints (www.handipoints.com) motivates children to earn points by doing chores, worksheets and arts and crafts.

While having fun, children have to complete a set of planned chores to get points as well as rewards. These games teach children the value of their hard work and foster good behaviour.

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Whyville (www.whyville.net) is one of the oldest virtual worlds for children. Pupils can design their own look, join a team, chat and play games. Check their offer of educational games, such as The Skater & Spin Game, Hot Air Balloon Race, Dance Studio and many more.

Playing online games is a motivating way of reviewing previous concepts. Allow your pupils to review different Your Quest units by playing interesting and engaging games.

ESL Games Plus is a website providing games and fun activities for both teachers and learners. The games can be played individually or in teams. If you have an IWB in class, you can play games as a class.

Moshi Monsters (www.moshimonsters.com). This simple and very visual virtual world will allow your pupils to animate their favourite monster. There are all kinds of imaginative places to explore in Monstrocity. You may ask pupils to describe their creations to reinforce parts of the body (Your Quest 1, 3 & 4) and adjectives to describe personality (Your Quest 5 & 6).

(See visual reference here )

For example, go to www.eslgamesplus.com/clothes to review vocabulary related to clothes (Your Quest 2 & 3). Under the category ‘Clothes Vocabulary Interactive’, choose the option ‘Clothes and Colors Wheel Game’ and you will find a highly engaging tool to have pupils recycle vocabulary throughout the year. (See visual reference here )

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Vocaroo

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ABCya.com

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Voki Eco Zoo Vokis created by Junior 1 pupils at St. Matthew’s College in Olivos

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Switch Zoo®

YAKIT

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Write comics

Motivational poster created by a pupil from Junior 5 at St. Matthew’s College in Olivos.

Big Huge Labs

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Build Your Wild Self ESL Games Plus

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References

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• Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

• Barab, S. A., Dodge, T., Ingram-Goble, A., Volk, C., Peppler, K., Pettyjohn, P. & Solomou, M. (2009) Pedagogical Dramas and Transformational Play: Realizing Narrative through Videogames Design. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 59(15), 332–335.

• Barrett, B. & Sharma, P. (2007) Blended learning: using technology inside and beyond the language classroom.

Hampshire: Macmillan.

Language Schools Learning

• Krashen, S.D. (1985) The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications, New York: Longman.

• Saricoban, A. & Metin, E. (2000). Songs, verse and games for teaching grammar. The Internet TESL Journal VI(10). Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/ Techniques/Saricoban-Songs.html • Scott, W. & Ytreberg, L. (1990) Teaching English to children. Harlow: Longman.

The authors and publishers would like to thank Thinkstock by GettyImages for permission to reproduce their photographs: pp 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12–14.

• Brumfit, C., Moon, J. & Long & Tongue, R. (1991) Teaching material contains links for third party websites. We have no LanguageThis control over, and are not responsible for, the contents of such English to Children: From Practice to Principle. London: Learning third party websites. Please use care when accessing them.

Collins ELT. All the links in this material have been included for educational • Eken, D. K. (1996). Ideas for using songs in the English language classroom. English Teaching Forum, 34(1), 46–47.

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purposes, as a description of free web tools that can be used in the classroom.

Although we have tried to trace and contact copyright holders before publication, in some cases this has not been possible.

If contacted, we will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.

• Fehring, H. (2003) The new generation of e-learners. Education Who is thinking of the children? E-Learning Conference on Design and Development 2003: Instructional Design – Applying first principles on instruction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

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Language Learning

Language Learning

Schools

Higher Education

Higher Education

Schools

Schools

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