Technology has different applications in the field of language teaching to develop the four language skills in students: listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Here are two examples to develop listening skill using technology. The first example is using podcasts to provide students with authentic listening materials. Students can listen to podcasts that are in their proficiency level as home assignments. Some podcast apps provide a feature that allows the user to adjust the speed of playback. Using this feature, students can listen first at a slow speed, and then at a normal speed.  The second example is listening to songs with lyrics. Depending on the students’ levels, they would only need to see the lyrics a number of times, after which they could listen to the song with relative ease and therefore, improve their listening skill. Listening to podcasts and songs for long periods of time will help students to develop an ear for the language.

There are two ways, among many, for students to improve their speaking skill using technology. The first way is using an app called FlipGrid. Teachers and students can use Flipgrid on their computer browsers or use the app on their smartphones. Using Flipgrid, the teacher can create their classes and create lessons on different themes on the online platform which students can access and record videos. The recorded videos are accessible for everyone in the class to watch, comment on, and/or reply to in a form of a video.  The second way is using the phone to record selfie-videos where the students talk about a topic assigned by the teacher. The students do that on a regular basis. The videos have to be kept for future reference and evaluation. The students later can see how they have improved over time. This will help students gain confidence and improve their speaking skill.

Using technology, students can improve their reading skill. A Teacher can post readings on a specific platform that students can access, be it the school learning management system, or any online platform. The students can do reading comprehension activities. They also can record themselves reading the text aloud. The teacher then gives feedback to the students in a written or oral format. Another way is to create an online portfolio for each student. The students then collect readings, articles, personal diaries, or posts on social media platform, and share them on their portfolio which are accessible to their peers and anyone they wish to see their collections. The teacher can share readings with the students and even assign them as homework.

Writing as well can be improved using technology. A most commonly used tool for day-to-day communication is email. A teacher can assign tasks for students where they write and exchange emails, on pre-determined topics, friends and family members. This way, the teacher can guide them how to compose different sorts of emails and share information and opinion. A second example would be to ask students to create online blogs where they write about different topics assigned and moderated by the teacher. It is better to make the blogs public as this will attract more diverse readers and thus provide more feedback that will make the students mindful about the quality of their writing. 

     We live in an era where technology is everywhere. Students have more tech knowledge than teachers. The line between learning and playing is getting blurred as more technologies “invade” our lives. Schools can no longer distance the real world from kids in classrooms. They need to learn to embrace and benefit from its countless uses.

It is the job of teachers to fully know how to use it in their classes. Yes, technology may promote playtime for the students, but only when misused. Technology eventually is just a tool, among many, teachers can use to improve the quality of their teaching. Technology, when used properly, benefits teachers in more ways than it can harm.

The learners of today are digital natives. They can easily use any gadget without the need to see its catalog. This ability coupled with their imagination and desire to learn, kids can learn any skill, knowledge that schools have in store for them. Technology gives new dimensions to learning. Thanks to technology, education has taken an inclusive approach. Teachers now can use different aids (videos, songs, online maps, websites) to reach and teach all their students as students have different learning styles.

Plus, playing in class is not such a bad practice. Students love to play and also love technology. So,  why not use play and technology to teach them new skills.

     Technology has made the world a small village. A cool activity any English teacher can do is teaching geography vocabulary by using video-conferencing tools such as Zoom or Skype, and Google Earth. This activity can be done in collaboration between two teachers from two different countries. It can involve more teachers and classes.

The teachers in their own classes do the first two stages of a lesson on geography vocabulary. They first do the engage and study phases where they introduce a set of geography vocabulary.

In the activate phase, the teachers organize the students into groups. Each group chooses a famous natural attraction in their country and using the tour feature in Google Earth, they create a tour for it. Then, the teachers connect their classes using, for example, Zoom.

The students start first to introduce themselves briefly. Next, using Google Earth, each group describes its chosen natural attraction in their country using the vocabulary they studied in the study phase. For the last step, each group writes about an attraction from the other country.

Technology has different applications in the field of language teaching to develop the four language skills in students: listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Here are two examples to develop listening skill using technology. The first example is using podcasts to provide students with authentic listening materials. Students can listen to podcasts that are in their proficiency level as home assignments. Some podcast apps provide a feature that allows the user to adjust the speed of playback. Using this feature, students can listen first at a slow speed, and then at a normal speed.  The second example is listening to songs with lyrics. Depending on the students’ levels, they would only need to see the lyrics a number of times, after which they could listen to the song with relative ease and therefore, improve their listening skill. Listening to podcasts and songs for long periods of time will help students to develop an ear for the language.

There are two ways, among many, for students to improve their speaking skill using technology. The first way is using an app called FlipGrid. Teachers and students can use Flipgrid on their computer browsers or use the app on their smartphones. Using Flipgrid, the teacher can create their classes and create lessons on different themes on the online platform which students can access and record videos. The recorded videos are accessible for everyone in the class to watch, comment on, and/or reply to in a form of a video.  The second way is using the phone to record selfie-videos where the students talk about a topic assigned by the teacher. The students do that on a regular basis. The videos have to be kept for future reference and evaluation. The students later can see how they have improved over time. This will help students gain confidence and improve their speaking skill.

Using technology, students can improve their reading skill. A Teacher can post readings on a specific platform that students can access, be it the school learning management system, or any online platform. The students can do reading comprehension activities. They also can record themselves reading the text aloud. The teacher then gives feedback to the students in a written or oral format. Another way is to create an online portfolio for each student. The students then collect readings, articles, personal diaries, or posts on social media platform, and share them on their portfolio which are accessible to their peers and anyone they wish to see their collections. The teacher can share readings with the students and even assign them as homework.

Writing as well can be improved using technology. A most commonly used tool for day-to-day communication is email. A teacher can assign tasks for students where they write and exchange emails, on pre-determined topics, friends and family members. This way, the teacher can guide them how to compose different sorts of emails and share information and opinion. A second example would be to ask students to create online blogs where they write about different topics assigned and moderated by the teacher. It is better to make the blogs public as this will attract more diverse readers and thus provide more feedback that will make the students mindful about the quality of their writing. 

     We live in an era where technology is everywhere. Students have more tech knowledge than teachers. The line between learning and playing is getting blurred as more technologies “invade” our lives. Schools can no longer distance the real world from kids in classrooms. They need to learn to embrace and benefit from its countless uses.

It is the job of teachers to fully know how to use it in their classes. Yes, technology may promote playtime for the students, but only when misused. Technology eventually is just a tool, among many, teachers can use to improve the quality of their teaching. Technology, when used properly, benefits teachers in more ways than it can harm.

The learners of today are digital natives. They can easily use any gadget without the need to see its catalog. This ability coupled with their imagination and desire to learn, kids can learn any skill, knowledge that schools have in store for them. Technology gives new dimensions to learning. Thanks to technology, education has taken an inclusive approach. Teachers now can use different aids (videos, songs, online maps, websites) to reach and teach all their students as students have different learning styles.

Plus, playing in class is not such a bad practice. Students love to play and also love technology. So,  why not use play and technology to teach them new skills.

     Technology has made the world a small village. A cool activity any English teacher can do is teaching geography vocabulary by using video-conferencing tools such as Zoom or Skype, and Google Earth. This activity can be done in collaboration between two teachers from two different countries. It can involve more teachers and classes.

The teachers in their own classes do the first two stages of a lesson on geography vocabulary. They first do the engage and study phases where they introduce a set of geography vocabulary.

In the activate phase, the teachers organize the students into groups. Each group chooses a famous natural attraction in their country and using the tour feature in Google Earth, they create a tour for it. Then, the teachers connect their classes using, for example, Zoom.

The students start first to introduce themselves briefly. Next, using Google Earth, each group describes its chosen natural attraction in their country using the vocabulary they studied in the study phase. For the last step, each group writes about an attraction from the other country.