Developing Language Skills with Learn English Podcasts App

The evolution of mobile technologies is very significant as it has revolutionalised the teaching and learning of languages. Currently, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is taking the place of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). This shift has made made education more engaging, personal, fun and most importantly  accessible. There is more access to authentic materials for the teaching of languages in second language contexts. Most especially educational contexts where there is little or no access to computer devices. The use of mobiles for English teaching and learning has led to the popularity of podcasts. Podcasts are audio and video digital recordings of broadcasts which can be streamed online or downloaded on mobile devices.  The use of podcasts has become very popular in ESL because of its accessibility on mobile phones as such there are various podcasts for English langauge learning on the websites. This week, I will be discussing the LearnEnglish  podcasts.

Learn English podcasts contain audio clips of entertaining audio clips which ranges from English lessons, language learning advice and tips, jokes, and drama. The podcasts are categorised according to language skills, structures (pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary); types (everyday usage, business, news and drama) and; language level of users, (beginner level to upper intermediary); purpose (teaching). Along with the audio clips, users can complete practice questions which test any language structure. Although there is a subscription for the self-study, however, there a number of free podcasts with already prepared lessons and the downloading the mobile app version  provides the best learning experience.

Afordances and Benefits of the Learn English Podcasts

Access to already made listening lessons with authentic materials

For the English instruction series, news reports such as the one above are integrated in the instructions to teach vocabulary or language structures. In addition to this, instructors draw on real life situations such as their personal stories to describe the meaning and contextual appropriation of words or language structure. Hence, this learning experience benefits learners as they are able to understand the real-life usage of the English they are learning. 

Easy to access and free

With a good internet connection, podcasts are accessible and easy to use. Through the phone, learners are able to learn while being involved in other activities. All they need to do is listen and practice. The app version is also free to access and this is very significant as it ensures its circulation among people who might not have the financial means to afford subscription. Additionally, many of the podcasts are free to download.

More opportunities to practice listening

The Learn English podcasts contain diverse listening tasks in form of sentence completion, audio quizzes, matching pairs etc. Although, the tasks are often written, however, users might have to listen to some of the tasks in order to answer the questions. Hence, the tool is a good resource for developing active listening as learners as continuous practice of the listening tasks would help students to develop listening decoding skills which would be useful for their present and future lives.

Diverse interesting topic to learn language structures

There are many conversations on interesting topics such as technology, mental health, politics, global warming etc. all which are used to teach language structures. Through the conversations, learners can learn new words and grammar more so, when the presenters guide users to pick up the special elements.

Learner autonomy

The Learning English Podcasts app can encourage learner autonomy. Series on the app contain self-study lessons, which makes it possible for learners to take full charge of their learning. 

Challenges

Although the Learn English Podcasts app is available to download on mobile devices, in a situation where there is no access to internet, it becomes difficult to be an effective tool. Additionally, learners can become distracted easily with other activities on their mobile devices and forger to practice the tasks in the listening lessons therefore, using the podcast to learn requires that students are deliberate especially of self-studying.

Image acknowledgement according to order of use

Image by Firmbee from Pixabay 

Image from Learn English Podcasts App

Channeling Students' Love Towards the Right Direction with Wordwall

People tend to avoid activities they do not enjoy while they  seek to give all optimum attention to things that excite them. Little wonder students nowadays, indulge in online games on their phones and give maximum attention to it since they derive pleasure from it. Such interests, could however be channeled in the right direction through integration with their education.

Therefore, as  teachers who teach English to second language learners, we need to ensure that our lesson activities are enjoyable and satisfying for students as this would increase their motivation for English learning. This week, I will be sharing an online learning game, Wordwall, which can be very effective for teaching students of any educational level sets of vocabulary.

                                                                

 WordWall

 Wordwall contains about 12 templates of games (crosswords, random wheel, quiz, anagram, drag and fit etc.) all of which are interesting and engaging. As such, teachers can utilise any of them to engage learners and ensure their participation. In addition, the images and themes on the game are attractive and are similar to the ones on actual game apps that students have been used to. Therefore, it puts off the pressure that comes with testing since, the templates are often for  recalling what students have been taught.

Benefits

The Worldwall game has many benefits for English learners as it mostly targets  the learning of vocabulary.  Vocabulary is the building block of a language, it becomes important for students to acquire a reasonable amount of English words so that they can conceptualise situations and things they need to talk about, avoid struggling when reading comprehension passages and also become excellent communicators. For many second language learners, vocabulary is a very significant aspect of language which they might have challenges with and which might hinder their acquisition of the target language. 

Therefore, the Wordwall tool can effectively help students to increase their lexical power. Through the vocabulary practice and visual cues provided by the colourful letterings, students are able to learn the correct spellings of words, get exposed to different words and their meanings in a fun manner. Thereby, reinforcing and internalising newly learnt words in their memory. In addition, students are engaged and just like they would while playing 'real games', there are lots of mental processes involved in participating in the game. 

The Wordwall is influenced by the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) approach, which expects students to  utilise the computer or technological device to improve their language learning. Additionally, students can play the game independently hence, increasing learners' autonomy, which is a principle of CALL. However, students can also be grouped to work in pairs or teams hence, encouraging team work, cooperation and competition all which energise students and increase their motivation.

                                                                

Limitations

Just like every other online games, the Wordwall can only function where there are conditions to facilitate it. Firstly, there must be devices such as phones and/or computers on which the games would be played. Secondly, there must be internet connectivity for the game to work. Therefore, if  those devices mentioned above cannot be provided, utilising the Wordwall in the classroom becomes an impossible task. 

To learn how to create vocabulary activities on Wordwall,  watch my demonstration below;

Image credit according to order of use:

Pricilla Du Perez on gettyimages

https://wordwall.net/

https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/pre-teaching-vocabulary-and-vocabulary-instruction/

iqoncept on depositphotos

Christopher Gower on Unsplash