ESL Technology Games, Activities, and Resources: 59 Ways to Implement Tech in a Language Learning Classroom

By Jackie Bolen

It's time to find some fresh, new ideas for using technology in ESL or EFL classes.

 

Whether you're a first-time ESL/EFL/TEFL teacher, an experienced but overwhelmed instructor, or an instructor without a textbook, you need more tech-based activities for your English classes. If you're tired of wasting time wading through the junk on the Internet, then Jackie is here to help.

 

During her 15+ years of experience as a CELTA/DELTA certified teacher, author Jackie Bolen has developed countless games and activities for her students. She's sharing her low-prep/no-prep ideas for games that use technology with ESL teachers throughout the world. These are the activities that she personally uses in her own classes!

 

In ESL Technology Games, Activities, and Resources, you'll get dozens of ideas to use in your own classroom. The highly-detailed descriptions will show you exactly how to use the activities during your lessons. Jackie's clearly and concisely explained activities will help you add instructional variety and put the focus back on your students. The teaching tips will help you avoid common pitfalls.

 

Pick up a copy of the book today if you want to...

• Make better use of technology in a language class
• Have better English classes'
• Save time when planning lessons and in communicating with students
• Have some resources to recommend to students
• See happy, smiling faces in your classes
• Help students improve their English speaking skills
• Have students who want to keep coming back for more!

If you're extremely busy or you're simply out of new ideas, Jackie's book makes it easy to try out new and exciting tech-based activities your students will love!

 

Buy ESL Technology Games, Activities, and Resources to get new lesson plans ready to go in minutes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie Bolen
• Release date: Nov 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201435103

Book preview

ESL Technology Games, Activities, and Resources:

59 Ways to Implement Tech in a Language Learning Classroom

Jackie Bolen

www.eslactivity.org

Copyright © 2021 by Jackie Bolen

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher/author at the following address: Jackie Bolen: [e-mail].

Table of Contents

About the Author: Jackie Bolen........................................................5

Why Use Technology in the Language Learning Classroom? ................................7

General Guidelines for Using Technology in Language Learning Classrooms ..................11

Rules for Using Technology in the Classroom ...........................................14

Games and Activities for All Levels....................................................18

Blogging.......................................................................18

Crunch the Numbers..............................................................19

English Central..................................................................21

Free Rice.......................................................................23

Fun With Calculators.............................................................24

If I Had a Million Dollars..........................................................26

Make Beliefs Comix .............................................................27

Making Videos..................................................................29

Picture Prompt..................................................................32

Playback ......................................................................33

Prediction Activity...............................................................34

QR Code Hunt..................................................................36

Random Acts of Kindness Video Treasure Hunt........................................37

Splice Video Introduction.........................................................40

The Oregon Trail................................................................42

Twitter Homework...............................................................43

Voice of America Learning English .................................................44

Voicemail Challenge.............................................................46

Write an Email..................................................................48

Games and Activities for Higher-Level Students..........................................50

Back to the Screen...............................................................50

Collaborative Crosswords .........................................................51

Current Events Presentation .......................................................51

Eavesdropping..................................................................53

Five-Minute Debate..............................................................55

Have a Chat ....................................................................56

Infographic Presentation...........................................................57

Man/Woman on the Street.........................................................59

Movie Subtitles..................................................................61

Musical Flashcards...............................................................62

Road Trip......................................................................64

Short Summary..................................................................66

Stock Market...................................................................67

Games and Activities for Lower-Level Students..........................................68

Boggle........................................................................68

Extensive Reading Central.........................................................69

Fun Kids English YouTube Channel .................................................70

Monologue Recording............................................................71

Photo Description................................................................72

Phrase Maker ...................................................................73

Picture Quest...................................................................74

What's This? ...................................................................76

Technology Resources for Teachers ...................................................78

Class Chat .....................................................................78

Film English ...................................................................79

Flippity........................................................................79

Kahoot........................................................................81

LearnHip ......................................................................81

Lesson Plans in the Cloud.........................................................82

Plagiarism Detector ..............................................................82

Polls ..........................................................................83

Puzzlemaker ...................................................................84

Randomize Groups...............................................................85

Technology Resources for Students ....................................................87

Digital Pen Pals.................................................................87

ESL Kids Games Website .........................................................88

Fluency MC ....................................................................88

Google Drive for Writing Assignments ..............................................89

Grammarly .....................................................................90

Learn English (British Council).....................................................90

Podcasts .......................................................................92

Before You Go....................................................................94

About the Author: Jackie Bolen

I taught English in South Korea for 10 years to every level and type of student. I've taught every age from kindergarten kids to adults. Most of my time centered around teaching at two universities: five years at a science and engineering school in Cheonan, and four years at a major university in Busan where I taught upper-level classes for students majoring in English. I now live in Vancouver, Canada where I teach academic writing, business English and am an examiner for a popular language proficiency test.

In case you were wondering what my academic qualifications are, I hold a Master of Arts in Psychology. I've completed both the Cambridge CELTA and DELTA certification programs. With the combination of fifteen years teaching ESL/EFL to learners of all ages and levels, and the more formal teaching qualifications I've obtained, I have a solid foundation on which to offer advice to English teachers.

Most importantly, I love to use technology in my English learning classrooms! It just works for me, as well as the vast majority of my students and I will rarely plan a lesson that doesn't use some form of it. Tech has already radically transformed the world of language learning and as teachers, we'd do well to jump on that bandwagon, if we haven't already! If it seems intimidating, not to worry. There are plenty of ways to use technology in the classroom for the less than tech-savvy person. Check out the this book for all the ideas.

I truly hope that you find this book useful. I would love it if you sent me an email with any questions or feedback that you might have. You can find me here:

Jackie Bolen (www.jackiebolen.com)

Email: [e-mail]

If you can't get enough ESL games, activities and other useful stuff for the classroom in this book, you can get even more goodness delivered straight to your inbox every week. I promise to respect your privacy—your name and email address will never be shared with anyone for any reason. Sign-up here.

If you're interested in this book, you may also want to check out these ones. You can easily find them wherever you like to buy books.

101 Activities and Resources for Teaching English Online

39 Awesome 1-1 ESL Activities for Kids

39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults

Why Use Technology in the Language Learning Classroom?

There are a number of important reasons to consider using technology in language lessons. Here are some things to consider.

It's Effective

A study by the US Department of Education (https://www.ed.gov/oii-news/use-technology-teaching-and-learning) states that the use of technology in the classroom can help students learn faster. Better results more quickly? All teachers will certainly be on board with this! If you ask teachers if they think technology can help them teach more effectively, it's likely that the majority of them would answer yes. This is likely because it's quite effective!

Make Lessons More Engaging

Teacher—boring! Have you ever taught kids who said that to you? I'm sure we've all been there and even though language learning can be a little bit boring sometimes (who finds memorizing irregular past tense verbs fun?!), it doesn't always have to be. Technology, including the use of online games, videos, and a myriad of other things (keep on reading for 50+ ideas) can make lessons far more interesting and interactive.

Higher Levels of Motivation

If you're taken a language class, you'll know what I'm talking about—the Groundhog Day feeling of coming to class every single time and doing the same thing. Basically, the next page or two in the textbook. I've also felt the same way when teaching—like we were just powering through a textbook for the sake of getting through the textbook.

Technology can help to mix things up a bit in the classroom. Sure, ESL/EFL textbooks still have a large part in most classes but why not supplement them with some online homework, a related video on YouTube, or a QR code hunt? Simple things like these ideas can help students stay motivated and excited about learning English.

Increased Learner Autonomy

One of the key concepts in language learning is learner autonomy. That is, students have to take responsibility for their learning and the teacher is more of a guide than an all-knowing guru. Technology can assist with this in that students may have to watch a lecture on their own time and then come to class with questions that they have. Or, they may have to make a video, in English with some classmates and then present it in class. Much of this would be done without the direct assistance of the teacher.

Why Fight Against It?

I'm not one to judge since I can rarely be found without my Smartphone but isn't everyone these days addicted to them? Why fight against it in English class? I'd rather take advantage of these amazing mini-computers our students have at their fingertips and make