Celoni- ESL 509

  The Theory The best way to ensure that students are learning is to ensure that they are engaged in what they’re learning. Students who are interested in a lesson or activity are going to be more willing to participate and pay attention and will absorb more of the learning than those who are not. A great way to engage all learners? Games! Gamify.com defines gamification as the addition of game elements to non-game activities (2023). By creating opportunities for games during instruction, group work, and independent practice, teachers are able to engage students and create fun and meaningful learning opportunities. For language learners, this is super beneficial because it removes some of the pressure and stress of learning and allows them to explore language and content in a fun, low-stakes environment. Link to Resource https://www.sdlback.com/webinar-series/gamification-for-ells?srsltid=AfmBOorPIjrs3RBFnFKUlIyRjwjWHv__yNByjRGtYNRA2ciR8bUT4XIe In the above article, Mangus ...

The Theory   Mobile Assisted Language Learning just makes sense to me. As a society, we do everything on our phones these days, but what were phones really created for? Talking. So why wouldn’t we utilize phones to help us learn to speak? It really seems like a full circle concept to me. Learning a language using a mobile device is an excellent use of time and resources. It is so easy to pick up a cell phone to do one simple task, get distracted by something on social media, and then realize that 20 minutes have passed. Instead of mindless scrolling or procrastination, mobile devices can be used productively to learn a new language. According to Naz, Rasheed, and Rasheed (2019), students were motivated to learn English using their smartphones because it was quick and simple. Students were able to easily access resources like translators and learn the meaning of words by using their mobile devices (p. 87).   Link to Resource   https://lingodeer.com/  ...

  The Theory I created my first screencast while teaching virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, I was figuring things out as I went along, and luckily, my school district provided professional development and training for new technology skills. Screencasting was beneficial during distance and online learning, but I have not had a ton of experience using screencasts in my synchronous, in-person classroom. Once we returned to in-person learning, I seemed to *cast* screencasts aside and channel all of my energy back to in-person learning experiences. Once I began this program at Wilkes, I got back into screencasting for projects for some of my coursework. Admittedly, with many of the theories learned in this ESL-509 course, I often find myself imagining how  I  would implement in my classroom as the  teacher  instead of imagining how I could create learning experiences for my  students  to use the theories. While exploring resources ab...