ESL 509

Blog Post Disclaimer: I have mixed feelings about posting this blog as the article I found in my Google Alerts was an interesting read!  After reading the article discussed below, I decided to search online for supporting materials that could supplement the information provided. I had hoped to find the actual app that is discussed so I could use some screen shots to give readers an example of what the app looked like that is described. However, I found that while this particular article was written February 25, 2020 but other online sources show similar articles to this one dating 2017 (example:  https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/news/view/babbel-and-cambridge-english-set-the-pace-in-online-language-assessment/ ). Nevertheless, I found the concept of the described app to be interesting and an important share. https://d540vms5r2s2d.cloudfront.net/mad/uploads/Learn_english.png Cambridge University and Babble App Come Together for English Test With the rise of ed...

Blogging Problem #2:  Thinking you have formatted your blog correctly when all of a sudden it is a mess! Why am I having trouble formatting my blog posts? Words everywhere they should not be! Colors a mess! Note to self: when teaching students how to blog, don't just teach students how to write in the blog, teach them how to format the blog. Why emojis and #hashtags should be part of language learning https://blog.emojipedia.org/content/images/size/w2000/2019/09/openmoji-emojipedia-2019.jpg Emojiis, hashtags, grammar, OH MY! What do these things have in common? And what do they have to do with language and technology instruction in the second language classroom? When this article appeared in my Updates section of my inbox, I instantly wanted to read more as my curiosity struck and I wondered how the two questionsI posed would be answered. I love seeking language learning apps and finding ways to incorporate the apps into my teaching or ways to share the apps w...

Blogging problem #1: Thinking your blog post published and realizing later that it disappeared and was never saved. Here is attempt #2! Sorry! When I began this project, I was excited to see what new innovative instructional technology ideas for the language classroom would appear in my weekly Google Alerts that arrived in my inbox daily. As the week progressed, my excitement turned into, "How do I summarize all of these articles and all of this information into one concise blog post?" As this is attempt #2, I have had a little extra time to consider how to formulate my thoughts and create this post. I am most attracted to blogs that are relevant, authentic, informative and personable. My hope is that throughout this semester this blog is just that. Here are some of the articles from my alerts that caught my eye this past week. Textbook usage? Yay o Nay? Death to the language textbook! This editorial questions the relevance of textbooks in the language classroom. ...