Tools for your English Classes

VoiceThread is a tool that has a wonderful function in English classes. This tool helps to reinforce students' speaking skill, so it is highly recommended for teachers, especially for conversational classes. The following activities are ideas that can help teachers implement this tool in the class. 3 Activities that Teachers can Implement in their English Classes Using VoiceThread. 1. An Interactive Forum:      In this activity, the teacher creates a forum by posting a video about the topic that is being studied at the moment, for instance, "Transportation, quality, and use." Hence, the teacher posts a video and asks students to participate in the forum, saying what they understood from the video or what they think about the topic. Students are only allowed to participate using their voices, not writing comments. In this way, the teacher can assess their performance. Also, students can refer to what other classmates have said. 2. Creating an Interview: ...

Storybird is a tool that, as its name indicates, lets people create stories. Not only can this tool be used for fun, but it can also be implemented in English classes. Teachers can take advantage of this tool to reinforce and improve students' writing skill. Most importantly, Storybird permits students to use their creativity as they are writing.  Possible Activities to Implement in English Classes Using Storybird 1. A Creative Story:      In this activity, the teacher asks the students to create a story using artwork associated with the topic of the class. For instance, if learners are studying something about food or traveling, it is better if they look for artwork using keywords. In this way, it will be easier for them to find images. For this activity, students have to choose the option "picture book" and have to create a story of whatever genre they like. It depends on each student. The number of pages of the story may vary according to the students' l...

Blogger is a tool from Google that allows people to create blogs. In the class, teachers can use it to enhance writing because students can write whatever comes to their minds regarding the topics of the class. If you do not know how to apply this tool to your students, the following activities can guide you in the process. Three Activities that can be Implemented with Blogger 1. Commenting on the Teacher's Blog:      In this activity, the teacher creates his/her own blog about the topic that is being studied at the moment, for example, "Science and technology." Thus, the teacher can share the blog with the students through e-mail or WhatsApp and can have them comment on what they think of the blog. Also, the students can respond to other classmates' comments to establish a conversation. Then, the teacher can see what students wrote to assess them.  2. Creating a Blog:      This is another activity that can be implemented with this too...

Google Forms is a tool from Google Drive that teachers can use to reinforce the writing skill in the class. If you are interested in implementing it with your students, these ideas can help you meaningfully. Three Types of Activities that can be Carried out Using Google Forms 1. Classroom Quiz by the Teacher:      A creative way of assessing students' understanding is through this activity. The teacher previously creates a quiz based on the topic that is being studied at the moment, for example, "Types of food, eating habits and behaviors at the table," and "Costa Rican art, music, and crafts." Hence, the teacher shares the questionnaire through e-mail so that the students can have access to it and complete it. The teacher can also reinforce writing by providing questions that are subjective, so students can express their ideas about the topic. 2. Collaborative Form:      Another type of activity that the teacher can carry out with this too...