Blog Post 8

10 Social Media Tips for Reaching World Language Learners

My dream career would be teaching Hispanic students, at the elementary level, English. The more I look into ESL the more I realize how difficult this could be, and I enjoy finding resources that would be helpful. I follow Edutopia on Twitter and they post links to numerous insightful articles. This specific article explains how educators can use social media as a way to reach ESL students. The article explains the social networks EDM has familiarized me with, such as blogging, Twitter, Google Drive and YouTube. However, it introduces some new ideas and sources. Instagram is a popular social media, but I have never thought to use it for educational purposes. According to Edutopia, using Instagram is an engaging way to teach vocabulary words. The teacher can post daily pictures of things that would not usually be seen on a vocabulary list and require the students to stay updated with the posts. Another source teachers can use is called SlideShare. SlideShare is similar to YouTube except it is strictly presentations. This site allows students to search, create and post presentations among the world. Edutopia also suggests using Facebook as a way to post questions for debate. The teacher would make a page and the students like it. A new source Edutopia introduces is called Duolingo. This is an educational gaming site that allows teachers to reinforce grammatical structures and allow the students to compete against each other. The final idea Edutopia introduces was the use of polling sites, such as SurveyMonkey. Teachers can make a survey regarding a specific theme they are studying and have the students respond to the survey. This is a way to initiate speaking practice in class. Even though I am familiar with many of the networks mentioned, the ideas presented are new. The combination of the new ideas and the few new sources made this article valuable.