Use classroom management platforms and other tools to overcome barriers to language learning
with contributions from Al Kingsley, CEO of NetSupport
Teaching a language—whether to ESL students or those learning something new like French or Spanish—requires much the same teaching skills as any other subject.
Yet, in some critical ways—especially for ESL students—the challenges are magnified by the comprehension barrier. Unlike the barriers that any student may face, language learners reach plateaus and lose focusare unmotivatedreceived distractedand probably the most glaringly obvious, are hindered by lack of confidence.
Edtech can help. There are dozens of products that are specifically for language learning, and even more that are for more general use, but when examined through the lens of language learning, they have surprising benefits. So let’s take a look at the most common challenges language learners face and the surprising ways edtech can overcome them. Included in these tips are new ways to use your classroom management platform in ways you may not have realized.
Challenge #1: Focus
A class of 30 students is small. If they are all relatively close in skill, teaching is easier, but add a few ESL students or those who are at or above grade level and the challenges multiply. As a member of my district’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Board, I am fully aware of the impact this has on a teacher’s day, especially when every teacher I have ever met is so dedicated to meeting the individual needs of each student.
Especially for ESL students, they need learning tools that match their skill level. Teachers usually know exactly what resource each student needs, but sometimes all 30 of them need a different resource or are at a different level. Keeping everyone on track and engaged can take away from training time. Your classroom management solution is probably the best resource you have for this particular problem. Use it to launch a learning application right on a student’s desktop without leaving your own. It’s also possible to send websites and documents to students and monitor how long they’ve been on a site or specific learning app without leaving your own desk.
Challenge #2: Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is what we aim for, in other words to guide our students to feel active and proud of their work. Teachers are great cheerleaders that way, and we don’t want technology to get in the way. Rather, see it as a tool to encourage and nudge them.
For ESL students, developing a presentation about their home country, food, or really something unique to their culture is a chance for students to show what they know. Many edtech tools are great for showcasing this kind of creativity. Consider using a comics program like Pixtonor digital whiteboard like Creatively to script presentations. Book creator is another tool for presenting information. Each of these tools encourages creative expression and freedom of choice.
Be sure to check your classroom management platform because it most likely has a digital whiteboard as well. Teachers can enter information directly into the student’s device or even use it to teach the whole class, and of course the student can use it as a scratchboard or scripting tool.
Challenge #3: Distraction
Few people like to talk about distractions because they seem impossible to control. Distractions come from other students, phones, noises outside the window, and the very technology we put in front of our students. Teachers are excellent time managers, but even veteran teachers agree that keeping students on task is difficult.
For the language learner, failure to complete the task is often a symptom of a more significant problem such as not understanding the instructions in the first place. These students need more direct contact with their teacher to get on task, so they use a classroom management platform like NetSupport School makes these nudges and redirects much less disruptive. From the app on the teacher’s desktop, they can see students’ screens and what they’re working on, and even close windows and apps for students who aren’t doing the right work.
The same tactic also helps the student learn a foreign language such as those in French, Spanish or German classes. With the same classroom management app, teachers can monitor how long a student has been engaged with the assigned material. Too long may not actually be intentional. The student may simply struggle to understand, which the teacher can quickly recognize and correct. Give additional instruction to individual students or to groups using chat, audio or video recordings. The student can then repeat or slow down the direction for better understanding.
Challenge #4: Confidence
Low self-esteem and lack of confidence are not the same thing, but they tend to go together. I know many students (and adults) with high self-esteem who lack the confidence to do new things in unfamiliar situations. What’s startling is how many people don’t realize what’s really behind them getting stuck or hitting a plateau. Teachers, on the other hand, have the uncanny ability to see why a student isn’t striving.
The time-honored approach of simply giving a few words of encouragement works, and in these cases, the right edtech is a real asset. Giving students a place to remain anonymous while taking risks is probably the main reason I love test tools like Kahoot! and Jotform. Teachers are familiar with Kahoot!, but perhaps not with Jotform, which is free for limited use. Regardless of the tool you choose, try using polls and question boards, whether they are built into the classroom management platform or you use external tools and just manage them from the classroom management platform.
However, working individually with students is probably the most effective way of overcoming confidence issues and this is where the tools in NetSupport come in particularly handy. NetSupport School actually includes a Languages Lab feature that connects teachers more closely to audio monitoring. In addition to seeing what’s happening at a student’s desk, the indicators tell him when each student is either listening to audio or speaking into a microphone. Teachers can listen to an individual student’s progress there and record everything so that the student can use it later.
There’s a common theme to all of these suggestions: doing more with technology while being more personal and personal. Few teachers have enough time to meet the needs of each individual and do so without singling out someone who needs that support. That’s why the tools that allow teachers to provide that help without any other student knowing about this is so valuable. This is the way to help students who are struggling with the new language to feel more respected and supported.
Al Kingsley is the CEO of NetSupport. He is an author, Chair of the Multi Academy Trust cluster of schools across the UK, Apprenticeship Ambassador and Chair of his regional Council for Special Educational Needs and Disability. A 30-year industry veteran, he has written books on edtech, school management and school growth.
