Enhance your learners’ motivation using WordWall

 

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This week I am introducing to you ‘WordWall’, an interesting and easy to use tool for English language teaching and learning.

Features

WordWall offers ready-made activity templates that can be used by teachers to create interactive or printable activities for their classes. The templates are are accessed on this website. Interestingly, you can edit the templates to adapt them to your learners’ needs and context. Indeed, you can switch them to different styles to make the activities more exciting. The activities can easily be shared via a link generated on the platform, and this helps students access them on their laptops, tablets or smartphones. This means that they can be used anywhere, anytime (in the classroom, on the move or at home). Thus, in some contexts where there is not internet at school, students can access the activities at home using their parents' laptops or smartphones.The teacher will be able to see the activities results immediately after they are completed.

 Enhance your learners' motivation in ESL/EFL classes. 

Wordwall comprises various interactive game-like activities that can be used in the classroom to develop different language skills. This online learning tool is of paramount importance because it promotes learners’ autonomy. The fact that most activities are in form of games, and can be completed within limited time, students work on them competitively. This promotes self-directed learning and active participation in the lesson. Some of the activities can also promote collaborative learning as students can work on them in pairs or groups. 

Fostering English language learning with WordWall

After being introduced to WordWall in the course of ICT in TESOL last week, I have explored the tool further and found out that it can be used mainly to help learners practice speaking, have fun with grammar and enhance their vocabulary. The following are sample activities you can use in your English classes. Note that the activities can be adapted to meet your leaners' needs.

Use ‘random wheel’ for learners to answer a question asked randomly

Random wheel allows you to create activities for learners to practice speaking by answering questions on various topics (e.g. talking about themselves, their families etc.). These questions are chosen randomly by spinning the wheel. Here is an example speaking activity that I have created for you. Enjoy the game!

With this activity, I believe students can have fun to answer questions that are randomly chosen. 

Help your learners have fun with grammar

Wordwall provides you with a range of resources to practise grammar in a fun and engaging environment.The following is a multiple choice activity that can help learners practice the use of prepositions of place.

Enhance learners' vocabulary

Wordwall offers a wide range of fun activities to help your learners improve their vocabulary. The following is a drag and drop activity that aims at grouping adjectives with similar meanings.

Limitations

One of the limitations of Wordwall is that it allows a limited number (five only) of activities a teacher can create with a free account. This means that if you want to explore this technology unlimitedly, you will have to purchase the standard or pro versions. If you are not ready to do this, you can always come back and change the activities you created before and add new content. However, you lose your previous activity as it is replaced by the new one. Again, you can access, edit, and use activities that were created by other teachers.

Another limitation is that slow learners may struggle with activities on this platform as most of them are to be done within a limited amount of time. However, teachers can adapt the activities to meet their students learning pace. Sudents can also enjoy to do these activities on their own pace at home.

For more information on how to use Wordwall, you can watch the following videos.

I hope you enjoy reading my post and will appreciate your feedback.

Blog review

My course of ICT in TESOL has been a good opportunity for me to learn about blogging and how this could be useful in English language teaching. In order to help me get familiar with this useful tool, I was asked to blog about the blog that I reviewed last week, i.e. TEFLtastic

I hope hope you will enjoy to read my first blog post.

Organisation and layout

The home page of the blog includes a clear introduction which informs readers about what the blog is about.There are also many external links to useful ELT resources. However, in most cases, the blogger uses just links without introducing them to the reader to say what they are about. In my opinion, the blog organisation would be clearer if similar materials were grouped together to be published in one post (e.g. vocabulary materials published in one post). This would help users to find the resources more easily.

Content and features

The content of the blog is about Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) materials. These include worksheets, printables that are easy and ready to use in EFL classrooms to teach all the language skills i.e., speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. Most of these materials are accessed through external links. For example, you can find a family vocabulary practice worksheet here.

Ease of use and navigation

The use of multiple pages and labels makes the blog easy to navigate. However, some of the posts contain so many links, and it might be difficult for a new follower to find what he /she is looking for.

Target audience

The blog is mainly addressed to EFL teachers and other EFL practitioners. There is a live interaction among readers, and between readers and the blogger to discuss different points posted onto the blog.  These discussions seem to be a good opportunity for teachers to gain new insights into their EFL practices. Overall, the blog is a good resource for EFL teaching and learning.

Summary

As I am planning to write a blog with English teachers as my audience, by reviewing TEFLtastic, I have got an idea of what I can include in my future blog posts. Reviewing this blog has been useful for me as a new blogger because I have learned a lot from it. For example, I have learned how it looks like to use multiple pages onto a blog.  Indeed, the blog has provided me with good resources I can use in my future English lessons. In short, I have enjoyed reading this blog and will always visit it.

To learn more about blogging with 'blogger', watch the following video from YouTube.