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Slide Notes

Who doesn't love a great mobile app? Smart phones and mobile devices are incredibly popular and many parents give them to children for something to do when out and about. Why not do some learning while having some fun? ESL Playground will allow students to practice English in different settings outside of class (Sousa, 2011, p. 70).

Collecting Words!

Published on Mar 01, 2017

An online ESL game review and ideas to increase vocabulary!

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

ESL Games Plus

HOW TO: Fun and Learning
Who doesn't love a great mobile app? Smart phones and mobile devices are incredibly popular and many parents give them to children for something to do when out and about. Why not do some learning while having some fun? ESL Playground will allow students to practice English in different settings outside of class (Sousa, 2011, p. 70).

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eslgamesplus.com/classroom-games/

The website eslplayground.com allows many age groups to play games as well as multiple games to choose from. When at the website, choose 'games' on the left side tabs. Sousa (2011) states "activities involving technology can challenge ELLs by promoting critical thinking and enhancing executive functions such as analyzing, critiquing, and making judgments about competing ideas" (p.219). These games will allow students to develop English as well as other academic skills.
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Choose from:

  • Action, Colors, Numbers
  • Animals, Colors, Clothes, Numbers
  • Bathroom Vocabulary Games
  • Bedroom Vocabulary Games
  • Body Parts Vocabulary Games
  • And many more!
A few of the games offered! Each game offers one or more players to set up the competition. Some of the games offer multiple, scaffolded levels of English learning, often with images for increased learning. According to Herrell and Jordan (2016) "exploring the meaning of words is a vital step because vocabulary development is directly connected to progress in reading comprehension" (p. 52-53).

Make a List - Make a Game

  • Create your own list of newly learned words
  • Report back daily if you hear or see the word in use.
  • Earn points towards rewards as vocabulary develops
As children acquire new language and vocabulary, parents or teachers can keep a list of new words and create a game of finding the new words in other situations. As children report hearing or using the word in daily life, they can earn 'points' towards rewards. "As students discover new words, they are encouraged to find ways to use the words in speech or in writing and report back to the teacher and other students about their discoveries" (Herrell and Jordan, 2016 p. 53).
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Vocabulary Success

Knowing more words = knowing more
As more words are learned children are able to create word families of words and their synonyms. This can equal a richer vocabulary with deeper understanding. Herrell and Jordan (2016) suggested "introduc(ing) synonyms and add(ing) them in to the word collection with the original word" (p. 53).

Useful in all subjects!

Math, Science, Social Studies...
The technology game may not be used in each classroom, but giving children or students a list of vocabulary words and finding them in daily life can always be practiced. Herrell and Jordan (2011) state, "The teacher must set aside some time each day for word study, devoting part of this time to discussing the ways in which the new words have been used by students" (p. 53). This may take some time, but knowing the meaning of the words is often the beginning of understanding the concepts.
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And, the game of vocabulary goes on, and on, and on...

The more you read, the more you know, and vocabulary can be a never ending learning game!
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References

  • Herrell, A. L., & Jordan, M. (2016). Fifty strategies for teaching English language learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
  • Sousa, D.A. (2011). How the ELL brain learns. Thousand Oaks: Calif.
I must give credit, where it is due!
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