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social media as a tool of language learning
Слайд 2start learning a language
When you first start learning a language,
it might be you’ve been
Strolling around your local bookshop
Spotted a shiny new course book for a language learning
Слайд 3We need human interaction
It’s a common truth that we need
human interaction to communicate well in a language
Books
Websites
apps…they’re all great,
but eventually we need
To show the world our skills (mistakes) we’ve learnt and
To put it to the test with real people
Слайд 4Internet has enhanced language learning
Another common truth that’s pretty well-established
by now is that the internet has massively enhanced language
learning
Websites and apps all are establishing and supporting very promisingly to be the ultimate in the latest language learning technology.
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Why social media?
There are two important questions for you.
1. How
much time do you spend on languages each day?
2. How
much time do you spend on social media each day?
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social media: integral part of life
No matter how much time
we spend on “Facebook” or
How much we mock teens
for posting too many selfies on Instagram,
Social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives.
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social media: language learning
We must consider social media for language
learning
Books are great
Audio courses are great
Social media resource is
More
current
Up-to-date than
Слайд 8The Beginning
Social media has evolved a lot since it first
became “a thing”
MSN
Sign straight into MSN messenger
Chat to my friends
Myspace
Then
along came myspace, where the biggest focus was
The song you picked for your profile,
The background you chose to represent your personality, and
The friends you selected for your top 8.
Again, no language there
Слайд 9The Beginning
But as things have evolved with social media
It
has provided various platforms
The first north American polyglot symposium about
using social media for language learning
There were well-understood aspects of language learning that are commonly tested
Reading
Listening
Writing
Speaking
Слайд 10key components to language learning
There are 4 key components to
successful language learning:
Accountability
Documenting
Connection
Progress
Social media could be used for all
of these components
Слайд 111. Accountability
One must be goal setter
It can be a biggest
changes in
Language learning and
One of the best changes in
terms of success
You can use social media to hold yourself accountable with language learning using daily challenges
You could join a community such as
The wedolanguages facebook group
Where you can share your
Language learning goals with people who have the same interests as you
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Documenting
Social media and other new technologies have made documenting your
language learning easier than ever
Earlier a pricey video recorder or
dictaphone were required to keep track of your speaking progress
Now you can save your recordings directly to your phone
but for a chance of getting feedback and linking in to holding yourself accountable again, you can use public Instagram or Snapchat to document your language learning
Snapchat (and Instagram Stories) delete your content after 24 hours, unless you save it beforehand
so if you want to practice speaking out loud but actually don’t want to keep a record, you can just let clips go from time to time.
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Connection
Human connection is vital to really see if you’re making
progress in the language you’re learning
Social media can help
with that too
You can use social media to connect with
Native speakers
Other learners and
Tutors
Facebook groups are a great first port of call here.
However, with language learning now having their own social platforms dedicated to just language learning, this is super easy
Check out hellotalk to get you started.
Слайд 14Progress
If you’re using social media for language learning to hold
yourself
Accountable
Document your language, and
Connect with others
Then it’s pretty
much inevitable that you’ll make progress
Meaning that this last one is a bit of a free gift
The more you use social media for language learning, the better you’ll also get at the process of language learning, which in turn helps to speed up your future progress
Слайд 15How to use social media
Using social media for language learning
isn’t about
Joining every platform you’re currently not on and
Overwhelming yourself with so many possibilities that you don’t know where to begin
It’s about using the social media platforms you already use in new ways,
Enhancing them and
Making the most of them for language learning.
Слайд 16Join Social Media Success
If you want to use social media
for language learning more effectively,
Social media success is a
4-week course complete with
Tech training videos
A digital workbook
A slack community
To help you maximize your time on social media for language learning
Слайд 17Join Fluent Language Learners
You are invited to join the Fluent
Language Facebook group
Where a post is updated daily
Prompts and ideas
- and where
You can discuss how it's going
The group is for connecting with
Learners of all languages and
Talking about their favourite study methods
Join the Facebook group if:
You love learning languages
You want to share your ideas
You want to learn more about how we learn best
You need to work out how to fit language into your busy life
You love travel and connecting with people!
Слайд 18 Improve your English using social networks
Слайд 19Learning English
Today, learning English involves much more than studying
a
textbook,
doing tests, and
putting dictums into practice
With the advent
of the Internet and its attendant technology
losts of options exist for improving your English skills
These options involve interacting with others online via social networks
communicating in order to learn about
other cultures,
have fun, and
to learn English at the same time.
Слайд 20Social networks
Social networks are a relatively new phenomenon. Geocities was
one of the web's first social networking sites. They began
in 1994. In 1997, AOL Instant Messenger launched
In 2003, MySpace launched, with Facebook following in 2004
Next up was Twitter in 2006
Come 2008, Facebook overtook MySpace as the leading social networking site, and now
we have the elusive and mysterious Google +.
Слайд 21Learning English
People are increasingly conversing online using diverse social sites
They
enjoy the immediacy and convenience of engaging in discourse
any
time,
any place,
anywhere.
Let's look at a couple of the most popular social networking opportunities available to you for improving your English.
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Twitter
Twitter is a social networking site that demands precision of
expression
because each post or "Tweet" you can make is limited
to 140 characters.
Therefore, you must be concise in your messaging.
Twitter asks the question "What's happening?“
With Twitter, you let others know what you're doing
You can immediately update others on
the latest about you and
your interests, and
with only 140 characters available per message,
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Twitter
you're forced to choose your words carefully and
to convey
your message clearly
This is excellent for improving your English as
you eliminate unnecessary words
Like writing poetry, you choose the best words to communicate with.
Twitter does not afford you the luxury of rambling on about a topic.
With Twitter, you send your Tweets
to your Friends or
Followers, and
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Twitter
you can Follow other people who interest you, and
read
their Tweets, which are also short
In this way Twitter helps
you improve your English reading skills too
You can read a variety of short messages on a myriad of subjects
In this way,
you learn new words, turns of phrase, and jargon, which all helps you build your English vocabulary.
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Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service whereby users can
create
a personal profile,
add other users as friends, and
exchange
messages
This includes automatic notifications when they update their personal profile
Facebook users can also join common-interest user groups that they find useful
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Facebook
In a nutshell, Facebook is a web portal for keeping
in touch with others
You choose whom you allow to access
your Facebook pages
You can post
Text
Pictures
Images
Video
music on your Facebook page
You can use a "Wall", which other members can use in order to text each other messages
In addition to text, messages can also
contain photos,
videos,
music and
links to other websites.
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Facebook
In a nutshell, Facebook is a web portal for keeping
in touch with others
You choose whom you allow to access
your Facebook pages
You can post
Text
Pictures
Images
Video
music on your Facebook page
You can use a "Wall", which other members can use in order to text each other messages
In addition to text, messages can also
contain photos,
videos,
music and
links to other websites.
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Facebook
Again, this is an excellent mechanism for building your English
skills
You gain English writing experience through composing your various messages
You
are not limited to 140 characters
you can be elaborate a bit more with your messaging.
Facebook also builds your English reading skills
You can read an assortment of messages from those whom you allow into your pages
This diversity of messages means you can learn new words from people all over the world, depending on your list of friends.
Some may write extended messages, giving you the opportunity to study their way with words, as well as their word choice
Facebook exposes you to a significant selection of writing (text) in which to build your English skills
Слайд 29Skype
Skype is a computer software application that allows users to
make voice calls over the Internet
Calls to other users of
the Skype service are free
Calls to traditional landline phones and mobile phones involve paying a fee
Skype allows you
to talk, and/or
To text and
To add videos
You can use Skype on
your computer,
your mobile device, or
on your TV, depending on the model of TV you have.
Слайд 30Skype
As concerns improving your English skills,
Skype gets you talking
Consequently, you
converse,
which is putting your English speaking and listening skills
into action.
Just as you do in-person, you chat and get your message across verbally
You use the English vocabulary, which you've built up – along with those new words and phrases that you've learned.
Слайд 31Skype
Moreover, you listen, which means you learn English words and
phrasing from others
Of course, you can text on Skype,
which
lets you practice your English writing skills just as you do on other social networking sites,
but its main strength is using it for voice or (if you're brave) and video chats (if you're really, really brave)
There are even teachers on Skype who offer traditional English lessons and
there are conversational groups that meet more informally.
Слайд 32LinkedIn
If Facebook and Twitter sound a bit frivolous for your
tastes, you might prefer LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking site
for professionals
It's an excellent site for connecting with other professionals be it in
Business
academia, or
other organisations
LinkedIn allows for connecting with others to find and share opportunities on a daily basis
On LinkedIn you can build your business English skills through writing your profile, and then keeping it updated.
You also build your business English skills through sending messages to others, reading their responses, and replying in kind.
Слайд 33YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website
Users upload
share and
view videos on
this social networking site
Learning English via YouTube involves listening to
the language via the videos you view
You also learn through reading the comments posted in English, situated below each video
Слайд 34YouTube
In addition, some YouTube videos are
text presentations in a
slide show format, or
have subtitles available,
so you can
actually read English in each screen shot.
If you're feeling extra brave you can even post your own video and become the next YouTube sensation.
Tell people about your life,
read some poetry,
sing a song,
showcase your talent.
You can even create cartoon videos using software like Muvizu,
Слайд 35Flickr
Flickr is a social networking site with a difference, because
you
build contact with people by sharing photographs, and short videos
If
you have a digital camera,
you can share your life with an online community
Put up some pictures and find people who have taken photos of things you are interested in and
leave a comment for them, or
find groups on subjects you like to take pictures of.
There are groups for
countries,
hobbies,
animals ... just about anything you can think of.
Слайд 36Google +
A new horse in the stable is Google plus.
It's
still in Beta, but has some potential as it allows
you to put contacts, family and friends into different categories. For me, the jury is out at the moment, but we'll keep you posted.
Слайд 37Forums And Message Boards
Social networking really began with
message boards
and then moved to forums
They allow users to communicate about
different subjects
A forum is a discussion area on a website
Most Internet forums focus on a specific subject
Those interested in the subject gather to discuss topics and share opinions, information, and ideas.
Слайд 38Forums And Message Boards
Forums get you writing English
You compose messages
in a coherent manner so others understand the point or
points you're trying to make
In turn, you read the postings of other forum members and
pick up
new words,
phrases, and
unique information along the way.
It all contributes to building your English language skills in an interesting manner.
Слайд 39Forums And Message Boards
An example is the Learn English forum
Here
users interested in building their English language skills gather to
converse
You can practise your English on this forum by posting your thoughts on a variety of topics, and by connecting with others who have an interest in learning English in the Live Text Chat room.
Слайд 40Things To Bear In Mind
There are other social sites out
there, but these are the most popular, and they are
all free, and likely to remain so.
When you choose somewhere to network, be aware that sites that start of as free, sometimes start charging for premium accounts, or close down altogether.
You can join a social networking site dedicated to learning English, but that way you could be restricting yourself to speaking about learning English, which would get pretty boring after a time
Слайд 41Things To Bear In Mind
By expanding your horizons a bit,
you're more likely
to meet other native speakers, and
people
who are interested in things that interest you.
If you are already taking part in some
formal learning in traditional or online classes, think of the rest of the net as the playground at school.
You'll keep learning, but you'll be having fun too.
Слайд 42Things To Bear In Mind
Remember to conduct your conversations safely
when using social networks.
Keep some control over the information
you display.
Never display any of
your personal ID numbers,
phone numbers, or
bank and credit card account numbers.
Be careful on what sites you want
your full name,
address, and
phone number posted
Furthermore, don't post other people's personal information.
Слайд 43Things To Bear In Mind
Consider the above array of social
networking sites for improving your English.
Try them all to
find out which ones you're comfortable with, and which you feel are best suited to building your English language skills.
Used wisely, social networking sites allow you to connect with others while developing those all-important communication skills you desire.
The way you interact with others is part of your success with these services.