Reading
Facilitate and encourage students to engage in extensive reading (free reading for pleasure), which has proven useful for making gains in many aspects of language learning (G. Tweedie, personal communication, October 3, 2014). Students should read at least 30 minutes each day and choose material that both interesting to them and not beyond their ability (P. Mahtani, personal communication, November 5, 2014). To integrate ICT, encourage students to read high quality electronic books, narrative-based video games, hypermedia texts (see the Electronic Literature collection for examples). Other examples of ICT use for reading include: text-to-speech software (e.g., Google Read&Write) combined with electronic versions of class texts, using subtitles when showing videos, and adding hyperlinks to audio/video or related texts (Read to Live is a great example of how this can be done).
For in-class activities in response to reading, collaborative work is useful. According to Ms. Mahtani, it is best to pair ELL students with native speakers or, at minimum, pair students who have different first languages: students who speak the same first language tend to communicate in that language rather than English, and so progress more slowly (personal communication, November 5, 2014). Reading comprehension can be assessed using technology through student-generated forums, blogs, podcasts, virtual comic strips, vlogs, or online collaborative projects, such as the hypermedia narrative project I designed for my class. Another option is to use Google Forms with the Flubaroo script to administer and mark tests.
For in-class activities in response to reading, collaborative work is useful. According to Ms. Mahtani, it is best to pair ELL students with native speakers or, at minimum, pair students who have different first languages: students who speak the same first language tend to communicate in that language rather than English, and so progress more slowly (personal communication, November 5, 2014). Reading comprehension can be assessed using technology through student-generated forums, blogs, podcasts, virtual comic strips, vlogs, or online collaborative projects, such as the hypermedia narrative project I designed for my class. Another option is to use Google Forms with the Flubaroo script to administer and mark tests.