10 Ways to Smart[er] Cell Phone Use in Your TESOL Classroom

If you get ESOL teachers together, the problem of smart phones comes up. There is no doubt that smart phones can be a huge distraction, so go with the flow. As a teaching tool, smart phones offer a wealth of possibilities for the creative teacher and students are motivated! Here are 5 ways that my students and I have used cell phones in class in positive ways to promote ESOL objectives.

Get them to talk! 

Assignment: Students are paired, half leave the room and go elsewhere. Each student has to call their partner and have them describe where they are until they are found.

Let them practice calling English speakers!

 In small groups, students are assigned tourist attractions (The Space Needle) and must come up with a questionnaire and then call the tourist and information center OR use the smart phones to find the information they seek, then present it to the class.

Have them practice getting/giving directions! 

Students in pairs both go to Google Maps (Bing if they must). One gets step by step directions from the school to an assigned landmark. And must read them with full sentences to his or her partner who will follow on a Google Map, asking clarification questions.

Get them to practice writing! 

The class is divided and paired up. Each person must have a text conversation with his or her partner without saying a word. Sentences must be full sentences and must be grammatically correct.

Incite a conversation! In pairs, students look at the weather app forecast and using modals of probability, talk about what the weather might be like in the coming days.Here are a few other possible smart phone ideas:

Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation!

I never answer simple vocabulary or grammar questions, I guide students to discover the answer themselves with their phones in groups. Can the verb ADVISE take a gerund? Find out! What does 'retainer' mean? Look it up! How do we pronounce 'obscure', Google now pops up short pronunciation videos! After they find out, have them use it.

For iPhone or other cell  users, use SIRI or CORTANA to help students with pronunciation and to answer questions.

Use the stopwatch to time games and activities like ‘time’s up!’

Build schema before beginning a reading text. Students can Google

to find out about the author and read short summaries or reviews.

Get students into discussions about the news using news apps. Students can choose a top story or short news videos can be watched and discussed or summarized.

 There are many possibilities.

 More Apps! There are thousands, many free, many useful. Some research will reveal apps students can download that help them with everything from grammar to pronunciation to spelling.

The cell phone is NOT the teacher's enemy! It is a powerful and useful tool with the right framework- use it :)

SOME USEFUL POPULAR APPS:

Social: Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Twitter, Meetup, Snapchat, Music: Songify, Pandora, Tunein Radio,  Information: Dictionary, News (CNN, BBC) imessages, Vine, Kakao, Dropbox, Group on. Grammar: Grammar Games, Mad libs, Grammarup, The Grammar Game etc!