Improving+Language+Acquisition+for+ELLs+with+Social+Media

This article is about how to use blended learning and social media to improve language acquisition for English language learners in an elementary classroom.
English language learners are faced with learning content while also acquiring the English language. As a result, educators must have a dual focus in teaching content while scaffolding language. Students, particularly upper elementary students, often arrive with lots of knowledge in their native language. It is our responsibility as educators to learn how to effectively scaffold content in order to support students' in acquiring new knowledge. In addition, we must find ways to assess what students actually know in their native language. Using technology through blended learning is a great way to scaffold language while building knowledge about a particular topic. For instance, Dreambox is a great web-based mathematics program that is self-paced and relies on mathematical models to promote strategy development. This program includes an auditory as well as visual components, which appeals to multiple learning styles and reinforces English language development for ELLs.

In addition to blended learning options such as Dreambox, social media can also play an integral role in scaffolding and language acquisition for ELLs. Using voice thread in the classroom would be a great way to develop an interactive social media community. We know that many English language learners struggle with output such as speaking and writing. Often, speaking is developed a bit more quickly than writing and Voice Thread would enable students to record themselves and interact with each other through speaking. School that have the capacity could also encourage students to respond in their native language using Voice Thread, which would enable Newcomer students to interact with content. According to, "The Benefits of Using Social Media Environment with English Language Learners," students can quickly develop informal language skills by interacting with each other through virtual worlds such as Voice Thread or other social media outlets. This sort of language development is powerful in that it takes place in context and is related to a specific task rather than developing formal language based on rules, out of context, in a traditional classroom setting.