Using My Space as a ESL teaching Tool
The hardest part of learning (and teaching) a new language is the need to familiarize oneself with the grammar requirements of the language to be learned, with English this is particularly tricky to do. When the person learning English is an adolescent or pre-teen there are a few resources that can help the learning process.
Who cares about English prepositions when all they really want to know is what color lip gloss Beyonce is wearing, what brand of clothes the Jonas Brothers had on in their newest video or whether or not Vannesa Hudgens and Zac Efron really dating or is it all a show to boost ticket sales for high School Musical 3.
The best way to teach anything to adolescents and teens is to tap into the things that are important to them mostly music, fashion, their friends, sports, entertainment and anything that is gross or anything that hints of sex. Find out what it is they want to say to each other and teach it to them. One of the best tools for conversation can be a My Space Language Sessions. Engage other native English speaking teens to partner with and help your students create My Space Pages in English. When they choose songs, backgrounds, and create a friends list teach them to describe these things in English.
Have the students allow the teachers access to their saved emails, and as part of their grade have them chat in English with their partners (no texting, please). Have them create a list of topics to discuss such as current movies, fashion trends, celebrity gossip (who is dating who), what team has the best record,, personal interests, etc. Review these conversations daily making verbal and written corrections. This is a great way to plug into what your students want to say and learn about the culture in which they live.
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