Smartphones as an Educational Tool in the Language Classroom

I never thought that smartphones could be used as a tool in a classroom; however, I started having a job and instead of using it for pure entertaining, as it was supposed to be, I started using my smartphone to take notes, record conversations, look for information through the internet and making it my main way of communication between my classmates. I marveled at the different applications I had at the palm of my hand.  Who would have thought that a technology trend would become in such a useful educational tool for me?

I bought my first smartphone because it was an ongoing trend everybody was talking about and almost everybody had one. No long after that, I started working as a teacher in a local school, which made my time almost nonexistent. Little by little, I started realizing there was more to my smartphone than just catching up with friends. Since I had data service, I had instant access to the internet, hence, to any resource that the World Wide Web could provide me. Also, I had my email set up in it and that made my communications faster both at work and at college.

The beauty of smartphones relies on their applications. The first app I ever used in a classroom was the camera; it saved me from losing information while actually paying attention to presentations made by my classmates. After that, apps were my best friends. I would do several activities with them, such as: record speech practices, tape plays, translate words I did not know and edit last minute papers. This helped me to realize that years ago I would have spent time writing several pages and while doing so, I would have missed what was explained by my classmates or my teacher. Also the recording app made it easy for me to increase my knowledge as well as improving my pronunciation  These apps were really helpful for me as a language student because phonetics and practice are key factors for me to improve my language development. This has helped me to refocus my opinion on smartphones due to the fact that a single device can hold many features that once were considered expensive and they should be carried all in a bag; now they are all free and easy to bring anywhere I go. 

What makes smartphones a useful tool is how practical they can be. You can have a memory drive, a mini computer, a media player and a library all in one; your very own Swiss Army knife. As a student and a teacher, these features came in handy as a learning and educational device.

Smartphones are considered babies in relation to communication technology. They have just been developed in less than a decade and have changed the world’s way of doing day-by-day activities. Personally, they have changed the way I take care of my learning process. Specifically, by recording me and listening to what is that I am doing wrong or by taking pictures of information that I would not have been able to retain. This is significant for me because, as language student because I have been able to master those little flaws that could once stop me from becoming the professional I have ambitioned to be.  Smartphones are an incredible tool in a language classroom and I cannot wait for the improvements and assets that technology will bring to them and therefore, to me.

How to improve your English skills

By Elvin Herrera

The domain of a language is measured in the use of English skills so it is important to ask ourselves what about our language skills as a second language? Have these already acquired in the mind or do they need more practice? If we want to know what is our level or quality of language we must focus in our listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Learning another language requires a lot of time because it is a constantly process where we are involved with several contexts of knowledge. Therefore, we will never speak, read, write or listen to English like a cracking of fingers because there some strategies that we must follow all the time, that's if we want to be recognized inside a linguistics environment of English. There are many things that we can do for improving our skills although the most important aspect of learning a language is summarized in communication, motivation with ourselves and determination for achieving goals.

We must not forget that learning English means communicate the language. Unfortunately, schools have been leaving out this important skill of learning, bilingual education systems have to start to produce English in the students and how can they do it; well, the answer is working hard in our language skills through the communication. Our environment is the first element in where we can improve all these skills; the classroom has to be a stimulating place of interactions with the language. Every single space to practice any of those linguistics competences should be our chance to improve our English. We have our classmates for speaking all the time so do it; books are around whatever site so read them, we born with a lot of imagination in our heads so use it for writing. Morever the internet offers incredible websites where we can strength all these skills; so then what are we waiting for, we should star using all these resources.

The key for realizing whatever activity is in doing it with motivation because we need stimulus to work well. When we do something that we enjoy, it is sure that we are not going to forget that experience, it will be kept in our mind and the most important part, it will be available to attach the knowledge that we acquired. Learning English has to be great, not boring and we can catch up this condition if we add our special sense of learning. Perhaps, you like listening to music so it is time to get it for learning English, the same situation if you like movies, go to watch movies in English. My point is that we can learn more if we do something that we love. Being motivated is essential for improving our skills of the language because this process of learning could be exhausting, anybody learn English immediately so we must make every situation of learning the most amazing experience of our life.

It is easy to say “I am going to speak English very well”. However, inside these words must be a lot of determination with us. Learning English has to become a habit, something that we can do everyday like our meal time, a need to continue living. Every skill of English has to be worked continuously; one skill practiced per day could result an excellent way to improve our language. Sometimes, little things make incredible results but only if we are constant in the way. Consequently, if we read, write or listen to English at least fifteen minutes every single day, at the end we will achieve great things; our quality in the language will be reflected in how we communicate with others. Just at this moment, we finally will be able to say that we speak English very well.

Learning English requires a lot of creativity and imagination, this aspect of language allows us to interact with the skills that we need to handle. The bases of teaching English has to be focused in communication, speak English is produce English accompanied of motivation which is the bases to keep going in the process of learning with a state of safety for realizing the goals that learning a second language requires form us. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are skills of English which have to be present all the time in our process of learning and only making them work very well is how we will feel the great results such as part of this beautiful communicative human expression. Accordingly, my time of putting into practice my writing skill have finished at the same time that you may have finished your daily practice in your reading skill.