ESL Kids in the Classroom? How to Get them Up to Speed with Technology by Lenore Holditch

Today I have Lenore Holditch as guest blogger.
Please be sure to check out her unique guest post. Guest posts are always welcome, please contact me.

It's remarkable the speed with which children can grasp and apply technology. "Digital natives" possess a seemingly innate ability to pick up any computer or electronic device and learn its principle components with only a few tries. At the same time, however, the kids who are naturals at technology are those who have been exposed to it since a very young age, when they were undergoing important developmental changes, enabling them to learn things quickly like picking up language. However, there is another cohort of students, those whose second language is English, and who may have not grown up with technology at all. Here are a few tips for ensuring that you can have all your students on the same technological page.

1.  Encourage technology exposure outside the classroom.
If a student does not own a computer or have Internet access at home, then make sure that you encourage your student to participate in after school activities in which using technology is emphasized, like going to the library or joining a technology club. This is particularly helpful because one class period per day is not enough to provide students the exposure they need.

2.  Teach all your students to use Google Translate. 
Google Translate epitomizes the very international world that the Internet has become. If you have students who are trying to improve their language skills, whether English or a foreign language, then Google Translate is a must-have. The great thing about Google Translate is that, by adjusting settings, users can have a web page displayed in the target language. Then by hovering over an unfamiliar phrase or word with the cursor, the phrase is translated to the native language. This enables ESL students to learn new words constantly while still being able to defer to their native language in an emergency.

3.  Discourage "Internetspeak" especially among students who are trying to improve their English.
Nearly two-thirds of students use informal text slang in school assignments, as noted in a study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life project. As such, while poor writing skills are already a problem among most American students, it is especially important to discourage ESL students from using such terms. For students whose first language is English, most of them do know better than to use LOL in a school assignments, but for ESL students, they may pick up bad habits that can be harder to fix if not corrected in time.

4.  If parents are not aware, emphasize to them during conferences how important technology is to their children's future success.
As then First Lady Hilary Clinton once so famously noted, "It takes a village to raise a child." Parents and other family members are instrumental keys to their children's success. Parents of many households who do not own a computer may not have one because they don't understand its importance. Of course, it's not absolutely necessary to have computers and Internet access at home, but be sure to explain to parents why being regularly exposed to technology will put them ahead of the curve in the future.

Teaching ESL kids is always a challenge to begin with, but keep in mind that by vigorously immersing your students in technology, both their language skills and general life skills will improve by leaps and bounds.

Related link
Take a closer look at TopOnlineColleges.com's blog 

This guest contribution was submitted by Lenore Holditch, who specializes in writing about top online colleges. Questions and comments can be sent to: holditch.lenore@gmail.com.

Many thanks to Lenore.
Enjoy your reading!