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Monday morning. 12 years old. He sits there, in his classroom. His English teacher is talking, talking, talking. He’s trying to listen, trying to pay attention, trying to understand, but his mind is on a constant walkabout. Now she reads something from their textbook and there is something about words of the week and a test at Friday. And then, reset. He runs out. Finally.

As a teacher it’s easy to fall into the trap of talking a lot just to make sure you have covered everything. At least that way your back is free if someone checks at the end of the school year if you’ve covered curriculum this year and maybe some of your students have picked it up. I work hard not to do it, and nowadays it’s easier to vary our teaching than ever before. We have digital resources. At our school we have SmartBoards in all classrooms and 7th graders have ChromeBooks at hand all the time.

I have some favourite digital resources which I am going to present here. Maybe you could share yours in a comment?

SmartBoard: Blackboard gone digital

First of all, the digital blackboard itself. On this I present lesson goals and what we are going to do in this lesson. I also write how we are going to work, as a class, in pairs, groups or individually. I prepare upfront with hyperlinks to websites we’re going to use. That way I don’t have to search when I’m with my students. If we’re making a mind map or venn-diagram together during the lesson I can save it for later. There are a lot of finesses in Smart Board software, but I must admit I mostly use it as a big computer screen and blackboard.

YouTube: Always a winner

My class likes to sing and singing is a good way to practice pronunciation and extend vocabulary. Obviously, I use YouTube. Some songs have lyrics included in the video and that’s great for practice. Other times I just give my students a handout and we sing as a video plays. If they are familiar with how the song is sung I use Kor Arti’. Kor Arti’ has a great digital resource where you’ve got an instrumental version with text synchronized as the melody plays. How often do we sing? Almost in every lesson, I said they like it.

Digital games: Make grammar practice fun

7th graders also like games, digital ones. Grammar practice can be a challenge, but when hidden in a game-like way, students brighten up. They eagerly get their ChromeBooks and log on when they get a ready sign for working online. Since my school has chosen Stairs for textbooks, I use exercises at Stairs online. I also use digital resources from British Council Learn English Kids which have both videos, digital games and printable resources.

Salaby: Made to measure LK06

I also find Salaby a great digital resource to use in my English teaching. It makes planning a varied lesson easier. The tasks and games can both be done at the SmartBoard with different students doing the tasks in front of the rest and in collaboration or on student computers/ChromeBooks. At this site you can listen to different English accents and test yourself if you can recognize which accents belongs where, you can meet children from English speaking countries from around the world via videos and practise your reading skills and understanding. These are all competence aims in LK06. Salaby is great that way, it’s made to fit LK06 competence aims at different levels.

ChromeBooks: Google makes writing and editing easier

When writing English at school my students use Google docs and Google presentations at their ChromeBooks. There they have easy access to digital dictionaries. They also have immediate access to Into words, an app which gives word suggestions when they write and helps their spelling. Into words can also help them read websites in English. This is especially important for students with dyslexia. By using Google docs sharing opportunity we don’t have to print texts. They can co-write and they share documents with me. That way I can comment directly in their texts, and they can continue editing and working on the text.

Quizlet: Online vocabulary practice

Some have waved goodbye to homework. I haven’t, but I find it important that students experience mastering their tasks at home. Therefore, when I want them to practice vocabulary I use Quizlet. I make a task with words of the week, all with Norwegian translation and pictures to assist if available. Then they can practice by writing, reading, using flashcards and playing games.

Handwritingpractice: Some chores never end

They also must practice writing by hand. To make sure everyone practises I make handouts I make at Handwritingpractice. Check out this example Handwritingpractice . There are two reasons for me doing this: It’s easier to learn how to write a word if you write it several times by hand. Secondly, my 7th-graders need to practice handwriting. Even those who write legible writes too slow, too small or too big for practical use outside elementary school. We are obliged to prepare them for life after school.

Digital resources: Vary teaching and competence aims at the same time

By using these digital resources, I reduce teacher talk and increase student activity. My teaching becomes more varied this way. At the same time students learn to use different digital resources in their language learning, one of the competence aims after both year 7 and year 10 in LK06 and to use digital tools and other aids to find relevant information and create different types of texts, a competence aim after year 7, LK06 Competence aims after year 7. That’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?

And maybe the 12-year-old boy learns English as well?

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