Padres learn English

Many of the members of the Padres' baseball team are non-English speakers. They come from countries such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Columbia, and Mexico.  Living in or near San Diego having the ability to speak English is important. So three to four days a week the players of the Padres team take classes to help them learn English.
Since the players have been out in the sun practicing all day they are exhausted by the time they would enter a classroom. Kaitlyn Teske and Karen Foltz,  both doctoral students, had to get creative with teaching the players the skills they need. Teske and Foltz help the players learn practical language and everyday skills like ordering at a restaurant and using a banking app.
I think this is a great lesson for students. Many students (especially younger students) want to become professional athletes when they are older. Sharing this story via a video conference or Webinar would be a great way to show students that even athletes need more than just sports training.

ELSA

ELSA (English Language Speech Assistant) is a unique learning platform designed to help ELLs become more fluent in the English language. Unlike typical ELL technology programs, ELSA focuses on pronunciation and the user's accent. ELSA is available for Android and iOS and comes with a monthly subscription fee.
Users of ELSA begin by taking a five-minute assessment test which identifies the user's pronunciation proficiency and identifies which areas the user needs improvement. The app then customizes lessons to improve the user's pronunciation. The app listens to the ELL's voice and then matches what they said to the correct English pronunciation. The app will provide the user with tips to improve pronunciation, including how to form their mouth when saying the word or phrase.
ELSA is beginning to develop tools that would allow classroom teachers to input words specific to their curriculum. This sounds like a great tool for teachers to use as they work with students learning English.

One -pagers

One-pagers is a new idea that is growing in popularity. But what are they? One-pagers are a single page of sketchnotes used to represent important ideas. So then what are sketchnotes? Sketchnotes are purposeful drawings.

I had never heard of one-pagers before reading this article. I love the idea of allowing students to use pictures and text to summarize a book, discuss the theme of a book, or share a character's point of view. One-pagers encourage critical thinking and creativity as students decide what they are going to design to display their message in just one page.
One-pagers are a great idea for ELL students. ELL students can use pictures they create to convey a message. This is a good way for ELL students to show their understanding when their writing skills might be developing.
Reading this article really got my wheels turning. As the computer teacher, I immediately began to think about how we could create one-pagers using technology. Students could create one-pagers using Google Drawings and Google Docs instead of paper. Using Google Docs would allow students to take things a step further and include hyperlinks. ELL students could draw their pictures and then record themselves explaining different parts of a story. Students could then link their own voice to their own pictures.  Creating one-pagers using Google Docs opens the door to endless possibilities.