Yes, you heard that correctly. Twitter no longer has to be that thing your student is inconspicuously browsing during class while you're trying to present a lesson on reflexives. Imagine a classroom where students are using Twitter to communicate with others in a target language. This can become a reality for both you and me! Below are a few ways that I plan on using Twitter in my future ESL classroom.
1. Create a discussion using a #ClassHashtag
Using a hashtag is a great way to filter your Twitter feed by topic. Strike up a class debate and have students posts answers using the hashtag you created. This also makes it easier for students to find what their peers had to say about the subject.
2. Correct grammar and spelling
Rather than just correcting all grammar and spelling errors, give your students a chance to play "detective." There are many instances of incorrect grammar and spelling on Twitter, even among native speakers. Students can identify tweets with noticable mistakes, "re-tweet" them, and share the mistake with their classmates!
3. Create a Twitter Poll
Twitter has a feature that allows you to create a poll, and anyone who sees the poll is allowed to cast a vote. A poll can be about anything you want: what students want to learn about, which sentence is grammatically incorrect, class activity ideas, etc. There are so many things that can be done with polls, and it is a great way to get quick feedback from your students!
4. Share language-related Gifs and Memes
Show your students that you are "hip," and that language learning can be as well! Gifs and Memes can serve as great, often witty, visualizations of almost any situation or concept. Is your student having a hard time remembering where to insert the comma? Maybe a funny image will help them remember.
5. Post homework assignments and due dates
Let's face it; your students are going to browse social media for at some point during the day anyways. Why not "tweet" a friendly reminder to complete an assignment? Even better, this can be an opportunity to quickly address any last-minute questions a student may have. I don't know about you, but I am much more likely to view a notification from my Twitter feed than my e-mail!
There are SO many more ways that Twitter can be implemented in the classroom (not just language classrooms either), which can be found here and here. As long as it's being used safely and efficiently, Twitter is a great resource to help promote a more interconnected, tech-savvy classroom!
It was great that you listed all of the ways you were going to use it so we could get ideas from you as well. Gifs and memes are so fun and I like the way you planned to incorporate them. Very cool!
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