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CollinsEasyLearningEnglishConversation(Book1)KmCD

5 Tips for Using Quizlet in the Language

Learning Classroom
Publi le 5 juin 2015

Michael J Shehane

Suivre
Instructional Designer and Teacher

14

12

EnglishLanguageLearnersthinktheyareconstantlydrowninginanoceanof
vocabularyandtheyoftenmakeabigspectacleofit.Iteachthemtodogpaddleeven
thoughthereisnoshoreinsight.Quizlet,aWeb2.0onlinelearningmanagementtool,
forwebbrowsersandsmartphones,helpsmeshowthemhow.

An Online Management Tool for Vocabulary

Quizletisanonlinevocabularymanagementsystemforteachersandstudents,similar
tomint.comwhichhelpsyoutrackyourmoney,facebook.comwhichhelpsyoutrack
yourfriends,anddo.comwhichhelpsyoutrackyourprojects.
Quizlethelpsteachersandstudentstrackvocabularylearning.

image1.Week6:DescribingLocation

Butjustbecauseyouusemint.comdoesn'tmeanthatallyourfinancialwoeswillbe
goneforever.Samegoesforfacebook.comanddo.com.Youstillneedtobeinthe
driver'sseatforyoutooseefriendshipsblossomandworkprojectsyieldfruit.Online
managementtoolscanhelpyouorganizebutyouwouldbeafooltothinkthey
willdotheworkforyou.

Inotherwords,tokeepmymetaphorgoing,IseetheQuizletvocabularylistsasaline
ofbuoysleadingthemtotheshoreafalseshore,becauseinactualitythey
havetransversedakiddiepoolinmyclassroom.Therealoceanistherestoftheirlives.

image2.Virtual"notecard"forWeek2:NarrativeVocabulary

Is Learning Vocabulary Antiquated?

Asapostmoderneducator,lifelonglearningisthegoalofmyinstruction.Ihavemy
favoritevocabularywordstoteachbecauseIknowthattheyreaffirmmyidentitybut
mytrueobjectiveistohelpstudentslearnhowtolearn.
TeachinginternationalstudentsEnglishanartuniversity,Ifindthatstudentstryto
convincethemselvesthatignoringvocabularylearningisokayandtheytrytopersuade
methattheirrationalizationsarewatertight.Theirexcusesinclude:
Idon'tneedtounderstandwhatmyteachersaresaying.Icanlearnwithmyeyes.
Theycanpointtowhattheyarelecturingordemonstrating.
Idon'tneedtousewordsIcanshowmyunderstandingofconceptsthrough
myartwork.
Translationappsonmyphonecantakecareoftherest.
Myjobistoconvincethemthattheyaredeludingthemselves.WhichIdon'tminddoing
atall...
Seeingandlisteninghelpsstudentstriangulateyourunderstandingofthelectureor
demonstrationinthatexactmoment.
Havingahugereservoirofvocabularytodrawfrominrealtimeempowersyou.

Translationappscreatedistancebetweenpeople,isnotalongtermstrategyfor
livingabroad,anddisallowsyouofowningyourlearning.
IfIcanconvincethemtostopflailingtheirarmsandwork,thenmanystudentsmoveon
tothenextstepwhichisnaivelyperceivinglearningvocabularyasrotememorization.I
trytomeettheseperceptionsoflearning.

QuizletMeets Students' Perceptions of Learning

EAP 3 Fieldtrip

video1.myhappystudents
Thetruthisthatwelearnvocabularyinmanydifferentways:
Sometimeswediscovernewideaswhenanewvocabularywordstepsrightinfront
ofourpathwaysandwesay,"Whatisthisword?Ihaveneverseenthisword.I
wonderwhatitmeans."
Sometimesideaswithnonameshavelivedinourheadsforyearsuntilwefindthe
word,lookitup,andsaytoourselves,"Oh!I'vebeenlookingforthiswordfor
years!"
Sometimesweneverreallyappreciatedthetruemeaningofaworduntillifehas
cometoacrashinghaltandthiswordyouhaveoverlookedforyearshasbecome
yourpersonalsaviorsonowyouareworkingitintoconversationseverychanceyou
get.
Yes,Quizletisagreattoolforstudentstostudyvocabularywordsthroughrote
memorization.Butthosestudentswhosucceedinmyclass,meaningtheyengagein
theclassmaterialandfindawaytomaketheclassroomworkforthemselves,are
theoneswhoalsologontoQuizlettoplaythesightrecognitiongames,thespelling
games,andtesttheirmemorywiththepracticetests.
Dowereallylearnvocabularythroughrepetition,memorization,andspeed
games?Idon'tknow.ButwhenstudentsuseQuizlet,atleastthey'retrying.Icanhelp

studentswhoaretryingtodogpaddle.Icanonlygosofartohelpthosewhocontinue
togasp,"Iamdrowning,"inthatkiddiepool.

1) Imagesare Memory Hooks

Whenyouwereakidandyouleafedthroughthedictionary,didn'tyouscanthe
pagefordefinitionswithpicturesanddiagrams?

Whenbuildingvocabularylists,Iuseacombinationofdefinitionsandimages.For
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)Ihavefoundthatdictionarydefinitionsareoftentoo
abstractforthemandtheywillignorethedefinitionsandsearchgooglefortranslations.
Butwithanimage,thereisinstantgratification.Sadbuttruereality.
Theimagesyouchoosedon'thavetobeperfect.Theycanbehighlyassociativeandcan
serveasamemoryhookforstudents.Herearesomeexamples:

image3.Week2:NarrativeVocabulary

image4.Week4:Unit1GeneralVocabulary
Mytipsforselectinganimage:
usegoogleimagesearch
choosethefirstimagethatstrikesacordwithyou
suggesttostudentsthatifoneofthemfindsabetterimagethatfitsthevocabulary
word,theycanemailyouthatimageandasaclassyoucanvotewhichimageworks
bestforthemajorityofthestudents
remindthestudentsthattheimagesareassociativememoryhooksandreferthemto
thedefinitionsiftheysaytheyareconfusedonquizzes
Bonus:Quizletdoesn'tofferteacherstouploadmorethanoneimagepervocabulary
word,sotomakesurethatthemeaningofavocabularywordscomeacrosssuccessfully,
youcantakeascreenshotofagoogleimagesearch,cropit,anduploadit.Forexample,
thevocabularyword"portrait."

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image5.Week1:GeneralArtVocabulary

2) Use giphy.comto search for GIFs

GIF(GraphicsInterchangeFormat),pronounced/df/or/f/,isalooping,
dynamicimage.YoumayhaveseenthemonTumblr,Facebook,andBuzzfeed.
CurrentlyLinkedIndoesn'tallowforGIFsbutQuizletdoes!

image6.clickontheimagetogotoGIPHYtoseetheFerrisBullerGIF

GIFsareamazingforexplainingvocabularyeasilybecausetheyisolateanactionand
repeatitoverandoveragain.Vocabularywordslike,
fainting(v)toloseconsciousnessforashorttimebecauseofatemporarily
insufficientsupplyofoxygentothebrain

frown(v)tofurrowone'sbrowinanexpressionofdisapproval,displeasure,
orconcentration

pain(n)physicalsufferingordiscomfortcausedbyillnessorinjury

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aredifficulttoexplainusingonlywords.A5secondvideocancommunicatethe
meaninginstantaneously.Forexample,clickontheimagesbelowtoseetheGIFson
BettyWhitefainting,ababyfrowning,andamousetraptriggeredbyatongue.

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image7,8,9from
giphy.com

Thesemovingimageselicitemotionalresponseswhenseenandcreatestronger
memoryhooksforstudentsassociatingthearbitraryphonemes,blacksquigglesonthe
screen,andtheirmeanings.

3) Show Students How to Google TheirQuizlet Sets

Mybeliefwasthattoday'sstudentsareWeb2.0savvy.Thecurseofknowledge!My
new,painfullylearnedbeliefisthatstudentswanttobecomeWeb2.0savvyandIwill
needtoshowthemhow.
Quizletoffersteacherstheabilitytosetuponline"class"thathousesallthevocabulary
sets.Ilovedthisfeaturebecausestudentscanuploadtheirownimage,Icanseewhich
studentsareplayingthegames,anditcreatesanalyticsforwhichvocabularywords
studentsaregettingrightorwrongonpracticetests.
AllteachersneedtodoisinvitestudentstoregisterforQuizlet.Shouldbesimpleand
painless,right?

Wrong.Afterreceivingemailsatmidnighteveryweekaskingmewheretofindthe
vocabularywordsontheInternet,sometimesfromthesamestudentsoverandover
again,thetruthIdiscoveredis:
studentsforgetthenameofthewebsite"Quizlet"
studentsforgettheirusernamesandpasswords
studentslosetrackoftheemailinvitation

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studentsdon'tsearchonourMoodlepageforourQuizletlink
Remember,theythinktheyaredrowningallthetimeandtheywantmetowitnesstheir
drama.Myrealizationcameinthecomputerlabduringclasstimewatchinghow
studentsactuallyfoundtheQuizletpagesolvedthisproblem.Theyusedgoogleto
searchforQuizlet.AndthenwithinQuizlettheysearchformyname.Solazy,sosmart!
Makesureyourquizletpageisgoogeable.AllIdonowissaytostudents,"Ingoogle,
type'quizlet'andmylastname'Shehane.'"Theyfinditeverytimeandnomorelate
nightpanickyemails.

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image10.screenshotofgooglewithkeywordstofindtheirQuizletvocabeasily

4)Print Out "Written" Tests

IexperimentedwithallthevariablestheQuizletquizgeneratoroffers:written,
matching,multiplechoice,andtrue/falsequestiontypes,andIhavedeterminedthatjust
the"written"questiontypegetsstudentsseriouslystudying,invigoratingasenseof
prideinthemwhentheyseethequizgraderesults.

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image11.WrittenQuestionTypeQuizGenerator

WhatIdiscoveredisthatwhenImixedthekindsofquestiontypes,studentswouldn't
seriouslystudyforthequizbecauseit'sacomputergeneratedquiz.Becausethequiz
generatesquestionsandanswersusingonlythedatawithineachvocabularyset,
moststudentsdidn'tstudyforitbecausethequizwouldgiveawayenoughofthe
answersinotherquestionsforthemtogetapassinggrade.WhatIsawwasthatthe
studentswouldskipthewrittenquestionsbecausetheywouldnotrememberhowto
spellthewordsanddeducetherestofthequizandgetapassinggrade.Theretentionof
thevocabularywaslowandthetheresultinggradesweremeaninglesstothem.
Here'smyMondaymorningprocessforvocabularyquizzesnow:
1.Printout"written"quizzeswiththeimages.
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2.Passthemoutatthebeginningofclassandgivethem5minutes.

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3.Collectthemandredistributethem.
4.Processtheanswersontheboardwiththestudents.
5.Studentscorrecttheirclassmates'quizzes,putthegradeatthetopofthepage,pass
thembacktotheirclassmates.
6.Recollectthemandputtheminyourgradebook.
NowthatIprintout"Written"quizzes,aftertheygettheirquizzesback,Ihearsome
studentssay,"I'mgoingtostudyharderfornextweek'squiz"andIseeother
studentsgiveeachotherhighfives.ThesearethekindsofemotionsIwanttopromote
intheclassroom.

5) Do Something With The Words

Quizletoffersyouandthestudentsanonlinelearningmanagementtoolforvocabulary.
Itwillnotsolveallyourproblems.Youstillhavetoteach.
Learningvocabularyisanunbelievablyhugeprocessthatisjustwaytobig.Yourjob
asanEnglishteacheristobreaktheprocessdownintodoablechunkstoshowthem
thattheycanmakeprogress,iftheytry.Andyouwillwatchthemstrugglebecause
flippingthroughvirtualnotecardsontheiriPhonesfor20minutesonthebusinthe
morningcomingtotakeavocabularyquizdoesn'tteachthestudentsthevocabulary.
Lifeisjustnotthateasy.
Ultimately,studentswillwanttochoosetoincorporatethewordsintotheirrealitiesand
thetasksandassignmentsyouassigninclassaskstudentstousethesevocabulary
wordstocommunicatetheirrealitiestoalargeraudiencewillhelpthemontheir

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adventure.Andithastostartsomewhere.Quizletcanbethatfirststrokethatkeepstheir
headsabovewater.
Belowisanexampleofavideopresentationastudentofminedidincorporatingthe
vocabularywordswehadlearnthroughquizletintoherdescriptionofanartwork.

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video2.Maggie'sVideoPresentationon"TheEyes,"amuralonthestreetsofSan
Francisco'sMissionDistrict
Question,Comments,Additions?Pleasemakeacommentbelow!

Tag ajout dans: vocabulary development,esl,edtech

Michael J Shehane

Instructional Designer and Teacher

19 articles

12 commentaires

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Les plus rcents

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Masoud Fratello

1sem

E-Learning

Thank you so much for nice tips. I'm beginner on Quizlet and the tips will help me to improve my skills.
Jaime

Rpondre

Nino Bautista

1mo

Training and Quality Sr. Manager at Skycable Corporation

Thank you for the nice tips. I've been looking for literature and material for a planned in-house training
module discussing the advantages of online resources for training. This article is very helpful with that
regard.

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I'd like to ask permission to use the material in the said course, along with other content from online
sites like Career Academy http://bit.ly/2f9m48l. W Voir plus
Jaime

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Il y a 10 autres commentairesVoir plus

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