Digital Tools for English Language Learning

As a teacher, now we are dealing with the new generation of learners who are very skillful and interested in learning through the digital ways. It is high time to make them more equipped and connected to the internet resources for the learning. So far English language learning is concerned, we have a treasure of web tools that can help us habituating our students for learning on the go. The biggest advantage of e-resources is that they can be used anytime and anywhere. None of the students are lacking digital skills, we have to just mold them using it in right ways. There are plenty of resources available which can offer ease of English language learning. Let’s have a look at some of them:

1.      NAMO e-TAB HE

It is one of the handy Android applications which provides British Council platform for English language learning. In Gujarat, the Government has started to provide NAMO Tablet to the graduation students. This tablet has this application in-built. It is also available in Google play store to download. The fact is that very few students practice English in it. The British council platform in this app offers all four skills LSRW and grammar lessons to practice for free. 

ESL Lounge (https://www.esl-lounge.com/)

 ESL Lounge is a website organized by levels from beginners to advanced. This website offers some very good exercises for reading and writing practice per level. Moreover, it also avails resources in both American and British English. It has some rich practice papers including English grammar, LSRW skills and even new words. Though it is a commercial website, it provides worth resources for free account as well.

3.      Write and Improve (https://writeandimprove.com/)

It is an interesting e-resource for practicing English writing. From the beginners to the advanced language learners all can try hand in writing on the given topics. The amazing feature of this website is that it gives you a topic to write and then checks your writing and suggests the grammatical mistakes and guides to make it more perfect. It also keeps our practice progress report which can help in English language learning.

4.      TED Ed (https://ed.ted.com/)

TED talks are quite popular, and with this website, students can find any number of videos related to a topic they are interested in. Each video is accompanied by a lesson that includes comprehension questions to check for understanding as well as open-ended questions and links to explore more about the topic. Most of the videos are pretty short, so you can easily watch it twice if you need, and you can usually find the transcript as well.

5.       Free Rice (https://freerice.com/)

It is very helpful website to those who are looking for a fun way to improve English vocabulary. It is a resource offering multiple choice quiz based on English Vocabulary and Grammar. It has endless questions which can help learners to learn so many new words. In addition, the amazing fact is the organization that runs this website donates ten grains of rice for each question answered correctly in some of its regions! That’s why it is called ‘Free Rice’!

6.      EF SET exam (https://www.efset.org/)

The EF Standard English Test (EF SET) is a free, online English test designed to meet the high technical standards as the other standardized tests in the field, such as the TOEFL or IELTS. With the EF Standard English Test, we set out to challenge the status quo – to build a testing solution that not only provides reliable measurement, but is also affordable, simple to use, and always accessible. It is the world’s first completely free standardized English test for learners of all levels, from beginner to advanced. With completion of our 50-min EF SET, you will receive a breakdown of your Reading and Listening skills, and also an official EF SET Certificate URL. It also offers a 15-minute English quiz which is a free and fast way for you to start with in getting an estimate of your English proficiency.

7.      Voice-to-text function

This is the best way to improve pronunciation. You can use pretty much any app on your phone: Notes, Pages, Word, an email, etc. Simply make sure the keyboard language is set to English, press the little microphone, and begin speaking. You can either read a text or talk freely for about 20-30 seconds; then press done. Read over what your phone typed, and see if it understood you correctly—was that what you wanted to say? If there are words that your phone didn’t understand, practice these words and go back and try again. The technology isn’t perfect, of course, but it’s fairly accurate so it’s a good way to check and improve your pronunciation.

8.      Record function

For students who want to improve their speaking, one of the best ways is by recording yourself. It might be a little uncomfortable, but the students who have done this every day have really seen improvement. Find a quiet place where you won’t be bothered. Choose a topic or discussion question from one of your classes. Then, turn on your recording device and answer the question, talking for about two to three minutes. You can just use the microphone, or use the video recorder. Then play it back and listen to yourself. it’ll be worth it. Do you notice any mistakes? Were there pauses, places where you were searching for a word but couldn’t think of it? Can you look for that word in a translator or dictionary now, so that you’ll be ready the next time you want to use it? Also, simply the act of speaking can help you become more comfortable and fluent.

The major reason behind poor fluency in English as second language is that our learners have no scope of practice specially in listening and speaking skills. These are something innovative and interactive ways to practice and learn English. When we have plenty of web resources available to learn English language, as a teacher it is our duty to make our students use it and to be habituated to/// practice English in its best ways.