Opinion
Curriculum Opinion

Engaging World Language Students Through Social Media

May 10, 2017 5 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Editor’s Intro: Keeping world language students engaged in their learning can sometimes be a challenge. Kaitlin E. Thomas, a Lecturer of Spanish at Norwich University (VT) and an online Instructor of Spanish for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, decided to use social media projects to pique the interest of her students. Here’s what she did.

By guest blogger Kaitlin E. Thomas

Effective integration of instructional technology in learning environments is the unicorn of successful curriculum design and implementation. Yet, one can almost hear the groans during discussions on the benefits of incorporating technology into lesson plans and curricula. Often times the pitch as to what technology could facilitate for learners and educators is aspirational while the actual execution of tech in the classroom is overwhelming, finicky, and unreliable. Indeed, classroom tech setups often appear to be on par with spaceship mission control for the uninitiated.

Why then even bother suggesting an engagement with students in their cyber worlds? For one, social media has become ideal to enhance language learning. For instance, the depth of connective resources (AltLatino, Radio Ambulante, Buzzfeed Spanish, Bien Tasty, etc.) within the peer sharing world means that, as instructors, connecting the dots between the existence, prevalence, and applicability of Spanish in the “real world” is easier than ever before. We can also utilize the realms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) and the lingo (vocabulary, hashtags, and even emojis) most familiar to our students.

This semester I took the leap into incorporating social-media-based technology for my beginner, intermediate, and advanced Spanish language classes. An experiment for sure, but one that with constant monitoring and tweaking confirmed my hypothesis that current iterations of several peer-sharing resources augments the foreign language learning experience. I still do not advocate simply using tech for tech’s sake, but rather using it to support the inclusion of what are already staples of most millennial interactions.

Consider implementing the following peer-sharing tools to enhance foreign language connectivity and application in and outside of the classroom:

Instagram Scavenger Hunt

This is particularly effective for a rural setting where interaction with native speakers and language is limited. The challenge is to replicate as much authenticity and applicability as possible, particularly for beginner and intermediate students.

Instagram’s exclusive focus on image and short video sharing makes it ideal to support pedagogical objectives of connecting students to tangible native speakers. Create an Instagram handle for the class, and design a scavenger hunt of ten to fifteen items, people, or places in the school, related to the language you are teaching. Students must identify them, snap a picture with them, and “post.” They can tag the classroom handle or use a classroom-created hashtag so that the class can track the results.

Students are challenged to physically and creatively identify visible proof that diverse cultures are alive and well in their immediate surroundings, often times in ways and with a depth that they did not previously realize.

Facebook Global Journalism

To up the ante in advanced Spanish reading, writing, and vocabulary acquisition, a semester-long group noticiero (journalism) project proved ideal. I sought to complement the literary and abstract grammar concepts we covered in our textbook with examples of authentic and brief written language in action.

Create a Facebook profile as the course instructor, and from there you have full capability to design and administer a private group, accessible only to you and your immediate students. Provide a list of several reputable online news sites in your target language (for example, in Spanish, I used the New York Times Edición Español, El Huffington Post, CNN en español, El País (España) or El País (América) that students can use to locate an article of interest. Alternate article criteria according to specific countries, regions, or topics of interest, and ask students to post a brief summary and personal reaction to their selected article (they must share the link!). They should comment on at least two of their peers’ posts as well to create a weekly, on-going virtual dialogue about current events, doing so entirely in the target language.

YouTube Cooking Videos and “Two to Tell”

YouTube provides a creative forum for two distinctive purposes in two very different groups: vocabulary at the beginner level and culture at the intermediate.

It is no novel observation that many students thrive in learning environments in which they physically participate. A fresh interpretation of this involved students creating their own two- to three-minute “how to” cooking videos modeled after the prolific Tasty and Bien Tasty. Students should pick a recipe of choice, and work in groups of two to three to create their own culinary tutorials. An optional component once all videos are completed is to have a viewing party during which students decide on which recipe they’d most like to make. Extra credit if they do, following the instructions in the video!

A second YouTube project was modeled after the innovative “Two to Tell” competition, originally created by Professor Emeritus Ana María Wiseman of Wofford College. Students select a cultural topic of their choice to draw together a theme that piqued their interest during the term. My students’ selections spanned everything from salsa to arte callejero with many others in between.

The challenge is to limit the presentations to only six slides consisting of twenty seconds each. Students should use visuals as creatively as possible to serve as a dynamic backdrop to their voice overlay, the result of which is an inventive short film created exclusively by them. As with the cooking videos above, an additional motivation is a “big reveal” party during which peers share their work with each other.

Current iterations of social media and peer-to-peer sharing offer unique opportunities for educators to engage with students within their digital worlds and expose them to the vibrancy of the native language speakers all around them and abroad. All that is needed for innovative foreign language instruction facilitated by the likes of Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube is a bit of ingenuity, enthusiasm, and of course supervision, the results of which will leave you and your students with visual and oral evidence of their linguistic and cultural progress.

*Student safety and privacy are paramount in all of these suggested activities. It was made clear to each and every student that cyber-bullying, unsanctioned sharing, and other inappropriate social media behaviors would not be tolerated in any circumstance, and would result in immediate course dismissal and disciplinary action.

Connect with Heather on Twitter.

Quote image courtesy of Pablo.

The opinions expressed in Global Learning are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum Explainer Social Studies and Science Get Short Shrift in Elementary Schools. Why That Matters
Learn why the subjects play a key role in elementary classrooms—and how new policy debates may shift the status quo.
10 min read
Science teacher assists elementary school student in the classroom
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Letter to the Editor Finance Education in Schools Must Be More Than Personal
Schools need to teach students to see how their spending impacts others, writes the executive director of the Institute for Humane Education.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Curriculum Q&A Why One District Hired Its Students to Review Curricula
Virginia's Hampton City school district pays a cadre of student interns to give feedback on curriculum.
3 min read
Kate Maxlow, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Hampton City Schools, who helped give students a voice in curriculum redesign, works in her office on January 12, 2024.
Kate Maxlow is the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Virginia's Hampton City school district. She worked with students to give them a voice in shaping curriculum.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Curriculum One School District Just Pulled 1,600 Books From Its Shelves—Including the Dictionary
And the broadening book ban attempts may drive some teachers out of the classroom.
6 min read
Books are displayed at the Banned Book Library at American Stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 18, 2023. In Florida, some schools have covered or removed books under a new law that requires an evaluation of reading materials and for districts to publish a searchable list of books where individuals can then challenge specific titles.
Books are displayed at the Banned Book Library at American Stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 18, 2023. In Florida, some schools have covered or removed books under a new law that requires an evaluation of reading materials and for districts to publish a searchable list of books where individuals can then challenge specific titles.
Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP