We Like to Move It! Mobile Language Learning Activities
“… young people are reading and writing more than I ever did at their age, but they are doing it using their computers and mobile phones … The mobile is central, and will become even more so as time goes by.” - David Crystal
With a mobile device students can learn English while engaging in activities that get them out of their seats talking and exploring. With their devices students can capture images, make videos, record audio, access the Internet, and so much more! These features also work without an Internet connection. When we download apps and have Internet access, our learners have endless opportunities to learn by creating, exploring, researching, and playing. In my book, Learning to Go, I provide ideas, lesson plans, rubrics, and mobile ready handouts to accomplish this.
Ideas & Resources
Photo Challenges
Video Tasks
Audio Recording Tasks
Icebreakers and Get-to-Know You Activities
My Mobile Learning Posts/ Presentations
- Selfie Adventures- Find templates and resources here.
- I Spy with My Device is a type of formative assessment in which students take photos to reflect their learning. Find this activity in my book, Learning to Go: Lesson Ideas for Mobile Devices.
Video Tasks
- Find ideas and resources here.
Audio Recording Tasks
- Find ideas and resources here.
Icebreakers and Get-to-Know You Activities
- Digital Bingo
- Mobile Show and Tell- Divide students into small groups (3 to 5 students). Each student spends about 30 seconds sharing a personal photo from a mobile device and the anecdote behind the photo.
- Recreate a Photo- Students choose one of the Mobile Show and Tell images to recreate as a group. They share the original then the newly created photo.
- Selfie Adventures- Find templates and resources here.
- Draw and Dash- Each student will need to use a piece of paper or a drawing app. Name a category like favorite dessert, cartoon, sports team and so forth for students to draw the answers to on their tablets. Give them 30 seconds. When the time is up they should lift up their drawings and run to a peer they believe drew a similar choice. Give them 1 minute to talk about their drawings and exchange one fact or experience related to the choice. Find the Knowledge Swap handout that accompanies this activity in Learning to Go.
- Mobile Me Pictionary- Give each student 3 notecards. Students write on one side a category like a talent, hobby, dream job, or favorite place. On the other side they write down an answer but show no one. Divide students into small groups. Each group will need to use a drawing app. Students stack all the cards with the categories facing up. When you start the timer, one student chooses a card and draws the word(s) on the app. The group tries to guess the answer and who it describes before the time runs out.
- Vision Boards- Students can use digital poster and scrapbook tools and apps to create goal collages and vision boards. Learn more here.
- My Timeline- Students create multimedia timelines highlighting significant moments using a tool like Mindmeister or Popplet which both have free apps.
- Icebreaker Mingle- Find my lesson plan that uses the Icebreaker question app here.
My Mobile Learning Posts/ Presentations
- Once Upon a Time: Clickable Infographic of 20 Reading Activities on Mobile Devices & Free IOS and Android Apps
- Mobile Learning SlideShare Presentations
- Free Webinar Video Training from American TESOL
- 20+ Fun Free Apps that Promote Student Centered Learning & Literacy
- Magical Moments in Mobile Learning: 20+ Tips & Resources
- 45+ Recommended Educational Apps
- 20+ Apps to Support the Digital Storytelling Process
- 30+ Apps for Celebrating December Holidays
- Why Mobile Learning in Schools Makes Cents
- Sharing Stories: Motivating Language Learners with Mobile Devices
- 10+ Ideas for Using Cell Phones with Young Learners
- Texting and Teachers Experimenting with Technology: 10 Resources
- Mobile Motivation: 17 Digital Storytelling & Literacy Apps/Resources for Kids
- 8 Apps to Prepare You for Your Next Presentation/ Webmeeting
- 14 Apps That Should Accompany You to the Next Conference
- 30+ Holiday Apps for Creativity & Learning
- 18 Educational Apps for Halloween
One part of my job is traveling worldwide and helping teachers integrate technology and mobile learning effectively even if all they have available are the devices students bring in. If your school is interested in having me work with your teachers and students, contact me at [email protected]. Below is a video of me in Croatia.