Critical Evaluation of Technology at the Service of English Learning in EFL Setting

• the introduction of making childrens into storytelling through using their own experiences, and lastly,

Introduction to reading comes through phonetic reading boxes. The reading boxes are cleverly organized, going from simple to the complex. Reading does not follow the same process of writing, which is taking our own thoughts and symbolizing. When we read, it is not our language with which we are working with, it is the author’s language. Reading is the analysis of the language followed by a synthesis. Story telling and socio-dramatic play in the environment can help the child develop an imagination that fosters a higher capability to understand what is being read to them.

My literacy narrative first unfolded in the playroom of my childhood home when I was an inquisitive two-year-old. My parents would sit down with me on the carpet and patiently teach me sight words. Every time I would

Children’s pragmatic knowledge of written language is evident in the different ways they use language when telling a story and when they are dictating a story for someone to write down. The told stories are generally characterized by a conversational tone and voice-continuant intonation between sentences. Children’s competencies in dictating stories or narratives are another component of pragmatic knowledge. Dictated stories provide children with an opportunity to use language to share personally important events and experiences. Experiences in dictating stories have also been associated with children’s increasing awareness of the conventions of print (directionality, word spacing, punctuation, and letter-sound connections). When story dictation is followed by experiences in

Literacy is a vital part of all later learning. Because of this, the children will engage in hands on activities that relates to what they have read and give them opportunities to make up their own versions, as well as make up their own stories. They will have a large group story time and a partner reading time. An ample variety of books will be available at all times. Signs with words and pictures will be posted around the classroom showing, daily activities, objects that are used daily, and the placement of toys and

The report concludes to show that the use of stories has benefits to children in various ways and this is not limited to only EAL children. It also has the potential of significant impact on communication. It further did have the potential to impact definitely upon communication between practitioners and parents with EAL. Keywords in the form of cue cards with English and Spanish used and these keywords incorporated into circle time and during the marking of register, choosing of activities and to support simple instructions. Benefits identified included: less frustration and enhanced behaviour due to understanding of setting routines; better concentration levels; providing a means by which children can start communication and make choices which also support language acquisition. Nevertheless, these

Literacy, whether it is reading, writing, or listening, can mean many different things to people. Each form can impact everyone immensely. In 2016 I had a literacy encounter that made a lasting impact on me. That summer I began babysitting John, a precious five-year-old boy, for the sole purpose of building up my bank account. Since both of John’s parents worked long hours at the hospital, John did not get to spend as much quality time with them as he or they would have liked. I felt badly for John, so I made it my goal that the time I spent with him would be meaningful and memorable.

Amber Wiltse’s literacy narrative begins with “How do you go from this… to this” (Wiltse 645). This beginning is effective in getting the reader's attention, along with conveying the author's message. Her combination of narrative writing and photographic visuals illustrates the way that literacy has influenced who she is today. Amber starts with a picture of her when she is a baby and then places a picture of her as a senior, she parallels the following caption with these photos “How Do You Go from this… to this? The answer is literacy” (Witse 645-646). This example shows how literacy has influenced her life, and helped her to mature, and grow into the women she was when she wrote her narrative. The photo of Amber’s brother and her embracing

For an exceptional literacy narrative, several key features must be present. There must be a well told story with vivid detail, and it must clearly show the significance of the narrative. Amy Tan meets all these requirements in her work “Mother Tongue”. The significance of her story was very easy to see because she elaborated on how her mother’s broken English had a dramatic effect on her writing style and speech, as well as how it influenced some of her and her mother’s earlier experiences in life. She also describes the difficulties her mother faced because of how she spoke. The story reflects on earlier points in her life, then explains how they helped her develop into the writer that she is today. The story included vivid details, which

“How Do You Go From This….to This?”, a literacy narrative written by Amber Wiltse, is about herself and how literacy changed her family’s dynamics. The narrative opens with pictures of herself as an infant and her as a high school senior. It starts off with the question, “So how do you go from this… to this?” This beginning is effective because not only can everyone relate to the process of growing up, but also the opening question immediately draws the reader into the story. It leaves the reader intrigued and makes the reader want to figure out the meaning behind the question. In the narrative, Wiltse goes on to explain how literacy has “always been a big part of who I am” (Wiltse) and how literacy really has changed her family’s dynamics

"Digital storytelling provides an authentic personal learning experience- as such; student investment is greatly increased resulting in greatly improved motivation and end product” (Jakes, n.d.). David Jakes’s quote gives us a quick glance into the realm of digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is the use of digital multimedia that includes music, video, voice, and pictures to tell about a topic such as a personal story, or anything else one would want. Joe Lambert (2013) defines it into three different spectrums, “collaboration between facilitator and storyteller”, “the role of literary voice and style that grows out of it”, and “the form the stories take” (p. 37). These stories can take on very emotional

Young children are like sponges; they absorb information like a sponge absorbs water. It is essential for them to be emerged in an environment in which they can absorb positive information so that one day they can become contributing members of our society and have a better future. For this reason, there is a pronounced importance on providing enriching environments for children to learn and develop appropriately. One of the ways that this can be achieved is through a literacy rich environment specifically with the use of story reading and storytelling.

Nowadays, Digital literacy helps to understand and analyze information through digital technology. The use of technology plays an important role within the process of teaching and learning; it can be used to teach reading and writing skills by using digital devices such as laptops, iPads, Chromebooks, or desktops. However, within the context of the use of technology in the area of education, and specifically in the area of language, digital literacy would also encompass its application both in development of language skills and learning of languages (reading, writing, oral comprehension and oral production). Although there are many limitations to the technological advances of digital literacy I believe that the advantages are greater than

Acquiring and learning a second language do not refer only to handling oral communication skills. It is more than that; it takes the students´ abilities in enhancing their lexicon, their management in syntax, and their perspective about words´ influences in people. Thus, summing this up, it is indispensable that ESL students have a grand deal about linguistic knowledge. In other words, ESL learners not only require speaking, but also reading, writing and thinking in English when they complete whatever English career.

ESL students are students that speak English as a second language. Presently, there is many different system to characterize this type of students (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). For example, they can be seen as “English Language Learners (ELL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English Language Development (ELD), English Language Service (ELS), and