A teacher’s contribution to literacy and mLearning

Email: joanna@keywordsenglish.com Twitter: @KeywordsEnglish Facebook.com/keywordsenglish
Academic language for school
An Irish Teacher’s Contribution
to
Literacy and mLearning
Joanna Norton
Educator
Teacher-Educator
Mobile Content Entrepreneur

My journey from educator, teacher-educator to mobile
content entrepreneur started in classrooms in north
London. I grew extremely frustrated by the numbers of young
people with low levels of literacy and the lack of appropriate
content to support diverse learning needs in multilingual
classrooms.
I started using mobile phones for teaching and learning in 1996, which
allowed me engage with young people through a medium they related to.
At the same time I started to travel to the villages, towns and cities that
many of our students are from, in an attempt to present learning from an
non ethno-European perspective.
I believe that mobile devices have the capacity to both democratise
education and provide a highly personalised learning experience. I started
to develop Keywords English, a research-based app, in an attempt to
support young people with the academic language of school. I also
developed supplementary worksheets for whole class instruction, support
classes, and for content teachers in the area of language and literacy..
I hope you and your students enjoy using these worksheets and app, which
are free to use, and that they help progress all learning to the next level.

Keywords English Worksheets Keywords English App

Vocabulary
A simple activity to pre-teach
vocabulary to ensure students
understand the core meaning of
the reading task.

Reading task
Here students are required to infer
meaning from context. The
students are also reminded about
the importance of good writing.

Multi-choice
This multi-choice activity tests
comprehension of the keywords in
context.

Matching activity
Can be used to test prior
knowledge, test comprehension,
or be used for revision and
consolidation purposes.

Parts of speech
An activity that helps students
identify the form of each of the
keywords.

Word stress
Breaking words into syllables and
then identifying the syllable with
the main stress, supports clear
communication.

Spell the keyword
Students can work alone or in pairs
to identify the correct spelling of the
keywords.

Spelling (in pairs)
An additional spelling activity that
can also develop oral skills.
Students can work in pairs to
support each other.

Snap
Can be used as a pre-teaching
exercise, to check
comprehension, consolidate
learning or for revision purposes.

Snap
exercise that checks
comprehension, consolidate
learning or supports revision.

Classroom-based evidence
Usefulness 100%Usefulness 100%
Relevant 100%Relevant 100%
Student feedback on worksheetsStudent feedback on worksheets
Support with keywords 100%Support with keywords 100%
Understand the topic 100%Understand the topic 100%
“I would like to do more work on pronunciation. Science words are difficult to say.”“I would like to do more work on pronunciation. Science words are difficult to say.”
exercise, to check comprehension,
consolidate learning or for revision
purposes.
Students were asked to rate their
experience of using the worksheets
and how well the worksheets
supported their learning.

Preparation for user-generated content
The next stage is to get students to
create their own content. These
photos, which are models, were
taken in Co. Cork, Ireland and
shared with teachers.

User-generated content
ESOL students at the College of
Haringey Enfield and North East
London used the worksheets and
went on to create their own content.

Students were shown the models
and then asked to create images of
the keywords they learnt and
showcase them in their community.

These photos of the keywords for
photosynthesis, were taken by
students on Arranmore island, Co.
Donegal, Ireland.

Students in Adıyaman, eastern
Turkey, are about to start developing
their own content on the topic of
photosynthesis.

More information
Link to worksheets: http://www.keywordsenglish.com/?p=565
Download the
Keywords English
app to learn about
photosynthesis at
your own pace.
Download the
Keywords English
app to learn about
photosynthesis at
your own pace.
I really want to
understand
science.
I really want to
understand
science.

A teacher’s contribution to literacy and mLearning

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