ESL+and+Pinterest

As we all know, the largest hurdle for students new to English is the lack of vocabulary. Teachers combat this by using picture cards and picture dictionaries. A web 2.0 tool that would greatly benefit ESL students is Pinterest. Pinterest is a social networking site based primarily on pictures. If you were to visit someone’s Pinterest page, you would see many pictures with brief annotations. When you click on the picture another window pops up that will lead you to more information about the topic. Topics range from algebra to zoology. The possibilities are endless.

ESL students would greatly benefit from this resource as it is primarily pictures. Students can look up a term, such as //brown bear//, and will see many photographs of brown bears. If he types in //brown bear facts//, then he will get photographs along with the links to facts about the animal. This will greatly increase understanding and the ability to research independently.

Of course, the barrier that an ESL student would encounter using Pinterest is, again, vocabulary. Searching for the designated term would provide a photograph of the item, yet the link that it leads them to may be too difficult to read and understand without assistance from others. To get beyond this barrier, it is important for the teacher to create a board with sample websites that will be easier for the student to understand. For example, I have created a Pinterest Board titled //Animal Research Resources (// []). This board has many pins that will lead them to kid friendly websites that contain animal facts. Of course, students will have access to the board to add pins of their animals or any other kid friendly websites that they find. In this way, ESL students will gather even more information from their peers. Furthermore, by pinning things to the board, they will increase their own vocabulary.

There are several Pinterest boards that share teaching ideas for ESL students. However, these boards are for the teachers, not the students. Here is a sampling: [] []

There are also Pinterest boards that focus on learning the vocabulary. These ones are for students. [] []

Website Articles Used: //Using Pinterest to improve your English // [] //Tool of the Month- Pinterest (December, 2012)// []