Teaching ESL Students about Webtools and Social Networking

• Intermediate +
• Teens; Adults
• Listening & writing skills
• social media - web2.0 digital literacy
• Warm up
• Problem solving

1. You will watch a video on web 2.0. Before you watch answer the questions below.

What’s a web2.o?

What’s a web1.o? How different are they?

what are your favorite sites? Do they qualify as web1 or 2?
What springs to mind when you hear the word facebook?
What's special about facebook? Why is it so popular?




2. Watch what the characters in the movie The Social Network are saying about the site. How similar what they mention is to what you said?





3. Discuss
What's your favorite facebook feature?
What do you think about the status feature?
Why do you think this feature is so popular?
Watch the scene and check

What do you know about twitter?

How often do you use?

How can people use it wisely and productively?

What are these tools for? Have you heard of them? What do/would you use them for?
RSS feed

Bookmarking

Blogs

Wikis

Flickr

4. Discuss

How do you believe facebook could be improved?
Can you think of a site or application that could become popular among people your age?
What is the most useful site or application for you? Why?


5. Problem solving
What advice would you give to a person who is totally addicted to social networking and finds difficult to relate to people face to face?

Past Modals and The Social Network

I was teaching my advanced group past modals when I realized they would need much more highly controlled practice before I moved on. I used The Social Network to catch their attention because this movie talks to them. Teens here in Brazil are into facebook, and they love this success story, since they are struggling to choose their careers.

___________________________________________________________________

Activity Type --- Controlled practice

Age group --- Older teens

Time --- 15 '

Materials --- Movie scene

Web2.o --- Facebook

___________________________________________________________________

1 - Discuss the following questions in pairs.

What do you think about facebook?

What are the most interesting features?

Why is it such a great success?

What must Mark Elliot Zuckerberg have done to come up with the idea of such a different site?

What could he have done differently to have a better site?

How can they improve the site?

How has this site affected people's lives?

How did he come up with the relationship status idea?

Watch the scene and complete the following sentences.

Mark __________________ invented facebook on his own. His friends were really helpful!

Facebook _____________been such a great success without relationship status.

Eduardo’s parents _______________been happier about his being a CEO at so young age.

Mark and Eduardo _____________been very happy about the great success their site was.

The site _____________ had so many followers in the beginning if Eduardo Hadn't given his contacts.

The founders _______________ come up with the idea for the site if they had gone to a different college.

Answerkey

Mark couldn't have invented facebook on his own. His friends were really helpful!

Facebook wouldn't have been such a great success without relationship status.

Eduardo’s parents couldn't have been happier about his being a CEO at so young age.

Mark and Eduardo must have been very happy about the great success their site was.

The site might not have had so many followers in the beginning if Eduardo Hadn't given his contacts.

The founders might not have come up with the idea for the site if they had gone to a different college.

Digital homework

Students post a picture on the group's facebook account. The other students should write sentences speculating about what could/ might/must have happened before.

The Social Network for Punctuating Adverbial Clauses

My advanced students are talking about personality types. We are working with the book World Pass, and they have to be able to punctuate adverbial clauses. Easy? Not at all for this rambunctious group of teens. I prepared an activity to get their attention, and provide them with some more practice. It worked allright, eventhough some complained that it was difficult to undesrstand the movie scene.

They are getting there...

Activity type - Practice

Language focus - Punctuating adverbial clauses

Level - Advanced

Time 25 minutes

Materials - Powerpoint presentattion, movie scene

Web2.o - Blogger

What personality type are you?

Peaceful

Driven

Easygoing

Assertive

Unpredictable

Nurturing

Systematic

Refined

Introspective

Watch the movie segment and choose the correct sentences about it.

The girl decided to break up when she realized he was not easygoing.

Although she was very systematic, she couldn’t pass her exam.

He didn’t get a high score, eventhough he was very driven.

She decided to break up, since he was too assertive.

She decided to leave the restaurant so that she could spend more time with him.

Because he was studious and driven, he was not popular with the girls in school.

Practice – Punctuate these sentences

The girl decided to break up when she realized he was not easygoing

when she realized he was not easygoing the girl decided to break up

Although she was very systematicshe couldn’t pass her exam.

She couldn’t pass her exam although she was very systematic.

She decided to break up since he was too assertive.

She decided to leave the restaurant so that she could spend more time with him.

He was not popular with the girls in school because he was studious and driven.

Write more sentences about a different movie scene to challenge your partner.

Use adverbial clauses. Post the link to the scene and your sentences on blogger.