The document discusses using Instagram as a tool for language learning and promoting critical thinking among students. It provides various activity ideas for educators to engage English Language Learners (ELLs) and enhance their reading, writing, and analytical skills in a stress-free social media environment. The authors emphasize the benefits of integrating social networks into teaching to foster interaction and improve language production.

1. #Gramming
#Promoting #CriticalThinking
on #SocialNetworks
Speakers:
@MiguelPerez
@JohannesRojas
@MiguelFrontado

2. What is #Instagram?
Instagram is a #socialmedia
platform where you can share
#photos and 60-second #videoclips
with written comments.
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3. #InstagramFeatures
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4. #Instagram for ELT and ELL
The social appeal The visual context
The instant and mobile access
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5. #Instagram #Ideas
for ELLs and ELTs
● Set-up a class account that you can make private
for parents and students.
● Post regular challenges for each unit or chapter.
● You can post image challenges for students to
show you they understand the material.
● You can post video challenges.
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6. ● You can use images as writing prompts for your
students.
● Post an image. Have students participate in a
chain story inspired by the image.
● Post a collage and have students create a 6 word,
10 word, or 20 word story.
● Post a collage about the topic you are studying
and have students make guesses about the
subject matter.
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#Instagram #Ideas
for ELLs and ELTs

7. ● If you are studying a country, post a collage of
various characteristics of that place then have
students guess what this country could be and
add a fact or image about that place.
● Have students post their own collages of what
they observe. They can take several photos of an
animal in its habitat then post the collage with
their observations.
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#Instagram #Ideas
for ELLs and ELTs

8. ● Students can post a collage of various close-up
pieces of an image. Their friends try to figure out
what the image is and post a fact or question
about it.
● Have students act like photojournalists where
they observe an event and describe it in a series of
images within their collages.
● Post clues to a mystery or post clues to a
scavenger hunt.
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#Instagram #Ideas
for ELLs and ELTs

9. ● Have students role-play a character from their
readings.
● Students can do video commentaries.
● Students can do book trailers.
● Students can work on timed TOEFL Speaking tasks.
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#Instagram #Ideas
for ELLs and ELTs

10. Our Experience
Venezuelan students are used to deal
daily with different mobile apps and
social networks, so we have managed to
work out different activities where
reaching students’ interest has allowed
us to see language improvements and
self-awareness during the process.
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11. Interconnecting activities
throughout Internet
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12. 11
Keeping records of their achievements

13. 12
Reflecting
on the Daily Learning Process

14. 13
Fostering Respect
and Critical Thinking on different topics

15. What did you learn today?
Teacher’s Actions Students’ Performance Notes
Take a picture of students’ class and
post it on Instagram -
You need permission from parents and
students themselves.
Tag students on the post and ask
them:
1) Place at least one thing they
learned in class.
2) Make a comment or question to
one peer.
Answer the teachers’ questions not
only based in language but also about
the topics discussed in class, for
example: culture.
Interact with peers; ask them
questions or comment their post.
Answering teachers’ question will
make students:
Reflect on their learning (What do I
know? – What I did not know that I
know now?, etc.)
Develop self-awareness of the whole
learning process.
Keep track of knowledge even outside
the classroom.
Working with peers will make
students:
Analyze different statements form
their peers to provide feedback.
State their own opinion agreeing with
or against others’ points of view.
Reconstruct knowledge from peer
work and achieve new learning levels.
Provide feedback to each student so
everyone pays attention to
corrections, further questions or
analysis and teacher’s interaction
Revise personal feedback and others’
too in order to improve language
production, management and
performance.
Interactions (main point of social
networks) will create a smooth
environment where students will
produce language stress-free.

16. Let’s Review!
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17. Language Skills and Critical Thinking Levels Reached
Reading Skills
Posts on instagram make students read different comments and replies, not just
from the teacher himself but from their peers.
Reading different posts will let them confirm what they know about language
(grammar, vocabulary, etc.) and learn things they may not know and can get
from their peers and teacher.
It is also a very unique and innovative way to foster reading since it is one of the
most neglected skills by students.
Writing Skills
Making their own post will let them produce in a written way the language that
needs to be constantly practiced.
Also, it will increase their ability of connecting ideas in logical order to express
opinions and different statements to construct solid ideas on different matters
and topics.
Critical Thinking
Levels
Knowledge and Application: Students use language they have already mastered
to create logical responses to prompts provided by the teacher according to their
experience in class. Understanding also plays a major role since they need to
comprehend what it is required in order to provide what it is expected.
Analysis, Judging and Creating: Students revise others’ comments and posts and
they internalize the information to create their own view about it and finally
provide a response to peers by producing one question or comment to foster the
interaction and language construction cooperatively

18. Final Thoughts – Our View
● There is big advantage in bringing social
network use to language teaching and
learning.
● Students will work stress-free since
language will be produced in a non-
conventional environment.
● Language Skills and Critical Thinking levels
can be worked out when teachers carefully
plan activities and carry them out.
● Teachers need to provide a risk-free
environment where students can work.
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19. 18
Miguel Perez
@maperezramos
miguelperez.uc@gmail.com
Johannes Rojas
@jodaro87
johanes.d.rojas@gmail.com
Miguel Frontado
@miguelfrontado
miguelfrontado1@gmail.com