Online Open Resources for ELLs
By Catherine A & Iyanuoluwa A.
Constructivism, Community of Practice, and English Language Learning
“Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain or human endeavor” (WengerTrayner, 2015, p. 1).
"Learners can be actively involved in constructing their own knowledge by participating in communities of practice, rather than being passive receivers of knowledge from teachers (Bilodeau, 2003)
Due to our rapidly changing society (especially in this technological age), there are new methods and ways of gaining experiences and constructing our knowledge. We are now able to be active participators in our learning more than ever.
For Immigrants who are English Language Learners, the prevalence of online resources, tools, and classrooms, enable students to collaborate and interact with a larger learning community in a way that allows them to make their learning meaningful to themselves, and encourages them to scaffold their learning in a relevant way.
Resource One: ESL Corner
Resource Two: Dave's ESL Cafe
Resource Three: Duolingo
Resource Four: ESL/EFL Games
Resource Five: Games to Learn English
References
Bilodeau, E. (2003). Using Communities of Practice to Enhance Student Learning: Examples and Issues. Retrieved from http://www.coolweblog.com/bilodeau/docs/20031001copenhancingstudentlearning.pdf
Canadian Language Benchmarks. (2012). English as a Second Language for Adults. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf
Citizenship and Immigration Canada. (2015). Improving your English and French. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/after-education-language.asp
Concept to Classroom. (2004). Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/
Education Theory/Constructivism and Social Constructivism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism
WengerTrayner, E&B. (2015). Communities of practice: a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://wengertrayner.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/04/07Briefintroductiontocommuni tiesofpractice.pdf