Using Technology-Enhanced Curriculum
By Kimberly
W
orking with English Language Learners (ELL) requires special attention to making content easily
accessible and comprehensible for students. This can be done in many ways—for example, use of
SDAIE techniques, emphasis on vocabulary and language development, modeling, and use of graphic
organizers and visuals. Use of technology in the classroom can help in this endeavor. In an effort to
discover the technology-based strategies in use on our campus, we had the opportunity to meet with
and interview Beth Libhart, a longtime faculty member in the English Department at Fairmont
Preparatory Academy.
Q
: What types of technology do you use (or have used in the past) to help your ESL students
comprehend and retain what they learn?
Beth: I use many iPad apps and websites to help build my students’ vocabulary, oral fluency, and
writing skills. For vocabulary, I have created courses for new vocabulary using Memrise. What I like
about this app is that there is a “Leaderboard” where students can see the points that every student in
the course has earned—this leads to some healthy competition. I also like Wordfoto. This app allows
for a creative representation of a word or a couple of words. Students explain how an image
represents the meaning or connotation of the word. Longman Advanced American Dictionary ( with
Audio) is a dictionary app allows students to bookmark words and also keep a record of words that
they have looked up in Evernote.
Q
: What types of technology do you use (or have used) to help your students build the