Incorporating iPad Technology: Creating More Effective Language Classrooms

Abstract

Technology today plays a significant role in the lives of many students who are part of a technology-driven culture that they have grown up with. It would seem unimaginable for young adults today to communicate or exchange ideas without using technology. The plethora of devices competing with the computer, from smartphones to tablets, just to name a few, have provided students with the ability to communicate and get information with unprecedented accessibility and speed. Because visual culture, youth culture, and digital media go hand in hand today, it is only logical that classrooms move beyond the traditional methods of teaching, which no longer seem compatible with student expectations or the needs of today's workforce, and utilize this passion for technology. Fully incorporating technology in the classroom is inevitable, and utilizing students' passion for technology can act as a catalyst for motivating them to work. This article presents the benefits of utilizing the iPad in the ESL classroom, showing how lessons can become more effective, paving the way for more motivating and engaging English language learning. It also provides information which guides ESL teachers in choosing appropriate apps for transformative lessons and information on apps that have been used in ESL classrooms.