Using the Cell Phone to Enhance Language

Learning

NC Adult ESL Conference

sponsored by
the Wake Technical Community College EL/Civics Grant
susangaer@gmail.com
http://www.susangaer.com
Download the Powerpoint at http://bit.ly/sgaermobile

Handout at http://tinyurl.com/mobilehandout

For more links please visit the Mobile Learning Wiki at

http://bit.ly/sgaermobilelinks

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 Cell phone Features

Yes I do.
Yes it does.
No I don't.
No it doesn't.

Yes he does. Yes she does.

No he doesn't. No she doesn't.

You can also answer with I don't know

1) Do you have a cell phone?

2) Does your cell phone have a camera?

3) Does your cell phone record video?

4) Does your cell phone have vibrate?

5) Does your cell phone text message?

6) Does your cell phone have a calculator?

7) Does your cell phone have an address book?

8) Does your cell phone have an audio recorder?

9) Does your cell phone have Internet?

Interview a partner:
1) Do you have a cell phone?

2) Does your cell phone have a camera?

3) Does your cell phone record video?

4) Does your cell phone have vibrate?

5) Does your cell phone text message?

6) Does your cell phone have a calculator?

7) Does your cell phone have an address book?

8) Does your cell phone have an audio recorder?

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9) Does your cell phone have Internet?

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Polite or Impolite?

Is it polite/safe to use your cell phone_________?

Yes, it is.
No, it isn't.

1) Is it polite to use your cell phone in the bathroom?

2) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the supermarket?

3) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the movies?

4) Is it polite to use your cell phone on the bus?

5) Is it polite to use your cell phone at a restaurant?

6) Is it polite to use your cell phone in English class?

7) Is it safe to use a cell phone while driving?

Interview a partner

1) Is it polite to use your cell phone in the bathroom?

2) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the supermarket?

3) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the movies?

4) Is it polite to use your cell phone on the bus?

5) Is it polite to use your cell phone at a restaurant?

6) Is it polite to use your cell phone in English class?

7) Is it safe to use a cell phone while driving?

Interview another partner

1) Is it polite to use your cell phone in the bathroom?

2) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the supermarket?

3) Is it polite to use your cell phone at the movies?

4) Is it polite to use your cell phone on the bus?

5) Is it polite to use your cell phone at a restaurant?

6) Is it polite to use your cell phone in English class?

7) Is it safe to use a cell phone while driving?

Brainstorm with the class and create a chart with the results.

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 Cell Phone Etiquette

With your partner, brainstorm 5 places it is inappropriate to use a cell

phone.

_____________ _____________ _____________

_____________ _____________

Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TRDNdDWYDU

In what five places did “Curt the Cyberguy” say it was inappropriate to
use a cell phone?

_____________ _____________ _____________

_____________ _____________

Have you ever used a cell phone inappropriately? __________________

Describe a time when you saw a cell phone being used inappropriately.
Where were you? Describe the person. What was the person doing? How
did that make you feel? What did you do?

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 Question of the Day
Questions that can be asked

We missed you in class today.

Will you be coming tomorrow?

Please bring _________to class tomorrow.

Do you want the teacher to send you messages on your phone?

Do you have any children?

Are you practicing English?

What are you doing?

Are you speaking English?

What do you do after class?

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?

Google 411 (USA/Canada Only)

You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device.
GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at
any time. For free. (*)
Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. GOOG-411 will connect you with the
business you choose.
If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details
and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."

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 Sharing Cell Phone Audio and Visual
Sharing Cellphone Audio

http://drop.io

Contact this drop:

http://drop.io/susangaercellphone

646-495-9205 x 89840

Evaluating your Speaking

You are going to spend at least two minutes speaking with your partner. You will be
graded on whether your conversation is understood, on loudness and effective
expression and intonation. You may practice a couple of times with your partner.
When you are ready to create your sample, please call: 646-462-4161 x 50174

 Have a conversation with your partner about your house.

o Describe your neighborhoods
o the size of your house,
o the location of your house,
o your house’s age,
o its amenities!
 What do you like the most about your house?
 What is one thing you wish to change in your house?
 Does your house represent you and your family? If so, how? If not, why
not?

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Student Response systems from your cellphone

http://www.polleverywhere.com/

Visual
Useful ways of using your cell phone

1. Remember where you parked Using the Camera

2. Comparison Shopping: 466453 with the item name that you spot while out shopping (like
"Stoneware Muffin Pan” and then type "price" after that. Google will then text you back with
the price of that item at different stores!
3. Learn Student’s Names and Faces Using the Camera
One of the biggest struggles we have as teachers is learning the names and faces of the
constant rotation of students coming through our classes. Take some time at the beginning
of the year to photograph the students, or even better yet, have them take pictures of each
other and e-mail to you if they have that capability.
4. Take a picture of something you don’t want to forget
• Make up shade
• Wine
• Ingredients before shopping
• Intersection of new city
• What you packed in your suitcase

Using the Camera: Clothing

Any Level See Adaptions

Materials Needed: Cellphones with a camera and text messaging or email capability. Need at least
one computer in classroom to get drafts typed in.

Warm Up
Beginning Levels: Review Clothing items, colors and basic styles
Intermediate Levels: Review clothing items, colors, basic styles, materials and any other necessary
vocabulary for students to be able to describe clothing.

Presentation (Day 1 and 2)

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 • Present a model for students as a reading activity. Most effective models are written by the
instructor.
o Model for Beginning Level: to be constructed
o Model for Intermediate level:http://www.susangaer.com/esl2009/favorite_clothes.pdf
• Ensure comprehension of the model (ask students basic questions about the model)
• Have students take pictures with their cellphone and practice texting them to the instructor
using their cellphones. If some students do not have texting as part of their cellphone, have them work
in groups with those that do. For those students who have smartphones, use a photo sharing site and
students can upload their photos directly to the photo sharing site.
o Photo Sharing Sites:
 Flickr
 Picasa
• Homework: Students go home, take picture of their favorite piece of clothing in their closet. This
can be done with hats, bags, t-shirts, jewelery etc (Note in the models that men had no problem
writing about their clothing item.)
Practice (Day 3)
• In pairs or small groups, students share their photos. (Be sure to develop questions based on
your level. Beginning level classes may only answer what, where and when.Make a handout to guide
them using some of the following questions:
o What did you take a picture of?
o Describe your item: (color, style, material)
o Where did you buy this item?
o When did you buy this item
o Why did you choose this item?
• Share select stories with the whole class
• Homework: Students write paragraphs (It is ok for beginning level students to only write a few
sentences such as This is a picture of my favorite dress. My mother gave it to me when I was 10. It is
blue and I wear it a lot. I love my dress.)
Evaluation:(Day 4)
• Have groups edit work. I use Google docs and have students share their doc with me so that it is
easy for me to put them together for a publication in the application setting.
• Help groups with editing by providing a checklist of things to look for. (Create a writing checklist
at http://4teachers.org/projectbased/24wrt.shtml)
• Homework: Students rewrite paragraphs
Application
Either you or students can compile stories into a student publication to share with the class or school.

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Texting Tips

• Using T9 or the prediction action can really help. It takes a little getting used to
but its MUCH easier and faster to text.
• If you do not have T9, Word, itap or other predictive text, the key for the
number "0" can be used to substitute for the letter "o", it may look weird, but for
casual communication between friends, "Ill be there in a h0ur" would be fine
• Learn text shorthand.
• http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
• Keep in mind the limited use of these acronyms in informal settings when
speed is needed is fine. However using such acronyms and shorthand will
reflect poorly upon you in more formal or professional setting
• You can often save space by leaving out vowels in longer words. "ths
sntnce stll mks sns dsnt t?"
• Practice, practice, practice. Try texting all the content on this page, for
example. You can do it.
• If your response is taking a long time to type, or if you find that you're having
a conversation via text, just consider just calling the person back.
• Remember that sometimes it takes longer for you to find the right template
than it would to just put in the words yourself!
• Never fix mistakes. Wait until the end and go back afterwards.

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Mobile Phone Jargon (Pages 9-12 are taken from
http://www.aloscotland.com/alo/viewresource.htm?id=2099)

Getting to grips with mobile phone jargon can be tough. As mobile technology has advanced
at such a rapid rate, it seems like you need to learn a new mobile phone language to be able
to understand even the simplest phone descriptions.
We try to make everything on Top10 mobile phones easy to understand, but if you're
struggling with any of the mobile phone jargon you've come across, our mobile phone
glossary should provide you with everything you need to become an expert in mobile-speak.
1G First-generation mobiles or mobile systems – these are the first ever mobiles, they are no
longer developed but provide the basis for all today's mobiles. Find out more in our History of
mobile phones
2G Second-generation mobiles or mobile systems – 2G mobiles offer data, fax and SMS
mobile services. 2G mobiles also offer limited data communications.
2.5G This was the next step from 2G and provides enhanced data communications as well
as some other features.
3G Third-generation mobiles or mobile systems. 3G is the current generation of mobile
technology, it supports much higher data rates, full motion video, and allows mobile users to
access the internet.
Air time This is the number of minutes spent talking on the phone, or the allowance of
minutes from your provider. (See Talk Time) . Air time provider This is simply the mobile
phone network. (See Talk Time Provider)
Bluetooth Technology that allows a wire-free connections between devices.
Caller display The screen of your mobile shows the name and number, and sometimes a
picture of the caller on a call.
Camera phone This is a mobile phone with an inbuilt camera device so you can take
pictures with your phone. In recent years this has meant both still images and video.
Compare all camera phones Camera phones
Cell broadcast Your mobile network may occasionally provide you with useful information
via SMS text messaging.
Coverage This is the area in which you get mobile phone signal from your network. If you
have coverage you can make and receive calls on your mobile phone. Find out more in our
Guide to mobile phone coverage
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Desk-top charger A handy gadget that holds the handset upright on a surface while it is
charging so you can easily view the caller display. Check out our handy guide How to
charge a mobile
Dual band All new UK mobiles are dual band, this term refers to mobiles that can switch
between two frequencies.
Email This is a shortening of electronic mail - most email is composed on a computer and
sent via the internet but with new developments in mobile phone technology, you can now
send and receive email using a mobile phone.
GPRS General Packet Radio Service – This is a way to enhance 2G phones so they can
send and receive data more rapidly. A GPRS connection means the phone is "always on"
and can transfer data immediately. This is the standard digital service used throughout
Europe.
Hands-Free This is a safety feature that allows you to talk without holding the handset to
your head; it often involves using an extra hands-free accessory such as a Bluetooth
earpiece, and is particularly popular with drivers because holding a handset while driving is

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illegal in the UK.
MP3 Player This can be a hardware, or software device, that can be built into a mobile
phone and used to play audio files on your phone.
Multimedia messaging This term refers to sending messages between mobile phones in
formats other than text, for example images and video clips. Check out our guide How to
take pictures with your mobile phone
Off-Peak This refers to the period of time after business hours have ended and during which
mobile phone companies quite often offer reduced rates for calls.
Oftel The office of telecommunications – This is the independent watchdog for the UK
telephone industry. It also covers mobile phones.
Pay As You Go (PAYG) This is a pre-pay mobile phone service. It works by allowing
customers to purchase credit in advance to give you talk time on your phone.
PC card This device allows you to connect your mobile phone to your computer.
Peak This is the time of day when the phone network is busiest – this usually occurs during
normal business hours. Networks normally make calls more expensive during this peak time
period.
Polyphonic ringtones This is a form of ringtone which uses up to 40 different notes playing
at one time, previously mobile phone ringtones used 16 notes – these were called
monophonic tones.
Roaming This is sometimes referred to as International Roaming. It means using your phone
on a different network to the one to which you are signed-up. Your network and talk plan will
determine how many countries you can roam in.
SIM This stands for Subscriber Identity Module and is the chip that identifies the mobile
number and mobile account to the network. It stores essential data and without a SIM a
mobile phone will not work.
SMS This stands for Short Message Service, it is the service that allows short text messages
to be sent and received on all mobile phone networks. Mobile phones & free texts
Standby time This refers to the number of hours that a mobile phone battery will last without
receiving or making any calls. If you use the phone to make calls or send text messages then
the standby time will be diminished.
T9 This is the dictionary that predicts your text as you type text messages into your phone –
it helps you to quickly write text messages.
Talk time This is the same as Air time and refers to the actual amount of time spent talking
on the phone, or in some cases the allowance of time.
Talk time provider This is the same as Air Time Provider, and refers to the mobile phone
network. For more information check out our Guide to mobile phone networks
Tri-Band Tri band or Triple band phones can operate across three GSM bands, which
means they can work in more than 100 countries.
Voice activated dialing This is a way of controlling the call function on your mobile phone.
You say the name of a contact and it will automatically dial their number. This is a function
most commonly used with hands free sets by drivers.
Voicemail This is a mobile phone service provided by your network. Voicemail records
messages from callers when you are unable to answer the phone.
WAP This means Wireless Application Protocol, WAP enables mobile phones to activate the
services that mean we can access the internet on our mobile phones.

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Text Speak
afaik atm asap bbl
as far as I know at the moment as soon as
possible for be back later
bf or b/f and gf or
g/f brb btw cam
boyfriend or girlfriend be right back by the way web camera
cas cnt cob cya
cracking a smile can't close of business see you (later)
dno dnt fnx ftw
don't know don't thanks for the win
fya fyi f9 g2g or gtg
for your action for your information fine got to go
g2p or gtp gd gg no re gj
got to pee good often repeated
to be gdgd
good game, no
rematch good job
gna idc idk iirc
gonna or going to i don't care i don't know if I remember
correctly
ily or ilu imho imo jic
I love you in my humble
opinion in my opinion just in case
jk k kk kl
just kidding okay okay, cool Cool
lol lmao l8 l8r
laugh out loud aughing my ass off late later
m8 n nm ne
mate and never mind any
nefin np nt nw
anything no problem nice try no worries
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omg pita pos rofl
oh my god pain in the ass parents over
shoulder
rolling on floor
laughing
roflmao rp slp/slpn soz
rolling on floor
laughing my ass off roleplay sleep/sleeping sorry
sry tb tc thx
sorry Text Back Take Care Thanks
ty tmr or tmz or
tomoz ttml ttyl or ttul
Thank you tomorrow Talk to me later Talk to you later
txtm8 ty tym w/ or w
textmate thank you time with
w/e w/o wb wb2my
weekend or whatever without welcome back write back to my
wg whteva or woteva wk wkd
well good what ever work or week wicked
wt or wut wubu2 wuu2 yw
what What you been up
to? What are you up to? you're welcome

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