Lesson 1: Productivity Software Applications for Language Teaching and Learning.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

• Identify uses of productivity software applications in the teaching-learning of language
• Share the experience in using productivity software applications as a language learner.
• Explore samples of documents; presentations, and spreadsheets that were used in delivering learning plans for languages.

It is assumed that your teacher and you have been using productivity software applications and/ or media tools to enhance the teaching and the learning process of your courses or subjects in the basic education and in the teacher education program before enrolling in TTL 2. The common productivity tools that they or you may have used are word processing software, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Open-ended Tools and their Uses in Teaching and Learning Language Skills.

Open-ended tools or productivity software applications are ICT tools, which help the teachers and the learners make their learning together concrete, efficient, encouraging and meaningful. As describe by Palmer (2015), teachers need to demonstrate 21st Century Characteristics to be able to meet the demands of the 21st Century learners. These characteristics in the context of language teaching are briefly presented for teachers to;

1. Create a learner-centered classroom and make instruction personalized because learners have different personalities, goals, and needs;
2. Learn new technologies since technology keeps on developing and learning a tool once is not an option for teachers;
3. go global to allow students to learn languages, culture, and acquire communication skills virtually.
4. Keep learning.

To be able to demonstrate the characteristics of an ICT-engaged classroom and teacher cited above, it is appropriate to discuss how the various productivity software applications can be used in the language classroom.

• Using word in Scaffolding Student Learning in a Language Classroom

To appreciate the value of Word Applications in scaffolding student learning, we have to explore how these are maximized by teachers. In education, scaffolding is used to refer to various forms of support given to assist, guide or facilitate the learning process.

• Activity 1: Creating Learning Plans Using Word Applications
• Activity 2: Preparing Process Guides and Graphic Organizers using Word Processing Software Applciations.