Tech-Out with ELLs

A look at: "The Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre-Kindergarten Through Second Grade," by Rebecca Silverman and Sara Hines.

When I initially began reading this article, a red flag flew up. I know the research shows that people cannot learn language from a video, even if that video is interacting with them (like through a video chatting service), so I did not understand why this article would review that research area. Upon further reading, I saw that Silverman and Hines clarified that they were seeking to augment good vocabulary instruction with multimedia, rather than trying to teach language (and the social queues that come with it) through video alone. It appears as if some forms of multimedia vocabulary supplementation can be helpful for today's ELLs, which can be somewhat convenient for some teachers. Watching a Sesame Street segment could be a temporary station in a classroom full of students learning through many means.