Posted by Canva is an incredibly versatile graphic design tool that has found widespread adoption in a variety of settings, education being one of those adopters. Having a user-friendly interface and an infinite amount of templates, Canva is an excellent tool for educators looking to create visually engaging materials for their classrooms. There is even an Canva for education editionthat you can use just by using your edu account, and some schools are already including its service to educators and students alike. Canva is a powerful tool that can be used in second language classrooms to engage students and enhance their learning experience in ways that go beyond a powerpoint presentation. Given its versatility, Canva opens your possibilities without having to resort to multiple apps and tools. In this article, we will explore several ideas for using Canva in a second language classroom, not just for your classes, but for your students to use, too!
Vocabulary Flashcards
Let’s start with the obvious: One of the most popular ways to use Canva for second language teaching is to create vocabulary flashcards. Canva provides a wide range of templates that can be used to create flashcards for a variety of subjects, including foreign languages. These flashcards can be used by students to practice new vocabulary and improve their language skills. Furthermore, they can be used for prompts and even for story time. You can also motivate students to create their own vocabulary flashcards and share them with the class, too.
Poster designs
I first discovered Canva when I was trying to create some poster for my classroom to reinforce important language concepts and to promote language events throughout the school. However, you can motivate your students to create these postersto promote events like language clubs, film screenings, cultural festivals, and even classroom events! Students will surely have fun, that your principal will be delighted to see visual representations about that goes on in the classroom.
Infographics
There’s no better way to communicate complex information than using infographics. infographics can be used to present information about different cultures, countries, and other topics related to language learning. Is your next lesson about Danish culture? Design an infographic about culture, including information about Danish cuisine, holidays, and landmarks.
Interactive Lessons
Canva’s collection of interactive templates make it easy to create engaging lesson materials. Teachers can use this feature to design interactive quizzes, games, and worksheets without having to resort to external tools like Quizlet or Socrative. And with a vast collection of doc templates, worksheets have never looked so good.
Digital portfolios
As easy as Canva allows students to create posters and presentations easily, it just as easy lets them share their work. As a teacher, you can use this feature to have students create digital portfolios that showcase their language skills. For example, you can have students create a portfolio of their writing, including essays, diary entries, and poems. Or your students are up for the challenge, they can create social media images of what things they learned in class on a given day.
In conclusion, Canva is an excellent tool to have in your teaching arsenal. Whether you are looking to create vocabulary flashcards, design classroom posters, show complex information in the shape of an infographic, or just having students explore and visualize what they’ve learned in class, Canva has more than enough tools and templates you need to get started. The possibilities are endless.
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