Using electronic flashcards in modern foreign languages
Multimedia features facilitate an inclusive approach when introducing a new language, as you can appeal to a broad range of learning styles simultaneously. This document will discuss the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. (There is alternative presentation software available.)
Microsoft PowerPoint is presentation software for creating slide shows, which can be displayed to the whole class on a data projector. On each slide you can include text, clip art, digital photographs, scanned images, animations, sound files and effects, backgrounds, video clips, speech bubbles, and hyperlinks to other documents or web pages. With so much visual and contextual support, you can conduct a series of activities entirely in the target language, even with very mixed ability classes.
Flexibility
Traditional flashcards tend to display a picture on one side and text on the other, so that pupils can become familiar with the pronunciation of a word before seeing it written down. The cards are usually only A4 or A3 size and are often black and white or two-colour.
Electronic flashcards created in PowerPoint are much more flexible. You can display a picture on a slide (Insert > Picture) and teach the pronunciation of that item of vocabulary. When pupils are ready, you can click for the text to appear alongside the picture (Slide Show > Custom Animation). This juxtaposition of image with text can help many pupils to internalise the new vocabulary. You can also indicate gender through the use of font colour, such as blue for masculine nouns and red for feminine.
A PowerPoint presentation of the electronic flashcards can then be used in a variety of ways for practising the new vocabulary. Display a picture and challenge pupils to say the target foreign language word out loud. You can then 'reward' correct answers by clicking for the text to appear, which also provides another opportunity to associate the written word with its meaning. This type of activity also takes the focus away from the teacher, as you can operate the entire presentation with your computer mouse, sitting away from the screen.
A predetermined order of slides offers an alternative approach to practising new vocabulary, as you can challenge pupils to tell you in the target language what picture comes next. You can easily change the order of slides by dragging them to new positions (View > Slide Sorter). You can then ask pupils to guess which item might come next, which heightens the challenge and gets them thinking about all of the vocabulary at once, rather than just recalling the order of words or making a single wordmeaning link.
Animation
Animated clip art images can be used very effectively to represent or assist learning of verb and speech vocabulary. Microsoft Office Online's Clip Art and Media library allows you to focus your search within 'Animations'. If the new vocabulary consists of phrases used in conversation, you can use images of people and speech bubbles to present the new language more visually. Speech bubbles in PowerPoint are AutoShapes called Callouts and they behave like text boxes. Use the AutoShapes short cut on the Drawing toolbar (View > Toolbars > Drawing). Look for the yellow diamond at the tip of the tail, which you can drag to point to your speaker's mouth.
Pronunciation and sound effects
You may want to record a model of pronunciation for each item of new vocabulary, so that pupils can revise from a presentation saved onto the network or school intranet. You can do this using Windows Sound Recorder and a microphone, saving your voice recording as a .wav file for insertion into your presentation (Insert > Movies and Sounds). Alternatively, you can record directly into a slide (Insert > Object > Wave Sound). You can then choose whether a sound file is heard automatically or appears as a sound icon on the slide, for clicking when required. When working with more advanced pupils, you could include video or audio clips which feature new items of vocabulary used in context (Insert > Movies and Sounds). This pronunciation support can be very useful for non-specialist colleagues too.
Careful use of sound effects to accompany text or picture animation (Slide Show > Custom Animation) can also help to underpin meaning and reward pupils for getting to the correct answer, but these should not be overused as they can become a distraction. Positive uses might be applause on the last slide of a presentation where pupils are asked to recall all new vocabulary items in quick succession, or vehicle sounds to introduce vocabulary for means of transport. You will find simple sound effects available within PowerPoint, but more specific sound files can be sourced from a CD-ROM or a website such as FindSounds. Be aware that audio, video and picture files can carry copyright restrictions, so make sure you have permission to use them in the way you wish.
Other benefits
Electronic flashcards offer practical benefits too. Each slide will be projected at a size that is easily large enough for all pupils to see. You can set a pastel colour background to improve visibility further, or use yellow text on a black background as some people prefer. You can select an easy-to-read font and increase the size if you have pupils with visual impairment. You can even use background colour and font colour to represent concepts, such as gender or parts of speech, as long as a consistent colour policy is agreed across the languages department! The ICT 4LT (ICT for language teachers) website has useful and simple advice on the use of colour and choice of font.
Interactivity
If you have an interactive whiteboard, you can invite pupils to take turns 'being teacher' and controlling the mouse click, which can have a positive impact on classroom dynamics. The whole class can be involved in offering answers to their peer, who must then justify his or her decision to go with a given suggestion. The class can then analyse why an answer was correct or incorrect. As you develop PowerPoint skills, you will find ways of designing multiple-choice activities using different types of hyperlink, increasing the level of pupils' physical interaction with the board.
If you have access to a computer suite, pupils can be set consolidation tasks, ideally those which move them onto contextualised application of the vocabulary as soon as possible. Explore the potential of web-based interactive activities, CD-ROMs, writing software and electronic worksheets.
Presentation slides can be printed out and laminated, allowing you to customise your own sets of flashcards for pupils to handle and pass around. Furthermore, you can easily create templates using the same images for card games such as Pelmanism and Snap.
Working with colleagues
Many presentations for introducing and practising vocabulary will be suitable for sharing with MFL colleagues, as, once the design and images have been created, text can be added or changed to another language very quickly indeed. Do share appropriate ideas and resources with colleagues nationally via the Teacher Resource Exchange, where you will also find useful material for your own purposes.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this web page on specific products or services are not intended to be recommendations or endorsements for specific products by Becta but are intended to highlight features and benefits that can be effectively applied in a learning and teaching environment.
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