5 ways to use Canva to support productive skills in the language classroom
Tips for the virtual or physical classroom
14 March 2022 I Cristina Ojeda Ortega & Fiona Wiebusch
#Highschool #English #ProductiveSkills #Canva #Speaking #Writing #TESOL #CLIL #EdTech
Have you ever asked your students to write a short paragraph, describe a process or give a presentation in English? Were your students happy and jumping for joy? Probably the answer is no, right?
Honestly, I’ve always found it challenging to develop my students’ productive skills in speaking and writing - and enjoy the process.
In recent years, I’ve had to explore new ways and new tools to motivate and empower my high school English students in Chile. In this article, I share some ideas for using an online tool - Canva - to support student engagement with productive skills.
Canva is an Australian graphic design platform that anyone can use to create great-looking graphics, presentations, posters, docs and visual content.
It inspired me to make my productive skills lessons much more enjoyable. And the best part is - it’s FREE!
Here are 5 ideas to support productive skills in the language classroom using Canva:
1 - Infographics to introduce yourself
I have always struggled getting my students to introduce themselves. Designing personal infographics gives students time to think, write and share information about themselves in English. If you are a new teacher, you can use an infographic to introduce yourself too.
Teachers and students can use the available templates on Canva to create a downloadable infographic image file or PDF to share with peers or teachers. The pre-made templates save students and teachers lots of time and encourage creativity because you can upload authentic material, like photos.
2 - Text or Messenger dialogue stories
With this Canva template, students work in pairs to generate an A/B dialogue to practise using the target language. This fun, genre-based task promotes teamwork and enhances digital literacy. Canva allows you to share templates with different students so they can collaborate simultaneously.
Of course you could do this on paper or many other platforms but by using Canva students can still use real emojis, edit their text, and focus on the task, safely, by avoiding distractions from social media apps.
3 - Movie posters, reviews and trailers
Working with movies or a particular film genre? This is for you! Ask students to design their movie posters and present them in English. Download hundreds of different movie reviews or 5-star rating templates and students can practise descriptive writing.
If you have project time, students can create their own movie trailers using the free video templates. These activities work equally well in the virtual and the physical classroom.
4 - Describing a process
Using Canva, teachers can present task instructions clearly with beautiful designs, colours, and images. This makes the process more appealing and easier for students to understand.
Lots of other teachers on Canva have created process posters too, like the SMART Goals PDF below. Plus, you can keep and re-use your instruction charts again and again.
Students can also create colourful posters to describe their daily routines with authentic images, describe recipes, make flowcharts easily and more!
5- Short stories and comics
This is my favourite activity! Students create their own short stories or comics! If you’re working with a literature unit or simply want them to write short dialogues this is for you!
Canva allows students to discover different templates to personalize their stories and unleash their imagination. And for those students who want to use their own illustrations, they can upload their paper drawings as images and create wonderful stories in English!
Need more ideas?
These 5 ways to use Canva are the tip of the iceberg!
If you’re curious to discover the different features of Canva, click the ‘Tutorials’ image to visit Canva’s LEARN website and watch ‘how to’ videos.
Cristina’s Bonus Tips
Create beautiful certificates
As a teacher, I strongly believe in showcasing my students’ strengths to increase self-esteem and motivation. At the end of each year, I create personalised certificates for every student using Canva. For example, Certificates for Perseverance, The Most Outstanding Academic Performance, etc. I used to use Microsoft Word but with Canva creating certificates has become more efficient and more colourful every year.
Get Canva Pro for FREE!
There are lots of FREE options with Canva for Education for K-12 teachers with an education email address. This gives you access to more photos and templates. Learn more about how Canva works here: www.canva.com/learn/education/
Why do I enjoy using Canva?
In summary, I like using Canva because it helps language educators to:
Focus on students’ productive skills
Enhance student digital literacy
Increase student collaboration (teamwork)
Use authentic material efficiently
Save time by using templates (teachers and students)
Store student projects easily (in Canva folders)
(This is a lifesaver! If students misspell your email address their projects get lost - it has happened to me!)
I hope you enjoy exploring Canva and share your teaching ideas with me too!
About the Author
Cristina Ojeda Ortega
Junior Consultant
Cristina is a qualified secondary school teacher in Chile and has studied abroad in the United States and Australia. After completing her MA Applied Linguistics (TESOL) at the University of Queensland, Cristina now resides in Brisbane. She joined The Queensland Institute Pty Ltd in December, 2021 and supports our Global Educator Network events and communication projects. She is passionate about languages, learning about different cultures, and Ed Tech in the language classroom.
Disclaimer: The Queensland Institute Pty Ltd is not affiliated with or sponsored by Canva. We just love using it :)
Never miss a story.
Connect with QI below:
