How Wordwall Transformed My Teaching: A Personal Experience

#InteractiveLearning #Engagement #Motivation 

 My Context 💕

Let me introduce you to my Context before I start.👀✌

I teach at an intermediate school in the heart of Kuwait City, where I work with adolescent girls aged 11 to 14. As teenagers, my students come with various personalities, learning abilities, and challenges. It is common to meet hyperactive learners with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disorders. This diversity means that my teaching materials must be inclusive, engaging, and flexible for everyone in my classroom.

One of my biggest challenges has always been keeping students engaged and motivated during lessons, especially when I have some learners with learning difficulties. To solve this issue, I have created interactive worksheets with big, bold headings, images, graphs, and bright highlighters to help students stay engaged. This work was a key focus of my innovation module assignment during the first term of my MA TESOL studies at the University of Warwick, where I explored how visual and interactive content can improve learning outcomes.

Before I start telling you about my lovely experience with WordWall, I want to thank my ICT buddy group, who gave me valuable advice for using my tool, '' choose interactive modes based on teaching objectives''. Also, my friend Zhy mentioned, "My idea about Wordwall is that you can use it both online or offline according to different types of classes. It's advised to print down some words with its collocation and meanings in large fonts and change them on a regular basis so students can choose it memorize it on purpose or remember it unconsciously." 

My WordWall Experience 😍

I discovered WordWall in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It really helped me while teaching online. I needed something that would keep my students interested, and WordWall was perfect for that. I created different activities like quizzes, puzzles and word games and then sent the links to my students. They would do the activity, and then the first one to finish would be the winner. It made learning fun and exciting; even though we were not in a physical live classroom, my learners enjoyed it, and it helped them stay focused during lessons. 

Below are screenshots of some of my previous activities in WordWall:

More Details about WordWall 😎

What is WordWall, and Why is it Special? 

One of the reasons I kept using WordWall is that it is easy and flexible. It is not just a tool for making quizzes. It lets you create various kinds of activities like word search, matching games, and fill-in-blank activities. You can quickly design an activity and adjust it to fit any topic later, which makes it perfect for busy teachers and mothers like me. 👼👯👧👦🍼

Using Wordwall in Kuwaiti Classrooms

In Kuwait, Wordwall can be tailored to include local contexts, like quizzes about our traditions or everyday culture, so students practice English with familiar topics. Because most Kuwaiti classrooms have internet access, teachers can easily incorporate Wordwall into regular lessons.

However, it is good to prepare an offline alternative for schools with limited connectivity. Overall, this tool aligns with Kuwaiti's curriculum goals by engaging students in interactive language tasks. 

How teachers can use WordWall in their teaching step-by-step Guide:

If you are a teacher wondering how to get started with WordWall, do not worry. It is simple! Here's a step-by-step guide to help you make the most of it. 

1. Sign up and Explore

First, go to WordWall and create a free account. 

2. Pick a Template

Choose a game or activity that fits your lesson, like quizzes or matching games. 

3. Add content

Enter your questions, words, or topics.

4. Set the Difficulty

Adjust it based on your students' level.

5. Test it

Try the activity to make sure it works.

6. Share with Students 

Share the link or play it in class.

7. Review and Reflect

See how students respond, then improve it if needed. 

Here is a link to a WordWall tutorial on YouTube for those who prefer to watch a video to show you further how to create interactive learning games: 

Here is another video created by me:

Why I recommend WordWall for other Educators

WordWall has become a tool I rely on because it is quick to set up and works well with any subject or lesson. It saved me so much time, and I can create something fun and useful in just a few minutes. 

Another reason I recommend it is that it works both online and in person. During online lessons, you can send students the link, and they can complete the activity independently. In the classroom, you can use it for group games or competitions. 

It is also suitable for different age groups. I have seen younger learners enjoy it, and even university students find it fun, especially when they are bored and need a little break from lectures. It is a simple way to bring energy and excitement into any lesson. 

Furthermore, students do not need to log into WordWall; all they need to do is click on the link, which will lead them directly to solving the activity. Only teachers have to log in. Registering and creating a couple of activities is free, but if you want to upgrade, you have to pay! 

Moreover, it allows you to choose which activity you want to share with your students by using various methods such as barcode, link, Pinterest, Facebook, and Google Classroom, making it easier for teachers to share their activities on different platforms. 👀😜💋

Additionally, teachers can design specific learning tasks, such as a vocabulary match or sentence-building activity, and have learners collaborate to complete them. 

There are a few disadvantages: 

1. Limited Free Version: the free version has only a few templates and activities. You need to pay to unlock more features.

2. Needs Internet: you need the Internet to create and use most activities. 

3. Basic Progress Tracking: gives simple feedback, but it does not provide detailed reports on how learners are doing.

How can teachers maximize Wordwall with limited resources:

1. Reuse and Rotate Templates: Create multi-purpose activities and rotate them among different classes.

 2. Go Offline: Print or screen-capture exercises for offline use if internet access is an issue.

 3. Group-Based Activities: Have students work in teams when devices are limited.

 4. Supplement with Other Tools: Combine Wordwall with free resources like Quizlet or Google Forms to maintain variety without extra cost.

Why is WorldWall relevant to language learning?  

World Wall offers various templates to help learners learn lexical items in a fun and engaging way, increasing their motivation to learn English effectively. Worldwall's colourful designs, audio features, and interactive elements make it effective for young learners who often have short attention spans and get bored easily (Pradini & Adnyayanti, 2022). 

If you want to read about it more visit >>> Pradini, Putu Cening, and Ni Luh Putu Era Adnyayanti. "Teaching English vocabulary to young learners with Wordwall application: An experimental study." Journal of Educational Study 2.2 (2022): 187-196.  

Give WordWall a Try Today

WordWall has made a big difference in my teaching. It is easy to use, keeps students interested, and works for all learners. My students love it, and it has helped make my lessons more fun and interactive. 

Let me show you now some examples of my WorWall activity:

Below is a picture of the HangMan activity to encourage my students to guess the topic of the lesson:

Here is the link: You can try the HangMan activity yourself. After you finish, please leave a comment to tell me about your opinion (your opinions mean a lot to me). 💜💜💜

https://wordwall.net/play/58670/670/661  

Best of Luck, 👄😍

Mashael