Before my career in edtech, I spent some time in the classroom teaching Modern Languages. I think it’s a myth that learning a language is inherently difficult. Although of course it depends on each student’s skill set and level of interest. What can be difficult in a school setting is giving students enough exposure to the language. The key to success is regular practice, however this can be a challenge with other lessons to focus on, sports to participate in, clubs to attend, and everything else going on in a busy school.
Are you looking for a simple solution to help students keep up with their language learning? Digital signage might just be the answer. Read on to find out how you can use your screens to reinforce linguistic skills and boost cultural awareness.
Reinforcing linguistic skills
When it comes to language learning, repetition is key. To reinforce classroom learning, why not use digital signage to display a word, sentence or structure of the week? Whenever students walk down the corridor or spend time in social areas, they can practise the language. This means that when they walk into their next lesson, they’re more likely to have retained their learning, reducing the need for refreshers.
In TrilbyTV, all you need to do is upload or create a slide with your content and use the scheduling feature to make sure that it’s shown in the right week. Or, to make content management even easier, you could use our Web Content feature to add a Google Slide to your screens, which will automatically update when you make changes. To make content more interactive, you could include a QR code linking to a Kahoot with a quiz for students to complete, or a Quizlet with key points to revise.
You could even create different focuses for different year groups with multiple QR codes or by using TrilbyTV’s Categories feature to display different content in different areas of the school.
If you’re looking for ready-made content, Showbie’s Hybrid Learning Around The World slides in our Content Catalogue are an easy solution. As the content automatically switches between different countries, students will be able to pick up bite-sized pieces of information to expand their vocabulary.
Showcasing cultural content
While linguistic skills are vital, developing cultural awareness is also important for students. Culture not only gives learners context for their language skills but can also be a great way to engage students in their learning. Thinking back to 2017, the popularity of reggaeton in the UK was a brilliant way to boost my teenage learners’ interest in Spanish. Students who hadn’t shown much enthusiasm for Spanish music suddenly wanted to listen to these songs and understand what they were about. Though, of course, it was important to be selective with the music played in lessons!
Digital signage is a great way to extend cultural learning beyond the classroom. Slideshow content is a versatile tool that you could use to display information about people, places and cultural events. Why not create information cards about well-known speakers of the language with information about what they do, where they live, and a quote in the target language. Is Day of the Dead or Chinese New Year coming up soon? Use the scheduling feature to display a different slide daily or weekly with information about the festival.
Guide to effective digital signage in education
Request free guidePerhaps you’d like to celebrate a recent school trip abroad. You could use the Slideshow feature to share photos of your time away, giving students the opportunity to relive their experience and encouraging others to get involved in the future. You could include quotes from students and teachers on each slide, facts about the place you visited, or use Video content to add a dynamic round-up of the trip. If your school has an Instagram account, it’s easy to connect it to TrilbyTV and share photos or videos of your adventure.
Plus, the TrilbyTV Content Catalogue is a great place for ready-made cultural content. Our World Flags quiz shows a different flag each time for students to guess, with the answer revealed after a few seconds. We’ve also partnered with Britannica Digital Learning to bring you World Facts content. Each slide shows a country, capital, population and one of five country-specific facts every day. Or, you might want to display the International Events calendar to showcase what’s going on around the world. Our recent blog post is full of ideas for how to use this content on your screens.
Whichever languages you teach, TrilbyTV is an easy-to-use and flexible way to aid learning, retention and engagement. If you’ve used digital signage to support language learning at your school, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at marketing@trilbytv.co.uk to tell us more.
If you haven’t yet used TrilbyTV, we offer a fully functioning 30-day trial complete with support. You can also book a free demo session where one of our digital signage experts can give you plenty of ideas on where to begin. We make it easy to get started giving you a choice of a signage discussion, TrilbyTV overview or full product walkthrough.