Using Wordle in Your Language Classroom

Wordle is one of the most popular tools for creating word clouds. It is very easy to use and full of fun, as its developer  Jonathan Feinberg claims - it is a toy. By simply pasting the text you want to generate or the URL of that site, you can get an appealing result of the words frequently appearing in the text in the shape of a could (the more frequently the word is used in the text, the bigger it will show in the cloud). But you don't need to worry about having some "empty" words such as "the" and "it" appear in your cloud - they will be automatically removed! Below is a word cloud generated from one of my blog entries. There are different styles for you to choose from or you can design your own type if you like!

Word clouds have a wide use. You may see them in newspapers, magazines, advertisements, etc. If used properly, it can achieve positive effects in ELT (or foreign language teaching). According to a research paper, Wordle is a great tool for foreign language teachers to teach writing.  By presenting students' essays in word clouds, the teacher can see what words students use frequently and whether the students have used the new words that the teacher taught them in the class. From students' side, if they know their work will be shown in Wordle, they may consciously avoid using those common words (here referring to the low-level words) and bear in mind to use the new vocabulary (advanced words). The author also shows that Wordle can facilitate discussions about students' writing and giving feedback. The teacher can ask the student why s/he would use a particular word (if the word seems strange in the context) and the student would need to explain it, which may help them realize their mistakes (if that is a wrong word). Making a little art with Wordle can help the writing process more enjoyable and get your students more engaged!

Apart from writing, Wordle can be used in other ways as well. For example, you can use it to predict a text in the reading class, helping students to get the first impression of a passage; or compare the lexis in different articles, like this one US Presidential Speeches Tag Cloud. If you want to have more ideas about how to use Wordle in your class, have a look at Top 20 Uses for Wordle. The author provides many ways to design class activities with Wordle, which can be applied to classes of any of the four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). As it is related to words, I believe no matter which skill you are teaching, it will all enhance students' vocabulary in that part.

The only flaw I found about this site is that when I pasted the URL to try to get one it did not work. I haven't figured out the reason yet (when I am writing this blog). But anyway, give it a go!