Emojis in the ESL and Bilingual Classroom
By Michelle Land
Recently, I was contacted by a woman in Alabama who had found our NJTESOL-NJBE.org website. Her daughter was looking for resources to tutor exchange students in the U.S. They found all of the resources located there to be of great help. Her daughter also found a fun resource that she used to engage the exchange students that she wanted to share with us. It was an article on using emojis in the English classroom.
Most language educators learn early on that communication is about 70-90% non-verbal. Therefore, using visuals is a very important aspect of language learning, especially for those who are visual learners. A picture of a dog is indisputably a dog, whether one uses the word “dog”, “perro”, or “собака”. This simplicity is easily adapted by emojis as representations of things, emotions, people, etc.
When I first completed my Master’s Degree in language education though, there was no such thing as emojis. Even though emoticons have been in use since the late 1800s, the first emojis were created in 1999 by the Japanese artist Shigetaka Kuritz. It was not until the early 2000’s that emojis were used around the world. Now, they have become a lingua franca for our data age. Most people have heard of emojis, and many of us use them daily in our communications. In fact, Oxford dictionary selected “emoji” as the word of the year in 2015!
That being said, there can be misunderstandings with emojis, especially intergenerational. I myself am guilty of sending emojis that I thought were completely innocent to my children. The responses I received clarified, in no uncertain terms, that they were considered by them to be completely inappropriate. Let’s just say that some fruits and vegetables are not what they appear to be!
Therefore, the article this young woman shared with us is one I would highly recommend. It has suggestions for different types of lessons and includes resources that can be useful while helping educators avoid any misunderstandings or pitfalls..
As president of NJTESOL/NJBE, I am so grateful that our website is helping people around the country as well as inspiring others to investigate, research, and share their experiences. Below is the link to the article on emojis in the classroom, as well as an article on the history of emojis. 🙂
Emojis in the English Classroom
Emoji: The Complete History | WIRED
Michelle Land is the President of NJTESOL/NJBE. She is an ESL teacher in Randolph.