How to Use Twitter to Learn English
06 March, 2013
Are you a big fan of social media? If you’re thinking of learning English online, then Twitter might be the best place to start!
Here are some top tips on how to use Twitter to learn English:
Short Sentences
- There is a 140 character limit on Twitter. This means everyone writes in short sentences. Reading short sentences is a great way of practicing your reading skills on a regular basis.
- As Twitter is used every minute of the day, new words and trends will always be evolving, which means you will constantly see new words being used. In time, your vocabulary will increase.
Communities
- On Twitter, you only have to follow accounts that you’re interested in. This makes reading easier, as will be reading topics that genuinely interest you.
- This also means that you can follow people who also want to learn English, or people that teach English as a foreign language. You can engage in conversation with them and start your own communities using hashtags.
What are hashtags?
- Twitter users use the hashtag symbol to categorize tweets. These tweets show up more easily in Twitter search.
- Clicking on a word with a hashtag on any message shows you all other Tweets marked with that keywords.
- Hashtags can be placed anywhere in the Tweet – at the beginning, middle, or end.
Which hashtags are useful for English language learners?
#adulted: a hashtag for tweets about adult education.
EFL/ESL: Tweets about learning and teaching English as a second or foreign language.
#eal: Tweets about English being used as an additional language
#ellchat: English language learning chat platform
#grammar: Tweets related to English grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.
#TESOL: Teachers of English to speakers of other languages/ Teachers of English as a Second Language Association
#twinglish: for learners of English
Who should I follow on Twitter?
Kaplan International of course!
Twitter Handle: @KaplanIntl
We have a Twitter account and post daily tweets related to language learning, as well as other information about our schools, and students' experiences.
Jason R Levine
Twitter handle: @FluencyMC
Jason has nearly fifteen years of experience as a teacher, trainer, and creator of educational materials. He writes and performs “ColloTunes” as Fluency MC to help students improve their knowledge of English Language Arts, ESL, social studies, science, and mathematics.
Drew Badger
Twitter handle: @EnglishAnyone
Drew is an English speaking confidence expert, author, entrepreneur and co-founder of English Anyone. English Anyone’s YouTube channel recently passed one million views.
Slyvia Guinan
Twitter handle: @ESLbrain
Sylvia has been teaching ESL/English for fifteen years, with experience in primary, secondary schools, language, and literacy institutes in Ireland.
Do you use Twitter to learn English or other foreign languages? Do you think it's a useful tool?
Remember you can tweet us with any language related questions you have at @KaplanIntl