Teaching with Google Maps
It’s incredible what you can do with technology these days. What better way to teach ESL students how to ask for directions and give directions than to actually take them on a virtual walk of their neighborhood? You can now accomplish that thanks to the magic of Google maps street view http://maps.google.com. This technology allows you to locate a place on the map, drag a tiny icon over a street and voila! You are now looking at a detailed image of the actual street. At this point you can drag the little icon and navigate the entire neighborhood. “Wait! I think I just saw my house!”
There is so much you can do with Google Maps Street View, especially if you have access to an Interactive White Board that your students can use to navigate the map. This combination provides a positive and meaningful learning environment to use language. Your students will be highly motivated and more likely to retain what they have learned. You can use the interactive map to teach vocabulary related to asking for/giving directions, prepositions, Common expressions related to asking for/giving directions…etc. I’ve also used Google Earth while planning field trips in NYC. Students often find it helpful when they get a sense of what the place looks like and how to get to it.
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