I’ve been using Quizlet in class for a while. This term I’m getting to grips with it a bit more as part of a project for my MA.
Huh, Quizlet?
Quizlet is a site which allows you to create your own online flashcards and games all for free. It’s really easy to pick up for both teachers and learners. Here’s what learners can do with it:
Flashcards – Learners can revise words from a lesson using digital flashcards made by the teacher. Flashcards can be words + meanings or words + images. You could also make question and answer cards. Students could also make their own flashcards if they want.
Learn – Read the meaning/look at the image and type the correct word
Spell – Type the target word you hear
Test – An auto-generated mix of written, multiple choice, and true and false questions based on the vocabulary set
Match/Gravity – a couple of games using the vocab set. Match works well on an interactive whiteboard
Live – play a live game with multiple participants
Anyone can access a study set, students don’t need to log in. You need to log in to create your own study set though.
There are loads of summaries and tutorials about Quizlet online, this one is pretty good. I just wanted to share some examples of what you can do with a teacher’s account.
Quizlet Teacher account
A Quizlet Teacher account costs $34 for a year.
With a Teacher account you can:
- Create classes and invite your students to these. They need a Quizlet account to join a class
- Assign study sets to your own classes
- Track student activity so you know if they are revising / you can view their test scores
- Track which terms students are having difficulty with
- Use the Quizlet Live feature, which is a fun game for the whole class
Examples:
This example is from a really quick study set I put together on appearance.
Quizlet records which words learners find hard when they are studying your word set.
This is an example of student activity on my various study sets. It shows you which features the students are using most and how often. You can also see what other vocabulary sets they are using from around Quizlet.
Teacher’s account vs basic account
As well setting up classes, there are a few other benefits of having a teacher’s account:
- You can upload your own images to a vocabulary set. Sometimes the stock images available on the basic account are a bit rubbish
- You can record your own voice on your flashcards. The model pronunciation used for words flits a bit between American English and British English. Using your own voice would be more consistent
Should I bother with a teacher’s account?
There are benefits to tracking learner activity with a teacher’s account – formative assessment, proof they’ve done their homework, more freedom when creating study sets.
However, I’m in week 4 of term, and the wow! factor of Quizlet is already wearing off a bit for the learners. I’ve still got a few features to try out though so interest might pick up again. A teacher’s account doesn’t break the bank, but I think you can do enough on Quizlet without it.
I’m working with Quizlet throughout the term, so my views might change. My next Quizlet challenge is getting students to create their own study sets… I wonder how it will go!
UPDATE
After quite a few comments about Quizlet Live I decided to trial this over the weekend. It’s really easy to use – it generates a multiple choice game for your learners which involves working as a group. My classes have three different study sets at present, and we tried the Quizlet Live game with each. They left class wanting to play again – it was clearly very addictive and motivational. This is probably the best feature on Quizlet and I’m really pleased other teachers encouraged me to trial it.
I didn’t really set class expectations for Quizlet Live as I was viewing it for the first with the class myself! I’d say we had some issues – not with technology though! More with classroom management – the class were communicating during the game almost only in Thai rather than English, which got a bit frustrating. I’m going to work on my procedures and management of this game but overall it was a great success. I’d go as far as to say it justifies getting a teacher’s account, although again I’m not sure if the novelty factor will wear off!
Feature image: Quizlet homepage
ELT Planning 
You ought to try Quizlet Live Peter – it’s the reason why I finally signed up for a teacher’s account. My learners really like it, and I’ve found ways to use it for purposes other than vocabulary revision (such as news quizzes, for example).
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Cool, I’ll get on it. The demo wasn’t the most inspiring to be honest, but I’ll have a go with it maybe this weekend and let you know how it goes. Are you a big fan of Quizlet overall? I’m sold, despite novelty wearing off a bit. Match is a great review starter!
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I actually didn’t use to like Quizlet much, having experienced it as a learner. Too many of my past Chinese teachers would just Quizlet to show me a flashcard, get me saying whatever character it was aloud, and would then move on without ever putting the words into a meaningful context.
It’s really easy to mis-use or over-rely on technology like Quizlet, Quizizz and Kahoot if they aren’t geared toward realistic learning outcomes (or if you’re just lazy).
I only began using Quizlet with my own students because they asked me to, and I kind of stumbled upon the Live function a few months ago when I was playing around with it. You’ll need to ensure all of your students have an internet connection on their smart phones or laptops, and that they can move around the classroom easily to sit with the partners the game assigns for them. I’d suggest a ‘trial run’ the first time, just in case you or your learners have problems. But as I’ve already said, my own learners really like the Quizlet Live game and I think the developers have done a good job.
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Yeah I was skeptical to begin with. I used to just use things like the matching task for a quick stirrer, that was all. I also don’t really like the whole practising only isolated words thing, but Ive tweaked some word sets now to include more lexical chunks than just words. Aside from that though, it has been a really good tool for motivating my learners. The main reason I used it was to try and get them to actually do some homework, and I can see that they are engaging with these sets outside class. I need to be careful about overuse and, you’re right, keeping things purposeful. Still, now it’s in use with my teens and it’s always there (having trained them now) as a resource if and when needed. Have you ever tried Plickers? Seems a bit cumbersome to me. Where are you based by the way, just interested.
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I’m in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Good luck with the MA!
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Hey, I tried Quizlet Live! Yeah, awesome! Cheers for recommending it!
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Try Quizlet live, it’s amazing! No matter what the age of the students is, they become “addicted” to it.:)
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Hey! Tried Quizlet Live! Awesome, thanks for the recommendation!
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Hi Pete,
I love Quizlet, and have my own guide for it here: http://independentenglish.wordpress.com/quizlet, which includes links to my curated groups, one for each level (A1-C2), and a few others too, like for Delta. If you have English-English or English-picture sets, you’re welcome to add them to the relevant group. Another thing the teacher account lets you do is have unlimited classes – I think the basic one only lets you have 8 if I remember rightly.
I put all new vocabulary we study in class onto Quizlet, and where possible try to include pictures and example sentences to help the students study. I find that students actually revise words at home if I show them that they can be competitive on the Match function, whereas they rarely do otherwise. The spell function is also brilliant for students who have spelling problems, as they/you can easily create sets for them to practise.
Quizlet Live is what brought me back to using Quizlet a lot more – my students absolutely love it, and they are always fully engaged for the 5-10 minutes a game takes. They certainly know the words better immediately after the game, though I haven’t tested it in the long term.
Hope that helps!
Sandy
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Hey! Epic guide, and really useful comments which will help me with my project. There’s been a few advocates for Quizlet Live so I’ll try it out asap. Re: classes on basic account, I couldn’t see that feature… I thought that was something that made the teacher’s account different but I guess not. Interesting you said that competition prompts students to practise at home… Hoping the same for my class.
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