Kahoot for the EFL Classroom

What's Kahoot?

Kahoot is a completely free multi-device classroom response system for creating and administering unique game-like quizzes that empowers educators and captivates learners of any age.

Kahoot in the EFL Classroom

The quizzes option can be used for fostering the listening and reading skills and the discussions one for speaking.

Language skills fomented with Kahoot

Type of questions

Different questions on a wide array of topics can be designed as long as there are at least two possible answers.

Question on amounts in dollars

Question on countries and their capital cities

Question on providing the appropriate answer for a question

Embed images and videos 

And what I like the most about Kahoot is the fact that you can upload your own photos, and that you can also use excerpts from YouTube videos to work on listening comprehension skills and to help students focus even more. 
PS: You can set the amount of seconds you want to use for the questions. You have to have the images you are going to use on your hard drive already.

Using an image to get the attention of visual learners

Using videos from YouTube to work on listening skills

Other uses

There are plenty of uses you can give to Kahoot. I am going to list a few of them down here:

• #GlobalClassrooms. Classrooms (teachers and students) around the world can interact with one another thanks to the help of technology through screensharing tools such as Google Hangouts, Skype or Appear.in.
• Survey. The students' level of confidence on a certain topic can be measured through this feature.
• Informal diagnostic tests. A set of quizzes can be created to formatively assess students at the beginning, middle and end of a topic.
• Encourage reflection. And discussion when analyzing the (in)correctness of an answer promoting critical thinking at the same time.
• Introduce a class. And even finish it with a short Kahoot session is always encouraging for students.
• Ghost mode. This is a fairly new feature which allows students to beat their own scores and beat their classmates scores, and finally grasping the content being taught in a fun way.
• Student-made quizzes. Students are given the chance to be the designers of the quizzes going from learners to researchers, leaders and creators challenging their own classmates.

Steps for creating a Kahoot

There are just three simple steps for creating a Kahoot. Have a look at the images below:

Three easy-to-follow steps for creating a Kahoot

Final thoughts

• Create a sample kahoot to try out the interface with students.
• Make sure you have a reliable broadband Internet connection.
• Avoid overuse. Save it for special moments.
• Not enough devices? Group students!
• Regrouping teams frequently to avoid hostility from one another.

Useful links

• Create your kahoots here https://getkahoot.com/
• Play kahoots here https://kahoot.it
• More ideas and updates http://blog.getkahoot.com/
• Find my slides here http://www.slideshare.net/maperezramos/kahoot-a-gamebased-formative-assessment-tool
• Watch my webinar for BELTA here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYdO3iFPIWc