Advantages of using ICT in English learning

[2.1] How to study this unit

[2.2] Importance of ICT in the ESL classroom

[2.3] Difficulties: an obstacle race?

[2.4] Advantages

2
UNIT
 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Key ideas

2.1. How to study this unit

To study this unit, you need to read and study:

The key ideas.

From the article “ICT in English”:

‘The potential gains of using ICT’ (p. 34-37)
‘Using ICT in the classroom’ (p. 38-53)

Remember: the article is available in the following link:

http://es.scribd.com/doc/73502262/Unit-1-WH-ICT-in-English

The computer-based technologies of ICT have deeply affected society and the world of
education. ICT has got a lot to offer for teachers and students.

Handwriting is as respectable as any of the modern electronic/digital methods of

writing; however, ICT tools can bring methods and targets difficult to achieve with the
traditional technologies in the English class.

There are some advantages and disadvantages in the use of ICT, of course, but we need
to take our time to explore and understand its nature and potential.

Part of the process of establishing ICT policy and practices is probably to convince
teachers of these potential gains.

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

There are potential gains for students and for teachers:

Potential gains for students: skills for lifelong

learning, international awareness, access to
information, motivation, communication,
presentation of work, improved learning and
performance.

Potential gains for teachers: ICT skills, subject-specific information, online

content providers, access to professional advice and support, administrative
support.

2.2. Importance of ICT in the ESL classroom

Why has technology become so important in our daily practice as English

teachers?

English, the international lingua franca, is the language used in technologically

mediated contexts.

Technology is already offered as an integral part of our textbooks and ELT materials.
And nowadays, technology is also extremely mobile; it is not only classroom-
oriented any more.

Young learners are native “techies”. They are growing with

technology as part of their lives. Therefore, it is a natural
process for them to incorporate and to use technology when
learning, including learning a language. And this also
implies that they expect us to incorporate technology in
our teaching.

Computer-based facilities and other ICT resources give the learner the chance to
practice all the student’s linguistic skills: speaking, writing, reading and
listening.

ICT offers new ways of student and teacher’s feedback and assessment.

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

As for Internet:

As a communication tool, it makes collaborative work more interesting and

amusing for students, even with learners from different schools.
As an information tool, it gives us the possibility of using authentic materials,
especially ELT materials, and facilitates all short of educational resources to
create your own materials.

What are the difficulties and negative attitudes towards the use of technology?

2.3. Difficulties: an obstacle race?

Digital divide

One of the biggest difficulties we find is the digital divide. In other words, not all the
teachers and schools have computers in their classrooms, Interactive Whiteboards
(IWBs) or Internet. Or they might not have a computer room in their school.

Is this your case? Have you ever feel frustrated because you had lots of ideas but you
couldn’t put them into practice because of the lack of technological facilities?

Generation divide

Our students are digital natives, while some teachers and parents may be digital
immigrants because we may have come late to the world of technology. The
reasons for this are:

•We have incorporated technology late to our teaching practice

•Lack of facilities where we are teaching

•Lack of training, which results in lack of confidence

Among these three, what reasons do you identify with?

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

It is true that the Spanish administration and the European Commission have enforced
different and varied programs in order to enhance the use of technology.
Nevertheless, there is still a long road to go.

But what can we do to overcome it?

We must always take these difficulties into account when designing our class program
and try to find alternative ways of producing good materials in order to improve our
teaching.

What do you think you can do personally? How could we, as teachers, implement the
use of ICT it in the English classes to overcome these difficulties?

2.4. Advantages

ICTs resources specially stimulate teachers and students’ creativity and interaction
between them.

These are some of the most important advantages.

Interactivity

The number of applications that allow students to practice their

language skills by themselves is really large.

They are available not only via software but also and mainly in
Internet.

One of the advantages about it is that the students can continue

practising the second language outside the classroom in their
homes.

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Audio-visual effect

Learning through images and sounds makes the learning process a bit easier and
enjoyable. On the one hand, younger students are more willing to retain more
information through images and sounds; on the other hand, our teaching goals become
more engaging and the student himself/herself becomes more participative in the
process.

Look at this example: the children can listen to the word abacus and repeat it as many
times as they wish while they’re seeing its image.

You can find this example in the web site my-english-dictionary.com.

http://www.my-english-dictionary.com/eng1.htm

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Cross-curriculum tool

After the introduction of bilingualism in the Spanish educational system, children learn
English and learn other subjects in English as well, so they can apply their knowledge
to both English and non-English subject to enrich their schooling experience.
Therefore, learning process becomes a whole with the integration of different topics in
the English class.

Look at this example for primary school. Click on any of the squares and learn how to
combine different subjects in easy activities for little children. Notice the possibility of
printing your work, on the right side of the page.

http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php#

Collaborative tasks

This is an advantage for both teachers and students. On the one hand, students need to
collaborate and work with their classmates in order to perform some group tasks the
teacher may indicate; on the other hand, the teachers from different subjects
collaborate to produce cross-curriculum projects in the school.

Webquest is one of the best examples of collaborative tasks using Internet. Look at this
example: Webquest on English & Language Arts.

http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=114753

We’ll deal with Webquests later on in the course.

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Lifelong learning

The European Commission has put a lot of emphasis on carrying out projects to help
students to achieve lifelong knowledge. That lifelong knowledge applies not only to our
personal lives but also to our professional lives and to engage ourselves and our
students to the society we are living in.

Look at this example:

Comenius: Europe in the classroom. In this web site we can see goals and
priorities (for EU students).

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc84_en.htm

Creativity and innovation

This doesn’t mean the teacher role is diminished,

but quite the opposite.

Teachers are an integral part of the use of

technology because new methodologies are
developed through our use of ICT, so the learning
process takes place in the teachers’ hands.

We need to innovate, to create materials and ways of teaching so our constant

professional recycling becomes basic, in order to achieve our teaching goals and to
connect us to the real world and the changes in society.

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Assistance to students in monitoring their

own learning

Depending on the age of the student and our ability to

make them autonomous, as Pete Sharma explains in
his book Blended Learning: using technology in and
beyond the Language Classroom, we guide our
students in their learning through ICT. This doesn’t mean to allow them navigate
through whatever website or program they choose but teach them how to use a specific
device/tool and how to incorporate it into their learning.

As a conclusion

ICT has much to offer both teachers and students. These are the most important assets
we’ve just studied:

The different applications teachers may use allow students to

Interactivity practice productive and receptive skills. They can continue practising
the second language outside the classroom and they have access to
authentic material through videos, audio and texts

Learning through images and sounds engages the learner in the

learning process. Younger students are more willing to retain more
Audio-visual effect information through images and sounds. Our teaching goals become
more engaging and the student himself/herself becomes more
participative in the process

They are learning English but at the same time with the introduction
of Bilingualism in the Spanish educational system, other subjects are
Cross-curriculum taught in English so they can apply their knowledge to both English
tool and non-English subject to enrich their schooling experience.
Therefore, learning process becomes a whole with the integration of
different topics in the English class

For both the teacher and the students: on the one hand, students
need to collaborate and work with their classmates in order to
Collaborative perform some group tasks the teacher may indicate. On the other
tasks hand, the teachers from different subjects, not only English, may
collaborate to produce and carry out cross-curriculum projects
in the school

The European Commission has put a lot of emphasis on carrying out

projects to help students to achieve lifelong knowledge. That lifelong
Lifelong Learning knowledge applies not only to our personal lives but alto to our
professional lives and to engage ourselves and our students to the
society we are living in

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Teachers are an integral part of the use of technology because new

methodologies are developed through our use of ICT so the learning
Creativity and
process takes place in the teachers’ hands. We need to create
innovation
materials, to innovate ways of teaching so our constant professional
recycling becomes basic

Depending on the age of the student and our ability to make them
Assistance to autonomous, we guide our students in their learning through ICT,
students in we may have controlled-tasks practice with computers in the
personalizing and classroom. It does not mean to allow them navigate through
monitoring their whatever website or program they choose but to teach them how to
own learning use a specific device/tool and how to incorporate into their learning

UNIT 2 – Key ideas

 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

In Depth

Blended Learning: Using technology in and beyond the language classroom

In this book, Pete Sharma and Barney Barrett have assembled a

guide for beginning teachers and technology users that introduces
these supplements to the language classroom.

Published by Macmillan Publishers Limited (Oxford, 2007).

Read the following review of the book, by Alison Leithner, Georgetown University.
Available in: Language Learning & Technology. February 2009, Volume 13, Number 1
pp. 33-39.

http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num1/review3.pdf

Video for the English classroom

For the language teacher, YouTube may be nothing less than one of the best sources of
material the classroom has ever seen.

This video is in the virtual classroom or in the following link:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/video-english-classroom

UNIT 2 – In Depth
 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Creativity in the language classroom

What is creativity? Why is creativity important? Am I ever creative? Are my students

creative in my lessons?

This article has got really useful ideas for teachers and students.

Written by Judit Fehér, Pilgrims, UK. Submitted by TE Editor on 26 September, 2007 -

13:00.

This article is in the virtual classroom or in the following link:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/creativity-language-classroom

Creative Activities for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

“One of the challenges of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) abroad is the
lack of state-of-the-art instructional materials. A solution to the scarcity of effective
materials is the implementation of creative classroom activities that move beyond
reliance on textbooks […] Some activities introduce students to cultural information or
characteristics, while other activities can make up the backbone of the language
component of an EFL program.”

Author: Domke, Darla.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Washington DC.
Publication Date: 1991-06-00.

This article is in the virtual classroom or in the following link:

http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9220/english.htm

UNIT 2 – In Depth
 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Learn English with Pictures and Audio

Web site that would help you to learn new English words easily. There are 408 English
words and photographs to view on the site.

http://www.my-english-dictionary.com/

ICT Magic: the Literacy Center Education Network is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit
organization with a mission to deliver free, professionally-designed, education material
to preschool-age children. Utilizing the power of the Internet, we distribute education
material directly to children in their homes, libraries, and schools.

https://ukedchat.com/tag/ictmagic-cross-curricular

UNIT 2 – In Depth
 ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language

Test

1. Some of the potential gains of ICT for students are:

A. International awareness, motivation, communication, presentation of work.
B. Online content providers, access to professional advice and support,
administrative support.
C. Watching, listening and speaking.

2. The linguistic skills are: speaking, writing, reading and…

A. Watching.
B. Listening.
C. Cultural skills.

3. ICT offers new ways of teacher and student’s feedback and assessment.
A. True.
B. False.

4. Internet, as an information tool:

A. Gives the possibility of using materials.
B. Facilitates all short of educational resources to create your own materials.
C. Both are true.

5. What are we talking about: “Not all the teachers and schools have computers in
their classrooms”.
A. Digital division.
B. Digital divide.
C. Digital breakdown.

UNIT 2 – Test