RESOURCES
AND TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT FOR LANGUAGE
LERNING
1.
INTRODUCTION
A potted history of educational technology would
reveal that teaching in the 1980s meant being at the cusp of a quiet revolution. In August 1981, IBM
released the first personal computer (PC). This particular PC was equipped with anywhere from 16
kilobytes to 256 kilobytes of memory, one or two floppy disk drives and an optional color
monitor. In September 1982, the Commodor 64 computer was released for a grand price of $595,
replete with 64K of RAM, a cartridge and serial peripheral ports, two joysticks, three channels of
sound and a 16-color matrix. Then in November 1985, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows. Four years
later, email became commercialized and at the turn of the decade, Berners-Lee had built all
the tools necessary for a working World Wide Web with the first web browser, the first web server
and the first web page in 1990.
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| Learning english through Motorcycle |
The new era assigns new
challenges and duties on the modern teacher. The tradition of English
teaching has been drastically changed with the remarkable entry
of technology. Technology provides so many options
as making teaching interesting and also making
teaching more productive in terms of improvements.
Technology is one of the most
significant drivers of both social and linguistic
change. Graddol: (1997:16) states that” technology lies at the heart of the globalization process;
affecting education work and culture. The use of English language has increased rapidly
after 1960. At present the role and status of English is that
it is the language of social context, political, sociocultural,
business, education, industries, media, library, communication across borders, and key subject in
curriculum and language of imparting education”. It is
also a crucial determinant for university entrance and
processing well paid jobs in the commercial sector.
Since there are more and more English learners in
India, different teaching methods have been implemented
to test the effectiveness of the teaching process. One
method involves multimedia in ELT in order to create
English contexts. This helps students to get involved
and learn according to their interests, It has been tested
effectively and is widely accepted for teaching
English in modern world.
Technology is utilized for
the upliftment of modern styles; it satisfies both visual and auditory senses
of
the students. With the spread and development of
English around the world, English has been learned and
used by more and more speakers. According to David
Graddol ‘it is the language at the leading edge of
scientific and technological development, new thinking
in economies and management, new literatures and entertainment genre
2.
DISCUSSION
2.1.Use
of technology
As the use of English has increased in popularity so
has the need for qualified teachers to instruct students in the language. It is true that there are
teachers who use ‘cutting edge’ technology, but the majority
of teachers still teach in the traditional manner.
None of these traditional manners are bad or damaging the
students. In fact, till date they are proving to be
useful also. However, there are many more opportunities for
students to gain confidence practice and extend
themselves, especially for ESL students who learn the
language for more than just fun. For them to keep pace
with ELT and gain more confidence they have to stride into the world of multimedia technology
2.2.The
growth of ELT trough technology
21st century is the age of globalization and is important
to grasp on various foreign languages and English language comes first.English Language Teaching
has been with us for many years and its significance continues to grow, fuelled, partially by
the Internet. Graddol’s study (2000) suggests that in the
year 2000 there were about a billion English learners-
but a decade later the numbers doubled. The forecast
points to a surge in English learning, which has
peaked in 2010. The same study indicates that over 80% of
information stored on the internet is in English. For
the first time there are more Non-Native than Native
users of the language and diversity of context in
terms of learners, age, nationality, learning background
etcetera has become a defining characteristic of ELT
today.
With the rapid development of science and technology,
the emerging and developing of multimedia technology and its application to teaching, featuring
audio, visual, animation effects comes into full play in
English class teaching and sets a favorable platform
for reform and exploration on English teaching model in
the new era. It’s proved that multimedia technology
plays a positive role in promoting activities and initiatives of student and teaching effect in English
class. Technological innovations have gone hand –inhand
with the growth of English and are changing the way in
which we communicate. It is fair to assert that the growth of the internet has facilitated the growth
of the English language and that this has occurred at a
time when computers are no longer the exclusive
domains of the dedicated few, but rather available to many.
With this there has been a very significant
proliferation of literature regarding the use of technology in
teaching English language. Mostly these writings
unequivocally accept technology as the most essential part
in teaching. In a sense, a tendency to emphasize on
inevitable role of technology in pedagogy to the extent of
obliterating human part of teacher by technology part
has been very dominant. And as a result if we neglect
or ignore technological developments they will
continue and perhaps we will never be able to catch up,
irrespective of our discipline or branch. For this
reason it is important for language teachers to be aware of
the latest and best equipment and to have a full
knowledge of what is available in any given situation.
Teachers can use Multimedia Technology to give more
colorful, stimulating lectures (new Horizons).
There
are many techniques applicable in various degrees to language learning
situation. Some are useful for testing and distance education, and some for teaching business
English, spoken English, reading, listening or interpreting. The teaching principle
should be to appreciate new technologies in the areas and
functions where they provide something decisively new
useful and never let machines takeover the role of
the teacher or limit functions where more traditional
ways are superior.There are various reasons why all
language learners and teachers must know how to make
use of the new technology. Here we also need to emphasize that the new technologies develop and
disseminate so quickly that we cannot avoid their attraction
and influence in any form
2.3.
Using commercials texts
A
wide variety of mommercial textbooks is available these days. A distinction
that is traditionally drawn is between comprehensive course series and
supplemtary resources. A comprehensive course series will usually consist of four
to six levels, be based on a detailed syllabus and contain a range of
resources, including student text, student workbook, teachers’ manual,
audio-visual resouces, website, simplified readers, wall charts, and posters.
Resouces books are usually one or two levels and are intended to provide
additional work, usually focused on a skill such as speaking or listening, or
in one of the three language systems ; pronunciation, grammer, or vocabulary.
Good textbook often
contain lively and interesting materials, they provide a sensible progression
of language items, clearly showing what has to be learnt and in some cases
summarizing what has been studied so that students can revise grammatical and
functional points that they have been concentrating on. Textbook can be
systematic about the amount of vocabulary presented to the student and allow
students to study on their own outside the class. (harmer, 1991).
Kathleen graves, a
leading textbook author sets out several key principles for using a coursebook.
2.3.1. Understanding
how the coursebook is organized : a coursebook provides a visible outline, or
map of the terrytory to be covered.
2.3.2. Adapt
the materials : because a cousebook are written for generalized audience, they
need to be adapted. To do this, you need to decide which bits you want to keep
definetly. Which bits you want to modify or adapt, which bits you definetly
want to leave out, and which bits you want to supplement.
2.3.3. Pepare
the learners; graves found that the single biggest problem with coursebooks was
not that they were boring or too complicated, but that the students hadn’t been
prapared for them. Learner need to know what they have to do, why thet have to
do it, and that they have the skills to do it.
2.3.4. Monitor
and follow up: while students dong an activity, the teacher has the important
task of monitoring what they are dong and how well they are doing.
2.3.5. Buld
a repertoire: familiarize yourself with the main, recurring task types and
develop your own routine for teaching those task (graves, 2003).
In many situations textbooks form the basis of the
curriculum in language programs. Provided there is a good degree of fit between
the textbook and the teaching context teachers use textbooks to provide the
major source of input and direction to their teaching. Thus does not
necessarily mean that the teacher plays a secondary role in the teaching
process since teachers normally improvise around their teaching materials,
moving back and forth between book-based input and teacher-initiated input.
Hence even though a teacher may teach the same lesson from a textbook many
times, each time he or she teaches it becomes a different lesson due to the
improvisations the teacher initiates during teaching. These may result from
on-the-spot decisions relating to timing, affective factors, and responses to
learner difficulties. Experienced teachers hence use textbooks flexibly as a
teaching resource.
Sometimes however adaptation may be required to
reflect the needs of a specific teaching context. Various forms of adaptation
are possible:
1). Adding material to address an
examination requirement: sometimes supplementary material may
need to be added to address the requirements of a specific institutional or
other exam. For example the reading component of an institutional text may make
use of multiple-choice questions rather than the kinds of comprehension tasks
found in a course book, so extra material to practice using multiple-choice
questions may be needed.
2). Extending to provide
additional practice: a book unit has a limited number
of pages and at times the teacher may feel additional practice of grammar,
vocabulary or skills is required and sources additional materials to supplement
the book.
3). Localizing: an
activity in the book may be more effective if it is modified to reflect local
issues and content rather than the content that is discussed in the coursebook
Localization also involves adapting or supplementing an activity to address the
specific needs of a group of learners. For example pronunciation problems might
reflect interference form the students’ first language and these might not be
covered in the book. Additional activities can be added to address problems
specific to the learners.
4). Modifying content:
Content may need to be changed because it does not suit the target learners,
perhaps because of the learners’ age, gender, social background, occupation,
religion or cultural background.
5). Reorganizing content:
A teacher may decide to reorganize the syllabus of the book, and arrange the
units in what she or he considers a more suitable order. Or within a unit the
teacher may decide not to follow the sequence of activities in the unit but to
reorganize them for a particular reason.
6). Modifying tasks:
Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give them an additional
focus. For example, a listening activity may focus only on listening for
information, so it adapted so that students listen a second or third time for a
different purpose. An activity may be extended to provide opportunities for
more personalized practice. Or some exercises within a sequence may be dropped.
While in many cases a book may work perfectly well
without the need for much adaptation, in some cases different levels of
adaptation may be needed. Through the process of adaptation the teacher
personalize the text, making it a better teaching resource, and individualizes
it for a particular group of learners. Normally this process takes place
gradually as the teacher becomes more familiar with the book because the
dimensions of the text that need adaptation may not be apparent until the book
is tried out in the classroom.
2.4.
Visual and realia
Visual are important in all language
classroom, but they are essential fpr teaching young learners. Picture,
cartoons, diagrams and the like can a wealth of meaning in an instant.
Similarly, videos can introduce learners to important aspects of the target
culture.
Video can fulfill different functions
for learner at differents levels of proficiency. For beginning learners, a
video can provide examples of authentic language use in limited contexts. In
this way, it can validate the language that students are learning, and
demonstrate hown it is used in the world beyond theb classroom. With higher levels students, a video can
provide variety, interest and stimulations and thereby help to maintain
motivation. It can also be used for extensive listening for gist. With advanced
students video can provide both information and entertaiment. (nunan and lamb
:1996).
2.4.1. Why do I think you need
to use audio-visual aids in your lesson?
Audio-visual aids give the necessary variation and a change
of pace in your lesson to help maintain your students' attention and interest.
For example, pictorial materials can
provide students with something to talk about.
You can ask students to perform a
particular task with the help of a teaching aid, either individually or in
groups.
What you need to keep in mind is for whom are
you planning to use the teaching aids; you must consider your students' ages,
their intellectual levels, their language proficiency level and their
socio-cultural background. Teaching aids should not be used just
because they are available or that you find them fun to use. They are aids to
instruction not ends in themselves. Therefore, their use requires careful
planning on your part if you want to achieve maximum effectiveness.
The
same can be said for realia. The term realia is used to refer to objects and
artifacts from the world outside the classroom, real-life objects not initially
intended for second language teaching. With younger children, toys, stuffed
animals, glove puppers, colored building blocks, and so on can supplements
books, popsters, and other more traditional teaching aids. For older learners,
there is almost no limit to the resources that you can draw on : musical
instruments, clothing, jewelry, board games, movie and pop star posters, etc.
Can enrich the language learning experience. Additionally, the learning
experience can be made richer and more meaningful if learners can be encouraged
to bring their own possessions along to the classroom.
2.5.
Realia can be in
the form of:
2.5.1.
Written text or
print taken from newspapers, magazines, books, the Internet which have not been
written for the purpose of second language teaching and learning.
2.5.2.
Audio-visual
materials not produced for the purpose of second language teaching and
learning.
2.5.3.
Non-linguistic
such as stones, leaves, food products, clothes, etc.
2.6.
Why use Realia?
2.6.1.
Connects your
students to the world outside the classroom
2.6.2.
Makes language
learning more relevant and meaningful
2.6.3.
Prepares your
students for post-classroom experience
2.6.4.
Motivates your
students to investigate and use L2 outside the classroom
2.7.
What problems might you face when you bring linguistic realia into the
classroom?
2.7.1.
Complexity of
the text (oral or written): you might find that the grammar, vocabulary or text
structure too complex for your students’ level of ability
2.7.2.
Your students
might have problems understanding a native speaker’s pronounciation because of
his or her dialect, hesitations or rapid speech
2.7.3.
Your students
might have problems understanding the cultural references being made in terms
of geography, history, humour, philosophy, customs and social issues
2.8.
There are certain principles that you must keep in mind when using realia
in the classroom.
2.8.1.
General
2.8.1.1.Tell your students that it is "real"
2.8.1.2.Choose realia that is relevant and interesting
2.8.1.3.Provide the relevant cultural background beforehand
2.8.1.4.Make connections to realia in your students’ own culture
2.8.2.
Linguistic Realia
2.8.2.1.Be aware that the text (print or audio-visual) may be too difficult for
your L2 students to understand most or all of it
2.8.2.2.When there are vocabulary problems, you can do or more of the following:
2.8.2.2.1.
Introduce the
words in advance
2.8.2.2.2.
Focus on other
things besides the vocabulary
2.8.2.2.3.
Focus on the key
words
2.8.3.
For lower
ability students:
2.8.3.1.Choose the text very carefully
2.8.3.2.Focus on specific aspects of the text
2.8.3.3.Use dramatic techniques to help clarify written text or audio-visual
materials
2.8.3.4.For print materials, make sure you have enough copies
2.8.3.5.For audio-visual materials, make sure the recording is clear; that you
preview the material beforehand; that you have the proper equipment and know
how to use it
2.9.
Non-Linguistic Realia
2.9.1.
Have a clear
idea of your linguistic purposePreteach relevant vocabulary and grammatical
points
2.10. Projected Display Materials
2.10.1. Overhead projector
2.10.1.1. It is vivid and interest-catching – gives a bright
image on the screen
2.10.1.2. No need to blackout the room – image is clear even in
a bright room
2.10.1.3. You can face your students while discussing
information on the transparency
2.10.1.4. You can prepare your transparencies ahead of time or write
on them during presentation
2.10.1.5. The OHP is mobile -- it can be moved from room to room
or from one part of the room to another part
2.10.1.6. There are few technical problems if carefully used
2.10.1.7. The transparencies are easily carried around and
stored
2.10.1.8. You and your colleagues can build up a collection of
transparencies for general use
2.10.2. Slide projector
Why use the Slide Projector?
Although the slide projector is not
as flexible as the OHP (slides have to be carefully prepared in advance and
there needs to be a partial blackout in the classroom), it has some definite
advantages:
2.10.2.1.
There is a change of pace and activity when the slide
projector is used and this could arouse the interest of the students. The
practical preparations of setting up the projector and blacking out the room
cause an excitement that something different is going to happen.
2.10.2.2.
The slides are easy to obtain and produce. Slides can
be teacher-made or can be bought commercially.
2.10.2.3.
They can be arranged and re-arranged into different
sets for different uses.
2.10.2.4.
They create an impact and transport the students beyond
the confines of the classroom.
2.10.2.5.
They can be shown at any speed. The teacher can, for
example, hold a picture on the screen for some time to examine it in detail or
to facilitate discussion among the students.
2.10.3. Video recorder
Why is the video a powerful and
effective tool for your students to learn English? You can use it to:
2.10.3.1.
generate interest and stimulate your students’
imagination
2.10.3.2.
provide a common experience for all your students
2.10.3.3.
offer a different approach to a topic
2.10.3.4.
connect their students to far away places or to
experiences unavailable in the classroom
2.10.3.5.
demonstrate abstract
ideas
2.10.3.6.
stimulate the development
of critical thinking skills
2.10.3.7.
promote critical viewing
skills and media awareness
2.11. Cumputer
– Assisted Language Learning
CALL is filled with
areas that are unknown and in need of exploration. Even where much is known,
details have not been made clear or need to be made clearer as others factors
and conditions change such as the introduction of new technologies and the
adoption of existing technologies. The field of CALL is also constantly
undergoing change becuse of technological innovtions that ceate the
opportunities to revisit old findings, to conduct new research and to challenge
established beliefs about the way in which teaching and learning can be carried
out both with and without a human teacher. At the same time , advances in
parallel fields inform CALL and help direct the research agenda. (beatty:
2003).
In online education in general, technology
function as a :
2.11.1. Carrier
of content and an instructional tool
2.11.2. Learning
management tool
2.11.3. Communication
tool
In Call, the main role for technology is
as a provider of content and an instructional tool. When the computer presents
learners with listening and reading, and information on pronunciation,
vocabulary, and grammer, it is acting as a carrier of content. When the
computer provides opportunities for learners to practice the language by doing
spoken and written drills, completing comprehension questions, carrying out
grammer exercise, and so on, it is acting as an instructional tool.
There are several ways in which
learning can be organized through CALL, it can be used as a stand-alone or it
can be blended. Integration of
traditional face to face classroom and virtual classroom is referred to blended
– learning.
Model
1: the traditional classroom is supplemented and supported by technology.
In this model, classroom content is
delivered in the traditional face to face manner, but instruction is supplemented
by technology. This suplementation can
take the form of additional content or support for the management of learning.
The teacher decides what is to be thought, how it is to be taught and how it is
to be assessed.
Model
2: technology delivers the content and is supported by web-based live
instruction.
Instructional content is delivered
through technology, and is supplemented and supported by a teacher. That is
followed by commercial enterprises such as english town and global english. For example, global english
consists of a comprehensive ten level suite of course which is accompanied by a
wide range of additional resources, such as online needs-analysis instruments,
grammar and vocabulary enrichment, and an online magazine. Self paced learning
is supported by a talk with a teacher and other learners in a virtual classroom
through text and voice chat.
Model
3: technology dilivers the content and is supported by supplemental face to
face instruction.
This similar to model 2 exept that
the live support is provided in traditional face to face classrooms rather than
through the internet.
Model
4: the fully integrated classroom
Teachers do what they do best, such
as facilitating interaction in the target language, and technology does what it
does best. (nunan: 2010).
3.
CONCLUSION
We have looked at some of the resources
that are available to support that learning process. We suggested that
commercially produced textbooks can either be central or suplementary to the
learning program. In addition to considering the selection and evaluatin of
textbooks, this topics looks at visuals and realia as well as the use od CALL.
Although CALL is not, at this point,
sweeping all before it, it is certanly becoming a dominant force as a resource
for learning. The area where CALL based pedagogy outpaces conventional
materials are in the ptovinsion of:
ü individualized
study plans
ü anywhere/anytime
instructions
ü patient
tutoring
ü a
private space to make mistakes
ü immediate.
Individualized instruction
ü datailed
records of achievment
ü self-spaced
learning
4.
REFERENCES
David nunan : 2011. Teaching english to
young learners. USA: anaheim university press.
Solanki D. Shyamlee M Phil
:2012. Use of
Technology in English Language Teaching and Learning”: An Analysis. Singapore : IACSIT Press
Tony erben, ruth ban and martha castaneda :2009. teaching english language learners through
technology. New york and london : routledge.
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