ICT in English Language learning and teaching

Introduction

ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has been used in almost all walks of life, including in education. In education, ICT has become so essential that the ICT has been introduced in the curriculum. ICT has been publicized as potentially powerful enabling tools for educational change and reform. The computers play significant role in the learning process especially in learning language. The need of technological innovation has brought the communication revolution and rapid development of technological application in teaching and learning. This technology made contribution on improving language communication in Indonesia. Every school has used the ICT to facilitate the teacher to teach the students in the classroom. Many kinds of application that they use in the classroom improved and enhanced the better lesson.

The use of ICT in the English classroom extends beyond its motivational value to address key outcomes of the syllabus, and allow students to become competent users as well as consumers in English.

Research suggests that incorporating ICT into the English curriculum can:

  • improve writing and reading skills
  • develop speaking and listening skills
  • support collaboration, creativity, independent learning and reflection (Becta,2003a, Becta,2003b, VTC,2003) (cited in Becta 2005)

As an interactive and collaborative medium, ICT allows responding, composing, and publication to be easily shared and offers students the opportunity to explore the language of texts more creatively and develop as speakers, writers and readers for an ever widening range of purposes and audiences. ICT can enable students to:

  • access information and respond to a widening range of texts
  • organise and present information in a variety of forms
  • broaden the range of audiences for their work
  • compose a widening range of texts for a broad range of purposes
  • compose for real audiences. ICT can support them in their choice of genre for audience and purpose.
  • identify key characteristics and features of text
  • develop understanding of language and critical literacy (Becta,2006,ICT in the Curriculum)

That sounds good, but how can we use ICT to teach English?

Task

You are English teachers. Your supervisor has told you that you need to incorporate more technology into your classes and he suggests that ICT would be a good way to do that. You don't know anything about ICT, much less how you could use it to teach English. Your task is to learn as much as you can about what ICT is and to find ways that you could use them it teach English. At the end of your search, you will develop some activities that you could use with your own students.

Process

Step 1

Go to the following web sites and read more about ICT in English language learning and teaching.

http://www.ict4lt.org/en/

http://webh01.ua.ac.be/odlac/guides/4b-guides-institutions-en.pdf

https://prinzessinnadia.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/ict-in-english-languag…

http://www.englishteacher.com.au/AboutUs/OfficialStatements/ICTsinEngli…

Step 2

Now watch video:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8VUR9ES98A]

 

Step 3

Now that you have seen what ICT is and can be, it is time for you to begin to develop your own tasks using ICT . To start, ask yourself these questions:

1.What topic do I teach that could be prepared using ICT?

2.What kinds of tasks would I want students to do as part of ICT in connection with that topic?

Once you have the answers to those questions, you are ready to start thinking about designing your tasks with ICT.

Evaluation

Your efforts to create ICT based tasks for use with your students will be evaluated by your students themselves. Their level of engagement with the tasks will be all the proof you need that you have been successful.

Conclusion

Now that you have seen what ICT is and have begun thinking, at least of how you might create some taks. I hope you will follow through and try one out with your students. I think you will be very happy with the results!

Credits

I have to give credit to Dr. Bernie Dodge for coming up with the idea. And after him, I must give thanks to Michael Krauss, who first exposed me to WebQuests in the course - 'Integrating the Internet into the Classroom' session in May, 2015.