ICT in ELT English Language Teaching - Research Paper Example

ICT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) Introduction Gone were the days when teaching of English was restricted to all that theteacher had to say to the learners, a situation which made learners inactive in the teaching-learning situation. Be that as it may and without mincing words, the time has come for teachers and learners of English to realize the fundamental role of information and communication technology not only in the area of language teaching and learning but also in the global economy where the proficient use of English is fast assuming the indispensable engine of growth and development. It has therefore become expedient to note that the effective teaching and learning of English has gone beyond the stereotypical to regimented/tradition of mere classroom teaching because of the emergence of various gadgets in information and communication technology (Viatonu, Kayode 2000:1). In the 21st century, majority of people, be they students, researchers or teachers, are making use of the computer and internet to search for information, to chat or to play games. Teachers are becoming the greatest beneficiaries of digital media as far as bringing the world into the classroom is concerned and using authentic resource materials. How ICT has achieved its important status in ELT ICT is being used to provide curriculum tasks and activities that challenge students; this extends to gifted and talented students. It helps them work to a higher level than they otherwise might, for instance, they can access not only the school library books but also academic treatises (Galloway, 2007:26). Galloway also established that ICT is beneficial to students in several ways. There is the potential to present information in multiple formats, speech and image, with software such as ‘Writing with Symbols’. With ICT, activities can be repeated endlessly and identically as students learn the practical nuances of English pronunciation (Galloway, 2007:26). ICT in ELT has also achieved its status as far as translation is concerned. Web-based instant translations are available to and from English and at least nine other languages. Because of the multimedia presentational possibilities and the activities now available, the curriculum is becoming deeper and more enriched by new technology, creating engaging and motivating learning experiences for all students regardless of their needs and abilities (Galloway, 2007:26). There are invaluable pedagogical gains in the use of ICT. This has also contributed to the status of ICT. Teachers are able to develop an effective learning platform. With such a platform, teachers are able to create and share teaching materials which can be accessed online, printed out or used with an interactive whiteboard. Teachers can also access lesson plans from colleagues, access, monitor and track individual and group progress as well as receive submissions of work from students (Wyse, 2013:12). ICT in ELT is a great liberator as it frees both teachers and students to accomplish learning in new and exciting ways by sourcing information from the internet (Schrum, 2005:87). Tools commonly used by language teachers Internet In the 21st century, majority of people, be they students, researchers or teachers, are making use of the computer and internet to search for information, to chat or to play games. Teachers are becoming the greatest beneficiaries of digital media as far as bringing the world into the classroom is concerned and using authentic resource materials. The internet can be used as a tool for ELT through email, video conferencing, the World Wide Web, chat forums and texts. Online learning has the potentials to offer anyone with an internet connection access to a wide expanse but inexpensive education just as e-learning and computer allow schools to deliver classes to students anywhere in the world, (Viatonou and Kayode, 2000:3). The incorporation of ICT has been designed to complement the communicative approach to ELT. Greater student participation and implication in the learning process, coupled with more freedom to interact with peers, made for better output including lengthier interactions and more efficient interactions from the point of view of communication (Snell, 1999:57). Online activities give students greater freedom in the learning process and more opportunities to interact with peers (Perez, 2009:98). Videos Video is a valuable and possibly underused classroom tool. There is always the temptation to simply put a video at the end of the term and let students watch it without even challenging them to be actively involved (McKinnon, 2011:2). Some listening exercises require concentration on specific dialogue to enable students to learn. It is necessary to challenge them to listen when dealing with features of pronunciation. McKinnon finds movies a good source of authentic listening material for the practice of pronunciation when used accordingly. English is a stressed-timed language, meaning that certain syllables in a sentence have prominence therefore create a beat; other syllables tend to be said quickly making it difficult for our students to hear. Prominence, which is the speaker’s choice, is used to convey meaning (McKinnon, 2011:3). VLEs Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) were hailed as the greatest thing, but currently, they appear to be falling out of favor with many educational institutions for various reasons such as costs, lack of flexibility and problems handling audio and video (Graham, 2008:11). Graham further notes that VLE has become almost ubiquitous in both higher and further education, with the market becoming increasingly mature. E-learning is a major plank in both national and institutional strategies. There are indications that rather than resulting in innovation, the use of VLEs has become fixed in an orthodoxy based on traditional educational approaches. The emergence of new services and tools on the web, developments in interoperability, and changing demands pose significant issues for institutions’ e-learning strategy and policy. Whether the VLE can remain the core of e-learning activity needs to be considered (Graham, 2008:11). ICT Training Language teachers ICT training and how training supports learning Queroz posits that teachers need to go through a continuous process of competency improvements to meet the demands of lifelong learning for their professional development. Without this, teachers may be complacent and merely duplicate their practices electronically. If this happens, learners would not benefit from the technological advancements happening around them. Therefore, ICT training for teachers should not be merely to use technology per se (Queroz 2003:23). ICT is more effective when teachers receive more training in its instructional applications. When used to supplement a carefully thought-out program of classroom instruction, it should include appropriate amount of learner control, helpful feedback and sound pedagogical design (Pramela, 2007:1). Identifying the current training offerings at an institution as well as requesting teachers to express their perceptions of their own training needs can help administrators plan or reinforce the type of training in the use of ICT they will provide to teachers, facilitators, and e-tutors who participate in those programs. The technical skills of administrators of ICT programs are as important to the success of ICT implementation as those of teachers. In addition to technical training at the beginning of ICT implementation, access to just-in-time training modules can be very helpful to administrators who often have to complete tasks under pressure of deadlines and are unable to receive technical support at the time (Pramella, 2007:2). One major setback as far as ICT implementation in ELT is the teachers’ lack of technical skill and knowledge. ICT training equips teachers with adequate technical skill in order to administer their lessons more effectively. Sufficient teacher knowledge of ICT also saves a lot of time wasted on traditional learning because teachers become aware of how to administer variety of learning material, discussion questions and even tests online. This also ensures timely submissions and allows the teacher to monitor students at a personal or group level. Conclusion ICT has not been without fault. According to Perez, many teachers have been involved in projects involving new technologies in which results turned out to be disappointing. As such, ICT should be used under certain conditions. First, it should not be too time-consuming for teachers to design and put into practice activities and methodologies dependent on new technologies, nor should it involve an inordinate workload for students (Perez, 2009:24). Secondly, it should not be too expensive to the extent that the university or college cannot be able to subsidize its use. Thirdly, and most importantly, ICT should be used only if we think it would improve the teaching practice or give students more opportunities to acquire the knowledge and competencies they need (Perez, 2009:24). Some critics have posited that ICT makes students smarter and enhances the teaching and learning of language, others posited that there is no certainty about its possibilities because many educators are not yet familiar with the technology to use and how to apply it in the teaching –learning process (Morse, 1972:55). ReferencesTop of FormTop of FormTop of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of FormAsian Semantic Web Conference, Gómez-Pérez, A., Yu, Y., & Ding, Y. (2009). The semantic Web: Fourth Asian conference, ASWC 2009, Shanghai, China, December 6-9, 2009, proceedings. Berlin: Springer. From: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=wVO_vy0r0- oC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+semantic+Web:+Fourth+Asian+conference,+ASWC+2009,+Sh anghai,+China,+December+6-9,+2009,&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jSB2UZL1KK- O7QazuIGYAg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20semantic%20Web%3A%20Fourth%20Asian% 20conference%2C%20ASWC%202009%2C%20Shanghai%2C%20China%2C%20December%206- 9%2C%202009%2C&f=false Galloway, J. (2007). Primary ICT for teaching assistants. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=JI7oFCBTLqQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Galloway,+J.+(200 7).+Primary+ICT+for+teaching+assistants&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kh52UZifGo- h7AbKioH4Cw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Galloway%2C%20J.%20(2007).%20Primary%20ICT% 20for%20teaching%20assistants&f=false Graham, D. (2008). ICT for Language Teachers. Death of the VLE? Retrieved from http://ictforlanguageteachers.blogspot.com/2008/08/death-of-vle.html McKinnon, M. (2011). Teaching technologies. Teaching English using video. Retrieved from http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-technologies/teaching- technologies-teaching-english-using-video/146527.article Morse, J. M. (1972). The irrelevant English teacher. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. From: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=VAuYhoYN66wC&q=The+irrelevant+English+teacher+by+Morse&dq=The+irrelevant+English+teacher+by+Morse&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lyJ2UdGgPISO7QaM5oCIDg&redir_esc=y Pérez, C. M. L. (2009). English language teaching in the European Credit Transfer System: Facing the challenge. Bern: Peter Lang. From: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=In6ZYpj- 3zAC&pg=PA16&dq=perez,+English+language+teaching&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4iF2Ufe9G43e7Ab9g4 DYDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=perez%2C%20English%20language%20teaching&f=false Pramella, K (2007). Teachers and new ICT Challenges. Bangi, Selangor. Retrieved form http://eprints.ukm.my/120/1/pramela-edited.pdf Queroz B. (2003). ICT for Language Training. Retrieved from http://webh01.ua.ac.be/odlac/guides/4b-GUIDES-INSTITUTIONS-EN.pdf Schrum, L. (January 01, 2005). The Web and Virtual Schools. Computers in the Schools, 21, 3-4. Snell, N. (1999). Sams teach yourself the Internet in 24 hours. Indianapolis, Ind: Sams. From: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=9iYHsIqolGcC&pg=PA81&dq=The+Web+and+Virtual+Schoo ls+by+schrum&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZyN2UdqwIPK07QbA34HIAQ&redir_esc=y Viatonu O. & Kayode T. (2000). Improving the Teaching and Learning of English Language Through the Use of Information and Communication Technology: Prospects and Challenges. ICT for Language Learning, 5th Edition. Nigeria. Retrieved from http://conference.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL2012/common/download/Paper_pdf/38-IBT104-FP- Viatonu-ICT2012.pdf Wyse, D. (2013). Teaching English, language and literacy. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=9epMSGLWiVcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Wyse,+D.+(201 3).+Teaching+English,+language+and+literacy.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ER92UfiVCeON7QamxYHAAw&r edir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Read More