Филологические науки / 1. Методика преподавания языка и литературы

Iakovenko А. V.

4^th year student of Foreign Philology Department,

Sevastopol municipal University of humanities, Ukraine

How to Teach English with Technologies

The global spread of English over the last 40 years is remarkable. It is unprecedented in several ways: by its increasing number of users of the language; by its depth of penetrating into societies and by its range of functions.

Worldwide over 1.4 billion people live in countries where English has official status. Scientists comment that there has never been a language so widely spread or spoken by so many people as English. One out of five of world’s population speaks English with some degree of competence. Hereby over 70% of the world’s scientists read English, about 85% of the world’s mail is written in English. And 90% of all information in the world’s electronic retrieval is stored in English. And the most surprising fact is that the number of people who speak English as a second or foreign English exceeds the number of native speakers. In addition English is used for more purposes than ever before. And one in five (over one billion) is studying English nowadays [3].

On the other hand Technology is an ever-increasing part of the English language classrooms nowadays.

Technology is becoming increasingly important in both our personal and professional lives and the learners of English are using technology more and more. Therefore the problem how to teach English with technologies is very actual for every teacher nowadays.

But technology in language teaching is not new. Indeed, technology has been around in language teaching for decades – one might argue for centuries, if we classify the blackboard as a form of technology.

Computer-based materials for language teaching, often referred as CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), appeared in the early 1980s. CALL activities are mostly CDs, teaching computer programs, computer test, encyclopedias.

In 1990s the term TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning) in response to the growing possibilities offered by the Internet.

Today computers and the Internet allow people to connect, collaborate and communicate on-line. So, the term ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is widely spread now [1; 3; 6].

I think it’s high time for us to define our attitudes to technology. Think about yourself. Where do you stand? How confident do you feel about using the Internet and computers in teaching and studying English? If you avoid using technologies, may be afraid of them you can consider yourself as a technophobe. If you think you have come too late to the world of technology you are certainly a digital immigrant. You can define yourself as a digital native if you feel comfortable and confident using computers, the Internet and its tools. And lastly if you believe that the Internet will help you to become a better teacher or a better student, you enjoy using technologies in class and would like to know more about it, than you can proudly regard yourself as a techogeek, because you are a real technology enthusiast.

Although the use of ICT by both English students and teachers is very important today, the use of technology in the classroom will become more popular. There are many reasons for it:

– Such students as me are growing up with technology and it is a natural and integrated part of their lives. For us the use of technology is a way to bring the outside world into the classroom. And some of us will become teachers ourselves.

– English as an International language, is being used in technologically mediated contexts.

– The Internet presents us with the new opportunities for authentic tasks and materials.

– The Internet offers excellent opportunities for collaboration and communication between learners who are geographically dispersed.

– Technology is becoming increasingly mobile. It can be used not only in the classroom, lecture hall or computer classroom, but it can also be used at home, on the way to school, at any place on the planet.

– Using of ICT tools give learners a great practice in all of four main language skills – speaking, listening, writing and speaking on the principally new and effective level.

As a teacher of English I try to bring computers, technology and the Internet to my classes. And I find a lot of advantages of using ICT in teaching English.

As for grammar, the increase in the number of interactive exercises on CD-ROM and the web has undoubtedly benefited the learners. Students can practice 24 hours 7 days a week and receive instant feedback.

Using ICT provides many benefits in studying vocabulary; it allows students to cross-check between bi-lingual dictionaries and mono-lingual dictionaries, and encouraging them to review language.

In the area of the receptive skills, listening and reading, the effect of technology has been huge. The Internet has provided a vast range of material, offering many more opportunities for exposure to authentic materials, both audio and text.

As for writing and speaking the Internet gives students the opportunity to organize discussions with native speakers using Skype and e-mail.

And today I would like to introduce the project of me and my supervisor. It is a book of psychological tests in English. They are different in forms, thematic, some of them are serious and others are jocular. The supplement to it is a disk with computer variants of the tests. As for me it very convenient because you don’t have to calculate your results as I make the mistakes even when use the calculator. After having taken the test students get the result, they will certainly agree or disagree with it. So a teacher gets an opportunity to organize a discussion between them. In addition using the computer will make the process of testing more private, students are not afraid to be honest before the screen.

And I am very pleased to introduce a newspaper for teachers-philologists. The main peculiarity of it is that a teacher of English will find a lot of lesson-plans, tasks, exercises in it and electronic resources for them on the site http://shvidko172.narod2.ru [1; 2].

To sum up, technology is a central component in a modern learning environment. Technology can also be a great tool for reaching various audiences and making lesson plans exciting and surprising for students. Technology needs to be wisely integrated and controlled in the classroom to create the most effective lesson plans. The teacher must remain the central focus with technology used only as an aid and supplement to the larger goals of the classroom.

Resources:

1. Фоминых Н. Ю. Работа с личностными тестами на уроках английского языка как прием повышения познавательного интереса учащихся / Н. Ю. Фоминых // [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу: http://shvidko172.narod2.ru/

2. Яковенко А. В. Valentine's resources for intermediate - upper intermediate students / ФИЛОЛОГ.ru : Методическая газета для учителей-филологов. – 2011. – № 1. – С. 7–8.

3. Internet in Education. Specialized Training Course. – UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). – 2006. – 95 p.

4. McKenzie C. Homepages. Built-in Motivation / Cheryl McKenzie // English Teaching Forum. – 2000. – № 1. – P. 34–37

5. Russell M. Testing Writing on Computers: An Experiment Comparing Student Performance on Tests Conducted via Computer and via Paper-and-Pencil / Michael Russell, Walt Haney // Education Policy Analysis Archives. – 1997. – № 3 (vol. 5). – 18 р.

6. Sprat Mary. The TKT Course / Mary Sprat, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams. – Cambridge University Press, 2005. – 188 р.