Tema 1
Tema 1
Tema 1
1
UNIT
ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language
Key ideas
To study this unit, you need to read the key ideas and the article “ICT in English”, by
Peter Miles, available in the following link:
http://es.scribd.com/doc/73502262/Unit-1-WH-ICT-in-English
In this first unit, as a brief introduction to the course, we are going to remember the
importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in our daily
life and in our teaching practice.
We are also going to define, in a few lines, what ICT is and revise the story of the use of
technology in language classes at school.
They include:
As you can see, ICT implies much more than just Internet, although it is the most
important tool.
Importance of technology
In fact, we could be amazed by the quantity of tasks we perform through these tools in
our ordinary lives. No matter how small or isolated a place seems to be, either to live or
to stay, it’s usually easy to find an Internet cafe to connect us to the world.
And in this technological society, it is a fact that teaching and learning have also
been affected by the use of technology.
It’s true that in our daily teaching practice we are sometimes a bit reluctant to use
technology. Nevertheless:
All teachers have used technology in their classes at a given moment, not only as
a help in their teaching but also as an invaluable tool to create materials.
Traditional ICT tools are basic tools to provide learners with confidence, and the
previous step to more complex and sophisticated tools and resources.
After that, a wide range of software for learning languages appeared, perhaps too
much and too quickly, with the aim of making our school lives easier and more
enjoyable.
And finally, Internet has been pushing hard in the last years to revolutionize the world
of teaching and learning, quite often against the lack of space and material and
economical support.
Anyway, technology has always been of big help for us in our daily teaching and
for the children in their learning.
CALL
If we look back in time the first computer-based materials for language teaching,
referred as CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) appeared in the early
1980s. Those CALL tasks were somehow basic if we compare them with today’s
Does it sound familiar? Yes, we still have that format in the typical CD-Rom which
comes with our textbooks. We are not saying that is old-fashioned or that it is
useless but quite the opposite. However, our approach to that format needs to be new,
adapting ourselves to the new possibilities technology offers in the sense of enhancing
and developing our creativity, something we will see in more details in other units of
the course.
Lots of teachers are not digital natives; they were not born nor grew up with
technology as an integral part of his/her daily life, unlike their students.
Using Internet and other ICT tools to create material, perform tasks and make students
participate in the learning process.
Our active participation in its usage and its implementation into our teaching
planning.
Technology doesn’t mean neither the tool to fill time in our lessons nor a source to
know about the world with no links to our classes anymore. Technology has become an
integral part in today’s schools and we need to be the catalysts to implement it in
the classroom.
Why is applying technology in our teaching practice so important? On the one hand,
it is an essential tool for students’ and teachers’ feedback and assessment; on the other
hand, Internet provides with resources like authentic material for classroom use and
develops collaborative tasks.
In the next units we are going to study all these tools more thoroughly, not only what
they consist of but also and specially their practical use in your the ESL lessons.
In Depth
Read
Read these interesting documents about the importance of ICTs in the world of
education.
Essay about the impact of ICT tools in the world of education and the changes our
educational system has gone through to be updated.
Read this document about ICTs and its use in the European Union.
UNIT 1 – In Depth
ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language
Watch
Watch these interesting videos about the importance of ICTs in the world of education:
The author raises some fundamental issues and questions whether ICT is suited to
transmit knowledge, particularly to students who are not already highly motivated to
learn or well versed in the art of using and interpreting information
UNIT 1 – In Depth
ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language
Nick Peachey’s blogs teaches how to use and implement technology in our teaching
practice. Lots of tips, videos and up-to-date tools to develop teachers’ creativity.
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/
http://www.scoop.it/t/learning-technology
UNIT 1 – In Depth
ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language
Test
UNIT 1 – Test
ICT Tools Applied to the Learning of English Language
B. FALSE. They are the basic tools we may use to provide confidence in the
learners and the previous step to more complex and sophisticated tools and
resources.
C. TRUE. Nobody uses Word Processors, movies or PowerPoint to enhance their
teaching tasks.
10. Moving material between applications (programs) is one of the particular skills you
need to be competent in.
A. True
B. False
UNIT 1 – Test