The ongoing revolution of information and communication technologies is changing our
life, our business and our environment drastically: new technologies influence the way we
organize work and the environment in which we compete, introducing new rules and new
relative powers among newcomers. A successful education requires a lot more than just
reading books and taking tests – especially in today’s highly competitive job market.
New times demand new ways of learning. The era of language laboratories (with
tape-recorders and ear-phones) is over. Computers with their potential has replaced
them entirely. Nowadays computers are used more often at the lessons and practically in
all schools. Of course,one can see the lack of computers and of a special software but the
number of computers are growing up from year to year at school. Of course, teachers should
demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. They should
demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills to stay abreast to current and emerging
technologies. Every English teacher who wants to apply computers at his or her lessons
meets an obstacle in searching the necessary material and exercises for the definite
lesson.
Having looked through a number of web pages that deal with the learning
or teaching English at school, I understood that one of the best ways of presenting
any type of material and exercises is with the help of Information Technologies and
Project Method. This work permits to use all computer's unrestricted potential
necessary for teaching good and interesting English, namely it includes video,
sound, graphic, animation and simulation. In particular this potential allow to create
interactive exercises.
Why do students want to be more confident listening to English and studying English?
- Do they want to live in an English speaking country so need to communicate more effectively?
- Do they need to communicate effectively in English in their work?
- Do they want to study in an English speaking country and need to understand more?
- Are they studying English at school and want to improve their grades?
- Do they know lots of grammar but need to activate their language to communicate?
- Or perhaps they just want to do it for fun?
Whatever their reasons are, Information Technologies and Project Method will make progress really FASTER.
Project work creates situations where students’ key competences (self-management (problem solving), information skills and communication skills) can be seen as well as formed. The main goal of using of Information Technologies is the realization, creation of collaborative, interactive and conversational language training. On one hand, teachers cooperate with their students in this kind of work and make their activity more creative. On the other hand, Information Technologies give the participants new insights into the potential of the Internet to serve as a source of material and a powerful tool in learning and teaching English. Moreover, studies show computer-based instructions can individualize this process and give instant feedback. Computer is infinitely patient and nonjudgemental, thus motivating students to continue. So, the use of technology as a learning tool can make a measurable difference in student achievement, attitudes, and interactions with teachers and other students.
One of our first projects was “High School in the USA”, made by the student who studied in America. Going to school in the USA is a great opportunity to be able to speak English, to understand teenagers in America, to get to know people, customs, traditions. But many exchange students find that using English all the time is difficult and tiring, but you can easily notice differences in the school systems of our countries. What can one do to feel at home in the USA as quickly as possible? In order to understand this and make the process of adaptation for future exchange students easier the Project included and examined the following questions:
1.The Structure of the American School System.
2.School Subjects.
3. Extracurrcular Activities.
4. Public School Administration.
5. Tests and Exams.
6. School policies and Rules.
7. Tests.
The Project highlights not only the main subject but demonstrates the application of some strategy based on personal experience of the student, comparisons without judging which system might be “easier” or “harder”, “better” or “worse” and just helps to understand why they are different. Any student will find school in the US different in several ways. One is that it offers such a variety of classes. You can find it more flexible because a student will be allowed to choose some of your own classes.You can feel that the school is less formal than your own because of different teaching styles and class schedules. Both teachers and students may dress less formally and in some cases teachers may allow students to call them by their first names. Students move from classroom to classroom throughout the day. In some subjects there will be daily or weekly homework assignments. One point usually makes them wondered: in US schools students are expected to do their own work, unless they are assigned a group project. If students study together or work on homework together, each must do his/her own paper. “Helping” someone else may be considered “cheating” (dishonest) if one person does the work for the other. If students help each other on exams, or take notes into an exam, it is considered dishonest and students will be punished for it. Dishonesty, or “cheating”, is considered a serious offence.
The Project is considered to be pragmatic and useful because it gives some advice how you can help yourself step by step; it has a lot of pictures, Vocabulary List, Sample Tests and sites in the Internet where you can get any additional information. Later two more our students studied in the USA and the experience of our first exchange student and his Project “High School in the USA” helped them greatly. We’d like all our projects to be used as practical educational supplies for both students and teachers.
Speaking about appropriate technology to support environment of real communication, we should mention that multimedia gives additional possibilities and advantages for the interactive model of conversational language training. It offers the opportunity to simulate reality and therefore can facilitate experiental learning.
This year my students have chosen the topic “Weather” for their project. It contains video, sound, graphic and animation. Weather is one subject talked about everywhere in Great Britain: in bars, shops, at bus stops. We take into consideration factors which help to achieve maximum aspects of real communication:
- imitation of real conversational situation;
- language skills orientation;
- motivation;
- active learner’s roles;
- natural language material.
The primary factor is motivation. The activities should have the problems to be solved to encourage a learner to master learner’s communicative knowledge. In its practical part the work contains different teaching methods to make it deeper, more interesting and useful. Any authentic material is supposed to have some vocabulary exercises. There are numerous techniques concerned with vocabulary presentation. However, there are a few things that have to be remembered irrespective of the way new lexical items are presented. If teachers want students to remember and use new vocabulary, it needs to be learned in context, practised and then revised to prevent students from forgetting. This time we decided to supply our Project with vocabulary games and suggest the following types of vocabulary presentation techniques:
1. Visual techniques. These pertain to visual memory, lend to presenting concrete items of vocabulary, help students associate presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their system of language values.
2. Verbal explanation. This pertain to the use of illustrative situations, synonymy, opposites and categories.
3. Use of dictionaries. It is another technique of finding out meanings of familiar words and expressions, including different weather idioms.
Information technologies will be able to locate students within the frame work of the project and consider what actions might be appropriate within the context and how it can contribute to the development of their education and the application of the English in different sectors of economic and social life in their future. One can see possibilities of using Information Technologies in teaching English and their advantages in comparison with the traditional methods. Computer is really considered to be a tool for stimulating motivation, forming firm language skills and improving knowledge of English. But in conclusion I’d like to say that harmonious combination of traditional and new methods on all levels of teaching and learning will lead to the best results.