Summary of how to teach English with technology and my personal opinion.

How to teach English with technology

There are many reasons why teachers should use technology, and these are:

ü       Teachers can produce more attractive teaching materials.

ü       It uses media which learners use in their daily life.

ü       Access to up- to date materials via the Internet.

ü       Adds variety to a lesson.

ü       Keeps the teacher learning new skills.

ü       Makes the teacher look more professional.

ü       Some ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools (E.G Blogs, chat, email) can enable learners to make contact with learners in order countries.

ü        ICT tools can be used both in and outside the classroom.

ü       Using a range of ICT tools can give learners exposure to and practice in all of the four main language skills. ( speaking, listening, writing and reading)

ü       Learners enjoy using technology.

Out and in the classroom, teachers can use to work with students:

ü       Word processors. Because Learners can use a word processing program to practice writing skills, grammar, etc. But also, teachers can prepare, create, store and share materials for their classes.

ü        Emails. It allows to communicate with our learners outside the classroom, for example setting, receiving, marking and returning homework and other written assignments.

ü       Chat. It has enormous potential to link students around the world in real time. For example: A group of students in Argentina text chatting to a similar group in Poland about their lives and what their town is like.

ü       Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. These can be set up and used by teachers and/or learners.  These can be use to connect learners to other communities of learners. And the ideas and context can be generated and created by learners, either individually or collaboratively.

ü       Websites.

ü       Etc.

My opinion.

At the beginning I really believed that work with technology in the classroom to teach English was impossible, but once I read the book “how to use teach English with technology”, It was different.

Now, I realize that Technology is transforming education. Teachers have access to more information, more ways to interact and collaborate, and more approaches to instruction than ever before. Technology can enable teachers to accommodate a variety of orientations to learning, track student progress, remediate struggling students, and challenge advanced learners. Word processing, e-mail, computer software, the Internet, and the World Wide Web are all sources of more and different learning activities. The interactive nature of multimedia provides new ways to enhance the ESL learning experience.

Also, I can say that I find the use of technology in the classroom amazing. It offers great visual aids as well as listening and reading inputs through PowerPoint presentations, etc. It offers you the possibility of playing audio and video files, showing images, recording voice for pronunciation practice and internet site contents to add relevance to the class. What is more, for larger groups, the interactive whiteboard is ideal.  

To conclude, I really think that use technology in the classroom is important and helpful, because students love work with it, and also because it help teachers to develop different activities to plan theirs classes.