Teaching, teaching 1,2,3

Welcome to this blog. Let me know your thoughts about the course.

Hello and welcome to our meetings which I hope you will find interesting, motivating and above all I hope will give you some practical ideas to take back to your students. 

We all know (or at least feel) that new technologies offer a great potential for learning and many of us feel the need to bring these to our teaching .

Generally we know that I students like new technologies : in their free time they surf the net, play video games, and listen to MP3 music , so it seems an obvious motivational strategy to link our teaching of English with these activities that kids of today enjoy. However we also know that these new technologies actually do offer innovative and effective learning opportunities if only we know what to do with them. 

Vision (listening comprehension in context) of films in DVD

Listening (comprehension, pronunciation, rhythms of English) to music CD, MP3, pop videos on you tube

Reading (comprehension, vocabulary acquisition) of information on websites e.g  wikipedia

Playing educational games

Webquests

Visiting specific sites for English learning

Correspondence pen friend e-mails, SMSs with mobile phone

Live action chatting in real time

Writing homework (drafting) in Word, FrontPage

Preparing Oral Presentations in PowerPoint

Preparing material in English for a personal, class or school website

Use of purpose made computer based courses (with video, audio, texts and grammar exercises)

Doing on-line (interactive) English courses 

There are several challenges to overcomelack of knowledge of the teacher – fear that the student knows more – make this an advantage

Lack of experience with IT based English leaning materials

Fear of activities that are too open (discipine) uncontrolled material (unsuitable, incorrect)

Lack of methodological knowledge as to how to get the best use of these materials

Problems of finding time (with a busy ministerial programme) 

Availability of multimedia lab, cost of IT software

Computers or internet not working – potential poor return of time, money and energy invested. 

Try  it (you might like it)

Start simple (the first time is a novelty for everyone)

Milk it (exploit creatively) what you have

Build up slowlyBe prepared (try it at home, check that the multi media lab can handle what you want to do)

Lesson planning : Time use, variety : Get the balance right (show them, let them work – alone or in pairs, monitor, take the opportunity to act individually with your students, have a feedback session, leave a homework task)

Get your students to be active and PRODUCE something 

Methodology : Material : choose wisely, use carefully 

Stay in control: numbered students to numbered computers (keystoke records) Should students work alone, in small group by level or by mixed ability ?

Are there different activities, different thresholds (traguardo) ?

Clear aims, clear explanations. Let a student show that he or she has understood

Give clear times for each activity  (almost always needs more time)Have extra activities for fast finishers (different levels in the same class)

Use English for the procedures (good opportunity for listening in context)

Get students to save their work periodically

Get students to note down website addresses and pages for future reference  (for bibliographies etc)

Let the materials do the talking – but stay in control

Discretely monitor groups (note collaboration, students’ use of English) give some marks

Write notes – who did what for the register

Periodic stock taking (take control from the central computer teacher to class)

Feedback: Show examples of good work (student to class)

Make some language points – praise students that are using English to interact

Have a clear final debriefingGive a clear homework activity: e.g. save and finish at  home

Sign off/log off turn off computers before leaving

Get the student to write a learner diary (can e-mail them to you on public e-mail address)