1.

Technology in the Classroom (Simplified):

Using technology in language teaching is not something new. It started a long time
ago. In the 1980s, computers were used in language learning. This was called CALL
(Computer Assisted Language Learning). These programs helped students practice by
filling in blanks, matching sentences, or choosing answers. The computer gave
feedback—saying if the answers were right or wrong.

Later, when the Internet became more common, CALL became more advanced. A new term,
TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning), was used in the 1990s. This included
using the Internet and online tools.

Why is technology important in teaching?

• Many people now have access to the Internet.
• Young learners grow up using technology.
• English is often used in technology (like websites, apps).
• The Internet gives us real-life tasks and materials.
• There are many free English learning materials online.
• Students can talk and work together online, even if they live far
apart.
• Many English textbooks now come with digital tools.
• Technology helps students practice speaking, listening, reading, and
writing.

Attitudes Toward Technology:

Some people are afraid of using new technology. These people are called
technophobes.
But young people, called digital natives, are very comfortable with it because they
grow up using it.
Older people, like some teachers, are called digital immigrants—they started using
technology later in life.

Many teachers may feel negative about technology because:

• They don’t feel confident.
• They don’t have the right tools.
• They haven’t had training.

Using Technology in Different Situations:

Not all schools have many computers. If there’s only one computer, teachers can
take turns using it.

If students don’t know how to use computers:

• First, find out their skills with a simple survey.
• Start with easy tasks, like using Word.
• Then teach simple email or how to search the Internet.
• Pair experienced students with beginners.

2. Using Websites in the Classroom (Simplified):

Using websites is one of the easiest ways to start using technology in class. There
are many teaching resources online. Most teachers have used websites or taken
materials from them to use in lessons.

Ways to use websites in class:

• Printed pages: If there’s no Internet, you can print and use pages (but
printing can be expensive).
• One computer: If your class has only one computer, you can show
websites using a projector or smartboard.
• Computer lab: If your school has a lab with many connected computers,
students can use the websites directly. This is the best setup for using the
Internet in lessons.
Which websites to use: ELT or authentic?
• ELT websites are made for English learning. They have exercises and
activities your students can do alone.
• Authentic websites are real websites (like news or hobby sites). They
help students learn real language and stay motivated because the content is
interesting.

Finding useful websites:

Good search skills help both teachers and students:
• Teachers can prepare lessons faster.
• Students can finish tasks more easily.

Three main ways to search online:

1. Search engines (like Google): You type keywords to find what you need.
2. Subject guides (like old Yahoo): These help you browse topics, not just
search by word.
3. Real language search (like Ask): You can type full questions, and it
shows answers and helpful links.

Evaluating websites:
After finding a website, check if it’s good for your class. Think about:
• Accuracy (is the info correct?)
• Currency (is it up to date?)
• Content (is it useful?)
• Functionality (does the site work well?)

Before class, plan your lesson carefully:

• Visit the website first.
• Write down the exact pages you want your students to use.

3. Multimedia Literacy: Learning Through Visuals (Simplified):

What is multimedia?
Multimedia means using text, sound, and images together at the same time. It
includes things like videos, music, slides, animations, and graphics. It’s used in
both education and entertainment.

Why use multimedia in education?

• It helps students work in groups.
• They can show what they know in different ways.
• It helps them build and share knowledge more creatively.

Examples of multimedia tools:

• Computers, projectors, Internet
• MP3 players, podcasts, mobile phones
• Software, tape recorders, iTunes

Advantages:
• Students learn real-world tech skills.
• Encourages teamwork and communication.
• Shows how different media (text, sound, image) affect meaning.
• Helps learners practice communicating with different audiences.

Disadvantages:
• Schools may not have enough technology.
• Both students and teachers may lack technical skills.
• It takes time to plan and create multimedia lessons.
• Sometimes, technology fails or doesn’t work.
Multimodal texts:
Before, we only taught how to read and write with words.
Now, we must teach how to understand and create texts with words, images, and
sounds.
English teachers now help students read and create multimedia texts, not just
written ones.
So, teachers need to understand how these elements work together to create meaning.

4. Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts (Simplified):

These are all types of social software that help people connect, communicate, and
collaborate online.

Blogs
• A blog (short for web log) is like an online diary or journal.
• Usually written by one person, and updated with thoughts, experiences,
links, photos, videos, etc.
• A blogroll is a list of other blogs the writer likes.
• Photoblogs = blogs with photos
Video/Audio blogs = include media content

Types of blogs in education:

• Edublog – used for learning purposes
• Tutor blog – created by the teacher
• Student blogs – created by students

How to start blog projects:

1. Teacher creates a sample blog (1–2 hours)
2. Students create their own blogs (1 hour)
3. Students write posts, comment on each other’s blogs (1 hour)
4. Follow-up: projects, feedback, improvements (2–3 hours)

To make audio/video blogs, you need recording devices, editing tools, and a place
to upload the files.

Wikis
• A wiki is a collaborative website that anyone can edit.
• Unlike blogs (written mostly by one person), wikis are created by many
users.
• Wikipedia is the most famous example.

How to use wikis in class:

• Create a group writing project

1. Prepare before class (30–60 mins)

2. Write descriptions of famous or fictional people (1 hour)
3. Review and correct each other’s work (1 hour)

Podcasts
• A podcast is an audio or video file shared online, like a radio or TV
show you can download and listen to anytime.
• Video podcasts = vodcasts or podclips

How to use podcasts in teaching:

1. Listen to podcasts (e.g., lectures, language lessons)
2. Create podcasts (students record their own content)
Professors often use podcasts to share lectures for students who miss class.
There are many ESL/EFL podcasts made just for English learners.

5. Study Skills and the Internet (Simplified):

Technology has changed how students study, learn, and are assessed.

How Technology Affects Study

• New tools: multimedia, presentations, blogs, wikis, e-portfolios,
video, podcasts, and social networks.
• Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are used in many universities to
help organize learning and promote collaboration.
• Students use more visual aids now—like videos, diagrams, infographics—
to improve understanding.

Study Skills

These are strategies that help students learn better, like:

• Time management
• Memorizing
• Taking notes
• Active reading
• Setting goals

Technology helps make these skills more effective through digital tools and
resources.

Reading and Research

• Finding good sources is important—especially at higher academic levels.
• Students should not only rely on reading lists but also do their own
research.

Useful Tools:
• Ingenta Connect – a huge online database of academic journals
• Papyrus News – focused on technology, education, and culture
• CITEULIKE – helps you store, organize, and share academic papers

Academic Writing
• Word processors like Microsoft Word or Apple Pages are essential.
• They help with:
• Creating tables of contents
• Using headings for structure
• Navigating large documents easily (e.g., using document map)

Speaking and Group Work

• Lectures are still important, but students also use:
• Podcasts, recorded lectures, and videos
• Group projects: face-to-face, online, or blended (both)

Communication Types
• Synchronous (real-time): chat, video calls, voice messages
• Asynchronous (delayed): email, discussion boards, forums

6. Online Reference Tools (Simplified):

Dictionaries
• Monolingual Dictionaries: These are increasingly available for lower-
level learners. They may be sold with CD-ROMs offering:
• Searchability (not based on alphabet order).
• Audio recordings of words in both British and American English.
 • Games and exercises.
• Common errors.
• Ability to bookmark and personalize.
• Information on word frequency.
• Handheld Electronic Dictionaries: Often inaccurate. It’s good to advise
students on purchasing reliable ones.

Thesauruses
• Best for intermediate and advanced levels.
• Enriches vocabulary by offering synonyms and related words.

Concordancers and Corpora for Language Analysis

• Concordancer: A tool that searches large bodies of text for word
patterns and occurrences.
• Works with a corpus (a large collection of texts).
• Corpora can be written (e.g., newspapers, journals) or spoken (e.g.,
radio, TV).
• It helps to analyze word usage and context.
• Challenges: Concordancers can introduce unfamiliar language that might
distract students and detract from lesson goals.

Translators for Language Analysis

• Translation Software: Still unreliable and often poor in quality.
• Be cautious about using it for translations in academic assignments.
• Can lead to incorrect translations if over-relied on.

Encyclopedias for Research and Project Work

• Traditional Encyclopedias: Previously stored on shelves, now more often
available as digital collections.
• Online resources like Encyclopedia Britannica and Microsoft Encarta are
useful for research.
• Modern informational reference sites are great starting points for
students conducting research or working on projects.

7. Technology-Based Courseware (Simplified):

CD-ROMs
• What are they?
• Multimedia discs that contain text, images, audio, and video.
• Used for interactive learning activities, such as vocabulary matching,
drag-and-drop exercises, gap-fills, and more.
• Main Features:
• Content related to each course unit.
• Pronunciation practice with voice recognition software.
• Grammar and vocabulary exercises.
• Self-paced learning and testing materials for progress checking.
• Limitations:
• Mostly designed for individual use (self-access center or at home).
• Less effective for speaking and writing practice.
• Pronunciation software may give inaccurate feedback, especially for
non-native accents.

DVDs
• Advantages over CD-ROMs:
• Higher storage capacity.
• Better audio and video quality.
• Allows you to choose from various language options and view subtitles.
• How to use with learners:
• Subtitles (usually in English) help learners understand dialogues.
• In monolingual contexts, use native language subtitles and ask students
to translate, then compare with English dialogue by checking lip movements.

Interactive Whiteboards (IWB)

• Components:
• A whiteboard, a computer with IWB software, and a data projector.
• Teachers use a special pen or their finger to interact with the content
on the board.
• Advantages:
• Larger boards improve visibility, especially in large classrooms.
• Allows for interactive and dynamic lesson presentations.
• Wireless tablets can let learners interact with the board remotely.
• Limitations:
• Mobile boards need re-setup when moved, which can take time.

ePortfolios
• Definition: An online resource that stores learning artifacts and
reflects the learner’s progress.
• Types of ePortfolios:
1. Showcase ePortfolio: Highlights student achievements.
2. Learning ePortfolio: Focuses on the learning process and feedback.
3. Assessment ePortfolio: Used to assess mastery of standards or topics.

These tools enable interactive and personalized learning experiences, but their
effectiveness depends on proper usage and setting.

21.Multimedia tools in language teaching refer to using text, sound, and images
together. This combination helps students understand information more deeply. With
technology, students and teachers can mix different media like text, sound, and
pictures, easily access videos or images, and control information flow with pause
or rewind buttons. Multimedia activities help students work in groups, express
knowledge in different ways, solve problems, and improve their own work.

Examples of multimedia tools include:

• Computers, projectors, the internet
• Standalone software
• MP3 players, tape recorders, podcasts, iTunes
• Cellphones

Advantages of multimedia tools:

• Teach real-world technology skills
• Encourage teamwork and collaboration
• Help students communicate with different audiences

Disadvantages:
• Need for both hardware and software
• Requires technical skills from both students and teachers
• Time-consuming to plan and create activities
• Technology may sometimes fail

Effective ways to use multimedia in the classroom include:

• Teaching vocabulary with song files or music videos
• Using audio files
• Showing images
• Creating interactive activities
• Using video clips

Benefits:
• Increases learner motivation
 • Improves communication skills
• Familiarizes students with English culture
• Enhances teacher-student engagement
• Enables learning anytime and anywhere

23. Technologies for Teaching and Learning: Focusing on Language Skills - Reading:
In second language (L2) reading, two main processing strategies help learners
understand texts: bottom-up and top-down processes.
• Bottom-up Processing: Focuses on decoding written symbols and matching
them with sounds, identifying words, and using syntactic information to construct
meaning. It also involves working memory to support these tasks.
• Top-down Processing: Involves using prior knowledge, expectations, and
experience with language and text structures to make predictions, infer meaning,
and confirm understanding. It draws on knowledge of the world and typical
structures of different kinds of text.

Key skills and strategies for L2 readers:

1. Identifying Letters: Recognizing that letters may appear in different
forms (e.g., ‘a’ and ‘A’).
2. Matching Sounds to Orthography: Understanding that certain letter
combinations represent different sounds (e.g., ‘ough’).
3. Dealing with Unknown Words: Using context or a dictionary to deduce
meanings of unfamiliar words.
4. Using Morphological and Syntactic Clues: Understanding the grammatical
structure of sentences (e.g., recognizing that ‘a’ and ‘the’ precede nouns, or ‘ed’
indicates past tense).
5. Using World Knowledge: Making predictions based on general knowledge,
like expecting a news article about a famous band to include information about
upcoming performances.
6. Recognizing Text Structure: Knowing conventions of specific genres
(e.g., fairy tales typically begin with “Once upon a time”).
7. Setting Comprehension Goals: Aiming to understand the writer’s message
and purpose.
8. Evaluating the Text: Reflecting on and appreciating the text’s content,
such as enjoying a story or comparing different reports of the same event.

Technological Tools:
• Scrible: A browser plugin that allows students to highlight text, add
sticky notes, and share these with others to facilitate comprehension.
• Digital Fiction: Interactive stories that require students to carefully
read and make decisions to progress in the narrative, promoting detailed
understanding of the text.
• Graphic Organizers: Visual tools like mind maps to help students
organize information, identify relationships, and deepen understanding of texts.

24. Technologies for Teaching and Learning: Focusing on Language Skills - Writing:
Writing is crucial for communication in both first and second languages.
Proficiency in writing opens doors to educational and professional opportunities.
Writing involves a combination of skills and knowledge, and technology can enhance
the process significantly. Three main approaches are used to teach L2 writing:
1. Product Approach: Focuses on the final written text, including language
accuracy and organizational structure.
2. Process Approach: Emphasizes the iterative process of drafting,
revising, and editing.
3. Social Practice Approach: Recognizes writing as a social activity,
focusing on how the writer communicates with an audience and the broader context of
the writing.
Key writing skills:
1. Writing in a New Script: Learning to copy examples when starting with a
new writing system.
2. Understanding Sound-Spelling Relationships: Recognizing how sounds
correspond to spellings, which can be complex in languages like English.
3. Expressing Ideas Clearly: Using the L2 system to convey ideas
effectively.
4. Creating Coherent Structures: Using discourse markers and logical
connections between ideas.
5. Using Rhetorical Patterns: Organizing ideas into recognizable patterns,
such as problem-solution.
6. Writing for Specific Genres: Adhering to the conventions of specific
genres (e.g., academic essays, stories).
7. Revising and Editing: Iterating drafts to improve the clarity and
expression of ideas.
8. Understanding the Audience: Shaping writing to communicate effectively
with a target audience.

Technological Tools:
• Online Writing Labs (OWLs): These provide a wide range of resources,
including grammar guides, referencing tips, and strategies for overcoming writer’s
block.
• Process-Oriented Tools: Tools like word processing software, digital
storytelling apps, and online dictionaries help learners generate ideas, draft, and
revise their writing.
• Social Practice Tools: Platforms like Twitter and Facebook offer real-
world writing practice in the form of microblogging, where learners can engage with
an audience and communicate effectively within social media contexts.
Technological tools enhance the writing process by making it easier for L2 writers
to practice, receive feedback, and improve their skills over time.

25. Technologies for Teaching and Learning: Focusing on Language Skills - Listening

Historically, the teaching of listening skills in a second language (L2) was often
neglected, with listening tasks mainly serving as an introduction to new language
items rather than focusing on developing listening competence. However, in recent
years, there has been significant research and advancements in this area. Listening
is often viewed through two main processes: bottom-up and top-down processes.
• Bottom-up Processes: These focus on the psycholinguistic aspect of
listening, which involves decoding sounds, words, and phrases to form an
understanding of the message. This process typically starts with individual sounds
and builds up to understanding the full message.
• Top-down Processes: These involve social aspects, such as using prior
knowledge, expectations, and contextual clues to interpret the message. It helps
the listener make predictions about what is being said and aids in understanding.

It’s important to recognize that these processes occur in parallel, meaning the
brain is processing linguistic and social aspects simultaneously to make sense of
the message.

Key Listening Skills and Strategies:

1. Inferring: Guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases based on
contextual clues.
2. Seeking Clarification: Asking the speaker to repeat something that was
not understood, or replaying audio or video content for better clarity.
3. Predicting: Anticipating what the speaker might say next to prepare for
better comprehension.
4. Focusing: Maintaining concentration and persevering to understand the
main idea, even if there are difficulties in understanding every word.
Technological Tools for Listening:
• Interactive Audio/Video Platforms: Tools that allow students to replay
content and adjust the pace to suit their understanding.
• Speech Recognition Software: Programs that can help learners improve
their listening skills by providing feedback on their listening comprehension.

26. Technology and Young Learners

The role of technology in early childhood education has evolved dramatically over
the past few decades. In the past, technology was used mainly for teacher
demonstration, with children being passive observers. Now, technology allows young
learners, including toddlers and preschoolers, to actively engage and guide their
own learning through interactive media on smart devices like smartphones, tablets,
and gaming systems.

Benefits of Technology for Young Learners:

1. Supports Development: Technology can aid in developing fine motor
skills, coordination, and reaction time.
2. Promotes Social and Emotional Growth: Interactive tools foster
collaboration, relationships, and emotional development.
3. Enhances Language Skills: Technology can assist with language
acquisition and development through engaging audio-visual tools and interactive
activities.
4. Cultural Awareness: Exposure to diverse content helps build cultural
understanding and appreciation.
5. Facilitates Learning in Multiple Modalities: Different types of
learners (e.g., visual, auditory) can benefit from technology in different ways.
For example, visual learners can use smart boards or tablets, while auditory
learners can engage with music streaming platforms or audiobooks.
6. Improves Information Processing: Interactive technology allows young
children to process and retain information more effectively.

Technology’s Role During the COVID-19 Pandemic:

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of technology in maintaining
education during disruptions. Thanks to widespread access to devices like
computers, smartphones, and tablets, educators were able to continue teaching and
engage with young learners through video calls, ensuring that learning remained
uninterrupted and even strengthened relationships between teachers, students, and
families.

Technological Tools for Early Childhood Education:

• Smartboards and Tablets: Used for visual learning, drawing, and
interaction with educational content.
• Music Streaming Platforms: Useful for auditory learners to engage with
songs, stories, and language lessons.
• Educational Apps and Games: Promote active learning through interactive
content tailored to young children’s developmental stages.

Technology has become a vital tool in both the classroom and at home, providing new
opportunities for engaging, interactive, and effective learning for young learners.

43. Multimodality and Learning:

Learning is multimodal, meaning it involves different modes like speaking, writing,
visuals, and movement. Using multiple modes helps students understand and integrate
knowledge better. When information is presented in several ways at the same time,
it becomes easier to grasp.
Technology makes learning even more multimodal by allowing teachers and students to
mix different modes like text, voice, and images. It also lets them access visual
materials such as images and videos quickly, which can help explain things more
clearly. Additionally, technology allows users to control the flow of information
(pause, rewind, fast-forward), unlike traditional classroom lessons.

The Teacher’s Role in Supporting New ‘Literacies’

Today’s texts are multimodal, combining words, sounds, images, and movement.
Teachers’ roles are shifting because students now often produce and consume these
multimodal texts, such as websites, videos, and presentations. Teachers need to
help students critically analyze these texts and create effective messages for
different social situations.

This shift means teachers will focus on teaching various literacies (not just
reading and writing), including visual literacy—the ability to understand and
interpret meaning from images, both still and moving.
Task: Finding and Critically Analyzing Online Videos

This activity focuses on how to find online videos and evaluate them for classroom
use. While there are many videos available, not all of them are high quality. When
choosing videos for teaching, it’s important to ask questions that help determine
if they are suitable for your students. This ensures that the video will be helpful
and effective for learning.