Teaching

English with
Technology

Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, M.A.

14th March 2009
Do you understand this joke?

Technology natives
vs
Technology immigrants

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Do you use
technology
in your
classes?

If so…
How much? How often? How well?
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Aims of this
presentation

Help you understand

technology

Provide ideas on how

to use technology in
the classroom

Look at some examples

of technology use by
students outside the
classroom.
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Technology in history

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 What do experts say?

• Technology in Language Teaching is not new.

Indeed, technology has been around in
language teaching for decades—one might
argue for centuries, if we classify the
blackboard as a form of technology. Tape
recorders, language laboratories and video
have been in use since the 1960s and 1970s,
and are still used in classrooms around the
world.
• Dudeney and Hockly, 2007

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 So what is technology?

• Technology is the broad term used to

address any kind of media (electronic or
otherwise) which help support learning.
Technology is used for teaching primarily
the same knowledge and skills that
teachers teach in the classroom. What is
special about technology is that it provides
opportunities to supplement familiar
teaching strategies in important ways.

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 Does using technology
help learners learn more?

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 Some advantages…

• Technology
– allows students to vary
• the amount of time they spend
• the help they request
• the path they take through a learning activity
– enables the teacher to tailor instruction specifically
to individual learners
– provides individualized interaction
– helps learners develop learning strategies that will
benefit them beyond the language classroom.
– provides authentic material in a quick, accessible
way
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And some disadvantages…

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 But…technology is not the
answer to all our problems in the
classroom

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…or outside it…

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So, what sort
of things can
we do?

A few practical ideas to start the

year with technological pizzazz
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 Getting started

Where do you
think we
should/could
Start?

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The possibilities are endless…

• Word processor
• Websites
• Email
• Chat
• Wikis
• Blogs
• Podcasts
• Online reference tools
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 Word Processor

• Inserting images and links

• Creating forms (Adding text boxes,
check boxes and drop-down menus)
• Using track changes
• Creative writing
• Collaborative writing
– Check:
• http://edvista.com/claire/wp.html
• http://office.microsoft.com/ Search for FORMS
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 Websites

• Considering googling key webpages before

the class to provide them to students.
• Check the webpage for accuracy, currency,
content and functionality.
• Save the links to your favourite webpages in
your “FAVOURITES” menu.
– Check:
• http://www.ask.com for real language searches
• http://www.google.com for images and info.

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 Doing things with webpages

• Treasure hunts (similar to Find someone who…)

• Webquests (Aim, Final product, Process,
Resources, Evaluation)
• Comparing versions.
• Analyzing style.
• Internet-based Project Work.
• Access to authentic Listening comprehension
texts
• Access to Videos and videoclips.

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 Email

• Learners submit work as attachments by mail

• Teacher emails learners homework, summaries of
classwork, extra material, etc.
• The teacher can email regular newsletters about the
class and themselves during the academic year as
well as over the holidays.
• Learners can email to prepare before class.
• Learners can use email for individual tutorials with the
teacher.
• Email can be used for collaborative writing (In groups
Learner 1 starts the story and so on)

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 Chat

• Chat is a tool which allows for synchronous, i.e. real-

time, communication over the internet.
• It may include a video and sound component or only
text.
• Advantages
; Contact with other learners/cultures
; Real communication with a real purpose
; Use of a new medium in the classroom
; Opportunity to practice both spoken and written English
– Check:
• http://www.skype.com for voice and text chats

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 Blogs

Tutor Blog Student blog Class blog

• Set homework • Personal and family • Reactions to a film,
information (including article, class topic, current
photos) affairs, etc.
• Provide a summary of • Extra writing practice on • Thing learners like /
classwork class topics. don´t like doing in class.
• Provide links to extra • Regular comments on • A class/groups project
reading/listening current affairs. on any topic
materials.
•Question and Answer •Research and present
(e.g. about grammar, information on a topic
classwork, etc.) (e.g. English-speaking
country)
• Exam/Study tips • Personal photoblogs

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 Wikis

• A wiki is like a public website or public

web page started by one person, but
which subsequent visitors can add to,
delete or change as they wish.
• A wiki is like having a publicly accessible
word processing document available
online, which anyone can edit.
– Check:
• http://www.wikispaces.com

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 Podcasts

• Similar to a radio or tv show.

• You can listen to or watch (or even
create) a podcast on a topic that
interests you whenever you want to.
– Check:
• http://www.englishcaster.com
• http://www.bbc.co.uk
• http://www.npr.org
• http://www.audacity.com

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 Online reference tools

• Dictionaries
• Language translators
• Thesauruses
• Concordancing programmes
– Monoconc (www.monoconc.com) U$ 69

• Corpuses
– www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk

• Encyclopedias
– www.britannica.com
– www.wikipedia.com
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Some ethical issues

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 We should acknowledge that
developments in technology will
always exist…

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• Bibliography
– Chapelle, C. and Jamieson, J. (2008) Tips for teaching with
CALL: Practical Approaches to Computer-Assisted Language
Learning. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman

– Dudeney, G. and Hockly, N. (2007) How to teach English with

Technology. Harlow: Pearson Longman

– Simkins, M., Cole, K., Tavalin, F. and Means, B. (2002)

Increasing Student Learning with Multimedia Projects.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD

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