The Internet and Its Pedagogical Resources

Denise Larangeira

Graduated in Letters (Portuguese-English)

Post-graduated in English Language

TESOL Diploma (Teaching English for Students of Other Languages)

English teacher

Abstract: This articles aims at showing the use of technology in education as an alternative which provides teachers with a set of options to supplement the textbook and the workbook with extra activities which appeal to the students.

Keywords: Technology. The study of English. Interest.

INTRODUCTION

Modern language teaching methodology views the teacher as a multifaceted, central figure in the teaching and learning process. In the past, language teachers were supposed to know about the language and to be able to use it. The purpose of their teaching was mainly to help students learn a specific language through explanation and practice. Today, in addition to these requirements, teachers are expected to act as resource persons, evaluators and skilled facilitators, which means that besides teaching, the teacher needs to be able to use technology, specially computer technology in order to help improve the students' performance.

It is undeniable that technology can be used to support and enhance learning. Teaching language learners using technology has distinct advantages that relate not only to language education but mainly to prepare students for today's information society.

Technology has been affecting the way the students learn. Nowadays, young learners are usually lost in a sea of state-of-the-art electronic gadgets which they know how to use even without reading the manuals. The excess and speed of network information which bombards both children and teenagers students is another real fact which cannot be overlooked. In some cases, for instance, difficulty memorizing new vocabulary has become an obstacle to the understanding of instructions in a test or text. Looking up words in a dictionary has almost become a lost habit, and these days, most students, simply gathered the needed information, apply it and immediately forget it.

SEAN

Before going further into the project it would be interesting to know a little about the English course at the Miitary Schools.

SEAN (Seção de Ensino e Aprendizagem por Nível) is composed of seven levels: IA, IB, BA, BB, ITA, ITB and ITC which normally correspond to 7th, 8th and 9th grades of Elementary School, and 1st and 2nd Grades of High School respectively.

At the beginning of the school year, new students who come to study at SEAN take placement tests. After the evaluation, the students are placed in a level syuitable to their knowledge of English. The students then, attend a one-hour-and-a-half English class twice a week. The groups at SEAN are different from those at the Companies, for instance, there are generally fewer students in a classroom at SEAN and classmates are rarely the same as those the students have at their Companies.

DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS

Students at the Military Schools sometimes come from different cutural backgrounds. Teachers may have to deal with good students who have been placed in the appropriated level and outstanding students who have lived abroad in English speaking countries. There are also very good students who have learned English at private courses.

On the other hand, teachers sometimes also have to cope with students who have difficulty following the basic levels because they have come from public schools (other than the Military Schools) in remote areas of Brazil, where English was not part of the curriculum. Coping with a heterogeneous class can be stressful to the teacher and boring to students, specially when a student who has a good knowledge of English is palced in the same group with a less capable one. While the former looks through the window daydreaming in boredom, the latter is usually attentive to try to catch up with the pace of the class. In such situation, the teacher often has to slow down the rythm of the class in order to make sure that all the students have clearly understood the explanation. This may lead to a lack of motivation from the part of the more knowledgeable student, and sometimes, even to misbehaviour. In addition, the "less gifted" one may feel discouraged and give up trying to follow the pace of their peers, which in most cases result in an indifferent attitude to the subject being taught as well as low marks in the school monthly standardized English tests.

THE PROJECT

In order to help students overcome their difficulties in grammar, vocabulary, structure and focusing, Denise Larangeira has developed a project which benefits students in general despite their knowledge of the English language.

To help her students supplement and sediment their learning, she took advantage of one of the textbook lessons entitled "Favorite Pastimes" to do a king of disguised research in order to find out what her students enjoyed doind in their free time. The answer was unanimous: surfing the Internet.

Nowadays, young learners respond totally well to the new technologies available. Moreover, with a few exceptions, both children and teenagers have a restless growing interest in computers and the Internet. Based on that, Denise Larangeira decided to substitute the traditional homework usually assigned in the workbook for exercises online.

After having visited many sites on TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and selecting the material available for free on the web, Denise started working on her project which was later named "The Internet and Its Pedagogical Resources" and her website www.deniseteacher.xpg.com.br

The main objective of the project is to help students practice and improve their English in a pleasant and enjoyable way. On her website the students find a list of links with exercises suitable for each level which can be IA, IB, BA, BB, ITA, ITB or ITC. Instead of doing homework in the workbook, the students are assigned exercises online to practice what they have learned in class.

But the resources available on Denise's website go far beyond online exercises. The students can enjoy themselves playing games, doing quizes, watching videos, reading newspapers, visiting museums, reading e-books, taking free-online English courses for exams such as IELTS and TOEFL and more.

Besides the students, the project also benefits the teachers of other subjects, the military staff from sodiers to colonels and whoever needs or wishes to practice and test their English.

The website "Welcome to English", which was primarily developed to focus on the students' needs, has also been used by the students' family members, and the feedback Denise Larangeira has received on her work at the Parents Meeting which occur every two months at the Military School, was actually rewarding.

CONCLUSION

In today's education, computers cover a wide range of activities and the Internet opened up many different opportunities for computer use both at school and at the comfort of the student's home.

Online exercises are an invaluable tool which can be applied to a variety of goals in the learning process. When doing online exercises, students can follow their own pace and make mistakes without feeling embarrassed. Also, students can do the self checking, evaluate their own progress and repeat an exercise as many times as they wish. As a result, students gain more confidence and consequently improve their performance in the English classroom. In addition, once students enjoy using computers and surfing the Internet, they soon realize that studying a foreign language can also be fun, interesting and pleasant.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.WHITE, Cynthia. Language Learning in Distance Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

2.WINDEAT, Scott and HARDISTY, David. The Internet. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2000.

3.BOSWOOD, Tim. New Ways of Using Computers in Language Teaching. USA: Pantagraph Printing, 2000.

4.FORSYTH, Ian. Planning a Course: Practical Strategies for Teachers. London: Stylus Publishing Inc, 2000.

5.AHMAD, Kurshid. Computers, Language Learning and Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

6.BOOTH, Diana L. Fried. Project Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.