Școala Gimnazială Dacia Tg. Mureș [302519]
UNIVERSITATEA „PETRU MAIOR” [anonimizat]-[anonimizat] I
Coordonator științific:
Lector. Univ. Dr. Han Bianca Oana
Candidat: [anonimizat] “Dacia” Tg. Mureș
Seria 2016-2018
UNIVERSITATEA „PETRU MAIOR” [anonimizat]-[anonimizat]:
Lector. Univ. Dr. Han Bianca Oana
Candidat: [anonimizat] “Dacia” Tg. Mureș
Seria 2016-2018
Table of contents
Argument ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Young learners ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
What is expected from a language teacher? ……………………………………………… 5
1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………. 6
1.1 Background and context …………………………………………………………………. 6
1.2 Purposes …………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
1.3 Significance of the study ………………………………………………………………….. 7
1.4 Scope and Definition ………………………………………………………………………… 7
1.5 Research Outline …………………………………………………………………………….. 8
2. LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………………………… 9
2.1 [anonimizat] ……………………………………………………………………………….. 9
2.1.1 Audio-visual aids in CLT ………………………………………………………… 9
2.1.2 Use of visual aids in the Direct Method ……………………………………. 9
2.1.3 The Silent way and use of visual aids………………………………………… 10
2.1.4 [anonimizat]….. 10
2.2 Use of technology in language teaching …………………………………………… 11
2.3 PowerPoint as a visual material ……………………………………………………… 11
2.4 PowerPoint to facilitate presentation skill ………………………………………. 12
2.5 [anonimizat] …………………………………………………….. 12
2.6 Using picture in English classes ……………………………………………………… 13
2.7 Using songs in teaching language …………………………………………………… 13
2.8 Songs in Designing Activity …………………………………………………………… 14
2.9 Audio-visual aids in making the class dynamic ………………………………. 14
2.10 Benefits of using visual aids in teaching reading …………………………… 14
2.11 Usefulness of visual aids in teaching speaking ………………………………. 15
2.12 Visual aids in facilitating writing …………………………………………………. 15
2.13 Use of audio and video in teaching listening …………………………………. 16
2.14 Planning for teaching listening …………………………………………………….. 16
2.15 Teaching vocabulary through visual aids ……………………………………… 17
2.16 Challenges of using audio visual materials in class ……………………….. 17
2.17 Summary and Implication …………………………………………………………… 18
3. INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO
YOUNG LEARNERS ……………………………………………………………………………. 19
3.1 Motivation …………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
3.2 Our memory …………………………………………………………………………………. 20
3.3 What is an interactive whiteboard? ………………………………………………… 21
3.4 What do IWBs offer? …………………………………………………………………….. 22
3.5 IWB and its advantages and disadvantages …………………………………….. 23
3.6 The organization of the IWB material …………………………………………….. 24
4. LEARNING OBJECTS FOR THE INTERACTIVE
WHITEBOARD ……………………………………………………………………………………… 26
4.1 Evaluation of interactive products ………………………………………………….. 27
4.1.1 Way Ahead – Macmillan …………………………………………………………. 27
4.1.2 Project 1 – Oxford University Press(OUP) ………………………………. 28
4.2 What do teachers say? …………………………………………………………………… 31
4.3 Learning objects ……………………………………………………………………………. 32
4.3.1 The Body ……………………………………………………………………………… 34
4.3.2 Clothes ………………………………………………………………………………… 45
4.3.3 Food …………………………………………………………………………………… 53
4.3.4. Games for revision ………………………………………………………………. 61
4.4 Reflection on the learning objects in use ………………………………………. 66
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 69
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………… 71
Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 74
Argument
In the era of modern language teaching, a new dimension has been added in the existing methods and techniques. With the development of technology, new innovations are being brought up in language teaching. New technology has been developed that many people in the past have never dreamt of. Day after day, year after year, something new appears and we think that this must be the end. How far can people go and where are the boundaries? Thank to the experts from all over the world and their cooperation our lives have become more comfortable, easier and definitely more interesting. Schools are the environments where new leaders of evolutional teams start to be formed and technology used at schools has so much to say. However, teachers are those who have to stay current with the new technology and to be able to pass the knowledge on to their students.
Nowadays, language teachers are using different audio-visual aids to facilitate the teaching process. Along with text books, language teachers are likely to use related pictures, audio clips, videos, power point slides, posters and so on in language classrooms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits that the language teachers as well as the learners get in using audio-visual aids in teaching English language. A qualitative method has been followed to collect the data of this research. It has been found that the use of audio-visual aids assists both the teacher and the learners in teaching and learning language skills. This research provides guidelines for the teachers on effective use of audio-visuals aids in language teaching.
Young learners
Young learners are usually described as learners aged between 6 to 10 or 11 years old. According to Sarah Philips, “it is not so much the age that counts in the classroom as how mature they are” (1993:5). To teach this age group means to understand them, know what their attitudes, opinions and interests are. There are some characteristics which teachers should bear in mind when preparing activities and teaching young learners. The following are characteristics of young learners presented by Scott, Ytreberg, Philips, Halliwell and Moon:
– they are very curious and active
– they have a limited attention span
– they require interaction in learning
– they are very imaginative
– they prefer physical activities
– they learn by manipulating things
– they mostly rely on speaking
– they require praise in any form
Knowing these characteristics should help teachers teach young learners more effectively. For example, young learners learn best in a playful environment through games and actions. Their short attention spans means that teachers must explain things at the level of the young learner and be prepared to answer many questions and to repeat the instructions or reinforce them through actions and repetition. The teacher must guide young learners through the learning process as the learners are not able to determine what they need to learn and how to comply and follow rules.
Sarah Philips claims that the activities prepared by teachers should not be complicated in order not to discourage children at this point. We should not forget what the abilities of this age group are so children feel the sense of achievement and satisfaction with their work. Listening activities such as songs, chants, rhymes with a great amount of repetition are highly important. Philips says that: “The kinds of activities that work well are games and songs with actions, total physical response activities, tasks that involve colouring, cutting and sticking, 9 simple, repetitive stories, and simple, repetitive speaking activities that have obvious communicative value”.
What is expected from a language teacher?
According to the above mentioned characteristics teachers should be able to adapt their teaching and let pupils enjoy the process of learning. The following are some suggestions adapted from publications by Scott, Ytreberg, Philips, Halliwell and Moon:
1. Motivation is very important in order to attract pupils’ attention.
2. Involve movement. Total physical response learning is typical for young learners. Movement is a natural part of them and they do not notice the learning process.
3. Use as many objects and colourful pictures as possible.
4. Play with a language – pupils need to use the language. Let pupils create their own rhymes, sing together, use literature – short stories, fairy tales, poems etc.
5. All four skills are important for the pupils’ understanding the language. Be patient while teaching reading and writing although they are very much time consuming and often very unpopular with learners.
6. Variety is necessary since pupils at this age are not able to concentrate for a long period of time. The variety should mean changing not only activities but also pace, organization, methods etc.
7. Be systematic and have routines to follow. It is important that pupils know what to expect. They like familiar activities; they like to repeat songs, rhymes, games etc.
8. Be fair. Introduce rules and follow them. When playing games, always praise.
9. Use the target language whenever possible so the pupils can benefit from it. The more input they get the more they may remember.
10. Find time for feedback usually after finishing an activity and/or at the end of the lesson to summarize and evaluate pupils’ progress and effort.
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, firstly the background, context and purpose of this research have been discussed. Then, the scope and significance of this research has been discussed. Finally, the outline of the remaining chapters is given.
1.1 Background and Context
In the modern era of language teaching, different innovations are brought in the field of English language teaching to come out from the traditional teaching approaches. Nowadays, trend is more toward communicative language teaching than traditional grammar teaching. Whereas, in the previous time, learning a new language meant learning to read the literature of that language, now the necessity of learning a new language has become a communicative need. People learn another language after their mother tongue for maintaining communication with the people of other community speaking a different language. As a result, language is learnt as a means of communication, not as a subject. That is why with the changed necessity of learning language, the teaching methods and approaches have also been adapted. Language teachers are trying to bring new innovations in their teaching to make their language teaching effective. Teaching language is not an easy task and it needs to be interesting enough to remove the anxiety of the learners. For this reason, language teachers tend to adapt different techniques to teach language more effectively and more interestingly. With the rapid growth and availability of technology, language teachers are incorporating different additional aids along with the text books to teach language. Different electronic boards, overhead transparency, multimedia projector, computer, audio and video equipment are making the language teachers’ task easier and dynamic.
Language teachers are using these audio-visual materials to deliver their lectures and teach the target language to the learners making the class interesting and contextualized. However, the question is, does the use of audio-visual aids in classroom ensure effective language teaching and learning? Is it always helpful for the language teachers and learners? The increasing use of audio-visual aids in language teaching has made the researchers dwell on the issues and subsequently, on this research.
1.2 Purposes
This research aims to focus on the quarries as to how language class can be dynamic and effective with the use of audio video materials. This research investigates how the language teachers, as well as learners, are benefitted from the audio-visual aids in language teaching and learning. This research gives a clear view of the reason of using audio-visual aids in language teaching and its advantages from both teachers’ and learners’ perspectives.
1.3 Significance of the study
Although, the use of audio-visual aids in language teaching has become a common fashion for the language teachers, many of them might not be well aware of the effectiveness of these. However, this paper will give an insight to the language teachers of using audio-visual aids in facilitating language skills of the learners. It is expected that the findings of the study will help the language teachers to know better about the effectiveness of using audio-visual aids in the classroom.
1.4 Scope and Definition
Use of audio-visual aids in teaching different language skills is becoming popular nowadays among the language teachers. It is believed that audio-visuals help the teachers to make the classroom interesting and enjoyable. It is generally said that students like the language class when teachers use different audio-visual materials because it motivates them to pay more attention in the class and they can relate their learning with their real life. As a result, the use of audio-visual aids seems to be benefited for both the teachers and the learners. This study shows how the audio-visual aids facilitate language teachers and learners, which audio-visuals facilitate which language skills best, how classroom becomes dynamic because of audio-visual aids and so on.
In this paper, the most frequently used terms are audio materials and visual aids. Here, audio materials refer to the texts that can be heard and that is recorded in tape or CD. Any recorded dialogue, speech, song, music can be audio materials for language classroom. On the other hand, visuals are the materials those can be seen like pictures, poster, graphics, videos, charts, flash cards etc.
1.5 Research Outline
The research consists of the following chapters:
Chapter One gives an overview of the thesis along with background and context of the thesis, purposes of doing the research, significance and scopes of the research.
Chapter Two contains the relevant literature review and the significance and findings of the researches done on the similar topics. It shows how other researchers found audio-visual aids significant for teaching and learning language in their studies.
Chapter Three gives details about the Interactive Whiteboard as an important audio-visual aid in teaching English to young learners.
Chapter Four shows the practical part of my thesis. Based on the theoretical part I tried to design some learning objects which were created to help teachers and their learners to practise mainly vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation and writing as well as show them how a language can be use for fun while playing some games.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter discusses about the issues from different other researches that are very closely related to the focus of this study. Firstly, it gives a theoretical overview of improvising audio-visuals in language teaching and learning. That means how different language teaching and learning theories view the use of audio-visuals in language teaching. Then, there is discussion about using different audio-visual materials in EFL classroom like PowerPoint slides, audio file, videos, songs, picture etc. Then, it talks about how different language skills are facilitated by using different audio-visuals. Finally, this chapter explores some of the challenges of using audio-visual materials in teaching language.
2.1 Theoretical and methodological aspects of using audio-visual aids in language teaching
Different language teaching-learning theories and methods support the concept of using additional audio-visual aids in language teaching. In those theories the details guidelines of using audio-visual aids in language teaching and their relation with the development of language skills are discussed.
2.1.1 Audio-visual aids in CLT
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is one of the popular language teaching approaches in the recent time. It was introduced in the early 1980s which aimed the practical use of language in everyday communication. In this approach, the use of authentic materials is highly emphasized. Teachers are encouraged to use different audio-visual aids in a CLT classroom. As the materials are mostly authentic, there are wide ranges of use of the pictures and videos in the classroom to make the class interesting and authentic. Usually, the class activities are based on the activities that are related to real communication. As a result, the learners are shown different visual aids like map for giving direction, picture for describing any place or person and so on (Freeman, 2000, p. 121).
2.1.2 Use of visual aids in the Direct Method
The Direct Method is one of the language teaching methods which emphasizes on the complete use of the target language. In this method, teachers do not use any L1 in the classroom. The instruction and other activities are given using the target language. Even though any student cannot understand anything, teachers do not use L1; rather they demonstrate and show something to make them understand. As a result, teachers use different visual aids like picture and posters in the classroom. For example, if teachers want to teach how to give direction to the students, they can use a map to make their work easier. As they cannot use the L1 to explain something, using visual aids is the best option for them. Also, it helps the learners to have clear idea about the subject matter through those visual materials (Freeman, 2000, pp-23-28).
2.1.3 The Silent way and use of visual aids
In the Early 1970s a new language teaching method emerged named ‘The Silent Way’ based on the Cognitive Approach. The Principles of this method was that, learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned, learning is facilitated by accompanying physical objects and problem solving involving the materials to be learned. In this method, there is use of visual aids to facilitate the teaching. Teachers use sound-color chart and color rod to teach the target language. Here every color represents a sound. Teacher points a color in the color chart and the students utter the sound that is represented by the color itself. Thus the visual aids are incorporated with the method in teaching sounds (Richards & Rodgers, 1986, pp. 81-83).
2.1.4 Suggestopedia and audio-visual materials in language teaching
Suggestopedia is a language teaching method developed by a Bulgarian psychiatrist-educator Georgi Lozanov. This method of language teaching highly supports the use of audio-visual aids in teaching language. The most conspicuous characteristics of Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture and arrangement of the classroom, the use of music and the authoritative behavior of the teacher (Richards & Rodgers, 1986, p. 100).
Usually, the classroom in Suggestopedia is arranged with different colorful posters so that there is a relaxing learning environment for the learners. The main purpose of this type of classroom arrangement is to remove the anxiety of the learners and ensure a friendly and comfortable classroom setting. It is generally believed if the learners are free of anxiety and are comfortable, it becomes easier for them to learn a new language. Besides, different smooth music are used in the classroom to make the learners relaxed and more attentive in the learning process. The classroom setting is arranged in a way so that it creates an image of target language settings.
Freeman (2000) noted, the challenge for the teacher is to create a classroom environment which is bright and cheerful. This was accomplished in the classroom we visited where the walls were decorated with scenes from the country where the target language is spoken. These conditions are not always possible. However, the teacher should try to provide as positive an environment as possible .
2.2 Use of technology in language teaching
Science has contributed a lot in the field of technology which has made life easier and comfortable. The dramatic revolution of technologies has been influential. The field of education and training is not out of this. Now-a-days, teachers are using different technologies in their classes to make it different and effective from the traditional ones. Due to the availability of computers, multimedia projectors and interactive boards, it has become easier for the language teachers to bring innovation in language teaching.
2.3 PowerPoint as a visual material
In the modern teaching system, another essential aid for the teachers is PowerPoint slides. PowerPoint slides have become popular among the teachers from all the disciplines. This tool has made teaching more dynamic with attractive presentations and audio-visualized equipment. Studies show that students learn better if materials are presented through some visual tools. Teachers also believed that PowerPoint makes the content more appealing which draw the attention of the students easily .
On the other hand, some people think that PowerPoint slides are not always helpful for teaching. It may draw a border between the presenter and the audience as the presenter concentrates more on the slides than the audiences. According to Norvig (2003), “PowerPoint makes it harder to have an open exchange between presenter and audience, to convey ideas that do not neatly fit into outline format” (as cited in Craig & Amernic, 2006. p. 157). However, Corbeil (2007) in his study found that students like PowerPoint for their brightness, liveliness, clarity and interactivity. It helps the learners to understand better as they can see the visual with examples .
2.4 PowerPoint to facilitate presentation skill
Presentation skill is one of the important skills in the recent time as the purpose of learning English is to maintain effective communication. However, speaking the target language in front of others is not that much easy. It is always a difficult task for every person to give presentation. But if the speakers have some aids in front of them, it becomes easier for them to deliver the speech.
Use of PowerPoint in presentation has become popular in the recent time. Availability of multimedia projectors, interactive boards and computers has made the task easier for the teachers of using PowerPoint slides in their lecture. Using PowerPoint slides, the presenter can keep the mail points in bullet point that he/she wants to deliver. It gives the presenter confidence and he/she can recover his/her nervousness. It helps the presenters to organize the speech in better ways and make the presentation lively by using different colorful visuals and examples. It also helps the audience to pay attention in the presentation as they have something visuals in front of them.
Moreover, PowerPoint presentation has become popular among the language teachers as well. This has made them organized presenters with a lot of variation and visualization. Teachers can present the teaching materials visually in the class using PowerPoint presentation. Besides, they can give some example with colorful image or video using the PowerPoint slides. As a result, the class becomes interesting to the learners and they are motivated and highly engaged in the class activities .
2.5 Using video as audio-visual aids
The use of video in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom has become a common practice for the ELT practitioners. Nowadays, internet facilities and availability of different technology have made the task of the language teachers easier. Teachers can download different videos appropriate for the learners from internet. As there are thousands of readymade videos designed for language teaching, teachers can easily choose according to their needs .
Videos can facilitate language teaching in diverse ways. It makes the classroom interesting removing the monotony of the learners. Moreover, it helps the learners to generate ideas for discussion. It makes the class more interactive and effective.
The use of video in language teaching ensures authentic language input to the learners. Moreover, using content related videos helps the learners to conceptualize the ideas . Besides, learners can concentrate on the use of contextual language in the videos along with non-verbal features of language that helps them to have better understanding of the target language use .
2.6 Using picture in English classes
Use of picture in language teaching has become a common phenomenon at present. Pictures are effective additional aids in an English classes. Using different relevant pictures in classrooms makes the class interesting and interactive. It helps the teachers to visualize the content of the classroom. Also, it makes the learners more attentive and engaged in tasks. When pictures are used to introduce any topic to the learners, it becomes more real and contextualized. Learners get an overview of the lesson and can generate ideas better. It improves the learner comprehension. ability.
Use of audio-visual materials makes the learning more long-lasting than the use of traditional textbooks (Craig & Amernic, 2006. pp. 152-153). The advantages of using pictures are many. First of all, pictures are very available in online. Secondly, almost all types of pictures do exist in Google. Anyone can find any picture suitable for the class and learners. A picture can express thousand words which is more effective than giving only verbal lecture.
2.7 Using songs in teaching language
As different audio-visual aids are used in language teaching in the recent time, songs are also useful to provide language input to the learners. Music helps to create a relaxing environment which is very important to lower the anxiety level of the learners. Since anxiety works as a barrier of learning a new language to ensure the maximum learning condition, this should be lessened. One of the popular language teaching theories Suggestopedia also supports this idea of using music in teaching language. In Suggestopedia, relaxing music is played at the beginning of the class to remove the anxiety of the learners and make them attentive to the class. Thus, music is incorporated with the language teaching in Suggestopedia. It is considered that songs are useful for making the learners comfortable in speaking and evoking positive emotions.
2.8 Songs in Designing Activity
In designing activities in a language class, songs can be very useful to the teachers. Songs can be used in teaching almost all the language skills. However, especially in listening activities, songs are good resources for the language teachers. Songs help teachers to provide language input to the learners based on which they can design different activities. As songs can draw the attention of the students easily, learners are more attentive and engaged in the task than any other materials. Through songs, learners are provided a wide range of vocabulary and language exposure.
As a result, it becomes easier for the teachers to develop different activities like fill in the blank, multiple choice, short notes questions to check the learners' understanding of the songs. It is an effective way of testing listening skill of the learners. Songs are also interesting to the learners as they find it as learning through fun. Moreover, songs can be used in the pre-task of a speaking class. Learners can be asked to share their understanding of the theme of the song in the class after they listen to it. They can reflect on the song played in the class. Thus songs can be good way of motivating the learners in speaking as well .
2.9 Audio-visual aids in making the class dynamic
Audio-visual aids help the teachers to bring a significant change in the class environment as well as in the teaching process. By using audio-visual aids in the class, teachers can present a topic both verbally and visually which is very helpful for the learners to pay more attention in the lesson. They can make a correlation between the verbal and non-verbal as well as abstract and concrete issues. There are some abstract things in language which is difficult to explain verbally. The subject matter may not be clear to the learners and they may struggle to catch what the teacher is going to mean. However, by using different visual aids, teachers can make the learners understand better. If the verbal and visual things are presented together, learners can get the information quickly. If the instruction is given in the class using both words and visuals, learning become faster .
2.10 Benefits of using visual aids in teaching reading
Reading is one of the important language skills. However, students usually do not like reading that much. As a result, the task of the language teachers becomes difficult. However, if the teacher can make the reading interesting incorporating visual aids, learners may be attracted to reading. Use of visual aids in reading can be benefited in many ways. Different visual aids like pictures, videos and projectors helps the learners to understand the abstract ideas of the text. Moreover, visual aids create an authentic communication between the readers and the text. It makes the reading process faster and active. Readers feel more engaged with the text through visual aids.
2.11 Usefulness of visual aids in teaching speaking
Speaking is the most important language skill in this era of communicative language teaching and learning. Earlier, language learning meant learning how to read the literature of the language. However, the notion has changed over the years. Nowadays, language learning is based on the need of communication with others. People learn a new language to communicate with others. As a result, the speaking skill is given maximum priority in language learning. However, this is one of the challenging tasks for the language learners. When they are asked to speak the language, they feel uncomfortable to speak and most of the learners are nervous in their initial stage of language learning.
As a result, it is a challenging task for the speaking teachers to motivate the learners in speaking. However, there are many ways of motivating learners to speak in the class. Using visual aids is one of the best solutions of this problem. Proper use of audio-visual aids can facilitate the speaking teachers a lot. Visual aids are always attractive to the learners. Visual aids can draw the attention of the learners easily. Learners become easy and comfortable as well as attentive in the class if appropriate visual aids are used in the class. When the learners see something visuals in front of them which match their interest and choice, they become enthusiastic to express their opinion about that. As they get some background information from the visual aids, it becomes easier to talk in the class. They get some supports from those materials.
2.12 Visual aids in facilitating writing
Writing is one of the most important language skills. At present, different attractive visual aids are used to motivate the learners in writing. Teachers use different colorful visuals for teaching creative writing. If the learners are asked to write a composition on some common topic that they are doing from the very beginning of language learning, they lose interest in writing and get bored. However, if the teacher presents something attractive and thought-provoking to them and asks them to write something on that. That would be more effective than the traditional way of teaching writing. Videos can be used in the class to promote reflective writing. Moreover, pictures can be useful to encourage students for story writing.
According to Harmer (2001), “Teachers sometimes use pictures for creative writing. They might tell the students to invent a story using at least three of the images in front of them (on cue cards, for examples). They can tell them to have a conversation about a specified topic, and at various stages during the conversation, they have to pick a card and bring whatever that card shows into the conversation (p.135). This type of writing activity is appropriate in group writing. Rather than working individually, learners can work in small groups which will give them more confidence and interest and there will be multiple ideas from the individuals of the group.
2.13 Use of audio and video in teaching listening
Teaching listening is one of the difficult tasks for the language teachers. Moreover, in most of the case, people do not realize the importance of listening. That is why this skill was ignored previously in language teaching. However, with the development of technology, the task of the language teachers has become easier. Nowadays, different audio-visual materials are available for providing the learners with native language exposure. Language teachers can download listening materials from internet according to the proficiency level of their learners within minutes.
As a result, the use of audio-visual materials in teaching listening skill has increased significantly. Audio materials help the learners to have ideas about the correct pronunciation of the target language. If the teachers use videos in class as listening materials, learners can know about the non-linguistics features as well which is very important in learning a new language. With different technology in language teaching, teachers can make learners get used to the native speakers’ accent. Different audios, videos. have made the task easier for the language teachers.
2.14 Planning for teaching listening
Before teaching listening, the teachers need to have proper plans for the lesson they are going to deliver in the classes. First of all, the necessary materials and equipment need to be ready. Also the materials should be chosen according to the proficiency level of the learners. If the teachers select some interesting listening materials, the learners will be interested in listening and learning actively. Moreover, teachers need to play the role of psychologists and mentors, sometimes even of singers. Besides, teachers should provide clear instructions before starting the listening. If the learners know the reason of listening a text, they will be more attentive and engaged in listening.
2.15 Teaching vocabulary through visual aids
Vocabulary is essential part of language learning. To communicate with others using a language, one must know the vocabulary of the target language. Therefore, teaching vocabulary is important in language teaching. However, vocabulary should be taught in specific context so that it becomes easier for the learners to remember the words and they can use those in their communications.
Visual aids can be good resources for teaching vocabulary. It is always helpful to show the objects to the students with the words so that they can have a better understanding of the objects and their meanings. It helps them to recall the words easily. If the learners only hear a new word meaning orally, it may not be remembered for long time. However, if the vocabularies are presented with the pictures, it becomes more effective.
Moreover, visual aids help the teacher to give emphasis on what is being taught and presented. Clear visual aids multiply the learners’ ability of comprehension. According to Allen, Kate & Marquez (2011), “Visual aids impact and add interest to a presentation. They can create excitement. Visual aids enable students to use more than one sense at the same time. One picture can elicit unlimited words”.
2.16 Challenges of using audio visual materials in class
Although audio-visual materials help the language teachers to facilitate their teaching, it does not mean that there are no disadvantages. Sometimes, it may be useless if the selection of audio-visual materials is not effective. According to Cakir (2006), the main disadvantages are cost, inconvenience, maintenance and some cases the fear of technology.
Additionally, the sound and vision, quality of the copies or home-produced materials may not be ideal. Another important issue in this case is that the teacher should be well-trained on using and exploiting the video. Otherwise, it becomes boring and purposeless for the students .
So, there are some factors to be considered to use audio visual aids in classroom. If the materials are not selected wisely, the objective cannot be fulfilled. Sometimes, the language level of the audio or video cannot be appropriate for the learners. As a result, the materials are not comprehensible for them which may make the anxiety level of the learners high.
Moreover, sometimes, it becomes very difficult to find the audio materials for the learners of elementary level. If the audio-visual aids are not related to the contents, they may mislead and make learners confused. That is why teachers need to be careful while selecting the audio-visual materials for their learners.
2.17 Summary and Implication
The literatures discussed in this chapter mostly present the usefulness of audio-visual materials in language teaching and learning. Here it is very obvious that, audio-visual aids are supported by different language teaching theories like CLT, Suggestopedia, The Silent Way and The Direct Method. It has also been found that in EFL classrooms, language teaching becomes interesting when the teachers use different audio-visuals. Learners are highly motivated and attentive in classroom when different colorful audio-visual materials are used. Other literature suggests that audio visual aids are used to facilitate language skills. Some authors talked about the challenges of using audio-video materials in language teaching.
On the basis of all the information of above literature, a hypothesis can be made that ‘language teaching becomes effective and dynamic by the use of different audio-visual materials.’
3. INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS
3.1 Motivation
Firstly, motivation can be defined in many ways, but when referring to teaching and learning it may be described as:
A person's reason for doing something, in this case, a reason for learning. Educators commonly speak of motivation as extrinsic (from an external source) or intrinsic (from internal desire). Motivation may be a personal characteristic such as curiosity, a feature of the situation such as a teacher's enthusiasm, or a goal to be achieved such as a grade or a specific skill. In general, motivation is the results of a complex interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic influence and goals and the situations or setting in which action occurs (Leah Davies).
Penny Ur says that motivation as an abstract word is not easy to define. She claims that teachers should think of the term ´motivated learner´. This is someone who wants to put some effort in his learning in order to gain knowledge of new facts. Young learners are children at primary level, usually at the age of 7 to 11. This is a heterogeneous group with different kind of motivation for learning. It mostly depends on teachers how they introduce the subject they teach and how they attract their attention. Generally speaking, these children are very curious; anxious to find out how things work and what they are for.
According to Jeremy Harmer this curiosity is itself motivating. Nevertheless, they are not able to concentrate for extended period of time, so it is important to change and vary the activities. The Harmer also proposes that children “need to be involved in something active and need to be appreciated by the teacher”.
Teachers are partly responsible for children’s motivation so knowledge of children’s needs is essential in order to be an effective teacher. Materials, approaches, forms and methods they choose influence children’s motivation and willingness to learn, to cooperate, and to come to school because they want to not because they must. Penny Ur and Leah Davies give some ideas about how to motivate children, what they expect and the implications for teachers. They suggest that in order to increase their motivation the children:
– should be aware of the aims of each activity they do
– require interesting topics and tasks which have the solution
– need to manipulate things, examine them, and work with them, which means that teachers should provide children with resources that invite exploration
– need games
– want entertainment and also have fun
– need to know that the knowledge they achieve will be useful for their future life
– should work in a sensitive and encouraging environment
– expect teachers to treat each of them fairly
– need changes
– need to know that the failure does not mean that they are bad people
– expect to be taught how to learn
– require rewards – praise them as much as possible
– want to try new techniques, machines and everything which is offered on the market
IWB may offer almost everything which is mentioned in the list above. In an interactive way pupils either individually or in groups or teams practise all the skills and their motivation for learning a language might increase.
3.2 Our memory
Many psychologists work with human memory and try to find the best solutions for people to remember as much as possible for quite a long time. One of them was Edgar Dale, who created “A Cone of Learning”.
Taken from NC State University
Dale’s "Cone of Learning“ suggests that after two weeks people tend to remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say and 90% of what they say and do. This means that doing something and being involved actively make us remember the most important things. IWB’s materials, if created according to some rules, may also result in remembering quite a lot.
"Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll understand."
Confucius
3.3 What is an interactive whiteboard?
The first interactive white board (IWB) system was created more than 20 years ago. Since then, it has been used by a large number of enthusiastic teachers in many countries all over the world. What is more, the number of people is still increasing. IWB is a technical instrument which may be either placed on the wall or on a cart with small portable wheels so that it can be placed anywhere in the classroom or even moved from one room to another. It requires a connection to a computer and data projector as well as operating software, which enables teachers to create their own teaching materials.
We may say that we are able to attract students’ attention only by combining the opportunities which are offered by computers with the simplicity of the whiteboard. There are more types of IWB but two of them are widely spread in the Romania. The first has a hard surface and requires special pens to write on and the second has a soft surface and pupils can easily write with their fingers on them.
Currently, there are three major manufactures of IWB. They are SMART Technologies, which developed Smartboard, the second is Promethean, developer of Active Board, and Hitachi, maker of Hitachi DUO Interactive Whiteboard. Until recently, the first two boards mentioned worked on their own, using their own software, and there was not possibility to create some materials on Smartboard and use them with Active Board. Thanks to an agreement of these two companies, teachers are able to take the most from both of the boards. Interactive boards present data to the whole class and enable students to work with them. They present new topics in a very interesting, challenging and attracting way.
3.4 What do IWBs offer?
Computers came into our lives and we have been using them since then for various reasons. The majority of people use them for working purposes, to communicate with people all over the world, small children can play games, watch films, listen to songs, older children use them for learning purposes and having access to the Internet enables all of us to even greater amount of different activities.
How can IWB be used at school? As previously mentioned, IWB has to be connected to the computer and data projector. Each school has access to the Internet which offers unlimited ways of using IWBs in the classroom. According to some experts, teachers, IWB producers and my own experiences, below is a list of ideas and reasons for using IWBs:
1. They support students’ motivation by allowing them to come to the front of the class and demonstrating their knowledge to other students by completing a diagram, a sentence, a picture etc.
2. IWBs connected to the Internet should be used for showing children reality or real situations. For example when learning about animals, it is highly recommended to show children not only pictures of them, but also their lives at Zoos thanks to web cameras which are installed there.
3. Pictures belong to every language class so instead of searching magazines and cutting them or printing them from the Internet it is easier to prepare them on the IWB and use them anytime we need to. The advantage of using them through the IWB is not only their size but also possibilities of using them in different games which any well – trained teacher can think of.
4. IWBs offer teachers to incorporate video clips, films, audio files such as songs, interviews, electronic microscopes, different websites etc. to their lessons plans. When talking e.g. about The British Royal Family teachers may visit their official and also many of unofficial Internet sites showing not only pictures but also short videos, articles about their life now and the historical events etc. Other very interesting topics for young learners are e.g. schools, everyday life, going shopping, free time activities, wild animals, festivals etc.
5. Games should be a part of every English lesson. Thank to IWBs and the Internet teachers may find many online games and let pupils play either as teams competition or ask individuals to come to the front and perform their best.
6. The whole lessons can be recorded and saved for further use in the classroom, send for review by students at a later time or for those who were absent from school.
7. Students are the most important parts in a process of learning and thank to IWBs they can easily become teachers as well as students. They can prepare their own materials to present interactively to their classmates.
Nevertheless, many teachers still hesitate and do not want to change their methodology, approaches and style of teaching. To help them overcome these limitations it may be useful to ask those who are successful with IWB to help and give advice any time they need it. It is also very essential to encourage them all the time and last but not least motivation plays a very important part too. Many experts recommend not keeping materials only for one's own purposes but also share them among the staff. Headmasters should be able to find enough money for IWB to become a regular part of each classroom although it is not necessary to use it in every lesson. Teacher should be well educated in other information technologies and should feel comfortable using them.
3.5 IWB and its advantages and disadvantages
It is obvious that any technical equipment may have not only a great potential but of course they may arise some problems. According to Gareth Davis, SaraWalker and Richard Falvian and other teachers, some of advantages of using IWBs are mentioned below:
· we should agree with the fact that “IWB brings everything together at one place, at one time with the use of authentic materials” (Gareth Davis)
· learning process does not depend on books
· they support kinaesthetic approach of learning
· they help visual learners
· they offer the of use many graphics, animations, cartoon effects etc. which not only young learners but also adults would appreciate
· they support the natural desire for education, to reach active participation of children in a process of education and also to have immediate feedback
· the outside world and reality can easily be moved into the classroom
· they can serve as a motivational tool
· there is no need to photocopy every single handout so they are friendly to the environment
· they allow not only to write, erase, enlarge and/or make smaller, circle or highlight words, phrases, images etc. but more importantly to save or print out students' or teachers' work
· they are easy to use and to learn to use
· they are healthier as there is not any dust from using chalk
· they are “trendy” and “cool” as teenagers would say
· they improve the social skills by having greater chances for cooperation and participation
· the materials can be shared and re-used
Among possible disadvantages of using IWBs may be problems “as simple as not having the IWB switched on or problems with pens, various technical problems or technical hic-ups” which those who have been using IWBs regularly have definitely experienced. Some of these problems may also cause older teachers' unwillingness for using them. It has to be agreed with that teachers may enjoy using IWBs and therefore the lesson becomes a teacher centred. Many students like being in the centre of teachers' attention, they feel very comfortable with their performance and IWB offers them to prove it whereas the weaker students may be discouraged for various reasons. They may be shy; they do not know much about the topic or just do not want to be seen by the others. Along with above mentioned problems with IWBs there are also those considering time. Preparation for a 45- minute lesson is so time consuming. It may take more than 2 hours for one lesson.
Teachers should also be trained and educate themselves to maximize the IWB potential. Lastly, the cost of the IWB for one classroom is very high compared to the traditional blackboards.
3.6 The organization of the IWB material
It is well known that for someone learning a language the best way of remembering new words and grammatical structures is to use them and meet them in different contexts. Only after that they can be stored in the long-term memory.
Teachers are always reminded that it is necessary to start from familiar to new and from simple to more difficult or complicated. IWB materials should be designed by following the same principles. They should start with introducing new vocabulary, practise the words in many different ways and only after practise their usage in every possible way. Especially a young learner while acquiring a language needs to have all the senses involved and if possible, movements too. They need the repetitions in different ways so rhymes, songs, chants, poems, short stories and as many colourful pictures as possible will positively influence pupils’ learning.
According to the principles for teaching young learners, teachers should bear in mind that it is necessary to change activities often and the length of them should be appropriate for the age level .
4. LEARNING OBJECTS FOR THE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
This part of my thesis will be based on a market research I have done. I have searched for some materials which may be useful for both, teachers and learners of English as a foreign language. The aim of my searching was to find interesting, playful, colourful etc. materials with an appropriate teaching value which will be designed for IWBs use. Not only that, I have send some questionnaires to other teachers in order to learn what they really would like to have and use and also some questionnaires to some publishing houses so as to see what the market offers.
Most of the publishing houses have been interested in changing their coursebooks into the electronic versions, so they will be used with any type of IWB very well. According to the questionnaires and some debates I have come to the conclusion that teachers really want additional materials rather than having an electronic version of their coursebooks. Therefore, I have decided to create some additional materials which may be called “learning objects” for our purposes. These learning objects are presented in the second part of this practical part.
Publishing houses have recently started to create different materials for the use of IWB which are for different subjects. Not only that the IWBs producers enable teachers to send them their learning objects, place them on their Internet pages for other teachers to download and use them freely. IWBs are widely spread all over the world but the language which these programmes use is mostly English. Teachers may browse the Smart Technologies and find resources divided according to subjects and grades.
There are also other Internet pages dedicated to IWB education. I have searched for some materials for English teachers. Although, there are about 220 different learning objects to choose from, some of them are of a poor quality. As I am an English teacher I am primarily interested in materials which may be used as additional materials in teaching English as a foreign language. Therefore, I have sent a questionnaire to those who design course books and other additional materials for learners of English as their foreign language. The answered questionnaires came back from Oxford University Press (OUP), Macmillan and Longman.
I have also asked for demo versions of their interactive materials in order to compare them. As mentioned previously there is a lack of materials which may be used with young learners therefore the materials which came back to me are also for teenage and adult learners. Nevertheless, I have decided to compare them using the criteria they should all cover as being mentioned in the theoretical part of this thesis. The questionnaire may be found in appendix.
4.1 Evaluation of interactive products
Criteria of evaluation are :
1. attractive appearance – visuals, layout, typography etc.
2. easy or difficult to orientate
3. clear instructions
4. possibility to add own remarks or other slides
5. audio – understanding
6. all four skills practising – variety of activities – e.g. gap-filling, crosswords,
anagrams, scrambled sentences, choosing from some options etc.
7. listening – native speakers varieties, interviews etc.
8. assessing correct / incorrect answers
4.1.1 Way Ahead – Macmillan
Way Ahead is a 3–level course book for primary schools, grades 3-5, published by Macmillan. The interactive programme which was designed consists of 6 CDs which may be used by pupils at home on their computers or by educators at schools with a help of IWBs. Unfortunately I was not given a demo CD so my notes and remarks are only based on demos presented on the Internet Macmillan’s pages. Therefore, I could not evaluate and compare this programme by my own trying but I could only judge according to what I was able to see.
The first window presents 20 units which correspond to 20 units in each course book. After choosing an appropriate number of the unit we are directly taken to the first activity of the unit. Each unit includes 2 activities. The instructions are written at the top of the page and they are easy to read and understand. Some even demonstrate the activity, e.g. fill in the gaps, where pupils can see a gap and a word dragged onto a line.
There is quite a big range of activities such as spelling practise, songs, grammar exercises; vocabulary is practised by matching exercises or crosswords. Speaking can be practised first by matching and completing dialogues and afterwards it depends on teachers’ ideas how they choose to practise them. I have not found any dialogues which would be pre-recorded in order to practise pronunciation or hear different dialects.
Pictures which are presented in these programmes are big enough and attention attracting for young pupils. Even the grammar exercises are supplemented by additional pictures e.g. to practise indefinite articles “a” and “an”, pupils are asked to grab a correct article and place it on a line next to a word. After doing so correctly, the picture, the word expresses, appears. Some pictures are also animated which is very attractive for pupils of this age. After each match or/and an activity children do, they get an immediate response, usually a sound accomplished with a word expression like “well done” or “No, try again”.
Undoubtedly, Way Ahead CD ROMs can be used either with a course book or as an additional programme to supplement any course books used at primary level. What I lack in these programmes is a possibility to add some teachers’ notes or other materials created by teachers themselves.
4.1.2 Project 1 – Oxford University Press(OUP)
Project CD ROMs were created for the use of both, students to practise and revise at home and for teachers to use it at school to enrich their lessons and turn them into attractive and interesting ones. OUP wanted to prevent people from copying their CDs so they have decided that these CDs will be part of workbooks Project course books the third editions. I was given a copy of this CD Project 1 so I was able to try them with my pupils. They loved it from the first time they tried it and were excited about using them the following year.
Unfortunately, the activities used there are repeated in all the units so pupils get bored easily. It is a teacher’s task not to overuse this CD. Another problem which arose is that this CD does not use the whole IWB's screen so pupils have to come close to the board to see clearly. The video in a culture section is also very small. CD ROM is divided into grammar, vocabulary, situations and culture sections and there are also two games which are the pupils’ most favourite parts. Each section is further divided according to the units in the course book.
Each unit covers the topics from the course book. Grammar section comprises of seven exercises for each unit. The range of exercises is very big but not all the exercises are suited for the classroom use. They want pupils to use the keyboard to write which is much easier to do at home. If a teacher has time and needs to practise, then they could be adapted for the classroom usage. All the instructions are given in a target language, they are easy to understand. Pupils can check their answers after they have fulfilled the task.
Vocabulary part practises the key words from each unit. There is a dictionary where pupils can find a picture next to a word with a recording to listen to the correct pronunciation so they can get an immediate feedback on their pronunciation. Each unit consists of a matching exercise, a crossword and three different levels of wordsearches. Situations are mainly based on conversation practice. Pupils have to finish a dialogue and then it is up to the teachers to decide how they will practise them.
IWB offers a variety of tools which may perfectly fit into these types of activities, e.g. hiding a part of a dialogue. All the dialogues are recorded so pupils can listen and repeat them. Culture section consists of two parts one of which is always a video to watch with some additional questions to ask. People speaking on the video are mixed age groups, women and men too. The activities again cover the topics from a course book.
As mentioned above, there are two games – Word Zapping and River Quest. The first mentioned can be easily played with the whole class whereas the second one is for pupils to entertain themselves at home because it requires arrows to manipulate a hen to cross the river. The pictures are fine for computer use but they could have been bigger for the IWB use. Pupils sitting at the back of the classroom might sometimes have hard times to recognize them. I lack some animated pictures for the age group this CD ROM is intended.
The range of activities is wide such as gap-filling, crosswords, anagrams, scrambled sentences, choosing from some options and others. Songs, poems or rhymes are not included and the only way how pupils get feedback for their answers are a tick for a correct answer and a cross for an incorrect answer. There is also not a possibility to add any of teachers’ materials or notes.
The following table summarizes the most important facts about the programmes.
4.2 What do teachers say?
The aim of the questionnaire for teachers was to learn about the situation in Junior Elementary schools. Only 22 out of about 50 came back. I would like to present at least some facts I have learnt.The first graph shows the number of schools with IWB .
The following graph presents the fact that even if teachers have IWB in their schools some of them do not use them at all.
Those 31% who use them admit that they usually use them for some games from the Internet, fill-in exercises and very often to make their own materials for further practise. The reason for not using IWBs is in 100% cases time consuming preparation time. One of the respondents even mentions that sometimes she prepares her IWB materials a whole afternoon. If those who do not use IWB had the opportunity to use any ready made materials they would definitely use them.
Those who use IWBs claim that it is very attractive for pupils. The average age of teachers using IWBs is about 35 years. To sum it up, the lack of money for buying IWBs and a long time preparation are the biggest barriers preventing teachers using this high technical tool in their lessons.
4.3 Learning objects
The situation on the market has been slowly improving for the last couple of years and teachers may find various not only theoretical but also practical books and materials to use in the classrooms. The new technology has entered the classrooms and the publishing houses started to create some IWB materials for teachers.
There are some coursebooks in interactive versions, some CD ROMs to practise partly at home and partly at school but there are not enough additional interactive materials which may be used with the coursebooks for further practise in classrooms while and after teaching a new topic. Therefore, I have decided to create some additional learning objects for primary teachers. I have tried to make them according to the principles suggested in the theoretical part. I have also taken into consideration a fact that these learning objects are for young learners so the basic principles were followed.
The reasons for creating these objects were obvious. There are many photocopiable books to choose from when practising new vocabulary in the classroom but they cannot be used with IWB. I have created some learning objects which follow the syllabus of a concrete coursebook and teachers would be able to use without adapting them at all.
I have asked my colleagues to pilot the learning objects, to take notes when they think something is missing, what they like and do not like about them and to inform me about children’s opinions. I have interviewed them and their feedback is presented at the end of this section.
Some of my learning objects are presented on the following pages and some comments are added to them. Each page of the objects was digitalized and copied from SmartBoard Software. In order to save space there is only one example of the pages with learning objectives, teacher’s notes and lesson notes. The other learning objectives are written before each learning object is introduced.
Unfortunately, I am not able to present the interactive features on a piece of paper, therefore I have tried to digitalized some activities after pupils’ work, so first an activity is introduced and afterwards there is a page with results. Each page also contains hints or what to do notes so teachers know what my intentions were with the activities presented.
Some of the notes are hidden and others are placed at the top of a page. There is a possibility to adapt the activities to pupils and teachers’ needs, practise the pronunciation etc. The following learning objects are quite large so it is a teacher’s decision to choose which of them she or he wants to use in a lesson. These objects are not to substitute a coursebook. They were created for further practise. There are also small images either still or moving (gif format) in the corners of the pages. All of them are interactive and help teachers to better orientate in the learning objects. They take the users back to the contents pages, show them the way to the next page or take them to answer slides where there are correct answers to some exercises for pupils to check their answers.
Some of the objects contain direct links to interesting Internet pages where they can either watch short movies, listen to songs, see what a British school looks like, visit an orchestra etc. The copyrights are an important issue nowadays. Therefore each educational object consists of lesson notes where all the important information is presented. The example can be seen as a part of the first learning object called “The body”. The entire Internet links take teachers and learners directly to the pages they need so there are not any hidden copies of any Internet pages or images.
4.3.1 The Body
The first page introduces the topic.
The second page contains all the teachers’ notes and a link to lesson notes.
The contents pages are always interactive and offer teachers to quickly find what they want to practise.
The aim of this activity is to place the words in correct places.
Pupils practise body vocabulary and try to find the mistakes which were made by replacing the words under a correct picture.
Wordsearch – pupils have to find the body words in all eight directions. Like this they practise spelling. After the pupils complete the task they click on a “Click me for the answer” button and they can see the correct answers immediately.
This page shows the correct results.
In this activity pupils take turns to click on the dice and there is always a picture with a different body part shown and they are asked to name the body parts. This activity can be adapted as a game for two teams.
Speaking practise – students come to the iboard and complete the text with words that are suggested below the page. Only after it is practised with the whole class students describe all the people on the page. This is a pair work exercise.
The aim of this slide is to learn a body rhyme. First pupils try to read it and replace the pictures with words. After the reading practice they may learn it either in groups, pairs, individually or as a whole class.
A page with direct Internet links.
Students may practice vocabulary by playing a well known game called Tic Tac Toe. This activity is supposed to be a type of a short activity which can be used in any lessons either to practise the language features or just to have fun with the language. Teacher either uses flashcards or pupils translate words. For each correct answer they get either a cross or a nought and place them in a place they choose. The aim is to have three of their signs either in diagonal or vertical direction. The IWB software offers the possibility of saving objects for further use so anytime a teacher thinks that she or he has time for a Tic Tac Toe places a grid from her or his gallery into a slide and pupils can enjoy the game.
Memory game – pupils take turn to find a matching pair which consists of a picture and a word.
This is a very simple matching activity – pupils place words under correct pictures and after clicking on a check button the get an immediate feedback.
Pupils practise correct spelling – they choose a word they think is spelled correctly, place into boxes under each picture and get an immediate feedback of their choice as shown on the next picture of a slide
This is a direct link to the Internet page and pupils learn a body song. Apart from
learning a song they can hear native speaker's pronunciation.
The following three pages are for practising understanding a text, revising vocabulary, creating a monster friend and enjoying the fact that they have learnt some body words.
Each learning object ends with a Well Done Page. There are always some interactive elements e.g. clapping hands, saying well done, hurray etc.
4.3.2 Clothes
Learning objectives:
1. Learn new words
2. Practise pronunciation
3. Practise spelling
4. Learn the genitive case
5. Practise the verb “have got”
6. Play games and enjoy the language.
The first page introduces the topic.
In this activity pupils practise spelling. They use the alphabet and place the letters on the lines under each picture. The following picture shows one example.
This activity is for all the students to check their knowledge of clothes words. They come to the IWB, roll the dice and name a picture according to the numbers on them.
In the following slide pupils are asked to correct the spelling mistakes and match the words to the pictures. To find the correct answers they place the flowers into a vase (as shown on the next picture). This activity may be done as a whole class activity or pupils write their answers into their notebooks individually.
It is very important to practise speaking so pupils can see the words they learn in use. In this exercise they can practise the genitive case, ask and answer questions about the characters in the pictures. They should place the clothes item under each character first.
The following picture shows how the hints and ideas for teachers are placed on the pages. In this speaking exercise pupils practise how to describe people’s appearance and the verb “have got”.
This is an example of one of the team games used in presented learning objects. The instructions can be seen in the picture. Memory game
In this activity pupils are asked to find correct matching pairs and with a help of this interactive tool they place them together as the following slide shows.
This is a game based on a game called “hangman”. Pupils may choose from three different versions as showed later in other learning objects. This is a basketball version. Pupils choose a letter to spell the words correctly.
4.3.3 Food
Learning objectives:
1. Learn new words
2. Practise spelling
3. Practise speaking
4. Play games and enjoy the language
The first page introduces the topic
This is an example of an activity in which a new vocabulary topic may be introduced. Teachers practise the pronunciation, can place the pictures in different orders, and apply all the possible ways of teaching new words as if she or he would with flashcards. Some words are known to pupils that is why there are more than it is advisable for teaching in one lesson.
Matching exercise
The aim of this activity is to practise spelling by using interactive pens.
This is an activity which revises vocabulary and practises pronunciation.
Pupils take turns, come to the IWB, choose a dice, click on it and say what they like or do not like. They may take turns in asking a question: ”What do you like?”
The aim of the following speaking activity is described bellow. Pupils can work in pairs.
This is an activity only to have fun. Pupils are supposed to guess who or what is hidden behind the tiles. It may be done as a two team's competition.
This picture shows what is hidden behind the tiles. The pictures are always connected to the topics.
Wordsearch
This is a spelling practise. I found this activity very useful especially with pupils who have special learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dysgraphia or others. They even laugh at the way the words are spelled but when it comes to writing they always make mistakes. In this exercise they feel the success when they choose the correct spelling of a word.
This is an interactive game similar to Tic Tac Toe. The aim of this game is to practise vocabulary and at the same time have fun. Pupils try to gain as many their signs (crosses or noughts) as possible by identifying the hidden objects correctly. The next is a picture of a slide which is showing some of the images which are hidden behind the tiles.
Anagrams. If the balls are placed correctly pupils get some points.
Well done page.
4.3.4. Games for revision
I have created this learning object because there is always a need to revise the vocabulary after the summer holidays.
Learning objectives:
1. Revise vocabulary
2. Revise pronunciation,
3. Practise understanding simple questions
4. Practise correct spelling
Topics to be practiced and revised:
1. My bedroom (anagrams)
2. Animals (soccer game)
3. Holidays, toys and clothes (sort out the words)
4. Feelings (spelling practise)
5. Mixed topics in various games
Pupils are asked simple questions and they have to answer them by clicking on letters of the answer in a correct order. The understanding as well as spelling is practised. They always get point for their answers even if they are slow and the time limit is over.
A soccer game – pupils are given clues which describe the animals they have to spell correctly. They also practise the reading and understanding a short text.
In this exercise pupils have to sort out the words according to the topics. They can try to be as quick as possible and measure the time they need to fulfil the task.
The next activity needs creative thinking. Pupils have to think of words which may be created from the presented expression. They may write their ideas into their exercise books and later on, with a help of an infinite clone, write them on the IWB.
This is a board game. Pupils are divided into teams. Each team chooses its own cone. Teams take turns, roll a dice and try to answer the task written on the tile they landed on. If they are correct, they may stay on the tile. If not, they have to go back where they were before throwing the dice. Answers to the questions are written on the other sides if the tiles. The winners are allowed to see the fireworks. This game may last for quite a long time and it practises understanding the text, speaking, reading etc.
This is a crossword which practises writing and spelling, revises vocabulary and the results is “I like English”.
4.4 Reflection on the learning objects in use
As mentioned previously I have asked my colleagues to pilot the learning objects in their English classes in order to have some feedback and to learn about possible mistakes and problems they may cause. After a while of using the objects we had a meeting and I asked their opinion. I was interested in pupils’ reactions, their willingness to participate, the problems they came across with, whether the instructions were clear to them and the letter fonts and pictures were big enough to see even from the back of the classroom.
We are a school with three English teachers. We have six IWBs for the primary classes and two for the secondary level. It is mostly English teachers who take the advantages of using IWB in their classes. The meeting took place in a classroom with IWB as I wanted my colleagues to demonstrate the possible problems and ask me any additional questions they may have. The best for them was that they were able to use IWBs with no preparation time at all therefore when it was their turn to use the IWB they wanted to take the most of it and use all the potential it offers. I have promised to create the rest of the objects before the beginning of the next school year.
As far as the images are concerned teachers together with pupils appreciated the fact that there were not the same images used throughout the whole objects although they had to be repeated somehow. To use different images on every single slide might mean to have an endless resource of interesting images. The teachers also mentioned that almost all the images were like a surprise for pupils especially those animated in a gif format. The difference the teachers have noticed between a classical blackboard and IWB concerns the pupils’ participations. The pupils who usually do not interact were eager to come to the IWB and partake.
Of course some problems have appeared too but they were not the problems connected to the objects but technical ones, usually with a computer. If an object should run with no problems it requires both a quick Internet connection and a computer. Sometimes it took two to three minutes for an Internet page to open so one of the teachers said that pupils started speaking and she lost those minutes of the lesson. I recommended having at least some short activities prepared as fillers if some technical hick ups appear.
Another problem that has appeared was about some writing activities, especially those in which pupils write words by using an infinite clone of the letters. These activities take a lot of time and if one pupil is writing on the board others might get bored. We agreed on the suggestion that pupils will be asked to practise writing individually in their exercise books while taking turns on the board. My colleagues said that when there was a dice game, e.g. pupils roll a dice and according to a number name the picture, pupils automatically made a queue and one by one did the activity, some of the pupils more than once. The games like anagrams, Tic Tac Toe, quizzes, matching and others were of a great success with both teachers and pupils.
I know that may appear some problems in the future but fortunately they will not be of a major importance and may be easily repaired. If there was an IWB in each classroom teachers could use just a couple of activities from these objects together with their coursebooks. Since they have the opportunity to use IWBs only once a week they spend the whole lesson by using it and revising what is needed. I have learned that learning objects as have been designed are not only for those brighter learners but they are also very helpful for those slower ones. They increase their motivation, they look forward to having English lessons in with IWB. The last thing I have learnt is that some slides from the learning objectives are very well used with even older learners. One of my colleague used The Food lesson for pupils using the Snapshot Elementary coursebook, in which Unit 6 is all about animals.
CONCLUSION
The main purpose of this research was to find out how the use of audio-visual aids facilitates language teaching and learning. After the data analyses it has been found that both the teachers and the students show favorable attitude toward the use of audio-visual aids agreeing that they facilitate language teaching and learning in diverse ways. Both parties are benefited by the use of audio-visual materials. By using audio visual aids in the classroom, teachers can teach languages making the class interesting. Different visuals bring variation in the classroom teaching which are helpful to draw the attention of the students toward the lessons. For example, if the language teachers use different pictures related to the lesson of the class, the classes become lively as well as learners get some schemata of the topic. It is always better to have something visuals in front of the students so that they can understand the lesson well.
The literatures discussed in the second chapter mostly present the usefulness of audio-visual materials in language teaching and learning. Here it is very obvious that, audio-visual aids are supported by different language teaching theories like CLT, Suggestopedia, The Silent Way and The Direct Method. It has also been found that in EFL classrooms, language teaching becomes interesting when the teachers use different audio-visuals. Learners are highly motivated and attentive in classroom when different colorful audio-visual materials are used. Other literature suggests that audio visual aids are used to facilitate language skills. Some authors talked about the challenges of using audio-video materials in language teaching.
On the basis of all the information of above literature, a hypothesis can be made that ‘language teaching becomes effective and dynamic by the use of different audio-visual materials.’
The main aim was to create some learning objects which will suit teachers’ needs and at the same time will be helpful when working with interactive whiteboards. I also wanted to discover advantages and even possible disadvantages of using IWB in the process of learning English as a foreign language. Based on the theoretical part I tried to design some learning objects which were created to help teachers and their learners to practise mainly vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation and writing as well as show them how a language can be use for fun while playing some games.
I have learnt that learning objects may not only increase pupils’ motivation, but also save teachers’ preparation time and positively effect pupils’ learning. It should be obvious that if something new enters into our lives we try to discover how helpful it can be and uncover all the possibilities if offers.
I have tried to make a list of the ways IWB can be used at schools. I have also interviewed English teachers in order to get some feedback on the use of the learning objects I have created. The feedback proved the fact that IWB is a very interesting tool and if objects are well created and sensitively used than the process of teaching and learning becomes a pleasure for those who are involved.
All the findings from the data collection support that audio-visual aids facilitate language learning. Both the teachers and learners are benefitted from different audio-visuals materials in language classrooms. Audio-visuals make the language teaching and learning effective making the class interactive and interesting, motivating the learners, facilitating language skills and so many. If teachers can utilize the audio-visual aids prudently, the language teaching and learning become effective.
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<http://www.trans4mind.com/quotes/quotes-parenting-education.html>.
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<http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/sae/ppt1/sld012.htm>.
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<http://www.kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip42.html>.
Grindrod, Warrill, prod. "Innovations in Teaching." New Directions. BBC World Service. London, United Kingdom. Aug. 2004. British Council. 20 Dec. 2007. British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 Oct. 2008
<http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/podcasts/innovations-teaching>.
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<http://www.cambridge.org/elt/whiteboardsoftware/english365.htm>.
Face2face Whiteboard Software. Computer software. Cambridge.
<http://www.cambridge.org/elt/face2face/>.
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Interchange Third Edition Whiteboard Software. Computer software. Cambridge.
<http://www.cambridge.org/elt/whiteboardsoftware/interchange.htm>.
Appendix
A letter and a questionnaire for publishing houses
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a teacher at Scoala Gimnazială Dacia from Tg. Mureș. I am teaching English aprimary and secondary level. Next year I am going to write my thesis and the topic is “Using Audio-Visual technology in teaching young learners” ,especially the interactive whiteboard(IWB). I wish to find out why and how could teachers use interactive boards in a process of learning English. I have decided to do a research concerning this kind of equipment and ask you, the publishers, to answer my questions. I wish to learn how the programmes for these boards are made. I have made a short questionnaire and I would really appreciate if you could find some time to answer my questions. It will be a efficient help for my thesis. I am kindly asking you to send me at least a demo version of your programmes. I hope that it will not be a problem. I will be glad to supply you with any further information you may need. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Gălățean Anamaria
Questionnaire:
1. Do you have any ready to use materials for Interactive Boards?
2. If not, are you planning to design anything in the close future? Could you please answer the following questions as hypothetic ones?
3. If yes, are they as a resource for any course books?
4. What age group are they for?
5. What skills do they mainly practise?
6. What kind of activity is the most frequently used there? Is there any reason for
that?
7. Do you plan to include some games there? (eg. anagrams, crosswords etc.) If
yes, which ones?
8. Do you have or are you planning to design some interactive courses for each course book you publish or do you think it is enough to have neutral ones?
9. Can the interactive programmes be used with various course books?
10. Do you have or are you planning to design any interactive programmes dedicated to different topics e.g. grammar – tenses; comparatives and superlatives; articles etc.; vocabulary – e.g. shopping, travelling etc. Rather than following a course book?
11. How long does it take you (or a team) to design (create) a single programme? How many slides should it have?
12. Have you got a team of specialists who are responsible only for this activity?
13. How much will an interactive course designed as a resource for a course book
cost?
14. Are you planning to place them on the Internet free of charge?
15. There are different types of software for Interactive Boards on the market. Are you going to choose one and design a programme for it or will the same programmes be available for all softwares? (Active Board, Smartboard etc.)
Thank you very much for your time.
Questionnaire from Cambridge University Press
1. Do you have any ready to use materials for Interactive Boards?
Yes:
English365
http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=1845651081
face2face
http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=1845651227
http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521698245
Interchange
http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=1845651103
2. If not, are you planning to design anything in the close future? Could you please answer the following questions as hypothetic ones?
–
3. If yes, are they as a resource for any course books?
Yes, each accompanies a book-based course (see the ‘View full components listing’ on each of the above webpages for further details of the course books).
4.What age group are they for?
English 365 is aimed at learners of business English; therefore adult learners.
Face2face is aimed at adult learners.
Interchange is aimed at adult & young adult learners of North American English.
5. What skills do they mainly practise?
English365 focuses on social and business communication skills.
Face2face focuses particularly on speaking & listening in a real world social setting.
Interchange focuses on speaking & listening skills in an international context.
6. What kind of activity is the most frequently used there? Is there any
reason for that?
Video and audio activities work very well with the interactive whiteboard, particularly since you can choose to highlight & play small excerpts from audio scripts. Drag and drop & multiple choice activities are also popular.
7. Do you plan to include some games there? (eg. anagrams, crosswords etc.)
If yes, which ones?
Potentially yes, but we have no firm plans at the moment.
8. Do you have or are you planning to design some interactive courses for each course book you publish or do you think it is enough to have neutral ones?
Currently only a few of our courses have interactive elements.
9. Can the interactive programmes be used with various course books?
Currently, all our whiteboard software is linked to specific course books.
10. Do you have or are you planning to design any interactive programmes dedicated to different topics e.g. grammar – tenses; comparatives and superlatives; articles etc.; vocabulary – e.g. shopping, travelling etc. Rather than following a course book?
Potentially, yes, but no definite plans as yet.
11.How long does it take you (or a team) to design (create) a single programme? How many slides should it have?
To take one example, face2face elementary had 300 slides and took approximately 9 months to create.
12. Have you got a team of specialists who are responsible only for this
activity?
We work with external software development companies to produce our whiteboard software, which we specify and test internally.
13. How much will an interactive course designed as a resource for a course
book cost?
In the UK, each disc for face2face and English365 costs ￡100; Interchange discs
cost ￡200
14. Are you planning to place them on the Internet free of charge?
No.
15. There are different types of software for Interactive Boards on the market. Are you going to choose one and design a programme for it or will the same programmes be available for all softwares? (Active Board, Smartboard etc.)
All Cambridge-Hitachi whiteboard software is designed to run on all types of interactive whiteboard.
A letter and a questionnaire for teachers
Dear teachers,
I am a teacher at Scoala Gimnazială Dacia from Tg. Mureș. I am teaching English at primary and secondary level. Next year I am going to write my thesis and the topic is “Using Audio-Visual technology in teaching young learners”, especially the interactive whiteboard(IWB). I would like to ask you to answer the following questions dealing with this new technical equipment. Thank you for your time and willingness to help me.
School (name of the town, or the village): Number of pupils:
1. Have you got any interactive white board (IWB) at school?
2. If yes, how many ?
3. How many of them are used for pupils at the age of 6-10 and how many for pupils at the age of 11 – 15?
4. Are they fixed in certain classrooms are they portable?
5. Can anybody who wants to use them use them anytime s/he likes? How do you share them with your colleagues?
6. What subjects are they mainly used for?
7. What is an approximate age of the teachers who use them?
8. Do you personally use them?
9. If, yes – what do you mainly use them for? (e.g. watching films, searching the Internet, making your own materials for students to work interactively etc.)
10. If not, why don’t you use them? (too difficult to use, time consuming etc.)
11. If you prepare your own materials, how much time do you spend on preparing one lesson?
12. Do you use any products made by different publishing houses? Which ones?
13. Do you prepare the lessons in order to use them over again?
14. What type of activities do you prepare the most? (Crosswords, filling gaps, matching exercises, anagrams etc.)
15. Do you use IWB as a tool for writing tests?
16. What do you personally find interesting and attention attracting about IWB?
17. Would you like to have some ready to use materials for interactive whiteboards which you could use as additional practice with your course books?
Please add any other comments concerning IWB.
Thank you very much for your time.
Questionnaire from a teacher
1. Have you got any interactive white board (IWB) at school?
Yes.
2. If yes, how many and what kind?
Two.
3. How many of them are used for pupils at the age of 6-10 and how many for pupils at the age of 11 – 15?
We use IWBs for pupils at the age of 11-15.
4. Are they fixed in certain classrooms are can they be moved from one room to the other?
IWBs are fixed, one is in the classroom for Information technology and classroom for Foreign languages.
5. Can anybody who wants to use them use them anytime she or he likes? How do you share them with your colleagues?
We must make an agreement with other teachers. But there are not many of us who use IWBs.
6. What subjects are they mainly used for?
Information technology classes, Geography, English.
7. What is an approximate age of the teachers who use them?
35 years.
8. Do you personally use them?
Yes, sometimes.
9. If, yes – what do you mainly use them for? (e.g. watching films, searching the
Internet, making your own materials for students to work interactively etc.)
I am making my own material for students, searching the Internet
10. If not, why don’t you use them? (too difficult to use, time consuming etc.)
–
11. If you prepare your own materials, how much time do you spend on preparing one lesson?
It depends, about 2-3 hours.
12. Do you use any products made by different publishing houses? Which ones?
We do not have any. The major problem is that there are not many additional materials on the market and if there are the matter of money is a big issue!
13. Do you prepare the lessons in order to use them over again?
Yes, it saves time.
14. What type of activities do you prepare the most? (Crosswords, filling gaps, matching exercises anagrams etc.)
All of them.
15. Do you use IWB as a tool for writing tests?
No, I do not.
16. What do you personally find interesting and attention attracting about IWB?
I can use new materials, I can change lessons, get them up to date. Children like it.
17. Would you like to have some ready to use materials for interactive whiteboards which you could use as additional practise with your course books?
Yes, I would love that idea!
Please add any other comments concerning IWB.
Pictures (pupils using the interactive whiteboard)
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