USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL [605563]

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

MISTERUL EDUCAȚIEI NAȚIONALE
UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ DIN CLUJ -NAPOCA
CENTRUL UNIVERSITAR NORD DIN BAIA MARE

LUCRARE METODICO -ȘTIINȚIFICĂ
Pentru obținerea gradului didactic I

COORDONATOR ȘTIINȚIFIC
Lect.univ.dr. Ligia Tomoioagă
CANDIDAT: [anonimizat]. Jugrestean I. Ioana Livia (cas. Iura)

Baia M are
2014

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

MISTERUL EDUCAȚIEI NAȚIONALE
UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ DIN CLUJ -NAPOCA
CENTRUL UNIVERSITAR NORD DIN BAIA MARE

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO
SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
(FOLOSIREA TEHNOLOGIEI ÎN PREDAREA CITITULUI ȘI ASCULTAT ULUI
ÎN ȘCOALA GIMNAZIALĂ)

COORDONATOR ȘTIINȚIFIC
Lect.univ.dr. Ligia Tomoioagă
CANDIDAT: [anonimizat]. Jugrestean I. Ioana Livia (cas. Iura)

Baia Mare
2014

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Subsemnata , Lect.univ.dr. Ligia Tomoioagă , în calitatea mea de coordonator științific
avizez lucrarea cu titlul USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND
LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL (FOLOSIREA TEHNOLOGIEI ÎN
PREDAREA CITITULUI ȘI ASCULTATULUI ÎN ȘCOALA GIMNAZIAL Ă)
elaborat ă de doamna profesoar ă Jugrestean Ioana Livia (Cas Iura), pentru depunere la
D.P.P.D .

Baia Mare ,

Semnătura ,

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

“If Technology Is the “Answer,”
What Is the Question?” (Bates & Poole)

INTRODUCTION

Education should strive not for the acceptance of one voice, but for an active exploration of many
voices! (Douglas Barnes)

Language learning has long done away with classroom seen as a cold, hostile and oppressive
environment, where teachers seem to hold on to the absolute truth and where the learning process
seems to be focused only on transmitting information undirectionally ; neither are students seen
as the passive recipients of the information which they could apply in artificially created contexts,
and therefore, use it in a less meaningful and natural way. Language is regarded as something “in
the making”, a process creat ed by the interplay of actants – speakers of the language. Moreover,
as far as learning a foreign language is concerned, meaningful contexts and life mirroring
situations are but real facilitators and enhancers of language acquisitions, and even more
impor tantly, of language production.
In this view, teaching English through technology in the ESL classroom has become paramount,
as no other teaching method brings together to such an extent the appropriacy and the immediacy
of context, and, at the same time, creatively explores the language learning process in all its
dimensions.
This paper aims to highlight the role of using modern technology in teaching English as a second
language. It discusses different approaches and techniques which can assist English l anguage
students to improve their learning skills by using technology. Among these techniques are online
English language learning web sites, computer assisted language learning programs, presentation
software, electronic dictionaries, chatting and email m essaging programs, listening CD -players,
and learning video -clips.
Computers and language teaching have walked hand to hand for a long time and contributed as
teaching tools in the language and second language classroom. Computers and technology are
still a source of fears and insecurity for many teachers everywhere in the world despite the latest
advances applicable to language teaching such as specialized websites, blogs, wikis, language
teaching methodology, journals, and so. Although many countries have done institutional efforts
to modernize their equipment, spent large amounts in technology, proved the positive effects of
integrating computers in language learning (Tsou, Wang & Tzeng, 2006) and so, many teachers
still miss the appropriate interest, str ong will to learn and a challenging attitude towards teaching

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

with computers. Most times the reasons are the lack of time for out -of school training in
combination with the natural difficulty in incorporating new working schemata within their own
classroom s. Besides, institutional organizations, district and national educational boards, and
even publishers are doing important institutional efforts to strengthen the presence and evolution
of distance and online education. As a consequence, computers should n o longer be a little more
than a way to typewrite (as they are sometimes today), send messages and, when lucky, to browse
out for information on the net (Johnson & Eisenberg, 2006). Therefore, one major concern that
is commonly shown by both teachers and e ducation boards is how to motivate and instruct
teachers to integrate computers and ICT into their classes.
In general, because it can be assumed that we live with and by technology, it is time to look at
ICT as an integral part of education with some limi ted implications in education. Thus, teachers
need to use them as tools in education rather than variables of failure or success in language (or
content) teaching (Felix, 2005). Of course, ICT can definitely complement textbooks, but it is so
much more tha n supporting stuff (Oakes & Saunders, 2004) and, obviously, a lot less than the
teacher who assumes a facilitating role that allows students to achieve new degrees and types of
literacy (Molebash & Fisher, 2003).
There are scores of educators and researche rs deeply concerned with how schools, largely the
product of 19th century industrial society, are going to prepare students for the 21st century.
Researchers like Howard Gardner (2006), Tony Wagner (2008), Henry Jenkins (2007), Frank
Levy and Richard Murna ne (2004), and others have produced a lists of the skills and
competencies for our students in the future. The framework produced by the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills is playing an important role in affecting how many think about a 21st Century
Educa tion. While the lists and frameworks are diverse, they all tend to recognize three major
competencies: Creativity and critical thinking, cross -cultural communication and collaboration,
and digital age literacy. To develop these skills, we need classrooms w here students are working
in teams and using technology to build creative, meaningful content that reflects their
understanding and learning. In these environments, teachers act often as facilitators and mentors
rather than always fonts of authoritative kn owledge. (For those teachers accustomed to being the
front -and-center speaker and "expert" in the classroom such a transition can be uncomfortable.)
These classrooms are dramatically different from the ones where our most current teachers grew
up, apprenti ced, and taught. As a result, helping teachers effectively use new technology to
support innovative, student -centered learning will involve immersing teachers in new
collaborative learning environments supported by emerging technologies.
Fundamental reason s for incorporating technology in the classroom:
Resources : Using technology can bring traditional classrooms otherwise inaccessible resources
– information, people, media, and events.
Information Literacy : The 21st century workplace requires more sophisticated skills for finding,
selecting, analyzing, manipulating, modifying, and distributing information. Students and
teachers need more training and experience in information literacy. (The Internet is becoming an
increasingly important source of in formation and young people are the likeliest users of the
Internet with 97% of 12 -18 years olds reporting Net use).
Connections : Technology fosters global connections and communication in our shrinking, "flat,"
and interconnected world.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Collaboration : Emai l, discussion rooms, and other technologies help support collaborative
learning and group communication.
Motivation : Teachers and students regain energy and enthusiasm for their academic work as they
create new ways of learning and thinking.
Personalizatio n: Technology tools enable teachers to provide students with access to
instructional materials that better match their learning needs.
Skills : A growing number of fields include tasks in which information technology has become
essential.
Access : Technology can provide access to instructional materials that would otherwise be
unavailable due to scheduling, location, or physical restrictions.
Results : Teachers can reasonably expect higher results from students who have access to
technology tools such as word processing, email, and the Web.
Expectations : Students and young faculty often have high expectations of access to, and use of,
technology.
Relationships : Technology can help teachers foster mutually supportive relationships with
educators across the count ry and create partnerships with school librarians and media specialists.
The phrase “teaching with technology” may conjure up a variety of different images depending
on our own experiences as instructors, students, or even conference attendees. For some it might
mean using PowerPoint or student classroom response systems in lectures; others may think of
podcasting lectures; and still others may think of specific disciplinary applications, such as
designing Web -based interactive learning modules and simulati ons to teach skills and concepts.
While it is natural to think of the tool itself as a starting point, the use of instructional technology
is more likely to be effective and appropriate (i.e., facilitate student learning and increase your
own productivity) if it is integrated into a careful planning process that takes into account the
various factors involved in teaching and learning.
Teaching with Technology has four components: the course content, technology tools, the
instructor and the students.
The co urse content includes cognitive level and discipline of the course. The technology tools
include technology types and technology uses. The instructor includes technology skill level,
time availability and his/her role as teacher. The students include thei r technology skill level,
technology access and learning styles. All of these components are related to each other and
involved in successfully integrating technology into one's teaching. Each of these components is
discussed in more detail below: course c ontent, the instructor, the students, technology tools.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Course Content
In order to use technology effectively in teaching, we must examine our course goals as we do
when we plan a new course. What do you expect students to learn from the course? What skills
and knowledge do you want them to acquire by the end of the term? What teaching strategies
(lecture, discussion, group work, case studies, etc.) will best help students achieve these goals?
Once you have answers to these questions, you can choose th e appropriate technologies and
design learning activities to help students reach the learning goals, and even employ technology
to assess student learning.
The Instructor
Once you have a clear view of the course goals and learning objectives and how techn ology can
support students’ achievement of the goals, you will need to ask some questions about your own
skills and confidence: 1) How skilled and experienced are you in using technology? 2) How much
time do you have for course planning and selecting teach ing strategies suited to your choices of
technology? 3) What is your role as an instructor?
If you have little or no experience using technology, it might make sense to start slowly with tools
that are established and easy to use so that you build your con fidence and support your students’
learning. You can learn from colleagues in your department or attend a technology workshop to
get started with software programs commonly used at your institution.
Students
As you adopt technology tools into your courses, you will need to consider students’ previous
experience with technology, their expectations and access to technology, and the variety of
learning styles they bring to your course.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Technology Tools
Now that we have carefully considered the context of teac hing and learning, we can turn to an
examination of the technology itself. One of the challenges we all confront is the need to
understand the possible uses and functions of an ever -expanding array of technologies. You need
to consider which applications a re appropriate for your students, disciplinary learning, course
content, and teaching style. Not all tools are the same. Some are better at promoting learning in
specific content areas while others are useful for a wide range of disciplines. Some technolog y
tools are built for specific instructional goals, while others are more generally applicable.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

1. PRESENTING TECHNOLOGY

Technology is evolving with a lightning speed. Imagine when learning is mixed with technology
wonderful outcomes will be there. Education would be evolving with the impact of
technology when in student and teacher’s hand. Teaching in a physical classroom remained the
dominant form of deli vering lectures for a good number of centuries. But setbacks of
traditional teaching styles led to the development of online -learning or multimedia teaching.
Computer based effective teaching offers powerful, interesting and new way of providing
knowledge to students. So, for effective teaching with new technology every teacher needs to
know about technology. Teachers need to know how to operate and integrate the tools effectively.
Effective teachers maximize the potential of the technology to develop stude nt’s understanding
and stimulate their interest to improve subject proficiency. Technology can be used strategically
to provide better access for learning and concept clearance.

1.1 WHY TO USE TECHNOLOGY?
Today all the educational institutions maximize the potential of student learning through the
implementation of computational tools. They ensure that not only students but teachers must have
better access to technology and knowledge of the tools. Multimedia approach of education like
use of audio -visual tools and devices for better understanding of concepts has widely been set up
in almost all the educational institutions. This led to speedy and effective learning and that might
be non -volatile. Today, the teacher’s role is not merely limited to reading books, for conceptual
clearance they might refer to internet technology and so share the same with their students. For
this, educators should be aware and informed about the tools. Use of internet tools can be fun,
attractive and pretty exciting. By the us e of technology educator can:
Make the boring lectures far interesting by delivering dynamic presentations using MS
PowerPoint.
Through advocating videos, a student’s interest can be enhanced in a particular topic. There are
abundant lectures on teachertub e, edutube etc. that could be reviewed in reference.
Use of internet tools like RSS feed, virtual world or classroom, Workgroup tools opens up wide
edges of learning. The list just goes on and on and the potential is endless.
WiZiQi enables teachers and le arners to teach and learn online trespassing the barriers of
distance, time and cost.
Students use internet tools on a regular basis and using internet technology by a teacher for
educating students in a classroom means that teachers will be talking to the m in their language
that leads to broad understanding. So learning a little about these tools is not a bad deal. These
tools are low cost and might be free that come for a trial run. These tools can be used to
support classroom teaching or distance learnin g. So it goes beyond the geographical and physical
barriers to provide learning. Technology opens vast opportunities that could never have been
possible previously.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Today’s modern life is surrounded with tech products. The technology has been growing rapid ly
for quite some time, and has now become an important part of life. The technology has its
impact on people of all fields and ages. And, of course, it has impacts on children as well. As you
know, everything has its positive and negative impacts. Same is the case with the technology’s
impacts on children. For the proper growth of your children, it is highly necessary for you to have
knowledge of positiv e and negative impacts of technology on them.
We can say that teaching and learning DO NOT depend on technology nor are “not real”, good
or effective without it. The best “tool” for good teaching and learning…is… a good teacher! That
teacher can be a profe ssional educator…it can be “yourself”… it can be a group of your peers…
it can be a book, film, audio or it can be… whatever suits you, your learning or teaching style.
What technology has done for me (it came naturally) is that it makes everything CLEARER !

Through the technology lens, we, as teachers, are:
amplified … we learn amplified…we can teach amplified…not only to physical bodies that we
happen to share time and space with at the moment…
reachable … we reach and can be reached whenever we choose to
worldwide … we am in contact with people from around the world… we disseminate, ask,
receive, share, publish to a worldwide audience
connected … to information, an audience, a personal learning network, etc.
collaborative …we are collaborating with educators from around the world to figure out “this
thing”…how to best prepare the citizens of the future, so they can solve all the problems of the
world awaiting them…
available …we are available to others asynchronously via our online presence. Limitless
informat ion, opinions, experiences, expertize from others are available to us anytime, anywhere
in whatever media and platform we prefer to learn with/through…
exposed to multiple teaching styles … we are stretching our own teaching style by exploring
and experimen ting with media and platforms beyond our normal comfort zone…
exposed to multiple learning styles … we are able to differentiate multiple learning styles by
giving students choices that allow them to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways…

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

networked … w e are part of a network…we are not alone…a network of peers, experts,
learners… a network that helps us be fluent in accomplishing tasks, solving problems, being
inspired by ideas, remixing of information…
Without the lens… teaching and learning seems fuzz y…unidimensional…monolingual…not
reaching its full potential… to me… It has been hard…We have not always been successful… in
trying to help teachers see beyond the technology and the logistics of how to use it in order to
TRANSFORM the way we teach and lea rn. There seems to be the need of keeping the change
(that needs to happen) wrapped up in a “technology bow” in order to have excuses WHY the
paradigm shift can’t happen. It seems easier (and more acceptable) to say “I don’t do computers”
than “I don’t know how or don’t care to prepare my students for a different future than I am used
to and adapt MY teaching to THEIR learning needs”…everything is fine the way it is…it has
worked for the past 20 years…!

Teaching with Technology

1.2 TECHOLOGY IN THE PRESENT
Technology is becoming an essential part of today’s classroom. Gone are the days of the teacher
lecturing and the students scribbling out pages of notes. Today’s classrooms are
interactive. They are interactive in a couple of different ways. They are interactive in the sense
that the students are now interacting with the students. Students have the abilities to take charge
of their own learning. The other way the classroom is becoming interactive is from all of the
technology that teachers are able to use in the learning. Technology is an ever changing
thing. Earlier in the20th century computers were the new technology. Then came the new
technology of the internet. Now we have many computer applications that are considered the
new technology of today. This is to show that technology grows from year to year. Yesterday’s
technology is not the same as today’s technology. With this eve r changing technology, we must
make certain that our classrooms are evolving to stay in line with the technologies of today.
Yes, it is true that the classroom must evolve to stay with the technology. The tr uth behind this
reasoning lies within the students. The students are evolving with this technology, so it is
imperative that the teacher and the classroom evolve as well. It can be emphasized that most of
today’s children are growing up with technology, mainly the internet. Studies around the world
suggest that teachers must utilize the technology because technology is what the students
understand.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

The most usef ul thing to come out of technology in the classroom is the multiple representations
that it provides. The use of technology in the classroom is important to allow students to see
things from this different perspective.
One technology I would like to take particular advantage of is the internet. The internet is loaded
with thousands of interactive web applets. These applets can be anything from a visualization of
a function, to a game that requires students to solve equations. The possibilities are endle ss. I
want to be able to use these applets in my classroom to help enhance my students learning.
I look forward to utilizing technology in my classroom. From the internet, to computers, and
smart boards these are all technology that as I teacher I look t o use in my classroom. I want to
not only implement this technology, but do so in such a way that it helps my students
learn. Technology is a tool at our disposal. If we do not take advantage of it, then we are not
doing our students and even ourselves justice.
There is no doubt that finding the time to integrate technology is an overwhelming task for
anyone. Throughout the course of a day, teachers find themselves pulled in many directions.
However, technology is already integrated in nearly everythi ng we do and nearly every job our
students will encounter. So how do educators find an ideal balance for learning about and
eventually integrating technology? It begins with a focus followed by good instructional design
-but ultimately, a healthy balance.

1.3 TOMORROW'S LITERACY
Technology is a literacy that is expected in education and in our economy . It is a universal
language spoken by the ent ire world, regardless of the profession. Our current students will
encounter one of the toughest job markets in generations. Gone are the days of falling into a
profession and riding that wave for 30 -plus years. However, it's not to say those jobs aren't s till
available. They are, but they're dwindling as automation and outsourcing continue to expand.
The contemporary job market requires us to adapt, continually learn, and apply various skill sets
in many directions. We have to multitask, connect beyond the workday, and collaborate and
connect both locally and globally. And while I am promoting that exposure to technology and
digital tools is essentia l, we must do so responsibly. Teaching students how to balance technology
usage along with offline socializing and interpersonal skills is essential. But it's irresponsible to
proclaim that technology simply distracts, diminishes social skills, and holds l esser value than
other content areas. And to do so not only lets our students down, but also negates the mission
statements emblazoned on the walls of our schools.
It's equally important to expose students to information literacy skill sets. As databases g row and
information continues to evolve into paperless formats, it is essential to teach students how to
question effectively and efficiently. In a world flooded with information to read, libraries have
never been more important. Along with digital and inf ormation literacy skill sets, it's still vital
that we promote and encourage a love of reading across all formats – along with a facility for
questioning, analyzing, discerning and synthesizing with other media.
Integrating technology doesn't have to cons ume your life as an educator. In fact, if a little time is
spent on, say, Google Drive, teachers can eventually save time and paper, while collaborating

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

more effectively with students. Personally, in my previous classrooms, I didn’t seek to integrate
every free Web tool. However, I simply used sites as a resource. I referenced that resource at the
beginning of each new semester and made decisions based on what I was teaching. Ultimately I
focused on the underlying learning objectives that I wanted, complete with students, and found
digital tools to compliment or enhance those skills.

1.4 OPPORTUNITIES, NOT APPS
The key in all of this is good instructional design along with a consistent vision and culture built
by school administration. Find applications that promote and strengthen a variety of skill sets for
students, not just one or two. The applications listed above present a myriad of options for
teaching and learning far beyond what I shared. However, when you're starting out with tech
integration, fi nd a focus. Getting caught up in the never ending, always expanding world of web
2.0 applications and iPad or Android apps will only confuse your students and, inevitably,
frustrate you. Also, seek out instructional technology specialists or coaches in you r school for
help. Understand that it's OK to ask a student – they know a lot!
As an administrator, seek to promote a culture of sharing around technology along with a pace
that is comfortable for every level of user. Reinforce the idea that learning goal s and objectives –
– not devices or applications – still drive classroom engagement. An administrator's biggest
mistake is to make technology seem like a mandated item. Also, be sure your staff understands
that a classroom technology misstep does not mean a negative evaluation. Rather, see it as a step
in the learning process.
Before we rush to judgment on technology integration as another sweeping phase in education,
we should focus on finding a healthy balance for integrating technology in our respective
classrooms. Ignore the clutter of overzealous ed -tech enthusiasts and find your focus to design
your own instruction. Ultimately it's not about how many apps we integrate, but about providing
our students with the best access and opportunities to contempor ary learning resources. As
educators, we must prepare our students for their future, not ours.
When I went to school it was common place for a teacher to place a text book in front a set of
students and offer the simple yet daunting line, "copy that". Ther e would be no talking to either
the teacher or fellow pupils. For me lessons seemed to drag so much that I wasn't engaged in the
subject material.
During more than 10 years in the profession, I've seen technology change the role the teacher
almost beyond a ll recognition. The question we have to ask is, has this change from teacher to
that of facilitator of learning been positive? Undeniably so, in my opinion.
Making use of technology to allow students the freedom to discover solutions to problems both
indep endently and collaboratively is a force for good. As educators we strive for students to
engage with our subject beyond a superficial level. We want them to be active learners, learners
who have a thirst for discovery and knowledge. Technology places the w orld in the hands of
every student inside the confines of your classroom.
There are many ways in which technology can be used in the classroom to engage students and
facilitate exciting, engaging and interesting lessons. If you're not used to allowing your students

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

space to guide their own learning then I can see how this all might seem intimidating; don't let it
be. For many of us it feels counterintuitive to allow our students the space to discover solutions
as these might not be the ones that we want the m to find. Allowing the use of technology in my
classroom has freed me from my lesson -plan shackles. It feels strange at first but the this type of
emancipation is addictive
We all feel the stresses of getting students through exam courses and allowing the m the freedom
to wander is sometimes too much for some to allow. However, in my experience allowing the
freedom to search and discover the subject through technology has fostered a love for my subject.

1.5 E-TEACHING
Well -run classrooms have always been —and will always be —highly personal places and good
teachers address this through a well differentiated curriculum that caters to the individual learning
needs of each student. There is no argument that great learning takes place when learners are able
to learn at their own pace, engaging and interacting with ideas in ways that are personally
meaningful. Writing, creating, designing, thinking, problem solving … these kinds of activities
can be intensely personal and most learners will construct meaning for t hemselves in their own
heads, in their own learning styles, as they work through these higher -order activities. That is
essentially how real learning works. Teaching is a little different. It is primarily a group activity.
As teachers teach, they usually w ork with groups of learners and try to lead them on a path of
discovery, exposing them to ideas and concepts that they may not yet have come into contact
with. Teaching to a group is about unpacking and explaining concepts, encouraging discussion,
challeng ing preconceptions and building knowledge. In a world where we focus a great deal on
the value of learning, it is important not to lose sight of the value of teaching. Even teachers who
believe passionately in the ideals of student -centered constructivist learning willingly
acknowledge that there are still times when the most effective way to lead students from where
they are to where they need to be is to explicitly teach them the things they need. Which factor
makes the biggest difference to effective lea rning? Recent research into this question has proven
indisputably that the number one factor for successful learning is quality teaching. Not class size,
not the school budget, not more standardized testing —but having a passionate teacher with
outstanding knowledge of what he or she is teaching and letting them use that passion and
knowledge to inspire their students to excel. If excellence in teaching quality is the critical factor
for student success, where does e -teaching fi t in and how does e -teaching support this notion of
quality teaching? The concept of e -teaching is fairly straightforward: infuse your lessons with
rich media, digital resources and engaging communication technologies. What is perhaps not so
obvious is that when we start to use techno logy and rich media on a routine basis in our
classrooms, the pedagogy —or style of teaching —actually starts to change as well. The nature of
teaching that takes place in a technology rich environment starts to change, moving away from a
‘content delivery’ approach and more towards a deeper, more personal understanding of key
concepts. The best teachers that I have seen using technology to aid independent learning are the
ones who have embraced the power that is already in the pockets of students. Most stude nts have
powerful devices, primed and ready to go in their pockets – the dreaded mobile phone. If you're
lucky like me, your school will see the power that these wonders hold. Allowing students to
unholster these weapons is a liberating experience for both teacher and student. Filming a peer

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

assessment or recording a group discussions and uploading to AudioBoo is yet another way of
engaging students.
Allowing yourself the opportunity to do something new and using technolo gy as the tool can
open up a cave of treasures that hooks the attention of the student and once you have that it can
lead them anywhere. These tools use the power of social media to help students learn and teachers
connect.
Edmodo : Teachers and students can take advantage of this great tech tool, as it offers a
Facebook -like environment where classes can connect online.

Grockit : Get your students connected with each other in study sessions that take place on this
great social site.

EduBlogs : EduBlogs offers a safe and secure place to set up blogs for yourself or your classroom.

Skype : Skype can be a great tool for keeping in touch with other educators or even attending
meetings online. Even cooler, it can help teachers to connect with other classrooms, even those
in other countries.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Wikispaces : Share lessons, media, and other materials online with your students, or let them
collaborate to build their own educational wiki on Wikispaces.

Pinterest : You can pin just about any image you find interesting on this site, but many teachers
are using it as a place to collect great lesson plans, projects, and inspirational materials.

Schoology : Through this social site, teachers can manage lessons, engage students, share content,
and connect with other educators.

Ning : Ning allows anyone to create a personalized social network, which can be great for both
teachers and students alike.

FunBrain : If you’re looking for a great collection of educational games, look no further than
FunBrain. On it, teachers can take advantage of fun tools for math and reading.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Educreations : Educreations is an amazing online tool for the iPad that lets teachers (or students)
create video s that teach a given topic. Perfect for studying or getting students to show off their
knowledge.

Animoto : Animoto makes it simple to create video -based lessons or presentations for the
classroom and to sha re them with students or anyone else.

Knewton : Adaptive learning has been a hot topic in recent months, and with Knewton it’s
something that any teacher can access and use. The site personalizes online learning content for
each student according to his or her needs.

Kerpoof : On Kerpoof, students can get creative with their learning with games, interactive
activities, drawing tools, and more that are b oth fun and educational.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

StudySync : With a digital library, weekly writing practice, online writing and peer reviews,
Common Core assignments, and multimedia lessons available, this site is a fully -featured tool for
teaching and learning that can be a big help in the classroom.

Planboard : Make sure your lessons are organized and that your day runs smoothly with the help
of this amazing online tool designed just for teachers.

Timetoast : Timetoast is a pretty cool for student projects, allowing them to build sleek,
interactive timelines in minutes.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Capzles : There are so many different ways that Capzles can be used in the classroom, there’s
bound to be an application that fits your needs. What does it do? Capzles makes it simple to gather
media like photos , videos, documents, and even blog posts into one place, making it perfect for
teaching, learning, or online projects.

Quizlet : Quizlet makes it easy for teachers to create study tools for students, especi ally flashcards
that can make memorizing important information a snap.

Google Docs : Through Google Docs, teachers can create and share documents, presentations, or
spreadsheets with students and colleagues as well as give feedback on student -created projects.

YouTube : Not all schools allow YouTube, but they are missing out as the site contains a wealth
of great learning materials for the classr oom. There’s even a special education -focused
channel just for teachers and students.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

TED -Ed: TED isn’t just a great place to find inspiration any more, the site also contains numerous
videos that are organized by subject and can help you to teach everything from how pain relievers
work to Shakespearean insults.

Glogster : Glogster is a social site that lets users mash up music, photos, videos, and pretty much
anything else you’d like. It’s a great way to create learning materials and a handy tool for creative
student projects.

Creaza : Want to bring your student projects into the 21st century? Creaza can make that possible,
offering tools to brainstorm, create cartoons, and edit audio and video.

Mentor Mob : On Mentor Mob, you or your students can create a learning playlist, which is
essentially a collection of high -quality materials that can be used to study a specific concept.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Evernote : Capture great ideas, photos, re cordings, or just about anything else on your Evernote
account, access it anywhere, and keep it organized. A must -have tool for lesson planning.

Twitter : There are so many ways Twitter can be used in educat ion. Teachers can connect with
other educators, take part in chats, share their ideas, or even use it in the classroom to reach out
to students.

Google Education: Google offers a number of great edtech resources for teachers, including
email and collabor ative apps, videos, lesson plan search, professional development, and even
educational grants.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Dropbox : Easily store, share, and access any kind of data from anywhere with the easy -to-use
and free Drop box service.

Diigo : Diigo lets you treat the web like paper -based reading material, making it simple to
highlight, bookmark, take notes, or even add sticky notes.

Jing: If you’re teaching kids about tech or just about anything else, a great screenshot program
is essential. Jing is one great option that allows teachers to take screenshots as images, record up
to five minutes or videos then edi t and share the results.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Popplet : You and your students can use Popplet to brainstorm ideas, create mindmaps, share,
and collaborate.

Google Earth : From geography projects to learning about geological processes, Google Earth
can be an amazing and fast way to show students anywhere in the world.

SlideShare : With SlideShare, you can upload your presentations, documents, and videos and
share them with students and colleagues. Even better, you can take advantage of materials that
other have uploaded as well.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

LiveBinders : Like a r eal-life three ring binder, this tech tool allows you to collect and organize
resources. Much better than a binder, however, the site also comes with tools to connect and
collaborate and a virtual whiteboard.

AudioBoo : Through this tool, you can record and share audio for your students or anyone else.

Film and Video. Using short and feature -length videos is an engaging way to work on skills like
vocabulary and comprehension. Videos help to expose students to the use of natural English.
Young children really enjoy short cartoons and animated movies, and older students can learn
about current events through news broadcasts.
ESL Partyland has free resources that include vocabulary worksheets and discussion qu estions
to accompany films like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Dead Man Walking’. The site also
offers a film survey to assess your students’ interests before choosing films, and film reviews that
can be adapted for any level of instruction.
Apps. Learning English can be very difficult and frustrating at times. Apps on iPads and tablets
are great ways for students to practice English and have fun while doing it. For practicing
grammar rules, apps like Grammar Up allow students to test their knowledge on specific topics
(verbs, prepositions, etc.). The app also keeps track of students’ progress and allows them to skip
questions by shaking the tablet. Best Colleges Online offers a list of 16 apps for ESL students,

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

ranging from basic letter instruction to p ronunciation guides. Students can also play classic games
like Scrabble and Boggle on mobile devices.
Digital Field Trips. Students absorb a great deal of information through experiential learning,
but field trips are not always an option with limited scho ol budgets. Digital field trips provide
more authentic ways for students to absorb new information. Young children can learn
vocabulary through fun virtual trips via 4 -H Virtual Farm, while older students can learn about
the government on sites like Inside the White House. There are many options on the Internet to
learn about virtually any topic. Middle School Net offers links to a wide array of digital field trip
possibilities.
Podcasts. Students can listen to podcasts to improve their comprehension. They can also create
podcasts to practice their English speaking abilities. A free download of iTunes gives teachers
access to hundreds of free podcasts on a range of topics. There are multiple podcasts tailored
specifically for English language learners. Teach ers can also have students create podcasts to
give them opportunities to practice their speaking skills. With just a microphone and a computer,
students can create reports and presentations. Video podcasts are an attractive option for students,
and some cl asses even have their own YouTube channels.
Pen Pals. Since snail mail is becoming a thing of the past, students can have pen pals that they
email or write to on a discussion board. Make an arrangement with an English -speaking class in
another state or cou ntry and have students write to their pen pal on a regular basis. This is a great
way for them to practice their English writing and reading comprehension skills, while making
friends in the process. Connect your classroom for free today with ePals!

Web Quests. Web quests are a fun way for students to use the Internet to build English
proficiency. Students are given a task and rely on their content knowledge and grasp of English
language to complete it. Teachers can create their own or visit Web Quests to access tutorials and
databases of pre -created web quests.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Online Games . Students can master spelling, grammar and other English skills by playing games
on the computer or mobile devices. Funbrain has educational games and books for Pre -K to eighth
grade students. StarFall has multiple games for younger students to increase English literacy
skills. Digital versions of hangman, Scrabble and Boggle are also entertaining for all ages of
students. Many of these games can be put up on interactive white boards to get full class
participation.
Blogging. Class blogs provide great forums for students to practice their writing skills. Live
Journal, Edublog and Blogger allow you to create blogs for free. One of the reasons that students
find blogging appealing is tha t it is more of an authentic writing experience, as a wider audience
typically has access to read posted entries, which means students tend to put more effort into their
blogs. Teachers can get students to write about specific topics that they find interes ting, or
students can provide commentary on current events and social justice issues. The more they
practice their writing skills, the more proficient they become, so regular blogging (weekly or
daily) is recommended. Blogs also provide good opportunities for family members to see what
their children are working on in class!

Dave's ESL Cafe has a page for students that provides easy -to-understand explanations of
different grammar concepts, like tenses and verb forms. It also has an Idea Cookbook, which i s
full of resources for teachers to improve ESL instruction. Audio books can be used to supplement
reading instruction and improve comprehension. Since technology is something that students
interact with regularly outside of school and students need 21st c entury skills to be successful in
college and their future careers, the more that technology can be integrated into instruction, the
better.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Collaborize Classroom – a free collaborative education platform with a highly developed
discussion component. Perfect for engagi ng students in structured discussions (using a variety of
question types) about the curriculum. Create study groups, facilitate collaborative group work
and flip your classroom with this platform!

Prezi – a cloud -based presentation software that has the ability to zoom in and out to show
relative importance of ideas and group concepts together. Prezi is visually stimulating; a great
alternative to Power Point which can feel static.

Socrative – a free student response system that can be used with smart phones, iPads or laptops!
Teachers can take polls, give quizzes, play with space races or end the lesson with an exit ticket.
Results of quizzes can be exported into an excel sheet to make grading infinitely easier!

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

WillYou.Typewith.me – is an easy way for students to collaborate on a single document online.
It is an alternative to Google.docs.

Storybird – is a collaborative storytelling tool. Students can create short art inspired stories that
can be shared or printed. Students can pair their writing with images to bring their stories, poetry,
songs, etc. to life!
Note: StoryJumper is another online digital storybook maker worth checking out!
JayCut – is a free online video editing tool. This looks like a great alternative to iMovie for people
working with PCs.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Wordle – a fun online tool for creating colorful word clouds from text you provide. This is an
easy way to highlight the main points from an online conversation, speech, article, etc.

Tiki-Toki – an esthetically pleasing web-based timeline tool. Students can create interactive
multimedia timelines using images, text and videos that are easy to embed.

StudyBlue – an online tool for making flashcards with video and audio elements, taking notes,
and preparing for exams.

Pixton – an online comic maker that allows students the creativity to design their own characters,
add sound, upload pictures and images, use a variety of speech bubbles, and print, download or
embed the finished comic.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Modern information technology can not o nly show the teaching content vividly, enlarge students'
horizons, broaden students' views through the combination of audio and sound, appropriate forms
of expression but also activate classroom atmosphere greatly, enrich the teaching content,
stimulate st udents' interest and thirst for knowledge, strengthen students' ability of autonomous
learning, understanding etc. Therefore the application of information technology in English
teaching has become the hotspot in English education. This paper mainly expoun ds the concept,
strategies and advantages of application of information technology in English teaching. The
application can promote teaching reform. For many people, the enormous change that has taken
place in the last few decades has redefined the way the y do their work. Many people work in jobs
that did not exist a generation ago, performing tasks that would be unrecognized by their
grandparents or even their parents. This rapid global change has had a major impact on many
industries, often reshaping and redefining them, sometimes even causing them to disappear
completely, unable to adapt with the speed and flexibility required for survival. Paradoxically,
the one area that seems to have so far resisted these changes the most is education —
‘paradoxically’ b ecause the stated goal of most education systems is to prepare our children for
the future, and yet education systems as a whole have been woefully slow at identifying,
acknowledging and adapting to the changes required to prepare for this future. Far too many
classrooms are still little more than four walls, a teaching board and rows of tables and chairs; far
too many teachers still believe the traditional tools for learning —textbooks, worksheets, the
conventional teaching board —are enough; and in far too many classrooms the teaching tends to
be a one -way experience, with the teacher at the front imparting knowledge to students who
passively absorb these facts in order to repeat them back in an exam. The problem for schools is
that our students are not stuc k in this same time warp. Outside of school they live in an always –
on world of high speed access to a global network —a world of instant communications and
engaging multimedia. Armed with computers, mobile phones and social networks they have easy
access to enormous quantities of information. They want information on demand. They need to
multitask. They love to collaborate. For too many of our students, coming to school means
‘powering down’. The question, then, is how can our schools respond to these change s? How can
our classrooms change to accommodate the needs of learners in the twenty -first century?
Thankfully, the last few years have seen a number of signs that things are slowly starting to
change. More and more educators are using the Internet and Web 2.0 to form online communities,
tapping into tools of connectivity to assist them in spreading the word about this need for change.
This new connectedness of the online educational community is generating millions of
conversations that are starting to have a grassroots impact on educational systems around the
world, and the consequence is that these much -needed changes are becoming obvious to more
and more educators. Interactive whiteboards have the potential to play a major part in helping to
shape this ed ucational change. Their hybrid nature —that of being a cross between a computer
and a traditional teaching board — means that of all the technologies that could be used in our
schools, IWBs are potentially the most likely to bring about these changes to the greatest number
of classrooms. Because they are capable of providing access to this new world of digital resources
for the ‘great unwashed masses’ who are primarily teachers and not technologists, IWBs would
seem to be the obvious tool for bringing relati vely quick systemic change to a system that
desperately needs it. So it is time to explore the new world of ‘e -teaching’. Many of us have heard
the term ‘e -learning’. It usually describes the act of learning using technology and might be
defined as ‘the us e of information and communication technologies to enhance the act of
learning’. It often refers especially to remote or distance learning where teacher and student are

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

physically separated from each other, but it is increasingly being used in a blended le arning mode
where some course content is delivered face to face and some is delivered via the e -learning
system. Online learning platforms such as Moodle or Blackboard are typical of e -learning
environments, which students log into in order to work through documents, tasks and activities
to support a course of study, or which in some cases are actually the entire course of study.
Students are also able to submit assignments electronically through the learning system, creating
digital workflows between teach er and student. If e -learning is all about learning using
technology, then e -teaching ought to be a term used to describe the act of teaching using
technology. A definition of e -teaching might be ‘the use of inform. The question, then, is how
can our schoo ls respond to these changes? How can our classrooms change to accommodate the
needs of learners in the twenty -first century? Thankfully, the last few years have seen a number
of signs that things are slowly starting to change. More and more educators are u sing the Internet
and Web 2.0 to form online communities, tapping into tools of connectivity to assist them in
spreading the word about this need for change. This new connectedness of the online educational
community is generating millions of conversations that are starting to have a grassroots impact
on educational systems around the world, and the consequence is that these much -needed changes
are becoming obvious to more and more educators. Interactive whiteboards have the potential to
play a major part i n helping to shape this educational change. Their hybrid nature —that of being
a cross between a computer and a traditional teaching board — means that of all the technologies
that could be used in our schools, IWBs are potentially the most likely to bring a bout these
changes to the greatest number of classrooms. Because they are capable of providing access to
this new world of digital resources for the ‘great unwashed masses’ who are primarily teachers
and not technologists, IWBs would seem to be the obvious tool for bringing relatively quick
systemic change to a system that desperately needs it. So it is time to explore the new world of
‘e-teaching’. Many of us have heard the term ‘e -learning’. It usually describes the act of learning
using technology and mi ght be defined as ‘the use of information and communication
technologies to enhance the act of learning’. It often refers especially to remote or distance
learning where teacher and student are physically separated from each other, but it is increasingly
being used in a blended learning mode where some course content is delivered face to face and
some is delivered via the e -learning system. Online learning platforms such as Moodle or
Blackboard are typical of e -learning environments, which students log into in order to work
through documents, tasks and activities to support a course of study, or which in some cases are
actually the entire course of study. Students are also able to submit assignments electronically
through the learning system, creating digita l workflows between teacher and student. If e -learning
is all about learning using technology, then e -teaching ought to be a term used to describe the act
of teaching using technology. A definition of e -teaching might be ‘the use of information and
communi cation technologies to enhance the act of teaching’.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

1.6 THE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD

And one of the very best ways to move a classroom —and therefore the teaching that takes place
in that classroom —towards an engaging, media -rich environment is with the wise use of
interactive whiteboards. If you have ever taken your class to the computer r oom to work on a
task, you know how engaged students can become when they use technology. If you are in the
fortunate situation of having individual access to computers, either through a one -to-one program
where every student has their own notebook compute r or in a school where there are enough
computers that students can gain access whenever they need them, you will no doubt have
observed that technology makes a huge difference to student motivation and engagement. Kids
like using computers. Unlike many tr aditional forms of classroom activity, it is not unusual to get
to the end of a lesson using computers and the students just don’t want to stop what they are
doing. If the task is interesting enough and the technology is available enough, it is astounding to
watch young people work with computers. Simply having access to computers can go some way
towards addressing the ‘digital native’ needs of our students; however, if we are to be effective
educators —that is, quality teachers —then we need to tap into this rich motivation that technology
brings, but in a way more suited to the group environment that the act of teaching is so often
based around. The first revolutionary teaching tool —the humble blackboard —found its way into
classrooms back in 1801 and had a p rofound impact on the nature of teaching over the next 200
years. The blackboard became synonymous with the traditional classroom and, along with shiny
red apples, is still seen as a stereotypical symbol of education. The interactive whiteboard —or
IWB —has the potential to be the second revolutionary teaching tool. Just as the blackboard was
seen as a key part of nineteenth – and twentieth century classrooms, the IWB has the capability to
become synonymous with the new digital classrooms of the twenty -fi rst century. Despite its
relative newness, the IWB exhibits the same capacity to fundamentally change —and indeed
revolutionize —the nature of teaching. In the same way that the old -style blackboards were a
technology that could be used in traditional schools ev ery day by all teachers, interactive
whiteboards are already displaying their facility to be used in this ‘every -day-by-every -teacher’

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

way in our emerging digital schools. Because of their capacity to become an embedded part of a
modern classroom, the IWB may just serve to be the catalyst that finally moves schools away
from the traditional paper -based model towards a more integrated digital mode of operation. The
traditional paper -based school has existed in more or less the same form literally for centuri es,
but we are starting to see the beginnings of a shift as schools all over the world start to look for
ways to maximise the potential of digital learning and take advantage of the evolving and exciting
educational opportunities this digital world brings with it. However, we need to remind ourselves
that this is still just the start of the revolution. The real challenges for teachers at this point in the
development of digital classrooms are to see the great potential that lies ahead, to master the tools
and the mindset to begin claiming that potential, and to collaborate with their colleagues and
students to effectively use these new tools for teaching in a digital world. The IWB has all the
characteristics for being a potent tool in this educational shift . IWBs can let educators do more
than just continue with the old ways. As interactive technologies become an accepted part of
today’s digital classrooms, new and previously unimagined ways are being found to use
technology to enhance the teaching and learn ing process. Interactive whiteboards have the
potential to be the second revolutionary teaching tool, and teachers may be thinking: ‘But what
about the personal computer? Didn’t that revolutionize the way we teach?’ The PC certainly has
had—and will no dou bt continue to have —a huge impact on classrooms all over the world, but
in most cases it is still more of a learning tool for students than a teaching tool for teachers. There
is no argument that the personal computer has been revolutionary in almost every way imaginable
and its impact over the last 25 years has been enormous, but when we look at its impact on the
actual act of teaching, it is still relatively minimal. In a world where so many industries and
professions have been completely reshaped and red efined by the advent of the personal computer,
one could argue that the act of teaching (as opposed to the act of learning) has been largely
immune to such technological advances. There are plenty of reasons that account for this. The
small screen size doe s not easily facilitate teaching in a group setting, and most non -IWB
classrooms do not have a mounted projector ready for use. The PC is far more engaging when
one gets to interact with it on a personal level, so it often fails to be an effective teaching tool in
classrooms where the teachers are the only ones with a computer in front of them. The
opportunities for connecting students with highly relevant and engaging digital content are
enormous, but without some way of sharing those resources on a whole class basis, the potential
of the PC for the purpose of teaching with these resources is fairly limited. As a tool for
connecting teaching to learning in a digital world, the interactive whiteboard appears to be the
missing link. While many teachers use a computer to assist them in their lesson preparation,
personal organization and communication, most of this relates to managing their own individual
productivity rather than any systematic way of changing their teaching practice. Although there
certainly ar e some teachers who do make regular use of computers and other digital tools in their
teaching, they are still in the minority. The truth is that most schools that claim to be reliant on
personal computers only have 20 –30 per cent of teachers using those c omputers with students in
any sort of consistent, integrated, meaningful way. Many students in our schools would be lucky
to use computers in class for two hours per week. And these are just the schools where students
are able to get regular, or semi -regul ar, access to computers for learning in an individual situation.
Trotting the students off to the computer lab once or twice a week to ‘do computers’ is hardly an
integrated use of technology across the curriculum. However, the prevailing situation is that most
teachers simply do not have enough access to the digital tools in their classrooms to allow them
to work with their students in a predominantly digital way. One of the great challenges for schools

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

today is figuring out how to get all their staff —and not just some of them —to embrace the use
of digital technologies as a normal part of classroom teaching. It is still somewhat of a rarity.
There is, however, strong evidence to suggest that it can be achieved —swiftly and relatively
inexpensively —by the wi se introduction of interactive whiteboards throughout the school (Lee
and Winzenried, 2009). There are a number of factors that make IWB technology different to any
classroom technology that preceded it. To see IWBs in their proper context, we need to bear in
mind the points discussed as follows. 1 IWBs are really the first electronic instructional
technology designed primarily for use by teachers. All the other electronic technologies, be they
fi lm, radio, television or personal computers, were first desi gned for the general consumer or
office markets and then eventually adapted for use in education. For almost all of these products,
schools were very much a secondary market. In contrast, the first SMART Board was sold to
teachers at a university in 1991, and the first Active board was sold to a university in the
mid1990s. There are now dozens of other players in this space, all pitching their products
specifically at the education market. Because IWB technology was conceived specifically with
education in mind, most vendors are displaying considerable commitment and responsiveness to
the needs of this market. Also, although we keep referring to ‘interactive whiteboards’, it would
be a mistake to restrict our thinking to just the board itself. It is worth re membering that there are
also a rapidly evolving set of accessories designed to extend the concept of classroom interactivity
beyond the board … wireless slates and tablets, interactive voting devices, interactive text
response systems and so on. These dev ices add further depth to the possibilities afforded by the
whole ‘IWB’ concept, and in fact hint at the real power behind this technology —not so much the
board, but the interactivity. 2 IWBs are the fi rst and, as yet, only digital instructional technolog y
that all the teachers in a school are able to use in their everyday teaching. While grand claims
have been made by both governments and technology corporations about the amount of various
technologies that may exist within a school, the research undertak en by Lee and Winzenried
(2009) in The Use of Instructional Technology in Schools reveals that in 2007 those schools who
had deployed interactive whiteboards throughout the school had 100 per cent of their teachers
using digital resources in their everyday teaching. Of course, this is not to say every school that
deploys them will automatically get 100 per cent success in integrating technology just because
of the existence of the IWBs. Simply putting IWBs in classrooms is no guarantee of success.
However, it does suggest that, of the schools who did achieve 100 per cent integration, the
implementation of IWBs was consistently a factor. To put it simply, a decision to deploy IWBs
throughout a school substantially increases the chances of getting teachers to shift to a more
digital mode of working. Although computers have been around in schools for over 25 years,
there are still many teachers who resist their use in any sort of regular, embedded way. Research
suggests that IWBs seem to be acting as an effectiv e ‘gateway’ for many teachers to start
exploring the further use of digital technologies in their classrooms. 3 IWBs can be readily,
securely and inexpensively installed in every classroom for immediate teacher and student use.
One solution to getting tech nology into the hands of learners is the implementation of a one -to-
one program, such as where every student is issued with a notebook computer. While getting
computing devices into the hands of all students is a worthy goal, the financial and logistical
challenges in doing so have made this an unrealistic option for many schools at this point in time,
and raises a whole set of new problems that most schools are just not ready to even start thinking
about. Some schools have attempted to provide a notebook c omputer for every student; however,
the widespread success of these initiatives has so far been restricted to a relatively small number
of privileged schools. This may change in the future, but for the moment having available a

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

computing device for every s tudent in every classroom in every school remains a challenge. On
the other hand, interactive whiteboards are showing their ability to be used successfully every
day, with all age levels, in all areas of the curriculum, with all types of school systems. IW Bs are
pervasive in ways that notebook computers have not yet managed to be. They are proving
themselves to be an effective digital instructional technology with the flexibility to reach students
on a consistent basis within all types of learning organisat ions, and within the constraints and
givens of everyday schooling. 4 IWBs can accommodate all teaching styles and can be used to
support whole -class, small -group and personalised teaching. Interactive whiteboards can be just
as readily used by the senior t eacher preparing students for a public exam, the special education
teacher working with students with learning disabilities, a distance education teacher working
with remotely located students, a teacher using a highly differentiated discovery -based approa ch,
or the kindergarten teacher working with five -year-olds. The boards can be used in a variety of
ways —from a simple board for writing notes and drawing diagrams, right through to a fully
integrated, multimedia -enabled, large -screen digital convergence f acility. However, not everyone
is so positive about the technology. One of the main arguments used to dismiss the impact of the
IWB in modern classrooms is that it heralds a return to the ‘sage on the stage’ mentality of
teaching; one where the teacher ass umes the position at the front of the class and the students
passively consume the knowledge being dispensed. This form of teacher -centric classroom would
quite rightfully be seen as a return to the bad old days of schooling, and if used in this manner
IWB s are really nothing more than an expensive electronic way of ‘chalk and talk’ teaching.
However, anyone who has been in a classroom where this technology is used well, where the
teacher is a competent and creative user of the IWB, where effective digital resources are being
used to spark the learning, and extras such as interactive voting devices are being used to engage
students in thinking more deeply, will quickly realise that there is nothing passive about these
sorts of lessons. As always, good teachi ng is good teaching, and technology —if used correctly —
can enhance teaching in allsorts of engaging ways. Any classroom technology can be used poorly
if a teacher is not skilled and proficient in its use. Contrary to the views of some sceptics, IWBs
can be used in ways that dramatically enhance good teaching. When viewed simply as a piece of
hardware, the IWB does not make the learning experience any better or any worse. What makes
the difference is the teacher who understands how to tap into the potential o f this new technology
to create engaging, interesting, interactive lessons that capture the attention and imagination of
the students in pedagogically sound, creative ways. 5 IWBs facilitate the integration and ready
use of all other digital technologies —hardware and software, and give additional educative power
to those other technologies. At their simplest level, interactive whiteboards are primarily large –
screen digital convergence facilities. Their educative potential resides in this facility to be used
as the center piece of a digital teaching hub with an ever -evolving suite of digital tools to take
teaching into the digital era. While they may at first seem like just a fancy version of the
traditional teaching board, IWBs can be used in fully interacti ve ways that are able to bring
together digital resources like text, images, audio, video, ‘dragable’ objects and, of course, a
seemingly infinite collection of resources from the web. Concepts can be explored, data can be
manipulated, scenarios can be tin kered with … when all one’s resources are available in digital
form, the possibilities are almost endless. So, those teachers who still think of IWBs as nothing
more than expensive projector screens are probably not using them correctly! With this ability to
act as a convergence facility for a huge multitude of digital resources, IWBs are becoming
somewhat of a Trojan horse for getting technology into classrooms where it may not otherwise
have been able to penetrate. Evidence suggests that when armed with a n IWB and training in the

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

proper ways to use it, good teachers with a sound understanding of effective pedagogical
principles are able to embrace a wider range of digital technologies more quickly and find more
creative ways to engage their students with t hose resources. 6 IWB teaching is receiving immense
and growing support from the ‘IWB industry’ globally. The support provided to schools and
teachers by the manufacturers of IWBs is particularly strong. With their focus on the competitive
education market , it is in the interest of the IWB hardware and software providers to listen
carefully to teachers, respond to their needs and continue to provide them with the best possible
tools, teaching resources and online communities. In contrast, computer manufactu rers do not
have the same vested interest. The education market is relatively small compared with the
corporate market, and this is reflected in the limited educational relevant software provided with
most PCs. Despite what most computer manufacturers may try to tell you, their focus is clearly
on the office, not the classroom. Contrast this to the teaching software provided by the major
IWB providers. Most of it is of high quality, focused on the classroom and constantly evolving.
It is generally included in the price of the boards and the upgrades are usually free. Most major
vendors will license their software in such a way that teachers can install it on both their work
and home computers, all at no extra charge —and some may even encourage its use for st udents.
Of course, it is in the manufacturers’ vested interests to get as many teachers and students as
possible using their software because this translates into many people using
All that changed when the computer appeared on the scene. Because computer s store all media
types in a common format —a series of zeros and ones known as binary —the task of combining
different media types suddenly became a fairly trivial problem. To a computer, all these media
types look exactly the same. In the early days of per sonal computers it was really only feasible
to manipulate text and simple pictures, but as the power of PCs has grown over the last decades
we are now in a situation where our machines have the grunt to easily manipulate and mix almost
any digital media —text, audio, images, video, animation. Then in the mid1990s, Tim Berners –
Lee invented the World Wide Web and we gained the ability to easily move these digital bundles
of zeros and ones around the planet in mere seconds. It is now hard to find any area of hu man
endeavour that has not been affected by the Internet in deeply profound ways, and we are rapidly
moving towards a world where the entire sum of human experience will be available online
somewhere. Finally, because of the nature of digital resources, th ey can be stored, viewed,
manipulated and presented on a wide range of hardware devices, from mobile phones to
interactive whiteboards. Suddenly, information is everywhere, and with the right device we can
put it to work for us in ways that were unimaginab le even five years ago. For many of us who
have been teaching for a while, these are scary notions. But to most of our students this is the
only world they have ever known. Children entering our schools now do not know what it is like
to not be digital, an d while many of the things that seem like black magic to those of us who have
been around for a while, to our students they are just an expected part of the way the world works.
The reason why IWBs are often described as a ‘digital hub’ is that they are ab le to pull all of
these digital experiences together into one place in the classroom. The logical place to do this is
on a large screen where all students can see and interact with the media, and where teachers can
engage students in discussion and explora tion. IWBs are ideal for combining this digital content
in an integrated manner so that, instead of a classroom where text is written on a blackboard,
pictures are shown with an overhead projector, video is watched on a TV, the Internet is explored
in the computer lab, and so on, all of these digital assets are now able to be pulled together and
explored by teacher and student together in a manner that simply makes more sense —whether

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

that means easily showing snippets of video relevant to the topic being ta ught, getting students
to record their voices in a podcast and presenting it to their peers, exploring the pages of the web
together, or for any number of other uses that simply were not possible before all these resources
went digital. If we all accept th e premise that this new digital world is worth making an integral
part of our classrooms, then IWBs make enormous sense. As a large -screen, digital convergence
device, accessible to all students, affordable for all schools and easy to adapt to regular clas sroom
use, this is a technology whose time is right. Teachers will get the most benefit out of an
interactive whiteboard if its use is seamlessly integrated into their daily routine. While they may
not necessarily want to use their IWB every minute of the day, the ideal situation is such that they
can access it on demand when they want it.

2.7 HOW TO GET STARTED WITH TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
• Do plan how you're going to use the technology in advance. How is it going to aid the learning
of your students ? If it isn't going to aid teaching and learning then you shouldn't use it
• Don't buy the latest fad product. There has been a temptation for schools to replace laptops for
tablets. This might have been successful for some schools but as good as tablets a re, they aren't
ready to replace laptops … yet
• Do invest in good CPD in brushing up your ICT skills. This doesn't mean that you have to pay
an expensive consultant. Simply ask your ICT department for some training or advice. Also, ask
colleagues, NQTs or PGCE students for some fresh technology ideas
• Don't give up. You might try something once and it doesn't work but don't let that put you off.
Try and discover what works best for you and your students. If that doesn't work then try
something else
• Do focus on how technology can aid not hinder student progress
Technology can be a great asset in ESL classrooms, offering authentic writing activities and
endless resources on grammar instruction, lesson plans and other central topics.
Computers, tablets and e-readers can all be instrumental in learning English, offering interactive
and motivating activities for students of all ages and teachers can use technology to teach English
in a way that will make lessons more engaging and appealing.

2. THEORET ICAL BOUNDARIES IN TEACHING RECEPTIVE SKILLS

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

There are four basic skills in any language: receptive skills – reading and listening, and productive
skills – speaking and writing. All are equally important and whenever possible we should try to
incorporate all of them into our lessons if we want to have a balanced approach. Often we will
want to focus more on one particular skill but still bring others in to create an “integrated” skills
lesson.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The receptive skills are listening and reading. Because learners do not need to produce language
to do these, they receive and understand it. These skills are sometimes known as passive skills.
They can be contrasted with the productive or active skills of speaking and writing. Often in the
process of l earning new language, learners begin with receptive understanding of the new items,
then later move on to productive use. The relationship between receptive and productive skills is
a complex one, with one set of skills naturally supporting another. For ex ample, building reading
skills can contribute to the development of writing.
The ability to use a language in a communicative way, however, is not just a single unified skill.
Most recent thinking has divided language ability into four separate skill areas ; listening, reading,
speaking, and writing. Listening and reading are known as the receptive skills; while speaking
and writing are known as the productive skills. According to SIL International (1999). The four
basic skills are related to each other by t wo parameters: the mode of communication: oral or
written the direction of communication: receiving or producing the message. Most teachers try
to incorporate all four skill areas into their planning, though some classes may focus more on one
set of skills or the other, due to the course and learner objectives (Oxford, 2001). When learning
new language material, the order of acquisition is generally this, for both second language
learners and children learning their first language.
Listening: The learner he ars a new item (sound, word, grammar feature, etc.)
Speaking: The learner tries to repeat the new item.
Reading: The learner sees the new item in written form.
Writing: The learner reproduces the written form of the item.
When you are planning to present a new teaching item (sound, grammar point, vocabulary word,
etc.,) keep the order of acquisition in mind. It is best to expose the learners to the item in that
same order, so that they are exposed to it as a listener before they are called on to use it as a
speaker, and that they hear it before they see it in text. In this way, the order of learning a second
language is similar to the way a child learns his or her first language. He/she will be able to
understand the new item for quite a while before he/she is able to produce it and use it in
communication (Laubach Literacy Action, 1996). In technical terms, the difference between
being able to understand an item and being able to produce it is known as passive versus active
knowledge. So it is important to expose learners to a large amount of material using the new item
before they are able to actually employ it in communication. Even though it is not apparent, your
learners will be absorbing the new items on an unconscious level. Consequently, you should

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

expect that the learners will go through a period of being exposed to new language and
internalizing it before they can produce. They will be able to understand, but will not be able to
produce. It is because of this so -called “silent period” that many recen t approaches to language
teaching are “comprehension -based”. This means that the teacher presents material that does not
require the students to respond verbally, but rather allows them to show comprehension without
having to actually produce speech in the target language (Larsen -Feeman, D. 2000). As language
teachers we know that language skills cannot be taught separately, but are tackled simultaneously
within the language teaching process. In my assignment I would like to discuss the two receptive
skills of reading and listening. Judging from past experience, I find these two skills very
demanding for young learners, but essential to master in their language acquisition. In analyzing
some of the key issues related to reading and listening, I will also try to point out some of the
problems associated with the teaching of the skills and discuss possible solutions with particular
reference to my own teaching context.

2.2 TEACHING READING
As language teachers we know that language skills cannot be taught sepa rately, but are tackled
simultaneously within the language teaching process. In my assignment I would like to discuss
the two receptive skills of reading and listening. Judging from past experience, I find these two
skills very demanding for young learners , but essential to master in their language acquisition. In
analysing some of the key issues related to reading and listening, I will also try to point out some
of the problems associated with the teaching of the skills and discuss possible solutions with
particular reference to my own teaching context.
There are many reasons why we read. Examples taken from Rivers and Timperley (1978:187) of
some of the reasons that L2 students read, include:
 to obtain information for some purpose or because we are curio us about some topic
 to obtain instructions on how to perform some task for our work or daily life
 to keep in touch with friends by correspondence or to understand business letters
 to know when or where something will take place or what is available
 to know what is happening or has happened (as reported in newspapers, magazines,
reports)
 for enjoyment or excitement
The aim in teaching reading is to help L2 learners become as efficient readers as possible in
English as their second or foreign language. Wallace (1992:74) claims that: The more fluently
and widely the second language reader reads, the more exposure to the key structures and
vocabulary of the second language he or she gains. This makes sense, but there are also other
factors that infl uence reading comprehension and reader efficiency. A key issue involved in
reading is the manner in which texts are decoded by the reader. McDonough and Shaw (2003:97)
refer to the 'top -down' and 'bottom -up' strategies working together to achieve comprehen sion. In
the top -down approach readers interact with the text by 'activating knowledge of the world, plus
past experiences expectations and intuitions, to arrive at a meaning of the text' (ibid). The bottom –

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

up approach, as Hockly (2007:89) states, […] st arts from the individual symbols (or sounds, in
the case of listening), words, grammatical class, sentence structure, and allows the reader/listener
to build up meaning from the constituent parts of the text. The readers' knowledge of the world
or 'schema tic knowledge', as defined by Alptekin (1993:136) is: […] an important part of the
'fit' which exists between people's culture -specific cognition and their native language. Cook
(1997:86) explains that 'schemas vary according to cultural norms and ind ividual experience'.
This is what the reader brings to the text which in turn influences how he/she processe it, or in
Alptekin's (1993:137) words: […] readers make use of culture -specific schemas in relating input
to what they already know and, conseq uently, construct the writer’s intended meaning.
According to Alptekin (ibid), the problem arises when the learners' schematic knowledge comes
into contact with teaching material containing target -language cultural elements. When the
cultural background el ements are missing and there is a lack of knowledge of the L2 culture,
reading becomes 'a time -consuming, laborious, and frustrating experience'(Brown et al., 1977:no
pagination in Alptekin ibid). Paran (1996:27), summarizing Wallace (1992), believes that L2
readers become more dependent on the bottom -up approach. He argues that because of their
insufficient linguistic ability, they also need 'a large amount of contextual support, since many of
the words they are decoding are either unknown to them or acces sed slowly' (ibid:29). One of the
main reasons for the difficulties presented above is the material used in English Language
Teaching (hereafter ELT). According to Alptekin (1993:138): 'most textbook writers are native
speakers', who write ' chiefly throug h culture -specific schemas' acquired in 'their own English –
speaking society'. He also makes the point that it is not economical for publishers to use the
learner's cultural content, because it would not be appropriate for learners in other cultures (ibid).
Widdowson (1996:68) argues, however, that contexts 'cannot be replicated versions of native –
speaker contexts of use', and as summarized by Hockly (2007:96), he advocates 'carefully chosen
texts' to which L2 readers can respond 'authentically'. As a result , coursebooks vary in authentic
material. Whatever the case may be, it remains up to the teacher to select and evaluate the
importance that texts have for the L2 learners in their language acquisition and to use them to this
end.

2.2.1 Teaching Reading: Problems and Solutions
It is my belief that teachers should not be slaves to their coursebooks, but should choose materials
for classroom use wisely, keeping in mind their learners' needs and purposes for reading.
Sometimes certain texts may be omitted, either because of their irrelevance to the purpose at hand
or lack of time. Teachers may also want to use supplementary reading material from other
sources, which will better serve the aim of the lesson. McDonough and Shaw (2003:99) suggest
that teachers s hould supply 'materials that stimulate interest and do not have an overfamiliar
content'. Alptekin suggests building: conceptual bridges between the culturally familiar and the
unfamiliar […] through the use of comparisons as techniques of cross -cultural comprehension
or the exploitation of universal concepts of human experience as reference points for the
interpretation of unfamiliar data.'(1993:141 -142). All this would certainly help stimulate the L2
readers' schematic knowledge. It is important, howe ver, to remember that in the majority of
language classes learners' knowledge varies extremely, and that some learners have difficulty
getting close to any reading material. That is why I strongly support pre -reading tasks, as they
serve to bring the text closer to the reader allowing for easier interaction. They can include

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

discussions of pupils' similar life experiences, discussions of similar topics in articles from
newspapers, magazines or the Internet or a questionnaire on the topic. In the young learn er
classroom pre -reading activities can be done either in L1 or L2, depending on the linguistic ability
of the learners. The learners' first connection with the reading material is through the eyes of the
teacher and the way he/she presents it. Once a link between reader and topic has been made,
reading can begin, as well as the particular tasks planned for the given text. McDonough and
Shaw (2003:95) believe that it is important to 'match reading skill to reading purpose', something
I fully agree with. It is also important to clearly define what we want to do with a certain text and
not to overdo the tasks related to it. When working with texts, it would be wise to take Gairns
and Redman's (2003: 170) advice into consideration, which is: 'set a clear task, set a time limit,
clarify the reading aims, have a clear policy on vocabulary pre -teaching'. Some of the activity
types presented by Greenall and Swan (1986:3 -5) are frequently used in my teaching context,
such as 'dealing with unfamiliar words', which als o include exploring lexical sets and other
collocations. 'Checking comprehension, extracting main ideas' and 'reading for specific
information' (ibid) often follow the first reading. The activities depend on the type of text we are
dealing with, whether it is a short story, an article, a dialogue, a recipe or a letter, as well as the
reading itself, whether it is individual reading, group reading or reading out loud. When practising
a grammatical structure, I try to connect it to the content of the correspo nding text which allows
the pupils to focus not only on the structure as such, but also on understanding the meaning it
conveys within the text. By linking the reading content to the pupils' own life experiences and
letting them continue with the grammar i n this more familiar context, they are able to remember
the grammatical structure better, and remain the focal point within the learning process. In my
attempt to help slow readers, I often put pupils into mixed ability groups where they take turns
reading out loud to each other. In each group there are more or less the same number of pupils as
there are paragraphs in a given text. The texts are carefully chosen and range from 4 to 5
paragraphs maximum. Each pupil is responsible for one of the paragraphs. H e/she must read it
out loud to the rest of the group, lead the group discussion in analysing unknown words or phrases
and paraphrase the main idea in the paragraph. Slower learners feel less intimidated and
participate better. Like Wallace, I also believe it is important to 'ensure that text, context, and
reading task give maximum support to the second language learner's current linguistic and
schematic knowledge' (1992:42 -43). 'Automaticity of word recognition', referred to by Paran
(1996:30), as well as w ord meaning, is something I strive for with my learners. For pupils, who
excel in the language, I often choose texts that they can approach with a critical eye, texts that
have the 'potential to raise issues', as Wallace (1992:103) suggests, and allow read ers to challenge
and react to the author's point of view based on their own life experiences. Critical reading is
welcome in the ELT classroom, as it breaks the monotony of reading only for grammar purposes
and gives reading a new freshness.
Traditionally, the purpose of learning to read in a language has been to have access to the
literature written in that language. In language instruction, reading materials have traditionally
been chosen from literary texts that represent "higher" forms of culture.
This approach assumes that students learn to read a language by studying its vocabulary,
grammar, and sentence structure, not by actually reading it. In this approach, lower level learners
read only sentences and paragraphs generated by textbook writers and tea chers. The reading of
authentic materials is limited to the works of great authors and reserved for upper level students
who have developed the language skills needed to read them.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

The communicative approach to language teaching has given teachers a differ ent understanding
of the role of reading in the language classroom and the types of texts that can be used in
instruction. When the goal of instruction is communicative competence, everyday materials such
as train schedules, newspaper articles, and travel and tourism Web sites become appropriate
classroom materials, because reading them is one way communicative competence is developed.
Instruction in reading and reading practice thus become essential parts of language teaching at
every level.
2.2.2 Reading Purpose and Reading Comprehension
Reading is an activity with a purpose. A person may read in order to gain information or verify
existing knowledge, or in order to critique a writer's ideas or writing style. A person may also
read for enjoyment, or to enhance knowledge of the language being read. The purpose(s) for
reading guide the reader's selection of texts.
The purpose for reading also determines the appropriate approach to reading comprehension. A
person who needs to know whether she can afford to eat at a particular restaurant needs to
comprehend the pricing information provided on the menu, but does not need to recognize the
name of every appetizer listed. A person reading poetry for enjoyment needs to recognize the
words the poet uses and the way s they are put together, but does not need to identify main idea
and supporting details. However, a person using a scientific article to support an opinion needs
to know the vocabulary that is used, understand the facts and cause -effect sequences that are
presented, and recognize ideas that are presented as hypotheses and givens.
Reading research shows that good readers:
 Read extensively
 Integrate information in the text with existing knowledge
 Have a flexible reading style, depending on what they are readi ng
 Are motivated
 Rely on different skills interacting: perceptual processing, phonemic processing,
recall
 Read for a purpose; reading serves a function

2.2.3 Reading as a Process
Reading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and the te xt, resulting in
comprehension. The text presents letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs that encode meaning.
The reader uses knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine what that meaning is.

Reader knowledge, skills, and strategies include:
 Linguis tic competence: the ability to recognize the elements of the writing system;
knowledge of vocabulary; knowledge of how words are structured into sentences

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 Discourse competence: knowledge of discourse markers and how they connect parts
of the text to one an other
 Sociolinguistic competence: knowledge about different types of texts and their usual
structure and content
 Strategic competence: the ability to use top -down strategies (see Strategies for
Developing Reading Skills for descriptions), as well as knowle dge of the language (a
bottom -up strategy)
The purpose(s) for reading and the type of text determine the specific knowledge, skills, and
strategies that readers need to apply to achieve comprehension. Reading comprehension is thus
much more than decoding. Reading comprehension results when the reader knows which skills
and strategies are appropriate for the type of text, and understands how to apply them to
accomplish the reading purpose.
2.2.4 Goals and Techniques for Teaching Reading
Teachers want to prod uce students who, even if they do not have complete control of the grammar
or an extensive lexicon, can fend for themselves in communication situations. In the case of
reading, this means producing students who can use reading strategies to maximize their
comprehension of text, identify relevant and non -relevant information, and tolerate less than
word -by-word comprehension.
Focus: The Reading Process
To accomplish this goal, teachers focus on the process of reading rather than on its product.
 They develop students' awareness of the reading process and reading strategies by
asking students to think and talk about how they read in their native language.
 They allow students to practice the full repertoire of reading strategies by using
authentic reading tasks. They encourage students to read to learn (and have an
authentic purpose for reading) by giving students some choice of reading material.
 When working with reading tasks in class, they show students the strategies that will
work best for the reading purpos e and the type of text. They explain how and why
students should use the strategies.
 They have students practice reading strategies in class and ask them to practice outside
of class in their reading assignments. They encourage students to be conscious of what
they're doing while they complete reading assignments.
 They encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and self -report their use of
strategies. They build comprehension checks into in -class and out -of-class reading
assignments, and periodicall y review how and when to use particular strategies.
 They encourage the development of reading skills and the use of reading strategies by
using the target language to convey instructions and course -related information in
written form: office hours, homewor k assignments, test content.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 They do not assume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to another.
They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a different type of
reading task or with another skill.
By raising students' awareness of reading as a skill that requires active engagement, and by
explicitly teaching reading strategies, teachers help their students develop both the ability and the
confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the cla ssroom. In this
way they give their students the foundation for communicative competence in the new language.
Integrating Reading Strategies
Instruction in reading strategies is not an add -on, but rather an integral part of the use of reading
activities in the language classroom. Teachers can help their students become effective readers
by teaching them how to use strategies before, during, and after reading.
Before reading: Plan for the reading task
 Set a purpose or decide in advance what to read for
 Decid e if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed
 Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall meaning)
or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)
During and after reading: Monitor comprehension
 Verify predi ctions and check for inaccurate guesses
 Decide what is and is not important to understand
 Reread to check comprehension
 Ask for help
After reading: Evaluate comprehension and strategy use
 Evaluate comprehension in a particular task or area
 Evaluate overall progress in reading and in particular types of reading tasks
 Decide if the strategies used were appropriate for the purpose and for the task
 Modify strategies if necessary
Using Authentic Materials and Approaches
For students to develop communicative comp etence in reading, classroom and homework reading
activities must resemble (or be) real -life reading tasks that involve meaningful communication.
They must therefore be authentic in three ways.
1. The reading material must be authentic: It must be the kind of material that students will need
and want to be able to read when traveling, studying abroad, or using the language in other
contexts outside the classroom. When selecting texts for student assignments, remember that the
difficulty of a reading text is less a function of the language, and more a function of the conceptual

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

difficulty and the task(s) that students are expected to complete. Simplifying a text by changing
the language often removes natural redundancy and makes the organization somewhat diff icult
for students to predict. This actually makes a text more difficult to read than if the original were
used. Rather than simplifying a text by changing its language, make it more approachable by
eliciting students' existing knowledge in pre -reading dis cussion, reviewing new vocabulary
before reading, and asking students to perform tasks that are within their competence, such as
skimming to get the main idea or scanning for specific information, before they begin intensive
reading.
2. The reading purpose must be authentic: Students must be reading for reasons that make sense
and have relevance to them. "Because the teacher assigned it" is not an authentic reason for
reading a text. To identify relevant reading purposes, ask students how they plan to use t he
language they are learning and what topics they are interested in reading and learning about. Give
them opportunities to choose their reading assignments, and encourage them to use the library,
the Internet, and foreign language newsstands and bookstore s to find other things they would like
to read.
3. The reading approach must be authentic: Students should read the text in a way that matches
the reading purpose, the type of text, and the way people normally read. This means that reading
aloud will take place only in situations where it would take place outside the classroom, such as
reading for pleasure. The majority of students' reading should be done silently.
Reading Aloud in the Classroom
Students do not learn to read by reading aloud. A person who r eads aloud and comprehends the
meaning of the text is coordinating word recognition with comprehension and speaking and
pronunciation ability in highly complex ways. Students whose language skills are limited are not
able to process at this level, and end up having to drop one or more of the elements. Usually the
dropped element is comprehension, and reading aloud becomes word calling: simply
pronouncing a series of words without regard for the meaning they carry individually and
together. Word calling is n ot productive for the student who is doing it, and it is boring for other
students to listen to.
There are two ways to use reading aloud productively in the language classroom. Read aloud to
your students as they follow along silently. You have the ability to use inflection and tone to help
them hear what the text is saying. Following along as you read will help students move from
word -by-word reading to reading in phrases and thought units, as they do in their first language.
Use the "read and look up" tec hnique. With this technique, a student reads a phrase or sentence
silently as many times as necessary, then looks up (away from the text) and tells you what the
phrase or sentence says. This encourages students to read for ideas, rather than for word
recog nition. A student's performance when reading aloud is not a reliable indicator of that
student's reading ability. A student who is perfectly capable of understanding a given text when
reading it silently may stumble when asked to combine comprehension with word recognition
and speaking ability in the way that reading aloud requires. In addition, reading aloud is a task
that students will rarely, if ever, need to do outside of the classroom. As a method of assessment,
therefore, it is not authentic: It does not test a student's ability to use reading to accomplish a
purpose or goal. However, reading aloud can help a teacher assess whether a student is "seeing"
word endings and other grammatical features when reading. To use reading aloud for this

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

purpose, ado pt the "read and look up" approach: Ask the student to read a sentence silently one
or more times, until comfortable with the content, then look up and tell you what it says. This
procedure allows the student to process the text, and lets you see the resul ts of that processing
and know what elements, if any, the student is missing.
Strategies for Developing Reading Skills
Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include
 Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo ca ptions to get a sense of
the structure and content of a reading selection
 Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content
and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and
purpose to make predi ctions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the
author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content
 Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify
text structure, confirm or question p redictions
 Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text
as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up
 Paraphrasing: stopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restati ng
the information and ideas in the text
Teachers can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways.
 By modeling the strategies aloud, talking through the processes of previewing,
predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphra sing. This shows students how the
strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read
word by word.
 By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and predicting
activities as preparation for in -class or out -of-class reading. Allocating class time to
these activities indicates their importance and value.
 By using cloze (fill in the blank) exercises to review vocabulary items. This helps
students learn to guess meaning from context.
 By encouraging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them
approach a reading assignment, and then talking after reading about what strategies
they actually used. This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies.
When language learners use readi ng strategies, they find that they can control the reading
experience, and they gain confidence in their ability to read the language.

Reading to Learn
Reading is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports learning in
multiple ways.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Reading to learn the language: Reading material is language input. By giving students a variety
of materials to read, teachers provide multiple opportunities for students to absorb vocabulary,
grammar, sentence structure, and discourse structur e as they occur in authentic contexts. Students
thus gain a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work
together to convey meaning.
Reading for content information: Students' purpose for reading in their native language is often
to obtain information about a subject they are studying, and this purpose can be useful in the
language learning classroom as well. Reading for content information in the language classroom
gives students both authentic reading material and an authen tic purpose for reading.
Reading for cultural knowledge and awareness: Reading everyday materials that are designed for
native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose
language they are studying. When studen ts have access to newspapers, magazines, and Web sites,
they are exposed to culture in all its variety, and monolithic cultural stereotypes begin to break
down.
When reading to learn, students need to follow four basic steps:
 Figure out the purpose for rea ding. Activate background knowledge of the topic in
order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies.
 Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the
rest. This selectivity enable s students to focus on specific items in the input and
reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short -term memory.
 Select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and
interactively. Students' comprehension imp roves and their confidence increases when
they use top -down and bottom -up skills simultaneously to construct meaning.
 Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed.
Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies a nd comprehension
failures, helping them learn to use alternate strategies.
Developing Reading Activities
Developing reading activities involves more than identifying a text that is "at the right level,"
writing a set of comprehension questions for students to answer after reading, handing out the
assignment and sending students away to do it. A fully -developed reading activity supports
students as readers through pre -reading, while -reading, and post -reading activities.
As you design reading tasks, keep in m ind that complete recall of all the information in a text is
an unrealistic expectation even for native speakers. Reading activities that are meant to increase
communicative competence should be success oriented and build up students' confidence in their
reading ability .
 Construct the reading activity around a purpose that has significance for the students.
 Make sure students understand what the purpose for reading is: to get the main idea,
obtain specific information, understand most or all of the message , enjoy a story, or

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

decide whether or not to read more. Recognizing the purpose for reading will help
students select appropriate reading strategies.
 Define the activity's instructional goal and the appropriate type of response
 In addition to the main purp ose for reading, an activity can also have one or more
instructional purposes, such as practicing or reviewing specific grammatical
constructions, introducing new vocabulary, or familiarizing students with the typical
structure of a certain type of text.
 Check the level of difficulty of the text
 How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction
conform to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural
chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the
information following an obvious organization (main ideas first, details and examples
second) are easier to follow.
 How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of
background knowledge due to cultu ral differences can create major comprehension
difficulties.
 Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may
find short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency
benefit from the natural re dundancy of authentic language.
 Does the text offer visual support to aid in reading comprehension? Visual aids such
as photographs, maps, and diagrams help students preview the content of the text,
guess the meanings of unknown words, and check comprehens ion while reading.
 Remember that the level of difficulty of a text is not the same as the level of difficulty
of a reading task. Students who lack the vocabulary to identify all of the items on a
menu can still determine whether the restaurant serves steak and whether they can
afford to order one.
Use pre -reading activities to prepare students for reading
The activities you use during pre -reading may serve as preparation in several ways. During pre –
reading you may:
 Assess students' background knowledge of t he topic and linguistic content of the text
 Give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text, or
activate the existing knowledge that the students possess
 Clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend t he passage
 Make students aware of the type of text they will be reading and the purpose(s) for
reading
 Provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for class discussion
activities

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Sample pre-reading activities:
 Using the title, subtitles, and divisions within the text to predict content and
organization or sequence of information
 Looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs and their captions
 Talking about the author's background, writing style, and usual topics
 Skimming to find the theme or main idea and eliciting related prior knowledge
 Reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures
 Reading over the comprehension questions to focus attention on finding that
information while reading
 Constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concep ts or words showing
how they are related)
 Doing guided practice with guessing meaning from context or checking
comprehension while reading
Pre-reading activities are most important at lower levels of language proficiency and at earlier
stages of reading in struction. As students become more proficient at using reading strategies, you
will be able to reduce the amount of guided pre -reading and allow students to do these activities
themselves.
In while -reading activities, students check their comprehension as they read. The purpose for
reading determines the appropriate type and level of comprehension.
 When reading for specific information, students need to ask themselves, have I
obtained the information I was looking for?
 When reading for pleasure, students need to ask themselves, Do I understand the story
line/sequence of ideas well enough to enjoy reading this?
 When reading for thorough understanding (intensive reading), students need to ask
themselves, Do I understand each main idea and how the author supports it? Does
what I'm reading agree with my predictions, and, if not, how does it differ? To check
comprehension in this situation, students may
 Stop at the end of each section to review and check their pre dictions, restate the main
idea and summarize the section
 Use the comprehension questions as guides to the text, stopping to answer them as
they read

Assessing Reading Proficiency
Reading ability is very difficult to assess accurately. In the communicativ e competence model, a
student's reading level is the level at which that student is able to use reading to accomplish

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

communication goals. This means that assessment of reading ability needs to be correlated with
purposes for reading.
Comprehension Questio ns
Teachers often use comprehension questions to test whether students have understood what they
have read. In order to test comprehension appropriately, these questions need to be coordinated
with the purpose for reading. If the purpose is to find specifi c information, comprehension
questions should focus on that information. If the purpose is to understand an opinion and the
arguments that support it, comprehension questions should ask about those points.
In everyday reading situations, readers have a pur pose for reading before they start. That is, they
know what comprehension questions they are going to need to answer before they begin reading.
To make reading assessment in the language classroom more like reading outside of the
classroom, therefore, allo w students to review the comprehension questions before they begin to
read the test passage.
Finally, when the purpose for reading is enjoyment, comprehension questions are beside the
point. As a more authentic form of assessment, have students talk or wri te about why they found
the text enjoyable and interesting (or not).
Authentic Assessment
In order to provide authentic assessment of students' reading proficiency, a post -listening activity
must reflect the real -life uses to which students might put infor mation they have gained through
reading.
 It must have a purpose other than assessment
 It must require students to demonstrate their level of reading comprehension by
completing some task
To develop authentic assessment activities, consider the type of resp onse that reading a particular
selection would elicit in a non -classroom situation. For example, after reading a weather report,
one might decide what to wear the next day; after reading a set of instructions, one might repeat
them to someone else; after reading a short story, one might discuss the story line with friends.
Use this response type as a base for selecting appropriate post -reading tasks. You can then
develop a checklist or rubric that will allow you to evaluate each student's comprehension of
specific parts of the text.

2.3 TEACHING LISTENING

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently. It has been estimated that adults
spend almost half their communication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90%
of their in -school information through listening to teachers and to one another. Often, however,
language learners do not recognize the level of effort that goes into developing listening ability.
Far from passively receiving and recording aural input, listen ers actively involve themselves in
the interpretation of what they hear, bringing their own background knowledge and linguistic
knowledge to bear on the information contained in the aural text. Not all listening is the same;
casual greetings, for example, require a different sort of listening capability than do academic
lectures. Language learning requires intentional listening that employs strategies for identifying
sounds and making meaning from them. Listening involves a sender (a person, radio, televisi on),
a message, and a receiver (the listener). Listeners often must process messages as they come,
even if they are still processing what they have just heard, without backtracking or looking ahead.
In addition, listeners must cope with the sender's choice of vocabulary, structure, and rate of
delivery. The complexity of the listening process is magnified in second language contexts, where
the receiver also has incomplete control of the language.
Given the importance of listening in language learning and te aching, it is essential for language
teachers to help their students become effective listeners. In the communicative approach to
language teaching, this means modeling listening strategies and providing listening practice in
authentic situations: those th at learners are likely to encounter when they use the language outside
the classroom. There are quite a few similarities between listening and reading. Hockly
(2007:104 -105) summaries that: Both imply the processing and comprehension of either spoken
or w ritten discourse, and therefore draw on knowledge of spoken and written grammar. Both
imply knowledge of different text types, and the fact that there are corresponding ways of
listening and reading. […] Schematic knowledge is clearly important for both ac tivities, as are
bottom -up and top -down processing. McDonough and Shaw (2003:118), however, present some
particularities that apply only to listening, one of them being that the listener cannot go back to
what has been said, unless it has been recorded or purposely repeated; various sounds in the
background can interfere with the understanding of the message being conveyed; verbal speech
is often accompanied by visual aid and is grammatically less complicated; there is also a tendency
to change the topic or leave sentences unfinished. They go on to explain that authentic spoken
language varies: […] in degrees of formality, in length, in the speed of delivery, in the accent of
the speaker, in the role of the listener, and according to whether it is face to f ace or mediated in
some way (ibid:119). All these facts prove that even though listening is categori zed as a receptive
skill, it is very closely linked to speaking, since the listener's ability to interpret the spoken
message is influenced by the factors governing it. What is actually involved in listening?
According to Vandergrift (1999:168): It is a complex, active process in which the listener must
discriminate between sounds, understand vocabulary and structures, interpret stress and
intonation, reta in what was gathered in all the above, and interpret it within the immediate as
well as the larger sociocultural context of the utterance. Because of 'the transient nature of the
language material' (McDonough and Shaw 2003:119) listening requires the lis tener to recognize
and process both the micro -skills involving sound together with those involving meaning in order
to achieve comprehension (ibid:120 -121). The role the listener plays in a given situation is also
important, whether he/she is only the reci pient of language in the so -called 'transactional speech',
referred to by Brown and Yule (1983a, in McDonough and Shaw:119), or 'both listener and
speaker' in 'collaborative' speech, as referred to by Rost (1990,1994, in ibid) In the latter speech

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

the list ener plays a role 'in shaping and controlling the direction in which it moves' (ibid). The
listener must also be aware of features of spoken discourse, such as Grice's (1975) politeness and
co-operative principles, which may influence comprehension. Let us also not forget the
background knowledge that a learner has, as well as his/her schema, which influence how he/she
will interpret and react to the spoken message (McDonough and Shaw 2003). Listening in the
young learner classroom is a very demanding skill to master mainly because of the different
obstacles the learners have to overcome during the listening process.
2.3.1 Teaching listening : problems and solutions
Some of the problems in teaching listening include the 'speed' of the listening material, which,
as Underwood (1989, in McDonough and Shaw 2003:125) points out, cannot be controlled. He
also points out that some learners have a limited vocabulary and atte mpt to understand every
word, but fail to recognize 'signals' (ibid). Lack of background knowledge causes an even greater
void between the listener and the listening material and learners may find it difficult to
concentrate in L2 (ibid). As Ridgway (2000: 181) points out, they listen with only 'half and ear'.
Another important matter is the listening material itself. It is important not to use texts that are
too long or too advanced for the learners' level of knowledge. According to Field (2000:186),
when w eak L2 listeners and readers are confronted 'with texts of ever – increasing complexity',
they simply 'give up'. To overcome this problem Thornbury (2001:59) advocates the use of
'material that is within students’ linguistic competence', or to 'adapt it acc ordingly'.
It often takes a lot of effort on the part of the teacher to keep the learners motivated throughout
the entire listening activity. Pre -listening activities are of major importance in activating the
learners' 'knowledge schema' (McDonough and S haw 2003:127). What is important here is to set
the scene, so that the pupils can build an image in their minds of what they are about to listen to.
'It is also an oppportunity to pre -teach essential vocabulary and provide clear task orientation'
(Hockly 2 007:115). Underwood's (1989:112 -114) examples of 'while' listening activities are
similar to those in my teaching context. The type of activity used, however, depends a lot on the
listening material itself. Pupils with limited vocabulary often work in pair s together with better
pupils, to get as much out of the listening as possible. I will pause from time to time to allow for
reflection. Comprehension questions are used to check the pupils' general understanding of the
material. However, I often add 'compr ehending' questions as well, a strategy advocated by
Thornbury (2001:59), whose answers cannot be found on surface level, but require a deeper
understanding of the text. This usually triggers discussion which can be very interesting. The
post-listening act ivities in my teaching context can range from easy exercises like filling in the
blanks or role play to more demanding ones like writing an ending or a description of one of the
characters. The level of difficulty of the activity depends on the linguistic ability of the learners
themselves.
Pronunciation of the listening material is a key to understanding it. According to Underwood
(1989:98) 'students need to practise listening to the kind of speech they will actually encounter in
real life’. Since Englis h is becoming an international language, Andrewes (1993:48), as
summarized by Hockly (2007:112), considers it wise for listeners to experience 'non -native
speaker accents' as well. The listening material I use offers a fair amount of different accents,
even though the British one still prevails. To compensate for that I sometimes invite foreign
speakers to give talks in order to expose the learners to as many accents as possible. Participating
in international projects has given pupils the opportunity to pr actise not only the listening skill,

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

but all the others as well and become 'participants' in real encounters, not just 'overhearers', as
mentioned by Hockly (2007:107). Giving pupils frequent opportunities to interact in the target
language, such as in cl ass debates or group presentations on topics of interest forces them to start
thinking in English as well.

Strategies for Developing Listening Skills
Language learning depends on listening. Listening provides the aural input that serves as the basis
for language acquisition and enables learners to interact in spoken communication.
Effective language teachers show students how they can adjust their listening behavior to deal
with a variety of situations, types of input, and listening purposes. They help st udents develop a
set of listening strategies and match appropriate strategies to each listening situation.
Listening Strategies
Listening strategies are techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension and
recall of listening input. L istening strategies can be classified by how the listener processes the
input.
Top-down strategies are listener based; the listener taps into background knowledge of the topic,
the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background k nowledge activates
a set of expectations that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come
next. Top -down strategies include:
 listening for the main idea
 predicting
 drawing inferences
 summarizing
Bottom -up strategies are text based; the listener relies on the language in the message, that is, the
combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning. Bottom -up strategies include
 listening for specific details
 recognizing cognates
 recognizing word -order patterns
Strateg ic listeners also use metacognitive strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate their listening.
 They plan by deciding which listening strategies will serve best in a particular
situation.
 They monitor their comprehension and the effectiveness of the selected strategies.
 They evaluate by determining whether they have achieved their listening
comprehension goals and whether the combination of listening strategies selected was
an effective one.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Listening for Meaning
To extract meaning from a listening te xt, students need to follow four basic steps:
 Figure out the purpose for listening. Activate background knowledge of the topic in
order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate listening strategies.
 Attend to the parts of the listening inp ut that are relevant to the identified purpose and
ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input
and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short -term memory in
order to recognize it.
 Select top -down and bottom -up strategies that are appropriate to the listening task and
use them flexibly and interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their
confidence increases when they use top -down and bottom -up strategies
simultaneously to construct me aning.
 Check comprehension while listening and when the listening task is over. Monitoring
comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures,
directing them to use alternate strategies.
Developing Listening Activities
As you de sign listening tasks, keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in an aural
text is an unrealistic expectation to which even native speakers are not usually held. Listening
exercises that are meant to train should be success -oriented and bui ld up students' confidence in
their listening ability.
 Construct the listening activity around a contextualized task.
 Contextualized listening activities approximate real -life tasks and give the listener an
idea of the type of information to expect and wha t to do with it in advance of the actual
listening. A beginning level task would be locating places on a map (one way) or
exchanging name and address information (two way). At an intermediate level
students could follow directions for assembling something (one way) or work in pairs
to create a story to tell to the rest of the class (two way).
 Define the activity's instructional goal and type of response.
Each activity should have as its goal the improvement of one or more specific listening skills. A
listen ing activity may have more than one goal or outcome, but be careful not to overburden the
attention of beginning or intermediate listeners.
Recognizing the goal(s) of listening comprehension in each listening situation will help students
select appropriat e listening strategies.
 Identification: Recognizing or discriminating specific aspects of the message, such as
sounds, categories of words, morphological distinctions
 Orientation: Determining the major facts about a message, such as topic, text type,
setting

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 Main idea comprehension: Identifying the higher -order ideas
 Detail comprehension: Identifying supporting details
 Replication: Reproducing the message orally or in writing
Check the level of difficulty of the listening text.
 How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction
conform to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural
chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the
information following an obvious or ganization (main ideas first, details and
examples second) are easier to follow.
 How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of
background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension
difficulties.
 Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may
find short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency
benefit from the natural redundancy of the language.
 Does the text involve multiple individ uals and objects? Are they clearly
differentiated? It is easier to understand a text with a doctor and a patient than one
with two doctors, and it is even easier if they are of the opposite sex. In other words,
the more marked the differences, the easier t he comprehension.
 Does the text offer visual support to aid in the interpretation of what the listeners hear?
Visual aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images in a video help
contextualize the listening input and provide clues to meaning.
Use pr e-listening activities to prepare students for what they are going to hear or view. The
activities chosen during pre -listening may serve as preparation for listening in several ways.
Durin g pre -listening the teacher may
 assess students' background knowledg e of the topic and linguistic content of the text
 provide students with the background knowledge necessary for their comprehension
of the listening passage or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess
 clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage
 make students aware of the type of text they will be listening to, the role they will
play, and the purpose(s) for which they will be listening
 provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for backgro und reading or
class discussion activities

Sample pre-listening activities:
 looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures
 reading something relevant
 constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concepts or words showing
how they are related)
 predicting the content of the listening text
 going over the directions or instructions for the activity
 doing guided practice
Match while -listening activities to the instructional goal, the listening purpose, and students'
proficiency level.
While -listening activities relate directly to the text, and students do them do during or
immediately after the time they are listening. Keep these points in mind when plann ing while –
listening activities:
 If students are t o complete a written task during or immediately after listening, allow
them to read through it before listening. Students need to devote all their attention to
the listening task. Be sure they understand the instructions for the written task before
listeni ng begins so that they are not distracted by the need to figure out what to do.
 Keep writing to a minimum during listening. Remember that the primary goal is
comprehension, not production. Having to write while listening may distract students
from this pri mary goal. If a written response is to be given after listening, the task can
be more demanding.
 Organize activities so that they guide listeners through the text. Combine global
activities such as getting the main idea, topic, and setting with selective l istening
activities that focus on details of content and form.
 Use questions to focus students' attention on the elements of the text crucial to
comprehension of the whole. Before the listening activity begins, have students
review questions they will answ er orally or in writing after listening. Listening for
the answers will help students recognize the crucial parts of the message.
 Use predicting to encourage students to monitor their comprehension as they listen.
Do a predicting activity before listenin g, and remind students to review what they are
hearing to see if it makes sense in the context of their prior knowledge and what they
already know of the topic or events of the passage.
 Give immediate feedback whenever possible. Encourage students to exami ne how or
why their responses were incorrect.

Sample while -listening activities
 listening with visuals

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 filling in graphs and charts
 following a route on a map
 checking off items in a list
 listening for the gist
 searching for specific clues to meaning
 completing cloze (fill -in) exercises
 distinguishing between formal and informal registers
Assessing Listening Proficiency
You can use post-listening activities to check comprehension, evaluate listening skills and use
of listening strategies, and extend th e knowledge gained to other contexts. A post -listening
activity may relate to a pre -listening activity, such as predicting; may expand on the topic or the
language of the listening text; or may transfer what has been learned to reading, speaking, or
writin g activities.
In order to provide authentic assessment of students' listening proficiency, a post -listening
activity must reflect the real -life uses to which students might put information they have gained
through listening.
 It must have a purpose other th an assessment
 It must require students to demonstrate their level of listening comprehension by
completing some task.
To develop authentic assessment activities, consider the type of response that listening to a
particular selection would elicit in a non -classroom situation. For example, after listening to a
weather report one might decide what to wear the next day; after listening to a set of instructions,
one might repeat them to someone else; after watching and listening to a play or video, one
might d iscuss the story line with friends.
Use this response type as a base for selecting appropriate post -listening tasks. You can then
develop a checklist or rubric that will allow you to evaluate each student's comprehension of
specific parts of the aural text . (See Assessing Learning for more on checklists and rubrics.)
For example, for listening practice you have students listen to a weather report. Their purpose for
listening is to be able to advise a friend what to wear the next day. As a post -listening act ivity,
you ask students to select appropriate items of clothing from a collection you have assembled, or
write a note telling the friend what to wear, or provide oral advice to another student (who has
not heard the weather report). To evaluate listening c omprehension, you use a checklist
containing specific features of the forecast, marking those that are reflected in the student's
clothing recomme ndations.

2.4 CONCLUSION

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Language skills are not separate entities. They frequently overlap and influence eac h other
throughout the learning process. Reading and listening efficiency in L2 is influenced by the
learners' schema, which, according to Cook (1997:86), 'can help explain students' comprehension
problems'; by the learner's linguistic ability and by the r eading and listening material. Learners
have 'individual learning styles', according to Field (2000:187), and so the strategies used by the
teacher in achieving comprehension are vitally important. In teaching the language skills a greater
focus should be put on the needs of the learners and their purposes for learning the language.
Reading is a process by which a reader gives meaning to text. In order to manage this
objective…“Reading skills need to be fostered so that learners can cope with more and more
sophisticated texts and tasks, and deal with them efficiently: quickly, appropriately and skilfully”
(Penny Ur. Page 147, 1996) In fact, some readers rely on a series of skills which they may already
possess in their native tongue. For instance, an adult reader may read a text knowing its purpose
and meaning i.e. he will be able to give or request information, persuade, criticise, to give pleasure
to or entertain. Further, they can make logical predictions as they read because of pre -existing
experience or knowledge. This implies comprehensible language and familiar content; but the
problem is that a young English language learner may not have these skills or may be developing
them at the same time as learning a new language. This will require the adoption of differing texts
for reading which should be relevant, useful, interesting and practical for learners. Choosing
motivating texts demands the teacher to have developed a rapport with learners and be aware of
learner’s social and cultural background, inter ests and life experiences as a prerequisite for
appropriate selection.
It is then possible to use the selected texts to develop activities addressing skills development in
vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation. There is a great
controversy centered on whether the texts should be authentic or not. The problem is that if we
give low level students authentic material it would be very difficult for them to understand, it will
be demotivating and frustrating. So, a balance between real English and students´ abilities and
interests has to be established. Besides, some linguists have proved that adult learners can develop
their reading skills on any type of text created or authentic, the essential requisite is the exposure
to a diversity of text genres in order to keep these learners interested as well as expediting the
development of reading fluency. For techniques concerning the teaching of the receptive skills it
is possible to propose some recommendations. The teacher’s mai n task is to get familiar with the
different types of reading and listening activities. In the case of reading, it is possible to mention:
skimming, scanning, receptive/intensive reading and extensive reading. Skimming occurs when
students examine a text r apidly with occasional periods of close inspection, i. e., quickly running
their eyes over the text to get the general idea. In the case of scanning students are locating
information (e. g.: a date or a name of a person or place). So, students are quickly searching for
some particular pieces of information. Receptive/intensive reading means a careful reading aimed
to discover exactly what the author seeks to convey; often reading for information; readers need
to understand linguistic and semantic detail and pay attention to the text. At last, we speak about
extensive reading when readers read for pleasure; readers do not need to understand all details of
the text; speed and skill in getting the general idea are most important. As regards listening, the
objec tive of listening comprehension practice in the classroom is that students should learn to
function successfully in real life listening situations. So, it is important to examine what real life
listening is and what paths the listener needs to be able to f ollow in order to comprehend

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

satisfactorily in a variety of situations. One of the most important characteristics of real -life
listening situations is the use of Informal spoken discourse.
Most of the spoken language we listen to is informal and spontaneou s: the speaker is making it
up as he goes along. Besides, discourse is usually broken into short chunks. In a conversation, for
example, people take turns to speak, the vocabulary is often colloquial and it tends to be
ungrammatical; unfinished clauses are common. There is also noise. The speaker uses
redundancy; it includes repetition, paraphrase, self – correction, the use of fillers. A great
disadvantage is that discourse will not be repeated verbatim; normally it is heard only once,
though this may be co mpensated for by the redundancy of the discourse. Another characteristic
is related to the listener expectation and purpose. The listener almost knows in advance something
about what is going to be said: who is speaking, for example, or the basic topic. Li nked to this is
his purpose: we normally have some objective in listening beyond understanding for its own sake,
and we expect to hear something relevant to our purpose. In this way students will listen
selectively for significant information. Besides, as it occurs in reading, learners should have in
advance some idea about the kind of text they are going to hear for them to activate their previous
knowledge and concepts of facts, scenes, events, etc. and this will enable them to build
anticipatory “scaffol ding” to understand. Apart from this, the task should involve intermittent
responses during the listening; learners should be encouraged to respond while listening, not to
wait to the end. This may be useful because sometimes students feel overloaded with incoming
information, so they should learn to pick up what is essential and to ignore the rest. There is a
practical three -stage model which can be used to work with any of the receptive skills mentioned
before. The first stage proposed by this model is ca lled “Pre reading/listening”. Students should
be tuned into a text so that they know what to expect. It is important to provide a lot of pre –
listening/reading support to make students confident enough to listen/read effectively. The aim
is to prepare stude nts for listening/reading by activating prior knowledge and linguistic necessary
for comprehending the text. For instance, lead in to topic, predicting, speculating about content,
discussion of topic or situation, written exercises related to the text to c ome, revising essential
linguistic items, etc. The second stage is “While reading/listening”. The aim is to help students
develop the reading/listening sub -skills necessary to extract message from written/spoken
language. Teachers should help students deve lop the skills applied in real situations. Some
examples are: marking, checking, arranging items un pictures, following a route in a map,
spotting differences or mistakes, seeking specific items of information, completing charts or
grids, drawing pictures, etc. Finally, the last stage called “Post -reading/listening”. The aim is to
embrace all the work done after the listening/reading. Language work such as tasks related to
lexis, syntax and pronunciation found in the text is a clear example of this stage.
To conclude, it is possible to say that the teachers´ task is to improve and enhance their students´
comprehension and to develop reading/listening skills appropriate to a variety of situations and
purposes. Reading is crucial because it is only by bec oming a fluent reader that the English
language learner can develop their creative writing skills; as I said before, it provides models for
English writing as well as practice on vocabulary and grammar. In order to help students become
successful readers, teachers should select different texts according to the students´ needs and
interests. Besides, the text should be accessible; the language should be comprehensible and the
students should be familiar with the content in order to apply their own background knowledge.
As regards listening, it is an active process since the mind actively engages in making meaning.
It is therefore our duty as teachers to ensure that the materials we use are comprehensible to our

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

young learners, as well as within the range of w hat they are developmentally ready for. It is
important to take into account that listening can be stressful, so in order to maximize the potential
for acquisition of language, we need to ensure that our young learners are not stressed about this
process. Learners need purposes and intentions for them to decide how to look for the information
they need. In my opinion, it would be a good idea to plan our activities based on the three -stage
model mentioned above.

3. USING TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

There are several ways in which technology can be used to improve reading ability. Most simple
reading texts are also very primary in content. Older children may consider themselves too old to
be reading such primary content books. Compu ters, however can increase the interest level for
older students while keeping the text simple and easy to read. Another benefit of using computers
for reading instruction is that the computer offers immediate feedback on performance. They also
can provide added practice when necessary. According to Case and Truscott (1999), students
have been able to improve their sight word vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Computer
based reading instruction also allows for "increased interaction with texts, attent ion to individual
needs, and increased independence through an ability to read texts they would not otherwise be
able to read" (Case & Truscott, 1999).
Technology can also be used to improve parent involvement in their child's education while
improving the parents' literacy as well. Landerholm, Karr, and Munshi (2000) created a three year
program in Chicago with four specific goals to help parents: become involved in the school
community and become comfortable on campus, enjoy reading and writing alone and with their
children, understand science and computer technology, and improve their own literacy. This
project was as much for the parents as for the child. The computers were the drawing factor for
the parents to become involved in the program, though they were not used initially. The program
began by using other forms of technology such as photographs. Photos were taken at field trips
and special activities. Parents and children then created a type of memory book using the photos
and written text about the pictures. This eventually evolved into scanning the photos and typing
the text onto the pages.
In the Landerholm, Karr, and Mushi project, students also created book reports with their parents
on the computer. Current software allows for much creativity, such as including sounds, video,
clip art and photos into the text of the report. Doing the book reports encouraged the children to
read more and more books. One child in the program read nearly 300 books in one year
(Landerholm, et al. 2000).
Computer sof tware and games provide many fun opportunities for students to practice literacy
skills. There are numerous software packages for improving spelling, phonics skills, grammar
and sight word vocabulary. When English Language Learners are learning their secon d language,
any and all language experiences are valuable to assist in reading ability
Chun & Plass (1996) investigated how reading comprehension can be facilitated with a
multimedia application for language learning. They studied the effects of a dynamic visual
advance organizer on the macro level and the effects of multimedia annotations for single
vocabulary items on the micro level. Furthermore, they examined the relationship between
vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. The results of their study indicated that the
visual advance organizer does aid in overall comprehension and that annot ations of vocabulary
items consisting of both visual and verbal information help more than verbal information only.
Also, a moderate correlation between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension was
found. Chun & Plass claimed that the results support the dual coding theory and its extension to
multimedia learning and emphasize the significance of visual information in addition to verbal
information to support both top -down and bottom -up processing in reading in a foreign language.
In another study to improve reading speed and comprehension of ESL students using computers,
Culver (1991) implemented a computer reading program to determine the exit and entrance scores

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

of ESL college students and to find out if their reading speed and comprehension would i mprove.
The results showed some improvements for the majority of students in the target group with an
overall increase of 3.9 grade level in reading rate. The results show important information about
the effect of increasing reading speed on student compre hension as a result of employing
computers. It was concluded that the computer was a good tool for improving students' reading
rate despite the fact that increased speed did not lead to increased levels of comprehension for
some students.
Chun D. & Plass J . (1997) based on underlying theories of L2 reading comprehension and text
comprehension with multimedia, discussed "how L2 reading research is focusing increasingly on
the cognitive processes involved in reading, that is, the interaction of lower -level, b ottom -up
processes such as vocabulary acquisition with higher level, top -down processes such as activating
prior knowledge" (p.60). They merged this understanding with existing research on learning with
technology to find out how students with different le arning abilities put together "verbal and
visual information". Their goal, in this study, was not to determine the effectiveness of
multimedia on reading comprehension, but rather the learners who may benefit from multimedia
instruction.
Whereas Chun & Pla ss used the underlying theory of L2 reading comprehension with multimedia,
Preisinger, R. et al., (1988) used the schema theory as a basis to evaluate reading software
programs. They developed criteria and questions to evaluate: 1) interactive capabilities of reading
software (e.g. its flexibility, response to student errors, and ability to make a distinction between
major and unimportant errors), 2) information processing (e.g. support of the use of prediction
and problem solving strategies, use of text -based activities in the context of a reading passage,
and encouragement of analyzing texts), 3) background knowledge (e.g. building schemata
through pre -reading activities), and 4) general software construction and implementation. The
goal of this study was to develop an evaluation tool based in light of a theory to help teachers
choose the right reading programs for their students.
In drawing conclusion about the use of computers for reading instruction, previous research
clearly supported the idea that comp uter-based instruction facilitates students' reading
comprehension and increases their reading speed. This conclusion is supported by the results of
the preceding studies and a series of other studies conducted by Kulik, Bangert, & Williams, 1983
who found significant increases in students' reading speed and comprehension across studies of
computer -assisted reading instruction. These results should encourage ESL reading teachers to
use computers in their classrooms not because they are "new technology" as r eported by
Wellington, 1995, but rather because of the positive results they bring to students' achievements.
 MacReader
Mac Reader by John McVicker, 1992 is Macintosh based and mainly teaches reading. It can be
used for many other purposes such as using it for exams, homework, or group projects. It is the
teacher who decides what the program should be used for. The program is a great supplement
for ESL teachers and can provide a tremendous benefit to ESL intermediate students when they
use it in their free time or when assigned by teacher. The skills that this software can be used for
are reading, vocabulary building and writing. Other skills could indirectly be targeted by the use
of this program (i.e. listening). For example, students can take notes while the teacher reads the
text and start the exercise using notes took down during listening.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

As for the reading exercises, when students click on "exercises", a pop up window gives six
options: Read, timed reading, paced reading, cloze, sentence jumble, and paragraph jumble. The
program is based on one group of exercises that are accessed by two icons found under the group
"MacReader". One of these two icons is a glossary for adding vocabulary. Teachers need to have
a password to access control programs that are used to author the texts or add to the vocabulary
lists. The "Notes" icon accesses students' scores and is available for students as well as for
teachers.
Exercises:
Read:
This exercise is previously authored. The teacher can choose the topics and deci de the level of
difficulty of texts. The student is assigned a text, prepared by the teacher or randomly chooses a
text that is part of the software. Here, the student reads through the text and when the first page
is finished, two arrows lead to turning the page to continue the reading until the text is finished.
The back arrow allows students to go back to revise or relate the text parts. The title of the text is
shown a t the top of the new page as:" Current Text "Title…".. The session name ''Read'' is shown
at the top left corner of the program. If students complete the text and click on the right button, a
pop up message asks if they are interested in another exercise. Another feature of this program is
the capability of defining new vocabulary by just clicking on any of them.
Timed Reading:
This exercise is for reading speed. Certain topics are provided and students can choose what
interested them the most.
Paced Reading:
This exercise enables students to choose the pace that fits their reading abili ty using a bar
indicating the numbers of words per minute. Another button appears beside the bar to stop
the reading. It will be indicated in the notes that the reader stopped the paced reading. As a
result, the round will not be counted but canceled. stud ents might experiment until an
appropriate speed is found.
Cloze:
This exercise is a reading comprehension exercise, which asks students to replace missing
words. When students select CLOZE from the exercise button, they should see the dialog box
below:
Delete one word every HOW MANY?
Enter a number between 2 and 15
(OK) (Cancel)
Student may type a number between 2 and 15 in the dialog box and click ''OK''. CLOZE exercises
replace words from the text with numbers. If a student chooses the number 5, for ins tance, every
fifth word in the text will be replaced with a number. Thus, the bigger the number, the easier the
exercise. To work on the exercise, students will need to click a number in the text to select it,
then will type the missing word. students can press the 'return' key or click the 'answer' button to

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

check their work. If students need help, they can click the "Hint" button, which will show three
options:
By number of letters
By showing the first letter
By definition
Sentence Jumble:
This exercise is also for reading comprehension. It automatically mixes up the sentences from
any paragraph a student selects. As with most of this program activities, the paragraph which
is used can be from the software or be prepared by the teacher befor e hand. The computer
does the jumble of sentences automatically and randomly.
Paragraph Jumble:
Paragraph Jumble is a similar exercise to the Sentence Jumble above. It just handles
paragraphs. This exercise requires more advanced students unless the texts are abridged or
chosen from simple language resources.
Glossary:
Besides authoring the texts to be used for the exercise, teachers can also add vocabulary to
the program using the icon "Glossary" in the program group. This feature helps teachers
customize the program to fit their students' needs. EAP programs could utilize this feature to
serve their goals like teaching their students certain lists of vocabulary. This feature adds a
great deal to the merits of this program
 StoryBoard
Another program that is effective when used as an ESL reading activity is a program called
Storyboard published by Wida Software. The program is a classical text reconstruction. Teacher
scrambles the text, and learners rebuild it by guessing words. In doing so, a wide range of
language skills are involved.
Storyboard is a popular and flexible activity, equally at home, in the classroom, and at the
computer lab center. It is part of a software package including nine other different programs like:
Spell Master, Match Master, Choice Master…etc.
Storyboard is a program that teachers can use to improve their students' reading strategies, build
up their vocabulary, and help them practice prediction and guessing. It a is good supplement for
teachers to reinforce their regular activitie s. Like many CALL programs, this program provides
change to the class's regular activities. Teachers can use this program to support their reading
classes and train students to use reading strategies. Students become better readers using their
guessing abi lities.
Each word in the text is replaced by small squares; one square representing each letter. Learners,
working individually or in a small group, reconstruct the text, one word at a time. If they guess
correctly, all the occurrences of the word in the t ext appear. There is no need to start at the
beginning of the text. Learners start by entering the words they feel sure about, such as 'grammar

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

words', like "the". As each word is found, the structure of the text becomes clearer and further
guesses become easier. Teachers can save and access their students' files. Unlike Mac Reader,
students' scores are saved and cannot be changed by students. If a student for example decides to
look at the text as a whole, the program will automatically detect that action and save it for teacher
to notice.
Program Overview:
Storyboard consists of two programs. The first program is called "The student Program"
which is designated for the students' use. The second program is for the teacher to author the
texts and all the rel evant functions like the introduction, hints, and help. Following is a brief
description of how these programs work.
The student program :
When the student runs the program, a list of titles, which are supposedly prepared by the
teacher or included in the s oftware, appears on the screen entitled: "open file". When a topic
is chosen, another screen is displayed showing the introduction for the chosen topic. The
student will then choose one of the following choices:
Hide all Words
Show given words
Cancel
The first choice, displays the text with only squares (representing words) and circles (for
words about which a hint can be provided. All words are hidden but the punctuation marks.
Small windows show the following in the margin of the hidden text:
Last guess ……. Words found ……….. Guess a word: ………
The second choice "Show given Words" shows the text with all the words, which the teacher
has decided to show to the students according to the lesson plan. The same interface will be
displayed.
The st udents write the word in the space provided after clicking the hidden word to be guessed.
Four options are listed vertically on the right of the screen showing:
Letter: to know a certain letter after assigning it by the cursor.
Word: to know a certain word after choosing it by the cursor.
Hint: to know more about a word that is replaced by circles.
Text: to show the whole text.
The main Menu:
File, See, Options, Window, and Configure are the items that appear in the main menu. Under
each of those items, the student should find different functions needed to run the exercise and
check results.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Any move that the student makes is saved automatically and could be checked by the student
or the teacher at any time. To review the scores, a student can choose "scor e" from "see" in
the main menu.
The Teacher Program
This program is basically for the teacher to author the texts and prepare lessons. The program
allows teachers to do the following:
Text authoring:
Teacher can import authentic material or just type and sa ve them in the program.
Help:
Three help options (help 1, help 2, help 3) are written by the teacher in a way that fits the lesson
topic and purpose.
Given words:
In order to allow some flexibility to the lesson, the teacher may show some words to the
students according to the lesson plan.
Hints.
The teacher can provide some hints to help students complete the exercises.
The main Menu:
The main menu includes: files, edit, authoring, search, window, and configure. This menu is
different from the student prog ram's menu. The authorin g item is the main difference. S tudent
files could be saved and reviewed under the item "File".
 Reading Galaxy
Reading Galaxy is another program that can be used for ESL intermediate students. In this
program, students explore great literature while developing important reading and thinking skills.
The program state s the following uses :
Reading Comprehension : students construct meaning by interacting with a text, for example:
reading the text to answer multiple choice questions (in G anymede Squares Game) reading the
text to determine the accuracy of alien claims (in To Tale the Truth Game).reading about authors
(alien authors) to answer questions about them (in Metro Match Game).Vocabulary Building:
students understand new words in co ntext and remembering them, for example: selecting correct
answers (in Ganymede Squares Game).decoding secret phrases (in Stump the Human
Game).decoding hidden phrases (in Meteor Match Game).
Reading for detail: students identify supporting information in a text, for example: reading alien
claims first, and then going to the text for the answer (in To Tale the Truth).
-reading texts to answer questions (in Beat the Krok).
Literary Appreciation: Students understand and appreciate literary conventions such as
character, setting, and plot, for example:

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 answering questions about characters (in Charlotte's Web in Ganymede Squares).
 answering questions about the setting of the Wizard of OZ (in Beat th e Krok).
 answering questions about the plot of secret of the Andes (in To Tale the Truth).
Using Context Clues: students use surrounding words and sentences to guess the meaning of
new words, for example:
 matching answers to clues (in Ganymede Squers).
 filling in blanks in hidden phrases (in Beat the Krok)
 completing secret phrases (in Stump the Human).
Follow Directions: students attend to detail in order to accomplish tasks, for example :
 reading and following game instructions (in Ganymede Squares).
 following audio instructions (in Meteor Match)
 reading clues (in To Tale the Truth).
Logical Thinking : students use deductive reasoning and inference to understand meaning, for
example:
 determining the accuracy of alien claims (in To Tale the Truth).
 figurin g out what's wrong with the picture (in Stump the Human).
Though this program is not designed for ESL students, ESL reading teachers can make use of it
with ESL intermediate students. The program can be used for various types of reading purposes
such as vo cabulary building, reading for specific information, and problem solving. It can be also
used for listening comprehension where students listen to a passage read by the computer and
then answer questions asked by the computer. Though this program can tackl e these skills, the
main purpose of the program is to develop the reading comprehension skill in the first place.
In a reading lesson, the Reading Galaxy program can be used as pre -reading, reading, and post
reading activities. For the pre -reading activity , the teacher may need to connect the computer to
an LCD panel to project the text for students. The teacher then chooses one of the passages that
are available among the program options such as the (Warst of the Wurst ) which has a passage
of four episode s. By clicking the buttons Read Passage and then Voice, the computer will start
reading the text highlighting each sentence as it reads. students may take notes while listening.
The teacher then asks students to talk about what they understood from the pas sage using their
notes. This would stimulate students' interest and activate their prior knowledge of the content.
For the reading activity, students will have four minutes to skim the four episodes, one minute
for each episode, to find out the main idea. They will be given another 10 minutes to read it again
slowly and carefully. The teacher then commands the computer to test students' comprehension
by asking them questions related to the passage they have been reading. Clicking the button where
it reads " BEGIN" can do this.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

For the post reading activity, students can play games related to the reading passage. Such
activities would facilitate the students' reading and comprehension of a text. Activities like these
can be done from time to time by taking st udents to the laboratory or by bringing a portable
computer to the classroom connected to an LCD panel which would allow the cla ss to see the
text to be read. Students can practice these activities and other similar activities individually in
the lab. The teacher can assign one of the laboratory computers to be used for this purpose
Conclusion
Little has been achieved on computer integration into ESL curricula in general and ESL reading
in particular. Some promising research in the field, however, is already showing some progress.
The findings of such research efforts are encouraging and should be of great benefit to teachers
who choose to use computers in their classrooms. Today's teachers cannot let technological
revolution pass by without using it t o serve their language teaching goals. Having said that,
teachers are advised to consider what the computer industry offers for their classrooms, and
should, consequently, seek the necessary training to use them efficiently. ESL reading software
programs s hould not be restricted to only classroom use. Since teachers seek to help their students
become independent learners, these programs are very useful for teachers as well as students to
achieve that goal.
Although reading is based on the technology of wri ting and printing, the history of reading
instruction reflects a recurrent interest in the application of other technologies, for example,
reading pacers, tachistoscopes, and even television. The use of computers in reading instruction
dates only to the mi d­1960s with the work of Suppes, Atkinson, and their colleagues. For
example, Atkinson and Hansen (1966­1967) published the first report of the use of computers in
teaching reading. The current review was undertaken to examine research that used computers to
deliver reading instruction to determine what the results have been, what the potential is, and
what questions remain.
Background
Despite the current intense interest in computer technology, there has been relatively little
systematic research into pr oblems of involving computers or other technologies. Several factors
seem responsible for the limited research on computers in literacy contexts. First, many reading
researchers did not and do not consider technology to be a mainstream topic. That is, they often
believe that reading instruction can be delivered only by a human. Others believe that technology
must be considered in the overall context of reading instruction. Those in the latter category
believe that other problems in reading instruction shoul d be attended to before issues of
technology are addressed. These general impressions are reinforced by some of the factors
described in the following paragraphs. Until recently, computers did not have all (or even most)
of the capabilities that were neede d to implement a complete program of reading instruction. A
primary lack among these capabilities was the inability to comprehend oral reading and judge its
accuracy. Another lack was the inability of computers to accept free -form responses to
comprehensio n questions, leading to reliance solely on recognition tests such as multiple -choice
formats. The situation is currently very different, with most new computers capable of speech
recognition, as well as a host of multimedia presentation capabilities. Artif icial intelligence is
beginning to make inroads into software for instruction, and systems for text comprehension are
fairly sophisticated, even on home computers. The development of the Internet and the linking of

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

schools and school computers to it have c ombined to provide a new interest in computer usage.
The kinds of information resources available have provided a stimulus for renewed efforts to
deliver instruction of all sorts, including reading, by computer. Coupled with the facts that
computers have b ecome much more capable and software has become much more advanced,
interest in using the Internet has led to a dramatic new wave of interest in using computers in
reading instruction.
Although the Panel is encouraged at the reported successes in using com puter technology for
reading instruction, there are relatively few specific instructional applications to be gleaned from
the research. It is clear that some students can benefit from the use of computer technology in
reading instruction. In particular, st udies on the addition of speech to print suggest that this may
be a promising alternative, especially given the powerful multimedia computers now available
and those being developed. In addition, the use of hypertext and word processing appear to hold
prom ise for application to reading instruction. Multimedia computer software can be used for
reading instruction. There are many unanswered questions about the efficacy of multimedia
learning. All of the conditions under which multimedia learning is more effec tive than
conventional learning are not known. However, there appear to be many students who benefit
from the addition of multimedia instruction to a conventional curriculum. One example that was
tested in several studies was the addition of speech (comput erized or not) to the instructional
context. When multimedia software is available and appropriate, it should be exploited.
Computers do have a motivational use in reading instruction. Although there were no
experimental instructional studies that supporte d this implication explicitly, the motivational
aspects of computers should not be overlooked. This effect may diminish as computers become
ever more common. For the time being, they still retain some motivational advantage over
conventional instruction.
• Hypertext has a great deal of potential in reading instruction. There is a growing interest in
hypertext because of its potential to allow the reader to control some of the presentation of text,
determining what to read at various junctures in the text. Another potential is the use of hypertext
to assist the reader who is having difficulty with a passage. Despite the fact that there were no
experimental instructional studies on this topic that met the NRP criteria, the application of
hypertext concepts t o reading and reading instruction seems to have a great deal of potential. The
use of hypertext and hypermedia on the Internet almost mandates the need to address this issue
in reading instruction. In the meantime, hypertext, particularly coupled with Inte rnet access,
seems to have been adopted in many classrooms, regardless of the lack of research.
Technologies That Support Students' Reading Development
Educational technologies that support the development of students' reading skills include
audiobooks, e lectronic books and online texts, electronic talking books, and programmed reading
instruction.
Audiobooks. Audiobooks, sometimes known as books on tape, are professionally recorded,
unabridged versions of fiction or nonfiction books. They are available on regular audiocassettes
or four -track cassettes that require a special cassette player. Audiobooks promote students'
interest in reading and improve their comprehension of text, notes Beers (1998). They also have
been used successfully by students who cann ot read traditional printed books because of visual
or physical handicaps.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

When used in conjunction with written texts, audiobooks help improve children's reading skills.
Children can listen to the audio version of a book and follow along silently with the printed
version. Also, they can gain practice in reading aloud the text in conjunction with the audio.
"Hearing text read aloud improves reading ability," states Beers (1998). "The use of audiobooks
with struggling, reluctant, or second -language learners is powerful since they act as a scaffold
that allows students to read above their actual reading level. This is critical with older students
who may still read at a beginner level."
Electronic Books and Online Texts. Electronic books, also known as e -books , are electronic
texts that are presented visually. Whether available on CD -ROM, the Internet, or special disks,
electronic books always provide the text in a visual component. Some electronic books
incorporate text enhancements, such as definitions of wor ds or background information on ideas.
Others offer illustrations that complement the story. The downside of electronic books is that they
can be viewed only with a computer or a special palm -sized digital reader; often the text
resolution is poor. In term s of their advantages, Anderson -Inman and Horney (1999) note that
electronic books are searchable, modifiable (for example, font sizes can be increased to meet the
needs of the reader), and enhanceable with embedded resources (for example, definitions and
details).
Online texts are those that are available on the World Wide Web. With access to an Internet –
connected computer, students can find a wide variety of free online reading materials, including
books, plays, short stories, magazines, and reference mat erials. This benefit is especially useful
for students in schools that have few resources for the acquisition of new books.
Electronic books and online texts often are equipped with hypermedia —links to text, data,
graphics, audio, or video. As students rea d the text, they are able to click on the links to access
definitions of words, additional information on concepts, illustrations, animations, and video —
all of which can increase their understanding of the material. Research indicates that hypermedia
softw are has positive effects on student learning and comprehension (see Anderson -Inman &
Horney, 1998; Anderson -Inman, Horney, Chin, & Lewis, 1994; Hillinger, 1992; Hillinger & Leu,
1994; Leu & Hillinger, 1994).
The use of hypermedia to improve student compreh ension of text likely is related to its ability to
respond to the needs of an individual learner for information, which results in an increased sense
of control over the learning environment and higher levels of intrinsic motivation (Becker &
Dwyer, 1994). That is, the interactive features of hypermedia and the users' control of their
direction within these information environments may explain some of the learning gains in
comprehension (for a discussion, see Leu, 2000).
Electronic Talking Books . The term e lectronic talking books has been coined by some
researchers to refer to electronic texts that also provide embedded speech. The speech component
offers a digitized reading of general sections as well as pronunciations of specific words within
the text; it supports and coaches students as they read the text of the story (Leu, 2000; McKenna,
1998). Although research is ongoing about the effectiveness of electronic talking books, there
already is much to be said in their favor (for a review, see Leu, 2000; McK enna, 1998).
"Computers, especially those equipped with devices that produce artificial speech, may provide
an effective means for increasing decoding skills and reading fluency," note Reinking and
Bridwell -Bowles (1966, p. 321).

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

McKenna (1998) notes that electronic talking books increase motivation to read as well as
promote basic word recognition. According to some research, the use of talking books has shown
positive results as an aid to help children improve their comprehension of texts (Hastings, 1997;
Lewin, 1997; McKenna, 1998; Reitsma 1988). In addition, children's decoding skills have been
shown to improve with the use of talking books (Miller, Blackstock, & Miller, 1994; Olson &
Wise, 1992; Reitsma, 1988; Wise & Olson, 1994). For slightly older rea ders, talking books
feature glossary entries, explanatory notes, and simplified rewordings that provide additional
background information needed to understand new concepts in texts (Anderson -Inman & Horney,
1998).
In general, electronic talking books have been found to support reading instruction by providing
background information, extended response actions, play actions, and explanatory notes. Talking
books also show promise of accelerating reading growth by offering readers immediate access to
a word's p ronunciation —thus easing the need of the student to rely on context cues to understand
new words. They also can be equipped with a tracking system for troublesome pronunciations;
this system can provide feedback to teachers, enabling them to identify parti cular categories of
words for further student study.
Programmed Reading Instruction. Various types of software programs, computer -assisted
instruction, and integrated learning systems offer programmed reading instruction for students.
This skills -based ins truction ranges from letter recognition to phonics instruction to vocabulary
building. A study by Barker and Torgeson (1995) also indicated that computer -assisted
instruction is valuable in improving the phonological awareness of 6 -year-olds. The computer
program helped the children learn to discriminate and sequence the sound in words, which
improved their word -reading ability.
Although programmed reading instruction was one of the first uses of technology in literacy
instruction, this area is generating n ew developments as technology becomes more sophisticated.
Recent developments in software programs for literacy instruction include voice -activated
reading software and software for culturally mediated instruction. Project LISTEN is an example
of research -in-progress on a computerized reading tutor; this software application "listens" as
children read and "coaches" (talks) when the reader makes mistakes, gets stuck, clicks for help,
or is likely to encounter difficulty.

4. USING TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING LISTENING

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

4.1 HOW IS TECHNOLOGY USEFUL TO TEACH LISTENING?
a. Technology is useful to teach listening because each type of technology provides opportunities
for students to explore their ranges of listening strategies. And it allows for more emphasis on
certain aspects, such as cross -cultural, interactional, critical, and contextual dimensions of
listening, to be developed. Technology also makes learning process of listening more
entertaining. (Second Language Listenin g: Theory and Practice. J ohn Flowerdew Page: 182)
b. Using media, for example radio, could be an effective way to develop students’ listening skills
and build up student confidence in listening since they did not have sufficient access to native
speakers. (Taken from Forum Magazin e in Listening volume 35 number 2, April 1997 Pages 47 –
48 Article: Using VOA News item by Ho Xiooqiong)
What kinds of media that we can use to improve listening skill? There are various kinds of media
that we can use to teach listening. They are:
a. Radi o
Listening to the radio is one of the most accessible ways a learner has of developing listening
skills. Listening to the radio is not an activity that is often used in class time. Perhaps, this is
because radio, listening can be done only in real time an d the scheduling of language classes to
catch particular radio program is difficult.
b. Audio -tapes
Audio cassette players are the simplest and cheapest way to provide listening practise
opportunities for students in classroom. Because nearly all general c ourses books these days have
accompanying audio cassettes, a cassette players has become an essential tool in the language
classroom.
c. Video
The use of video to help develop listening skill has received much attention since it began to
appear regularly i n language classes in the mid 1970s. The obvious contextualization of language
provided by video, made it a popular medium in non -English -speaking contries.
d. Computer -Assisted Language Learning
Since the 1960s, computers have been used in language educat ion. During this forty -year period,
the use computers could be divided into three main stages : behaviorist comput er-assisted
language learning ( CALL); communicative CALL; and integrative CALL (Warschaver and
Healey 1998). Each of these stages corres ponds t o the available te chnological and the prevailing
pedagogical theories. (Second Language Listen ing : Theory and Practice. John Flowerdew. Pages
165-178)

4.2 WHAT PART OF LISTENING ABILITY WE CAN DEVELOP BY USING TECHNOLOGY?
1.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

a. Hearing the sounds
By using technology, for example radio, we would have an access to know how native speakers
pronounced their words. Therefore, it would help us to be able to distinguish between two similar
words, like, think and thing, etc.
b. Understanding intonation and st ress
The English system of stress, intonation and rhythm, though perhaps less obvious difficult than
problems of the actual sounds, can interfere with the foreign learners proper understanding of
spoken English.
c. Predicting
If the listener can make a gue ss as to the sort of thing that is going to be said next, we will be
much more likely to perceive it and understand it well. We may even be enabled to do without
altogether
d. Understanding colloquial vocabulary
Much of the vocabulary used in colloquial speech may already be known to the foreign learner;
but this does not mean that we are familiar with it. Therefore, technology help us to be more
familiar with vocabulary in colloquial speech, for example by using video.
e. Understanding different accents
We can differentiate various accents spoken by native speakers, for example by watching movie.
Movie provides different people for different accents.
2.
By using media ( in this case VCR or Video Cassette Recorder ) students learn to listen and grasp
mean ing from English spoken at a normal or near -normal speed ; they also are introduced to a
variety of different accents, speech patterns and voice types.)(source: Taken from Forum
Magazine volume XXIV number 2, April 1986, Pages 24 -34; Article: The VCR in th e EFL
Classroom, written by Donald’ E Hall)
3.
By listening to the radio especially news broadcast, the students could enrich their vocabulary.
For example they could get:
a. Common vocabulary
In news broadcasts, there are certain words that are frequentl y used. In VOA special English for
instance about 1500 words are often repeated in several broad categories such as polities,
economy, science in technology, military matters.
b. Proper names
c. Acronyms.
The primary concern of the present study was to inv estigate the effective uses of computer -based
software in teaching the listening skill in English as a second language (ESL).

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Recent years have revealed a growing interest in using computers for language teaching and
learning. A decade ago, only a small nu mber of specialists was concerned with the use of
computers in the language classroom (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). However, the role of
computers in language instruction has now become an important issue facing large numbers of
language teachers throughout the world. For the teachers, the question now is not of whether but
how computers can aid in the language learning process (Hubbard, 1996). The listening skill,
which has been regarded by many as the most important skill in language learning, has been
neglected in the field of CALL. This, according to Warschaueur (1998), is probably because
sound capable computers were not in widespread use until fairly recently. The computer is seen
to be of great help in teaching listening skills in that it can, apart fr om enjoyment and excitement,
do something that is almost impossible to accomp lish in whole -class instruction that is to verify
comprehension on an individual basis and to interact with each student based on his or her
listening skills (Frommer, 1989). From mer also pointed out that words could be presented
visually and aurally to illustrate the correspondence between the two. When a computer is
combined with CD -ROM or videodisk, it can provide extra -linguistic supports, such as clear
sounds, pictures, real -life video images, animations, etc. These extra -linguistic supports provide
help for second language students' comprehension (Hsu, 1994).
In the classroom, improving the listening and speaking abilities of students has always been a
concern, however, techno logical tools have been regarded as ways of helping students improve
these skills. Internet, podcasts, video conferencing, videos and speech recognition software are
considered the best tools.
Over the internet, students can find a lot of learning material s, for instance, audio, video, radio
and TV shows, games, voice recordings, listening activities, quizzes, podcasts and so on , in this
way, students get exposed to a great amount of target language and this help them develop their
listening and speaking skills.
In the same way, students, by listening or creating podcast improve their listening and speaking
skills, some software that let students create these are; Apple’s Garageband, iMovie or iWeb,
Podomatic, etc. Besides, the voice of students can be c aptured by software like Voicethread and
students can share their ideas or they can be involved in creating their own radio shows, the
program Radionomy let you do this and students learn and do their jobs better when projects like
these are shared with th e world or a wider audience.
In addition, podcasts can be uploaded or downloaded, this audio help the learner familiarize with
the target language and teachers can use them as useful audio material that can be used in class
for activities like discussions, besides, in the web, there are even particular podcasts that are for
ESL learners and these can include pronunciation or listening exercises for particular needs of
students. Podcast undoubtedly help learners in listening and speaking.
Equally important t o improve listening and thus speaking abilities is having students listen to
audiobooks that can be free, these can also be downloaded in the iPhone or iPod and be listened
whenever the person has time and even used by the teacher for a class activity.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Besides, students can make project videos in the target language when they will have to talk and
collaborate; these projects will indeed help the students improve their speaking and listening
abilities.
Likewise, to improve speaking, students can use Skype, MSM Messenger, Google talk (used to
have conferences on line) and other applications where students can connect WITH FRIENDS,
other students, teacher and even native speakers, these ways of learning have been observed to
improve oral proficiency in student s and make up for the lack of native speakers in the areas
where students live and what is more, on line conferences also enhance intercultural awareness,
motivation and raise the level of interaction.
There is also YouTube where students will be able to w atch, post and find videos on any topic,
this makes learning entertaining and learners can find videos that help them improve their
listening, for instance, they can search videos of the BBC like BBC Speaking and Listening. In
the same way, children can w atch videos of cartoons and adults can watch movies or songs in the
target language. In YouTube, the learner can also listen to music or watch videos of native
speakers and pay attention to how words are pronounced in this way improving greatly their
speaking and listening skills.
At last, Speech recognition software also helps improving the students speaking, this can convert
spoken words to machine -readable input, and IBM developed one called Reading Companion.
The device recognizes the accuracy of what was read and then provides a positive reinforcement
like “You sound great!” or gives the user an opportunity to try again, in this way the learner can
figure if he is reading well or not. As the user’s skill improves, the technology reads less material
so that the learner reads more. This software also evaluates and provides scores of grammar,
pronunciation, comprehension and provided with the correct forms, for examples if a student
mispronounces a word, the learning tool can immediately spot it and help correct it. This device
can be a very useful device for distance learners because they don’t have a teacher who corrects
their speech and this device can help improving their speaking skills.
In summary, the success of technology in helping students improv e their speaking and listening
skills can be understood because this tools help the learner have much exposure to the target
language, besides the learner has easier and faster access to the material thanks to the internet and
technology, this therefore he lp students learn at his own peace and promote autonomy in them.
Moreover, these tools are sometimes much more interesting and provide fun and enjoyable
learning, motivating the student in this way to learn more.
4.3 WHAT ROLE DOES TECHNOLOGY PLAY IN THE T EACHING OF LISTENING?
Universal Design for Learning is a concept that supports learning for all students. Universal
design addresses different learning styles and the differences that each student comes into the
classroom with. Universal Design for Learnin g has three basic principles:
 Multiple means of representation, which gives learners various ways of acquiring
information and knowledge.
 Multiple means of expression, which provides learners alternatives for demonstrating
what they know

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 Multiple means of engagement, which taps into learners' interests, offers appropriate
challenges, and increase motivation
Audiobooks provide students an alternative way to acquire knowledge and an opportunity to add
a dimension to reading through listening.
Examples:
Digita l technology allows interactive learning to take place both at the level of basic skill
development and at the level of content learning. Digital text can shift back and forth between
languages.
In our era, new technologies are again challenging traditiona l literacy. Many fear that these new
technologies will weaken the literacies —reading and writing —that have been central to our
culture. We now live in a media -saturated age where these traditional forms of literacy are being
blended, redefined and replaced by dynamically evolving media and communication technologies
that seem to emerge daily. Whereas reading and writing used to take priority, these new
communication technologies increasingly dominate our culture, especially for young learners
who grew up us ing personal digital technologies.
In this paper, we argue that the proliferation of new technologies will not diminish literacy but
rather expand it. In particular, we shall argue that new technologies —from functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to iPods, sound blogs and
text-to-speech —have revived the importance of listening and “re -balanced” literacy such that
printed text remains an important facet of literacy but is not itself synonymous with literacy. The
new literacy, in which listening and oral literacy regain an important role, will be a literacy that
even Plato would have admired.
In the sections that follow, we will address how new technologies are affecting our perspectives
on listening and literacy by examining how new technologies are:
 changing our view of what listening is,
 changing our view of the relationship between listening and literacy, and
 changing our view of what a literacy program should be.
We will conclude with recommendations for enhanci ng the role and practice of listening in
today’s classrooms.
Listening to Learn: Multimedia
It is notable that we have eyelids but not ear flaps. Our ears are always open. This difference
reflects the importance of hearing to our survival. Our ancestors su rvived because hearing and
listening were critical early warning signals of danger. Listening proved to be much more
valuable than vision in that regard. With the onset of language, a new aspect of the value of
listening became apparent. Language amplified opportunities for learning by providing a
foundation for culture and the social transmissions that could complement and extend direct
experience. Within linguistic cultures, humans listened to learn.
Over time, written language emerged and overcame the pr imary weakness of oral language, its
impermanence. With writing, language became permanent, transportable, viewable and

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

recordable. As a result, print literacies came to dominate many cultures, relegating oral literacies
and listening to secondary status. In the new media age, new ways of making speech (and other
sounds) permanent, transportable, viewable and recordable have emerged. In fact, they have
flourished.
As a result of new media and technologies, a much broader palette for literacy is now availabl e,
one that extends beyond reading and writing to include aural (and oral) literacy as well as visual
literacies. While some scholars still assume that text retains its privileged status over more
dynamic visual and aural media for intellectual discourse, the overall culture has already migrated
to a broader palette for communication, persuasion, inquiry and entertainment.
This is especially true for young people. Today’s students have never known a world without
computers, digital media or the Internet. De scribed as digital natives, they view the world of
information and communication technology (ICT) differently from most of the adults in their
lives, who in contrast, are considered digital immigrants (Prensky, 2000). Students spend six
hours per day on av erage using some form of technology -based media (Lenhart, Madden, &
Hitlin, 2005), much of it geared more toward listening and viewing than reading and writing.
Teens and tweens (ages 9 -12) talk to each other, exchange pictures, send text messages and watc h
movie trailers on their cellphones. They listen to music that they have selected, downloaded, and
organized on their iPods. They spend hours as active participants on the Internet, where they shop
for clothes, “chat” WITH FRIENDS, contribute to blogs, cr eate personal web pages to express
themselves and get information about almost anything that interests them, including school
assignments. They are usually far more savvy than their teachers about how these new digital
literacies can work to their advantag e. Technology has raised the importance of listening, as
students live now in a sea of oral language and sound. Digital natives listen to learn.
While some schools have moved to employ new media in the classroom, most continue to
emphasize learning almost exclusively from printed text. This creates a tremendous gap between
the learning technologies students use and the way in which academic content is delivered. It also
has the effect of relegating listening to a rather minor role, with the major instructio nal effort
reserved for reading and writing. The irony is obvious: while new media are making listening
even more important in students’ everyday interactions, listening does not receive the sort of
emphasis it should in school, especially in the developme nt of literacy skills.
This is a missed opportunity. Technology now allows us to store and manipulate language in
ways previously not possible. Once speech is captured in digital format, it can be transformed in
multiple ways to support students’ learning, without loss of the original representation. In doing
so, listening experiences can be designed to productively engage diverse learners by providing
alternative learning opportunities for reaching common academic standards.
4.4 LISTENING TO LEARN: READING
New technologies are repositioning listening as an important “new” literacy, an important way
to learn in the digital age (as well as communicate, entertain, etc.). But it is important to recognize
that listening is foundational for other, more traditiona l, literacies as well. In this section we will
explore how learning to listen is fundamental in learning to read. Not surprisingly, in view of the
neuroscience framework reviewed earlier, we shall see that learning to listen is critical to learning
to read in at least four important ways.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

First, successful reading depends on phonemic awareness, the ability to recognize the elements
of oral language on which reading depends (Nation & Snowling, 2004). Decades of research
summarized by the National Reading Pan el (2000) demonstrates that young children need to be
able to hear and recognize the sounds of language, and its vocabulary, in order to learn to read.
Beginning readers develop a foundation for reading by listening to the sounds of language and
manipulati ng them and by listening to the vocabulary and syntax through which meaning is
constructed. The current emphasis on phonemic awareness and oral vocabulary and oral discourse
for comprehension recognize the critical role that listening to language plays in early reading.
Second, well beyond the early stages of reading, indeed, at every stage of reading development,
successful reading is intimately connected with what one has learned from listening. Reading
comprehension critically depends on the recognition of words and ideas in the context of what
has already been learned. That is, comprehension relies on connecting to general background
knowledge, previously learned vocabulary, the concepts and principles that tie words together,
the oral discourse structur es for telling stories, participating in conversation, giving directions,
etc. These can all be learned through listening, for some students only through listening,
especially in the early grades.
Third, successful reading requires not only recognizing the elements of language but also
implementing effective strategies and tactics for constructing meaning from those elements.
Reading comprehension is strongly related to oral language comprehension. Recent brain
research has revealed an important finding: wh en individuals are engaged in active, strategic
listening, they use the same executive functions in the prefrontal cortex that are engaged during
active, strategic reading (Osaka et al., 2004; Schumacher et al., 1996). This finding from the
neurosciences c onfirms an important relationship: the same strategies and skills that allow a
listener to make sense of oral language —predicting, monitoring, connecting to background
knowledge and summarizing —allow a reader to make sense of written language. Listening
comprehension is critical to reading comprehension because listening and reading require the
same strategies. Students who do not know how to listen carefully and strategically also will not
know how to read carefully and strategically.
Fourth, for continued development of literacy, lifelong engagement in literate activity is essential.
In order to love reading, it is essential that students love stories and narratives, as well as the
language and rhetoric in which they are told. Engagement in multiple litera cies is hugely
important.
The importance of these connections between listening and reading are further demonstrated by
the National Research Council report, Preventing Reading Failure in Children, in which the
authors describe “three potential stumbling b locks” to learning to read (Snow, Burns, & Griffin,
1998):
The first obstacle, which arises at the outset of reading acquisition, is difficulty understanding
and using the alphabetic principle —the idea that written spellings systematically represent
spoken words. It is hard to comprehend connected text if word recognition is inaccurate or
laborious. The second obstacle is a failure to transfer the comprehension skills of spoken language
to reading and to acquire new strategies that may be specifically neede d for reading. The third
obstacle to reading will magnify the first two: the absence or loss of an initial motivation to read
or failure to develop a mature appreciation of the rewards of reading.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Importantly, these three stumbling blocks directly correspo nd to the neurological divisions
described earlier. Even more important here is the fact that two of these are directly dependent
on listening: students must be able to hear the relationship between spoken words (and sounds)
and the alphabetic representati on in reading, and they must be able to apply the skills of spoken
language comprehension to reading. It must be said, moreover, that the third “obstacle” is
probably also heavily connected to good listening: students who don’t love language and the
storie s composed in that language will not see the importance of reading either.
4.5 LISTENING AND LITERACY IN THE MODERN ERA
Both learning to listen and listening to learn are critical to literacy in the 21st century as new
technologies rebalance what it means to be literate and to learn. Listening is not merely a “folk”
literacy that has been superseded by the modern technologies of print, media, and multimedia,
but rather it is a powerful and essential means of developing and mastering both old and new
literac ies.
Listening is a vital alternative to the limits of print for some students, especially those with
disabilities that interfere with the fluent use of printed text (e.g., students who are blind, dyslexic,
have visual processing disorders, and so forth). For these students, the skills of listening are
critical as an alternative literacy that can allow them to keep pace with their peers in building
knowledge. In addition, in the modern era, every student needs to learn to listen in order to be
literate —literate in traditional print media (knowing how to read) and literate in the new media
of iPods and the web.
4.6 HOW NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE CHANGING WHAT A LITERACY PROGRAM SHOULD
BE
The same kinds of digital technologies that are repositioning listening among the literacies of the
21st century are changing the classrooms in which literacy is learned. While many of the early
promises of computers in the classroom have not been achieved, it is apparent that new
technologies for the classroom have at least two agr eed upon advantages.
First, new technologies are an important component of any pedagogy that prepares students for
living in the 21st century. New technologies are obviously essential in teaching students how to
be literate with the tools that they will ne ed for their futures. Computers are not very good at
teaching students how to use blackboards, but blackboards are essentially useless at teaching
students how to use the multimedia digital tools of reading, writing, listening, viewing,
composing and commu nicating that are essential for their future.
Second, new technologies are an important ingredient in meeting the challenge of individual
differences. Where print technologies present many barriers to students because of their essential
“one size fits all” quality, digital media can have just the opposite effect. Their malleability and
customizability allow digital media to provide a flexible platform that can meet the challenge of
different kinds of learners.
Video Icon View Video — New technologies help u s meet the challenge of individual differences
in the classroom. In this video, a boy with cognitive challenges audio records himself reading a
picture book. Then he and his teacher listen to the audio playback to evaluate how well he
sounded out the words .

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

In particular, the flexibility of digital media is an essential component in Universal Design for
Learning (UDL; Rose & Meyer, 2002), an approach to curriculum design that seeks to maximize
learning across a wide spectrum of students with and without dis abilities. By designing to support
the needs of students with disabilities, the curriculum is strengthened in a way that supports all
students. Within UDL, the flexibility of new technologies is an essential foundation for meeting
the challenge of individu al differences:
To support individual differences in learning to recognize the world, provide multiple, flexible
methods of presentation
To support individual differences in learning strategies for action, provide multiple, flexible
methods of expression a nd apprenticeship
To support individual differences in what is motivating and engaging, provide multiple, flexible
options for engagement (Rose & Meyer, 2002)
By helping us to recognize obstacles in the curriculum, technology can enrich the curriculum for
all students. As Meyer and Rose (2005) write, by helping us “… to appreciate the full extent of
learners’ diversity and the variety of ways in which they can be unique, it will become apparent
that the curriculum itself can be improved to the benefit of al l students” (p.30).
It should be noted that increasing the opportunities for listening to learn in the classroom is an
essential component of a UDL approach to literacy. Through that approach we increase the
likelihood that diverse learners will have acces s to standards -based literacy and the learning
strategies needed to master that literacy. Further, we increase the probability that many students
will remain engaged in literacy learning, especially those for whom text presents a barrier.
In the following sections, we describe two scenarios that illustrate some of the many ways in
which new technologies and the universal designs that they allow can support learning through
listening in an overall literacy program.
4.7 LISTENING TO LEARN: A DIGITAL SCENARIO
In Plato’s time, speeches were ephemeral; words and diction could be lost almost immediately
and entirely. With the development of writing, the logic of a speech could be recorded and
remembered, but not the rhetoric, power or voice. With analog recording, the full power of speech
could be recorded and saved, but in highly vulnerable and limited media. In the digital era, the
full power of speech can be recorded (along with visuals) and stored in media that offer many
kinds of display and allow the kinds of power and flexibility needed for teaching and learning.
For example, consider children of today listening to a digital audio recording of Martin Luther
King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. With digital playback they may slow down or speed up the
rate of na rration, pause to reflect or replay a segment or skip to various sections of the speech.
The user rather than the speaker is now in control and may play back the speech in flexible ways
to suit his or her goals for listening, preferences and needs. Conside r three students, each listening
to the same digital audio recording:
Elena, a Spanish -speaking student, is listening to the speech for the first time. She slows down
the narration rate so that she can more easily understand the language.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Desmond, who is p reparing for a test on the civil rights era and is familiar with the speech, speeds
up the narration, stopping and pausing to take notes on critical points.
Tanya, who is designing a multimedia presentation about King, skips directly to phrases of the
speech that she has previously bookmarked, selecting the items that she will include in her
multimedia report.
While this ease of navigation, ability to vary narration rate and option to place audio bookmarks
are obvious advantages of digital versus analog aud io, digital audio that is integrated with text,
media and interactivity options offers additional affordances to the learner. To consider these
affordances, and how they change the nature of the listening experience, let’s consider some other
options for l earning with the “I Have a Dream Speech,” using the UDL principles as a guide.
4.8 PROVIDE MULTIPLE MEANS OF REPRESENTATION
For some listeners, access to the meaning and the spirit of the speech is impeded by underlying
difficulties with language. Some students may lack the vocabulary to comprehend, while others
may be unfamiliar with King’s syntactic style and rhetorical structures, such as the use of
repetition and refrains. The speech also assumes a certain level of background knowledge.
Today’s stude nts may have limited or no knowledge of the civil rights movement. For English
language learners, issues of language, history and culture may be compounded, making the
speech even more challenging for them as listeners.
However, in a digital context, the s peech can be transformed so that students have multiple entry
points into meaning -making. Many audiobooks now offer both text and audio narration so that
students may listen to and view a print version of the text. In some cases, synchronized
highlighting is offered to encourage students to attend to the text while listening. Vocabulary and
background knowledge can be supported via hyperlinks to glossaries and other informational
resources, including access to experts and online communities with a special i nterest in this topic.
With computers and videodisc capabilities in full force, research soon examined the impact of
these technologies on students’ aural comprehension. Chang and Smith (1991) examined how
collaboration at an interactive videodisc activity might affect students’ aural comprehension.
They found that students who worked together enhanced their ability to respond to implicit or
thought -provoking questions but that collaborative learning did not have an impact, positive or
negative, on respondi ng to factual questions. Brett (1997) compared students’ performance on
aural comprehension exercises when working with audiotape, videotape, or multimedia -based
technologies. He found that students were most successful when working with multimedia,
primar ily because of the instant feedback they received from the available technology.
4.9 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING LISTENING
Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently. It has been estimated that adults
spend almost half their com munication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90%
of their in -school information through listening to instructors and to one another. Often, however,
language learners do not recognize the level of effort that goes into developing listenin g ability.
Far from passively receiving and recording aural input, listeners actively involve themselves in
the interpretation of what they hear, bringing their own background knowledge and linguistic
knowledge to bear on the information contained in the a ural text. Not all listening is the same;

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

casual greetings, for example, require a different sort of listening capability than do academic
lectures. Language learning requires intentional listening that employs strategies for identifying
sounds and making meaning from them. Listening involves a sender (a person, radio, television),
a message, and a receiver (the listener). Listeners often must process messages as they come,
even if they are still processing what they have just heard, without backtracking or looking ahead.
In addition, listeners must cope with the sender's choice of vocabulary, structure, and rate of
delivery. The complexity of the listening process is magnified in second language contexts, where
the receiver also has incomplete control of th e language. Given the importance of listening in
language learning and teaching, it is essential for language teachers to help their students become
effective listeners. In the communicative approach to language teaching, this means modeling
listening stra tegies and providing listening practice in authentic situations: those that learners are
likely to encounter when they use the language outside the classroom. The one of the best ways
introduce students to listening strategies is to integrate listening ac tivities into language lessons
using multimedia technology. As multimedia technology (interactive videodisc, CD -ROM, CD –
I, etc.) becomes more accessible to teachers and learners of other languages, its potential as a tool
to enhance listening skills become s a practical option. Multimedia allows integration of text,
graphics, audio, and motion video in a range of combinations. The result is that learners can now
interact with textual, aural, and visual media in a wide range of formats. The past two decades
have brought to language teaching and learning a wide range of audio -visual technologies. From
among these, no single tool for teaching and learning has had greater impact than the personal
computer. Today, individual learners can, in addition to interactin g with computer -generated text
and graphics, control combinations of analog and digital sound and images. Arranging these
combined media into intelligent, pedagogically -driven material is a challenge to teachers. Over
the years, a wide variety of teaching aids have been placed at the disposal of language teachers.
Charts, slides, tape -recorders, videos, overhead projectors and many other technological
innovations have taken the place of traditional chalk and board, though not completely. Not long
ago a lang uage laboratory was widely used in learning listening as it was tied to the belief that
individual listening practice with audiotape helps build a learner’s ability to understand and speak
the target language. Technology continues to be perceived as an enh ancement to the process of
language acquisition. The large -scale infusion of computers in language instruction programs in
the past decade attests to this belief. The rationale behind what is now growing support for
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CAL L) is not unlike earlier enthusiasm for audio tape
based technologies. That is, both media provide individualized access to target language material
that the learner can control and use in a self -study format. However, expectations for CALL in
general, and multimedia in particular are much higher. The fast and powerful computational
capacity, in conjunction with the orchestrated video, text, and graphics of today’s multimedia
learning systems would predict more sophisticated paradigms within which students can interact
with the target language and, consequently, more effective learning. Learning a language via
individualized instruction with the computer — especially when audio and video are involved —
is an extremely appealing proposition, one that has sold to many an administrator in search of
instructional panaceas. Listening skills fall into three categories: Passive listening (listening for
pleasure or entertainment); Active listening (listening to learn and retain information); and
Critical/Analytical l istening (listening to critique or make judgments about what one has heard).
Modern, computer -based technology fosters listening skills by providing a multitude of
opportunities for listening to spoken language. A good language teacher will be aware of the se
current and emerging technologies to immerse their students in the spoken language experience.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Jack Richards (1985) describes listening competency as being comprised of a set of "micro
skills". These are the skills effective listeners employ when trying to make sense of aural input.
Let’s examine potential correspondence between multi modal processing opportunities for
language learners in a multimedia environment and how these can interact to complement
listening skills acquisition.
1. Retention of info rmation in short term memory. Most current multimedia applications allow
the student some control over the rate of language presentation. That is, users can start, stop, and
review pieces of information to better understand and remember the aural text. The addition of
video provides a clear, logical flow of events so that linking (remembering) new information to
old is facilitated.
2. Discriminate the sounds of the target language. User control over language presented in more
than one modality supports a st udent's ability to discriminate where words begin and end. The
synchronized display of text along with the aural text assists the learner in distinguishing phonetic
groupings and boundaries. When learners can see the faces of those speaking in the video,
moreover, they can additionally make use of facial movements to understand the sound -meaning
correspondence in the target language.
3. Recognize patterns of stress, rhythm, and intonation and how they signal information and
intent. Stress, rhythm, and inton ation are automatically highlighted when aural language is
divided into syntactic units. When we speak, the logical breaks in our discourse (the places where
we pause ever so slightly) occur at syntactically predictable junctures. When specific words are
stressed and patterns of intonation used, learners can be cued to closely examine the visual and
spoken reactions of interlocutors in the video presentation.
4. Understand reduced speech. Multimedia is particularly well suited to assist learners in their
understanding of reduced forms of target language speech. Having the written version of fast,
naturally -paced aural text on the computer screen allows the learner access to both the written
and spoken forms simultaneously. That is, the learner may hear "wadj agonnado?" but will read
"What are you going to do?" In this way, learners can come to understand the two different forms
of the target language – spoken and written – as well as learn to decode these reduced forms.
5. Recognize core vocabulary and the rul es and patterns of words used to communicate.
Coordinated aural, visual, and textual information on the computer screen at the same time makes
up an ideal laboratory for student problem -solving at the level of individual words and sentence
structures. The learner has at her disposal rich visual and contextual clues that can assist in
breaking the code of the written and aural text. The multi modal cues can be cross -referenced for
word, sentence -level and broader understanding.
6. Understand communicative fu nctions of utterances according to context. Video can be a very
rich source of context for language processing. In a multimedia format, learners are provided
control over the rate and order of video presentation and can therefore take advantage of starting
and stopping the action in order to study language in a well represented context. Video also
typically boasts tight correspondence between what is seen and what is heard. That is, in only
very rare cases is the audio portion of video temporally disconnect ed to what is being viewed.
By studying target language communication in a multimedia format, learners can experience and
come to understand the connections between utterances and how they function within a visually
depicted context.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

7. Process different speech styles, different rates, and performance errors. Rate and style of audio
naturally vary according to the genre of the video selection. Many situation comedies, for
example, exemplify slowed speech. Interlocutors speak slowly and deliberately so the joke can
be processed and understood. There are other kinds of programming, talk shows, for example,
that are very fast -paced and difficult for non -native speakers to comprehend. Multimedia that
includes varied genres permits a broad experience of differen t voices with differing rates and
speech styles. Students can control the aural text so they have sufficient time for their individual
processing needs.
8. Recognize that meanings can be expressed in different grammatical forms. Redundancy in
video present ations is common. That is, interlocutors and narrators frequently repeat the same
information in different ways so that meaning and intention is made clear to the viewer. In a
multimedia format, phrases and sentences that carry the same or similar meaning can be
highlighted for users and/or the learner can be prompted to highlight those phrases and sentences
she feels express like meanings.
9. Infer meaning and make predictions using personal knowledge, experiences, and strategies.
Video is a medium to whic h language learners come well equipped. Students are very accustomed
to inferring meaning and making predictions from what they see and hear on the screen. In a
multimedia format, these viewing/comprehension strategies can be cued and guided by, for
exampl e, posing pre -viewing questions on top of the stilled first frame of the sequence they are
about to watch. Inference, predication, and calling up prior knowledge and experience can thus
be activated. The Internet is suitable place to practise languages as it offers the possibility, with
the right software, of using images and audio resources at the same time, combining sounds and
images as in communicative situations in the real world. It also provides users with a highly
appealing and innovative format. Bu t only when the sources are properly selected can the internet
be useful in learning environment. There is a plethora of educational video and audio material
available online and accessible via Web search engines such as Google.com. But practice shows
that the best way to find good web sites is to listen to a colleague' s suggestions who actually
searched the site on his/her own or find a “serious” website which may actually help. For
example, Skype application is increasingly used as a part of listening de velopment process
throughout the world today. Skype is an internet -based application that enables Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. It has a useful user -interface that enables the user ’s easy and
effective use. What's more, there are similar onlin e applications such as MSN Messenger and
Google Talk and the likes. MSN Messenger also has millions of users worldwide and is used to
improve speaking and listening skills by L2 students. Skype and MSN Messenger increasingly
create newer possibilities for the users. These software programmes can also transmit video at
the same time when the users speak to each other. So, this feature raises the level of interaction
between practis ers. Such level of interaction is also effective because of the highly useful features
and user – interfaces of the applications. As an alternative, internet TVs and radios can be used to
develop listening comprehension skills of a student in an entertaining atmosphere; however, there
is a relatively new emerging phenomenon: YouTube. com! This is a video upload – watch –
download site and is increasing its popularity day by day. According to statistics, the site has
more than six million videos and the total time necessary to watch all these videos is 9.305 years!
This huge video pool off ers priceless opportunities to practice listening in an entertaining and
convenient environment. Television/radio shows, news, documentaries, music videos and any
videos beyond the imagination of people are just one click away. All you need is an internet

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

connection. The rest is almost totally free; however, videos should be carefully selected and
prepared by the instructor to maximize comprehension and minimize frustration of learners and
they hope that improvement in search tools for videos will allow the teachers to find the right
video clip for supporting language class. As BBC has always been seen as a genuine source of
“right” form of English, it cannot be disregarded for English Language Teaching. Being aware
of its educative role, BBC has been publis hing books, audio/video materials and so on. With the
rise of the internet, BBC has prepared an English Learning Page which is one of the best of its
kind. The site gives ideas to the learner about material development and how to work efficiently
with the aural input. Maintaining the publication at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/, BBC provides the visitors with quizzes,
videos, podcasts and games as well as radio archives and voice recordings. As regards listening
activities, there are many activities based on listening comprehension. Apart from that, songs can
be highly useful for developmental process of listening skills of a student. As music is everywhere
in human life to change or boost the emotions and feelings, we can include musi c and songs in
language learning as well. Besides, karaoke is also beneficial in that it requires a recitation which
eventually leads to improvement in speaking skill. Lastly, computer aided games can also have
striking effects on student's listening compr ehension. Games are proved to be useful during their
language education process. When games' attractiveness unites with convenience and flexibility
of computers systems, it may cause positive results as well. In conclusion, we may say that using
technology in the classroom
 allows teachers to add multisensory elements, text, sound, pictures, video, and
animation, which provide meaningful contexts to facilitate comprehension
 allows teachers to increase authentic materials for study
 encourages greater interact ion between teachers and students and students and peers
 emphasizes the individual needs of learners
 allows learners to hear the available input as many times as needed until they feel they
understand it
 allows learners to develop their autonomy to review and practice materials as many
times as they wish
 allows to reduce the learning stresses and anxieties
 allows learners to build their self -instruction strategies and self -confidence
 promotes second language learners’ learning motivation.
However, there are disadvantages and obstacles in using technology for improving listening skills
in terms of financial barriers, content considerations, technical features and pedagogical
perspectives. There is no doubt that technology offers teachers and learners vast amount of
materials and communication possibilities to enhance their language teaching and learning. For
successful integration of multimedia technology in language courses, both teachers and learners
need to be prepared to adopt new roles a nd use the available technology in appropriate ways.
Teachers should be prepared with professional skills which include pedagogical and technical
skill because the more enthusiastic and more knowledgeable language teachers are, the more

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

successfully they c an implement Internet in the language classroom. Learners can only benefit
from technology – based activities provided that these activities are relevant to their needs and
interest.

5. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES IN USING TECHNOLOGY IN
TEACHING ENGLISH

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

The world is constantly changing and ways in which we function at home, work and school are
also changing. The speed at which technology has developed plays a major role in these changes.
From e -mail to on -line classes, comp uters are definitely influential in our lives, and can enhance
the learning process in schools in various ways. With the increasing popularity of computer
technology, it is essential for administrators to support and encourage computer technology in
our ed ucation systems. Computers are important in education because they force us to reconsider
how people learn, how they are empowered, and what the nature of learning and useful
information is. We cannot avoid the presence of computers in our schools because they are
forcing educators to re -evaluate the very nature of what and how we teach. An advantage of
having computer -assisted instruction in the classroom is that the computer can serve as a tutor.
Teachers can only aid students in the learning process so f ar. Computers can assist teachers and
act as a tutor for the students who are falling behind. A report entitled Computer Advantages:
Tutoring Individuals, states “with computers as tutors, no student will be overwhelmed because
he or she is missing fundame ntals the computer will repeat material until each lesson has been
sufficiently mastered” (Bennett, 1999, p. 3). Teachers do not have the time to repeat lessons over
and over again. The writer believes it is important to give all students in the classroom the
opportunity to adequately learn the lessons, and with computers acting as tutors they can. One of
the biggest problems in the world today is illiteracy. Each year thousands of students graduate
from high school reading at the elementary school level, o r not reading at all. Every student
should have the opportunity to receive additional assistance when they need it. Teachers are doing
the best they can with literacy issues in the classroom, and computers can reach the students that
the teachers cannot. T he article entitled “Computers as Tutors” discusses Annaben Thomas
(Bennett, 1999) who was unable to read despite her years in the New York City school system.
After leaving school, she was taught by tutors and had enrolled in library literacy programs and
adult education classes trying to overcome her handicap. After doing everything she still had not
learned to read, until she enrolled in a computer course program that taught her to read and write.
Because of success stories like this it is crucial to sup port the use of computer technology in the
classroom. Although the advantages of having computer technology in classrooms outweigh the
disadvantages, the writer can respect the concerns of the people who are against computer
technology in the classroom. Ma ny people argue the computer does all the work for the students,
not allowing them the opportunity to digest what they have learned. Boyle (1998) argues that
information technology “may actually be making us stupid.” (p. 618). He argues that the
computer t akes more of the thinking process out of students. Many people who grew up in the
pre-computer age worry that the use of computers will take the emotion and heart out of the
classroom. Wehrle (1998) states “the pre -computer age generation envisions designi ng computer
technologies that still take into account the emotional needs of the students” (p.5). Their main
argument against computers in the classroom is that teachers need to take into account the
importance of student emotions. They do not want the qui ck evolution of computer technology
to interfere with the student’s need for human support that they receive from the teacher -based
instruction. The implications of having computer technology in the schools are the belief that the
computer will solve many of the problems that teachers cannot. These include helping students
raise the standardized test scores, actually teaching students the basics such as reading and
mathematics, and implying that the teachers have the skills and abilities needed to accuratel y aid
students with their computer usage.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Education serves as a window through which our imagination and curiosity can take flight into
the unknown and enhance our creativity, and the use of computer technology in education plays
an enormous role in helpi ng students to achieve their full development potential. Given the role
that education plays in preparing students to go into the world, it seems clear that there should be
a connection between the world and the classroom. Unless education reflects the wor ld in which
it exists, it has no relevance for the students.
In conclusion, the advantages discussed concerning computer technology in the classroom
outweigh the disadvantages.
Computer technology is a positive supplement to bridge the gap between educat ion and the
technological world in which we live. Computer -assisted technologies in schools offer students
greater access to information, an eager motivation to learn, a jump -start on marketable job skills
and an enhanced quality of class work.
The role a nd importance of the use of computer technology in EFL classrooms for teaching,
learning, practicing and testing purposes has always been widely contemplated subject among
the ELT researchers and pedagogues. Though this use of computer technology into fore ign
language teaching, learning and assessment started during 1950s, it was not so widespread
practice then. It did not form very important place in teaching and learning process of EFL due
to the technology and infrastructure related issues. However, with the emergence of first
generation of personal computers in the 1980s, the use of computer technology in education, in
general, and in EFL classrooms in particular, was accelerated. As this use proved fruitful,
producing positive results in teaching, learn ing and testing processes, it paved way to further
research on possible exploitation of this technology for achieving maximum results. This resulted
in people from varied fields like, computer engineers and software designers, applied lin guists,
academicia ns, language International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language &
Translation Studies teachers and assessment specialists to join the hands to use this technology
for making teaching and learning of foreign language like English more innovative, dynamic,
interactive, interesting, easy and learner -centered.
5.1 THE USE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY IN EFL CLASSROOM
Today, computer technology enjoys a noticeable presence in second and foreign language
teaching and learning processes. This is because of infinite benefits this use has for teaching,
learning and assessing second and foreign language like English. The use of computer, in EFL
classroom, can offer the delivery of a wide variety of multimedia content, with pedantic and
authentic language models, accessed with individual control. It also presents another source of
target language knowledge and examples and rel ieves the EFL teacher as the sole font of target
language knowledge in the classroom as summarized by Szendeffy (2008, P. 04).The use of
computer also offers other channels of communication between class members and distant
learners as well as supplemental practice exercises and tutorial feedback. The use also shifts the
learning environment from the traditional ‘teacher – centered’ towards the ‘learner -centered’
approach moving EFL learner as passive entity to a student who is active in the search for the
fulfillment of his or her own learning needs and to use the language in an authentic situation
(Adams & Burns, 1999; and Muir -Herzig, 2004). Benefits like these provide opportunities for a
creative and dynamic EFL teacher to tap into these positive aspects to orchestrate challenging
activities in his / her classroom that involve and empower students, stimulate thought and

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

production, and create more instances of authentic interaction between learners using the target
language.
The use of computer technology for teaching & learning foreign language skills
The use of computer technology in EFL classrooms has many advantages for developing the EFL
learners’ language skills. The use of computer presents the EFL learners with gateway to various
activities for de veloping their language skills.
5.1.1 C omputer technology and listening comprehension skill
The use of computer as a listening tool is claimed to be one of the more important learning tools
for enhancing EFL students’ listening skill. It allows students to learn independently and to
receive immediate feedback upon the completion of tasks (Hoven, 1999). Teaching and learning
of listening using various media embedded in computer can enrich the skill and help in producing
better results. The use of computer also gives students the opportunity to enhance language
learning by bringing in the real world. Digit ized speech and video, offered by the use of computer,
can also be highly effective for developing this important language skill.
Using computer, with inte rnet, also has plenty of benefits for developing listening. Such use can
provide so many authentic audio and video resources to listen and to develop the associated
language skills. There are so many useful websites like www.mylanguagelab.com,
www.longmane nglishinteractive.com, etc . which offer innumerable listening exercises, for
learning and testing listening skill for free. This kind of multimedia -based model of EFL
instruction in listening comprehension skill has been advocated by many researchers like Hoven
(1999); Plass, and Jones (2005) etc. In addition to the widest variety and greatest quantity of
content ever available for EFL learners, the use of computer along with internet, also provides an
abundant variety of language –through context – learning opportunities and interactive activities,
most in authentic context.
5.1.2 Computer technology and speaking skill
The use of computer technology, with internet, can also be helpful for learning, improving,
practicing and assessing speaking skill. EFL lea rners can use computer, tablets and Smartphones,
connecting with internet, to chat and talk with native speakers and practice and improve their
language, in friendlier foreign language learning environment. Today many social networking
sites like Skype, Ni mbuzz, Yahoo and Facebook etc allow this kind of audio as well video talk,
in addition to IM (instant messaging) service. This kind of online talk, with native speakers of
English, has been advocated, as very useful tool for improving speaking proficiency as well as
pronunciation by the scholars like Payne and Whitney (2002). Such use of computer technology
also gets even the reluctant EFL learners to speak. Thus, the use of computer technology for
developing speaking provides learning opportunities where t here is less teacher fronting and are
authentic and challenging situations for improving this important skill.

5.1.3 Computer technology and reading comprehension skill
The use of computer technology can contribute a lot in developing EFL learners’ read ing
comprehension skill and other sub -skills related to it as well. Using computers, with the use of

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

internet provides a variety of current and authentic reading materials compared to potentially
dated reading material sourced from textbooks (Kasper, 2000) . Chun and Plass (1996) stress that
the verbal and visual systems in computer programs help students to better understand the text.
Most of the CALL programs are filled with graphics and voices and when EFL learners visualize
the situation, they can remem ber the subject better in the long term. Many studies (Nikolova
(2002) have also reported that CALL programs for vocabulary development have positive results.
Learning vocabulary, using computers, helps learners to learn vocabulary significantly faster tha n
the traditional way of teaching vocabulary. The varieties of reading materials, available with the
use of computer technology and internet can encourage EFL learners and open opportunities to
read widely in foreign language like English. This can be high ly effective for developing
vocabulary through wide reading and in mastering important structures in the target language.
That is why it is argued that computers can promote extensive reading; build reading fluency and
rate; develop intrinsic motivation fo r reading; and contribute to a coherent curriculum for student
learning.
5.1.4 Computer technology and writing skill
Another pedagogical benefit of the use of computer technology is the argument that such use is
one of the most effective tools to teach wr iting. The study by Cunningham (2000) concluded that
his students found that his writing class was more productive when he used word processing
software with his students. He surveyed 37 EFL students in his writing class to study the students’
attitudes to wards using computers in their writing. 88% of students indicated that they had
improved their writing skills whilst using word processing. These students indicated that using a
word processor during the writing process helped them to concentrate on certai n aspects of their
writing, for example: grammar, vocabulary and the organization or structure of their text. Similar
results were also reported by Kasper (2000) which highlight the useful role of the use of computer
technology in developing writing skill of EFL learners.
5.1.5 Computer technology and EFL assessment and testing
The use of computer, with internet, is effective not only for teaching and learning foreign
language like English but also for testing and assessment purpose. The use of computer, to assess
and test EFL learners, ensures correct assessment of their language ability. Many scholars like
Chapelle, and Douglas (2006); Dandonoli (1989); and Stansfield (1990) etc. have advocated this
use of computer technology in the fi eld of foreign lang uage assessment and testing. There are
many useful websites which provide language learners with many online tests. English as a
foreign language lear ners can visit them and assess their language ability and proficiency. Some
of these websites include – www .dialang.org, www.market -leader.net, www.ecollege.com,
www.myenglishlab.com, www.hotpot.uvic.ca, www.school.discovery.com etc., to mention a
very few. In addition, EFL teachers can prepare their own online tests, for their students, for the
courses being t aught by them by using authoring programs like Hot Potatoes, Macromedia
Authorware etc.

5.1.6 Computer technology and learner autonomy
The importance of learners deciding their own learning objectives, choosing ways of achieving
the learning objectives a nd evaluating their own progress has long been acknowledged by

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

language learning pedagogy (Ellis, 1994). From a language learning perspective, computers are
recognized as attractive learning tools that provide students with opportunities to become
autonomo us learners (Bork, 1994; Hoven, 1999; Nikolova, 2002). If used creatively and wisely
with suitable activities, the use computer technology can help EFL learners in many ways and
can be an effective tool to motivate EFL learners to seek and to fulfill their own learning needs
by themselves.
5.1.7 Computer technology and learner motivation
Motivation is one of the key factors that influences the rate and success of foreign language
learning. Motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate EFL learning and later remains the
driving force that sustains this long and often tedious learning process (Dornyei, 1998). Many
EFL luminaries and pedagogues agree that the use of computer technology in EFL instruction
provides situations that motivate learners to le arn. The use of computer technology, along with
internet, helps in motivating EFL learners to learn through authentic, challenging tasks that are
interdisciplinary in nature. Such use also encourages EFL learners’ active involvement with the
target languag e and content in a real, authentic situation. These above discussed advantages,
along with some other, are listed below
5.1.8 Advantages of the use of computer technology in EFL instruction
 1 The use of computer technology can make EFL learning easy and interesting.
 2 The use of computer technology offers many opportunities for language learners to learn
the language by their own using internet.
 The use of computer technology, with internet, provides language learners many
opportunities of practicing an d using English.
 The use of computer technology also helps the learners to assess and test themselves and
get feedback.
 The use of computer technology offers students the option of self -directed learning and
to connect learning to valuable work skills an d personal use.
 The use of computer technology makes language learning learner -centered.
 The use of computer technology provides opportunities for EFL learners to work both on
their own and as part of a group to find their own learning needs and to use t he English
language in an authentic situation.
 The use of computer technology in EFL teaching can motivate students because the
learning environment is more enjoyable.
 The use of computer technology in EFL classroom can help students to understand the
complex concepts more easily.
 10 The use of computer technology in EFL classroom can help students to learn at their
own pace.
 11 The use of computer technology in EFL instruction can provide a multisensory
learning environment.
 12 The use of computer tec hnology in EFL instruction can help students to learn
independently through self – discovery.
 13 The use of computer technology can increase students’ participation in activities in the
classroom.
 14 The use of computer technology can increase interactio n in the classroom and provide
more active role in learning.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

 15 The use of computer technology provides much needed exposure of target language in
various forms for the EFL learners.
 16 The use of computer technology helps EFL teachers to promote a const ructive class
environment.
With such advantages and benefits for EFL teachers and learners, it is not surprising that the
demand for using computer technology to support teaching, learning and testing processes in
EFL classrooms is becoming more serious. Thus integrating computer technology in EFL
classroom can help in bringing changes to the traditional teaching and learning environment in
order to create what is termed as more ‘authentic’ and ‘dynamic’ learning environment.
5.1.9 Implications for EFL teachers and learners
Foreign language learning is considered to be both an intensive and time -consuming activity.
According to Bialystok and Hakuta (1994), “anywhere from 700 to 1320 hours of full -time
instruction are needed to reach a level of high fluency” (P.34). In contrast to this view, most EFL
learners spend on average only 150 hours per academic year actively studying a foreign language.
This situation is more problematic for EFL learners, in the EFL context like Libya, where students
begin studying a foreign language in high school and continue at university. In such problematic
situation, increasing contact with the target language is believed to be the obvious solution which
can be achieved by studying English in the countri es where it is spoken as L1 or first/native
language. However, this does not seem to be the practical solution as it is the most expensive
method of acquiring linguistic competence in a foreign language like English. Thus, most of the
EFL learners remain d eprived of this option as only few can opt for it. The result therefore is, in
most cases teaching and learning a foreign language like English becomes unsuccessful as EFL
learners receive impoverished or insufficient input in the target language (Cummins (1998), P.
19). Therefore, as Blake (20008) argues, if computer technology is used wisely and creatively, it
could play a very significant role in enhancing EFL learners’ contact with the target language,
particularly in the absence of the study abroad opt ion. Such views signify the importance of
computer technology in overcoming many prevailing problems in EFL situations and have many
implications both for EFL teachers and learners. If EFL teachers and learners cooperate and use
this technology wisely, it can play wonders in achieving the aims and objectives of teaching and
learning of foreign language like English.
5.1.10 Conclusion
The use of computer technology for teaching, learning, practicing and assessing foreign language,
like English, has many ad vantages, for practicing and assessing language skills. The Use of
Computer Technology in EFL Classroom of computer technology in EFL instruction while
teaching, learning and assessing target language, the results would be highly encouraging,
productive an d profitable for all those associated with these processes. As the success of any
initiative, in language teaching and learning processes, lies in the guided and coordinated efforts,
so is the case with the use of computer technology. Therefore, all those related with the planning,
teaching, learning and assessing as well as testing foreign language like English if join the hands
together to exploit this technology for better and productive EFL teaching and learning, the stated
aims and objective of teachin g and learning of foreign language like English can be achieved
very easily.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

6. PREMISES OF THE PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as computers and internet to
teach EFL reading and listening is graining wide concern among researchers and teachers in
different settings. ICT are nowadays representing a sign of progress in education and a crucial
factor to pursue requirements of the changing world and the digital generation of stude nts.
6.1. TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED CLASSROOM: AN OVERVIEW
Multimedia technologies (Computers, Internet, Videos, CD ROM, IWBs…) are revolutionizing
all aspects of life in today’s world. The impact of the technological expansion has contributed to
great achievements worldwide; in education, for example, research evidence about the
advantages of technologies in the learning classroom have become the core focus of many
contemporary researches. However, introducing a technology in the classroom should not be
done at random. Jones and Sato (1998) suggest that in adopting any technology one should
consider the following questions:
– Does the technology facilitate the attainment of course goals?
– Is it cost effective? Do the benefits outweigh its cost?
– Are th e teachers ready to work with the new technology? Is any training required?
– Does it help teachers make more efficient use of class time? (Jones and Sato 1998, mentioned
in Richards and Rinandya, 2002:361).
Providing answers to the above questions will ma ke both teachers and students benefit from the
technology to large extent. Here are some examples:
– Technology equipped classroom encourages not only the students but the teacher also in a
positive way (Jonassen, 2000).
 It provides a good opportunity to d evelop and create different and enjoyable tasks in
the EFL classroom (Gent Ilter, 2009).
 It helps students become active, motivated and involved in language learning process
(Opcit).
It motivates students and engages them in the skill of speaking, reading, listening and writing
easier (Anderson and Speck, 2001).

 It increases students’ interest in the classroom (Mayora, 2006).
Unquestionably, the effective integration of any technology in the language classroom requires
as claimed by Al -Mekhlafi (2004), Ch en (2008) and Ertmer (1999) to take into consideration
some factors such as teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and willingness. Compatible with this
requirement, students’ attitudes as users of the technology and active participants in the learning
process are a lso important in the success or failure of any innovation in the classroom, especially

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

when innovation has to do with the introduction of new technologies such as computers and
internet in teaching EFL reading and listening.

6.2. COMPUTERS, INTERNET, IWBS AND EFL READING/LISTENING
Integrating computers or/and the internet technology in the Foreign language classroom is a
subject of great deabate. Most research findings in the field of ICT reveal promising results about
the use of computers and internet in EFL reading. Kyeung Kim (2008) assumes that these
technologies can provide “both ESL/EFL teachers and students with virtually boundless uses”
(Kyeung Kim, 2008:242). CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) has nowadays become
a common feature of most E FL classrooms. A wealth of research (e.g. Jonassen et al, 1999) stress
the great benefits CALL has in increasing students’ interaction (in the target language) in the
form of exchanging, discussing and negotiating utterances and information to construct th eir
knowledge about the target language. For Harmer (2007) computer -based instruction can also
provide students with unreachable and fascinating activities which motivate them. Ybarra and
Green (2003) state that computers can provide added practice when ne cessary. They in addition
enable students to engage with materials in authentic environments and to integrate various
language skills and usage (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). With particular emphasis on the reading
classroom, Case and Truscott (1999) stress the importance of computers and the internet as good
sources in developing reading skills. They argued that computer -based reading helps increase
students’ interaction with texts, attention to individual needs, and increases independence through
an ability to read texts they would not otherwise be able to read. It also helps them improve their
sight word vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension which are crucial for improvement in
reading. Similarly, AlKahtani (1999) comments that previous research about the use of computers
for reading instruction clearly supported the idea that computer -based instruction facilitates
students’ reading comprehension and increases their reading speed such as studies conducted by
(Kulik et al, 1983). Moreover, Pérez Correa et al (2004) provide guidelines for successful
computer – reading/listening instruction in the classroom:
1. Computer instruction in reading/listening should focus on meaning and stress reading/listening
comprehension.
2. Computer instruction in reading and listening should foster active involvement and stimulate
thinking.
3. Computer instruction in reading and listening should support and extend students ’ knowledge
of text and audio material structure.
4. Computer instruction in reading and listening should make use of content from a wide range
of subject areas.
5. Computer instruction in reading should link reading and writing.
6. Computer instruction in listening should link listening and speaking.
Taking into account all that has already been mentioned abo ut the important role of computers in
the reading/liste ning classroom, one can assert that successful computer instruction could be more
efficient if students are actively engaged in their learning and made more responsible for their

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

reading and listening, because computer -based instruction is student -centered instruction
(Pedersen & Liu, 2003; Sandholtz et al, 1997). Moreover and compared to direct models or
teacher -centered teaching, “the use of computers in a student -centered approach involves active
participation of students in their learning process” (Kyeung Kim, 2008: 243). In this respect,
studies of some researchers (e.g. Miller and Olson 1994 and Cuban 2001) further state is that the
use of computers can sometimes transform teachers’ pedagogical pra ctices from teacher -centered
to student -centered ones. Due to the invaluable role of the internet technology in the classroom it
has become as put by Chen (2008) “possible and feasible for language teachers to make effective
use of instructional materials, especially in teaching language and culture” (Chen, 2008:1016).
During the last 10 years, more and more language teachers have integrated the internet into the
classroom (Fischer, 1999) for the simple reasons that:
– It offers “a new learning environment and a wealth of pedagogic possibilities” (Yang, 2001:
156).
– It could serve as technological scaffolding, which complements teacher scaffolding inside and
outside the classrooms (Ibid).
– It encourages students, increases autonomous learning potential and brings enthusiasm into the
classroom (Ellinger et al, 2001).
– It serves as a mediating tool for technology -enhanced and student -centered instructional
environments (Watson, 2006).
– It helps motivate students (Warschauer, 1999 and Yang, 2001).
– It contr ibutes to teacher professional development (Al -Mekhlafi, 2004).
In reading and listening particularly electronic books and stories, audio books and stories used in
EFL classrooms enrich students’ interest and lead them to be a good readers and listeners.
Furthermore, the internet technology can be used to stimulate different tasks in the EFL reading
and listening classroom, for example online -reading/listening materials such as reading online
news “prepare students to become life -long users of the language” (LeLoup & Ponterio, 2004:
06). For better understanding of the various possibilities of implementing any technological
device in the EFL classroom and to ignite teachers’ curiosity to use ICT in teaching EFL reading
and listening, we deem it necessary to make a comparison between the traditional and the
technology -enhanced reading and listening classroom.

6.3. TRADITIONAL READING/LISTENING CLASSROOM VS TECHNOLOGY -ENHANCED
READING /LISTENING CLASSROOM
The teaching of reading and listening to fifth to eigh th year EFL students is a demanding task
which needs elaboration of efforts between teachers and students. The majority of EFL teachers,
if not all of them, are still locked in traditional patterns of teaching the fruitful skill of reading
and listening and for most of them innovation in the classroom is a nightmare. Extensive reading
on the other side is given very small space in the classroom and students are only asked to read
and listen extensively outside the classroom without any help from the teach er. It was clearly
observed in this study that in teaching reading and listening teachers give more importance to the

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

product of reading and listening, paying little attention to the fact that reading and listening are
both process and product. In such cas es teachers leave their students ill -equipped with the
necessary reading and listening skills and strategies or any training that enable them a full
involvement in the reading or listening task and help them practice listening or reading in and out
of cla ss. Evidence of this fact can be highlighted with reference to the way EFL reading and
listening are taught in our classrooms. As described by some EFL teachers and observed by the
researcher the main steps are as follows:
1. The teacher introduces the tex t in a form of oral questions in order to test students’ background
knowledge about the topic to be dealt with.
2. The teacher opens discussion with students about their answers.
3. The teacher reads the text aloud to the class (one time) then asks student s to read the text
silently.
4. Some students will have the opportunity to read aloud.
5. The teacher presents new vocabulary and clarifies ambiguities.
6. He asks students about the content of the text (question -answer).
7. After a general comprehension o f the main ideas of the text, the teacher gives students different
reading activities including WH questions, yes/no questions, direct/indirect questions…etc.
8. The teacher provides general feedback.
Clearly and with reference to the already mentioned st eps (which are nearly the same in many
schools around the town as reported by other EFL teachers from different towns around the
country), one may assert that this kind of reading/listening instruction which is typically teacher –
centered reduces students’ progress and autonomy, it does not involve students in active
reading/listening nor does it motivate them read / listen extensively on their own. Such prevalent
situation is in fact weakening our teaching pedagogy and making the majority of our students
passive practitioners who always wait for the teacher to spoon feed them. Part of the responsibility
in this situation is put on the teacher whose primarily task is to guide students in the
reading/listening process, stimulate their curiosity for reading an d listening and more importantly
teach them necessary strategies to cope with their reading/listening problems. If the EFL teacher
performs well his roles and responsibilities, he will undoubtedly any novelty in the classroom.
Contrary to the traditional c lassroom where the text and the teacher are the source of students’
language input and instruction, today and with the worldwide perspectives about the role of
technologies in education, new opportunities are offered to the foreign language student to
achieve an advanced level in reading using ICT. The technology -enhanced reading/listening
classroom is in certain extent different from the traditional classroom; the main differences are
stated in the table below and can be generalized to the extensive readin g classroom.
EFL Traditional Reading Classroom EFL Technology -enhanced Reading Classroom
– More learner -centered.
– More teacher -centered. – Teacher authority is restricted.
– Teacher authority is limitless. – The technology is an aid for reading.
– The text is the only used material. – Students monitor their own reading and the
teacher guidance is provided only when necessary.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

– Teacher monitors every step in reading. – It is advised to provide students freedom for text
selection when possible.
– Text selection is most of the time the teacher’s
responsibility. – Teacher -student and student -student interaction.

Methodology
The present study seeks to know:
* Students’ attitudes and reactions to technology -enhanced reading/listening classroom
(computer/IWB/internet).
* Teachers’ attitudes and reactions to technology -enhanced reading/listening classroom
(computer/IWB/internet).
* Students and teachers benefits from the implementation of technologies reading/listening
classroom.
In order to achie ve the already stated aims, a number of questions are asked:
1. What are fifth to eighth year EFL students’ attitudes toward the presence of the computer/
internet/IWB technology in the listening/reading classroom?
2. How will they react to the technology -enhanced the listening/reading classroom?
4. Methodology
The present study seeks to know:
* Students’ and Teachers’ attitudes and reactions to technology -enhanced listening/reading
classroom (computer/internet/IWB).
* Students and teachers benefits from th e implementation of technologies in the listening/reading
classroom?
In order to achieve the already stated aims, a number of questions are asked:
1. What are fifth to eighth year EFL students’ attitudes toward the presence of the computer/
internet techn ology in the listening and reading classroom?
2. How will they react to the technology -enhanced in the listening and reading classroom?
3. What are EFL teachers’ attitudes toward technology -enhanced listening and reading
classroom?
4. How will they react t o the technology -enhanced listening and reading classroom?
5. To what extent will teachers and students benefit from the technology (computer/internet) in
the listening and reading classroom?
Students’ Comments
Students’ comments on their answers to the di fferent questions of the questionnaire were treated
by so that to take their preferences, views and interests into account when implementing the

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

computer, IWB or internet technology in the EFL listening and reading classroom classroom. In
spite of the fact that a number of students did not comment on some of their answers, comments
of the majority of the informants to all the questions revealed their interest and motivation to
express their personal opinions about the issue under study.
Treatment of studen ts’ comments on their answers to the questionnaire yielded important
conclusions:
• Previous bad experience with reading and listening in general and in particular still handicap
students’ progress in these skills. Unfortunately some students have negative attitudes towards
listening and reading and others do not read or listen at all.
• lack of interesting listening and reading materials and vocabulary problems are among the major
reasons that decrease students’ motivation to read or listen in English.
• Students are not encouraged to read or listen in English.
• Students are aware of the importance of ICT especially computers and the internet in today’s
world.
• Students are able to interact with the computers (they all know how to use this technology).
• The majority of students miss -use the internet. Most of them ignore the great benefits the
internet may offer them in improving their EFL learning and research in different topics related
to their studies.
• Students reading and listening through the internet is very rare and if done it is limited to some
short paragraphs or sentences as mentioned in their comments.
• Students showed motivation and interest for technologies in the EFL reading/listening
classroom. They are also conscious th at the implementation of ICT in the listening and reading
classroom needs encouragement and instruction from the teacher.
• Students are enthusiastic for the idea of implementing the new technologies mainly computers
and the internet in the EFL listening and reading classroom.
In general students’ comments reflect their awareness of the importance of ICT in today’s world
and the tremendous benefits of using computers and the internet in EFL in general and listening
and reading in particular. These results have indeed helped the researcher gather the necessary
data required for his research work. Moreover the informants’ positive attitudes and motivation
for the use of technologies encouraged the researcher to introduce the internet, IWB and computer
technol ogy in the EFL listening and reading classroom without fear of students’ bad reactions.
Teachers’ Comments
Teachers’ comments on their answers to the questionnaire were also gathered and analyzed. The
crucial objective of the researcher behind the treatmen t of teachers’ comments fall into two
points:
a. To collect reliable data about the informants’ attitudes and reactions to the idea of introducing
technologies in the EFL listening and reading classroom (computers/internet/IWB).

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

b. To take into considerati on teachers’ suggestions and views when instructing students in the
technology -enhanced listening and reading classroom.
The treatment of teachers’ comments revealed the following results:
• Teachers are well aware of the important status of technologies i n today’ hegemonic digital age
as reflected in their answers and comments.
• Teachers have the necessary skills (word processing, internet search and emails) that allow them
a good command of the computer and the internet if used properly in the listening and reading
classroom.
• Although teachers’ awareness about the invaluable role of technologies in all fields of life, some
of them are de -motivated to think about the implementation of any technological devise in their
EFL listening and reading classroom particularly for extensive listening and reading. Most of
them believe that they have first to cope with their students’ shortcomings in the traditional
technology free reading/listening classroom before thinking about anything else.
• Restriction in the use of technologies to teach EFL and absence of any initiative to use
computer/IWB or internet technology in the EFL listening and reading classroom. This fact is
due mainly to:
a. Teachers’ fear of losing their principle role as the unique authority in the classroom
in the presence of a technology.
b. Their discomfort with the idea of using computers or internet for the teaching of
reading and unwillingness to shift from the traditional EFL listening and reading
classroom where (for most of them) progress is gu aranteed to a technology – enhanced
classroom wher e nothing is guaranteed.
c. Their fear of the bad reaction of students and the miss -use of the technology.
• All teachers, including the ones who had no experience with technologies in their EFL classes
shared the same view that the source of constraints in the technology -enhanced classroom is either
the students or the technology itself and never the teacher.
• Teachers’ frustration of the idea that a technology may replace them is the reason o f their
hesitation in implementing technologies in their EFL classes main ly for extensive listening and
reading.

General Interpretations
Students and teachers showed positive attitudes towards Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) and are all aware f the numerous benefits of these technologies especially
computers, IWB and internet. For students the presence of a technology in the classroom will
make reading more enjoyable a nd help them practice this life long skill better than they do in the
technology free classroom where they do not have such an opportunity. In this context one of the
students who participated in the technology -enhanced listening and reading classroom states that:
“The extensive listening and reading lesson with the technology is more and more and more
interesting than any previous reading/listening classes where we did not have time to read/listen

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

at all”. However, the technology classroom is not free of troubles. The major constraints faced
by the students are as follows:
– Students’ weak competence in reading/listening in general.
– Students’ interest in the technology itself and not in the objective of the teacher behind using
this technology and which was in our case the practice of extensive reading and listening.
– Students’ frustration, anxiety and embarrassment in the technology -enhanced listening and
reading classroom.
– Students’ dependence on the teacher.
– Technical problems especially with the internet/computers.
– Insufficient time for the practice of extensi ve reading/listening.
Most EFL teachers think that the use of any technology will minimize their roles in the classroom.
For them, the chalk and the blackboard are better than any other new technology. In fact many
constraints impede them to introduction I CT in their listening and reading classroom, such as:
– The insufficient training in the use of technologies (computers/IWB/internet).
– Lack of experience in teaching listening and reading using the new technologies.
– Administration constraints (equipmen ts, time schedule, financial support…etc.).
– Students’ weak command of the new technologies (computers/IWB/internet).
– Students’ discipline problems in the technology -enhanced listening and reading classroom.
– Overcrowded reading/listening groups.
– Time constraints which is a constant issue.
– Absence of collaboration between teachers, especially those who implemented technologies for
reading / listening and those who did not.
– Absence of a good management of the technology -enhanced listening and rea ding classroom.
– Absence of teachers’ dissemination of their successful experiences with the technology in the
listening and reading classroom.
– Technical problems especially with the internet, computers and IWBs.
All these constraints represent in fact a challenge for both teachers and students, especially those
who want to pursue the world wide requirements of the century: the digital age teachers and
learners.
Suggestions and Recommendations
With emphasis on results of the present study we thought it i mportant to provide both teachers
and students with some suggestions and recommendations for the efficient use of ICT in the EFL
reading and listening classroom in general and the extensive reading and listening sessions in
particular.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

TEACHERS : The following recommendations are addressed to teachers, especially
those planning to integrate a technology (computer/internet/IWB) in the EFL listening
and reading classroom. The teachers should keep in mind that:
– Any novelty in his teaching is a great ste p toward professionalism and development.
– He has to treat all the possibilities of introducing the technology in his reading/listening classes
and/or extensive reading/listening sessions.
– He has to take into account other teachers experience in teachin g reading/listening using
technologies.
– He has to take into account his students’ age, interest and level before he steps for any new
experience of introducing a technology for listening and reading.
– The selection of listening and reading materials from the internet need careful supervision.
– Technical problems such as electricity problems, the speed of the internet or connection
problems are not rare in the technology classroom, what is important is to know how to deal with
such obstacles when not expected.
– Pre-training in the use of any technology is necessary for the teacher and students alike.
– Pre and post discussion sessions can aid him know more about students preferences, view points
and more importantly about the problems they encounter i n the technology -enhanced listening
and reading classroom.
– Supervision in the EFL technology listening and reading classroom and the good command of
the technology are not sufficient parameters for a successful technology -enhanced lesson,
students’ enjoy ment and progress are other parameters to consider.
STUDENTS : As principle pillars in the teaching/ learning process, students are also
provided with some suggestions that may be of help for them in the technology –enhanced
listening and reading classroom. Students should bear in mind that:
– Learning the EFL cannot be achieved without at least acquiring the reading skills that enable
them read/listen with comprehension.
– Technologies, especially computers and internet have become vital in education in gene ral and
in teaching/learning foreign languages in particular.
– They have to manipulate the technology for their own benefits: learning the EFL in general and
improving their reading/listening proficiency in particular.
– Relaying totally on the teacher wi ll never help them build their autonomy in learning the EFL
and achieve the desired level of progress in reading and listening.
– Training in the use of any technology is needed.
– It is never late to ask the teacher for help when needed.
– Extra collabora tive work (pair and group work) in using the internet for material selection is
encouraged as a way to learn from each other, for example, students can exchange materials they
read/listen via internet or comment on some of the texts they come across during their selection.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

6.4 A CASE STUDY
During 2013 -2014 school year we developed and applied a case study for students in the 7th
grade in our school. There were two classes implied in the project with an equal number of
students, namely 27. 7th A students wer e taught using traditional methods and aids while 7th
C students were subjected to modern methods, to technological aids. We considered in our
study lessons which dealt with reading and listening sequences/a spects of the teaching
process, including teachin g, learning, discovering, practicing, consolidating, revising and
testing. If during the first semester there were no significant differences, these differences,
visible in the results obtained at tests, were obvious at the end of the school year. 7th C students
obtained better results after testing their knowledge and skills and we consider that this
progress is due to using technology in teaching among other circumstances.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

A1
22%
A2
45%B1
26%B2
7%
RESULTS FOR THE INITIAL READING TEST OF
STUDENTS IN THE 7th grade C
A1
A2
B1
B2
02468101214
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -INITIAL READING TEST
7th A
7th C
A1
26%
A2
41%B1
22%B2
11%
RESULTS FOR THE INITIAL READING TEST OF
STUDENTS IN THE 7th grade A
A1 A2 B1 B2

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

051015
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE INITIAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade A
A1 A2 B1 B2
051015
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE INITIAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade C
A1 A2 B1 B2
051015
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -INITIAL LISTENING TEST
7th grade A 7th grade C

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

A1
A2B1B2
RESULTS FOR THE FINAL READING TEST FOR
STUDENTS OF THE 7 th grade A AT THE END
OF THE 1st SEMESTER
A1 A2 B1 B2
15%
45%33%7%RESULTS FOR THE FINAL READING TEST FOR STUDENTS
OF THE 7TH GRADE C AT THE END OF THE 1ST
SEMESTER
A1
A2
B1
B2
01020
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -FINAL READING TEST AT THE END
OF THE 1 st SEMESTER
7th A 7th C

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

051015
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE FINAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade A AT THE END OF THE 1st SEMESTER
A1 A2 B1 B2
051015
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE FINAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade C AT THE END OF THE 1st SEMESTER
A1 A2 B1 B2
05101520
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -FINAL LISTENING TEST at the end
of the 1st semester
7th A 7th C

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

A1
11%
A2
35%B1
46%B2
8%
RESULTS FOR THE FINAL READING TEST OF STUDENTS IN THE
7th grade C at the end of the school year
A1
A2
B1
B2
02468101214
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -FINAL READING TEST
7th A
7th C
A1
28%
A2
36%B1
29%B2
7%
RESULTS FOR THE FINAL READING TEST OF STUDENTS IN THE
7th grade A at the end of the school year
A1 A2 B1 B2

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

051015
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE FINAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade A AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
A1 A2 B1 B2
05101520
A1 A2 B1 B2RESULTS FOR THE FINAL LISTENING TEST OF STUDENTS IN
THE 7 th grade C AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
A1 A2 B1 B2
05101520
A1 A2 B1 B2COMPARATIVE RESULTS -FINAL LISTENING TEST at the end
of the school year
7th A 7th C

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Conclusions
Findings of the present study urge the need for educational reforms at the level of our schools
particularly in the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in
teaching/learning the EFL in general and the listening and reading in particular. The study shows
the great benefits the technology -enhanced listening and reading classroom can offer students
and teachers, particularly in helping the former introduce changes in the teaching of
reading/listening and in engaging th e latter in the fruitful skill of extensive reading and listening.
It therefore becomes sine qua non for practitioners in education to interact with technologies in
the language classroom and to reinforce the status of listening and reading skills in the c urriculum
so that it becomes one of their most preferable activities. We hope the present study will help
both teachers and students step toward innovation in the reading and listening classroom and
cooperate to introduce ICT in the classroom.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

CONCLUSIONS

Benefits of technology for learners
In the past, teachers used to complain about the difficulties of setting up an atmosphere which
caters for the needs of learners with their various learning styles. Nowadays, it is due to
technology that some learners no longer feel marginalized in the cla ssroom. In this respect Butler –
Pascoe and Wiburg (2003) assert that “multimedia provides the multiple modalities needed to
meet the needs of students with different learning styles and strategies” (p.7). Simply put, the
integration of technology in languag e classes triggered learners’ satisfaction and autonomy.
In most second language learning contexts, learners’ exposure to L2 was limited to the classroom;
this problem has been successfully solved with ICT for this latter provides longer exposure to L2.
In the realm of ICT, learners are set into two categories. Techno -pros (students who have a good
mastery of technology and can use it in their learning), and techno -pals (students with very limited
skills in using technology as a learning tool). The two cat egories cooperate with each other in
sharing knowledge about technology and language which in fact promotes students -students
interaction.
Butler -Pascoe and Wiburg (2003) devoted a part of their work to the description of twelve
attributes of a successful Technology -Enhanced Language Learning Environment (TELLE). It is
important to mention the most interesting attributes since they are overlapping. A successful use
of technology
“(1) provides interaction, communicative activities, and real audience”. A goo d technology
generates learners’ interaction not only among themselves but also with the material used for
teaching. It also introduces authentic audience which creates communication and develops
learners’ communicative competence.
It also
“(2) supplies comprehensible input”. The integration of technology expends learners’ experience
with language as opposed to the limited experience offered in traditiona l classrooms.
Moreover, it
“(3) supports development of cognitive abilities”. Using technology, lear ners develop research
skills, critical thinking, and inquiry -based learning in a way that they become responsible for their
own learning and check the validity of information they receive in or outside class.
“(4) facilitates focused development of Englis h language skills”. Since language skills (listening,
reading, speaking and writing) are the basis for language learning, learners are supposed to have
enough room for a balanced practice of the four skills in order to be competent in L2. Technology
as a p ersonalized tool for learning allows learners to have enough practice of the four skills.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

“(5) meets affective needs of students”. This is the most striking aspect about technology in
language classes. It is taken for granted that computers can never repl ace teachers’ affec tive
support for learners. Yet, “ the self -esteem of second language learners is enhanced when […]
they produce accurate, attractive work using word pro cessing and desktop publishing”.
Benefits of technology for teachers:
The integration of ICT in language teaching and learning is also beneficial for teachers.
According to Connelly and Clanandin (1988) technology helps teachers become developers of
their own curriculum; thus, they can tailor assignments and instructions to sustain a posit ive
interaction to increase learners’ interest and motivation.
Ranging from tape -recorders to websites, technology helps teachers develop a highly interactive
class which is a value according to advocates of communicative language learning (CLT).
Moreover , with the emergence of CLT (1960s), language teachers needed to adapt their teaching
styles and adopt new techniques to enhance learners’ communicative competence. Consequently,
through the use of technology teachers gained access to communicative tasks t hat “(1) utilize
information gap […]; (2) allow speaker autonomy […]; and (3) provide feedback from the
interlocutor” (p29). In addition to this, an effective exploitation of ICT allows teachers to create
real-world settings in the classroom which is a pri mordial component for the development of
communicative competence.
In chapters 4 and 5, Butler -Pascoe and Wiburg (2003) highlight the effectiveness of technology
to support the acquisition of language skills. While using technology, it becomes easier for
teachers to design listening passages, reading texts, pronunciation activities, and writing tasks.
Assessment is a basic step in language learning and teaching. Sometimes it is described as a
learning and teaching map via which learners get to know where t hey stand and teachers also
become aware of their teaching achievements. Wilson and Davis (1994), Darling (1997), Chao
(1999) and others suggest that traditional assessment in its standardized form is unfair as it limits
students’ performances to small uni ts of behaviours. In general, the purpose of this paper is to
demonstrate the extent to which technology has a deep influence on language teaching and
learning practices. As far as assessment is concerned, it is important to point out that technology
helps teachers set up environments for assessment that “support project -based and product -based
learning. That is, a learning that demonstrates “what students have learned and then to develop
related rubrics, checklists, or other forms of alternative assessment s for evaluating student
learning” (pp 219 -220).
Limitations of ICT in language teaching and learning:
The computerized classroom is not the utopian environment for language learning to take place.
Skeele (1999), Harrington (1993), and Sharma (2009) see th at there are restrictions concerning
the implementation of technology in the classroom.
Herbert and Nobel assured that “for the computer to bring about a revolution in higher education,
its introduction must be accompanied by improvements in our understand ing of learning and
teaching”. A number of teachers and students are resistant to change; thus, using technology in
teaching and learning creates gaps among practitioners of language teaching and language

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learners. Harrington (1993) in his turn supports th e same idea by assuming that the use of
technology in the classroom puts techno -pals at a disadvantage.
Among the restrictions of using technology in the classroom is the need for the technical know –
how; in a different way, teacher’s limited knowledge abo ut technology affects the effectiveness
of their teaching when they choose to use technology.
Other than that, for a good learning to take place, the affective support for learners is highly
essential. It is agreed that technology in all its forms can ne ver replace the teacher, that is to say,
no one can deny the truth that the immediate mechanical feedback offered in word processing
does not satisfy learners’ curiosity as it may happen with teacher’s explanations and humanized
feedback.
WHY SHOULD I INT EGRATE TECHNOLOGY IN MY TEACHING?
There is a wide availability of new and emerging technology tools that can assist teacher in
making teaching much easier and much more fun.
This integration has become even more essential since technology is becoming the e ngine on
which teaching and learning operates. The world is therefore forced to invest in the use of
technology into institutions to meet the needs of students.
What is technology about?
Technology is about creating instructional environments that can fac ilitate active engagement,
meet the specific and varying learning needs of the students, facilitate collaborative problem
solving, providing students with authentic learning environments.
How is technology Integration Achieved?
Technology integration is achieved when technology is accessible and readily available for the
task at hand.
Technology integration is achieved when technology tools support the curricular goals, and help
the students to effectively reach their goals. Students are more actively eng aged in projects when
technology integration is a seamless part of the learning process.
Integrating Technology in Education
Technology integration in education requires students to actively use technology, not just view
technology -based content created by their teachers. The goal of technology integration is for
teachers to apply the use of technology in a seamless manner so that it supports and extends
curriculum objectives and engages students in meaningful learning.
Accepting Technology Integration.
The acceptance of change is a major requirement for technology integration. Technology is
continuously changing. It is an ongoing process. It demands continual learning. Change is not
always easy. The initial human reaction to change is resistance. Resistance makes for slow
change, but change is inevitable.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

What Is Technology Integration?
Technology integration is the use of technology resources – computers, digital cameras, CD –
ROMs, software applications, the Internet, etc. – in daily classroom practices, and in the
management of a school.
Technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent.
Technology integration is achieved when a child or a teacher doesn't stop to think that he or she
is using a computer or researchin g via the Internet.
Integrating Technology in Education
Teachers should strive to make technology a part of everyday life in the classroom, while using
it to enrich learning activities. They should not use technology just to use it.
Teachers should find w ays to use technology so that it enhances instruction and improves student
learning.
The focus of technology integration activities should not be on the technology that is used, but
on the student activities that are conducted using technology.
Technology integration does not happen by accident. Teachers must learn how to incorporate
student use of technology into meaningful activities in their lesson plans.
There is a learning curve to becoming proficient in technology integration, but once the skills ar e
learned and activities are identified and located or developed, teachers find that technology can
actually reduce preparation time.
Why is Technology Integration Needed?
Education leaders have recognized the importance of students learning how to use te chnology
and have enacted new technology standards that require teachers to integrate the use of
technology into the curriculum for every subject.
They have seen the great need for students to learn to use technology as a part of their daily lives
in orde r to prepare themselves for a future filled with technology.
Almost all workers in business, industry, government, and education are now required to use
technology. The technology skills and knowledge that students gain in the classroom will create
a found ation for the technology skills and knowledge they will need in the future.

Rationale for Using Technology in Education
1. Technology provides motivation for students by:
 Gaining learner attention
 Engaging the learner through production work
 Increasing perceptions of control

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

2. Technology offers unique instructional capabilities, such as:
 Linking learners to information and educational resources
 Helping learners visualize problems and solutions
 Tracking learner progress
 Linking learners to learning tools
3. Technology gives support for new instructional approaches, such as:
 Cooperative learning
 Shared intelligence
 Problem solving and higher level skills
4. Technology skills are required for an information age:
 Technology literacy
 Information literacy
 Visual literacy
5. Technology increased teacher productivity by:
 Freeing time to work with students by helping with production and record -keeping
tasks
 Providing more accurate information more quickly
 Allowing teachers to produce better looking, more “student -friendly” materials more
quickly
Unfortunately, more often than not, teachers are afraid to undertake such an arduous task as
teaching through technology , some for fear of looking ridiculous, some for fear of losing control
of the class, others for fear of wasting precious learning time on playing games and having fun,
when school and schooling should be all about serious, tedious study and hard work. Still, if given
a chance, technology can change minds, routines, habits and u ltimately people; so sometimes,
maybe it i s worth taking a leap of faith and walk an untraveled path.

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APPENDIX 2
SAMPLE LESSON PLAN
LESSON PLAN
Name: Ioana Iura
Date – the 10th of February 201 3
Class – V C
No of students – 26
Time -11-11.50
Lesson: THE PRINCESS AND THE DRAGON
Type of lesson – Listening, Reading, Writing and Conversation
Aims
1. demonstrating their comprehension of some possible new words
2. demonstrating their comprehension of the text
3. demonstrating their comprehension while listening and watching a movie and
reading the subtitles
4. using words related to the topic individually
5. using the new vocabulary working in groups
Skills – speaking, reading, listening, writing
Materials -handouts, movie, pictures
Lesson stages
1. Checking homework
The teacher checks students’ homework.
Students’ homework was to write 10 sentences about their holiday.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

2.Warm – up
 Charades.
The teacher writes actions on slips of paper before the class and places students in
small groups and give each group one slip of paper. They must act out the action on
the paper without speaking, and the other groups must guess the answer. The game
continues for five minute s so that all the groups have a chance to act out.
3. Aim 1: demonstrating their comprehension of some possible new words.
The teacher introduces some new words related with the theme. The students work in
groups and have to match the pictures with the written words. The teacher explains the
unknown words and helps the students pronouncing them correctly. Students take
turns i n giving the correct answers.
4. Aim 2: demonstrating their comprehension of the text
The students set in groups. Each group receives a set of pictures and story lines which
are mingled. They have to re -build the story (to find the correct order of the pictures
and lines). The first group to do it correctly will be rewarded with a certificate of
achievement. The answers will be written on a piece of paper (each picture has a letter
written on it and has to be matched with a number from 1 to 9) and checke d with the
whole class.
5. Aim 3: demonstrating their comprehension while listening and watching a movie
and reading the subtitles
The teacher plays a movie with the story and the children watch it. Then the teacher
asks some questions in order to check st udents’ comprehension.
QUESTIONS:
1. Who lived in a golden castle?
2. Where did the ogre lock the princess?
3. Who wanted to help the king and the queen?
4. Was the dragon nice or bad?
5. Did the dragon succeed in saving the princess?

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

6. Aim 4: using words related to th e topic individually
The teacher gives the students some handouts and asks them to work individually in
order to fill in with the given words (the words are related to the story). Then the
answers are checked with the whole class, and the possible mistakes are corrected.
7.Aim 5: using the new vocabulary working in groups
The students set in groups and receive a handout. They have to use the given words.
the representatives of each group will read the sentences and in this way their work
will be checked wi th the rest of the class and the possible mistakes will be corrected.
HOMEWORK:
The students are asked to write (in 8 – 10 sentences) the end of the story. The most
suprising ones will be be given an award.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

DECLARA ȚIE DE AUTENTICITATE PE PROPRIE R ĂSPUNDERE

Subsemnata JUGRESTEAN IOANA LIVIA (cas IURA), înscrisă la examenul pentru
obținerea Gradului didactic I, seria 2013 -2015, specializarea LIMBA ȘI LITERATURA
ENGLEZĂ, prin prezenta certific ca lucrarea metodico -științific ă cu titlul USE OF
TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO
SECONDARY SCHOOL (FOLOSIREA TEHNOLOGIEI IN PREDAREA
CITITULUI ȘI ASCULTATULUI ÎN ȘCOALA GIMNAZIAL Ă), conducator științific

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING READING AND LISTENING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

LECT.UNIV.DR. LIGIA TOMOI OAGĂ , este rezultatul propriilor mele act ivitați de
investigare teoretică și aplicativă și prezintă rezultatele personale obținute în activitatea
mea didactică. În realizarea lucrării am studiat doar sursele bibliografice consemnate în
lista bibliografică, iar preluările din diferitele surse, inc lusive din alte lucrări personale,
au fost citate în lucrare. Prezenta luc rare nu a mai fost utilizată ȋn alte context evaluative
– examene sau concursuri.

Data 15.08.2013
Semnătura,