18 Young Learners and the Internet

Chapter 18     Young Learners
                       and the Internet

Why should we introduce technology into teaching English to young learners?

to motivate students through computers and the Net
to open our classroom to the world
to bring the world to the classroom
to provide multi-sensory stimulus to learners
to supply students with plenty of authentic materials

Internet Lessons

lessons of English done partly in the Internet
the Internet resources serve as a teaching medium, source of materials
the Internet component is preceded by offline pre- and post-stages
students work on authentic materials to accomplish tasks

English Language Training Computer Programs

accessible on CD-ROM discs
provide stimulating multimedia material
are meant mainly for individual work at home
usually exploit the idea of learning by playing
are appealing because of graphic interface, characters, voices of children

Technical Requirements

Internet lessons: fast and reliable Internet connection, not necessarily the most powerful computers, sound cards and headphones, a printer, a scanner
computer programs: require only computers, but usually more powerful ones (new programs have more and more sophisticated system demands), sound cards, headphones, microphones

Cost

Internet lessons: the cost of the Internet connection is usually a flat fare, paid monthly by a school for unlimited access (SDI - 190 PLN)
computer programs: there must be a separate program for each workstation, (average price - 100 PLN for one license)

Demands On Students

computer skills: programs need no skills, apart from moving and clicking the mouse and some basic typing; Internet lessons may involve more sophisticated uses such as saving a site, saving a picture, downloading a file
language skills: programs are made for EFL learners, so the language is suited to the level; Internet websites are meant for the whole community, so vocabulary and grammar may exceed studentsElevel

Demands On The Teacher

computer software: as programs are meant for self-study, the teacher has very little role to play (showing how to operate the program, motivating and controlling students, advising them if they are lost)
Internet lessons: teacher’s role much bigger, in choosing sites, creating tasks, adapting the task to the level of the class, assisting the coursebook used with online instruction; teacher may need to do some technical teaching as well

Mode Of Work

Internet lessons: pair or group work online, group/pairwork or whole class during pre- and post-stages, mainly in-class, but possible out-of-class treasure hunts
computer programs: mainly used by individual students, out-of-class, learning at one’s own pace; however, some classroom uses possible

Benefits Of Internet Lessons

authenticity
recency
variety
choice
novelty
interactivity

Drawbacks Of Internet Lessons

good connection necessary
there may be problems with scheduling a lab for the lesson
online tasks are unpredictable in terms of time consumption
the content and language of most sites may be too difficult for YL
sites with offending material are easy to encounter
some sites may have factual mistakes and spelling errors

Examples Of Lessons

sending electronic cards D:\Moje dokumenty\szkolenia\BC Lublin\INTERNET IN TEACHING ENGLISH.ppt
trivia questions on the Net
finding songs online and preparing them for the whole class THE INTERNATIONAL LYRICS SERVER - FIND YOUR FAVORITE SONG LYRICS!.HTM
cooking with kids (recipes online)
what’s the time (time zone difference) Date and Time Gateway.htm
talking about clothing and fashion Gap Online Men.htmGap Online.htm
making and solving puzzles MysteryNet's Kids Mysteries mysteries to solve, scary stories, magic tricks, and contests.htmNancyDrew_com A MysteryNet_com Website.htm
making posters for celebrations
kids make the news kidnews_com News.htm
secret codes Puzzlemaker.htmPuzzlemaker - Computer Generated Mazes - DiscoverySchool_com.htm
flag identifier
creating online questionnaires

Preparing And Running A Lesson

checking the sites (if still existent, loading quickly)
preparing additional off-line activities
providing tasks for speaking practice in pre- and post-stages
giving students specific material to complete when being online (worksheet, checklist, questions, facts to verify)
adjusting the lesson to the level of the class: varying the difficulty of the task and the amount of teacher control
maintaining proper timing and pacing
monitoring studentsEactivities (during and after - History function)

Benefits Of Computer Programs

all materials are prepared, collected together, form a complete whole
extremely appealing and attractive graphics, characters, voices, background sounds
use the method of learning by playing a computer game
multimedia approach (combining text, picture, film, sound) appeals to all senses and facilitates comprehension
the competitive element additionally motivates students

Drawbacks Of Computer Programs For Yl

are not compatible with any particular coursebook or syllabus
allow students to stop doing one activity and move on to another one
are effective in teaching vocabulary, reading comprehension, pronunciation, but do not cater that much for other skills
enforce student-computer interaction, and do not create the need for student-student exchange
are highly finite - students get to the end of them quickly and the programs are no longer interesting

Examples Of Computer Programs For Yl

Plays for Children (WSiP)
Zak’s Wordgames (Langmaster/Longman)
Word Bird’s Wordland (Prentice Hall)
Let’s Go (Oxford University Press)
An Appendix of internet site

Useful Websites for Young Language Learners
www.findwaldo.com/    Wheres Wally
www.funbrain.com/detect/index.html   Word Turtle - make your own word search game
www.funbrain.com/grammar/index.html     The Grammar Gorillas; fun, elementary
www.eslpartyland.com/ Karen’s ESL Partyland
http://www.ks-connection.org/   Kids Space
http://http://pages.prodigy.net/ldever/kids/index.htm    World Wide Kids Web Elinks.
www.wen.org/-brendam/kids-fun.html     Kids ESL site
http://www.yahooligans.com/
www.wicked4kids.com/index.shtml    Excelllent site, jokes, activities, create
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/   loads of information , downloadable resources, games and activities
http://http://kids.msn.com/   Read and learn, games activities for under eights, as well as page for older children.
http://www.eslbears.com/ Links to interactive games for young learners.
And, the best of them all...cross your fingers it stays on line and continues to be free...
http://www.anglesonline.net/ Graded, linked and indexed interactive games and activities for all levels of ESL learners, fast loading and great graphics, all on one site. You could plan a whole course around this one!

Assignment 3
Chapter 19
Back to Index