Teaching Tip: Using ICT to Help Students Learn and Use English

Name:

Sri Prihartini Yulia

Economy:

Indonesia

School:

SMP Negeri 3 Sleman Jogyakarta

Subject:

English

Tip:

Technology develops rapidly. It is available anywhere and for any purposes. It also provides some ease for teaching. Teachers have got some possibilities to make a good use of technology for their teaching.
As a teacher of English subject I try to be open with this development. I try to learn how to get benefit of using technology in helping my students learn English and use their English. Based on my research I also have my students comments when learning English using technology. These comments are not far from what scholars says about learning using technology. They are: making students autonomous, independent, providing choices, giving fun and enlarging students' horizon.
I have tried some activities of using technology for learning with my students, however, they could be no longer new to others. My point is that trying new ways of teaching. I hope that those will make my students enjoy their learning and facilitate them to learn. For this reason I want to share some of activities I did or I am still doing it and they work on my students.

Here is the list of activities:

1. Using interactive software.

When it has been installed in a language laboratory. I just learn how to operate it and how can students learn using it. My duty then, just introduce the way to operate it. Then decide the target students have to achieve when learning using it. While students work with it is just monitor. Finally check their achievements.

2. Asking students to explore the web to get source of learning.

After letting students learn from the text models I provide, i ask my students to find similar models from the website. It is possible to be done after I observe that there are some internet cafe surrounds. Most students are happy with this kind of task. They have to download the texts and deconstruct them.

3. Asking students to submit their assignment via email

When I noticed that the ninth grade of middle school, students learn how to make an email address, I ask them to try to submit their assignments via email. I have done it since 2 years ago. I asked my students to compose a text then submit it. Nowadays, most of students use a mobile phone equipped with camera. I then asked them to make a video of themselves when they are producing monologue telling the way to do something.

4. Using a software to deconstruct text

When I got the copy of this software, I still did not what I have to do with this. After trying to explore it I found that i could ask my students to use it to deconstruct texts and then reconstruct different texts. I just introduce the way to operate this software and show how to explore the icons. My research on this showed me that students have very high speed and excellent navigation on technology. It works. It shows that it helps my students in developing their competence in constructing texts.

I still do not have many experience in using technology. I am still learning. I do not think they are such kinds of tips. However, they are what I have done and I do with my students. They help a lot. I do hope they can be my sharing experience and I am available for further discussions. I do ask your apologize for failing to attach a video when teaching using the fourth activities. Comments and criticisms are most welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u9H36giYXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKVTp68GcFI