In the university where I work, many teachers find that they have little or no choice about integrating IT into their language classrooms. For one thing, the classrooms where students have English classes are not equipped with multimedia machines; for another, many teachers don't see much use of incorporating IT into classroom activities or tasks and, therefore, don't bother to think hard about how to make IT an added value component in our language teaching and learning context.
However, some young teachers do prefer involving use of IT in their classrooms. Unfortunately, what they usually do in language labs is simply showing students English films and PPT slides, playing CDs, MP3s. Since use of IT should be matched to the students' learning needs and interests as well as requirments of specific teaching context, what these young teachers need to consider is how to make IT add value to teaching tasks and classroom activities, and thus make them more worthwhile. Considering the fact that teachers in our department get used to working within a structured learning environment where learning goals and objectives are highly predetermined, a considerable amount of practice and training would be required to help them to become digital languge educators who are capable of setting realistic goals with IT and using it effectively.
Saying from the students' point of view, although they are interested in new and high technology, they can easily lose interest in classroom tasks when they perceive that their needs are not being met. In addition, many students still believe they benefit most from closely regulated instruction system with low flexibility, in which time, place, curriculum and pacing are fixed in advance. Chinese students, esp. students from innerland provinces like Shanxi, tend to depend more on teachers. They lack learning autonomy and feel difficult to take charge of their own learning and be responsible for it.
Therefore, although flexibility (including time, place, curriculum, and pace) discussed in the book does offer the maximum opportunity to every possible learners, I'm afraid our students will have to take time to learn to monitor and assess their learning performance. What I mean is it would be quite impractical and impossible to incorporate tasks that are "liberated" or "free" into our teaching practice at present in Shanxi.
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4 comments:
I think many schools in China have the same problem as that you mentioned in your school.
With the communicative teaching methodology widely accepted, it is assumed that learned-centered classroom is the most preferred. Some teachers try to devise some activities to enhance the student-centered. But the result is not satisfying.
Those classrooms with IT used are not achieving the purpose of IT added value to the classroom teaching. Most of the time it is using it for the sake of it.
I think there are many factors contribuing to the problem. Teachrers and students are part of the reason, but they should not be blamed solely. To some extent, it depends on the equipment of the school as well as if the schools value the new teaching environment.
you are right in saying many teachers employ IT in classroom just for the sake of it or in order to add so-called variety to it. I think what we need is a long time to adjust ourselves into new teaching methods and get familiar with new Tech. To be good at using IT in classroom takes some time. What we can do at prestent is learning through trials and failures.
So the important thing for the teachers to remember is that what is purpose of using IT technology in the language teaching,to enhance teaching and learning or just to show off that he/she can use computers. Some teacher may not be very clear about that.
With the proper guidance of the teachers, the students can benefit from it.
Making daily teaching as informative and interesting as possible is our responsibility. Using IT in teaching is a very good way to realise the purpose. But ,as we all agree, most universities in China can not afford to equipped themselves with computers, projectors, dvdplayers and so on in classrooms. maybe we can keep IT in mind and look for some other ways to enrich our teaching.
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