Reading Reflection for session 3

Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H., & Meloni, C. F. (2000). Internet for English teaching: TESOL Alexandria, VA. [Chapter 7]

I'm responsible for the section on teaching guidelines.

Five teaching guidelines are introduced to help us organize our classes to achieve the goals of incorporating the Internet into teaching. They are "dual immersion", "integration", "project-based learning", "student-centred learning" and "learning with a purpose".

Dual immersion refers to students engage in learning language skills and technology skills at the same time with the teachers' help. The teacher may provide the necessary structure and support in the lesson. It is as same as an electronic literacy approach.

CALL(computer-assisted language learning) has gone through three stages: behavioristic, communicative, and integrative. Integrative CALL means using the computer naturally and regularly together with other tools and media "serving the creation of an enriched workplace for accessing resources and using language constructively" (Barson & Debski, 1996, p. 52). Internet-based activities should not be used in an isolated way. It should be involved in the entired curriculum.

Project-based learning is a kind of integrated teaching and learning. Students can solve problems and achieve their learning goals by using the Internet. The Internet activities they can learn must move beyond simple chatting or Web surfing. Teachers can require students do more on the Internet, such as on-line publication.

Student-centred learning does not mean that teacher is absent or passive but they become a guidance to lead students' learning. Curriculum should be designed according to students' needs and interests.

To use Internet with a meaningful purpose, student projects should be connected with a real-world purpose. That helps students access the important information and communicate with the real audience on Internet.

I think IT in language teaching is not new to us because the government promoted IT in teaching 10 years ago and it spent a great amount of money for schools to buy computers. That's why there is at least a computer room in every primary and secondary school. The students in teacher training programmes were required to achieve a certain level of IT skills. However, we seldom consider how to use IT to teach language in a better and efficient way. The most I consider is about project-based learning in general studies because primary students usually do at least one project for this subject every year.