Teaching English to Young Learners - English Teachers Association ...

The Techy Column
Illya Arnet-Clark
L Tech SIG Coordinator
learning-tech@e-tas.ch
First edition
Dear ETAS Journal readers
This is the first of a regular column of The
Techy, dedicated to educational technology
and the many facets that go along with it.
As this is the first column, the path it will
take is open with many highways and
byways up the road. I invite you, dear
Reader, to join me on this journey and take
an active part by voicing your thoughts and
opinions on the etasblog.
In every magazine these days you find
brilliant articles with authors presenting
websites and suggesting relevant ways of
utilizing them either directly or indirectly
for teaching.
And this one? Well, as a start I’ll give you
three reasons why you should be paying
attention to digital technologies:
1) You are a teacher and as such it is a
teacher’s job to stay informed. This is
implicitly expected by your learners.
Technology is here to stay and its
special lexis has embedded itself into
our society, changing the way we
communicate with each other. And, after
all, it’s English.
2) It is a useful tool your learners can use
both in class and outside the classroom
walls. Isn’t this just what we have been
wishing for? And you can do the same,
be it to prepare, brush up on the recent
developments in the English language, or
simply stay in touch with other English
teachers. Technology might not make
your teaching seem any easier, but then
don’t you take the extra time to work
yourself into a new coursebook? A little
investment in time and energy can
ultimately go a long way.
50 ETAS Journal 28/3 Summer 2011
3) Just as you shouldn’t use any kind of
technology simply because it is there,
the opposite also holds true. Avoiding
technological developments, be it out
of principle, fear, or laziness is, in my
humble opinion, not much better
than using it without any didactic
considerations. An exception might be
made for teachers who decide to teach
the Dogme way – using only the learners
and what they bring with them to class.
But wait, what is that little black box
making funny buzzing noises?
So where can you start? First, by looking
at the technology around you. I assume you
have a computer. Do you write worksheets
on it and then print them out?
Have you ever looked for a
picture to use in class
because the ones in the
coursebook seemed a bit
outdated? Have you ever
looked for information with
Google? Do you use it to
send your learners emails?
What about your mobile
phone? Have you ever sent a
text message to a student to
say you’d be late, or received
one from a student? Look
around and you’ll see a lot
of technology being used.
How do you already use
technology? Perhaps you are a ‘believer’
and use the internet and many websites
already. If so, I have a challenge for you.
Go back to the roots. What is the most
basic way of using it for teaching or learning
purposes you can think of? I’d be interested
to hear from you, dear Reader, what this
may be. In fact, consider this an invitation
to turn on the internet and go to
http://etasblog.wordpress.com. Click on
‘Comments’ and let the other readers and
myself know.
And if you feel you would like to contribute
an article yourself, be it about your own
experiences with educational technology
or any other topic, please feel free to
get in touch with the ETAS Journal at
publ@e-tas.ch. We’d love to hear your voice!
I can’t wait to ‘read’ you there! Oh, and
see you next time in the second edition of
The Techy. U