technology matters

Technology matters: let’s talk about it

October 2010Alianza Cultural Uruguay- Estados Unidos de América

Communication

Objectives

To revisit the concepts of communicative competence and communicative performance

To collaboratively overview the different ways we can exploit technological tools to develop language skills

To focus on specific communicative tasks that require the aid of technology

Communicative Competence

grammatical competence

sociolinguistic competence

strategic competence

A Theoretical Framework for Communicative Competence.

Authors:Canale, Michael; Swain, Merrill

Communicative Performance

Refers to the actual use of that language in concrete situations.

David Nunan’s (1991) five features of CLT:

Communication through interactionIntroduction of authentic textsAttention to learning management

processEnhancement of learner’s personal

experiencesClassroom learning and activities

outside classroom connection

Survey

How familiar are we with these tools? How often do students use them? What for? How often do we use them in our clases?

How can we better implement them in our classes to help students improve their use of English?

What are the challenges we face when using these tools?

Why?

Motivation and involvementExploration and management of new

toolsCollaboration PurposeAuthenticityImpact (inside and outside classroom)Memorable learning

Technologically Speaking

Oral presentations

Student-generated videos (debates, drama, documentaries)

Internet-based resources

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Advantages:Learner centeredIntegrate skillsUse technology skillsProvide varietyNew contentResearch and OrganizationAssessment and interactionError correction

STUDENT-GENERATED VIDEOS

MotivationCollaborationUse of technology skillsPurposeful practiceError correctionFun

Teacher Management Tools

Create and manage groups

Register students

Monitor students’ practice

Create channels

Students’ tools

VideosSubtitlesDefinition and pronunciationMicrophone setupRecordingScoring

Intermediate students using English Central

Basic 4 students using English Central

Useful resources

www.englishcentral.com www.literacynet.org www.realenglish.com http://www.pbs.org/saf/previous.htm http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/miinventor

y.php

www.englishprograms.state.gov http://www.americanfolklore.net/ http://www.britishcouncil.org http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/

Related issues

http://www.tesol.org TESOL Technology Standards Framework : TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND LANGUAGE TEACHERS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0 Web 2.0

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Thank you!

Claudia Santoro

laspiedras@alianza.edu.uy

Alianza Cultural Uruguay- Estados Unidos de América

October 29, 2010