Research about use of ICT in Teaching English.

This section is based on an analysis of other researches carried out about how primary and secondary teachers are using ICT in the English curriculum. There are a number of aspects of the English curriculum where ICT has been claimed to enhance teaching and learning it is suggested that the technology can enable pupils to:

Ø manipulate and transform their own and others’ writing using a word processor and other publishing packages

Ø develop an understanding of language and their own critical literacy skills

Ø engage with key characteristics and features of texts

Ø discuss the merits and limitations of particular text types

Ø compare a range of ways that information is presented

Ø locate information quickly, confidently and accurately

Ø gain access to a wider range of texts online such as non-linear texts

Ø talk, read and write for a range of purposes and communicate with a wider group of people, thereby encouraging different types of interaction and promoting collaborative learning

Ø work in dynamic and interactive media

Ø transform different media into one text

Ø extend their range of information sources and texts to investigate how reading strategies are adapted to suit different texts.

Despite the potential benefits of ICT in English listed above, there is a need for a clearer identification of how these factors may be incorporated into classroom practice, at what stage, and using which particular hardware and software. This report focuses on the enhancement of teaching and learning in the English curriculum through the use of ICT and its benefits to teachers and pupils in primary and secondary schools.

ICT can enable pupils to access a range of texts, write for real audiences and support them in their choice of genre for audience and purpose. Research suggests that using ICT in the English curriculum can:

Ø improve writing and reading skills

Ø develop speaking and listening skills

Ø support collaboration, creativity, independent learning and reflection.

English teachers can maximize the impact of ICT by ensuring that both they and pupils:

Ø use ICT as an integral part of lessons

Ø present ideas dynamically and in a range of media

Ø understand visual literacy.

ICT in the English Curriculum

Benefits for teachers

Ø ICT makes it easier for teachers to give instant feedback to pupils as they are working (Moseley et al., 1999)

Ø Presentation software enables teachers to show ideas dynamically – for example, when showing suffixes joining with root words (Moseley et al., 1999)

Ø Teacher direction is reduced and pupils’ control and self-regulation increased (Hennessy et al., 2003)

Ø ICT can act as a catalyst to bring about change in teachers’ thinking and practice (Higgins and Moseley, 2002; Leach, 1997)

Benefits for pupils

Speaking and listening

Ø The computer can be an effective catalyst of talk both at the screen and away from it

Ø Talking books help pupils with emergent language or literacy skills interact with the story and enhance both their vocabulary and text comprehension (Underwood and Underwood, 1997)

Ø Digital video production can help develop a range of social learning skills, including communication, negotiation, decision-making and problem-solving (Reid et al., 2002)

Ø Pupils use more abstract and sophisticated language when talking about films they have created using digital video (Reid et al., 2002)

Reading

Ø Reading interactive storybooks can help pupils of school expand their vocabulary and gain insight into the structure of narrative texts (Segers and Verhoeven, 2002)

Ø Using ICT can enable pupils to understand, visualize and interpret difficult texts (Birmingham and Davies, 2001)

Ø There are learning gains in areas of phonological awareness, vocabulary development, reading comprehension and spelling (Software Information Industry Association, 2000; Van Daal and Reitsma, 2000).

Ø Computer-assisted reading support systems can be effective in supporting secondary pupils with reading failure (Lynch, 2000)

Writing

Ø Writing development can be accelerated and enhanced by access to word processing (Breeze et al., 1996; Lewin, 2000; Moseley et al., 1999)

Ø ICT supports reflective writing and improvements in pupils’ reasoning ability (Deadman, 1997)

Ø Editing digital video films can improve pupils’ literacy skills, especially their understanding of narrative when developing their writing skills (Parker, 1999)

Ø Pupils who use word processing in combination with teacher guidance significantly improve their writing, as do pupils who write for a real audience using the internet or email (Karchmer, 2001; Software Information Industry Association, 2000).

Factors for Effective Use

Ø Teachers need to understand what visual literacy is and rethink what learning to read and write means in the 21st century (Goodwyn et al., 1997;Reid et al., 2002)

Ø Professional development needs to take account of teachers’ thinking about teaching and learning generally as well as their skills with, attitude to and use of, ICT (Higgins and Moseley, 2002)

Ø Teachers should identify how ICT can be used to meet specific objectives within the English curriculum to improve pupils’ attainment (Moseley et al., 1999)

Ø Teachers need to have adequate ICT skills, regular use of ICT equipment, and access to reliable technical support (Moseley et al., 1999)

Ø Teachers need to understand that successful use of ICT depends on other factors such as pupils’ work in the classroom away from the computer, discussions between pupils and their teacher, and the ways in which pupils interact with each other at the computer (McCormick and Scrimshaw, 2001)