CC BY
67References
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USEFUL INFORMATIONAL COMMUNICATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
FOR DIFFERENT GRADES Rsaliyev A.
Rsaliyev Arman - Teacher, ENGLISH THEORETICAL ASPECTS DEPARTMENT № 3, UZBEK STATE WORLD LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY, TASHKENT, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: this article is developed in accordance with the emphasis given on lexis and the development of communicative skills during EFL courses. Consequently, it covers vocabulary development and consolidation, the development of speaking and listening, and the development of initial writing and reading. The ICT tools suggested certainly do not comprise an exhaustive list of the web tools available to EFL teachers for these purposes. Keywords: ICT, authenticity, search engines, DVP, OPD.
The implementation of English has brought along the need to establish clear objectives that are different to the ones traditionally assigned to secondary schools. While in secondary schools we still find, in many cases, a teaching based in the formal aspects of the language, grammar; primary school teachers have had to adopt a different approach as the age of the children make the teaching of formal aspects not advisable. As a result of this point of view, the different Educational Departments have decided to establish, as the main purpose of the EFL teaching, the development of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, the implementation of this approach has not been trouble-free as many teachers insist on asking their children to understand every single word they listen to or read, or expect their pupils to write or speak without making the mistakes normally found in the process of acquiring any language.
Vocabulary and spelling activities
Vocabulary SpellingCity.com
This is an example of a free online tool to reinforce memory retention and recall through the revision of the English alphabet letters and their written forms, and of word spellings. It can facilitate the understanding of minimal pairs by contrasting pronunciation, spelling and meaning. It is also an effective tool for understanding the mechanics of reading in English by analyzing sentences into words and words into letters and sounds. Last, but not least, it exposes young EFL learners to authentic English pronunciation and helps them evaluate their learning progress.
Free Online English Pronunciation Dictionaries (OPD)
Dictionaries of the sort (like 'Howjsay' http://www.howjsay.com/) are offered online to help learners grasp and remember the English pronunciation. Nevertheless, they can be a very good tool for practising the English spelling too. Usually, these tools are very simple in use. Children can type the word in the bar provided by the Dictionary, submit it, mouse over it and hear it pronounced. Teachers may also wish to make them aware of a more demanding process in which they browse through the alphabet, select the letter their word starts with, scan the list of words that appears and select the word they want.
Speaking
Online voice recorders
Free online voice recorders are services that help us record our own voices and upload our messages on e.g. a blog, or a wiki. They can also be given the chance to evaluate themselves or each other's performance by listening to the recorded messages. Voice recorders can be very straightforward in use, like Vocaroo and Soundcloud, or a bit more demanding but also more creative like Voki.
Vocaroo asks users to just click on a button to record. Soundcloud allows the use of phone to record audio. But Voki gives us the tools to create our personalized avatars too, and add voice to them [1].
Listening: Digital tales/stories
As multimedia technology is becoming more and more sophisticated, there is growing interest in its use for language learning purposes, and in the combination of the visual and auditory information in listening material [2].
Regarding children's listening skills and literacy, digital tales/stories are proved to be very useful in their development because at the early acquisition stage they offer contextualized, meaningful and memorable new language, present vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation (the three language systems) in meaningful contexts, convey language messages, feelings and memories, and are distinctive ways of manifesting cultural values. So, EFL teachers first have to ensure that the digital tales/stories chosen for class learners meet the following three criteria.
Digital video production
This technology has already found a place in British primary schools across different age phases, but there it is led by expert practitioners and advisors. Digital video production (DVP) can be difficult task graders, but it is a perfect tool for training children in most of the higher forms of thinking in Bloom's taxonomy. It allows for creativity and collaboration to take place in contexts that give rise to production and to the understanding of the value of this production [3].
References
1. Brown H.D. (1973). Affective variables in second language acquisition. Language
Learning, 23, 231-244.
2. Cunningsworth A. (1995). Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials. London:
Heinemann.
3. Dickinson L., & Carver D. (1980). Learning how to learn: Steps towards selfdirection in
foreign language learning in schools. ELT Journal, 35(1).
