Getting digital: Tips and
tools for English language
teachers in Rwanda
Felix Kwihangana
Lecturer, IPRC Kigali
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In this presentation…
Benefits of Technology use in
language teaching
The Challenges of teaching
English with Technology
Suggested tools and tips
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Questions for Reflection
How are we preparing our students for
the digital age?
What role do modern technologies play in
our own learning and teaching of English?
Do we have access to any technology
tools worth exploring for English learning?
Do we blame our lack of skills for not
using technology in our own learning and
teaching?
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Benefits of Technology use
in language teaching
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A quote to start with…
• “Among some of the most pertinent
reasons for using ICT in the classroom
is the ability to better prepare the
current generation of students for a
workplace where ICT tools such as
computers, Internet and other related
technologies, are becoming ever more
present.”
Mineduc 2008, ICT Policy in Education; p.19.
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An English teacher’s pursuit…
Source: Nomass, B. B. (2013) The Impact of Using Technology in Teaching English as a Second Language,
English Language and Literature Studies; Vol. 3, No. 1 p.112
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What we know…
Today’s Learners are “digital natives” (Prensky,
2001). Will the English class become their
“alien” world?
in March 2015, just over 55% of the most
visited websites had English-language
homepages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_used_on_the_Internet )
Teaching without technology is not
necessarily bad or damaging the students, it
just delays their progress and limits what
teachers can do. (Hyamlee & Phil, 2012 )
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Implications?....
technology will continue to develop even if we,
teachers of English, continue to ignore and we may
never be able to catch up.
“technological literacy and the ability to use ICT,
effectively and efficiently, have become
prerequisites for having a competitive edge in an
increasingly globalizing job market.” (Mineduc,
2008)
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Contextualizing Language
Technology makes it easier to contextualize
language
teaching integrated skills in context (e.g
matching word meanings with body
language)
Technology affords context-based teacherstudent and student-student interactions
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Contextualizing Language
• technology offers authentic learning
materials.
• Authentic environment for learning English
• Technology overcomes the lack of authentic
language environment. (Students can learn
while chatting with their teacher on Facebook
using English)
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Improving the Teaching Effect
• Technology breaks the “teachercentred” teaching pattern and
improves class efficiency.
• Makes it easier to manage large classes and
provide feedback Peer feedback
• Technology turns class time limitations
into learning opportunities.
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Improving the Teaching Effect
(Cont’d)
Learning becomes fun and enjoyable
Enhances students’ interest and
motivation for learning activities
Stimulates students’ initiatives (more
exposure, more risk-taking)
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Teacher-Student Interactions
Enhances the importance of “interaction”
between teachers and students.
 Develop Learner autonomy
The teacher’s facilitator role is reinforced.
Creates a good platform for the exchange
between teachers and students.
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Teacher-Student Interactions (Cont’d)
“Students often feel discouraged in a
classroom setting because falling
behind can be embarrassing and
discouraging. But with a course that
incorporates technology and learning
English, students can learn with privacy
and learn the vital skills of success.”
• (http://www.tefl-online.com/online-tefl-articles/technologylearning-english.php)
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Developing Intercultural competence
1)
Language is a cultural product
2)
Technology enhances intercultural
awareness for teachers and students
3)
Learning about the English Culture through
podcasts, videos, etc.
4)
Developing interest in the English culture
(A motivation to learn a foreign language)
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Flexible learning
• Flexibility in time and space
• Flexibility to course content format (video, podcast,
link to webpages, online exercises?)
• The teacher’s role (guide, co-learner, provider of
knowledge?)
• Learner-centeredness: Students get more
responsibilities
• Flexibility in the teacher-student interactions
(chats, email, comment on wiki, WhatsApp
message?).
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Lifelong skills acquisition –Digital Literacy
Information selection and filtering
Self-confidence and critical thinking
skills enhanced.
Experience is the best teacher: Teachers
& Students improve their skills all along
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Technology: A busy Teacher’s friend?
“We are living in an era of
information explosion where there is
no dearth of information. Net
sources are very useful if used in
proper way”.
Tamilarasan & Narayanan (2014:
509).
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Technology: A busy Teacher’s friend?
Ready-made lesson plans and templates
Full Lesson demonstrations (see YouTube)
Teaching tips (in text and videos, just google
it)
Authentic materials: Games, news articles,
jokes, videos, podcasts, etc.
Reading materials for teachers & students
Ready-made tests (handle with care)
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The Challenges of Teaching
English with Technology
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“We have met the enemy and he is us”
Hokanson, B., & Hooper, S. (2004).
• You were trained to be a teacher,
the technology wasn’t.
• “Playing it lazy”: there’s the readymade
• Remember: “Even when it goes wild, You’re still
the teacher!
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Misinterpretation of the role of technology
• Technology as a tool to an end, not an
end in itself
• technology is not a replacement for the
teacher
• Teachers are central to what happens in
the classroom (Motteram 2013: 177)
• “Technology cannot replace the
dominant role of teachers … it is part of
a complete teaching process.” (Hyamlee
& Phil, p.154)
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More obstacles…
• “many instructors do not understand how to use
the new technologies” (Lee, 2000: n.p.)
• ‘situational constraints’ - lack of resources
(Basturkmen, 2012: 268)
• Beliefs- beliefs make the same technology a
blessing or a curse depending on individuals.
(Ertmer, 2005)
• Lack of self-confident
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Tools and Suggestions to try out
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Fancy the readymade?
• Lesson Plans for teachers, templates,
activities
• www.go4english.com ,
www.onestopenglish.com
• www.1-language.com
• www.worldenglishclub.com .
• Google it in “” to limit the search results
• Lesson demos (YouTube) Learn & Teach
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Reading & Vocabulary building?
Mobile Apps for Reading
• English short stories
• TOEFL Reading
• Ebook Reader (Classics like the Illiad,
• Oodles Free eBooks (Fantasy, love, Poetry, etc.)
• News websites and Applications (BBC, Guardian, etc.)
• http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/
• What can you do with that?
Provide a variety of reading materials and tasks
Students choose what to read and share it with the class.
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Reading skills & Vocabulary building? Cont’d
• The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Definitions
Transcription
Audio pronunciation (when connected)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word history (origin, first use
FREEE!!
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Listening tools and
suggestions
• Applications and platforms : YouTube, Dailymotion, TeacherTube,
etc
• Podcasts, the BBC, NPR, etc.
• Songs with lyrics http://www.eslvideo.com/
• Mobile Applications
• LearnEnglish Audio and Video
• Real English Business
• Two min English
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Developing listening skills
with TED Talk
• Website and Mobile App
• Different lengths (3-20 minutes)
• A wide range of topics, science, technology, history,
comedy, entertainment, etc.
• Can enable or disable Subtitles
• Give students the task
• Watch the video at home with/out the subtitles or
download it as an mp3, if possible, organize speaking
activities around.
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Tools to develop writing
Wikis (www.wikispaces.com; www.pbworks.com )
Great for collaborative writing)
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
WhatsApp
Benefits
Good tool for Noticing
Active learning
Self and Peer-correction
Easy to give feedback
Possibility to follow-up feedback uptake
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Autonomy and peer-correction
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Tools to develop Speaking
• WhatsApp (recording and sending recorded messages)
• Vocaroo (http://vocaroo.com/ ) (save, upload, share
recordings, create links & QR codes)
• Ipadio: record and edit audio, addg titles, descriptions,
images; upload to www.ipadio.com ; post to Twitter,
Facebook or blog.
• Get students record something and (short story, chapter in
a book, a dialogue, a joke, etc).
• Let them email it, share it with you or post it on the class
Facebook group or wiki.
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Mind your own professional development?
• Plenty of resources for professional development
• Online Communities of Practice? (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)
• Learn and Improve with Coursera
(https://www.coursera.org/ ) or Mobile App
• Many Free courses from top universities (Harvard,
Stanford, Cambridge, etc.)
• Teaching Methodology, Psychology, Philosophy, Poetry, ICT,
Writing techniques
• English for Teaching Purposes
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Now that we know, so off we go!
Not so fast!
• Start small, one step at time
• Use what you already know about or
something similar
• Join professional groups share tips and ask
for advice
• Don’t be overconfident, be realistic
• Beware of challenges: There’s always
surprises; some of which are not wished for
• Learn , learn, learn!
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Some key considerations….
• Ask the right Questions
 What Do I want to do?
 What technologies are available for doing that?
 What technology can help me do it better?
 Why am I really going to use this technology?
 to impress students and colleagues?
to please the employer?
because others are doing it?
to achieve instructional objectives?
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Other Considerations…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Is it being used by others?
How well is it being used?
What factors could affecting its use?
What outcomes do I expect?
Are you comfortable using it?
Hall, G. E. (2010) Technology’s Achilles Heel: Achieving High-Quality Implementation. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. 42/3, pp.
231–253.
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A quote to end with…
Communications technology has fundamentally
changed the way people live, work and interact
socially, and we in Rwanda have no intention of left
behind or standing still as the rest of the globe moves
forward at an ever increasing pace. Some might say
that we are overarching but with a positive outlook,
strategic work and support from our partners, I am
fully confident that we can exploit the potential of ICT
in order to achieve our vision of a modern economy for
Rwanda and a secure and prosperous future for all”, His
Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of
Rwanda.
Mineduc 2008, ICT in Education Policy, p.10
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You can go digital now.
Thank You!
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References
•
Hyamlee1, Phil, M. (2012) “Use of Technology in English Language Teaching and Learning”: An Analysis.
2012 International Conference on Language, Medias and Culture. IPEDR vol.33 (2012) pp. 150-156
• Mineduc (2008). ICT Policy in Education, Kigali.
• Nomass, B. B. (2013) The Impact of Using Technology in Teaching English as a
Second Language, English Language and Literature Studies; Vol. 3, No. 1 p.112
• Tamilarasan & Narayanan (2014). The Advantages of Technology in Teaching English
Language. Proceedings of the International Conference on Trends and Innovations in
Language Teaching. – TILT 2014.
• Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the horizon, 9(5), 16.
• Hokanson, B., & Hooper, S. (2004). Integrating Technology in Classrooms: We have
met the enemy and he is us. Association for Educational Communications and
Technology.
• Basturkmen, H. (2012). Review of research into the correspondence between language
teachers' stated beliefs and practices. System, 40(2), 282-295.
• Motteram , G. ( 2013) Developing and extending our understanding of language
learning and technology, in Motteram (ed) Innovations in learning technologies for
English language teaching. London: Brtiish council.
• http://www.tefl-online.com/online-tefl-articles/technology-learning-english.php
• http://www.tefl-online.com/online-tefl-articles/technology-learning-english.php
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