the integration of technology into promotingautonomous language learning for 10th grade studentsmajoring in english

MÔN TIẾNG ANH – MÃ CHẤM: A10a THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY INTO PROMOTINGAUTONOMOUS LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTSMAJORING IN ENGLISH BY PHAM THI HUONG DUONG THI PHUONG ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to: The Key Organizers of Hung Vuong Summer Camp in 2016 for giving us this golden opportunity to share our experience in using technology to promote our students’ self-study strategies to improve their English language proficiency Our school for giving us an inspiration, encouragement and invaluable guidelines during the process of completing this paper The rest of our colleagues for help and support Our students’ works in class 10D1 at Chu Van An Gifted High School and family for giving us constant encouragement and confidence to fulfill our work TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT Introduction Literature Review and Rationale for the Study Suggestion for possible activities to integrate technology into facilitating autonomous learning Implementation 4.1 Portfolios with the use of technology and students’ increased interest in their autonomous learning of English 4.2 Project-based learning (PBL) and students’ engagement with their independent learning of English with the teacher’s facilitation and the effectiveness of technology 4.3 Video-making with the aid of phones or camcorders to strengthen Class 10D1’ 13 students to improve their English communicative skills through their independent learning 4.4 Mobile learning 14 4.5 Online interaction 14 4.6 Students’ writing 15 4.7 Doing the shadowing with the help of technology 18 Discussions 19 Recommendations 20 Conclusion 20 REFERENCES 20 ABSTRACT According to MOET (2007), at the end of upper secondary education, students will be able to reach a certain level of English proficiency in four skills and master the other aspects of language such as grammar, phonetics and vocabulary in addition to understanding English and American cultures to be well aware of cross-cultural differences When there is the question of how to meet the mentioned expectations, foreign language teaching and learning are discussed Both students and teachers of English at high schools in Vietnam are recognizing the limitations of only studying English for an hour or two every week in a classroom environment It is open to question “How can students improve their English outside their classroom?”.Enhancingstudents’ autonomy to learn English may be a promiseto increase their language acquisition With the development of science and technology such as the widespread application of computer science and Internet services, they open up more horizons for high school students to promote their communicative skills and develop their English language proficiency through effective independent learning This paper examines emerging technologies that are applicable to autonomous learning in the areas of practising listening and speaking skills, project-based learning, portfolio and video making, and online interaction We summarize recent research and discuss possible uses of computer and internet services and mobile phonesfor students’ autonomous language learning We are going to introduce our implementation ofsome Websites to improve listening and speaking skills through the shadowing technique; to develop students’ language use and communicative competence; to promote online interaction via emails and Facebook to share materials for self-study and inspire the spirit of independent learning;Google search and Google imagesfor students’ project-based learning andportfolio making; and softwares for video making Keywords: autonomous learning, technology Introduction MOET (2007) stated that at the end of upper secondary education students need to attain certain level of English proficiency and cross-cultural awareness To reach this goal, a number of measures have been taken Among those measures is the use of technology With the advent of technological development, computer-assisted language learning programs have been increasingly integrated into teaching and learning foreign language with a view to creating a more realistic learning environment for language learners at schools Efforts have been made to promote the use of technology in the classroom and some yield positive results However, due to the limited time allocation of the English curriculum, students are able to study English few hours a week, which might not satisfy students’ needs to gain their targeted language competence Therefore, it is important that students be guided to learn by themselves, outside the classroom environment Within the scope of this article, we aim to summarize some theoretical frameworks for using technology to facilitate students’ autonomous learning and provide sample lesson plans that have been worked out for English-majoring 10th grade students at Chu Van An High School for the gifted Literature review and rationale for the study 2.1 Autonomous learning Zou (2011) defined autonomous learning as follows: “autonomous learning is not only an individual and gradual process of self-awareness which involves the sharing of control between teachers and learners, while offering learners extended opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning (Boud 1988), but also a gradual increase in relation to awareness of learning context (Hauck 2005)” Zou (2011) also emphasized the role of teachers in supporting students in learning and reflecting on their autonomous learning experience In this study, we also use the term “self-study” to refer to the type of autonomous learning when students can be responsible for their own learning process 2.2 The integration of technology into language teaching and learning A number of studies have discussed the use of technology in language teaching and learning through different perspectivesboth in the classroom and out-of-classroom contexts (Shyamlee & Phil, 2012; Lai, 2013; Zou, 2011) Different types of technological gadgets have been mentioned in studies 2.3 Rationale for the study Technology has been playing an important role in promoting language learning not only inside the classroom but also outside the classroom context Moreover, technological supportive learning environment has been proved to be effective in enhancing students’ motivation and achievement Technological advances allow people to record videos, spread information and telecommunicate easily and quickly Moreover, the limited hours of teaching and learning English at schools give rise to the increasing demand for language learning outside the school context Therefore, on one hand, using technology for language education outside schools is worth an in-depth discussion On the other hand, there should be a framework that will facilitate and support students’ learning process beyond classroom time For those purposes, we aim to summarize the practical framework for using technology to facilitate students’ autonomous learning The study also provides the lesson plans for English-majoring ten graders They are chosen as the subjects of the study because they first enter an intensive language learning environment and may be badly in need of support to fit in the new learning environment Suggestion for possible activities to integrate technology into facilitating autonomous learning Students’ self-study is a crucial skill which increases students’ motivation to acquire knowledge on their own and develop their lifelong learning habits Technology is of great help to engage students with their autonomous learning and ongoing self-study Some other possible ways in which technology can support students’ independent language learning are presented as follows: 3.1 Portfolios with the use of technology and students’ increasing interest in their autonomous learning of English What is a portfolio? Paulson and Meyer (1991:60) defined portfolio “A purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the students’ efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection” What goes into a portfolio?  Topic areas students are interested in  Group projects  Individual projects  Work from presentations  Essays written by students  Photographs  Videos Essential elements of a portfolio  Cover letter which briefing students’ profile including their personal information like name, age, hobbies; their rationale for making their portfolio; and their learning and learning progress  Table of content  Entries  Dates to all entries  Drafts and revised versions  Reflections Portfolio development process Danielson and Abrutyn (1997)’s stages are shown as follows:  Collection: save students’ work showing the day-to-day results of learning  Selection: review and evaluate their work  Reflection: reflect on the choosing artifacts for the portfolio relating to the learning goals  Projection: compare the reflections to the criteria and set goals for the future  Presentation: Share the portfolio with peers or the whole class and receive feedback 3.2 Project-based learning (PBL) and students’ engagement with their independent learning of English with the teacher’s facilitation and the effectiveness of technology What is PBL? Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge Elements in Designing Project In Gold Standard PBL, Essential Project Design Elements include:  Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - The project is focused on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-management  Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge  Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information  Authenticity - The project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact – or speaks to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives  Student Voice & Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create  Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry and project activities, the quality of student work, obstacles and how to overcome them  Critique & Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback to improve their process and products  Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom 3.3.Mobile learning With the advance of technology, mobile phones are becoming popular with students at high schools in Vietnam Besides their common uses such as making and receiving phone calls, sending and receiving messages, mobile devices are changing the way people learn English When mobile devices are connected with the Internet, they provide students with freedom, infinite learning resources and the convenience to learn anywhere at any time Implementation In this paper, several autonomous learning activities have been applied to a grade 10 class of English-majoring students in the context of Chu Van An High School for the gifted in Langson Province are presented In order to ensure the effectiveness of using internet-connected computer applications and mobile devices for students’ autonomous English learning, the teacher acts as a guide to facilitate students’ independent learning by inspiring them by being a role model to improve listening and speaking skills, giving clear explanations about the concepts such as doing the shadowing, portfolios and projected-based learning and using mobile devices and scaffolding students’ autonomy with instructions Besides the use of traditional assessment “tests” which is used to assess of students’ learning, the teacher of English in Class 10D1, an English majoring class at Chu Van An Gifted High School is strongly desired to implement authentic assessments to engage students’ passion for their English learning and to expose them to a real life communication, important skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving skills The use of portfolios, projected-based learning and videomaking offer students opportunities to develop their creativity and explore their own potentials and aspirations with the aid of technology 4.1 Portfolios and students’ autonomous learning with the help of technology in Class 10D1 In the first semester of the school year 2015-2016, Class 10D1 made three types of portfolios  Class portfolioswere made to collect individual students’ information including their names, hobbies, their passion for learning English and their future dreams This portfolio helped the teachers of English working with the class understand the students’ needs and aspirations for their language learning The individual pictures scanned out with the help of the computer and scanners were attached to students’ profiles  Portfolios collecting pictures and informationwere created to illustrate the class’s trip to Langson museum The comprehensive criteria were set to assess these portfolios (see index A) The class was divided into teams in which there was a team leader and other members acted as tourist guides and photographers and video recorders These teams could use the computer to design their portfolios of artifacts and their information and write their reflections on the trip The portfolios indicated the students’ independent learning, their creativity and their further understanding of their culture and history  The Competition “Whose individual portfolio was launched to increase students’ autonomy to learn English 39 students of Class 10D1 participated in the contest They had freedom to choose their own topic areas such as art, music, famous people to put in the portfolios The students made use of the internet to collect picture and important information related to their artifacts The teacher explained the concept of portfolio and guided them to design their portfolios based on the assessment criteria The students were required to reflect on their selfstudy process 4.2 Class 10D1’s Project-based Learning at Langson Museum with the support of technology to make portfolios and video clips  The teacher exposed the students to an engaging topic that gets them thinking “learning Langson’s culture and history”  Then the class was divided into teams Each team had a leader to manage the team effectively  The teacher assigned two class leaders to design a plan, the list of rules for the trip and the teacher made criteria (see index A) to assess the final product  At the class meeting, the leaders announced the plan, schedule, procedure, suggested technologies such as cameras, recorders, camcorders or phones to take photos, record their acting as tourist guides  The class had a schedule with deadline for the submission of the final products and show videos with the use of projector or put portfolios on displays up on the classroom wall Idea for students’ self-study through project-based learning with the teacher’s playing the role of a facilitator and the help of technology: Part 1: Context and Rationale  General information: Identify your context Title of project: Langson in my Eyes Age of students: 16-17 Language level of students: Intermediate Amount of time you meet per week: Two 45-minute meetings and a one-hour meeting within four weeks  Project Description Main purpose: Students will become familiar with language related to cultures, traditions, customs, cuisines and landscapes They will increase their confidence and fluency when speaking English They will enhance their collaborative skills, teamwork skills, IT skills, problem-solving skills and critical thinking and Research and Inquiry skills The students will gain experience as tour guides They will deepen their understandings about outstanding features of Langson Province They will build their love for their hometown Entry event: Divide the class into four groups and ask them to answer three questions: a What have we already known about Langson province (cultures, traditions, customs, cuisines and landscapes)? b What we want to know about Langson Province? c What we need to know about Langson Province? Engage students with the announcement that our class is going to discover Langson Province by joining a project-based learning Each group will choose one favorite aspect of Langson Province Example (the group chose their aspect) Group 1: Cuisines Group 2: Landscapes Group 3: festivals Group 4: Ethnic minority groups Product: This project will have four products: Four 5-6 minute video clips including narration Project-Based Learning elements: Student Voice and choice; their role-playing as tour guides in turn; driving questions; collaborative skills; teamwork skills, communication skills, critical thinking; publicly presented Project; Research and Inquiry; Problem-solving skills and IT skills The Benefits of the project: Students will be able to use the target language appropriately in the context such as some of helpful expressions used by tour guides and vocabulary related to their topic area They will gain experience as tour guides They will deepen their understandings about outstanding features of Langson Province They will gain soft skills such as collaborative skills; teamwork skills, communication skills, critical thinking; publicly presented Project; Research and Inquiry; Problem-solving skills and IT skills They will build their love for their hometown Part 2: Learning Objectives  Language Development Language Skills: speaking, listening, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation Core vocabulary to be learned: invader /in'veidə/ (n) drown /draun/ (v) vindicate /'vindikeit/ (v) merit /'merit/ (n) worship /'wə:∫ip/ (v) palanquin procession /pælə„ki:n prəˈseʃ(ə)n/ parasol /„pærəsƆl/ (n) sacrifice /'sækrifais/ (n) Main grammar points and/or sentence frames to be learned: The present tense and the past tense Be located in/ be situated in/ be famous for/ to originate from/ to date back/ to stem from… Vocabulary related to culture, natural beauty, festivals, cuisines and ethnic minority groups; descriptive adjectives for use in describing their feelings and people and things  Learning objectives: - After gathering all the information about culture, natural beauty, festivals, cuisines and ethnic minority groups, the students will be able to create a 5-6 minute video clip about the aspect they chose - Students will be able to introduce some key features of Langson province with 90% of fluency and 90 % of confidence - Students will become familiar with language related to cultures, traditions, customs, cuisines and landscapes They will increase their confidence and fluency when speaking English They will enhance their collaborative skills, teamwork skills, IT skills, problemsolving skills and critical thinking and Research and Inquiry skills The students will gain experience as tour guides They will deepen their understandings about outstanding features of Langson Province They will build their love for their hometown Part 3: Learning Activities & Assessmen Lesson Plans Topic: Langson in my Eyes Lesson goals/objectives  After gathering all the information about culture, natural beauty, festivals, cuisines and ethnic minority groups, the students will be able to create a 5-6 minute video clip about the aspect they chose  Students will be able to introduce some key features of Langson Province with 90% of fluency and 90 % of confidence  Students will become familiar with language related to cultures, traditions, customs, cuisines and landscapes They will increase their confidence and fluency when speaking English They will enhance their collaborative skills, teamwork skills, IT skills, problem-solving skills and critical thinking and Research and Inquiry skills The students will gain experience as tour guides They will deepen their understandings about outstanding features of Langson Province They will build their love for their hometown List of materials needed: Internet sites, camcorders, laptops, printers, speakers, headphones, postcards, brochures, newspaper articles, pictures and real people and things Steps/brief description of activities Meeting (45 minutes) Goals: To introduce the project and outline plans and discuss possible criteria for marking the clips  Warm-up (6 minutes) Divide the class into four groups of students and give the groups handouts and ask them to complete the table as follows: What we know about What we not know about What we need to know about Langson Langson Langson Engage students with questions to lead the students to the project-based learning as follows:  Do you like discovering an interesting aspect of Langson Province?  What aspect will your group choose to make a 5-6 minute amazing video clip? Example (the group chose their aspect) Group 1: Cuisines Group 2: Landscapes Group 3: festivals Group 4: Ethnic minority groups  Main activities Activity (16 minutes) Let the students watch the sample video clip about a trip to Langson Museum Give them guided questions for discussions  What is the video clip about?  What did the students in the video clip?  How did they use English?  Did they use non-verbal communication?  What score you think they will get for their video if the rating ranges from to 10? Ask the groups to give feedback on the quality of the clip and express their feelings about the content Ask motivating questions  Do you think that you can make a better clip?  What you need to ensure the success of bringing the clip to life? Introduce the ratings for progress and the final product  Groups’ report on their preparation, their progress, their meeting deadlines: 10% of their total score  Groups’ final product: 60 % of the total score  Groups’ reviewing other groups’ products: 20% of their total score  Groups’ self-reflection on their project including their plan making, their writing narration, their rehearsal on their narration, their video recordings and their video making: 10% of their total score Ask the four groups to outline their plans for making a 5-6 minute video clip about their selected aspect (using the teacher’s handouts) based on the following suggestions: Main Focus Human resources Time to complete if any Search for information related to the topic Prepare equipment for the video recording Decide places to the video recordings Draft their narration and send it to the teacher’s email Schedule to the video recordings Assign the students to be a tour guide at certain places Report progress to the teacher Make the clip based on their video recordings Anticipate the challenges the groups will face in implementing this project and suggest possible solutions Teach students words or phrases to describe places, kinds of food, festivals and ethnic minority groups in addition to giving useful expressions used by tour guides Be located in/ be situated in/ be famous for/ to originate from/ to date back to/ to stem from/ delicacy/ specialty… Activity (20 minutes) Teacher calls on four group leaders to present their plans Meanwhile, the teacher gives the four groups feedback forms and ask the other three groups to feedback on the plans Feedback Form Guided questions What you think about the other groups’ plans? What you like best about their plans? What may your group learn from the other groups? What they need to improve? Do you think that they will be successful? Students give peer-feedback on the groups’ plans Teacher’s feedback on the groups’ plans and recommendations The groups will revise their plans based on the suggestions Tell the group to contribute their ideas to design Rubrics for marking their video clips Give feedback on their ideas for the Rubrics and finalize the Rubrics 10 Homework (3 minutes) Teacher asks the groups to search for information about their topic and write their narration Teacher requires the groups to submit their drafted narration to the teacher two days before the next meeting Teacher asks them to make their report on their preparation and their narration next meeting (one week after the first meeting) Meeting (45 minutes) Goals: To report the groups’ progress and present their narration, to receive feedback from the teacher and their friends to make better products  Warm-up (3 minutes) Ask the groups to express their feelings about their first week preparation for their project  Main activities Activity (20 minutes) Tell the groups to report whether they have any difficulty preparing for their work and they need help for their preparation or not Give them feedback and advice Tell the representative of each group to present their narration in front of the whole class Ask the students to listen to the presentations and complete feedback forms as follows: Presenters Content Language use Pronunciation Facial expressions Suggestions Ask the representative of the groups to present their feedback and suggestions for each presenter 11 Teacher gives feedback, suggestions for each group and marks their report on their progress and their narration presenting Activity (20 minutes) Show the class a sample of narration Example: Ky Cung – Ta Phu Temple Festival Ky Cung Temple is located at the head of Ky Lua Bridge by the Ky Cung River in Lang Son City The temple is dedicated to Tuan Tranh, who is considered as the God of the Ky Cung River Tuan Tranh had great contributions in defeating invaders but he had to suffer an unjust accusation and drowned himself in the Ky Cung River He was then vindicated by Than Cong Tai, who had merit of opening Ky Lua Market to trade with Chinese in the 17th century and has been worshiped at Ta Phu Temple in Lang Son City Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival is held every year from the 22nd to the 27th of the first lunar month to honor Tuan Tranh This is the biggest festival in Lang Son Province It involves Tuan Tranh's palanquin procession from Ky Cung Temple to Ta Phu Temple to repay Than Cong Tai for his kindness on the 22nd and returning on the 27th The procession includes groups of people in colorful dresses, many kinds of flags, and parasols The festival is also featured with many folk games such as human chess, lion and dragon dance, and “sli” and “luon” singing of the Tay and the Nung, which are two ethnic groups in Lang Son Province.The festival attracts many people to come not only to see and take part in the activities, but also to offer sacrifices at the two temples and pray One of the special offerings in this festival is a whole roast pig In particular, on the days of the palanquin procession, many families living in the streets that the procession goes along place sacrifices in front of their houses and pray for luck when the palanquin is processed by Besides, family members and friends get together and have parties during the festival Introduce some vocabulary related to the topic above invader /in'veidə/ (n) drown /draun/ (v) vindicate /'vindikeit/ (v) merit /'merit/ (n) worship /'wə:∫ip/ (v) palanquin procession /pælə„ki:n prəˈseʃ(ə)n/ parasol /„pærəsƆl/ (n) sacrifice /'sækrifais/ (n) 12 Tell the groups to revise their narration based on the feedback and suggestions Homework (2 minutes) Ask the groups to send their revised narration to the teacher one day after the second meeting Tell them to bring their product “A 5-6 minute video clip about their chosen topic” to the next meeting Inform the class the date and time for the next meeting Meeting (60 minutes) Goals: To show the four products and receive evaluation  Warm-up (5 minutes) Students express their feelings about completing the clips  Main activities Activity (25 minutes) The groups show their product respectively Teacher asks the four groups to review the clips Activity (15 minutes) The groups give present their review on the video clips Teacher marks their review Teacher evaluates and grades the clips based on criteria in Rubrics Activity (15 minutes) Groups’ writing self-reflection on their project including their plan making, their writing narration, their rehearsal on their narration, their video recordings and their video making Teacher marks the groups’ self reflection Teacher announces the rankings of the four products 4.3 Video-making With the aid of phones or camcorders, Class 10D1’ students have made video clips in English improve their communicative skills through their independent learning Besides the videos about the museum trip, Class 10D1 made several inspiring videos to enhance the spirit of English learning For example, after each class or school event, the class made a 5-minute video clip to show at the class meeting In semester 1, our class made a clip about the girl students’ joining the Football Competition, another video clip about the class’s first forum as well as the video clip about their organizing Halloween Night with the English subtitle The class video-recorded the biggest event “10D1’s Got Talent” The students made a very motivational video clip about their path to pass exams to become a student in an English majoring class and their passion for learning English and 13 they shared their dreams job in English Another video-clip was about the students’ expressing their opinions in English about the effectiveness of formative assessment implemented in the context of Class 10D1 including portfolios, project-based learning, reflections, story writing After listening to these videos, the students become more engaged with their own learning as they are inspired by others’ speaking English and they also feel proud of their performances in plays or of their organizational skills The students who often make the class’s videos use app Vivavideo to design the clips about the class’s activities The monitor of class 10D1 is an expert in using software to make the class’s professional video clips about English-related events She often uses some programs like Filmora, Premiere Pro or Adter Effects The class’s videos were shown during the meetings with the Students’ Parents’ Association to help the parents keep track of their children’s active involvement in class’s activities and their independent learning activities after school Through such interaction between the teacher of English and the parents, the stakeholders may join hands to encourage the students’ autonomous learning at home 4.4 Mobile learning The strategies of exploiting mobile devices to engage Class 10D1’s self-study are applied as follows: (1) The teacher encourages the students to download valid dictionaries to their phone windows such as OXFORD Dictionary online, CAMBRIDGE Dictionary online, Merriam-Webster: Dictionary and Thesaurus, etc, These dictionaries are their own conveniences in terms of looking up new words and finding their synonyms or acronyms (2)The students may download podcasts to their windows and practice their listening or speaking English along with native speakers (3) The teacher also engages them with mobile learning of idioms, phrasal verbs or listening to English songs and sing along for relaxation and pronunciation improvement (4) The mobile devices assist the students to record their speaking English and send their recording to the teachers for feedback on pronunciation, content quality and language use (5) The students in class 10D1 who are responsible for making the class’s videos often use their mobile phones to interview, record and video participants in English (6) The class encourages the members to use Skype or Viber as a tool to practice speaking English at home with their partners (7) Closed Facebook Group is a great way of communicating with the students in Class 10D1 Their phones may have this page in their windows 4.5 Online interaction Class 10D1’s facebook page was set up right after the students started their study at Chu Van An Gifted High School in order to increase communication between the form teacher (also the teacher of English) and the class to inspire the students’ autonomous learning and English proficiency improvement and to share learning materials The ultimate aims of using Facebook Page are shown as follows:  The teacher shares her experience in learning four macro skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing  The teacher shares some websites to improve their life skills such as debating techniques, presentation skills, critical thinking skills, etc, 14  The teacher shares useful English tests, exercises and different aspects of English language such as phrasal verbs, idioms, collocations, etc Sometimes, the teacher posts inspirational quotes to inspire the students to be more optimistic, active and enthusiastic about their own learning  The class’s written stories or inspiring letters (taking photos) or their relfections in English in hard copies every week are posted on the page to promote the spirit of learning and the students’ writing is very helpful to motivate others’ interest in learning  The teacher writes reflections on the class activities and students’ performances and share them on the page to promote the class’s pride in what they have achieved The teacher also makes reference to some students who are very hardworking, responsible and disciplined in learning English to make them good examples for the whole class to learn from After each big event, the class often uploads the class’s photos or video clips to help the whole class reflect on what they did For example, the class shared their video clips about their first Forum, their Halloween Night and their Got Talent The sharing activities are of great help to inspire the class to learn more, more, dream more and become more The teacher designs to-do lists and asks the class to set their weekly goals or on the first day of school after TET Holiday, the teacher handed out a very nice worksheet to encourage the students to write their new year resolutions After that the teacher often takes photos of these works and posts on the Facebook page The teacher and individual students in class 10D1 were impressed by their great goal setting and their plans for the whole year This strategy is very useful to spread the spirit of autonomy in learning English in general and learning other subjects in particular 4.6 Students’ writing The use of the computer and the internet services such as Google search or Google image is very helpful to design engaging worksheets for the students’ writing at home Sample In March 2016, there is a Mini Camp of English-Related Activities held in Hai Duong Province where you are going to be with Vietnamese Teachers of English, American Teacher Assistants, Excellent Students from some Gifted High School in the North of Vietnam Write the most LEGENDARY essay of 300 words The focus of your essay: Your expectations from the trip Your strategies to build relationships with International Citizens (American Teacher Assistants) Your ideas to network with excellent students from Gifted High Schools in the North of Vietnam Your vision and goals to implement what you learned from the trip to better the community of 10D1 in terms of English learning and organizing school extra activities NOTE: 10 best candicates with the most inspirational essays will be choosen to join the final round “Making a 3-minute speech about your ROAD MAP (Lộ trình ) to develop your DIPLOMATIC SKILLS” when you are still at High School Four candidates with the most inspring PUBLIC SPEAKING will be selected to join the CAMP in HAI DUONG Province Your Name: _ Mark: _/10 points Deadline: 20 February 2016 15 INSPIRE me! Sample Write the most inspiring letter to a grader who is going to take an entrance exam to the Englishmajoring Class at Chu Van An Specialized High Shool Your Name: _ Mark: _/10 points Deadline: February 2016 Sample 15-minute test A Letter from the Future 16 Situation: Now you are in Class 10 D1, Chu Van An Specialized High School in Lang Son Province You realized one of your big dreams Write an inspiring letter to one of your old teachers or a classmate to let them know about your determination and achievements (100 words) Name: _/Deadline: _ Sample The ULTIMATE aim of this activity is to help deepen your understanding of English Idioms Make up your own stories using the following idioms Name: DEADLINE: Tuesday, October 2015 17 Since the beginning of Semester 1, Class 10D1 has written about 30 sets of writing pieces These collections of the students’ works help the teacher understand the students’ feelings, desires and their dreams or their opinions about what is happening in the context Moreover, this self-study activities are often assessed by the teacher to see the students’ progress in writing activities and in language use The class has two bookcases at the back of the classroom These stories, letters, reflections and reference books are kept there to encourage the students’ independent learning 4.7 Doing the shadowingwith the help of technology Shadowing is a language learning technique developed by the American Professor Alexander Arguelles The basis of the method is audio in the language that you are learning While listening, you attempt to repeat to "shadow" what you hear as quickly as you hear it It is most beneficial to 18 be walking swiftly at the same time to maximize alertness and oxygenation.As in beginner shadowing, the goal is to shadow the audio as close to simultaneous as possible There are several ways to this:  Shadow the audio while walking  Shadow and read while walking  Shadow and read while sitting Sitting makes shadowing closer to a later stage of the Listening-Reading Method  Shadow the audio or videos while lying in bed  Shadowing and recording In the context of class 10D1, the teacher of English sets a good example of using this technique to improve her pronunciation and fluency in communication Every morning, the teacher spends at least 30 minutes going to YouTube.com and searching Gardening Australia, TED Talks, CNN students news or keynote speeches or http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish, http://www.manythings.org/voa/scripts/and speak English along The teacher introduces this technique to the whole class to self- study at home and to create their own English speaking environment at home when there is no partner to communicate with in English At the moment, this approach is used by Class’s 10D1 students After a period of months, I have seen some of my students make improvement in their communicative skills thanks to the use of the Shadowing Technique The students just need an mobile phone, an Ipod, an IPad or the computer connected with the internet, they can shadowing anywhere at any time Discussion It cannot be denied that technology Integration in Foreign Language Teachinghas made great impacts on teaching and learning English because internet-connected computers have been of great help to teachers’ work such as downloading infinite sources of materials to make lessons more interesting and informative to students; and facilitate students’ autonomous English learning outside the classroom With the help of technology, students are no longer taking a passive role in their own learning as it allows learners to solve problems, create, collaborate and research and to interact with their teachers and on worldwide scale Computers and the Internet have made foreign language selfstudy materials increasingly easy to access and use, and there are now many software applications marketed as complete language learning solutions, from free self-study courses In the context of an English- majoring class, Class 10D1, the teacher of English exploits the uses of technology to stimulate the students’ engagement with their self-study through portfolio-making, project-based learning, video-making, mobile learning, online interaction, students’ writing and doing the shadowing These self-study strategies have made students more interested in learning English and they have been more inspired to be responsible for their self-improvement The technology gives them more freedom to choose their learning materials and programs When joining project-work, students will improve their IT skills, teamwork skills, problem-solving skills and language skills The students have more opportunity to share their ideas and express their opinions in English However, technology integrated into students’ self-study also has several drawbacks Firstly, technology can be a distraction when students not use them in proper ways For example, they just make use of their internet-connected computers or mobile phones for online games or chat with friends Students will neglect their study and lack social interaction Secondly, technology may foster 19 more cheating on assignments For example, students may be lazier to think about ideas for their writing essays as they may copy others’ work online Thirdly, using technology to make video- clips may be time-consuming Finally, there may be a question of the validity of learning resources online Recommendations The writers would like to put forwards some suggestions for teachers of English who may apply some of our strategies to increase their students’ language self-study outside the classroom Firstly, teachers of English should set good examples of using technology to search useful materials to make lessons for interesting to students  Secondly, teachers should introduce valid and reliable websites, learning programs or materials to their classes  Thirdly, teacher should give students detailed explanation about how, what and when students should learn independently When assigning students with project-work or other assignments, teachers should be a great facilitator to give students support, help and guidance if any  Fourthly, teachers should set very clear criteria to assess students’ products such as portfolios, video-making  Fifthly, teachers should keep track of what students are self-studying by online interaction or small talks after classes  Sixthly, teachers should interact with their students’ parents to exchange information about students’ self-study and to ensure effectiveness of independent learning  Seventhly, teachers should be a REAL inspirer as a lifelong learner with the use of internetconnected computers Conclusion Technology helps to make students’ language learning outside the classroom more engaging It helps students develop their capacity for discovering new knowledge, self-reflection and selfassessment in addition to teachers’ formative assessment, and thus enabling them to assume more responsibility for their own learning Exposing students to project work, portfolios, online interaction or mobile learning makes them more autonomous in planning, implementing and evaluating their learning Therefore, students will become more disciplined, creative, active, optimistic and enthusiastic about their mastering English language REFERENCES Danielson, C & Abrutyn, L (1997)An Introductory to Using Portfolios in the Classroom.MOET (Institute for Educational Strategies and Curriculum Development) (2007) English Curriculum Hanoi: Educational Publishers Paulson, F.L., Paulson, P.R., & Meyer, C (1991) what makes a portfolio a portfolio? Educational Leadership, 48 (5), 60-63 Shyamlee, S D., Phil, M (2012) Use of technology in English language teaching and learning: An analysis International Conference on Language, Medias and Culture IPEDR,33 Zou, X (2011).What happened in different contexts and how to learner autonomy better? Teacher Development, 15:4, 421-433, DOI:10.1080/13664530.2011.635268 20 21 ... responsible for their own learning process 2.2 The integration of technology into language teaching and learning A number of studies have discussed the use of technology in language teaching and learning. .. computer-assisted language learning programs have been increasingly integrated into teaching and learning foreign language with a view to creating a more realistic learning environment for language learners... hours of teaching and learning English at schools give rise to the increasing demand for language learning outside the school context Therefore, on one hand, using technology for language education