Application of information technology to enhance students’ autonomy in learning english at long an teachers’ training college

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HUỲNH MAI APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT LONG AN TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HUỲNH MAI APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT LONG AN TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Trần Bá Tiến, Ph.D Nghệ An, 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The thesis entitled “Application of Information Technology to Enhance Students’ Autonomy in Learning English at Long An Teachers’ Training College” is conducted under the supervision of Dr Tran Ba Tien, an English instructor at the English Department, Vinh University I declare that the information reported in this paper is the result of my own work, except where due reference is made The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted to any candidature for any other degree or diploma i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Having this completed study, I have to present my gratefulness to the persons who usually stand by me during finishing the thesis paper Firstly, I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my supervisor Dr Tran Ba Tien, who gave me the golden opportunity to this wonderful project on the topic “Application of Information Technology to Enhance Students’ Autonomy in Learning English at Long An Teachers’ Training College”, as well as step by step helped me in doing my research Secondly, I must send my love to my lecturers at Vinh University notably Dr Ngo Dinh Phuong who gave me good lessons on these paper as well as in the master program In addition, I would also like to thank my headmaster, Mr Phan Minh Hung who gave me time and encouragement for my study Moreover, I send my appreciation to my colleagues especially Ms Cao Tieu Nha, who always put pressure on me to finish my thesis and shared with me her experience Last but not least, my thanks are due to my beloved students in the two English Language Study classes 39 and 40, who involved in my experiment Without their assistance, my study could not have been conducted All of their help meaningfully contributed to the completion of my study in the master program Finally, I owe everything to my family, especially my husband, who was always with me when I was in difficulties and gave me mental support to complete my M.A program ii iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii Abstract Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Method Chapter 10 LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Communicative language teaching (CLT) 10 2.1.1 CLT in the 20th century 10 2.1.2 Trends in CLT in the 21st century 17 2.2 Blended learning 22 2.2.1 Technology of teaching in applying information technology 22 2.2.2 Instruments 23 2.2.3 What is blended learning? 23 2.2.4 The Internet (Online learning) 23 2.2.5 Social Media 27 2.2.6 Offline learning (English courses) 31 2.3 Issues in using IT in teaching and learning English 31 2.3.1 What are the kinds of technology? 31 2.3.2 What are the benefits of using technology in learning English? 32 2.3.3 Disadvantages in using IT in teaching and learning English 34 2.4 Learner autonomy 37 2.4.1 What is learner autonomy in learning? 37 2.4.2 The role of autonomy in learning English 39 2.4.3 IT as a means to develop learner autonomy 44 Chapter 46 METHODOLOGY 46 3.1 Research setting 46 3.2 Participants 46 3.3 The use of IT in LA college 47 3.4 Research questions 47 3.5 Data collection Instruments 48 3.6 Procedures 50 Chapter 52 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 52 4.1 Discussion of the students’ use of IT for learning English 52 4.1.1 Students' Online Experience and Habits of using smart phones and computers outside class 52 4.1.2 Students' Overall Perceptions of Using the Internet to Learn English 54 4.1.3 Students' attitude when working with smart phones or computers 54 4.1.4 Follow-up Study 55 4.2 Necessity of Application of Multimedia Technology to English Teaching 55 4.2.1 To Cultivate Students’ Interest in Study 55 4.2.2 To Promote Students’ Communication Capacity 56 4.2.3 To Widen Students’ Knowledge to Gain an Insightful Understanding to Western Culture 56 4.2.4 To Improve Teaching Effect 56 4.2.5 To Improve Interaction Between Teacher and Student 57 4.2.6 Creates a Context for Language teaching 57 4.2.7 To Provide Flexibility to Course Content 58 Chapter 59 CONCLUSION 59 REFERENCES 61 Abstract This study investigated the potential role of ESL/EFL websites as a means for students at Long An Teachers’ Training College to apply in their autonomous learning It evaluated the autonomy in learning English on their own media devices of forty-eight students major in English at the college The students were introduced to use some websites on the Internet and ten offline programs and instructed to use them for self-study Data collected revealed that despite some difficulties encountered, students had an overall positive attitude to using the teacher-selected websites in their learning of English own their own The students found that learning English through ESL/EFL websites was interesting and that the teaching strategies used by the teachers were effective and necessary A follow-up study was conducted a year later after the initial study and the results supported the original findings Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays English is the language of social context, political, sociocultural, business, education, industries, media, library, communication across borders, and key subject in curriculum and language of imparting education” It is also a crucial determinant for university entrance and processing well paid jobs in the commercial sector Since there are more and more English learners in every part of the world, different teaching methods have been implemented to test the effectiveness of the teaching process With the spread and development of English around the world, English is used as a foreign language in a country like Vietnam It plays an important part in the development of the country At present the role and status of English in Vietnam is higher than ever as evidenced by its position as a key subject of medium of instruction, curriculum in some gifted schools and universities As the number of English learners is increasing, more and more different teaching methods have been applied to bring the effectiveness of the teaching process The use of authentic materials in the form of films, radio, TV has been there for a long time It is true that technologies have proved successful in replacing the traditional teaching Information technology is one of the instruments that changes the nature of learning There are many definitions of what constitutes IT The term is used very loosely to describe a variety of ways computers are integrated into the learning process Simply put, "IT is a word that is used to describe different things to different people IT is a term that is used by many to describe, study, and evaluate the various ways Computers are integrated into education, both inside and outside of classrooms" In fact, IT is a complex, dynamic, and ever changing part of our society and world today and, given this, it is important to have an informed approach towards its role within our own area of influence Instruction is the way we teach and IT is what we use to help us teach Instruction can take place with or without IT However, IT can be used to help facilitate instruction IT can be anything that is used as a means to help us, but it does not necessarily have to be electronic A good definition of technology should include "the systematic application of scientific and other organized knowledge to practical tasks" Technology is designed to make a person's life easier (Moursund & Bielefeldt, 1999) "Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources" Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), (2004) The use of technology in various fields has been so successful and beneficial for teachers to reach some particular goals especially in education and for those who are learning a foreign language and literature In every step of our lives, the significance of technology is seen and enjoyed in these days Web-based technologies and powerful internet connections provide various new possibilities for the development of educational technology English is the only language that has attracted many people around the world, for the most part due to the globalization Learners learn faster and easier than before because of the use of technology in educational institutions It is quite clear that English has become a necessity today With the spread and development of English around the world, English is used as a foreign and second language in most of the countries of the world It enjoys a high prestige in the countries At present the role and status of English in the world is higher than ever as evidenced by its position as a key subject of medium of instruction and curriculum As the number of English learners is increasing different teaching methods have been implemented to test the effectiveness of the teaching process Use of authentic materials in the form of • Google Books http://books.google.com/ Resources for the Teaching of Writing General Writing Resources • Online Writing Lab (OWL) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/resources/teachers.html • NUS http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/cdtlhome/write.htm • Lee’s Summit http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/writing.htm • ReadingOnline http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electroni cwebwatch/writing/index.html General Writing Resources • ReadWriteThink http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp • Pekin School http://www.pekin.net/pekin108/contribute/swatson/writingresources.htm • Elementary Writing http://www.internet4classrooms.com/lang_write_elem.htm • Writing Resources http://boe.mono.k12.wv.us/Easton/writing_resources.htm General Writing Resources • Step Up to Writing http://www2.pylusd.k12.ca.us/glk/jlaurich/StepUpToWriting.htm • Study Zone http://www.eslmonkeys.com/student/grammar_lesson.php 77 • English Club http://www.englishclub.com/writing/ • The Writing Center http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electroni cwebwatch/writing/index.html Printable Worksheets • Worksheets http://www.teach-nology.com/printables/ • For Home Schooling (L1) http://home.att.net/~bandcparker/worksheets.html Writing Lesson Plans • About.com http://esl.about.com/od/writinglessonplans/Writing_Lesson_Plans_for_En glish_Learners_at_All_Levels.htm http://esl.about.com/od/writinglessonplans/a/l_wwshop1.htm http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/blwriteparagraph.htm • TeachersNet http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/41.html Process Writing • Zwolle http://www.sabine.k12.la.us/zes/writing/default.htm • Interactive Six Trait Writing Process http://senior.billings.k12.mt.us/6traits/ • ABC of the Writing Process http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess Genre Based Teaching Resources • Tasmanian Government 78 http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au/english/ideas.htm • New South Wales Government http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/english http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/parents/k6writing.html • Persuasive Writing http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/writing/sec_writing/persuasivewrit esites.htm • Language Arts http://web.utk.edu/~impact/languagearts.html Resources to Build Vocabulary Lessons General guidelines on vocabulary teaching • Audio answers to important questions about vocabulary teaching http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4507 • Guidelines for teaching vocabulary http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/guideli nes_vocab.pdf Vocabulary Tools • Word List Generator http://www.educationalpress.org/ • AntConc 3.2.1w http://www.antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/antconc_index.html • Range http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/staff/paul-nation.aspx Ready Made Materials & Lessons • 65 Individual Vocabulary Lessons https://secure.layingthefoundation.org/english/vocab/individuallessons.asp • Lesson Plans Central 79 http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Language_Arts/Vocabulary/index.ht m • Lesson Plans Page http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ • Stone Fox vocabulary activities http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0211900/fox/stone_fox_vocabulary.htm • Bill Klepper http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/bill_kle pper.pdf • Bingo Lingo http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/bingo_l ingo.pdf Concept Definition Maps • Lesson Plan http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/r/reading_be stpractices_vocabulary_concept.pdf • Teacher Resources http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/r/reading_be stpractices_vocabulary_tr_AllConcept.pdf • Other Graphic Organizers http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/r/reading_be stpractices_vocabulary_sr_allgo.pdf Jan Brett Dolch Word Lists • Basic Word Lists http://www.janbrett.com/games/jan_brett_dolch_word_list_main.htm • High Frequency Word Lists http://www.janbrett.com/games/high_frequency_word_list_main.htm 80 • Worksheets and Resources http://worksheets.teach-nology.com/language_arts/dolch/ • Activities http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPDolch.html Vocabulary Compendium Sites • English Media Lab (vocabulary videos) http://www.englishmedialab.com/vocabulary.html • ESL Gold (study and learning materials) http://www.eslgold.com/vocabulary.html • Instructors Web (lesson plans, worksheets) http://www.instructorweb.com/resources/vocabulary.asp • Vocabulary (activities, lists, sites) http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/literacy/vocabulary.html • Web English Teacher (various links) http://www.webenglishteacher.com/vocab.html Speaking Resources Phonetics 1/2 • University of Iowa Sounds of American English http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html • Okanagan College Canadian English http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/ Phonetics 2/2 • Phonemic Pronunciation Chart http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/phonemic-chart • Phonemic Chart with Animal Names http://www.podcastsinenglish.com/wksheets/phonemic_chart.pdf • Silent Letter Introduction 81 http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/soundandspell/silentletter s/ Pronunciation, Speaking, Conversation Help • General Help http://esl.about.com/od/speakingenglish/Speaking_English_Pronunciation _and_Conversation_Skills.htm • Activities http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/lmh_speaking.htm • ESL Gold http://www.eslgold.com/speaking.html Lesson Plans • ITESL http://iteslj.org/Lessons/ • Listening & Speaking Exercises http://www.englishstudydirect.com/OSAC/langacls.htm • ESL-Galaxy http://www.esl-galaxy.com/speaking.html • Rong-Chang http://www.rong-chang.com/lsnplan.htm • ESL Flow http://www.eslflow.com/ Speaking Games • ITESL http://iteslj.org/c/games.html • TEFLogue http://www.tefllogue.com/in-the-classroom/top-10-tefl-games-andspeaking-activities.html 82 • Musical English http://www.musicalenglishlessons.org/grammar/findsomeonewho.htm YouTube Resources • JenniferESL http://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL?feature=chclk • EnglishwithStacy http://www.youtube.com/user/EnglishwithStacy • RealEnglish http://www.youtube.com/user/realenglish1 • EnglishCafeDotCom http://www.youtube.com/user/EnglishcafeDotCom • SuperSimpleSongs http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperSimpleSongs • CambridgeUPELT http://www.youtube.com/user/CambridgeUPELT • Watchdoit http://www.watchdoit.com/how-to-videos/How-To-Improve-YourEnglish-Stress-And-Intonation-53041 Audacity No speaking exercises are of any value unless the speaker can hear and analyze himself The best freeware tool for doing this is: • Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Vocabulary Games Traditional Vocabulary Games • Free Rice http://www.freerice.com/index.php 83 • Hangman http://www.arcamax.com/games/hangman • Science Vocabulary Hangman http://education.jlab.org/vocabhangman/ • Non-Stop English http://www.nonstopenglish.com/wordgames/scrambled/ • EnglishClub http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/index.htm Graphic Vocabulary Games • ESL-galaxy.com http://www.englishmedialab.com/vocabulary.html • Fun Brain Word Games http://www.funbrain.com/words.html • Learning Vocabulary Fun http://www.vocabulary.co.il/ • Oxford http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/vocabulary/levels_a2h.cfm • PlayKids http://www.playkidsgames.com/vocabularyGames.htm • Vocabulary Games http://www.gamequarium.com/evocabulary.html Review Links The “vocabulary compendium” list I gave you yesterday contained links to games, which I asked you not to follow yesterday, but which you may now explore: • English Media Lab http://www.englishmedialab.com/vocabulary.html 84 • ESL Gold http://www.eslgold.com/vocabulary.html • Instructors Web http://www.instructorweb.com/resources/vocabulary.asp • Vocabulary http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/literacy/vocabulary.html • Web English Teacher http://www.webenglishteacher.com/vocab.html 2.3 Offline Learning Duolingo One of the biggest draws of Duolingo is its gamified learning system: instead of the usual progression through lessons, Duolingo structures your lessons as a skill tree, with “skill points” being awarded for completing lessons, achievements for tracking your progress as well as a lives system that encourages you to answer each question correctly You can then use your knowledge to translate real-world content, which is then rated by other users Memrise Memrise offers a large variety of courses for a lot of different languages, including English, all for free These courses are actually constructed by other 85 members of the Memrise community, making Memrise something of a crowdsourced learning platform The app integrates with your main Memrise.com account, but also offers an offline mode so that you can continue learning even when you’re without an Internet connection Memrise, also has some elements of gamified learning, including a points system Lingua.ly Lingua.ly is a language learning and vocabulary tool that tries to turn web content into language-learning opportunities Lingua.ly uses a propietary languageprocessing method that makes it able to recommend real texts to you, based on vocabulary tests and your interests This means that you’re not limited to texts written specifically for learners and can read real text in whichever language you’re learning, particularly useful if you really want to improve your command of a language 86 LearnEnglish Grammar UK Edition | US Edition LearnEnglish Grammar, developed by the British Council, is an interactive app that’s designed to help improve your grammar, especially your grammar accuracy Both the UK and US English editions offer four levels of questions, starting at the Beginner level and going all the way up to Advanced level Each difficulty covers 12 grammar topics, with 20 activities per topic Both editions also have easy-to-access in-app help so that you’ll never get stuck trying to solve any of the interactive tasks Johnny Grammar’s word Challenge Johnny Grammar’s Word Challenge is a fun little quiz application that tests your spelling, grammar and vocabulary, by having you solve as many questions as possible within 60 seconds There are three difficulty levels, easy, medium and 87 hard, and 10 different question topics including Food & Restaurants, Small Talk and Hobbies You can earn and share badges as you progress through the questions, and you can even compete with other users on a global leaderboard SpeakingPal English Tutor SpeakingPal English Tutor is a highly interactive app that helps you improve English by using your device’s voice-recognition technology to simulate a voice call with a native English speaker This will help improve your spoken English and pronunciation To this end, SpeakingPal English Tutor provides more than 100 levels and a lot of different dialogs, sentences and vocabulary items However, you will have to pay for most of these, as the free version offers only 16 levels MyWordBook 88 MyWordBook is an interactive vocabulary notebook app With MyWordBook 2, you can learn important English words through interactive flashcards that contain pictures, sounds and sentences to help you remember these words All words and word data are sourced from Cambridge University Press’ learner dictionaries MyWordBook also has a number of extra activities, a quick word review feature as well as the ability to create your own flashcards Busuu Busuu is actually something like a social network for learning languages, with complementary Android and iOS apps to help you learn while on the go Busuu’s lessons are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), so the quality of Busuu’s reading, writing and speaking practice and lessons are guaranteed Lessons range from beginner to advanced, and Busuu offers more than 150 topics with more than 3,000 words and phrases The free version, however, only offers 20 units 89 Fun Easy Learn English Fun Easy Learn English is a vocabulary app with more than 6,000 words in its database You can improve your vocabulary through illustrations, recorded pronunciations and native translations, and the app also includes seven different games that should further help your efforts to learn English The app also has a Spin Categories function that chooses a random topic, subtopic and game for you, to keep you on your toes The app doesn’t require an Internet connection 10 Phrasalstein 90 Unlike the other apps on this list, Phrasalstein is targeted at improving one specific element of your English grammar, namely phrasal verbs These can be tricky, so it’s quite a useful app for brushing up this aspect of your English grammar The app is designed like a classic horror movie, and has 100 phrasal verbs that it will teach you through humorous animations The app will provide meanings and example sentences as well as translations in Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and French 91 ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HUỲNH MAI APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT LONG AN TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE. .. ? ?Application of Information Technology to Enhance Students’ Autonomy in Learning English at Long An Teachers’ Training College? ?? is conducted under the supervision of Dr Tran Ba Tien, an English instructor... project on the topic ? ?Application of Information Technology to Enhance Students’ Autonomy in Learning English at Long An Teachers’ Training College? ??, as well as step by step helped me in doing my research