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This section of the website will deal with assimilating the three areas of active learning, group work and ICT. It will give some practical examples of how to use these together in the modern language classroom.
ICT tasks can be very motivating for all pupils and, ultimately very rewarding. The ideas that are discussed here, while being perfectly acceptable individual pupil tasks, are all very conducive to group and pair work and should be very much viewed as part of active and discovery learning.
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The following suggestions are based on resources available (or easily downloadable) in all primary schools.
There are three sections:
Each section has subsections dealing with more specific ideas and software. These sections are not exhaustive, but discuss ideas which are all within reach of every teacher, regardless of their ICT background or skills level.
For ideas on using an Interactive Whiteboard with the ML, click here.
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Those attending the ICT and Language Teaching Course, you can access weblinks here.
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This section of the website will also feature some Video Tutorials on a variety of software and will give step by step guides as to how the software is used.
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MLPSI Video Tutorial 1: Using Photo Story 3
MLPSI Video Tutorial 2: Using Vokis
MLPSI Video Tutorial 3: Using Audacity
More Videos to follow. If you have any ideas on new developments or if you would recommend any particular software, email
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Using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher
The above programmes can be used in a number of different ways in the Modern Language Class:
• For word processing of a variety of items: poetry, writing, drafting/redrafting etc.
• Creating banners to display vocabulary e.g. labels around the classroom, classroom language instructions, etc
• Creating posters
• Creating a newsletter incorporating the modern language
• Creating greetings cards for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, EID and other cultural specific celebrations
• Devising menus for fictional restaurants (to consolidate food vocabulary)
• Creating tourist brochures/booklets on the local area or for an area in the target country/countries
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Using Microsoft PowerPoint
This allows the teacher to add a new, fun dimension to their lessons by using a mixture of sound, text, images and video to teach important language and structures.
The teacher can:
• Create visually stimulating whole class presentations, to teach the meaning and pronunciation of new language, grammar points etc.
• Create slideshow presentations for teaching cultural awareness
• Use text, image and sound to create visual resources for storytelling
Pupils can:
• Work in groups/pairs to create their own presentations based on topics and ICT skills learned
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Using Microsoft Excel
There are many ways in which spreadsheets can be used in the teaching of the target language in the primary school classroom. Conducting surveys is one common activity used to help develop listening and speaking skills in the primary language classroom. Spreadsheets are an effective way of presenting information gleaned during surveys, as well as allowing pupils to develop their ICT skills in the process. Conducting surveys using spreadsheets requires working through a series of stages as a whole-class or in groups, with each stage allowing for the integration of one or more of the five language skills: listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing:
1. Deciding on questions for the survey/spreadsheet (listening, speaking, writing)
2. Conducting the actual survey (writing, listening, spoken interaction)
3. Inputting data into a spreadsheet (ICT skills, spoken interaction)
4. Analysing the data in the spreadsheet (reading, spoken interaction)
5. Comparing results of the survey (spoken interaction)
6. Presenting results of the survey using charts or in a PowerPoint presentation (ICT skills, spoken production)
Surveys can be conducted within the classroom itself or pupils can develop their cultural awareness by exchanging information with a partner school in the target country via email. Pupils can work in groups to exchange information on topics of their choice from school life to family to hobbies and pastimes. The information is then stored and analysed in a spreadsheet, and the findings can be converted into charts and presented in the target language.
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Using Digital Audio and MP3s
The use of sound is vital in the learning of different languages as it gives pupils the need to develop all five language skills, not just speaking and listening, but also reading and writing. Audio files can be recorded and re-recorded by the pupils in the target language and this gives the opportunity to focus on pronunciation and intonation, giving the pupils the chance to self-evaluate their language skills. Pupils who possess an auditory style of learning can be helped greatly through aural-related activities, such as PowerPoint presentations with sound effects to support a story in the target language.
MP3 recordings have a variety of uses:
• They can be embedded into documents, or accessed through hyperlinks
• They can be used in electronic worksheets (in Word/Publisher/PowerPoint etc)
• To consolidate vocabulary, images can be linked to an MP3 recording
• Using Audacity along with other software such as Van Basco Karaoke, www.songsforlearning.com ,multimedia MP3 resources can be created
• Pupils can record stories, dramas, roleplays etc and even include sound effects and perhaps play them for other classes
• Pupils can conduct interviews and record them
• Any MP3 recordings can be uploaded to the school website
• MP3 files can be attached to emails, which can be sent to other schools etc
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Using Digital Cameras and Photographs
Digital cameras can be very useful for presenting information in a visually stimulating way. Both teachers and pupils can take turns in using the camera to capture images from the classroom, school and local environment. The photographs can be printed and used to enhance and create various classroom resources including flashcards, labels, books based on a theme etc. The camera can also be connected to the computer and the images transferred, stored and ready for use with a wide variety of applications including:
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Word processor documents e.g. flashcards
• Language page of school newsletter
• Language page of school website
• WebPages
• Email communications e.g. pen pal exchanges/cultural awareness
Remember to also take photos of any special events or projects incorporating the target language for inclusion in the MLPSI ‘Language Links’ newsletter.
An excellent (and free) photo editor is Google’s new Picasa photo software. It is free to download from the internet at www.google.com/picasa . It is well worth taking the time to familiarise yourself with it.
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Photo Story 3
Microsoft Photo Story 3 gives you the chance to create great multimedia video presentations using still images that can also be combined with text, narration and music. It is very easy to use and would be of great benefit to the language teacher for project work, and is easy enough for the pupils to use effectively. It is a free piece of software which can be downloaded from the Microsoft website (www.microsoft.com/photostory ).
The potential value of Photo Story is immense, but these are the two most global uses:
• Photo Story enables the teacher and/or pupils to tell a story in the target language using photographs taken by the pupils themselves. Text can be put onto the images along with music and narration which can make this extremely easy to use.
• The Photo Story which is created can be uploaded to a web page or school website.
The pupils will have so many ideas when using this software. It could play an important role in group work and collaborative learning within the classroom as it is a fun, discovery-based tool which is not difficult to use but also produces an excellent final product.
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Using Digital Video
Video has been a significant resource in modern language teaching for many years, but teachers were limited when it came to creating their own video-based teaching resources or working creatively with pupils in the classroom.
Using digital camera, camcorders or DVD camcorders, clips can be recorded and uploaded to a computer. Digital video clips can then be integrated into PowerPoint presentations, linked to a worksheet in Word and they can also be posted on a website or burned onto CD. All you need to create useful clips is a digital video camera, computer and editing software. Teachers are highly likely to need a microphone and headphones as well for best sound quality recording, and ideally a tripod.
The Film in Schools Project (FíS) is the perfect arena to showcase language video creations and is proving to be highly successful in the participating schools. You can look at the project’s website for more information (www.fis.ie).
Some simple ideas for a digital video project in the Modern Language classroom might be:
• Presenting a Weather forecast
• Conducting a news report
• Reading a poem aloud, to focus on expression and meaning
• Interviewing a ‘famous person’
• Creating a TV advertisement
• Recording of narrative and preparation of subtitles to overlay on video clips provided by the teacher
• Creating a ‘Point and speak’ introduction of the school to send to an exchange partner
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Using Email
Email communication is a fast and effective tool for communication in the modern language classroom. Pupils can exchange internal emails with others in their own classroom or the language teacher, and externally with pupils in other Irish schools learning the same target language, with penpals or as part of a whole class correspondence exchange with a school in the target language country. The advantages of using email as communication tool in the target language are manifold, allowing pupils to collaborate and share ideas with their peers in the target language country, as well as helping to improve their writing and ICT skills. However, before embarking on any project involving email communication, there are many important factors to consider including:
• How often will email be used as a form of communication?
• What content will be contained within the email e.g. digital photographs, sound files?
• How much of the target language is to be used?
• How will pupils work – individually, in pairs or groups?
• What groundwork is needed in advance e.g. handwritten drafts initially, email sent to teacher for correction? • How much practice do the pupils need before sending the finished/redrafted email?
• What is the purpose of the email exchange e.g. consolidation of learning, seeking/exchanging information ?
It is useful to teach the pupils a list of stock words and phrases that they will need when composing emails. Classes involved in a correspondence exchange with a school in the target language country can ask for their assistance in this, and vice versa. Projects involving email exchange can include the following:
• Surveys of daily routine, schools, etc.
• Cross-curricular projects e.g. pupils exchange information on local geography with partner school in target language country or other Irish school
• Cultural awareness projects e.g. pupils exchange information on festivals and cultural events
• Language awareness e.g. pupils exchange information on English/Irish/local dialect with target language country and vice versa • Communicative competence e.g. pupils exchange sound files/videos describing themselves/their school in the target language, putting on a play in the target language etc.
Findings gathered from any of the email projects mentioned above can be combined with other technologies such as Excel, to allow pupils to present their work in a meaningful way, whilst also developing their ICT skills. Powerpoint Presentations are another useful way of presenting the information.
General information on ways to ensure the pupil security whilst using email in the classroom can be found in the NCTE (The National Centre for Technology in Education) publication ‘Be Wise On the Net - Information and Advice for Schools’ which can be downloaded from : http://www.ncte.ie/InternetSafety/Publications/d1551.PDF
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Websites and Web Searches
There are a plethora of excellent websites that can be used for group work in the modern language classroom. Some feature on the language-specific resource lists which can be downloaded from the MLPSI website.
Researching topics using the internet has a part to play in any class, but it has an important role in the modern language class as it gives both pupils and teachers the opportunity to gain access to pictures, information and resources featuring the target country that may not be readily available otherwise.
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Creating WebPages
Recently schools have begun to design their own websites. This has been made easier by the many teachers’ courses which are being held in various Education Centres around the country. Technology has developed to make the designing of a school website much easier and pupil-friendly than before. A package called ‘WebsiteX5’ is being used in many schools, and it allows teachers with even very limited ICT skills to design and upload a website. (see www.websitex5.com)
It may seem daunting, but web pages are relatively easy to create. The school may own web-design software but a word processor such as Word can be used to make web pages. If pupils can insert images into a word-processed page, or link to another document, a web site, or a sound file, then interesting and varied web pages are within their capacity.
If you already have a school website then a webpage, or a section of the site devoted to the target language, would not be a very tricky thing to accomplish. It gives the pupils ownership of something on the web and can be a target for them to finish projects etc, knowing they could be featured on the website. Such a readily accessible project could then be shown to parents.
Potential items which could feature on the target language area of the website may include:
• Digital photos of projects in the language
• Use the target language in headings/subheadings and basic descriptions etc.
• Upload PowerPoint /Microsoft documents
• Upload videos of dramas/role-plays which the pupils carried out in the target language
• Upload recordings (MP3s or other types) featuring pupils recordings (see sections on MP3s and audio equipment)
• The pupils and teachers could put up some links to various language-related websites that they would recommend
You should bear in mind that web pages created by pupils do not have to go on the Internet. They may run offline in a browser during language lessons. The finished product does not have to be for general publication.
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Audacity www.audacity.com
Microsoft Office www.microsoft.com
(or Open Office or Star Office)www.openoffice.org
Photo Story 3 www.microsoft.com/photostory3
Picasa www.google.com/picasa
WebsiteX5 www.websitex5.com
Windows Media Player www.microsoft.com
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