Using the Internet in ELT presented by:János Blasszauer Longman 3rd KICK-OFF CONFERENCE ELTE-CETT, Budapest 8 September, 2001

Using the Internet in ELT Information is a wonderful thing, but it is not knowledge. You wouldnt be educated if you managed to memorise the entire encyclopedia. You would just be weird. David McCullough (historian)

Summary of Talk Introduction Basic principles The vision of todays education Welcome to the realm of the Internet The Internet as a communication tool Internet-based projects Summary

Pens Down! Instead of scribbling down everything I say just visit http// ation.htm when you get home. This is my personal website and contains: –A copy of this PowerPoint presentation –Information of forthcoming ELT events –A really good cookie recipe. :-)

Basic Principles Students learn by doing. Students will write when they have an interested audience and when they have something to say.

Pedagogical Vision

The Vision of todays education Transform students from being passive recipients of the learning process to take an active initiative and be productive contributors of the process.--> Teachers become facilitators of student independent, active learning Empower students to become lifelong learners. Empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Enable students to cope with the challenges that the information society poses.

Cemetery model "When schools open this fall, the overwhelming majority of students across the country will file into ordered rows, pick up their books, and face their teachers. They will be taught in one subject and then move on to the next, in a recurring pattern of teacher-led instruction and assessment. This approach--seated in rows, quietly and passively receiving knowledgeis called the cemetery model." -Roland Tharp (author/educator), "Teaching Transformed: Achieving Excellence, Fairness, Inclusion and Harmony"

Famous quotes "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary." -- Thomas Carruthers "Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it." -- Sir William Haley "The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change." -- Carl Rogers "What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child." --George Bernard Shaw

Why use the Internet? Motivation (intrinsic) Internet is trendy Future career Lifelong learning (builds basic life skills) Students appreciate the usefulness of acquiring English language skills Higher awareness of the world around them practise makes perfect Active communication, self expression Builds the learners' confidence in their language abilities Makes language learning more relevant Puts things the learners have learned into a meaningful context Connects the learners to the world outside the classroom Provides motivation for the learners to investigate & use L2 outside the classroom

Life Before the Computer An application was for employment A programme was a TV show. A keyboard was a piano. Memory was something that you lost with age. A CD was a bank account.(Certificate of Deposit) If you unzipped anything in public youd be in jail for awhile! Log on was adding wood to fire. Hard drive was a long trip on the road. A mouse pad was where your mouse lived and a backup happened to your commode! Cut you did with a pocket knife and paste you did with glue. A web was a spiders home and a virus was the flue! If you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy you hoped nobody found out!

Welcome to the realm of the Internet mailing lists (TESL-L, Neteach-L, Eltecs) Newsgroups (alt.usage.english, k12.lang.art) Web Discussion Boards (ESL MessageExchange, ESL Discussion Center) Internet clubs online conferences books, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, e- zines, lesson plans, tutorials, online useful tools freeware, shareware MOOs (SchMOOze) libraries, associations, chatrooms (ESL Chat Central)

The Internet as a communication tool brings together like-minded people foster collaboration between and among different communities, scientists, researchers, students, teachers etc. exchange and share information find and give help work together on common goals work on, discuss and share projects

Internet-based projects 1 Project-based learning –active learning explore, observe, photograph i.e.. Interact with their environment collect and analyse data solve problems create, discuss,report and share their findings; working as part of a team –integrating skills –promote learner autonomy –authenticity (gaining meaning from reading authentic materials, writing for an audience, communicating with others outside the classroom) –give voice to ones opinion –prepares learners for lifelong learning

Components of Successful Programme Integration Computer competence Active teacher involvement

Internet-based projects 2 Why do exchange? –highly motivating –share thoughts and opinions –put English into real-world context for students –provide greater range of language than might be encountered in the classroom –focus is on content and communication –promotes tolerance, cultural awareness

Telecollaborative projects 1 Global SchoolNets Projects & Programs ( This is the most comprehensive of all of the K–12 telecollaborative projects directories. Dont miss the searchable Internet Projects Registry at this site KIDPROJ (an aspect of KIDLINK, These globally focused projects involve learners aged 15 and younger from many different countries. All student participants must answer four questions about themselves and their ideas for making the world a better place prior to project participation. I*EARN Projects ( These are primarily social action projects involving participants from very diverse geographic locations.

Telecollaborative Projects 2 NickNacks Telecollaboration (www1.minn.net/~schubert/EdHelpers.html): This site contains many helpful suggestions about how to participate in educational telecollaboration. NickNacks also sponsors and points visitors to high-quality, curriculum-based projects. Blue Webn ( This project-review service helps us locate telecollaboration opportunities according to curriculum area and four activity typesWeb-based activities, Web-based projects, Web-based tutorials, and Unit & Lesson Plans. The contents of Blue Webns large projects database can also be searched by keyword.

projects Penpal listings for elementary through high school: Classroom Exchanges at KEYPAL International at WeNet Keypals at Penpal listings for all levels (including college) Intercultural Classroom Connections at Linguistic Funland's penpal listings at

Whetting your students appetite As an introduction to the web you can surf with students some sites whose topics you know appeal to them. Create a collection of bookmarks/favorites! These are some of the websites I found useful: for modern music. the famous basketball teams website online radio programs films to introduce search engines

What can teachers do? check how an upcoming lesson can be supplemented by using the potential of the Net constant bookmarking investigate the collections of others evaluation of sites (SCAD checklist) become familiar with resources online in your content area

How to Approach the Internet Dont get frustrated! Give yourself time to explore. Find a mentor to help. Look for personal interest first. Sign up for an ICT course.

Summary –Properly applied the Internet has an enormous potential –emphasise real language use in a meaningful, authentic context –integrate skills –promote learner autonomy –develop critical thinking –motivating –provide greater range of language use than might be encountered in the classroom –focus is on content and communication –consider carefully the students needs

Recommended Sites 1 "Entering the World Wide Web: A Guide to Cyberspace" at iowa.edu/InternetDocs/guide.61/guide.to c.html Everything you ever wanted to know about the World Wide Web can be found at this site along with general information on the Internet and why it is so popular. "Harnessing the Power of the Web for Classroom Use: A Tutorial" at An on-line tutorial focusing on utilizing the World Wide Web specifically geared for the education environment. "Internet Public Library Youth Division" at consists of an on-line library for young students. This site includes a newsletter for kids, responses by illustrators and authors to questions from children, and an exploration of the world of reading. It even includes a story hour! "My Virtual Reference Desk" at provides a one-stop reference guide to facts, encyclopedias, and newspapers. Visit "Netiquette 101" at QUET.HTML for a comprehensive Web site describing the emerging norms for proper communication on the Internet.

Recommended Sites 2 "On-Line Educational Resources" at ric.html from the U.S. Department of Education lists comprehensive and relevant curriculum resources. "AskERIC" at has a database of lesson plans on a variety of subjects, research materials, and a question and answer service. "Yahoo" at A very popular and easy-to- use topical index to the World Wide Web's information. "Yahooligans at m/ A web guide specifically designed for kids. This is a solid resource which offers safe viewing by students and kids of all ages.

Thank you for your attention! website: tation.htm