I. IntroductionIn the past, vocabulary teaching and learning were often given little priority in second language programs, but recently there has been a renewed interest in the nature of vocabulary and its role in learning and teaching. Traditionally, vocabulary learning was often left to look after itself and received only incidental attention in many textbooks and language programs. Thus, although the course curriculum was often quite specific about aspects of teaching such as grammar, reading, or speaking, little specification was given to the role of vocabulary. The status of vocabulary now seems to be changing. For one thing, the notion of a word has been “broadened” to include lexical phrases and routines, and it has been suggested that in the initial stages of learning these play a primary role in communication and acquisition. There are many aids for language teaching to grow students’ motivation and encourage them. In this paper, the writer chooses a computer as a new technology to develop or increase students’ vocabulary because it is the best technology to increase their vocabulary. Teaching vocabulary by using a computer makes the students remember some information as key points in their mind. They can be easily remember and know what they have studied from computer. They don’t need to do much to get the information from computer.

Bryan Oliver (2003) states that,

The C in ICT can help us to remember a number of key points to bear in mind when using computers in English classrooms. Computers are often a catalyst for pupil activity. Unlike television, computers invite learners to be active. They can’t just sit staring at a computer screen. They have to do something. Related to this point is the idea of challenge. Working with computers offers an almost continual series of minor (and sometimes major) problems that have to be solved – in many cases, before the user can continue.We focus in on one aspect of vocabulary learning, as follows. First, we focus on learning words during assisted oral reading. Second, we concentrate on initial encounters with words. Third, we subdivide vocabulary learning from initial encounters in text into two stages: encountering new words in text, and learning from those encounters. We demonstrate improvements over baseline computer-assisted oral reading by: (a) making sure that all students – not just better students – see new text; (b) adding information to text so that children can learn more from encounters with words than they would from the original text alone.

Uses of ICT in language teaching
The regular lesson
It is possible to hold a regular lesson in a computer class with internet access. A teacher may download the necessary material beforehand, and have students work through it, helping out when needed. There are many sites that provide learning materials on the internet.Using the net as a research resource
We decide to search the Web for some data. Every student gets an address, or a name, or some words, which they find through a search engine. They take notes while working, so that next day, we can have feedback.Such lessons are extremely motivational, since the students enjoy using the Web, and they have an additional motivation because they know that they have to report to their peers during the next lesson.

Web site projects

COMMENTS ON FOUR PROGRAMMES:A. Issue in English

You can blog by email using most standard email software programs or a Weblog Client, programs specifically designed to send posts via email.

Note: WordPress 2.2 users are experiencing problems with posting via email with WordPress not recognizing the content of an email. A patch has been issued to fix this problem.

Overview
Set up Writing by Email in Options > Writing in the WordPress Administration Panels.
Create a new email account with the same login name you chose on the Admin Login screen.
Use one of the following options:
Open your web browser to view http://yourwebdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-mail.php immediately after you send an email to your posting address; this will load the post. You may have to refresh the page.
Using the iframe command as described below, insert some short html code into the footer of your WordPress blog, essentially automating the wp-mail.php check you did above; again, you may have to refresh the page to see the new post. THIS IS A GOOD SOLUTION FOR NEW USERS!
Use the WP-Cron WP-Mail plugin. (This appears to be obsolete in WP 2.2!)
Set up a cron job to periodically view http://yourwebdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-mail.php using a command-line HTTP agent such as wget, curl, or GET.
Use a .qmail file to call wp-mail.php directly when an email message is delivered. Does your ISP use .qmail?

Setting Up Blog By Email

Step 1 – Setting Things Up: An overview
Login to WordPress with the administration login you use to administer your WordPress blog.
Go to Options > Writing.
Read the instructions under the Writing by Email at the bottom of the page. At the end of these instructions, WordPress will give you three random strings you may use for the login name of the blog-by-email account(postaccount).
You will need to create a new blog-by-email account(postaccount) on your web hosting email server. This is the place where your personal email accounts live. It is not recommended that you use public, free email servers like Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.
NOTE: Some email servers do not allow numbers-only email accounts or ones starting with a number.
When you are done creating the blog-by-email account(postaccount) on your web hosting email server, return back to WordPress Options > Writing to fill in the name of the mail server and port number your web hosting provider uses. (If you don’t know these, refer to your web hosting provider’s FAQ or manual pages. Port number is usually 110.)
Next, enter the login name and password for your new blog-by-email account(postaccount).
NOTE: The blog-by-email(postaccount) email address should be the complete using user@example.com format, and not just the user name.
Choose the default category for WordPress to assigned posts to when submitted by email.
Click Update Options and you’re done!
Now, send an email to your new blog-by-email account(postaccount). Depending on how you set up WordPress to process the your new blog-by-email posting, it should work flawlessly.
[edit]
Step 2 – Creating the Blog-By-Email Account: a reminder

Create the new blog-by-email account with the same name as you specified in the WordPress Admin panel, using the tools your hosting provider provides. Create it with the same password you entered in the WordPress administration section.

Note: It is strongly recommended that you use a “secret” address – that is, an email account name that is very difficult to guess and only known to you. Any email sent to this address will automatically be posted to your blog. WordPress will give you a few good names to use when the time comes to set it up. 

Step 3 – Activating Blog-By-Email

The following options set the process through which the email will be captured and released by WordPress into your blog.

Browser Activation

View http://example.com/installdir/wp-mail.php in your web browser immediately after you send an email to your postaccount@example.com account. (Note: You must do this every time you send a new post.)

Automated Browser Activation (Iframes)

An alternative to manual browser activation is to add the following code to the footer of your blog:

<iframe src=”http://yourblogdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-mail.php” mce_src=”http://yourblogdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-mail.php” name=”mailiframe” width=”0″ height=”0″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” title=”"></iframe>

Edit the above line of code so that it refers to the location of your wp-mail.php file. Add this line of code to the footer.php file in the directory for whatever theme you are using (don’t include it within an html paragraph).

You may have to refresh your blog to see the new post. THIS IS THE BEST METHOD FOR NEW USERS.

If you’re using the Postie plugin for WordPress, then you should use the following iframe code, which will call Postie’s check mail commands:

<iframe src=”http://yourblogdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-content/plugins/postie/get_mail.php?Submit=Run+Postie” mce_src=”http://yourblogdomain/wordpressinstalldir/wp-content/plugins/postie/get_mail.php?Submit=Run+Postie” name=”mailiframe” width=”0″ height=”0″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” title=”"> </iframe>

Add this code to your footer, and the next time anyone goes to your blog, your new emails will be automatically posted, so you need to do nothing but send them. You may have to refresh the blog to see the changes.

Plugin Activation

Download, install, and activate the WP-Cron plugin. Activate the included WP-Cron-Mail plugin. It will work in the background without user intervention.

Cron Job Activation

Set up a cron job to periodically view http://example.com/installdir/wp-mail.php using a command-line HTTP agent like wget, curl or GET. The command to execute will look like:

wget -N http://example.com/installdir/wp-mail.php

If you use a different program than wget, substitute that program and its arguments for wget in this line.

Note: Another possibility, is to run “php /full/path/to/wp-mail.php” in a cronjob. This will run the php-script using php, without the need for an extra program to run. (you are more likely authorised to run php than wget)

For more information about setting up a cron job, see:
Intro To Cron Jobs
Automating tasks with cron services at USAIL
Your hosting provider’s FAQ or manual pages

Note to Windows Users: There are similar programs to cron available if your host runs Windows. For example, VisualCron, Cron for Windows and pycron. Consult these projects’ documentation for further information.
[edit]
Procmail Activation

If your server uses procmail, a simple .procmailrc in the blogmailaccounts home directory will be sufficient.

Shell=/bin/sh<br>
MAILDIR=$HOME/.maildir/
DEFAULT=$MAILDIR
:0
{
:0Wc
./

:0
| wget -N http://example.com/installdir/wp-mail.php

}

This could be more specific, such as capturing certain subject expressions. Check procmail for more information.

.qmail Activation

If your server uses qmail to process email, you may be able to use it to call wp-mail.php directly when an email message is delivered. To do this, first create a small shell script to call wp-mail.php. You could call the file wp-mail:
#!/bin/sh
/bin/sh -c “sleep 5; /path/to/php /path/to/your/blog/wp-mail.php > /dev/null” &

The sleep command causes a 5 second delay to allow qmail to finish processing the message before wp-mail.php is called. Note that the ampersand on the end of the line is required. The above script should go in your root directory, and the execute bit should be set (chmod 700). For debugging purposes, you could change /dev/null to a filename to save the output generated by wp-mail.php.

Then all you need to do create/modify the appropriate .qmail file to call your shell script. Add the following line to the .qmail file for your mailbox name:
|/path/to/your/root/directory/wp-mail

See your ISP’s documentation for use of .qmail files. Naming conventions may vary for different ISPs.

Email Format

WordPress will use the Subject line of your email for the title of the post, and all body of the email will be used as the content of the post, with common HTML tags stripped. WordPress will file the post under whichever category is selected for “Usual Category” in Step 1, and will use Site Admin as the poster.

Any images and attachments in your email will be posted inline.

Testing

To test your configuration, simply send an email to postaccount@yourmaildomain (or to user@yourmaildomain if you used the .qmail forwarding setup). Then do the following:
If you have no automated system set up, simply view http://example.com/installdir/wp-mail.php in your browser. The script should tell you that it found an email, and print details of the post it made. Then view your blog again to see your email posted.
If you are using WP-Cron, simply wait fifteen or twenty minutes.
If you have a cron job running, wait until the next time it’s scheduled to run (or temporarily edit the cron job to make it run sooner). If you run tail -f /var/log/cron in a terminal, you’ll be able to see the job create its log entry when it’s finished running. When that happens, just view the site in your web browser to see your email posted.

Troubleshooting

Error Message:
Ooops POP3: premature NOOP OK, NOT an RFC 1939 Compliant server

For this error, open wp-includes/class-pop3.php and change this line:
if($this->RFC1939) {

to this:
if(!$this->RFC1939) {

Note the exclamation point.

Error Message: There does not seem to be any new mail

This error is a bit of a misnomer – the test just checks to see if anything was retrieved.
If you’re feeling adventuresome open
wp-mail.php
and search for:
$count = $pop3->login(get_settings(‘mailserver_login’), get_settings(‘mailserver_pass’));

Change the lines following it to something like:
if (0 == $count) :
echo “There does not seem to be any new mail. <br/>\n”;
echo “count = $count<br/> \n”;
echo “$pop3->ERROR \n”;
exit;
endif;

You’ll then be presented with a more informative message.

One possibility (was in my case) is the mail server refuses connections that attempt to provide an unencrypted password – like POP3. If your webserver and email server are on the same physical computer you can specify localhost or 127.0.0.1 as the mail server. That traffic is assumed to be OK without encryption because it never traveled across the network.
Extensions and Add-ons

There are several add-ons and hacks which will extend the capabilities of blogging by email with WordPress. Some of these may involve changing the core files, so do it carefully and make backups.

Enhanced Functionality Hack

One replacement file for the original wp-mail.php file has been created:
Postie supports posting to categories, automatic removal of email signatures, POP3/IMAL (+SSL) and more.

Hack Email Format

The following enhancements may be made to your wp-mail.php so your email will be translated into metadata for your post:
Sender’s email address
The enhanced wp-mail.php looks up the email address you send from in its user database. If there is a match with any user there, it files the post under that user. If there is no match, it drops the email and does not create a post in the blog. (Great for security and spam prevention.) It is set by the From:
Subject line
If [n] is present anywhere in the subject line of your email, the email will be filed under the category numbered n. Otherwise, it will be posted under whichever category is selected for “Usual Category” in Step 1. Example: [1] This is a Test! would be posted as “This is a Test!”, filed under General.

Technology has developed and improved recently all over the world. It is used in almost every kind of jobs. New technology reaches all corners of the world and makes their impact on the lives of people of all nations in all spheres of life. We need to know how to use it because it makes our job easier and faster. The introduction of new technologies has also implications for the whole educational enterprise including infrastructure arrangements, curriculum development, teaching and learning practice, support for staff and students, academic policy and practices.

 Aims

The main aim is to introduce you to new technologies, present the arguments for using them in the language classroom and includes a discussion on the effectiveness of new technologies as learning and teaching aids.

 Definitions of terms

In the context of the ICT4LT (Information Communications Technology for Language Teachers) website, the term new technologies includes Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for language teaching and learning in which the computer plays a central role, embracing a variety of different software applications, e.g.

• Generic software: This includes software designed for general use rather than specifically Modern Foreign language, such as word-processors (e.g. Word) and presentation software (e.g. Power Point).
• CALL software: Program specially designed for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).
• Communications software: This includes email packages and Web browsers.
• General CALL software: This is a term which is normally used to describe an authoring package designed to cover all aspects of CALL program authoring and interaction, from simple gap-filling and multiple-choice exercises to exercises incorporating interactive multimedia.

 Terminology

There is a bewildering array of acronyms, abbreviations and new coinages associated with new technologies, with which you will need to become familiar.  The most widely understood abbreviation is ICT (Information and Communications Technology). ICT is the term that currently favoured by most businesses and educational institutions worldwide to describe new technologies. The “C” reflects the important role that computers now play in communications, e.g. by email, the Web, by satellite and mobile phone (cell phone). We always insist on the “s” at the end of communications, which is a term that predates computer technology and was originally associated with Morse code, radio, etc and often abbreviated to comms. You will also find references to IT (Information Technology), which is an older term and is still widely used in some circles. Many more abbreviations and definitions can be found in the glossary.

 E-learning

E-learning (electronic learning) has become a buzzword in recent years. To some people, e-learning describes any application of ICT in learning and teaching, from producing a word-processed handout to a full-blown course on the Web – and this catch – all definition is the one which is favoured by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in the UK. The whole of the ICT4LT website is, therefore, in this sense all about e-learning in the context of teaching and learning foreign languages.

Other people perceive e-learning in a more limited way, i.e. online learning in the sense of distance learning on the internet. Because of lack of agreement on what e-learning is all about, it probably makes sense to use the term online learning when talking about distance learning on the internet and to use CALL (computer Assisted Language Learning) as a catch-all term for the use of computers in language learning and teaching.

 The Advantages of ICT

The advantages or the benefit of ICT that have been identified by teachers:

v     ICT is motivating both for students and for teachers. It makes the learning process more enjoyable.

v     ICT offers a wide range of multimedia resources enabling text, still images, audio and video to be combined in interesting and stimulating ways for presentation purposes in the classroom, using a data projector and an interactive whiteboard.

v     ICT offers opportunities for intensive one-to-one learning in a multimedia computer lab.

v     ICT offers access to a rich resource of authentic materials on the internet.

v     ICT offers access to a wide range of authentic materials on CD-ROM and DVD.

v     ICT makes worldwide communication possible via email and via audio and videoconferencing with native speakers

v     ICT can open up a new range of self-access and distance learning opportunities, thereby making access to learning more widely available to students who have to study outside hours, who live in remote areas, or who have special needs.

  Doris Reynolds, Facilitator for Foreign Language in the Elementary School Program/Teacher, Schaumburg School District #54, Schaumburg, Illinois, explains that technology offers benefits to meet the needs of all students.

Along with practitioners, researchers such as Johns and Torrez (2001) support the fact that “the new technologies offer many possibilities to the second language learner” (p. 11). For example, they argue that computer-assisted instructional (CAI) programs are “ideal for fostering reading and writing skills in the target language” (p. 11). Critics of CAI, however, believe that traditional CAI is limited “in that it can realistically only accommodate differences in the rate at which users progress through the information base” (Bermudez & Palumbo, 1994, p. 5). Such criticism supports ongoing initiatives to integrate technology as a whole. Tools such as e-mail, databases, spreadsheets, or word processors can help enhance LEP students’ English skills—and, if necessary, build on their native language skills through the availability of online dictionaries or spellcheckers (Johns & Torrez, 2001). Technology has evolved from its support function to play a role in initiating learning processes. It can provide a flexible learning environment where students can really explore and be engaged. Hypermedia, for example, individually addresses levels of fluency, content knowledge, student motivation, and interest, allowing inclusion of LEP students, who can thus monitor their comprehension, language production, and behavior (Bermudez & Palumbo, 1994).

It has also been argued that technology of any sort gets in the way of language learning. People have learned language successfully for hundreds of years without resorting to any kind of technology. During the 1960s language laboratories were introduced into educational institutions in the UK. The language lab boomed in the late 1960s and 1970s, and then went rapidly out of fashion. The demise of the language lab is often pointed to as an example of the failure of technology. It was not, however, the failure of technology. The failure of the language lab was due to largely to human failures – a lack of investment in training teachers how to use it and a lack of imagination: see Ely (1984). Training is crucial – the main reason why we have designed the ICT4LT materials. Technology alone is not a panacea – although it is often perceived that way by administrators. If sufficient effort is put into training teachers to use technology – and to use it imaginatively – then it is probably better to dispense with technology altogether: see Davies (1997).

 Learning to use a computer is rather like learning to drive a car. Some people can learn to drive in ten hours while others need 40 hours. Once you have learned to drive, however, you can get from point A to point B quicker than you did before – subject to traffic conditions. The same principle applies to learning to use a computer. The time taken to learn how to use it varies considerably from person to person, but once the necessary skills have been acquired you can do many things quicker than you did before. You still need to use your imagination, however. The main problem with introducing computers into language teaching was identified by Jones (1986) in an article that should be essential reading for all

language teachers considering using new technologies.

With adequate training the teacher will find that ICT offers a new range of teaching and learning opportunities. The ICT4LT website does not aim to teach you how to use a computer. It is assumed that you already have a basic knowledge of Windows, word-processing, using a browser and email – i.e. that you have already passed your basic “computer driving test” or have even gained a qualification such as the European Computer Driving License (ECDL: http://www.ecdl.co.uk) or the ECDL for Education, which is designed specifically to help teachers, support staff and ICT coordinators develop practical computing skills for teaching and learning in the classroom and leads to an internationally recognized level of certification: http://www.educatorsecdl.com.

The main target group of the ICT4LT project is language teachers already in service, although parts of the syllabus are suitable for teachers undergoing initial training and for teachers following short intensive courses. The ICT4LT website materials have been developed by practicing language teachers who have many years of experience in using a wide range of technological aids in language teaching. Our approach is pedagogy driven and the emphasis is on language teaching methodologies that can be implemented successfully with the aid of new technologies.

 The disadvantages of ICT

There are some disadvantages of ICT:

¨      Not all schools can provide ICT or new technology in their school.

¨      Not all the language teachers know and get the adequate training from their schools because they don’t have the same chance for the training.

¨      It is needed more expensive fee for the preparation of new technology or ICT in every school.

 How effective are new technologies in promoting language learning?

This is a question that has been raised on a regular basis ever since the introduction of the language lab in the 1960s and from the early 1980s, the introduction of personal computers into schools. In November 1998, the following message appeared in the Linguanet Forum electronic discussion list:

At a meeting comprising some significant figures in the field of education and training which I attended last week, it was suggested that there was little on-going or completed systematic research which could evidence the benefits of ICT in the delivery of Modern Foreign Languages.

http://www. Mailtalk.ac.uk//linguanet-forum.html   

This provocative statement prompted two swift replies, one by David Wilson, a teacher in secondary education, and one by Graham Davies, Academic Coordinator of the ICT4LT project. Both expressed surprise at the lack of awareness of the”significant figures”. Relevant extract from their replies are quoted here:

Wilson: Researching CALL effectiveness is admittedly a very difficult endeavour. In the past, projects which chose to deliver MFL teaching wholly via ICT have often flopped because students understandably craved human contact. The scientifically approved but ethically flawed control-group/experimental-group approach to educational ICT research frequently fails because the subjects in the control group resent being denied access to technology, while the subjects in the experimental group revel briefly in the novelty value of technology – the Hawthorne Effect. Properly integrated with off-computer teaching, CALL appears to be a very effective tool, but then it is extremely difficult to tease out whether pupils progress because of good teaching or good CALL or an equal measure of both. If we accept the premise that educational research findings, especially in the field of ICT, may be contradictory, do these “figure in the field of education and training” conclude that we should banish to computers altogether, even when they are “just” used in foreign language word-processing and communications technologies? If so, what about MFL learners with special educational needs? What about school pupils’ general educational entitlement to ICT skill development across the curriculum?

Davies: ICT has been making a contribution to modern language learning and teaching since early 1960s and quite significantly so since the early 1980s: v. the flurry of publications in the early 1980s: Davies and Higgins (1982; 1985), Kenning and Kenning (1984), Higgins and Johns (1984), Last (1984), Ahmad et al. (1985). The list of relevant publications continues right up until the present day, the most comprehensive recent work being Levy (1997), which contains a wealth of information on the effectiveness of CALL in Modern Foreign Language in its historical context and in the present.

Concrete evidence on the effectiveness of CALL is difficult to obtain. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence about the positive effects of CALL. Teachers often report on their students being “enthusiastic”, “engaged” and even “excited” in classes in classes in which CALL is used, but there have been few controlled research studies.

Have a look at the report on the mini-research project conducted by Heather Rendall; Section 5, Module 1.4, headed Teaching in the computer network room. Heather writes:

Within the first year it was clear that CALL was having a positive effect. In those areas where a grammar point was totally lacking in English – such as gender and adjective agreement – students’ performances could be seen to move rapidly from total confusion to a system for resolving each task faultlessly.

Evidence of the effectiveness of CALL can also be seen in two of the case studies described in Module 3.1, managing a multimedia language centre:

·        Richard Hamilton claims that, as a result of regular use of ICT in    

      the language Centre” computer lab at Cox Green School: “Our   

      A*-C GCSE results went up by 15% in three years.” (Case Study

      1: Section 1.3, Module 3.1)

·        Helen Myers reports on the effectiveness of CALL in promoting

      pupils, listening and speaking skills at The Ashcombe School:

      “We feel that the most efficient and effective use of the

      multimedia rooms is to exploit the fantastic capability to present

      and reinforce listening and speaking.” (Case Study 5: Section

      5.1.5, Module 3.1)

A report on a research study conducted by BECTA, ImpaCT2 (2002), produced significant but not wholly conclusive data. The ImpaCT2 study showed that schools using ICT in the classroom got better result that those that did not and that there was a significant correlation between the use of ICT in Modern Foreign Language and good GCSE examination result.

 The characteristics of the medium

1. Traditional media and ICT

As language teachers, we are well used to dealing with a range of media, from print through audio to still images and video. We know without too much reflection what the characteristics of each of these media are what they can do best in terms of supporting language teaching and learning. For example, we know that video provides both visual and rural input and as such can give the learner visual clues to the meaning of what is being said. Video can also be used to add a cultural perspective. We know that written text can be much easier for a beginner to deal with than spoken text because it “stands still” ICT, however, brings with it new characteristics and new opportunities which are not always obvious. The following sections of this module contain a brief summary of various characteristics of the components of ICT which, as language teachers, we need to be aware of. The most important point to grasp initially is that ICT is a medium incorporating electronic versions of the various media with which we are already familiar and enabling us to combine them as appropriate. So, not only is ICT anew concept in that it is multi-faceted, but the media facets of which it consists are not exact replicas of those that we are used to dealing with.

     2.     ICT as a teaching and learning medium

Time was when the computer was simply a number cruncher. It then became possible to “crunch” words as well albeit in fairly in a fairly rudimentary fashion. With ever increasing power, the number cruncher has become a multimedia tool and communications centre enabling any modern computer owner to:

Ø      Create, edit and distribute multimedia documents worldwide;

Ø      Communicate with equal ease on a one-to-one-to-many basis with anyone  anywhere in the world;

Ø      Pursue their education by means of multimedia software, perhaps linked to a website and involving online communication with a tutor and fellow students.

ICT in the context of the Modern Foreign Languages classroom can manifest itself in many different ways as a tool for assisting the development of the four key skills; Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

 OVERVIEW:

Technology: A Gateway to New Experiences

Technology offers all students opportunities for learning never before imagined. Factors encouraging—or discouraging—technology use can range from the level of teacher enthusiasm and expertise to principal and parental support to quality software and hardware availability and its selection (Burgess & Trinidad, 1997, p.16). How does one define the application of this multipurpose, multifaceted tool integration? The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2000) defines curriculum integration as follows:

“Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting. Technology enables students to learn in ways not previously possible. Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should be come an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools.” (p. 6)

Clearly, technology cannot be a goal in itself. Without a systemic integration of content and quality professional development for teachers, it is likely to only cause frustration. Technology is useful “insofar as it is handled competently by teachers and it is integrated into the teaching program as a whole” (Hoven, 1992, p.19). One of the reasons for this holistic integration of technology is the fact that there are always new technology tools entering classrooms. Therefore, the potential of such tools needs to be routinely redefined and evaluated with all students in mind. Thoughtfully selected technology tools can offer so much more than just productivity to the learner.

In the end, however, the effectiveness of ICT hinges on the individual teacher, Angela McFarlane, Professor of Education and Director of Learning Technology, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, sums it up:

What we do know, whether from personal experience as teacher or learner, or as the result of 20 years of research into the question, is that ICT has an impact on learning, for some learners, under some conditions, and that it can not replace a teacher. We know that a key factor in impact at school level is and remains the teacher, whose role in managing and integrating the ICT-based experiences learners have with the rest of the curriculum and culture is vital and probably always will be. Times Educational Supplement, ICT in Education Online, 26 April 2002, p. 17.

          References

Ahmad K., Corbett G., Rogers M. & Sussex R. (1985) Computers, language learning and language teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Beatty K (2003) Teaching and researching computer assisted language learning, Applied Linguistics in Action Series, Harlow: Pearson Education.

BECTA (2002) ImpaCT2: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on pupil learning and attainment, Coventry, BECTA: http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_mfl.pdf

BECTA (2004) what the research says about using ICT in Modern Foreign Languages, Coventry: BECTA: http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_mlf.pdf

 BECTA (2007) The Impact of ICT in schools: a landscape review: http://tinyurl.com/2cdfka CALICO: The leading North American professional association for CALL: http://www.calico.org Davies G. (1997) “Lessons from the past, lessons for the future: 20 years of CALL”. In Korsvold A.-K. and Ruschff B. (eds.) New technologies in language learning, Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Also on the Web at: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/coegdd1.htm Qualifications and curriculum Authority (2007): The use of ICT for teaching and learning languages: http://www.qea.org.uk/17307.html 

Rendal H. (1988) “Life without the computer”, CALLBOARD No. 10, NCCALL

Ealing College of HE, London. This article has been reproduced with the author’s

permission in World DOC format and is now available at the ICT4LT website.

Click here: Rendall (1988).

Sedgwick R. (1999) Annotated bibliography of the effectiveness of CALL. This bibliography can still be found in its original form and location at http://www.cltr.uq.edu.au/interest/biblio/html but the homepage of the Centre for Language Teaching and Research site.

 Sims R. (1996) “Interactivity: a forgotten art?” In Instructional Technology Research Online. See Research Repository at: http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwitr 

Wolff D. (1997) “Computers and new technologies: Will they change language learning and teaching?” In Kohn J., Ruschoff B. & Wolff D. (eds), New horizons in CALL: proceedings of EUROCALL 96. Szombathely, Hungary: Daniel Berzsenyi College.