“I prefer to think for myself”: Upper Secondary School Pupils’ Attitudes towards Computer- based Spanish Grammar Exercises.
There is an increasing pressure from school leaders in many countries for teaching to be based solely on ICT tools. The present study is interested in what this does to pupils’ attitudes towards ICT in language classrooms. Is a digital monopoly a good way for pupils to learn languages? Is it what...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The International Academic Forum
2014-02-01
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| Series: | IAFOR Journal of Education |
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| Online Access: | http://iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/article-4-IAFOR-Journal-of-Education.pdf |
| Summary: | There is an increasing pressure from school leaders in many countries for teaching to be based
solely on ICT tools. The present study is interested in what this does to pupils’ attitudes towards
ICT in language classrooms. Is a digital monopoly a good way for pupils to learn languages? Is it
what they want?
To understand for which tasks students feel that computers are an appropriate tool, a qualitative
survey mapping upper secondary school pupils’ attitudes towards the ICT use for learning
Spanish has been conducted. The study looks at ICT use for grammar practice. A group of pupils
have completed lesson diaries, reflecting upon web-based grammar exercises, comparing them to
paper-based exercises, and a questionnaire survey on general attitudes towards ICT in language
learning.
The results indicate that the majority of participating pupils ask for a greater variety of tasks and
see a need also for traditional forms of grammar practice, especially written exercises which give
time to reflect upon grammar, syntax and vocabulary. They want ICT use to be an option, not a
constraint. Many complain on flaws in the design of web-based grammar exercises. This shows a
need for more research into the effects of different designs of web-based tools. It also becomes
clearer that decision-makers and teachers must focus more on the pedagogical purpose of
learning tasks and that the first question to ask is: “How can I teach this in a way that suits my
pupils?” rather than: “How can I add more ICT to my teaching?”. |
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| ISSN: | 2187-0594 2187-0594 |