Information Communication Technology ICT Has Revolutionized Education Essay

In the following Research, the main aim is to investigate the Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Information communication Technology in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in which the participants of the learning process would obtain when the facilitators incorporate new aids into the process of teaching. We are going to focus our investigation in the effects of using information communication technology (ICT) in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

The reasons for this investigation are: To identify the Technology of information that the Language School provides to the facilitators, to point out the common mistakes students make when pronouncing in the target language, to determine the advantages and disadvantages that Technology of information offers to Students and to suggest the usage of Technology of information at the Language School. According to our objectives if teachers put into practice these technological aids in their programs and the advantages that those aids could have for the benefit of students and teachers too. As matter of fact, this research would help students as well as teachers to be more connected and more collaborative in a world that is constantly changing, is more creative and very demanding. Nowadays it is not a matter of getting good grades by the part of the students, but to be engaged and achieve high standards of excellence in order to be able to compete later on with increasing digital learners who have already acquired technology, and this technology has become a tool in their daily life activities.

That’s why those digital learners around the world are nowadays more aware of what is happening in their surroundings because technology has revolutionized our lives, as Pope Benedict XVI said on January 25th, “These (new digital) Technologies are truly a gift to humanity and we must endeavor to ensure that the benefits they offer are put at the service of all human individuals and communities, especially those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable.” (2009) .

Hypothesis

The Students who use ICT’s in English Pronunciation acquire a better proficiency that the students who don’t use them.

Statement of the Problem

Despite the progress that has been made to develop effective methods for the instruction of a second language such as, brainstorming, guest speaker, report-back sessions, role playing, case studies, small group discussions all of this are still focus in a classroom based learning environment. A great number of students feel insecure when it comes to carry out a conversation in English. The traditional methods are not focusing enough in teaching pronunciation to students; as a consequence many students are not able to fulfill the requirements of an appropriate pronunciation once they have finished the whole program. Students are not prepared enough to deal with the challenges posed by an increasingly competitive society.

It is required to come up with new strategies and ways in order to give effective response to the exigencies of the world. It is strongly necessary to provide the learner with the level of competence and pronunciation is definitely one of the most important aspects to be taken into consideration.

A great number of facilitators are not willing to break the paradigms and implement new teaching aids in their teaching programs which would help students to improve their proficiency and at the same time their performance at any given time. As a consequence, a great number of students, once they have finished the whole program are not able to fulfill the requirements and they cannot vie with other professionals in the same field just because they were not taught according to the new standards in Education.

Justification

We decided to lead this research because we have noticed that the use of Information communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching English Pronunciation has become a new trend around the world and we have noticed that those technological resources will empower students for a more effective pronunciation performance. As a matter of fact, we have observed that the language school really needs to make some progress in this aspect and offers a standard education program according to the needs of the global community.

The world is constantly changing and ICT has become part of it. It has engaged great part of human activities, work, science, health, and education can´t be apart from it. Information Communication Technology (ICT) offers new paradigms and patterns for teaching.

The new generation is demanding for students to be incorporated, to foster the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). We have perceived that there is a gap in the bridge of the teaching process, so it has been required to integrate ICT in order to fulfill the exigencies of the modern curriculum.

The decision of conducting this research is because Pronunciation is essential in a language learner and we have noticed that ICT can empower students for a more effective pronunciation performance at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. Pronunciation is of core significance because it is important to be understood by others when speaking.

Purpose

To determine the advantages and disadvantages of Using ICT in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and to foster facilitators to apply this new approach to their teaching process, so that they can contribute in the development of student’s knowledge more effectively.

Significance

We consider essential to develop this research because we have noticed that the use of Information Communication Technology at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in order to teach English pronunciation in the whole English program is not reasonably competent. The main sources to teach such important skill are only the chalk, board and radio if it is used. While other undergraduate institutions are quite ahead in the use of technological resources such as TV, radio, slides in PowerPoint, online courses and labs. Consequently, with this research we want to highlight the importance of using these sources so that the corresponding authorities can take this into account and to allot funds to implement these core techniques.

Objectives

General objective

To determine the effects of the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Specific objectives

1. To identify the age and sex of the population under studied.

2. To identify the Technology of information that the Language School provides to facilitators.

3. To point out the common mistakes students make when pronouncing.

4. To determine the advantages and disadvantages that information Technology offers to Students.

5. To suggest the usage of Technology of information at the Language School.

6. To determine the attitude of the facilitators and students toward the use or implementation of ICT in the teaching process.

Research question

What are the advantages Modern Languages Students majoring in English at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo obtain by using ICT in acquiring English Pronunciation over the ones who do not use these Technological tools?

Scope of the Topic

We are going to limit our research to the effects of the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. In the 2012-2 semester when this investigation will be performed at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. We will take into consideration the limitation that Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo Modern Languages School is going through with a minimum budget intended to technological sources.

Definition of Terms

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo: It is a public university located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was founded in 1538. Currently, the university holds eight schools which are: Engineering, Arts, Humanities, Economic and Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Architecture, Agriculture Sciences, and Law and Political Sciences .

ICT: These acronyms stand for Information Communications Technology or Information and Communication Technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications, and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers, middleware as well as necessary software, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telecommunication, broadcast media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions .

Pronunciation: It is the way in which a language or a particular word or sound is pronounced .

Student: A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution.

Language School: Is a department belonging to the Humanity Faculty founded in July 1957 which offers two careers, Modern language major in English and Modern language major in French .

Antecedents

In our research paper about the Effects of using Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. We found out that many investigators have been talking about this topic since twenty years ago

General Overview

In this chapter, we detail the history of computer and internet which are the main focus of our investigation. It starts with the cave drawings 30,000 years ago and continues with the advances of mathematics and science which helped to develop what we know today as computer and internet. After that, we describe how these tools were incorporated in education and the conclusions of different studies about the use of technology in the teaching and learning process.

The world keeps on changing with every rotation it makes round the sun. Just a decade ago, students were taught with pens, pencils, black boards, notebooks, and chalks. But nowadays, all that have become history which no one wishes to remember. Light pens and boards, PDF notes, CD rooms have been replaced, and even as you are reading this, the world is advancing rapidly with respect to ICT technology as even computers and laptops are gradually leaving the scene for new technological devices, such as IPods, cell phones, headsets, etc.

In consideration of these developments, it becomes imperative for the wise teacher to instill knowledge in students of this dispensation, utilizing fully, the facilities and opportunities availed by ICT Technology to pedagogy. This is because if teachers don’t, not only will the students continue to find it difficult to assimilate (having been acclimatized to the easy-ICT world).

Hence, it is unequivocal to state that every teacher needs to pull in ICT into their curriculum and methodology, or lose the interest of the 21st century student. Putting this into consideration, below is the history of ICT that for everybody’s good it has increased the effectiveness of education in English pronunciation and other disciplines.

History of ICT

More than two decades ago, information communication technology (ICT) has been being used in schools around the world. The objective of introducing these technological resources has been to enhance and satisfy the huge demand of new generations. Due to the great increase of technology and the innovation of the World Wide Web (Internet) in 1980, schools and universities noticed the importance of information communication technology (ICT) to increase their students’ abilities and competence in this new digital era. Certain advances have been made in the educational system to provide students with personalized tools in order for them to fulfill their current needs. As Sunkel G. said “the general perception has been that they would increase levels of educational attainment by introducing changes in teaching and learning processes and strategies, adapting to the needs of the individual students (Sunkel, 2006) .

Information Communication Technology (ICT) at the beginning was not designed for educational purposes; however, after discovering its great effectiveness in different fields and in daily activities it has been transferred to the educational field. According to Watson’s (2001), ICT have revolutionized the way people work today and are now transforming education systems. This is the reason why information communication technology is gaining ground in today’s world .

Everything started 30,000 years ago B.C in the Paleolithic Era, information communication technology started with the cave drawings near France and Spain as the first manifestation of communication among different groups of people. These drawings were painted for the purpose of art

Work, and created as meaningful part of religious ceremonies; this was a meaningful advance in the history of ICT .

In 510 B.C, Pythagoras a Greek citizen founded an academy where he used to teach mathematics and physics; he came up with one of his masterpiece the Pythagoras’ theorem that later on helped in the development of mathematics and in daily life activities but his teachings and speeches were in an oral way because at that period of time no advances were made in order to capture his teachings. As matter of fact written communication has always been important for the development of communication, the most important records are written on paper that’s why China noticed the necessity and made an important contribution to humanity with the invention of the paper. According to (Twede, D. 2005) paper as we know is originated in china in 105 A.D. the earliest process known is attributed to Ts’ ai Lun. The manuscript transcription in 382 was an important step on the development of written communication . They were written as a way of transmitting beliefs, stories or knowledge to futures generations and cultures, they recorded the most important aspects of that era where only oral communication was used .

Later on Johannes Gutenberg a German inventor introduced the Printing Press to Europe in 1450, he was the first man to use a movable type and suddenly change the history, and until that time monks and academics had the opportunity to acquire the information and were the only empowered to spread the knowledge. From that moment on more and more common people were able to buy books and also acquire information and teach their kids at home. One of Gutenberg’s pieces of art was the first bible printed on a movable type also known as the 42-line Bible .

In 1600 Public Education was a big step in North American society thanks to the advances that were made throughout time; it was a huge leap for the development of humanity because it gave equal rights to each person to acquire at least a decent education. The first public school in the American colonies was the Boston Latin School, students studied Latin and Greek and the “elementary subjects like (Lecture, writing, reading) so forth and so on . A year later in 1700 marked the beginning of a new revolution in the teaching field because some of the first low tech devices were introduced to the teaching process as an example of these were the black board a great innovation for teachers in order to show students in a visual way what they were saying, also the chalk board slates or (writing slates) was another device that even today is very useful for divers in order to communicate under water. In 1700 a slate was very useful in school in order to practice math exercises. In 1800 Books or as Robert Darnton called them in his book “What is the History of Books” the social and cultural history of communication by print, were introduced for the first time in the teaching field as an innovation .

Audiovisual Age

Education has developed rapidly with the introduction of technology and the audiovisual resources to the teaching learning process. The audiovisual age started with the invention of the film and the sound recording in 1910. (Comenius 1632) lessons should proceed from easy to complex at a slow and deliberate pace; acquisition of new material began through the senses . The beginning of the audiovisual age marked the parameters of a new platform in the education field it was focused in the implementation of new ways of communication for example the radio created in 1910 is considered the first mass media, (Spiker 1996) radio connects individuals across geographical, cultural, and political devices. It was immediately introduced into education through special children programs to develop their listening and speaking skills, as soon as these programs become popular the radio started increasing its production .

Another advance into education was the film strip projector in 1930; it was implemented in the educational system to display in the classroom frames of a strip on which images were printed, in this way students could visualized what they were been taught for their teachers. Likewise the filmstrip projector the overhead projector in 1940 was introduced to the classroom facilitating the interactive environment for teachers and students, because of the easy way teachers can prepare lectures and students can prepare notes before a lesson.

Information Age (1960)

The information age started in the latter part of the twentieth Century and the beginning of the twenty- first Century with new and challenging advances that demanded more from users as David S. Alberts and Daniel S. Papp stated in their book “Complexity and change are the two defining characteristics of the Information Age. Our successes as individuals, families, organizations, communities, and societies will depend more than ever upon our abilities to adapt, in near real time .” in this particular period of time appeared some of the most outstanding Technologies of all times for example: Television was one of the most remarkable inventions during the Information age, built 1960 by several people at first moment to entertain population but little by little was introduced as a great device for teaching purposes.

Ten years later in 1970, videocassette recorder (VCR) and video home system (VHS) tapes were the new booms in the 70s because with these new devices you could record and play back people’s favorite TV programs. U-Matic was one of the first VHS tapes introduced by Sonic in 1971 to consumers and also for teaching purposes, it was very ground-breaking because in that way students for the first time had access to authentic recorded material which they could review over once and once again . In the 80s the audiotape came as the radio’s complement for teachers to replay or record authentic materials that later on were destined for teaching purposes; in those years audiotapes were very popular for the listening skill.

Computer Age (1990)

According to TechEncyclopedia (2002) computer is a general-purpose machine that processes data according to a set of instructions that are stored internally either temporarily or permanently . computers were conceived from arduous years of investigation and failures. Two of the most outstanding pioneers among others in the Mechanical Era of computers (1623-1945) were Blaise Pascal and Charles Babbage, Blaise a mathematician with the help of other colleagues designed a calculator that was able to add, subtract, multiply and divide. On its side Charles Babbage probably designed the first multi-purpose or programmable computing device in 1823 but never completed. To get to the computer age or the age where computer was first introduced to education that means 1990 many things had to happen, in order to mention some of these events for example; First Generation Electronic Computers (1937-1953), Second Generation (1954-1962), Third Generation (1963-1972), Fourth Generation (1972-1984), Fifth Generation (1984-1990) in the fifth generation computers were more manageable and achieved a high superiority in processing besides they were more stable than their first prototypes.

Computers were introduced as tool in order to help teachers perform more difficult tasks and also to present authentic materials to students for them to be competitive in a more demanding world.

1995 The Digital Age

1995 Information Exchange

2000 The Interactive Age

The Role of ICT in Education

The increasing presence of technology in all areas of human life leads to consider technology as an element of extraordinary importance in our society. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are the cultural and technological events of great scope and expansion of the recent centuries, they are present in all areas of human life, and education is not excluded from this process.

They were implemented in the educational systems in the early nineties, since then they have provided access to a great amount of information (Wagner et al 2005) says that ´´ICTs´´ are currently being used widely to aid education in many developing countries, and it appears that there is an increasing demand for their use in education by policymakers and parents in developing countries . The integration of ICT in education has become a priority in developing countries, because digital technologies can enhance the teaching process through innovation in teaching materials and teaching methods making more effective the learning process. Also because the challenges of education are increasing and requiring an effective learning with the implementation of new instructional strategies, according to students´ needs.

ICTs have had a major impact on education; some of these impacts are related to the need to make a change in education´s methodology, and in its teaching-learning purpose. It is that a new methodology is required to introduce the technology in the academic field, thus achieving the transformation of educational system.

ICTs have provided the educational field new pedagogical possibilities, expanding the resources of acquiring new knowledge. With the incorporation of ICT by students and teachers in the teaching-learning process is facilitated the collaborative learning due to ICT provides learners and professors tools such as chat, email, blogs etc. Which motivate the active participation in the classroom.

According to Buckingham D. in his Handbook of New Media: Students Edition expressed that computers bring about new forms of learning which transcend the limitations of older methods, particularly ‘linear’ methods such as print and television, and it is children who are seen to be most responsive to these new approaches: the computer somehow releases their natural creativity and desire to learn, which are apparently blocked and frustrated by old-fashioned methods . With the incorporation of computers, projectors, Internet, into the teaching-learning process it is noticeable the motivation students feel when they use them because they are projected to improve the quality of education through the diversification of contents and methods, promoting experimentation, innovation and learning stimulation.

Since ICTs were introduced into the educational field they have given a new approach for those teachers who based their classes only on the green board practices and scheduled classes year after year following a monotonous curriculum.

As ICTs enter the socio-cultural setting of schools, they may trigger changes in the activities, curriculum and interpersonal relationship in the learning environment, and is reciprocally affected by the changes they cause (Demiralslan and Usluel, 2008) .

The use of ICTs into education look for changing old patterns of teaching focusing primarily on students in an interactive environment for learning encouraging motivation and communication methods; allowing students a greater autonomy in learning, in addition to overcoming the barriers of time and space.

The rapid use of ICT in the education system makes expectations to grow about the potential of ICT and its contribution to improving the teaching – learning process. ICTs have brought significant changes in our lives and especially in the education. Many schools and universities have been associated with these changes offered by technology and integrated them into its educational system to implement the changes required by the contemporary world. New tools, technologies, and skills allow innovations to be introduced to the teaching-learning process and education to continue the rapid advances and progress exposing students to new technological challenges.

Advantages and Disadvantages of ICT

Digital devide

Advantages

ICT Help to better prepare students for the constantly grow of technology.

One of the most important reasons for using ICTs in the classroom has been to better prepare the current generation of students where ICTs, particularly computers, the Internet and related technologies, are becoming more and more ubiquitous:

¶ Greater efficiency throughout the school.

¶ Communication channels are increased through email, discussion groups and chat rooms

¶ Regular use of ICT across different curriculum subjects can have a beneficial motivational influence on students’ learning of pronunciation.

¶ Students are generally more ‘on task’ and express more positive feelings when they use computers than when they are given other tasks to do.

¶ Computer use during lessons motivates students to continue using learning outside school hours.

¶ Higher quality lessons through greater collaboration between teachers in planning and preparing resources.

¶ More focused teaching, tailored to students’ strengths and weaknesses, through better analysis of attainment data

¶ Improved pastoral care and behavior management through better tracking of students

¶ Gains in understanding and analytical skills, including improvements in pronunciation.

¶ Development of writing skills (including spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing and re-drafting), also fluency, originality and elaboration.

¶ Encouragement of independent and active learning, and self-responsibility for learning.

¶ Flexibility of ‘anytime, anywhere’ access (Jacobsen and Kremer, 2000)

¶ Development of higher level learning styles

¶ Students who used educational technology in school felt more successful and more motivated to learn and have increased self-confidence and self-esteem

¶ Students found learning in a technology-enhanced setting more stimulating and student-centered than in a traditional classroom

¶ Broadband technology supports the reliable and uninterrupted downloading of web-hosted educational multimedia resources

¶ Opportunities to address their work to an external audience

¶ Opportunities to collaborate on assignments with people outside or inside school

Disadvantages of ICT

One of the major barriers for the cause of ICT not reaching its full potential in the foundation stage is teacher’s attitude. According to Hara (2004), within the early years education attitudes towards ICT can vary considerably. Some see it as a potential tool to aid learning whereas others seem to disagree with the use of technology in early year settings. Blatchford and Whitebread (2003:16), suggests that the use of ICT in the foundation stage is “unhealthy and hinders learning”. Other early years educators who are opposed to offering ICT experiences within the educational settings take a less extreme view than this and suggest that ICT is fine, but there are other more vital experiences that young children will benefit from, (Blatchford and Whitebread, 2003). In theory some people may have the opinion that the teachers who had not experienced ICT throughout their learning tend to have a negative attitude towards it, as they may lack the training in that area of the curriculum.

Another important drawback to using ICT in schools is the fact that computers are expensive. According to the IT learning exchange (2001), in most schools ICT will be the single largest curriculum budget cost. This may be seen as a good thing but on the other hand there will be little money left over for other significant costs.

ICT Tools incorporated in the Teaching Process

The world that we are living today has turned in a global village because the physical distance existing among humankind is getting closer, and closer due to the technological changes. These changes or technological advances such as the computer and the internet has changed the whole world quite a lot and more when this technological advances are used in education. After the internet invention a lot of websites and software have been created to develop the way people learn languages, giving them, thousands of alternatives no matter how far they are from one another, just by having a computer an Internet connection they can have access to many education sites.

In this section we are going to present a series of website used for teaching English and teaching English pronunciation such VoiceThread, Manythings.org, Fonetiks.org, BBC Learning English, Learners TV so forth and so on. These sites are specifically used for teaching, learning English and English pronunciation.

VoiceThread in the Classroom

VoiceThread is especially beneficial within the classroom. “Teachers and students are using VoiceThread as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool” (Dyck, 2007). VoiceThread has brought storytelling to the 21st century and allows stories to be shared around the world. “VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways.” Through the use of comments, VoiceThread creates an interactive environment in which individuals can share common interests and ideas. It can also be used as an assessment tool for examining others opinions and as a tool for teachers.

Businesses, teachers, and students use VoiceThread. It provides a creative outlet for students and encourages the sharing of ideas. But the uses of VoiceThread are not limited to storytelling. VoiceThread has unlimited possibilities in which it can include voice, type, doodling, unlimited slides or just a simple slide. It can include pictures or typed documents. It can be embedded or exported to other destinations and multiple identities can be created under one account. This is great for teachers who can establish one account and have kids use multiple identities to create and comment. VoiceThread can be used to collect information as well by uploading a simple slide and evaluating comments. Not only can VoiceThread be used as a creative outlet but it can also be used to learn more about others experiences and views. VoiceThread makes it possible to examine the thinking of others through pictures, text, doodling, and voice.

VoiceThread is an online album that other VoiceThread users can directly comment on using voice, writing, video, and drawing. VoiceThreads can be used to share information, start a discussion, receive feedback, or simply tell a story. The basic VoiceThread consists of a series of photographs where different VoiceThread users, including the creator, make comments on each picture. VoiceThreads can cover almost any topic. They range from the story of a young girl getting her hair cut to a discussion of literature. The creator of the VoiceThread has several options to control public comment. They can make their VoiceThread private or public, allowing only select people or everyone to view it. The creator can also disallow comment, monitor comment, or allow free comment on their VoiceThread.

Making a VoiceThread is simple and easy. The first step is to create a VoiceThread account online at http://voicethread.com. Then, the topic and audience of the VoiceThread should be decided. It is important to understand the direction of the VoiceThread before completing it. After researching or creating a topic, photographs or other media must be chosen to lead the discussion. For each slide of the album, there should be a different piece of media. You can choose images, PowerPoint slides, or even video. Once your VoiceThread is planned, you click on the create tab on http://voicethread.com and title your VoiceThread. The next step is simply to upload the pictures into your new VoiceThread. If you need to reorder your media, drag the image or video to the appropriate location. Once you are ready, click share to set the privacy settings for your VoiceThread including moderating comments and public or private status. When you want to add a comment to any of your slides, click record for audio comments or type for written comments. You can choose to save or delete any of your comments. The draw option allows you to doodle or highlight important parts of your slide. You may create several identities under an account under the “my account” tab. Once your VoiceThread is finished watch and participate as others begin commenting on your VoiceThread.

Very few materials are needed to create a VoiceThread. VoiceThread is an online tool; therefore, the use of the program depends on an internet connection and browser. A microphone is also important to leave audio comments on any slide. If a microphone is inaccessible, a phone line can be used to leave a comment. Images, video, and other media files are also required to create a slide.

VoiceThreads can be very complex or simple based on the skill and time spent on the album. Commenting on your own and others’ VoiceThreads is an essential part of the process. The collaboration VoiceThreads allow brings about creativity and ideas from people around the world.

Manything.org

This is an amazing website tool for EFL students, which contains a great variety of sections such as vocabulary, reading with mp3, grammar, listen and speaking, and other.

On the vocabulary section we find word lists, games, crossword puzzles, games with pictures, matching quizzes, wordmeister, words based on games, and others.

On the reading with MP3 we find listen and read along topics about jokes, health, work, music, places, sports, art, etc.

On the grammar section we can find different kind of quizzes, random sentences, scramble sentences, bilingual sentences pairs, and sentences with audio.

Listening and speaking section

This is the most interesting section we find on this site since it contains audio contraction games, EFL video, listen and repeat, daily and English and repeat, listen to natural spoken English, and select excerpts from spoken Wikipedia.

On the Other section

Here we find outstanding features like anagrams, proverbs, slangs, learn songs, reading signs, spelling and spelling vocabulary quizzes, daily page, activities from VOA’s the classroom so forth and so on.

In fact this outstanding website provides no only students in the EFL language, but also it is an excellent tool for educators as well. Also it offers a great variety of features for teachers to apply in different classes levels.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Learning English

BBC Learning is a tremendous tool where learners can find different great features for them to master different aspects of the English language.

Among these features, it has the pronunciation tips where there is system of symbols for writing the sounds of English; it has a guide to these symbols and also videos to show how to pronounce each of the sounds, activities to practice identifying the difference between certain sounds which may sound similar, interactive and downloadable exercises.

To help you build your understanding of these areas, Interactive quizzes to test your knowledge of and help you learn about English pronunciation and there are also three radio programs from 2005 on the topic of pronunciation. You can download the full program along with the script and audio examples. The following are the main feature we can find in this site:

¶ General & Business English in this section you find: 6 minutes English, English at work, Express English, Talk about English, Talking business, Get that job, Welcome to London, working abroad and so on.

¶ Grammar, Vocabulary & Pronunciation this section comprises words in the news, the English we Speak, the Teacher, new English Extra, news about Britain, pronunciation tips, ask about English, How to, keep your English up to date, face up the phrasal, Grammar challenges, Funky Phrasal.

¶ Talking Sport here it contains the newest sport activities.

¶ Quizzes here we find Quiznet, crosswords, wordmater, Beat the keeper and exam skills.

¶ The Flatmates in this section where cartoons are integrated in real life conversation.

¶ Community in this section students create a community around the world where they create their own blog and participate in teachers’ blogs as well.

¶ For teachers this section is quite important since it contain a set of teacher conferences, new ideas for using technology in teaching English.

¶ Specials this section present different event of the daily live such as celebrations, recipes, and a lot of Extra activities.

Fonetiks.org

This is an online language laboratory meant specifically for American English pronunciation where all phonetics symbols are shown with a pronunciation features which allows learner to listen are re produce the sound by rolling the mouse over them. The feature we find right here are online English pronouncing dictionary with instant sound, English pronunciation practice with minimal pairs such as ship/ sheep, English dialogues with: who, what, whose, how, where, which, why, when, A- 7 step spoken English grammar for EFL, interactive reading course for learning age, 63 grade English dictations, pronunciation of names of people, cities, and countries, words with controversial or difficult pronunciation, oh and ah a love story for children aged 3, among others.

Learner TV

Learner TV is an excellent site for learning English pronunciation and speech music. It works as labs where learners can watch real life video with an expert teach from Boston who explains every feature of English pronunciation as if it were in a real classroom; this is a really important tool.

ICT in Teaching Pronunciation

When it comes to English pronunciation with ICT, it can be said that a number of technological pieces can be utilized in teaching and learning English pronunciation. We can use tools such as, TV and DVD, VCR, Radio, IPod, Cell phone, etc. But there is a piece of technology that is the most useful and complete, and that many people have access to, the Computer. Computer is definitely the most useful piece of technology, especially for the great amount and types of resources you can have access to when connected to that inexhaustible means of resources, the Internet.

Computers have a lot to offer teachers and students. With a computer you have the ability to access a lot of resources on the Internet. There are kinds of software designed especially to learn and practice pronunciation. Some software can be installed in your computer and they provide with explanation on how to use them to practice and improve English pronunciation. You can hear a word and repeat it as many times as you want to. Software that can record your voice and you can hear it and compare with the authentic voice.

It is unbelievable the endless quantity of dictionaries, software, online resources and tools, that can be used to practice and improve English pronunciation. Technology offers a lot of options; you decide to choose the best according to your needs. Another and a very important thing is that technology reduces cost, that is, the amount of money and time you have to invest to travel from one place to another. There are lots of resources you can get at no cost; you just need a computer and internet connection. Just imagine the great amount of dictionaries that can be found on-line; many of them have the pronunciation for each word. Certain dictionaries have the pronunciation for both, American and British English. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/. But not only on-line you can access to the resources, many dictionaries today are accompanied by a CD-ROM that you can insert in a computer and you can have access to an inexhaustible amount of resources that can be used to improve your English pronunciation. You can install the dictionary in the computer. Each word in the dictionary has the pronunciation, and even phonetic transcription. A few example of this that should be mentioned among others are Longman pronunciation dictionary http://www.pearsonlongman.com/dictionaries/iphone_dictionaries.htm, Cambridge University online dictionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/able_1?q=- , Macmillan pronunciation dictionary http://www.macmillandictionary.com/british-and-ameicarn-pronunciation.html, Merriam-Webster pronunciation dictionary http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/pronguide.htm, and others. These dictionaries have pronunciation activities that can be accessed online and downloadable material that can be stored in your computer.

Why use Technology?

Technology can be really helpful and it is everywhere today. The opportunity of learning comes to you; you don’t have travel a long distance, technology is where you are. Anywhere you go today you can find people with a very modern cell phone, iPods, and many others technology devices. Today with technology it is not necessary to attend to regular classes or study with a teacher in a traditional setting, which many do not have time to do; those who want to learn English can now do so from the comfort of their own home or office only by using a computer. Many people have access to the devices and they are easy to operate. Besides, they are very easy to carry out wherever you go; you can bring them with you even in your pocket. There are other advantages that we have to highlight for example; today there are applications that are designed specifically to be installed in your cell phone, such applications can be downloaded at http://www.pearsonlongma n.com/dictionaries/iphone_dictionaries.html.

The technology offers much more of what many people can imagine. Another option we have to find an incredible amount of resources is On-line; Just a computer connected to Internet is needed. There are some resources that are offered on-line; and many of them you get it for free.

It is good to know that many resources that can be accessed on-line. To have an idea here are some of the many on-resources that we can just by connecting to internet. Of the many resources that can be found:

Voice Threat in Pronunciation > http://www.voicethread.com/

That is a very useful on-line tool that even though it has not been designed to this ends can be very useful to practice and improve English pronunciation. A teacher can set up class session to practice pronunciation. Teacher can have the students to practice in real time. Students as well can program sessions among them to practice pronunciation. A session can be carried out with one student or several students at the time. Another advantage is that the students don’t have necessarily to be available at the same time. The teacher can assign homework and the students post it and the teacher can check it later. The teacher can leave them a feedback to students on what they need to practice more and improve in their pronunciation.

Pod O Matic > http://www.podomatic.com/login

This is on-line software that gives the opportunity of hearing oneself voice, so you have the chance to compare your voice to an authentic or native voice. Line in Voice Thread a piece of talking can be left for feedback from teacher or other peers, colleagues, or visitors.

Rosetta Stone > http://www.rosettastone.com/

This is a very innovative program with on-line resources designed specifically to Language Learning. The program has a part that can be downloaded and stored in a computer to be used even if you don’t have internet connection. This program was designed to teach language in general, however it has a session dedicated completely to pronunciation. The students have the opportunity of making repetition exercises. In these exercises they listen and repeat native speaker’s voices. In this session the students practice not only isolated words but they have the chance to practice phrases that express a complete idea. As many of the other programs, Rosetta Stone can be combined with technology, Rosetta Stone has the advantage that learners can practice without limits, students can repeat as many timed as they prefer.

Additional list for online resources

¶ http://www.antimoon.com/perfectp/perfectp.htm?test

¶ http://www.apple.com/itunes/

¶ http://www.americanaccent.com

¶ http://www.accentschool.com

¶ http://www.englishtown.es

But why English pronunciation?

Pronunciation is the first thing people notice when you are speaking English. This is the first impression people get when you are speaking, so it have to be a good one. Tomasz szynalski said: ‘When you talk to a person in real life, they may not notice your limited or grammar mistakes. But they will notice right away if your pronunciation is good or bad.

If your pronunciation is poor, they will think about you as the guy/girl who speaks bad English, and good grammar and vocabulary won’t help you!’ But besides what people can think of you, it is because of the great importance of being understood when speaking to others.

No doubts that pronunciation is of core importance to any English speaker, either if it is a native speaker or someone who speaks it as a second language; and it so much so that more researchers and educators today are concerned about pronunciation. John Levis said: ”Pronunciation, long on the periphery of applied linguistics research and pedagogy, continues to grow in importance because of its central roles in speech recognition, speech perception and speaker identity. Pronunciation-related issues such as comprehensibility, accent, and the mutual intelligibility of varieties of world Englishes are central to many questions in applied linguistics.’

This calls for a sophisticated understanding of how technological tools that have long been used to shed light on phonological categories can be applied to teaching. Research into computer -assisted pronunciation teaching (CAPT) suggests that both researchers and pronunciation teachers increasingly make use of technology to answer key questions, to ensure that claims are defensible, and to develop theories and practices that more closely match acoustic reality. This article reviews three key areas where

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2005433

General Overview

In the following chapter, we present the methodology and the procedures that we are going to follow as our guide throughout our investigation. We will be able to define our population after having the permission for conducting the research. We are going to conduct a Descriptive-Quantitative research. A Descriptive-Quantitative research involves gathering data that describes the events of the subjects and then organizes into visual information that can be later on studied and analyzed by other researchers. We won’t interfere in student’s response. Furthermore, this research paper will be approached analytically.

Methodological design

It was conducted a descriptive study having the objective to determine the effects of the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

This investigation was conducted in the language school at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, where is located our study population, in a period of time from August – November 2012.

The population was constituted by 130 students and 7 teachers of the language school at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. The participants were in contact during the semester

2012-2.

The sample was represented by 87 students and 7 teachers from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, they were selected by a non-probability sampling. Also were included students who took the subject of English phonetics with different teachers, one of them uses technology in his class and the other one doesn´t. Both groups were applied a pre-test in which their voices were recorded to measure its evolution during the semester 2012-2, at the end of it we applied a post test in order to compare both groups and prove our hypothesis.

Method

To obtain the necessary data for this research was carried out a questionnaire to students and teachers of the modern languages program major in English in order to obtain a quantitative data.

We take the questionnaire as a tool to collect data due to questionnaires are a research techniques, in which through a series of written questions, is known the opinion or experience of the interviewed. This instrument was chosen because we believe it is the most appropriate way to collect different opinions, both students and teachers in order to get to have data that allow us to achieve the objectives of this research.

The students´ questionnaire comprises 8 questions, while the teachers´ has 9 questions. For students the questions are closed and multiple-choice. In the teachers´ questionnaire, the questions are both open and closed and multiple choice as well.

These questionnaires were personally delivered to students and teachers. To answer the questionnaire took approximately 1 to 2 minutes in the case of students and teachers the time required to complete the questionnaire were from 2 to 3 minutes.

The variables of the questionnaire aimed to investigate:

¶ The accessible ICTs in the language school at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo

¶ The usage type both teachers and students give to ICTs in the teaching-learning process

¶ The roles of teachers and students when ICTs are used in the classroom.

¶ Concerning to the open questions was investigated the use of ICTs by teachers in the teaching-learning process, the advantages and disadvantages of ICTs and the opinion about the use of ICTs to improve English pronunciation

¶ For the closed questions were investigated:

¶ The age of the interviewed and time in contact with English language in both teaching and learning English.

¶ The level of importance of ICTs in the teaching-learning of English pronunciation.

¶ The attitude toward the incorporation of ICTs in the teaching-learning of English pronunciation.

Technique

The technique used included two main parts. The first part is based on the application of a

pre-test at the beginning of the semester where students from both sections of English phonetics were recorded in a program designed for recording voices, called Sound Editor Deluxe while reading a paragraph in which were included all English vowel sounds.

The second part is based on the application of a post-test where students must complete 3 statements in which they were asked to match English words according to their vowel sounds. The aim of this post test is to measure the target students’ specific ability in English pronunciation at the end of the semester 2012-2.

The pre-test given to students at the beginning of the semester was repeated once again to distinguish the progress made for both groups of English phonetics, and which of them reached their objective, the group that uses technological resources in English phonetics classes or the group that did not.

General overview

In this section, we are going to present how data will be collected and analyze according to the approach, the objective and the purpose of this research. As a summary, we can say that the questionnaires are going to help us to know some characteristics of facilitators and learners involve in the research. No matter how often the teacher repeated a word, the students were bound to want him or her to repeat the sound. And even after the teacher did that, the students still made mistakes in pronouncing the sounds due as they could not learn to make intricate sounds of English Language by just listening to the teacher for minutes. This can be blamed for the great number of English speakers in the world today, who speak the language, observing fully the grammatical ethics, while flouting virtually all the rules governing pronunciation. The same questionnaires will contain questions to identify if students and facilitators use technological resources to learn and teach pronunciation. Students and facilitators who use technological resources will pass to the next questions in order to determine where they have access to internet, how often, and how they feel incorporating this tool to learn and teach phonetic. After that, we are going to observe each of students in the classroom to determine their common mistakes while speaking. With this observation, we want to identify if those students who use technological resources to teach pronunciation has better pronunciation than those students who do not use or use less technological resources. Finally, we are going staple each of students’ questionnaire and observation data together to analyze them and reach conclusions.

General Analysis of the population Studied

Title of the investigation: Effects of using Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Questionnaire for Students

Chart No 1

Gender

Sex Amount %

Male 28 33

Female 59 67

Total 87 100%

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 1

Gender

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 2

How old are you

Age Male % Female %

15-20 0 0 2 2.29

20-25 4 4.59 33 37.93

25-30 12 13.79 15 17.24

30-40 9 10.34 8 9.19

40-50 3 3.44 1 1.14

50 or more 0 0 0 0

Total 28 32.16 59 67.79

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 2

How old are you

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 3

How long have you been studying English

Years Male % Female %

1 to 4 years 8 9.19 11 12.64

4 to 5 years 6 6.89 27 31.03

6 or more 14 16.09 21 24.13

Total 28 32.17 59 67.8

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 3

How long have you been studying English

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 4

Opinion about the use of technological resources at the language school

Male % Female %

Excellent 7 8.08 8 9.19

Good 4 4.59 12 13.79

Very good 2 2.29 7 8.04

Poor 15 17.24 32 36.78

Total 28 32.2 59 67.8

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 4

opinion about the use of technological resources at the language school?

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 5

How often do your teachers use technological resources (Radio, Computer, DVD, or

PowerPoint) in their classes.

Opinion Male % Female %

Always 0 0 5 5.74

often 8 9.19 6 6.89

Sometimes 18 20.68 41 47.12

Never 2 2.29 7 8.04

Total 28 32.16 59 67.79

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 5

How often do your teachers use technological resources (Radio, Computer, DVD, or

PowerPoint) in their classes.

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 6

Do you use technological resources to practice your English pronunciation

Opinion Male % Female %

Yes 25 28.73 52 59.77

No 3 3.44 7 8.04

Total 28 32.17 59 67.81

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 6

Do you use technological resources to practice your English pronunciation

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 7

If yes how often do you use them

Opinion Male % Female %

Once a week 7 8.45 16 18.39

Twice a week 6 7 23 26.43

Three times a week or more 10 11.49 20 23

Total 28 26.94 59 67.82

Graphic No 7

If yes how often do you use them

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 8

Do you consider that technological resources are helpful tools for the development of your target language.

Opinion Male % Female %

Yes 28 32.18 59 67.81

No 0 0 0 0

Total 28 32.18 59 67.81

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 8

Do you consider that technological resources are helpful tools for the development of your target language

Source: Interview to the students of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Title of the investigation: Effects of using Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching English Pronunciation to Students of the Modern Language Program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Questionnaire for Facilitators

Chart No 9

Gender

Sex Amount %

Male 5 71.42

Female 2 28.57

Total 7 100%

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 9

Gender

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 10

How long have you been teaching at the university

Years Male % Female %

5 years 0 0 1 14.28

10 years 2 28.57 0 0

15 years 2 28.57 0 0

20 years 1 14.28 1 14.28

Total 5 71.24 2 28.56

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 10

How long have you been teaching at the university

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 11

Do you use technological resources in your classes.

Opinion Male % Female %

Yes 5 71.42 1 14.28

No 0 0 1 14.28

Total 5 71.42 2 28.56

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 11

Do you use technological resources in your classes

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 12

If yes, how often do you use these tools (Internet, Computer, DVD, TV, Emails)

Internet

Male Female % Male % Female

Internet Always 3 0 60 0

Often 1 0 20 0

Sometimes 1 0 20 0

Never 0 0 0 0

Total 5 0 100 0

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 12

Internet

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 12-1

Computer

Male Female % Male % Female

Computer Always 2 0 40 0

Often 3 1 60 100

Sometimes 0 0 0 0

Never 0 0 0 0

Total 5 1 100 100

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 12-1

Computer

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 12-2

DVD

Male Female % Male % Female

DVD Always 2 0 40 0

Often 2 0 40 0

Sometimes 1 0 20 0

Never 0 0 0 0

Total 5 0 100 0

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 12-2

DVD

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 12-3

TV

Male Female % Male % Female

TV Always 1 0 20 0

Often 0 0 0 0

Sometimes 3 1 60 100

Never 1 0 20 0

Total 5 1 100 100

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 12-3

TV

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 12-4

Email

Male Female % Male % Female

Email Always 5 0 100 0

Often 0 0 0 0

Sometimes 0 1 0 100

Never 0 0 0 0

Total 5 1 100 100

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 12-4

Email

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Chart No 13

How often do you demand your students to participate in online activities.

Opinion Male % Female %

Always 0 0 0 0

Almost always 3 50 0 0

Sometimes 2 33.33 0 0

Rarely 0 0 1 16.66

Total 5 83.33 1 16.66

Source: Interview to the Facilitators of the modern language program at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Graphic No 13

How often do you demand