Teach English in DaqiuzhuAng Zhen - Tianjin

New Technology in the ClassroomEvery new school year starts with more technology being available than there was the year before. This technology can take the form of physical hardware, computer software or resources available via technology such as over the internet. Students in most countries can take advantage of this from an early age, often understanding how to work or use new technology by the time they reach school ? I remember my two children sitting at a personal computer (PC) using a mouse before they had even started to attend primary school in the UK. The key is how to utilise new technology in the TEFL classroom for the benefit of both the student and the teacher. There is little point having the students repeat drills on a PC if it is not educating them in some form of the english language or helping them further their progress in their required understanding. However, by utilising the power of technology the TEFL teacher should be able to accelerate the learning process for the students which they should find more rewarding. If we break the technology down into the three groups already mentioned, then we can see examples of how to benefit from the new technologies available in each of them. Physical Hardware ? from PC?s and laptops, through to projectors and SMART whiteboards. When sitting in class, the students can benefit from the teacher being able to spend more time focussed on productive activities than they used too when they had to spend a lot of time writing on boards or generating other material. For example, a projector plugged into a laptop can quickly show some pre-prepared or authentic material which can be reused over again without the teacher having to spend hours preparing each individually by hand. SMART whiteboards can be more dynamic and interactive for the students, whilst the content can be saved ? which allows the teacher to quickly regenerate previous whiteboard work so that it can be reviewed or recapped, whether from the previous lesson or even from months ago. If available, students can use hardware devices to access the internet or perform activities on the PC which are for educational purposes. Other technological advances include DVD?s ? where a DVD player can be used to select subtitles in a variety of languages (depending upon the material available), and this can be paused, replayed and scanned a lot easier than older technologies such as Video players. A TEFL teacher should be able to use the new technologies available to support class activities. Computer Software ? this could be educational software which helps individual students to perform learning activities (such as learning through playing games or performing activities such as identifying vocabulary or listening to how words are pronounced), through to software which the teacher uses to generate activities or material for the class (such as through Word documents or PowerPoint presentations). The benefits here include being able to use pre-prepared and suitably assessed or proven material directly with the students, or the ability for the teacher to only have to prepare material once which can be reused for many students or many classes (which can also be particularly useful for generating worksheets). The school may also have a particular collection of software which is available to the teacher to select as appropriate for the class ? and the benefit to a TEFL class is that a majority of the software available is in english. The Internet ? one of the more recent phenomena?s where new technology can have a big impact on the classroom. In fact, some classes may actually take place over the internet, and with technologies such as Skype teachers can be in remote locations from the student(s). The Internet has a wealth of information to assist with education, although the benefits may be geared more towards the older or more advanced students. Care needs to be taken as not only can the internet report some information incorrectly but it may also have inappropriate material (especially for younger students). However, with the likes of Wikipedia and other sources of information, material should be widely available which will support TEFL classes. TEFL teachers can also communicate with each other more easily using e-mail and forums, blogs, etc.. In summary, I believe new technologies should be embraced within TEFL classrooms, but care needs to be taken to ensure that this technology supports the teacher in providing a first class educational service to the students.