ICT integration and English language teaching approaches in Hong Kong

Arnold Pang
The English language teaching approaches in Hong Kong
English language teaching in Hong Kong has been subject to changes in approaches.
Hong Kong has always been following the footsteps of the west, though with a tie
gap of about !" years #Poon, $""%, p.%&.The following table shows the chronology of
English language teaching approaches in Hong Kong '
Periods English language teaching approaches
!%("s)!%*"s +raar translation ethod
!%,"s -irect ethod
!%."s /ral)structural approach
!%0"s to !%%"s Counicati1e language teaching approach #C2T&
$"""s Target)oriented approach 3 Tas4)based approach
Table 555 ' The chronology of English language teaching approaches in Hong Kong
#Poon, $""%&
As stated in the latest #$"".& 6ew 7enior 7econdary #677& English language
curriculu docuent, TE7/2 teachers are to be encouraged to use tas4)based
learning and teaching which ephasi8es learning to counicate through purposeful
interaction #C-C, $""., p..9&, and are not only transitters of 4nowledge but also
facilitators of learning. :Apart fro being transitters of 4nowledge, teachers ha1e a
4ey role to play in facilitating English use and the de1elopent of an independent
learning capability: #ibid, p.,.&. 7tudents are not only passi1e recipients of
inforation but also acti1e participants in the process of learning English. They are
re;uired :to ta4e an e1en greater degree of responsibility in choosing what and how to
learn: #ibid, p.,0&.This curriculu is designed to pro1ide greater fle<ibility for the
schools to cater for students: 1aried interests, needs and capabilities, with the
incorporation of an electi1e part of both language arts and non)language arts odules
for learning English both creati1ely and practically through their participation in
counicati1e tas4s #=ong, $""%&.
In order to prepare TE7/2 teachers for the latest curriculu, the rele1ant ICT training
progras should ai to ipro1e their s4ills of using ICT in daily practices. To
deterine the effecti1eness of an ICT training progra, it is necessary to understand
how TE7/2 teachers are trained to teach English language with ICT in the current
teaching approaches.
The development of CALL and English language teaching
The de1elopent of CA22 can be di1ided according to their underlying pedagogical
and ethodological approaches into three phases during the period fro the !%,"s to
the !%%"s ' beha1iouristic, counicati1e and integrati1e #=arschauer, !%%, a&. In
$""", =arschauer projected for the de1elopent of CA22 in the $!st Century and
suari8ed the three stages of CA22 as shown in the table below # note that here the
>eha1iouristic CA22 is tered as 7tructural CA22&. The corresponding English
language teaching approaches in Hong Kong of these three stages are included in this
table to show the brief relationship between the de1elopent of CA22 and English
language education.
7tage !%."s)!%0"s'
7tructural CA22
!%0"s)!%%"s'
Counicati1e CA22
$!st Century'
Integrati1e CA22
Technology ?ainfrae PCs ?ultiedia and
Internet
English)Teaching
Paradig
+raar)Translation
@ Audio)2ingual
Counicate
2anguage Teaching
Content)>ased,
E7P3EAP
Aiew of 2anguage 7tructural #a foral
structural syste&
Cogniti1e #a entally)
constructed syste&
7ocio)cogniti1e
#de1eloped in social
interaction&
Principal Bse of
Coputers
-rill and Practice Counicati1e
E<ercises
Authentic -iscourse
Principal /bjecti1e Accuracy Cluency Agency
English language
teaching
approaches in
Hong Kong
/ral)structural
approach
Counicati1e
language teaching
approach
Target)oriented
approach 3 Tas4)based
approach
Table 555 ' =arschauer:s #$""", p.,*& projection for the de1elopent of CA22 and
the English language teaching approaches in Hong Kong #Poon, $""%&.
Cro the abo1e table, we can see that the approaches of using ICT in language
education are highly consistent with the language teaching approaches.
The current development of ICT in English language education
In the $"""s, any language educators pointed out that it was tie to in1estigate the
pedagogical effecti1eness of using ICT in 1arious learning conte<ts, rather than
erely to focus on the effecti1eness of ICT itself # >eatty, $"!"D Chapelle, $""9D
2e1y @ 7toc4well, $"",D =arschauer @ =are, $"",&. 2anguage s4ills :cannot be
de1eloped by new tools but only by proper instruction, and this in1ol1es pro1iding
learners with appropriate tas4s and support: #Hyland, $""9 p. !(.&. The relationship
between technology and pedagogy can be seen :as a sybiotic one, where they are
utually dependent upon each other, potentially to their benefit, but also potentially
to their detrient: #7toc4well, $"". p.!!0&. The de1elopent of pedagogical use of
ICT becoes the ain direction of ICT integration in 2anguage education.
ICT integration allows for :a cobination of sound, graphics, te<t, and 1ideo
presented in one coputeri8ed progra and further facilitates efforts to teach four
language s4ills, including listening, spea4ing, reading, and writing: #2in, $"!", p.*9&.
=ith the recent networ4ing technologies such as =eb $."
1
which enhances the inter)
personal social networ4 the use of ICT in language education enters an e1en newer
era. :7oe of the =eb $." tools include podcasts, =eblogs, wi4is, social boo4ar4ing
tools, social networ4ing tools, social edia sharing tools, 1irtual 9- counity,
social library tools and collaborati1e writing tools, which ha1e profound potentials in
!
Web 2.0 - A new concept in web programming which has allowed millions of
users to easily publish their fles and ideas and collaborate with an audience that
spans the globe (O'Reilly 200!" Web 2.0 sites including social boo#mar#ing sites
wi#is blogs and podcasts. Web 2.0 tools ha$e the potential to close the gap
between these two generations because they are mostly free to access and easy
to use. %he de$elopments in Web 2.0 technologies pro$ide the promising tools
needed to meet the current needs of millennial students (Richardson 200&"
education because of their open nature, and support for effecti1e collaboration and
counication: #?uniandy, $""%, p.,&. It has coe to encopass issues of aterials
design, technologies, pedagogical theories and odes of instruction #>eatty, $"!"&.
/nline counication is engendering its own styles, genres and fors of English
#>lac4 @ Chou, $"!"&. ICT does not only consist of coputer software but also
1arious online counicati1e channels such as eail, instant essaging and chatting,
short)essaging ser1ice #7?7&, blog and social networ4 sites #=arschauer @ +ries,
$"".&. The use of technology becoes in1isible, ebedded in e1eryday practice to
the e<tent that we hardly e1en recognise the as technologies, as the situation
described by the /pen Approach of >a< #$""9&. Teachers are also enjoying the
support fro te<tboo4 publishers. 7oe te<tboo4 publishers pro1ide teachers with
ultiedia teaching aterials which are designed for teaching with ICT. Pearson, an
international leading te<tboo4 publisher, stated their preference for elearning in their
website '
'Pearson has been tailoring many innovative teaching resources for our teachersAll
these resources make lessons much more fun and interactive.' #Pearson, $"!$&
7oeties teachers and students ay ha1e an unreasonable e<pectation that there
e<ists certain :perfect: language teaching software that is able to carry out e1ery
teaching wor4 for us. People using coputer technology for language learning and
teaching often fall into two fallacies' the :/nipotence fallacy: that coputer can :do
ore than it can: and the :7ole Agent fallacy: that :the 4ey or only factor in successful
ipleentation of the technology is the technology itself: #>a<, $""9 pp. $*)$,&.
6e1ertheless, whate1er people e<pect ICT to be, it is iportant that they 4now how to
use the technologies on language education, as Chen @ Cheng #$"",& stated '
'We may often unconsciously exaggerate the power of technology but ignore the
contextual aspects of how the technology is used and what pedagogical factors will
affect the effectiveness of its use. we need to make deliberate decisions on how to
put new technology into more effective use in our particular context and on how not
to use new technology for inappropriate or undesirable purposes.' #p.!9&