a. The title of the article is How to Use Skype in the ESL/EFL Classroom. This article is derived from The Internet TESL Journal, For Teachers of English as a Second Language. It is taken from Volume XVI, No 11, November 2010. Basically this article is newly written and posted in the net which makes it relevant to be reviewed. The author of this article is Dr Sarah Elaine Eaton. She is currently a self-proclaimed educational leader, researcher, author and professional speaker. She manages a blog entitled Language, Literacy and Leadership. She received his PhD in Educational Leadership and a Master of Arts in Spanish from University of Calgary. She also a student of Saint Mary’s University in her native city Halifax. There, she earned her B.A (Hons) in English. She is no ordinary woman as she has been teaching Spanish to adults and college students for 12 years. She taught at both college and university level. She has also worked as in educational administration in various capacities including English as a Second Language, post-secondary language and educational research just to name a few. Apart from that, she also is the author of 101 Ways to Promote Your Language Program: a practical guide for language schools. As of writing, she is residing in Calgary, Canada and works as a private consultant, writer and professional speaker.
b. The article brings forth the idea of using Skype, a software application that allows user to make phone calls to one another, to diversify teaching and learning practices by empowering ESL/EFL teachers and tutors to incorporate it in the classroom by giving presentations and workshops. The use of Skype too can be perceived as a stepping stone to using more sophisticated technology in the classroom. This paper discusses about experimenting the use of Skype in language and learning classroom as it is very effective to minimize the risk of being wrong for teachers who are not IT savvy and are novice in integrating technology in classroom. The author suggests that those who are not “fluent” in a more sophisticated technology to actually try integrating Skype in the classroom since it requires no complicated tools to operate it. She further explains that by using a progressive approach to incorporating technology into the classroom is an effective way for ESL/EFL teachers to update their teaching technique at their own pace, building confidence and skills as they progress. She advises those who are afraid to integrate technology into the classroom to try using a simple tool such as Skype to make sure that they are familiar and later comfortable with it thus making them confident in bringing more advanced tools in the classroom. The author outlines some advanced features of Skype that can be used for teaching English.
c. Integrating technology in a language classroom has been perpetually debated and experimented over the years. However, many teachers are skeptical of the technology for a couple of reasons. Perhaps the most prominent reason would be because of the teachers themselves are not very much IT savvy. Thus, they are afraid in making mistakes if they were to integrate technology into their teaching. In the context of Malaysia, the use of technology in a classroom is rarely happening. This is perhaps due to the lack of exposure to the teachers about the conspicuous advantages of integrating technology in the teaching and learning. Students nowadays, in my opinion, are more high-tech compared to the teachers. They can easily access the technology as it is ubiquitous and easily found. Therefore, this is also can be considered as one of the reasons why teachers are afraid of integrating technology in the classroom. I am myself is a novice when it comes to using technology.
I have found this article to be rather informative and engaging as it highlights the use of Skype in ESL classroom. Skype is one of the simplest tools compared to other advanced tools. It is very user friendly and most importantly it is free from any charges. This is can be wisely utilized by the teacher to create a new and fresh conducive environment of learning. Myriads of activities can be conducted pertinent to this matter. If it wisely utilized, students are able to learn the language in a very different environment. The sole reason for incorporating Skype in the lesson plan is for novice teachers who are afraid of making wrong turns to actually give it a try as it is simple and requires no extra works. This is to make the teachers connected to the technology and make them familiar, as they can build their own confidence, at their pace without anyone’s pressure. Skype can be very beneficial as it will produce a fruitful lesson if it were to be integrated in the classroom. It provides an immense assistance not just to the students but also to the teachers who are lacking in confidence and high levels of anxiety.
I personally believe that most of students in Malaysia are very much familiar with Skype. This can come in handy when introducing the tool in the classroom as they can actually view it in a different perspective. If they were still clueless about how they can devise a lesson plan using Skype, they can easily access to http://www.teachingdegree.org as it provides 50 awesome ways to use Skype in the classroom. Eaton (2010) too mentioned that Skype helps ESL/EFL teachers improve their technology literacy and increase their confidence using technology in the classroom hence it is without doubt that students can benefit from this.
To conclude, in my opinion this article illuminates those who are still uncertain about integrating technology in the classroom to actually consider and begin by using Skype as an ignition to a more advanced and sophisticated tools. However, I do believe that it is not easy as it seems because teachers should consider the students’ interest and the surroundings of the classroom too before they can launch the plan. Nonetheless, what harm can it bring if teachers actually give a chance to Skype to be integrated in the classroom and it appeals to the students?
even Domo uses Skype
:p
p.s. I haven't signed in my Skype account for quite a while -_-
Good, 8/10
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