The growth of technology is very rapid nowadays. New tools are enabling teachers to make the outside world familiar to pupils. Teachers always search for new, innovative, pedagogical, communicative ways to improve their teaching. Pupils’ motivation contributes to more successful learning. The main benefit of using the interactive whiteboard and/or tablet in the classroom is the motivation triggered by the quality of presentation and the use of colour, sound and movement. Students are enthusiastic about the new ways of learning. Teachers’ main task is to implement them in a meaningful and goal oriented way. How can the interactive whiteboard and/or tablet be used for English language teaching and how can we use technological tools appropriately to motivate younger students to learn English? The action research that was conducted included planned, structured, observed and assessed use of the interactive whiteboard and tablet for teaching English in the first and second grade of primary school. In my master’s thesis I aimed to find out how the use of the interactive board or tablet effected the pupils’ motivation for learning English. In the final stage of the action research, the pupils filled out a questionnaire and their parents completed an additional questionnaire about the children’s use of computer and tablet at home. Furthermore, the online questionnaire was used for the teachers to research and check their use of interactive board in connection with pupils’ motivation for learning English in the first three years of primary school. Due to the fact that the use of the tablets is not so common in the first years of primary education in Slovenia, I have interviewed four teachers who use tablets at English language instruction in the first three classes of primary school. The research has shown that using interactive whiteboards and tablets is motivating for children, who are learning English. Half of the teachers, who took part in the research, think that children are quite motivated to work with the interactive whiteboard. All the interviewed teachers in the research who use tablets, think that children are very motivated to work with the tablets. Most of the surveyed teachers are of the opinion that animations and the attractiveness of the didactic games are most motivating for children. This research illustrates there are different views about the use of the interactive whiteboard and/or tablet for teaching and motivating pupils for learning English in the first three years of primary school.
|
