My reflection on ICT in TEFL course

         I am just “packing” and ordering my stuff and meanwhile, I reflected on the past fourteen weeks. During this time, I have been very fortunate to explore this digital world. The experience has been incredibly challenging and demanding since I knew just a little bit about technology and its applications.

     At the beginning of this course, I felt completely lost and stressed. There were terms that were definitely unknown to me, and as we had online classes I got in despair and frustrated. However, I took some time to calm down and  I continued with my tasks.  As time passed, I gained some knowledge and created many artifacts, and most important, I learnt how to manage some of them very well.

     Living this experience has been profitable and unforgetable. When exploring innovative and interesting sites, my family and friends were out of my sight. However, they were by side and gave me their precious support. I am deeply grateful for those people who somehow contributed to this process, from being digital illiterate to becoming not an expert in technology, but at least, a person with some knowledge in technology.

     I should say that my teaching practice will not be the same after having taken this course. That is definitely the most relevant fact; the benefits are above all inconveniences and anguish.  I am convinced that any single technological device may be used to motive our language learners. This is their environment: the digital world.

     Finally, I want to thank prof. Evelyn Izquierdo for her guidance and assistance whenever needed. I gratefully acknowledge her support, in spite of the hard work. I am indebted to my family and friends, and I am not sure whether to thank them or to apologize to them. I owe special thanks to my course mates, we had a lot of hard work but also we had fun. Your comments on my work are totally appreciated. The experience has been fruitful and enriching. Thanks to all of you!

My project on ICT in TEFL

     One of the greatest challenges for ESP teachers has been providing learners with real world contexts and natural communication opportunities which are so relevant for language learning. Some authors (Rammal, 2006; Mekheimer, 2011) have mentioned how useful and helpful videos are to stimulate students to develop receptive or productive skills. Using videos represents a powerful resource since they provide audio and visual aids. Aural skill is one of the receptive skills that need to be activated and developed by offering not just audio but visual images that help learners have a picture of the situation, action, setting, gestures, and emotion. Additionally, the input received through audio videos can result in a potent source to develop and improve oral skills.

     The title of this project is  Integrating videos into the EFL Classrooms as a Means to Develop Students' Listening and Speaking Skills and it is based on the concepts of Authenticity of materials and meaningful learning as well as blended learning. This project aims at describing the incorporation of videos as a means to develop students’ listening and speaking skills and is intended primarily for English teachers who are considering the wide range of tools that the emergence of technology offers.