Authors:
Xiaojun Wang
;
Jiří Dostál
and
Hana Bučková
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc, Zizkovo nám. 5, Olomouc and Czech Republic
Keyword(s):
Interactivity, Whiteboard, Computer, English Foreign Language, Education.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Active Learning
;
Pattern Recognition
;
Theory and Methods
Abstract:
This paper highlights the usefulness of interactive whiteboards in improving teaching and learning English as a foreign language. For language learning, it is important to develop learners’ communicative competence as language is a vehicle for communication. It is not uncommon that learners who master grammar principles nevertheless fail to speak confidently in real situations. Interaction, which involves input and output, is critical in developing communicative competence in a language. The interactive whiteboard, as implied by the name, can increase interaction between teachers and learners and among learners, as opposed to a plain whiteboard, since the main function of interactive whiteboards is its interactivity. Thus it can be an effective tool for English education. This paper explains from both the theoretical and the practical viewpoint the advantages and techniques involved in the use of interactive whiteboards in teaching English as a foreign language in order to encourage
educators and English foreign language teachers to implement interactive whiteboards in teaching so as to improve the outcomes of English education, and it also points out common pitfalls the teachers should avoid.
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