Are you familiar with desktop computers, laptops and tablets?
3.23%
Yes
No
96.77%
Chart No. 1
As you can see most of them are very familiar with the new technology (computers, laptops,
tablets). Also the majority of students have a computer or a laptop at home. We can see this in
chart No. 2.
Do you have a computer or laptop at home?
5.26%
Yes
No
94.74%
Chart No. 2
Can I access the internet at school any time I need it?
12.70%
Yes
No
87.30%
Chart No. 3
The time children and teenagers spend online is an issue that concerns a lot of
people in our days. There has to be a balance between the time spent in front of the screen and
other types of activities. The questionnaire I applied shows that most of the students use
Internet for social networking, watching movies, dowloading files and less time on doing
research for school projects. See question No. 5 in the following example:
Playing online games, watching videos or music on youtube, checking facebook posts, typing
messages and watching movies are the main activities that teenagers enjoy if they have an
intrernet connection. The internet can be used for many purposes, depending on the people’s
interests and age. Some researchers sustain that digital devices and the internet can even cause
addiction, so in my opinion children and teenagers should use the virtual space under the
supervision of an adult. The problem is when youngsters refuse to go out and spend time
outdoors because they prefer staying in front of the computer screen. Many of the students
who answered the questionnaire said that they used the internet not only for one type of
activity, but for three or even more different activities. Here is an example (see question no. 5)
According to the students’ answers, most of the them prefer to use the internet
for the following activities: to listen to music, to communicate with other people and to
play games. These are the three top activities that the students enjoy. The majority of
the subjects that participated in the survey stated that they usually spend time online for
more than one or two activities. (see chart no. 4)
40 35
35
30
25 22
19
20 15
15
10
5 3
0
in
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tw fo i te
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al e wa rc
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o se
a
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o
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Chart No. 4
The last part of the questionnaire was slightly different, the students were asked to express
their opinions using an agreement scale. All the statements refered to the new technologies
used when studying English. I have selected the statements which I considered to be the most
representative and which show the students’ opinion regarding this matter. For instance, here
is an example of a questionnaire where the student said that he/she ”strongly agrees” with the
statements from No.6 and No.15. Most of the students answered the same.
Both questions 8 and 15 are connected to the way the use of modern technology
influences the process of studying English and the English classes at school. The
choices the students made show that learning English can become more interesting,
funnier and more exciting when new technology and digital devices are used. (See chart
no.5 – for question no.8 and chart no.6 – for question no.14)
Using Technology to study English makes the learning more interesting
18 17
16
14
12
10
10
8
8
40
4 3
2
2
Chart No. 5
25
23
20
15
10
8
Series 3
5
3 4
2
ee
a gr ee
i gr ee
l yd i a gr
ng yd a ee
l y gr ee
str
o ht ht
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st w ho ho e ng
en st w w od ro
n ts m st
tud de en ho ho
S d
St
u
St
u st w st w
en en
ud ud
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Chart No. 6
Statement no.12 refers to the students’ preferences regarding writing in English:
to write on a paper with a pencil or to type on an Iphone, laptop or tablet? The majority chose
the answers that show that they prefer to write using a digital device rather than using the
traditional old methods. The following questionnaire is an example that shows that the student
slightly agrees with this statement. Even if they were not very determined and some of them
were somewhere in the middle, the balance inclines towards the use of modern technology
when writing.
On question No.12 the student’s answer show that most of them prefer to use a
because they are used to write a lot of text messages every day (either on their phones, tablets
or computers) and some of them may be in English if they are communicating with people
from other countries. For the results on this question see chart No.7 below.
18
17
16
14
12
10 10
8
8 Series 3
4
3
2
2
0
Students who strongly disagree
Students who slightly agree
Students who strongly agree
Chart No. 7
Most of the students admitted that they would like to use the new technology more often at
school. This is expressed by their answers to statement no.15 and probably it is due to the fact
that they are accustomed to use the modern technology in their every day life outside the
school.
They prefer to use modern technology more frequently at school. Their choices
regarding statement No.15 prove this. Almost all of them strongly agreed, moderately
agreed or slightly agreed to the statement. (See chart no.8)
20 20
18
16
14
12
10 11
8
6 6
4 1 2
2
0 Series 3
ee
gr ee
is
a gr ee
a gr ee
yd i s a gr ee
gl l yd tl y
y a gr
ron ht i gh tel y a
st
s lig sl era ng
l
ho ho ho od ro
w w w m st
ts ts ho
en ts en ho
ud d en ud w st w
St u St ts n
St den de
u
St
u St
Chart No. 8
More than half of the students who participated in this survey said they have no
difficulties in using digital devices in order to help them when studying English and solving
assignments. (See chart no.9)
25
25
20
15
9
10
5 3
2
0 1 Series 3
Chart No. 9
There is no doubt that the future of education is closely connected to technology.
Modern technology can improve the teaching process and facilitate learning. Still, children
and teenagers need guidance and someone to make sure that they stay focued on learning.
Parents and educators should protect them from what some traditionalists call toxic elements
in childhood:”a competitive, consumer-driven, screen-based lifestyle.” (Palmer, 2006) Only a
self organized learning environment is not enough in the long term. Students get excited at
first because it is something new and they are eager to use the digital devices, but when it gets
difficult or they encounter technical problems they need support, otherwise they are likely to
give up. They need to be in permanent contact to their teacher and they cannot rely only on
internet lessons. It also depends on each student’s will, how much he/she wants to learn and to
get involved. It can be difficult for a teacher to monitor the students’ real contribution in
solving an assignment. Although there are some downsides of using technology, English
language teaching can be made more interesting, fun and appealing to students if digital
devices and the internet are used. In the next chapter I am going to present how we can use
the computer and the internet with all its immense resources to improve and update our
teaching style.
