Using ICT tools to enrich students` vocabulary

Түйін сөздер: сөздік қоры, АКТ құралдары, жоғары сыныптар 

Ключевые слова: словарный запас, инструменты ИКТ, старшие классы 

Keywords: vocabulary, ICT tools, high school

Аңдатпа

Оқушылардың сөздік қорын толықтыру және байыту мәселелері қазіргі педагогика ғылымы мен практикасының өзекті мәселелерінің бірі болып табылады. Ғылыми прогресс жағдайында көптеген жаңа сөздер қолданысқа ене бастады, олардың көпшілігі қиын және түсініксіз. Сондықтан мұғалімнің бірінші кезектегі міндеті - оқушылардың сөздік қорын байыту және нақтылау бойынша жұмыс жасау: адам неғұрлым көп сөз білсе, адамдар арасындағы ауызекі және жазбаша байланыс дәлірек жүзеге асады.
 Аннотация

Вопросы пополнения и обогащения словарного запаса учеников относятся к числу наиболее актуальных проблем современной педагогической науки и практики. В условиях научного прогресса в обиход входят все новые и новые слова, многие из которых трудны и непонятны. Поэтому первостепенной задачей учителя является работа над обогащением и уточнением словарного запаса учащихся: чем большим количеством слов владеет человек, тем точнее реализуется коммуникация между людьми, как в устной, так и в письменной форме.

Abstract 

The issues of replenishing and enriching the vocabulary of students are among the most pressing problems of modern pedagogical science and practice. In the conditions of scientific progress, more and more new words come into use, many of which are difficult and incomprehensible. Therefore, the primary task of the teacher is to work on enriching and clarifying the vocabulary of students: the more words a person speaks, the more accurately communication between people is realized, both orally and in writing.

In order to teach students the skills of the 21st century, the teacher must work hard, develop and learn. Every year, advances in technology are changing the way we look at life, time and relationships. In this regard, we believe that when teaching the next generation of teachers, it is important to plan lessons that enable students to think critically, discuss and make decisions together, use information technology, and develop information literacy and creativity. It is obvious that information and communication technologies are a powerful pedagogical tool in the hands of a teacher, they must be mastered and widely used in their subject lessons. The use of ICT in the classroom makes it possible to move from an explanatory-illustrated way of teaching to an activity-based one, in which the student becomes an active subject of educational activity. This contributes to the conscious assimilation of knowledge by students. Students work with passion at any stage of the lesson, and this maintains interest in the subject. That is why we have chosen this topic, the research was carried out among 11th grade students, namely in order to prepare for the international IELTS exam.

The object of the research is the process of speech development, enrichment of the vocabulary of students in English lessons in high school.

Subject of research: work on the text in the IELTS format using information and communication technologies.

Research goals:

• explore the main resources on the topic,

• substantiate ways of solving the problem of enriching the vocabulary of students,

• identify the main methods, techniques and means in teaching students.

Expected results:

1. Increased activity of students in the educational process

2. Ease and efficiency of memorizing new words

3. Ability to work with new words in the text

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the use of various educational Internet platforms for teaching foreign languages at school. We would like to note that they have many advantages over traditional teaching methods: 1. Information and communication technologies reveal the reserves of the educational process and the personality of students, expand the didactic capabilities of the teacher, facilitate his work, allowing the most complex and time-consuming part of the educational work to be transferred to the machine. 2. Computer programs help to increase the motivation of learning. The use of various technological innovations is always interesting and relevant for students. 3. Information and communication technologies make it possible to familiarize oneself with new material with the subsequent fulfillment of training exercises, and also, to a certain extent, contribute to the development of speech skills. In case of difficulty, the student can turn to the computer for help, work on a specific material many times. In a computer program, this seems imperceptible and does not bother the student. In the traditional form of teaching, this repetition would turn into cramming, and the students don't like it very much. In particular, it is essential that computer programs play a significant role in the implementation of individual learning, which is one of the most important components of students' independent work. The use of ICTs in English lessons is an integral part of learning.

Currently, learning and enhancing vocabulary can be engaging through ICT tools. It has so many opportunities to control presentation, increase creativity and critical thinking, provide feedback while learning, and it can also be adapted easily with any materials. 

When it comes to pre-teaching a new word, students should be presented with eye-catching material to attract attention. Unlike books and encyclopedia, ICT tools can combine visuals with listening materials, texts with pictures or interactive tools. For the lower level learners, these activities can be challenging. Instead of doing boring tasks and learning vocabulary, students can directly be involved into the activity.

While analyzing the lessons, as teachers we wanted to examine the learners` attitude towards using ICT tools at the English lesson and find out effectiveness of using them while teaching vocabulary. The following tools demonstrate the value of using them in the classroom:

1. The first technology tool would fall into augmentation stage where students watch the video (TED talk) and answers the several questions. Through watching videos, students are introduced with many new vocabularies in a fun way. Those vocabularies are presented directly in the real context with the real life situations. In this way, students will remember subject-specific vocabulary. One of the examples that was taken from our lessons:

Topic: “Four reasons you should stop watching the news” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-miTTiaqFlI)

1. What four reasons for avoiding watching news did the speaker put forward?
2. What alternatives did the speaker suggest instead of watching news?

In addition, we used this information in modification stage of SAMR model.  Modification stage is when instead of just asking students to read from the online textbook, we may give students a list of media resources where they can get information. Ask them to determine which information is important and construct knowledge about the topic on their own. They are analyzing and connecting in ways made possible through the technology that goes beyond the online textbook. A learning task like this may typically be done in groups to facilitate collaboration and communication as well. (Dr.Shane Dixon). For instance, we suggested the following approach where students should analyze the material keeping in mind “ESCAPE” model. It helped them work in groups and share their ideas while searching the information. This was the instruction to the students: 

- Find a news story to research

- Investigate the source of the news according to E.S.C.A.P.E. and determine if the information is trustworthy 

E.S.C.A.P.E. is six key concepts for evaluating information: 

1. Evidence
2. Source
3. Context
4. Audience
5. Purpose
6. Execution
7. Share your findings
8. Decide if the story or stories is/are trustworthy

As observations have shown, it may enhance our teaching and engage students in learning their vocabulary. More able students could analyze the concept in depth, as for less able students it was useful to find out the usage of new words in the context.

1. Wordwall.net is the second tool that can be used to create both interactive and printable activities. It is easy to prepare a new activity by selecting the template and then enter the content. This is online platform where teachers can create their own teaching resources (quizzes, match ups, word games, and much more) and share with class. Students can practice speaking, revise vocabulary and check their knowledge. Most students recognize the importance of learning vocabulary and at the same time become aware of the difficulties that occur in acquiring them. While using this tool, we have noticed that students remembered vocabulary easily and tried to compete with their classmates. Simultaneously, it made assessment easier for teachers and students.
2. Flipgrid.com is a tool that allows teachers to create video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics" and their students can post video responses. Grids can be shared with classes or small groups. Topics can be text-based or include a resource such as an image, video, emoji or attachment. Security settings help protect student privacy. So, there is no need to worry about privacy. Teachers can also allow students to record replies to classmates' responses. Time can be set by a teacher. Once, we have used it to cover the learning objective of 11.S3 explain and justify own and others’ point of view on a range of general and curricular topics, including some unfamiliar topics and came to conclusion that it can develop their speaking skill and help them evaluate their partners. Their task was to speak on the topic 2 minutes using topic vocabulary. Teacher works with non-digital natives (less able students) in the following ways:

 -Supports these students and asks to work with digital natives when it is necessary. Also, it can be given the manual where it is written each steps that they should do. For instance, 

1. Record the video. Select the record button on the bottom of the camera to start and pause the camera. Then speak on the following topic 2 mins:

Describe a historical figure whom you know about.
 You should say:

who he/she is/was
 how he/she is famous
 where and when he/she lived
 and explain his/her contribution to the world.

1. Review the video. Trim, rearrange, or add more video clips. ...
2. Submit your video!

As for digital natives, it is given specific plan to follow with fixed time. Then kindly asks them to give feedback for other students. It can encourage more-able students to work on it and find other functions of this tool.There are so many challenges that students might face during working with Flipgrid app. It helps students discuss with others and give feedback to each other. In this way student can post videos of their questions for the expert to answer at a convenient time in a video response. For the first time, it might be difficult to work with it because students should be able to register and get used to this tool.

In conclusion, vocabulary is the main tool for students to use English effectively. It represents one of the most important skills necessary for teaching and learning a foreign language. It is the basis for the development of all the other skills like Reading comprehension, Listening comprehension, speaking, writing, spelling, and pronunciation. In general, the following positive results of our work can be highlighted:

• enrichment of vocabulary and grammatical structure of students' speech; teaching the norms of the language and their use in speech;

• formation of communicative competence and development of a linguistic personality, improvement of communication skills;

• development of the main types of speech activity: speaking, writing, listening and reading;

• development of thinking and the formation of processes of mental activity (analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalization) by means of language used in speech.

Thus, the goals and objectives of the research have been achieved, the efficiency of mastering the material has increased, as well as the quality of students' knowledge.