THE PROBLEMS OF USING THE COMPUTER IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE UK

摘要

The computer technology challenges teachers to think afresh about issues to do with literacy, technology and learning. Compared to traditional teaching methodology, teachers can now use multimedia CD-ROM or the Internet to support their teaching in the classroom. To use such resources to best advantages is likely to generate fresh thinking on pedagogical matters. Despite there is plenty of evidence that students enjoy the use of new technology, some problems exist as well. This paper aims to explore the problems of using the computer as an educational tool in English teaching and learning, particularly improving reading and writing skills for young learners in a secondary level in the UK. This research employed the interview as the research tool and a few student teachers in a university and some English teachers in a secondary school in the UK involved this study. This article investigates the points of view of participants on possible pitfalls of the use of the computer in the English classroom. Issues addressed are what in the opinion of my respondents are the disadvantages of the use of the computer in teaching reading and writing. How do they manage problems and plan activities involving the computer in the teaching of reading and writing? The context of the research is one in which in the UK, the computer is widely used in many subjects in secondary schools. Many teachers have used the computer in their English classrooms. In addition, the pressure from the British government on teachers to use the computer in their work has been increasing. Teachers are now very much officially encouraged to utilize the possibilities the new technology makes available, but they also encounter variety of problems.