Implementing CALL in the Malaysian Secondary Classroom

If you had the chance would you utilize ICT (CALL) in your teaching?
Definitely. With utilizing ICT (CALL), teaching becomes more interesting. Students nowadays are not like those students we had years ago. Nowadays students are smarter and some of them are even more advanced than the teachers. Teachers need to find materials and activities that can challenge students’ mind and abilities in learning particular subjects. With the help of CALL, not only the students, but teachers also become more creative and competent.

How do you think it would help (or would not help) your students to learn English?
Through the right utilization of CALL, and teaching becomes more interesting, students will become more attracted and motivated to learn the subjects being taught.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing CALL in the Malaysian schools?
There are obviously a lot of advantages of implementing CALL in the Malaysian schools. Some of the advantages are the lesson taught becomes livelier or exciting to students. This boosts students' interest in learning. Other than that, teachers and students can get a lot of authentic materials to be used in the classroom. This helps both teachers and students become more creative and innovative. Last but not least, the implementation of CALL saves the classroom time. Teaching and learning can be extended outside of classroom hours.
As for the disadvantage, perhaps students will easily get distracted thus lose their focus in learning. There will be time where students browse other things and neglecting the fact that they need to browse only the webpage instructed by the teacher.

What are the barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom?
There are several barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom. Since CALL involved computers, specially designed software and most of the time, connection to the internet, the implementation of CALL is quite costly.
Knowledge and skills in ICT are also vital to ensure the success of CALL in the Malaysian classroom. But some teachers are not equipped with the basic knowledge and skills of ICT since there are always new terms as well as gadgets coming in. Therefore, the lack of knowledge and skills of the teachers may hinder the success of CALL.

Other comments/thoughts/ideas on this topic
For me, the implementation of CALL in the classroom is a very smart move to make teaching and learning become more interesting and effective. Even though the cost to implement CALL in Malaysian classroom is quite costly, but the benefits that we will attain in the future are priceless. Hence, to make sure the implementation of CALL become a success, all parties including the government, ministry of education, schools, teachers, parents, students and all, must make efforts to move toward it. The implementation of CALL must also be planned carefully to ensure it leads to a better future of the country!

WWW LESSON PLAN

LET’S RECYCLE

Level : Form 1
Time : 50 minutes
Aims : To find specific information on a website; to practice sequence connectors
associated with recycling

Technical Requirements :
One computer for a pair of students with an Internet connection and a Web Browser.

Websites:
www.recycling-guide.org.uk, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling

Preparations:

1. Locate sites related to recycling.
2. Check the whether the sites are suitable with the students’ level.
3. Prepare worksheet according to the information on the sites.

Procedure:
1. Show students a symbol of recycle and ask them if they recognize the symbol. Ask students if they know what is recycle.
2. Ask students to name things that are recyclable. Write down the list of recyclable things on board. …
3. Hands out worksheets to students. Ask if they can find answers to any of the questions in the worksheet. Students are to write answers that they think they know. Tell students that they can find the answers online.
4. Ask students to locate the chosen sites. Ask students to complete the worksheet according to the information in the site.
5. Randomly selects students to give their answers to the questions and make corrections if necessary.
6. After students completed the first task in the worksheet, ask students to do the second task that is related to sequence connectors.
7. Ask students to choose any material that can be recycled and use sequence connectors to give directions on how to recycle the chosen material. Students are to find ways of recycling the material in the sites.
8. Select students to read out loud their answers and check their answers. Make corrections if necessary.
9. Students can locate other sites related to recycling on their own.