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ESL: Internet teaching (III)
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IV. Provide necessary support
Mindful of the complexities which can arise in Internet usage, teachers need to provide support sufficient to prevent students from being overwhelmed by difficulties. This kind of support can take numerous forms: creating detailed handouts that students can refer to when class is finished and the teacher's personal help is not accessible; building technology training sessions into the class schedule, not only in the beginning but on an ongoing basis; working with the computer centre to set up log-on systems and other procedures which are as simple and intuitive as possible; assigning students to work in pairs or groups, both in and out of the lab, so that they can provide assistance to each other; providing details to the students about how and when they can get assistance from technology specialists or others on campus outside of class; and being available to help students at times when they are most likely to need it.
V. Involve students in decisions
Network-based teaching involves a number of special complexities. It will be difficult, indeed, for a teacher to be fully aware of the impact of these complexities without regular consultation with students. This might involve anonymous surveys, class discussions, or similar means of involving students in expressing their opinions about the process of implementing technologies.
Notably favourable is that the nature of computer-mediated communication creates opportunities for more decentred interaction. To fully exploit these opportunities, the teacher must learn to become a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage". A situation which is based on communication between students but in which the students have little say over the topics or outcomes of that communication is not likely to lead to the kind of atmosphere optimal for language learning.
Involving students in determining the class direction does not imply a passive role for teachers. Teachers' contributions in a learner-centred, network-enhanced classroom include co-ordinating group planning, focusing students' attention on linguistic aspects of computer mediated texts, helping students gain metalinguistic awareness of genres and discourses, and assisting students in developing appropriate learning strategies.
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