USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

Harry Tapia

I often hear it said that teachers of English can find everything they need for their
teaching tasks on the Internet. A well-tried way of saving time is to make use of gateways or
entry points, such as englishclub.com and tefl.net which provide teachers with ready-to-use
materials for any lesson. The aim of this paper is to show the qualities of both virtual entry
points so as to help teachers who are overwhelmed by their work. First, I will explain the
characteristics of englishclub.com listing the pros in this webpage. Second, I will give details of
tefl.net focusing on the layout and the advantages in using this gateway.

The first gateway of the high quality is englishclub.com (http://www.englishclub.com).

Don't be intimidated by the apparently overwhelming homepage and its optimized layout.
Instead study the page at your leisure. It has a clear system. In the center of the homepage,
you will see clickable icons depicting buildings. In the two columns to the far left and right
respectively, you will find more links. Click the various alternatives and see what is on offer. If
you know what you are looking for you can use the website's own internal search engine at the
top of the page. If you want a quick overview of the contents, you can browse the two scrolling
menus located just underneath the advertising window beneath the website logo. One of the
menus is for learners, the other one is for teachers.

Once you have learned to navigate the website, you will find increasingly more useful
material. A few examples: there are exercises on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation,
information on different types of technical language such as Business English and study
opportunities at schools abroad, ready-made lesson plans, a discussion forum for teachers, as
well as an archive of both theoretical and practical articles published in the ESL Progress
Newsletter, an electronic journal that you can subscribe to free of charge. A great advantage is
that the layout of the exercises is planned in such a way that they can be printed out
straightaway for use in the classroom.

Another useful gateway is tefl.net (http://www.tefl.net), the layout of which reminds

one of englishclub.com. The explanation is that both sites are maintained by one and the same
person, Josef Essberger. Essberger is resident at Cambridge, UK, and the language on his
websites is therefore mainly - but not exclusively - British English.
 A big advantage is that the websites are not tied to any specific organization. With the
exception of a selection of electronic books, games and CD-roms, all the material is accessible
free of charge. This also holds true for the TEFL Inspire Newsletter, the electronic journal of
TEFL.net. Just like EnglishClub.com, TEFL.net contains a large selection of materials and
possibilities for the language teacher. Many of the links on the two websites in fact make use of
one and the same database, which is a practical solution. The most important difference is that
TEFL.net is practically intended for teachers only, which becomes clear by a quick scan of the
links. In consequence there is a wealth of information on language courses as well as academic
degrees. If you like, you can apply for a job abroad, or buy your own language school.

In conclusion, as you must have realized both gateways will provide teachers with the
tools necessary to access the information, exercises, worksheets, and others effectively and
readily to be printed out for immediate use in the classroom. It is important that we consider
web pages such as these in order to incorporate technology into our lessons and, subsequently,
improve the quality of our lessons.

USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

 Harry Tapia

OUTLINE

Thesis Statement: A well-tried way of saving time is to make use of gateways or entry points,
such as englishclub.com and tefl.net which provide teachers with ready-to-use materials for
any lesson.

Paragraph 1:

Topic: Englishclub.com

1. optimized layout.
2. clear system.
3. two columns - various alternatives on offer.
4. website's own internal search engine
5. menus located just underneath the advertising window

Paragraph 2
Topic: characteristics
1. more useful material.
2. exercises on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation,
3. ready-made lesson plans, forum theoretical and practical articles
4. layout of the exercises

Paragraph 3
Topic: tefl.net
1. Josef Essberger. Essberger, resident at Cambridge
2. British English and American English

Paragraph 4
Topic: characteristics
1. Not tied to any specific organization.
2. Accessible material free of charge.
3. TEFL Inspire Newsletter, the electronic journal of TEFL.net.

MAYOR UNIVERSITY OF SAN ANDRS

 FACULTY OF HUMANISTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS

CAREER OF LINGUISTICS

ESSAY: USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE EFL CLASROOM

Essay submitted as an assignment for Expression Oral y Escrita II

BY: HARRY TAPIA YANA

TUTOR: M.A. ZUZEL CARIAGA DE ALVAREZ

LA PAZ BOLIVIA

November, 2011

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harmer, J., 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman. Pearson Education
Limited

Harmer, J., 2000. Use the Internet in ELT. Longman. Pearson Education Limited

Dudeney, G., 2007. How to teach English with Technology. Longman. Pearson Education
Limited.

http://edition.englishclub.com/category/tefl-articles/. TEFL articles on the use of technology in

the classroom