Languages ICT: ICT news update

ARCHIVED APRIL 2005

Becta ICT advice

Becta maintains a comprehensive overview of the potential of ICT in education and gives extensive support to teachers throughout the curriculum. For MFL teachers, there are different articles and research reports which can be downloaded and read offline. For example, in the BECTA ImpaCT2 Study (2002) on the impact of ICT in teaching and learning, the research found that there were ‘strong indications of a positive association in GCSE modern foreign languages (MFL) at Key Stage 4’ and it suggested that ‘high ICT use in modern foreign languages can help to raise performance by the equivalent of 0.82 of a GCSE grade’. Other articles include ‘What the research says about using ICT in Modern Foreign Languages’ and ‘The organisation and use of ICT in the teaching of modern foreign languages in the primary school’.

The Becta ICT Advice site focuses on the application of ICT to subject teaching. Every term, there are two online magazines for MFL teachers at primary and secondary school level, including a collection of articles, web reviews and news from the world of ICT in education. Teachers can also use the ICT in the curriculum area of the Ask an expert service to ask any question they may have on the use of ICT for language teaching. In addition, there is a month-long Ask an Expert spotlight feature every year focusing on languages. The most recent was in January 2005, focusing on 'Exploiting ICT-based authentic materials'. As well as background reading materials, over 30 questions emailed in by MFL teachers were answered by a panel of experienced members of the language teaching community, which can be accessed in the Archives. There is also a growing bank of guidance and articles in the Teaching and learning - MFL section.

To keep up with new additions to the ICT Advice website and other ICT news, teachers can subscribe to the ICT Advice Alert, a monthly email newsletter delivered direct to your email inbox, registration is free.

Links

‘What the research says about using ICT in Modern Foreign Languages’
http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_mfl.pdf

‘The organisation and use of ICT in the teaching of modern foreign languages in the primary school’
http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/FinalR4_ICT_MFL_primary.pdf

ImpaCT2 Study: ‘General report on the impact of ICT in teaching and learning (2002)’
http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/impact2

Digital Resource Survey
http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/PIP/online/bectasurvey.asp