An analysis of a series of English lessons in a Hong Kong primary school classroom: ways of using ICT and non-ICT activities

Natalie Fong
University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China

This presentation considers the way a teacher made use of ICT and non-ICT activities over a series of English classes comprising a learning unit. It aims to interpret how the teacher selected activities for particular purposes (i.e. ICT activities for some and non-ICT activities for others). By considering the added dimension of continuity across lessons, the analysis reflects upon those aspects of learning which are amplified and those which are lost according to the respective activity types. The overall goal is to consider how technology strengthens certain learning aspects and weakens others.

The dataset consisted of a series of 17 consecutive primary school English lessons which were observed over a two-week period. The first 15 lessons were conducted in a teacher-led classroom, while the last two (Lessons 16 and 17) were double-lessons on group writing tasks which took place in a multi-media Language Centre. Each lesson had its own theme and fitted logically into the learning unit. The unit was divided into four teaching and learning phases, with each phase involving clear learning objectives which enabled students to experience extensive language learning practice within the unit. The series of lessons was designed to begin with reading tasks, to help students build on their language learning experience, to co-construct knowledge, and then to brainstorm ideas to contribute to different types of writing tasks (class, group and individual) while incorporating a variety of English language skills.

The analysis and discussion focuses on changes from one activity or tool to another and how the teacher brought activities together in different learning contexts. To summarize, the teacher was found to make good use of PowerPoint presentations as she systematically controlled the movement of slides. The variety of activities included the recurring and parallel use of slides to do reading, the use of questioning to sustain close teacher-student interaction, the use of computers to do writing, etc. In addition, the teacher effectively integrated computer-assisted functions into different teaching episodes, in particular within the writing phase of the series. Although each of these activities and tools had its own advantages and disadvantages, they were always incorporated purposefully and logically, and provided good cohesion across the unit. It is clearly important to understand how to make quality use of ICT and non-ICT activities in pedagogical contexts to enhance teaching practice.