Abstract
This chapter investigates students' comprehension of the alphabet and its accompanying vocabulary, using an ICT-oriented teaching approach that is based upon Van Hiele's levels of geometric thought. The participating sample consisted of Greek students attending the second grade of primary school in Crete. The sample was divided into two groups, which were distributed among an experimental and a control group. The control group was taught following the traditional instruction, according to the pedagogical principles of Curriculum for the second grade of primary school. The experimental group was taught through an ICT-oriented intervention based upon Van Hiele's levels. The results of the research will assist greatly in achieving a more thorough understanding of the instruction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and possible implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), to maximize its effectiveness.
TopIntroduction
The integration of ICT into primary education can play an essential role in achieving the objectives of the first and second-grade curriculum in all sectors and subjects if supported by developmentally appropriate software applications (Haugland, 1999; Lee, 2009). Research focusing on best practices for the integration of technology in Early Childhood Education (ECE) has shown that the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can lead to improvements in engagement, motivation, insistence, curiosity and attention of children of preschool and primary school age (Fokides & Mastrokoukou, 2018; Feehan, Shamir, & Yoder 2017; Keong, Horani, & Daniel, 2005; Schacter & Jo, 2017). Progress in digital technologies and technological devices dramatically increases the tools available to teachers and students, including primary education (Mango, 2015; Zaranis & Valla, 2017). Also, tablets have three new features (Kucirkova, 2014) with the ability to make a positive difference in initial training: they are portable and lightweight, they eliminate the need for separate input devices, such as the mouse and keyboard, and they host a series of apps, many of which have a child-friendly intuitive design. Regarding the pedagogical use of tablets in primary education, recent studies have concluded that tablets may be able to function as a valuable tool for educational use (Fokides & Atsikpasi, 2017; Fokides & Mastrokoukou, 2018), especially in learning mathematical concepts (Papadakis, Kalogiannakis, & Zaranis, 2018) which are currently correlated with the procedures of learning and acquisition of a second language (Bossé, Bayaga, Ringler, Fountain, & Young, 2018; Edmonds-Wathen, Owens, & Bino, 2019; Prior, Katz, Mahajna, & Rubinsten, 2015; Stacey, 2016). Hence, taking all the above into consideration, the authors propose an English language teaching (ELT) method, based upon an already existent method of geometric thought, reinforced with the principles of blended learning.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Blended Learning: a style of education in which students learn via electronic and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching.
ECE: Early childhood education is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight.
Tablets computers: A small portable computer that accepts input directly on to its screen rather than via a keyboard or mouse.
ELT: ELT is the teaching of English to people whose first language is not English. ELT is an abbreviation for 'English Language Teaching.
ICTs: Stands for “Information and Communication Technologies.” ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication mediums.
Van Hiele’s Levels: The Van Hiele model is a theory that describes how students can learn geometry and it is divided into levels.
Primary School: A school for children between the ages of about five and eleven.