Communication Skills and Reflection Practice in Smart English Teaching and Learning Environment: A Case Study

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu

doi:10.3991/ijet.v15i17.15235

Abstract

The development of information technology (IT) has made a lot of positive changes in language teaching approaches and made significant innovations in educational quality. In learning a language generally and specific skills in particular, it is essential for learners to reflect on what they experienced. Through reflection, teachers and students are able not only to look back to the past happenings, but also to make some necessary changes. Thanks to the support from technology devices, reflective practice (RP) in teaching and learning has become more convenient, especially in smart education environment. This paper is aimed at investigating the evaluation and perception of students on the effects and challenges of using information technology to enhance communication skills and Reflection Practice in teaching and learning English speaking skills and recommending some technology-assisted teaching strategies. In order to examine this, a set of questionnaires, interviews and reflection journals were administered to 80 English major students at Hanoi Law University and six teachers who have taught English speaking skill. The findings showed that using technology-driven teaching approach in RP helped learners achieve more benefits for learning English speaking.

Highlights

In the Internet era, human beings have constantly created breakthroughs thanks to the prominent benefits of high-tech devices
When asked about the frequency of using information technology (IT) for the activities of learning in classroom, only 2 participants answered that they never use IT for reflection in speaking class. 13% chose the option “seldom” while 60% respondents said that IT is sometimes used in reflective practice (RP) and their teachers tried apply it as often as possible. 20% considered IT as a frequent teaching tool in classroom for RP
The teachers interviewed assumed that their students in the previous speaking courses do not spend much time accessing to the Internet in order to enhance RP and communication ability because they preferred to work in pair or group directly to practice their speaking lesson and assess their performance

Summary

Introduction

In the Internet era, human beings have constantly created breakthroughs thanks to the prominent benefits of high-tech devices. The digital world we are living in is changing rapidly and the approaches to teaching and learning need renovating to meet the requirements of integration and globalization. All [1] asserts that anyone who is interested in improving the quality of foreign language teaching and learning in the 21st century needs to acknowledge that learning activities based on computer technology have helped to perfect the process of grasping, absorbing the language of learners in the most effective way. In the Covid-19 outbreak context, it is imperative to embed IT in education with the online teaching and learning approaches to reduce the spread and negative consequences of the pandemic. Human beings need to be aware and utilize the various online sources efficaciously to maintain a safe education environment

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