Technology in ELT: English Teachers Investigate Animoto and Fotobabble

Abstract

Because of being socially interactive, portable and multimodal, the Internet has had an impact on the field of foreign language education (Warschauer, 2001), and Web 2.0 tools have become integral parts of our everyday teaching. Thus, the aims of this study are twofold: On the one hand, it aims to introduce Animoto and Fotobabble as free Web 2.0 tools that can easily be adapted for English language teaching (ELT) purposes. Throughout the paper, the use of Animoto and Fotobabble in ELT is illustrated through sample activities incorporating these tools. On the other hand, the study also has the objective to reveal the attitudes of twelve university level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors towards the use of these tools in ELT. To collect data regarding their attitudes, the participants were distributed via e-mail an informative document including an introduction to these tools, tutorials on how these tools work and sample Animoto and Fotobabble slides. They were then asked to write their reflections on whether these platforms would be good for learning/teaching English and what possibilities or activities English teachers could use them for. The collected qualitative data was analyzed by means of content analysis, and it was revealed that the study participants mostly held positive attitudes towards the use of these platforms in ELT, and could think of teaching activities incorporating these platforms. Also, it was found that although the majority gave positive comments, there were a few instructors sharing their concerns about their application in ELT. It is believed that such studies dealing with the use of new technologies in ELT are likely to lead to a more effective English learning/teaching process.