The E-learning platform Moodle as a major shift in the way of teaching and learning grammar

Tucumán

Jornada; 2º Jornadas de Actualización para Profesores de Inglés. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; 2010

Universidad Nacional de Tucumán

Educationalists, researchers and administrators have recognised that the introduction of new technologies into educational institutions calls for a change in teaching patterns. In this context, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are ubiquitous in contemporary society and permeate almost all forms of human interaction. Their presence and usage have brought about changes of paradigms in many different spheres, especially in education. ICTs provide teachers with many interesting tools that can be used to improve the teaching and learning process. In this context, some applications such as the e-learning platform Moodle allow teachers to provide students with material of different sorts and to interact with them in real-time. They also allow teachers to follow the evolution of the learning process and to know the performance of each student in specific tasks. E-learning platforms (also known as a virtual learning environment (VLE) are especially useful when teaching English. More specifically, in the field of grammar Moodle offers a wide variety of tools and resources which facilitate both the learning and teaching process. Thus, in the first part of this presentation we will outline the main features of the e-learning platform Moodle as an innovative teaching tool. In the second part, we will introduce different ways in which the use of Moodle allows for more self-directed and self-regulated learning in the grammar class when teaching English as a foreign language; thus, we will offer a range of activities, methodological choices and materials that EFL teachers can make use of in today´s classrooms to free the teaching and learning of grammar from the limitations and constraints of the traditional class.