The E-learning Platform Moodle as a Major Shift in the Way of Teaching and Learning Grammar

Tucumán

Jornada; Segundas Jornadas de Actualización para Profesores de Inglés; 2010

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)

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 learning process. In this context, some applications like the e learning platform Moodle allow teachers to provide the students with material of different sorts, as well as 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.