INTERNET BASED ACTIVITIES
учебно-методическое пособие по английскому языку по теме

Селиванова Е.Е.

INTERNET

BASED ACTIVITIES

ВВЕДЕНИЕ

Преимущество внедрения Интернет-технологий в процесс обучения иностранному языку в настоящий момент уже не вызывает сомнений и не требует дополнительных доказательств. За последнее десятилетие было написано немало работ, в которых исследователи раскрывали позитивное влияние различных форм синхронной и асинхронной Интернет-коммуникации - электронной почты, чата, форумов, веб-конференций и т.п. - на формирование иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции обучающихся. Непосредственно ресурсы сети Интернет являются бесценной и необъятной базой для создания информационно-предметной среды, образования и самообразования людей, удовлетворения их профессиональных и личных интересов и потребностей. Экономическое развитие России и Федеральный национальный проект «Образование» постепенно делают Интернет повседневной реальностью для большинства российских школьников. Однако одно только наличие доступа к Интернет-ресурсам не является гарантом быстрого и качественного языкового образования. В научной литературе существует немало описаний того, как неверная, или, точнее сказать, методически неграмотно построенная работа учащихся с Интернет-ресурсами способствовала формированию у них не только ложных стереотипов и обобщений о культуре страны изучаемого языка, но даже расизма и ксенофобии. Именно поэтому на современном этапе обучения иностранным языкам, когда используются новейшие Интернет-технологии, возникает острая необходимость в разработке новых учебных Интернет-ресурсов, направленных на комплексное формирование и развитие:

1. аспектов иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции во всем многообразии ее компонентов (языкового, грамматического, социокультурного, компенсаторного, учебно-познавательного);
2. коммуникативно-когнитивных умений осуществлять поиск и отбор, производить обобщение, классификацию, анализ и синтез полученной информации;
3. коммуникативных умений представлять и обсуждать результаты работы с ресурсами сети Интернет;
4. умений использовать ресурсы сети Интернет для образования и самообразования с целью знакомства с культурно-историческим наследием различных стран и народов, а также выступать в качестве представителя родной культуры, страны, города и т.п.;
5. умений использовать ресурсы сети Интернет для удовлетворения своих информационных и образовательных интересов и потребностей.

Методические возможности пяти видов учебных Интернет-ресурсов- хотлиста, мультимедийного скрэпбука, трежа ханта, сабджект сэмпла и вебквеста многогранны . Все они могут быть использованы в учебном процессе при обучении иностранному языку для решения определенных учебных задач.

Терминологический аппарат методики обучения иностранным языкам с использованием современных Интернет-технологий пока еще находится на стадии становления. Это и объясняет тот факт, что нередко в научных исследованиях для обозначения одних и тех же понятий и явлений авторы используют разные термины. Наиболее широко используемым в научной литературе является термин Интернет-технологии. Под ним в методике обучения иностранным языкам следует понимать совокупность форм, методов, способов, приемов обучения иностранному языку с использованием ресурсов сети Интернет. Иными словами, Интернет-технологии - использование сети Интернет в обучении иностранному языку.

В дидактическом плане сеть Интернет включает в себя, по меньшей мере, два основных компонента: формы телекоммуникации и информационные ресурсы. К наиболее распространенным формам телекоммуникации (т.е. коммуникации посредством Интернет-технологий) относятся электронная почта, чат, форум, ICQ, видео-, веб-конференции и т.п. Первоначально они были созданы для реального общения между людьми, находящимися на расстоянии друг от друга и лишь потом стали использоваться в учебных целях в обучении иностранному языку. Большинству студентов и преподавателей не понаслышке знакомы многие из этих форм Интернет-общения. В научной литературе существует огромный корпус исследований, посвященных использованию различных форм телекоммуникации в обучении иностранному языку.

Информационные ресурсы сети Интернет содержат текстовый, аудио-и визуальный материал по различной тематике на разных языках. Однако для того, чтобы учащиеся не захлебнулись в изобилии информации разного содержания и разного качества, а наиболее продуктивно использовали ее для удовлетворения образовательных и профессиональных интересов и потребностей, появилась необходимость в разработке специальных учебных Интернет-пособий, направленных на обучение учащихся работать с ресурсами сети Интернет.

Использование в учебном процессе как форм телекоммуникации, так и ресурсов сети Интернет способствует развитию познавательной деятельности студентов и достижению основных целей обучения иностранному языку.

В качестве иллюстрации предлагается несколько заданий, разработанных автором, чтобы у студента сложилось общее представление о различных видах Интернет-ресурсов и их использования.

PART 1

OBJECTIVES FOR USING THE INTERNET

• To motivate learners and make reading an enjoyable experience
• To provide learners with stimulating, informative and relevant reading task
• To encourage both intensive and extensive reading
• To provide exposure to a variety of texts and to promote an interest in reading different kinds of texts.
• To develop the reading skills required in reading for global comprehension, reading for detail, drawing inferences and to develop critical and thinking skills
• To develop reading strategies, such as predicting, skimming scanning guessing meanings from context
• To familiarize learners with the internet and give them some exposure to the vast store of knowledge available, thus preparing them for future more academic research
• To facilitate cooperative learning, as this enhances the communicative aspects of reading classes and involves the learners in using all the other language skills.

RATIONALISM  FOR INTERNET BASED READING ACTIVITES

• Authentic Language used for authentic purposes
• The Internet is the largest, most complete library in the world unlimited in scope
• Exposure to a variety of genres and texts
• New literacy requires ability to find information on the Internet - a study found that the Internet has become established as an information and communication resource
• Recent research of  the Internet use found that 77% of Internet users use the Internet to search for general information, 67% for reading, 69% for surfing. The third most common assignment in teacher directed computer use was information gathering on the WWW
• The Internet medium is hypertext which in non linear and unlike print, can be virtually infinite
• The Internet is multimedia and interactive requiring active processing on the part of the learner, stimulating both global and specific areas of the brain
• The Internet offers learners the opportunity to relate to one person or to many
• Internet based reading activities can lead to development of critical thinking skills as outline in Blooms taxonomy of cognitive processes
• Learners are more highly motivated and challenged when using the Internet to complete assignments
• The Internet is fun, provides the learners with a relaxed, non threaten atmosphere in which the affective barrier is lowered so that language input can become useful

PART 2

UNIT 1

MASS MEDIA

1. Working in groups of three.

 Each of you should visit one of the web sites: of The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or USA Today, to get an idea about the electronic edition of one of the three most influential American newspapers.

The New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com

The Wall Street Journal – http://www.wsj.com

USA Today – http://usatoday.com

While examining the web site, get ready to answer the following questions:

• Does the web site give readers/first visitors a clear idea of what kind of newspaper it is, what issues it covers?
• What is the range of topics/what are the rubrics that can be found in the electronic edition of the newspaper?
• Is all the information available free of charge, or are there any parts of the site which are accessible by paid subscription only?
• (Write your own question about the web site here!)

2 .Read the text below about the New Yorker.

 Compare your guesses about the magazine with the information provided in the text.

 Search the "New Yorker" website

www.newyorker.com

for the information about the current issue.

• What topics / problems / issues does it cover?
• What is your impression of the magazine?
• What articles would you read/recommend to read in the current issue? Why?

3. Visit the web site of Ms. Magazine

 http://www.msmagazine.com.

Study the table of contents of the current issue.

 Note whether your suppositions about the editorial content of the magazine are true. Comment on the range of topics covered in the current issue of Ms. magazine.

Focus on: Letter from the Editor, National and Global News, and Cover Story.

How would you judge the overall quality of the magazine?

Would you call it a typical women's magazine? Why / Why not?

4. PROJECT WORK

Step 1.

Study the information about other existing ’zines in the website of the Wikipedia encyclopedia

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine. Draw your attention to the representatives of ‘zines in Great Britain.

Step 2.

Choose an offbeat topic to start your own ’zine up.

Step 3.

Describe the target audience and the content of the ’zine.

Step 4.

In a group, share your ideas of the new ’zines. While listening to your groupmates choose one ’zine you would definitely like to read and the one you would never open. Comment on what you have found most / least attractive in the zines’ conceptions.

UNIT 2

 FAMILIES

1. READ the text giving a sense of  Family: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0101/ijse/ijse0101.htm

 If you have some difficulties with the new words, study the vocabulary below VOCABULARY: bedrock – основа;

household – семья, члены семьи; 

invariably – неизменно; 

adoption – усыновление;

step-parents – отчим или мачеха; 

tapestry – гобелен, мозаика;

diverse – разнообразный

2. Nowadays the institution of the family in America as well as in Russia faces a lot of problems. Can you mention some of them? Why do they exist? According to some modern journalists' point of view, the most prevalent pressing family problems are: devaluation of family values, the reluctance to have children, physical abuse, unfaithfulness and the increasing number of divorces as a result.

READ the following information and choose the view that is the closest to your own one:

3.  READ some of the views on the role of parents / grandparents in child's life.

Agree or disagree inserting a mark "+" into the table.

1) http://usinfo.state.gov. /ginzler.htm

2) http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0101/ijse/grand.htm

3) http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0101/ijse/grand.htm

4)http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0101/ijse/besharov.htm

UNIT 3

FAMILY TRADITIONS

 Marriage and Weddings

1. Brainstorm together the Russian and British Family Traditions you know. Fill in the chart. Consult Wikipedia resources to check yourselves.

Whose list is longer? What column of the chart is longer?

2. READ the following information.

Marriage and Weddings

"Until Death Do Us Part"

     Great Britain is "a melting pot" of cultures each with their own unique marriage customs and traditions. Marriage is a social institution that defines the relationship between a man and a woman. It defines in legal terms the obligations of spouses to each other and to their children. This forms the basis for also defining the rights of the children born into the family created by the marriage relationship. 

It takes 18-21 years to raise a child to adulthood. The level of commitment required between a man and a woman to sustain a relationship and a home for child rearing is significant. A permanent loving relationship between spouses, and between spouses and children, provides the best nurturing environment for continuation of society.

There has been a set of customs and traditions generally accepted as common to marriage  unless the marriage is a common law marriage.

Dating is the accepted pre-engagement practice between couples. Families generally establish requirements for the details of acceptable activities, time of day, single or group dating etc. The age, personality and maturity of dating children generally drive the conditions set by parents if the children are still at home.

Love between the couples is believed to be a prerequisite to marriage.

Proposal of marriage by the man and acceptance by the woman results in an engagement. Couples enter into marriage with the belief that the relationship is permanent. The engagement is marked by the gift of an engagement ring from the man proposing to the woman accepting.

A marriage license is required by all states including a blood test and a prescribed waiting period.

A wedding rehearsal dinner is usually celebrated between the immediate families of spouses in the late afternoon the day before the wedding. The groom's family traditionally provides for this celebration.

A bachelor  party is held for the groom and usually sponsored by the best man the night before the wedding. 

A bridal shower is usually sponsored by the bride's maid. It has become very popular now for the bride's maid to also sponsor a bachelorette party for the bride. 

The wedding ceremony is most often performed as part of a religious ceremony each with its own specific customs and traditions. On the day of the wedding the groom does not see the bride until the actual ceremony. As custom would have it from Victorian times: the bride wears something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe.

Rings are exchanged to mark the permanent commitment of the new spouses to each other.

A wedding reception is usually held after the ceremony for all family and friends to celebrate. The bride's family usually provides for this celebration.

A honeymoon is taken by the bride and groom to a secret place where they go off for their first night together in marriage. It is thought that the honeymoon custom was established to avoid the European custom Charivari where family and friends banged on pots and pans outside the couple's bedroom their first night of marriage.

______________________________________________________________________

VOCABULARY: spouse – супруг(а), супружеская чета; to raise (a child) – растить, воспитывать ребенка; adulthood – взрослая жизнь; sustain (a relationship) – поддерживать отношения; sponsor – поручитель, крестный отец (мать); permanent – постоянный, долгосрочный, commitment – заключение союза.

3. On the basis of the text above, draw a chart illustrating pre-marriage and marriage etiquette. Tell what marriage customs and traditions are accepted both in GB and  in Russia.

UNIT 4

CHILDREN. TO HAVE OR NOT TO HAVE?

1. Look at the pictures of the following families.

1. Work in groups of two to four. Describe (or better act out) some possible relationships in these families. Each group may take any picture they like.

2. Which type of family is the nearest to yours?

How many children would you like to have now?

And in ten years' time?

2.        a) Try to dispute the question: "What makes a family?"

b) READ the interview that describes the relationship between parents, grandparents, and         children (grandchildren). Argue or support the interviewee's position.

        http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0101/ijse/hutter.htm 

3. Study the vocabulary and discuss the problems raised in the interview.

4. Do you agree with the phrase: "Successful parents and successful children often result from an understanding of the different positions and perspectives they maintain"? Prove your opinion using the vocabulary above.

5. Remember some situations when you quarreled with your parents. How could you solve the problem? Who managed to do it? What was the reason for the quarrel? Who was the initiator?

3. The poem quoted below is probably the best summary of how important our interaction with children is to their health and well-being for life. The message is one of consistent caring.

a) You will find the beginnings of the lines in the first column and the jumbled endings in the second one. Mix and match them to restore the text of the original verses.

Eg. If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

b) Now read the original poem “Children Learn What They Live” (by Dorothy Law Nolte) and check whether your version matches the one you have read.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Dorothy Law Nolte

UNIT 5

TEENAGERS.GENERATION GAP

1. GENERATION X is a term used broadly in popular culture. It generally consists of persons born in the 1960s and 1980s up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. In the USA, this generation`s parents are the Baby Boomers (post – WWII) and the Silent Generation.

GENERATION Y is a term used to describe those born from the 1990s to 2003. Perhaps a good way to define the boundaries of this generation in the United States are by the September 11th attacks; people who were not yet born in 2001 or were too young to remember and understand what happened on that day would be grouped into the next generation. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation X/Y 

 In Russia, the young of the 80s-90s are sometimes called the “Pepsi Generation”.

2. Discuss: How are the teens from these generations different? What do they have in common? Why? What does the word “Pepsi” imply in this context? Is it only a popular soft drink? How would you define modern teens?

Negotiate your ideas in groups and make a presentation of your conclusions. 

3. Take pictures of Russian teens. Try to choose those which could encourage discussion. Then let your groupmates guess why you took this photo and what your message is. Display your stories on the class board.At home you can search www.google.com search system for photos, bring them to the classroom and display for everybody to discuss them.

4.Study the web-page TEENPRENEUR that can be found on the web-site www.blackenterprise.com, and answer the following questions:

1. What is the aim of this web page?

2. Who is the target audience of this web page?

3. What kind of information can be found on this page?

4. What sections can be of most interest for African-American high school seniors or college students?

5. What information do you think you will find on the web sites in the section RESOURCES?

6. Are there any advertisements? Do you think that the information presented there is going to attract parents and their children? Why? What attracted you?

7. Do you like the web-page TEENPRENEUR? Does it lack some important information? What would you like to change?

8. Do you think we have this kind of web-sites for Russian teens? Search the web and try to find some of them. Present them to the whole group. Are they better than TEENPRENEUR? Why or why not? Present a critique to the class.

5. A major problem for many teenagers is who they can ask for
advice when they need it: parents, teachers, the youth club
leader, a sister or a brother or a friend. Sometimes, if it is
a very personal problem, teenagers write to a magazine. Read
the following letter and give your advice.

I'm 15. My parents got divorced five years ago. My father drank a lot and made life miserable. Although he made good money, we were always broke. After they got divorced, I had to stay with my father, although my mother had custody. She had no money and she wouldn't pay child support. When Mum met another man, I was invited to live with them. Now she is thinking of leaving him. She has told me I'll have to go back to my father. I will not put myself in that position. What should I do? (Tom, 15).

If you or your children are deeply interested in the problems of the youth you can share you opinion with the chatmates of the magazine on its forum site:

 www.seventeen.com

You can also refer to:

www.generationyouthissues.org.uk

UNIT 6

House and Home

Houses are a visible record of human values, political ideas, historical settlement, and community development. This record is reflected in the types of houses built during a particular period of time, by certain groups of people, or in a certain area of the country.

1. Read the article from

http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny

and  characterise the types of houses in a cluster:

2. Working with the website

www.house.com

sum up the information in the following table:

3. Read the lyrics of the song ”The Old House”

http://d21c.com/sombra5/oldhouse.html

               Share the following ideas:

• What is the song about?
• What does the house mean to the old man?
• In what way are the man and his house alike?
• What feelings does the song awake in you?
• What does your home mean to you?

4. DESIGN

The history of design styles gives a clear picture of where they came from and how they developed into the mainstream of housing. Major trends can be researched further at the following site :

http//www.house.com

and in many other resources described in the media:

localcolorart.master.com 

- types of houses;

www.google.com

- British and American town houses.        

Список литературы.

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