- Instruction of English foundation programme using the Ipad at Abu Dhabi Men's College [ADMC]
- Evaluating the impact of Instruction of English through the use of the Ipad at Abu Dhabi Men’s College
- Teaching English Foundations Programme using the IPad at Abu Dhabi Men's College [ADMC]
Background of the study
Technology has augmented learning in the classroom setup in terms of coming up with innovative teaching tools and strategies that have subsequently dealt with emerging challenges in the profession. As such, there exists an extensive body of research on the impacts of traditional computers, laptops and notebooks on the learning experience . There’s however limited information on impact and value of Ipads on learning because the technology is pretty new and is still in its developmental stage. Despite this fact, the introduction of Ipads into the teaching profession has not only generated a lot of talk in social circles but also stirred intellectual curiosity. This research paper shall seek to establish the efficacy of the use of Ipads as tools to teach Emirati students English.
English is the primary language for transnational communication and in a world that has become more like a global village than ever, the necessity of the language by the majority of the world’s populace is increasing by the day. This applies for the entrepreneur, executive, student, teacher, researcher and public servant to mention but a few. This is because English is a gateway to opportunities and resources that are unimaginable without it. Based on this premise it is thus clear that the impact of English on the national and transnational economies is undeniable.
English proficiency in United Arab Emirates is ranked very low and this is according to the Education First English Proficiency test of 2012. The Abu Dhabi Men’s College is located in the United Arab Emirates whose citizens are mainly native Arabic speakers. However, language is used almost everywhere in the streets, the malls, the schools particularly in the universities as they seek to become of the ever growing global village. Prior to joining college, students go through the Foundation Studies Program which is designed to help them meet the standards for the bachelor’s degree programs at the Higher College of Technology.
The foundation program is made up of four levels; the students are taught English at three levels and one level of Mathematics. Passing English with an overall grade of band 5 for their IELTS is a requirement for the students to graduate from the foundation program. In the past, books and tapes were used in the instruction of English. The use of the I pad for instruction of English began in September 2012 in the United Arab Emirates and the Abu Dhabi Men’s college .
In the past studies have been done in order to demonstrate the use of tablet devices in class sets. The use of personal tablet devices has however not been studied in the recent past. Studying the impact of the use of the I pad at Abu Dhabi Men’s College for instruction of English provides insight into not only the merits and demerits of I pads to students but also allows for better understanding into their use for instructing English.
Research Questions
The research will address the following questions
- What are the main benefits and drawbacks/limitations of using the IPad in the teaching of English at Abu Dhabi Men’s College [ADMC]?
-How has the use of Ipad helped English teachers at Abu Dhabi Men’s College in subject delivery?
- How has the IPad affected the integration of all the four skills and competencies [reading, writing, listening and speaking] in language learning at Abu Dhabi Men’s College?
- How has the use of the iPad in language teaching affected the students’ perception of learning at Abu Dhabi Men’s College?
Significance of the study
Many studies are interested in the benefits of I pads in addition to the use of the tablet devices in the classroom set up. At a time when the United Arab Emirates is enforcing the use of English for instruction at all levels of education, an examination into the current methods of instruction is required. As early as 2007, there were plans to introduce the instruction of Math and Science in English in all public schools in United Arab Emirates. At the Higher College of Technology, English is used in the instruction of bachelor’s degrees. It is therefore important to understand the impact of introducing the I pad for instructing the subject. The aims of this study are to study the impact of the I pad in the instruction of English, how the I pad has enhanced interaction between the teachers and the students and how the use of the I pad has changed the perception of students towards learning.
The study shall be conducted at Abu Dhabi Men’s College where a group of students who have been using I pads and teachers who have been instructing English using the I pad will be interviewed. A questionnaire will be filled out as the participants answer the questions and the data obtained will be analyzed.
Theoretical perspectives
A conceptual framework or a theoretical perspective is a set of ideas that explains how a given phenomenon work and its relation to different parts. The theoretical framework provides a foundation for understanding the correlation or the interconnected of ideas, events or components of ideas. The theoretical perspectives that will be applied in this study are based on instructional design and the learning experience.
The How People Learn Model (HPL) is well known framework on instructional design that is based on four areas of learning that need to be maximized in order to enhance the learning experience . Based on the model, learning should be knowledge centered, student centered, community centered and assessment centered. Instruction of a subject ought to be driven by the needs, the attitudes and the skills of the learner. Instruction of a subject should also gear towards helping the students gain more information about the subject. Instruction should also be community centered according to this model and assessment centered in order to receive feedback on the knowledge conveyed. Based on the assumptions of this theory, educational research can be conducted in order to further understand how the learning experience for students of Abu Dhabi Men’s college is impacted by I pads.
Educational research is also geared towards the improvement of learning. Given that this study aims to understand how the I pad (a learning aid) impacts the instruction of English, it is important to understand how information is taken in and stored. The cognitive theory explains the assimilation of information as follows: information is first assimilated through the senses after which some is taken into the working memory while some of it is discarded . The information that is stored in the working memory is interconnected in a manner that can be stored in the long term memory. What goes into the working memory can be manipulated.
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