Use of ICT tools in English Vocabulary teaching for primary students in Hong Kong

Recently, due to technology advancements, various information communication technology (ICT) tools have been developed for English learning and teaching. The incorporation of ICT tools in teaching English has great potential in that it enables teachers to design new, previously inconceivable pedagogical tasks rather than making substitutions for traditional teaching methods. This paper aimed to demonstrate the design and implementation of ICT-mediated tasks to teach English vocabulary in primary EFL contexts in Hong Kong. Five different ICT tools were chosen for the development of classroom tasks for 5th grade English lessons. The rationales for the activities and the selected ICT tools were discussed. The effectiveness of learning the target language was analyzed through observations, focus group interviews and the performance of students in different target tasks. Results of this study have provided evidence of primary EFL students’ increased motivation and performance in speaking and writing with ICT. It is suggested that the design of pedagogical tasks should consider the characteristics and functionalities facilitated by the ICT tools, as well as the objectives of learning.

Keywords:

Information Communication Technology , English Learning , English Teaching , Vocabulary Teaching