English Playground

Final project

EdPsy 387 Computer Uses in Education

Eun-Jung Kim
        

    

1.  Project Description 

       This project is designed for children who learn English as a second language or foreign language.  The project consists of the four sub-activities: Practice Alphabet, Learn about animals and colors, Read a storybook, and Mouse movement exercise.

Practice Alphabet

       Learning Alphabet is basic for literacy education. In particularly, for children who are exposed to English for the first time, it is really important to learn it with a fun. So I tried to come up with some pictures and images. It can enhance children to learn Alphabet with beautiful images and pictures.
 
 

Learn about animals and colors.

       Each page of the story consists of a color and an animal concept, in addition to necessary illustrations. Parents/adults should be available when children reading through the story. Through the story’s rhyme and rhythm, children will acquire several basic concepts of colors and animals. After reading the story, children are expected to apply the learned concepts of animals and colors to their daily lives.
 
 

Read a storybook. 

         The book helps children to learn the counting, days and the name of foods. (Apple, pear, cake, ice-cream, …) The book also helps children to go over the life cycles of butterfly. This is very famous predictable book, which can make learners guess what will happen by watching previous page. This book provides students to build their vocabulary and sentence structure by familiar context and repetition and it is really useful for children who are exposed to English language. I want to teach children with the colorful and interesting book. Learners, at the level of Kindergarten and elementary, can enlarge literacy skills as well as oral skills.

Mouse movement exercise

         Some children at the kindergarten level do not get used to manipulating mouse, so they are not good at it. This activity is designed to help the children to get used to handling mouse through a game.
 
    
2. The Purpose of This Project
 
 

     This project is designed :

  1. To integrate literacy, art, and multimedia into English learning.
  2. To develop a course for children from different language background and different age group.
  3. To design the effective tool for interactive learning process. Interactive learning process strengthens children’s language development.

  4. To incorporate topics related to children’s daily experiences.
     

  5. To develop learning environment that is visually appropriate for children and stimulate their learning interest.
 
    
 
 

3. Special features of this project



  This English playground have special features below

  1. This site has specific learning purpose. 

  2. This site is for specific audience (young learners who study English as a second language)

  3. This site features child centered interface

  4. It is different approach to familiar materials, which we already know such as ' Brown bear, a very hungry caterpillar.'

  5. It is  developed by teaching professionals and researchers, considering real classroom setting.

  6.  
 
    

4. The survey of this project

    I did survey for English teacher in Korea with our project. Click here for the survey form.

Password : ejkim     Consent form

The participants in my survey were 10 elementary school teachers in Korea and all they were teaching English as a foreign language. 
 

Q. Which grade are you teaching English in your school?

 

First-Second grade 

  3rd-4th grade

 5th- 6th grade

Total

Number of the teachers

1

7

2

10

%

1%

70%

20%

100%


 

Q. How many students do you have in your class?
 
 

 

21 - 30 students

31 - 40 students

over 41students

Total

Number of the teachers

2

7

1

10

%

20%

70%

10%

100%

      8 participants out of 10 said they have used the picture book as materials and 7 participants out of the 8 said it was not successful in their class. All they (the 7 participants) said the reason of the failure seemed that there were too many students in a classroom.  Therefore, it seemed to be difficult for students to concentrate on teacher’s reading. In terms of classroom environment, there were a projection T.V. in each classroom, and it was big enough for students to be seen.
 
 

Q. Do you think using e-book was effective than traditional picture book in your  English class?
 
 

  not effective at all 
 barely effective no difference from traditional picture books successful very successful Total students
Number of the teachers 0 0 1 7 2 10
% 0% 0% 10% 70% 20% 100%

The reason of the success or failure

     The reason they said positively was :

  1. Students could learn more effectively by repeating the same sound and memorize it like a song.
  2. This e-book has interesting animation, so it was attractive to children.
  3. A lot of children were familiar to computer than a book, so they could learn more effectively.

  4. Teachers use more easily in front of a lot of student looking the response of the students.

  5. Students liked the scene a caterpillar gets through of an apple.

  6. This e-book deals with the process of caterpillar’s growing. Students can learn language with science content. 

  7. In Brown Bear, if teachers adapt it to more advanced students by changing the names of  the animals to the children’s friend’s names, it will be very successful for intensifying the language skills of advanced learners. Teachers also can use sentences for teaching past tense “What did you see?” for advanced learners.
     

     The reason they said negative  was :
     The biggest concern some teachers pointed out was 
    The level of each activities is not correlated. (Alphabet is too easy and a hungry caterpillar is relatively difficult. Therefore, teachers need to adapt this e-book to the level of their children. 
    Some students said “ I like my teacher read it for us having eye contact.” This is the limitation that the technology cannot reach. 

 

    

5.  Conclusion and Implication 



It was proved that this e-book is effective because it offers sound and animation and children can more interface with it.  However, for further development, unity problem of the each activity in the e-book and enrichment problem with curricular components were pointed out by participants. 

Additionally, the points  for more development I would like to indicate are

  1. Additional media components (music, video, java, animation)
  2. Technical skill development
    1. Additional resource 
    2. Interface design for children
    3. Copyright issue
    4. Rationale for instruction and learning
  •  
    • 6. Technology used.
      Scanning pictures in two books
      Used FrontPage to edit and create this site
      Used Photoshop to edit pictures

      Used  Surveyit for online survey