International Journal of English

and Literature (IJEL)

ISSN(P): 2249-6912; ISSN(E): 2249-8028
Vol. 5, Issue 3, Jun 2015, 41-46
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

APPLICATION OF E-LEARNING TOOLS IN TEACHING

ENGLISH TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
GAZI TAREQ MUZAMIL
Research Scholar, DAVV, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT
We are living in 21st century, where technology is omnipresent. The technology has also made a big change in the
education system. New and innovative tools like, Face book, YouTube, Skype, Smart Boards etc. is the outcome of
technology, which can be used as tools for teaching learning process. Classroom environment has changed, in the primitive
times English used to be merely a subject but now people are coming out of their native places to explore themselves.
English is the universal language, it is every bodys requirement to learn it properly, so that they can communicate with the
people throughout the globe, and take the benefit of modern technology. The aim of this research is to study the impact of
these tools on the English learning (speaking and reading) of undergraduate students. This study is done in two
undergraduate college of south Kashmirs Pulwama town. Unfortunately a large number of teachers are unaware of this
fact that these tools can be included in the curriculum and can be very useful while some teachers and educationist are not
using it deliberately.

KEYWORDS: Technology, Face Book, Skype, Smart Boards, YouTube

INTRODUCTION
The methods of teaching and learning are changing from day to day. New and innovative methods are being
employed in teaching, most of the methods are beneficial but some are useless. India is a diverse country of various
religions, races and languages in which English is an adopted language instead of any local language or primary language.
English was implemented in the curriculum as a compulsory subject by the educationists. It was difficult task for the
teachers to teach altogether a new subject to the students. It was also a challenge for teachers to give a good result, so they
trained the students to pass the examination only.
They used the translation method, memorization method, summaries translated in the local languages like Hindi,
Urdu etc, but despite all the hard work done by the teachers; they failed to develop the oral proficiency in the learners.
Many other methods have been employed by teachers and educationists but no method can be said is a perfect method. In
the history of English literature, the modern age is believed to be the aftermath of transitional period, to the birth of the age
of science and technology. In this age the educational institute cannot be mere the venues for transmission of prescribed set
of information to the students but must promote the teaching learning process, that is why linguists, teachers and
educationists are using new and innovative methods for the proficiency of English learning. The most innovative method
for the proficiency of English language is the implementation of modern tools and equipments like e-learning tools.

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Gazi Tareq Muzamil

The success of technology has more to do with people than machines. All the right parts and places together wont
work miracles by themselves. It is people who make technology powerful by creativity using it to fulfill their
dreams (Alliance for Technology Access).
The e-learning tools which are studied in this research work are gifts of technology like You-tube, Skype, Smart
Boards, and FaceBook. The sample is taken from undergraduate colleges of south Kashmirs Pulwama town. Twenty
samples are taken from Govt. Degree College Pulwama and ten samples are taken from Womens college Pulwama, for all
the queries or problems undertaken. There are total eight queries in this research work with three responses for each.
YouTube
YouTube is the largest video portal and the second largest video search engine. YouTube is localized in 56
countries and across 61 languages(Brunner, 01). YouTube is used as an e-learning tool in the modern classroom and
outside the classroom. It is easily accessible; one can use it everywhere, anywhere and free of charge. There is no
registration required for watching videos through it but only registered users can upload videos and information. YouTube
can be used as a medium of language learning and teaching resource. It can well enhance vocabulary, accents,
pronunciation etc of the learners and non-native speakers of English language. It is still an astonishing movement that a
large number of teachers are unaware of this facility and a larger number are not using it deliberately.
It is up to the modern teachers and students of English; to use YouTube as a device of teaching learning process.
It can be used individually as well as in the classroom on big screens. Lets assume an English teacher is teaching any play
of Shakespeare like King Lear to the students, s/he can show them the video of the movie or any act, scene or dialogue
through YouTube. And ask the student to deliver any dialogue or write any act, scene or story of the movie you watched. It
can be helpful for the learner in speaking proficiently and reading, writing. They can be taught the function of English
grammar, proper pronunciation of the word etc.
Sample

Twenty professors (Sample) from Govt. Degree College Pulwama

Ten professors (Sample) from Govt. Womens College Pulwama

Table 1
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Speaking Skills
Improved
11
07

Speaking Skills
Worsen
02
0

No Change on
Speaking
07
03

Reading Skills
Worsen
0
0

No Change on
Reading
09
03

Table 2
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Reading Skills
Improved
11
07

Result
In GDC Pulwama out of 20 professors, 11 believe that YouTube will improve English speaking and reading skills
of the students and 02 believe it will worsen the English speaking skills while 07 believe that no change will occur in

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

43

Application of E-Learning Tools in Teaching English to Undergraduate Students

speaking, 09 believe no change will occur in reading skills.

In GWC Pulwama out of 10 professors, 07 believe it will improve the speaking and reading skills while 03
believe that no change will occur.
In conclusion out of 30, 18 believe it will improve both while 10 believe no change will occur in speaking, 12
believe no change will occur in reading. And 02 believe that it will worsen the speaking skills.
Smart Boards
Todays concept of literacy goes beyond only paper to include reading from computer screens and personal
devices, and include media, technology, information, and other critical literacies (Semali). Technology is providing vast
opportunities to the students and teacher, to explore them but it is more important to incorporate it in the curriculum. Smart
Board is also the outcome of technology; it is the combination of projector and white board. It is a good replacement;
we can play audio, video, display multi-dimensional images on it, which is not possible on the traditional black/ white
boards. Teacher can use it to improve the communication or language skills to the students. The young students can be
taught to pronounce words properly by playing the sound of the word on it. We can play audio and video on it, for the
betterment of accent, vocabulary, and pronunciation. These smart boards also called interactive whiteboards are very
helpful for teachers to use student centered approach of teaching language arts. It can be used by these language teachers to
improve the reading, writing, speaking skills and teaching of grammar to the students. The teacher can use it to improve the
language skills in a play way method. For example pictogram, word game, anagram and jumbled sentences etc.
Sample

Twenty professors (Sample) from Govt. Degree College Pulwama

Ten professors (Sample) from Govt. Womens College Pulwama

Table 3
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Speaking Skills
Improved
17
05

Speaking Skills
Worsen
0
0

No Change on
Speaking
03
05

Table 4

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20

Reading Skills
Improved
16

Reading Skills
Worsen
0

No Change on
Reading
04

GWC Pulwama

10

06

04

S. No.

Result
In GDC Pulwama out of 20 professors, 17 believe that Smart Board will improve English speaking, 16 believe
that it will improve reading skills while 03 believe that no change will occur in speaking, 04 believe no change will occur
in reading skills.
In GWC Pulwama out of 10 professors, 05 believe it will improve the speaking skills, 06 believe it will improve
reading skills while 05 believe that no change will occur in speaking, 04 believe that no change will occur in reading.

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Gazi Tareq Muzamil

In conclusion out of 30, 22 believe it will improve both while 08 believe no change will occur in both.
Skype
Educators can use Skype for a variety of learning uses such as:

Virtual Field Trips

Skyping in a Guest Speaker

Skyping in an Author
Teachers can project a guest speaker to a large class using a big computer screen. Students can use an external mic

to ask questions (Eaton, 12).

Skype is also a gift of technology, is a social networking application and a communication tool that allows users
to make audio and video calls along with the text messages over the internet. These calls are free to other Skype users
throughout the world and offers a computer to landline service, which is a fee based service. Skype is an excellent teaching
learning tool, which is more effective in teaching languages because it incorporates high level of verbal interaction or
communication among users or in between teachers and students. It provides unlimited opportunities or possibilities for the
teachers and students to interact with each other throughout the globe. The students of foreign language like English
language learners of India, can practice and improve their language skills by connecting with the native English speakers.
The features that make it useful for education purposes are conference calls, instant messages, file sharing, and screen
sharing.
Conference calling is more useful for language learners. Conference calling feature of Skype includes audio only
in which six users can be online at a time. Teachers can connect with their students from anywhere in the world and avail
group discussions or debates among them, which can be very useful for the proficiency of their language like English.
Sample

Twenty professors (Sample) from Govt. Degree College Pulwama

Ten professors (Sample) from Govt. Womens College Pulwama

Table 5
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Speaking Skills
Improved
11
05

Speaking Skills
Worsen
01
0

No Change on
Speaking
08
05

Reading Skills
Worsen
0
0

No Change on
Reading
10
04

Table 6
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Reading Skills
Improved
10
06

Result
In GDC Pulwama out of 20 professors, 11 believe that Skype will improve English speaking, 10 believe it will
improve reading skills of the students while 08 believe that no change will occur in speaking and 10 believe it will worsen

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

45

Application of E-Learning Tools in Teaching English to Undergraduate Students

English reading skills. And 01 believe it will worsen speaking skills. In GWC Pulwama out of 10 professors, 05 believe it
will improve the speaking, 06 believe that it will improve reading skills while 05 believe that no change will occur in
speaking skills, 04 believe no change will occur in reading skills.
In conclusion out of 30, 16 believe it will improve speaking skills, 13 believe no change will occur in speaking
while 14 believe no change will occur in reading, And 01 believe that it will worsen the speaking skills.
Facebook
Facebook is defined as a social utility that helps people share information and communicate more efficiently with
their friends, family and co-workers. It is the most powerful social networking site which is used for interaction and
communication etc. Since Facebook has high potential in providing social communication and interaction, the opportunity
of academicians to take this platform for teaching is useful. The ability of the users to join forces, create, and share
content with other users and make attachment of documents, videos etc will enrich the learning environment.
FB group was used in two courses at a teacher education institute in Singapore as a learning management system
for posting announcements, sharing resources, organizing weekly tutorials and conducting online discussions.
(Susilo, 15)
Students use of Facebook is quite varied, and one cannot assume that students use online social networking tools
in homogenous ways. Generally, several categories of users were noted: some signed up to Facebook but were not daily
active users; some signed up but did not actively participate; and some were active users. The latter category can use it for
some kind of academic conversations, though they were usually linked to classes in which this type of participation was a
course requirement. Facebook has potential for teaching and learning because of its unique built-in functions that offer
Educational, social and technological affordances. Facebook can be used as a teaching learning tool for English language
students. It allows putting up announcements, sharing ideas and resources, and implementing online discussions. Using a
Facebook group is an informal learning environment but has strong social connectivity and is not a risk-free network.
It risks their privacy but enables students easily to communicate and interact with others and the teachers. The effective use
of Facebook for the students of English language is the interaction with each other, group discussion and debates on it.
It provides an opportunity to the learners of the English language to keep themselves connected to their teachers and the
native speakers of English. Educating adults on facebook are challenges for teachers. These challenges are opportunities to
learn and to help students move forward in a constantly changing society. Educators should themselves embrace it, provide
active learning, change and develop new methodologies for motivating and training the learners. The result of this research
is better utilization of facebook as an informal learning process for the betterment of the society.
Sample

Twenty professors (Sample) from Govt. Degree College Pulwama

Ten professors (Sample) from Govt. Womens College Pulwama

Table 7
S. No.
1
2

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Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Speaking Skills
Improved
17
09

Speaking Skills
Worsen
01
0

No Change on
Speaking
02
01

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Gazi Tareq Muzamil

Table 8
S. No.
1
2

Sampling
Organization
GDC Pulwama
GWC Pulwama

Total
Samples
20
10

Reading Skills
Improved
17
08

Reading Skills
Worsen
01
0

No Change on
Reading
02
02

Result
In GDC Pulwama out of 20 professors, 17 believe that Facebook will improve English speaking and reading skills
of the students and 02 believe no change will occur in both while 01 believe that it will worsen the duet.
In GWC Pulwama out of 10 professors, 09 believe it will improve the speaking, 08 believe it will improve reading
skills while 01 believes that no change will occur in speaking, and 02 believe that no change will occur in reading. In
conclusion out of 30, 26 believe it will improve speaking skills, 25 believe it will improve reading skills while 03 believe
no change will occur in speaking, 04 believe that no change will occur inreading. And 01 believes it will worsen both.

CONCLUSIONS
English is being accepted as a universal language, its diction and value in the world has expanded enormously in
the past decades. If the language teachers teach in the traditional way, then the required goals of learning English Language
may not achieve its perfection in the present global scenario. In the past, no dynamic, inventive and constructive activity
was given to the learners to develop the four language skills. With the changing environment and competition, technology
is developing in a rapid pace. We are living in the 21st century, the age of technological advancement.
Thus we need to incorporate new and innovative trends of teaching English, and use of modern technological
tools like Smart Boards, Facebook, YouTube, Skype etc. The English language teaching has been affected a lot with the
availability of these tools.
The inferences of this research work is that the implementation of e-learning tools in the curriculum can improve
68.33% of English speaking skills among students, 67.50% of English reading skills while 28.33% believe no change will
occur in speaking, 31.67% believe that no change will occur in reading. But 03.33% believe that the implementation of
e-learning tools will worsen the English speaking skills, 0.83% believes it will also worsen the reading skills of the
students.

REFERENCES
1.

Eaton, Sarah, Elaine. Skype for literary and languagelearning: How To Trips and Best Practices for Teacher.
Canada: Onate Press Calgary, 2012.

2.

Brunner, Ines. Using Language Learning Resources on YouTube. Italy: ICT for Language Learning, 2013.

3.

Susilo, Adhi. Exploring Facebook and Watsapp as Supporting Social Network Applications for English Learning
in Higher Education. Malaysia: Professional Development in Education, 2014.

4.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/

5.

http://stage.ataccess.org/resources/atabook/s01/s01-02.html

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0