Overteaching - are we not?

Definitely as teachers, we do not want to overteach our pupils as this would not help them in surviving in a globalised world in the future; where changes are inevitable and technology, moving at a faster rate than we can ever use them. However, I stil do believe that we need to teach our pupils to be competent in the English Language before they can use ICT to harness their expertise in that language. You see, the pupils whom I teach are not native speakers of the language. I strongly feel that I need to teach them the basic rule of grammar and the language features so as to make them competent in speaking, reading and writing standard English. Only then, will they be able to communicate with people of other communities and know how to 'switch' between various registers when communicating using the ICT tools. They must have the literacy skills before commincating with others through ICT. ICT is a useful tool in enhancing the teaching of language in the classroom as it motivates and engages the pupils. It also allows the communication and exchange of ideas and the opportunity to work collaboratively with others.

So, are we overteaching then? As teachers, we always want to impart all that we know to the pupils as we do not want them to be short-changed. How do we know that our pupils have achieved the Standard English required then? When do we say that our pupils are an expert in the language? Unfortunately, more often than not, the examination scores are used as a standard measure of their expertise in the language. This could inevitably put the pressure on teachers to overteach. Perhaps, we need to use our own discretion and judgement, to be able to say that our pupils are ready to take the learning of their language to the next level and ICT would be an effective tool to enhance their learning.

We must first believe that technology is a tool that gives us the empowerment; that when use it the right way, it would enable us to reap more benefits than loss.

And of course, with the use of ICT in classroom, teachers would have to look into areas such as protection of intellectual property, the use of search engines, cyberwellness, etc. Most importantly, teachers have to teach pupils to be critical users of ICT and not to use it blindly. So, the teaching cycle continues...only in a different direction.