3. Traditional and multimedia textbooks. Requirements for textbooks.

Textbook is one of the most important sources for getting knowledge. It contains the material at which students work in class and at home. A good textbook should meet the following requirements:

1. correspond to the objectives of the syllabus;

2. fit students’ age, level, class size;

3. have good design, size, layout;

4. have the methodology which is comprehensible to the teacher;

5. ensure students’ activity in speaking, reading, writing, listening;

6. material should be graded- change didactically from easy steps to more complicated ones;

7. grammar is divided into small fragments, each taught in response to an immediate need;

8. have exercises for practice: drill, speech, home, oral written;

9. have different material for reading: texts, dialogs, poems, jokes;

10. have reasonable price;

11. be available in the local shops;

12. have illustrations to help students in comprehension and speaking;

13 reflect the life and culture of the people whose language students study.

Textbooks can be prepared in an electronic form and can be of an unlimited access when published on Internet. In comparison with the classical printed textbooks, electronic publications can use many supplementary tools, which can make understanding of explained phenomena simpler: color animation, sound records, etc. But electronic textbook cannot be understood as a replacement of classical books. In learning English studying a classical textbook with a paper and a pencil in hand is very important.

4. The use of modern technologies in teaching foreign languages

Computer. The exercises most appropriate for the computer are: substitution or transformation drills, gap-filling, copying, writing down a dictation, putting words in a correct order, answering certain types of comprehension questions, providing a focus for small group discussion, cooperation, planning, problem solving.

Advantages of using computers:

-the user can work independently, he is more relaxed and is not afraid of being corrected;

-feedback to the users helps students to analyze patterns in the language and self-assess themselves;

-programs teach the language in different and more interesting , attractive ways and present language through games and problem solving techniques;

-programs provide learners with some sort of computer literacy which is essential in modern society;

-computer has no “days off” , it is patient and will tirelessly go over and over again the same point for as long as necessary;

-computer can provide information requested in a very short time;

-computer laboratory can develop collaborative environment, where teachers and students interact to explore various topics and exchange ideas about them.

Limitations of the computer

-often learners work in isolation and it does not help in developing normal communication between learners which is the main aim in any language lesson;

-programs deal mainly with reading and writing skills;

-it is more tiring to read from a screen than from a printed text.

The Internet. With the Internet teachers can share their experiences an resources with each other. The can refer to the lesson plans and exercises other teachers have published in the Internet. Students can listen to English songs, stories, news, read authentic texts. They can practice their spoken English in a chat room with native speakers.

Electronic mail. E-mail allows to communicate quickly and inexpensively over long distances. Using the e-mail pen-pal program is a very successful and motivating communicative activity with students of all levels and ages. At the beginning of the year the teacher finds another teacher in another country who is interested in exchanging letters. This can be done easily through various educational networks available on the Internet. The students in one school write letters to the students in the other school.

Power Point is an alternative to using overhead transparencies for the production of interesting and visually attractive presentations. The main advantage in using PowerPoint is the flexibility. . Graphs, drawings, tables and organizational charts make presentation more interesting, but as a general rule keep presentations simple and clear. PowerPoint, like overhead transparencies, is most effectively used to emphasize the main points the teacher wishes to make. Here are some points to remember: limit the number of slides, for example, no more than 12 for a ten minute presentation use only one or two animation or transition effect).

Why use an interactive whiteboard?

-it can be used for all ages across the (cooperation, curriculum, acquisition );

-it increases teaching time by allowing teachers to (present, prepare, produce) web-based and other resources more efficiently;

-it provides more opportunities for (interference, intonation, interaction) and discussion in the classroom;

-it (increases, decreases, destroys) enjoyment of lessons for both students and teachers;

-it allows teachers to (show, share, shine) and re-use materials, reducing workloads;

-it inspires teachers to change their pedagogy and use more ICT, encouraging professional (display, progress, development);

-students are able to cope with more complex concepts as a result of clearer, more (effective, effortless, efficient) and more dynamic presentation.