The best teaching aid is a piece of chalk
“The best teaching aid is a piece of chalk”
When I first went to school, the dominant teaching aid was blackboard and chalk. That is almost half a century ago. Back then, the statement “The best teaching aid is a piece of chalk” is likely to cause bafflement to teachers. “What else?” would be their common response.
Today, however, teaching aids abound. From a simple letter set painstakingly cut out by a devoted teacher, through electronic projection equipment, DVD sound systems, televisions and computers, to the latest interactive whiteboard, they introduce a wealth of variety and differing impact to today’s classroom.
Any discussion of this statement will therefore be remiss if I do not introduce and examine some available alternatives and their benefits and limitations.
Such examination should include factors such as versatility, ease of usage, impact on students (grabbing their attention), teaching material preparation time and effort and, of course, financial cost.
Let us begin with the ubiquitous chalk and blackboard (including its modern equivalent, the marker and whiteboard). This is a truly unique development from the days of Socrates, who resorted to writing his thoughts and ideas on sand with a stick when discussing issues with his disciples. It is a versatile low cost tool that can be used to all language components and skills, from writing strokes of each letter (cursive or print) to grammatical structure. It also encourages teacher spontaneity.
Amongst the blackboard’s ardent supporters is one teacher who wrote:
Basically, anyone wishing to learn how to converse is much better off being with a group of other people than they are sitting in front of a computer. Also, it is not clear that use of a computer is going to help anyone learn how to write (as opposed to type) which really does come in handy sometimes. And lots of board provides lots of reasons to get up and move a bit.
(Lindstromberg, Mar 2002)
Sadly, like all tools, it is only as good as
When I first went to school, the dominant teaching aid was blackboard and chalk. That is almost half a century ago. Back then, the statement “The best teaching aid is a piece of chalk” is likely to cause bafflement to teachers. “What else?” would be their common response.
Today, however, teaching aids abound. From a simple letter set painstakingly cut out by a devoted teacher, through electronic projection equipment, DVD sound systems, televisions and computers, to the latest interactive whiteboard, they introduce a wealth of variety and differing impact to today’s classroom.
Any discussion of this statement will therefore be remiss if I do not introduce and examine some available alternatives and their benefits and limitations.
Such examination should include factors such as versatility, ease of usage, impact on students (grabbing their attention), teaching material preparation time and effort and, of course, financial cost.
Let us begin with the ubiquitous chalk and blackboard (including its modern equivalent, the marker and whiteboard). This is a truly unique development from the days of Socrates, who resorted to writing his thoughts and ideas on sand with a stick when discussing issues with his disciples. It is a versatile low cost tool that can be used to all language components and skills, from writing strokes of each letter (cursive or print) to grammatical structure. It also encourages teacher spontaneity.
Amongst the blackboard’s ardent supporters is one teacher who wrote:
Basically, anyone wishing to learn how to converse is much better off being with a group of other people than they are sitting in front of a computer. Also, it is not clear that use of a computer is going to help anyone learn how to write (as opposed to type) which really does come in handy sometimes. And lots of board provides lots of reasons to get up and move a bit.
(Lindstromberg, Mar 2002)
Sadly, like all tools, it is only as good as
Bibliography: Magglestone, Patricia, Planning and Using the Blackboard, G. Allen & Unwin, 1980 Jones, J.R.H., Using the Overhead Projector (Practical Language Teaching), Heinemann (1982-12) Wright, Andrew, Visual Materials for the Language Teacher, Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd, June 1, 1975 Yadav, Deepak, “Modern Teaching Aids”, IndiaStudyChannel.com, http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/146402-Modern-Teaching-Aids-An-Innovative-teaching.aspx, last updated 4 Nov 2011, assessed on 28 Apr 2014 Lee, W.R. & Coppen, Helen, Simple Audio-Visual Aids to Foreign-Language Teaching, Oxford University Press, Inc., New Jersey, 1964 Rocchetti, Marta Albani, “Thesis on Computers in the English Language Classroom”, Università degli Studi di Bergamo, 2000-01, Tensionline, http://www.tesionline.com/intl/preview.jsp?pag=1&idt=4818 Lindstromberg, Seth, “Chalkboards vs. computers in the language classroom”, HLT Magazine, Year 4, Issue 2, Mar 02, http://hltmag.co.uk/mar02/lind.htm Dr. Shekkeris, Nick, Using computers in the English Language classroom, Pefkios Georgiades Primary School, http://www.pi.ac.cy/imeridaTPE2012/files/parousiaseis/EnglishLanguage_imeridaTPE_3mar12.pdf