Abstract
     As could be apparent from the title, in this final project I deal with the use of a computer and the Internet in grades 5 - 9 of Czech ‘Basic Schools’. In the theoretical part of the writing I describe briefly the history of the use of information technologies in language teaching, I state the main functions and applications of the Internet and I also illustrate the theory by characteristics of the use of modern technologies in Great Britain, in two neighbouring countries and by one of the Baltic countries. In the practical part I elaborate results of a survey which I have realised on 20 ‘basic’ schools. I have distributed questionnaires to pupils and teachers of English in these schools and thoroughly elaborated responses of 42 teachers and 111 pupils.

List of abbreviations
BBC – British 
ELT – English Learning Teaching
HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language 
ICT – Information Technologies
SELTL – A Survey of English Language Teaching in Lithuania: 2003-2004
WWW – World Wide Web
FTP – File Transfer Protocol

Introduction
     The topic of my final project maps the implementation of information technology (further ICT) into English language teaching (further ELT) in Czech basic schools in grades 6-9. In the first theoretical part of my project I was trying to find out what experts write about the use of ICT in lessons of English. I describe what activities are mostly done on the Internet, which impact they have on education, how it can facilitate the process of ELT, etc. At the end of the theoretical part I attempted to find current trends in several European countries.
     Although I am not an expert in informatics, I am interested in the Internet as a user and its practical use for raising the level of English. I am convinced this ‘tool’ offers learners of English an immense range of opportunities to improve their skills, get experience in some areas of the language, and many other possibilities. Questions to hypothesise for my practical part of this project were these: Do pupils at school have good conditions for working with computers, eventually with the Internet? Does the use of ICT by both teachers and pupils lead to an improvement in their level of English? Do pupils like English lessons with a computer?
     In the practical part I have processed research where twenty Czech basic schools were addressed. The purpose of this was to monitor the current situation in basic schools and realise what steps could be taken for the future from the position of teachers. As will be mentioned below, it is very important to watch current trends, news, and of course new technologies. In the video by Sue LeBeau it can be heard and seen that technologies like Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts are very popular by pupils (LEBEAU, S. 2007). In my opinion, knowing ICT is exceptionally convenient for an English teacher. Dr. Sadie Plant invented a term ‘thumb-generation’ used for people under 25 who extensively use their thumb for messaging and gaming consoles (PLANT, S), which means they are more than familiar with ICT. Because of this, great advantage can be taken by using those technologies as a source of pupils’ motivation. Additionally, in the future there is a multitude of new inventions in the area of communication technologies to come.
Theoretical part
“The best attitude to consider the Web a dancing bear. The mere fact of its existence is remarkable; whether it waltzes is beside the point.”
Denise Caruso (in: TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 62)

1 General and specific historical background
     In this chapter I am going to give a picture of the general history of the Internet; when and where it occurred, for what reason, what the circumstances were in the past and what they are today. Generally, here I try to underline the importance of this medium. In the second part I will suggest what implications the Internet might have for the future.

1.1 A few words on the history of the Internet itself
     There is no doubt that the Internet is a phenomenal invention humankind has created. Authors Teeler and Gray declare that this discovery is comparable with the invention of typography (TEELER, D., GRAY P. 2000, p. 1). I am not afraid to say it is another milestone people have reached in their history, and as such a powerful device it deserves a few words about its origin and history in my work.
     I have found a nice chapter about history of the Internet in a book by Písek, which I am going to summarise and supplement by several other quotations. This author recounts in this chapter that the Internet today is not a ‘toddler’ any more and what is more, this could have been claimed even decades ago, and it would still be true. As most people started to use the Internet from the era of the nineties in the previous century, it might seem that it had been invented at that time, but it is in fact much older. The first step from which today’s shape of the Internet was developed arose at the turn of the sixties and seventies in the twentieth century. It is then logical that it had to undergo several fundamental changes during its development (PÍSEK, S. 2001, p. 15). Compared with the invention of an aeroplane, the Wrights brothers did not come up with the jet engine either.
     As they elucidate on the BBC radio program about the use of the Internet in English language teaching, the Internet originated in the United States. The main idea was to create some guarantee of flow of information in case of nuclear danger or war. It was conceived as an essential defense system. In fact, many great inventions and revolutionary materials were first developed with help from universities and colleges just for army or space purposes, and only after they had been thoroughly tested they were introduced among ‘ordinary people’. The case of the Internet it was just like that. At the beginning, only a few computers were connected (www.bbc.co.uk). Only after several years, as Písek continues, universities, colleges and high schools gained access to this net and started to use it for releasing their academic articles and publications (PÍSEK, S. 2001, p. 15).
     The same author further describes how the Internet has developed until now. With the arrival of the seventies an electronic post office appeared, which was again, however, not yet available for everyone at that early time. With the turn of the eighties and nineties the service World Wide Web appeared, which is commonly known under the abbreviation WWW, and which made various text documents containing pictures accessible to any user of the Web. With this step the Internet made a significant move as it was no longer necessary for a user to be an expert in information technology or in HTML programming (see list of abbreviations). For this reason many web pages with commercial intensions began to emerge, which ensured a good capital for the further growth of the Web – which is sometimes used as a synonym for the term ‘the Internet’. Nevertheless, the true sense of the word Web was already clarified, so technically a minor difference is apparent. With this financial support a massive expansion of the Internet took place all around the world to the point where the Internet has gained its ‘final’ appearance as we know it today (PÍSEK, S. 2001, p. 15). I will account for the term ‘final’, as I am aware of the fact that technology today is making such ‘hypersonic’ progress that humankind can be completely elsewhere within a few years regarding internet technology.
     
1.2 Possible implications of the Internet for the future
     This leads me to think a little bit about the future of the Internet. Ian Peter presents a few ideas which are probable to happen in the future. He claims, for example, that every mobile phone number will become a World Wide Web address, which practically means it will be possible to send messages on a computer and vice-versa, and it will become a common practice. Many of us already send messages at least from computer to telephone, and it has become common. Now the plan of mobile phone producers is to enable telephones to handle email (PETER, I. 2004).
     Another remark from this author is the spreading of free wireless hotspots where it is possible to join with a laptop. Such places already function in several places today like airports, hotels and other facilities. Ian Peter speaks about “anywhere, anytime” access. It may sound like something in the far future, but it seems we are rapidly heading towards these trends (PETER, I. 2004).
     The third thing I am going to mention by this author is of a similar nature; it is the extension of access to people from the entire world, from all countries, at reachable rates. Literally he states: “It starts to become an economic necessity - and at the same time, a human right to have access.”  In some countries, however, it looks completely different. It is obvious that in communist countries, Africa, and many places in Russia and so on it will not be as easy. Local access to particular sites is forbidden, for example, but generally speaking the expansion will certainly take place. Peter further enounces there are six billion people on the Earth today, and only one out of ten people have on-line access; because of this fact, there is a lot of growth to come (PETER, I. 2004).
     
1.3 The Internet as a ‘tool’ for today’s user
     Going back to the nineties of the last century and the brief overview of the development of the Internet, it was not until then, as was already prefaced, that the Internet gained its current form and parameters. The implementation of WWW which operates through a technology called hyperlinking was already mentioned. Gavin Dudeney puts forth such a definition, “A link is a word or phrase – or sometimes an image – which is connected to another part of the website using a system called hypertext” (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 7). Gordon Lewis further explains, "Information on the Internet is thus hanged up somewhere there and not organised in any linear way." He continues verbatim, “It is rather like a mind map, the web can be navigated according to how an individual thinks” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 6). Understanding this principle, or at least having an idea of how it works, can help when using search programmes.  This will be further elaborated on later. A great utilization of such a principle is the international internet encyclopaedia called Wikipedia, from which I have drawn much information for this work. It is a very useful tool used by many internet users and is a bottomless well of facts on any and all subjects of human activities. I have therefore included a chapter devoted to this site in my project. On this Wikipedia the links are tolerably sorted according to the context of a particular keyword, unlike many other sites where a hypertext link can often send you to a completely different place. Gordon Lewis states, “This anarchic non-linear design makes the www an anarchic place,” and adds, "It can be very misleading especially for children, as they are still forming their ideas about the world and evolve their world view" (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 6). I am adding a final remark within this chapter from the BBC radio-program characterising the current situation of the Internet. With such rapid growth of personal computer ownership, the Internet has become the most important global tool for communication and at the same time a resource of information from any field we can think of (www.bbc.co.uk). This gives a very true picture of its use, although people mostly take advantage of electronic post and do searching; about these I am going to speak below.
2 The use of a computer in ELT
     The first part in this section is about the development of computer usage by teachers from the early years when computers were not on such an advanced technological level as they are today. I also unveil the circumstances of the turning point where teachers started to use computers widely for teaching. Further, I explain why this is happening and what the mutual relationship between technology and learning the English language is.

2.1 Beginning of the use of computer and Internet by teachers
     The BBC radio program gives some facts about the gradual development of using a computer and later the Internet in teaching English. They declare that computers started to be cheaper at the beginning of the eighties of the previous century, however, at that time they were not on such a technical level as today.  They were not as fast as today, and generally speaking, there was not much to do with them except play basic games and manipulate words or possibly sentences. Only with the beginning of the nineties people started to commonly word-process. Nevertheless, they still could not communicate. Teaching and learning languages is  about communication and using the language. Therefore it was not until the arrival of the Internet when teachers started to be interested in the use of the computer in language teaching (www.bbc.co.uk).
     In this paragraph I will summarise how Černochová, Komrska and Novák describe the development of the use of ICT by teachers. Some years ago using the Internet required an account on a university ground or in some other big facility so many teachers from elementary schools who would like to work with the Internet did not have a chance to join on-line. These authors describe how the situation has been developing over the last two or three decades. Those who had on-line access had to at first stay within the mainframe of the university. Only some years later the situation changed and it was possible for the user to join on-line from his or her personal computer. As the Internet grew in size, and it still does, many people stared to have better and better access to it – including teachers and pupils or students. It started to appear in secondary schools and later finally in basic schools. From the beginning the Internet was used mainly just for the scientific subjects like mathematics, physics or chemistry.  However, in recent years teachers have been finding that it has great potential for teaching foreign languages as well. The diversity of users is becoming larger, and today it can be said, at least as far as civilised Europe, North America, Australia and the rest of the Western world is concerned, the Internet is commonly used more or less by everybody – including teachers. The time has freed many people from the technological, material and financial limitations which complicated use of the Internet (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J. 1998, p. 13).
     Naturally, many people think that one’s level of English can be improved with help from the Internet and I am of the same opinion; however, some researchers say computer-enhanced classes produce no discernible differences in student learning (Janda 1992; Wilson 1996 in: JSTOR Database). On the other hand there are different studies and opinions the example of which is stated on the same database. This second type opinion explains that it is not the use of the Internet per se that improves student outcomes, but the success is fixed and hidden with course content and delivery (Bollentin 1998; Donovan 2001; Hamann and Wilson 2001 in: JSTOR Database). That means that using this technology can help, but the teacher is always the ‚king‘. On the BBC radio program they simply say it is not a computer that teaches English, but a teacher (www.bbc.co.uk). As will be seen further in the practical part of my research, there are several facts which indicate that teaching English with the help of a computer can be worthwhile, yet as was said it is not technology which is central. Gordon Lewis, even though he is a great propagator of the Internet in classes of English writes in this respect, “In fact, the Internet can do nothing” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 7). It always and fundamentally depends on a particular teacher and on his or her approach to teaching. It is very important to be aware of this and to know this is true for every aspect of the use of the ICT in teaching languages. Gavin Dudeney compares traditional teaching with that which uses a computer, in the light of a preparation for a class, “An Internet class needs to be as well-planned and structured as any other class” (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 30). It is obvious that the teacher plays the main role in the educational process regardless which methods are used.  It is his or her role to stimulate children for learning and to guide them and actively participate in their learning process. If students want themselves to learn and cooperate because they are inspired by a teacher, then the classes are run well. Reid expounds some pupils develop the self-discipline necessary for learning, in whatever context. More self-discipline is required when the teacher is removed from the pupil. In such case some pupils will find that self-learning is too difficult or frustrating for them so they will not do anything or more likely they will do something completely different which most probably will not be connected with learning at all (Reid 1997 in: JSTOR Database).

2.2 Why to use a computer in ELT?
     The whole world is becoming one society due to ICT,  or as people say ‘one small village’, where information is an essential factor. Information technology is needed everywhere and for many people working with it is also a source of their living. Here I would say teachers belong largely to this group, although their salaries are not equal to those of economists or managers who also work with information, but this topic is not of my concern. Thus if one is supposed to educate children for their future lives, it is necessary to teach them how to handle computers and information technology.
     Jerome Young thinks that just spreading of computers provides the teacher with an extraordinary opportunity to benefit from technology so that he or she can strengthen his or her traditional role as a mentor, guiding source of knowledge, and authority. And what is more, introducing pupils to the tools necessary for learning new skills and performing future work is an important part of the teacher’s responsibilities (YOUNG, J. 1998). This occupation predestines teachers to educate themselves their whole lives, no matter what they teach. Simply, every subject is developing and changing with the times so teachers in their position (a position of educators – a responsible ‘mission’) have to watch current trends. Every discipline is acquiring new drifts, methods, technologies, etc. Thus, teachers have to be informed about what is going on in their discipline and teach what is up-to-date, not things which are no longer used. This problem is probably relevant with elder teachers who teach several decades; they are used to a certain way of presenting facts.  They teach how they were always used to teaching and are not willing to adjust to modern trends. Maybe ‘modern’ is not the most appropriate word.  They do not have to be at all costs modern, but as I stated, need to teach what is used now in today’s world. And here I think the Internet is a tool with the help of which the ‘pace can be kept’. Jerome Young gives another tip that teachers can then use. Their strong point is their knowledge of the subject. With this knowledge they can research and find appropriate web pages and present them to pupils so they avoid spending hours visiting sites that seem appropriate but which are actually inappropriate or even misleading (YOUNG, J. 1998).

2.2.1 ICT for ELT and vice-versa  
     Gordon Lewis, a freelance teacher-trainer and writer claims, “…children must be educated to be what many people call ‘electronically literate’, and he speedily adds, “…EFL teacher is in a position to kill two birds with one stone“, (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 5). Concerning English, which is becoming a world language or actually a medium of world communication, English is the unofficial computer language, and if English is used as a way to get information, not only from the Internet but from literature also, masses of information can be gained, and a much bigger range of sources can be found than if just one's mother tongue is used. Taken from the other side, information technology can make the language-learning process more effective; so it seems these two things (ICT and English) supplement each other. Children often like working with computers. That is a reality to be taken advantage of when teaching English. In my diploma project I am not going to say that using computers is always the best and the only option for teaching the English language, however, I believe computers can provide both teachers and students with many interesting possibilities, and using them can lead to a better level of their English if used in the right way. Actually, it works the same for any other foreign language (yet the position of English is quite special and unique in connection with ICT), and this was also another purpose of my project – to find out how ICT is used during English teaching and learning.  In connection with this, naturally, I was interested how it works elsewhere in Europe, what the opinions are of experts about this, and what the opinions of pupils themselves and their teachers are. After all, it is teachers and students who are the centre of this happening.  The need to educate children in ICT has already been mentioned, and the same thing applies for teachers. Teeler and Gray state, “We live in the age of the computer, and there are growing demands on almost everyone, including teachers, to become technologically literate” (TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 1). This is just one of the aspects of moving with the times by teachers who are to educate for the future.

2.2.2 Two basic uses of the Internet
     It is then crucial to distinguish between the use of information technology by teachers of English in their classes with pupils and the use of that technology by teachers themselves for their preparation for off-line English classes. Lewis generally summarises that before the Internet will be used in any way, it is essential to consider for which purposes it is going to be used, whether, as mentioned, just to enrich an off-line lesson or as an instrument for teaching, and consistently distinguish between those two. If computers are used with pupils, it is necessary to be completely clear about the conditions necessary for successful progress. It is important to determine whether a target language will be used, what activities will be done in those lessons, whether they will seek pictures for their projects, and so forth. There exists the risk that pupils could be given too much freedom in such classes, so if it is to be effective and if the children are to learn something, it is necessary to have a clear idea of what will be done with them while they use a computer. Incidentally, both uses of the computer will be dealt with below in independent sections.

3 What is the Internet used, popular and helpful for?
     It has already been mentioned why to use the Internet by teachers and within this topic some activities which an English teacher can do on a computer have been indicated. In the third chapter I am going to elaborate on these activities and describe some more of them. I will point out their pros and cons and what is good to be careful of, and at the same time I will describe necessary conditions for their application. I will also mention some ways of using ICT with handicapped children.

3.1 Searching alias ‘mining the web’
     As I have already remarked, one of the two main characteristics of the Internet is ‘information’. Information searching and finding are purposes for which the Web has been created. Thus, for successful information finding there is a need to know about certain methods or advice which enable users to be quicker and more effective. This skill is in the first place connected with seeking information by teachers themselves, because if they handle this routine they can stop being afraid to do searching with their pupils, they can correct them and eliminate their wrong practice (as they themselves already know what to avoid) and start to ‘mine the web’, which is a term used by Gordon Lewis (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 105). Probably searching on Czech sites is quite known to all children, and my research confirms it (see page 64); but the point is to teach them to use English while seeking for something. The benefits were already mentioned above. It might sound like looking up information is very simple but it does not have to always work according to  expectations. Unless a very clear idea of what is desired to be found is stated, it may be quite complicated to find facts which are appropriately fitting to pedagogic needs. On the BBC radio program Hamish Norbrook, former teacher and employee of the BBC, compares the Internet to a large house with a lot of information in it. Somewhere in the house, there is a room full of information that is wanted, and the point is just to find it. This is a very nice and true comparison, because as they claim further on the programme, there are several billions of pages on the entire Internet, which is an incredibly large figure (furthermore the figure is growing every second), and somewhere among that there is surely a lot of information you would like to find (www.bbc.co.uk).

3.1.1 Directories
     Thus the ability to find what is wanted is an important skill to learn. For a sole beginner it is recommended to start with a searching tool called a ‘Directory’. This is a good tool to start with in the case of both teachers and students in a class. Authors Teeler and Gray odvise, “Directories, or hierarchical indices, are user-friendly places to initiate a search, especially if you are testing the waters for the first time.” On the same page they also give a reason, “There are no special skills needed to use this type of search tool, which is basically a database of web addresses that have been divided into helpful categories” (TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 39). In these directories the range of topics is of course limited, and many times it contains a lot of links to businesses and other pages which are not in the interest of this work. A typical model of this directory is www.seznam.cz, probably one of the most-visited Czech pages, and as Světlana Obenausová puts forth the most popular Czech directory (OBENAUSOVÁ, S. 2006, p. 7). In directories, information is neatly compiled like clothes in drawers and it can be easily chosen where to go. I do not say that they are not useful; they can be great and some of them can cover many topics, but it is just one certain type of technology and it has its pros and cons. It is a suitable tool to show children how the system of links works, unless they already know it from home, which I think will be the case of today’s young generation.

3.1.2 Search engines
     The next type is a tool called a ‘Search Engine’, the typical and probably the most known and used example of which is www.google.com. The use of these search engines already requires a certain level of knowledge of how the Internet works. Gordon Lewis writes, “Once the children are comfortable in the website environment, you can introduce them to search engines” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 105). Here, I will try to summarise the principle of a search engine according to the BBC. These search tools use software programs which look up content automatically, they simply go through its database (Google has for example over two and a half billion pages in its database) and look for words we have written into the box (www.bbc.co.uk). Therefore they will find many more results than those compiled in directories, yet these are not arranged manually; there is not any context and logically, it is software programmes which go through the database, not humans. On the BBC they continue by saying the search engines do not have any information about you, they do not have any feedback, they do not know what your needs are and so on, so it can’t be expected that they will always find the needed information or files. The clue is either to be totally precise and know what is to be found or to narrow the search (www.bbc.co.uk). That means to specify, redefine or put the search topic more precisely. Many big search engines have a function called "advanced search settings" which can narrow a number of results of a particular search quite significantly so that there remains only the links with a higher probability of containing sought information. There are boxes where it is possible to write time intervals of a release of a particular page, format of sought files, and some other things.
     The BBC mentions an independent function so-called ‘Boolean logic’ (www.bbc.co.uk) according to a scientist called Boole. Wikipedia states George Boole was a British mathematician and philosopher and inventor of Boolean algebra, which is the basis of modern computer arithmetic (en.wikipedia.org). Teeler and Gray try to explain this into laymen’s terms by saying this principle uses a few mathematical symbols except for keywords in order to optimize the results. There is a symbol ‘+’, which will find those links which contain both words which have been set. The other one is a ‘–‘, which specifies which word should be excluded from the search (TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 45).
     When the search is restricted to an acceptable number of links, which means it is possible to go through all of them, another problem occurs and that is to discriminate which page is serious, accurate and credible. For example, let us say that there is a need to find something for a class and among those results which come out, there are commercial sites and so on. In the third part of the BBC radio programme they give some tips; namely David Eastment advices it is useful to look at the ‘domain’ which is actually the ending of a page. If it has for instance an ending ‘.edu’, then there is a bigger chance of getting serious information of proper quality (www.bbc.co.uk). On the other hand, Gavin Dudeney explains, “.com usually stands for commercial (as does the abbreviation .co)” (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 30). Yet back to David Eastment, who puts forward a few tips on how to assess a certain page, at first it is good to check if the page does not contain any grammatical mistakes. If it does, it does not have to bother us any more because the quality of their information is probably similar (with mistakes). The language correctness is a sign of a quality of one's work. The next important fact is checking out the authority, and he uses an analogy with a book. When encountering a new book the first thing one does is find out who the author is. Thus on a new webpage it is good to do the same and also to check out whether there is an email to contact the author. Then, many pages are updated quite often, so there should be some indication how often the page is refreshed. And a final factor is the design of the page, the web page itself can tell us whether we like it or not. With design, just one more thing is connected and this is the layout and easy orientation on the page. When there is a problem getting through some part of the page or to find it, it is also a sign that the site will probably not be on a good level (www.bbc.co.uk).
     As far as the use of searching with the class is concerned, it is a tested activity which works. Respondents in my research which will be analysed below (the second stage of basic school) wrote that it is the activity they would like to do – to seek something according to the instructions of a teacher. Gordon Lewis adds with respect to the level how well pupils can handle a computer, “Web searching is a very complex task and requires children to make sophisticated logical decisions” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 105) Therefore this type of activity improves children’s ability to think logically and creatively, they continue sharpening their abilities to discriminate, categorize, and analyze, and moreover it can support cross-curricular topics which are newly implemented in the Czech law.

3.2 Email and communication
     The second main characteristic of the Internet is a word ‘Communication’. As Gavin Dudeney explains, “Email is, for many reasons, the most used tool on the Internet”, (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 10). As I will describe later, in some European countries when children come to school they familiarize themselves with computers as soon as possible, and there is even an interest to create for them an email and to teach them to handle it. Thus they are from the beginning of their school education introduced into a system of communication between them and teachers, they learn how to organise things and how to be flexible and so forth.
     If teachers are thinking about a computer course, it would be suitable to place working with email at the beginning of a course, as later if there is a possibility to work on some project with pupils, the things must be effectively organised so everyone knows what to do. Dudeney again describes the necessity to ensure that pupils know how to send emails and all those basic operations so that they do not lose time later (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 128).
     On the BBC Knowledge on the net, Programme 3, they suggest if an email is used by teachers in communication with pupils there is also a chance for shy children to open up and start communicating with their teacher. They can ask about things about which they would not ask in front of the whole class, and a teacher then gets to know his or her pupils more in detail. The more a teacher understands his or her pupils, the better he or she can teach them (www.bbc.co.uk).

3.2.1 Penpal exchanges
     Another very frequently used tool of Internet communication is a chat which enables people to communicate in the present. If a teacher communicates with pupils via chat then there do not have to be any special conditions for that. A different situation is if a teacher wants to organise so called ‘penpal exchanges’ and take advantage of a chat. The ‘Pen pal’ is another new term which Wikipedia defines as: “a practice of writing and reading in a foreign language, improving literacy, to learn more about other countries and life-styles, and to ameliorate loneliness” (en.wikipedia.org). All this is true, as pupils who chat with native speakers or foreigners can learn a lot about different culture, about the way of thinking in a foreign country in a foreign language, and get friends among them.
     If the pupils or students are for example on an intermediate level, it is possible to use a chat with native speakers, or peers from a foreign country who are learning English as well, or it can be even peers from the same country who have the same or a bit better level of English. Chat, as was already predestined, requires a higher level of English and an ability to react quickly in the language. If these conditions are fulfilled I do not see any reason why students should not love this activity. It is probably better to manage partnership with pupils from a foreign country, so that no one switches to the mother tongue and pupils are then in a way forced to express themselves in English and they are constantly learning from that.
     On the other hand a question arises: what can be done with those whose language level is not sufficient for this type of activity? Gordon Lewis gives here a suitable piece of advice: the pace of an email is slower and pupils have more time for thinking up their responses (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 7). Pupils can consult their responses with their teacher and make them precise so they can avoid embarrassing moments or frustrations that they are not able to come up with an answer in the right moment.
     On the Internet, there are many sites which offer penpal exchanges. As an example of a site where teachers of English can find not only partners with which to exchange correspondence but many other tips and advice related with ELT, is  Dave Sperling’s well-known www.eslcafe.com. As long as a teacher decides to use email, it is important to bear in mind another useful tip by Lewis, that if partners are sought there is a need to check them out first in order to know how the whole project is going to work, as there is nothing more frustrating for young expecting learners than to not receive a response (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 36).

3.3 Further activities on a computer in English lessons
     When speaking of the use of the Internet in classes of English, two fundamental aspects of ‘the Internet’ were already described. However, there exist many activities for teachers which can be done at school on the Internet, many files for preparation for an off-line lesson to download, or just things to take inspiration from. Gavin Dudeney writes the Internet can be an infinite source of useful things, “To the busy teacher the Internet can be an infinite resource file of texts, visual stimuli, listening material … The list is endless” (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 1). If a teacher of English decides to start using a computer for both mentioned ways, there exist many techniques how to do it. For an easier orientation I will distinguish between these two and devote to each of them a separate chapter.

3.3.1 Preparation for off-line lessons
     The most difficult task may possibly be just deciding to use the Internet for purposes of a teacher.  It will probably be a bit more difficult to begin using it with students, but it does not have to be so different from one's own needs. The crucial thing is always, as long as any new activity is concerned, to decide to start with it. I mean to decide seriously.
     At the beginning, it is not bad just to experiment, just to play a bit. The Internet is an inexhaustible library of advice, lesson plans, worksheets, flash cards, materials for listening, reading, basically for every skill and even much more (yet again, it is essential to search effectively in order not to loose time). Especially listening to on-line radio programs in English can be very beneficial. As Gordon Lewis remarks, the Internet “… exposes you to authentic language” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 8) – and English is a vast language. Concretely, Paul Payack states that in March 2006, “there were approximately 988,968 words in the English Language, plus or minus a handful” (PAYACK, P. 2006). That means even native speakers cannot possibly know everything, and the Internet is a wonderful place to check things out.
     There are electronic libraries with books in electronic format, and it is possible to read in this way any book they have. These services are, however, in most cases for a fee. About reading electronically, I think many people have a similar opinion as Černochová, Komrska, Novák, “What is to be read, may it be printed” (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J. 1998, p. 13), but the mere fact of the existence of such a project is fantastic; one sits behind a computer with the whole library within the reach of a few clicks of the mouse.
     Another incredible advantage is the guarantee of up-to-date information. This reality can be especially suitable for teachers. The problem with coursebooks is that once they are printed, they become dated,and some of their topics can cease to be interesting as they are not actual any more; also the language (if a book is older) can be outdated. Authors Teeler and Gray say it is convenient to pinpoint those activities from pupils’ coursebooks which are boring, those that they do not want to do or topics they do not like, and then take advantage of the Internet. If the pupils and teacher know one another well, it should be their common interest and then they can ‘hit’ into such a topic which will be interesting and enriching for everybody (TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 45). For training on reading skills, for instance, there is an extraordinary number of current texts on the web which are modern and interesting for today’s children, with topics like music, computers, film and other popular things. Any interest can be exploited as there is never a lack of information on the Web, and it brings the outside world to the classroom. With these techniques it is possible to adjust a lesson exactly to one's needs.
     On many pages for English teachers there exist virtual staffrooms, discussion lists, and mailing lists where English teachers from all around the world can be members and where a message can be shared with lots of people. One of those is for instance TESL-L, an independent non-professional virtual entity or organisation run by a couple of idealists. Any teacher can ask for advice here, and because of the vast number of teachers, it is presumed that someone will face the same or similar obstacles. They claim in September 2006 they had 32,293 members in 172 countries (TESL-L). Some drawbacks can nevertheless occur, however.  It is possible that too many people will respond, and the result will just be an over-filled email box. Moreover, the quality and relevance of responses can be debatable. On the other hand there can be, as on the BBC radio program is said, so-called message boards. These are projects which can last several months, and people contribute to these discussions, share ideas, pass on experience, and are engaged in a particular topic or project (www.bbc.co.uk). This can be a deep source of inspiration, too.
     I will add one more detail. Gordon Lewis remarks that the laws related to materials placed on the web are exactly the same as laws of traditional materials. He speaks about a ‘fair use principle’, which is a problematically definable term, however it is obvious that if entire sections of web pages are copied and used in their original forms it does not have much in common with ‘fair use’ (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 21, 22). 

3.3.2 Using a computer with pupils in a class
     Once one has a general overview about information technology and the ability to use the Internet it is easier to start using it in a class. First of all, if there should be work with computers at school, naturally there must be appropriate conditions for it. I would like to now outline what conditions are needed for successful progress with computer use in lessons of English. Lewis declares what the biggest problem is, “Clearly, one of the major impediments to working with the Internet is the lack of a sufficient number of computers” (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 11). I can confirm this statement when I compare it with my research; the majority of teachers, when asked about improvements of conditions, suggest insufficiency of computers. Then the space and layout of the class is important also.  Teeler and Gray comment on that, “As in any classroom, the teacher requires adequate space to move around the class and interact with the learners comfortably” (TEELER, D.; GRAY P. 2000, p. 54). It is foremost that pupils see the teacher and his or her screen, or even better if the class is equipped by a digital projector so that everyone can easily follow. Today's prices of such a device are already quite reasonable, so it should be affordable for a school.
     When material conditions are good, then there are a few other things to consider. One of the factors, as Dudeney confirms, can be the speed of the Internet at a particular time of the day (DUDENEY, G. 2001, p. 32). Besides, internet pages are not like a book – constant once published. They are arising, changing, updating and upgrading, moving somewhere else but also disappearing. On the BBC Knowledge on the net, they give practical advice that it is very convenient to secure oneself and have a few other sites in reserve in case one of the sites does not function (www.bbc.co.uk).
     Before even starting a course Gavin Dudeney provides another suggestion. It is good at first to give pupils a questionnaire with a couple of questions, like if they have the Internet at home (I say the Internet as access to a computer, which nearly everyone has) if they can operate an email, how they use search engines and so on, in order to get feedback. This will bring certain feedback so that it will be easier to adjust demands on the pupils. This author describes it as ideal to find an equilibrium where pupils are busy enough and where they are still able to catch up with what is happening.
   During the lesson it is necessary to monitor pupils so that they will not start to do something unrelated or undesired. That is the reason why it is foremost to have a plan for the lesson. Initially, there is usually not enough experience and the preparation can take much more time than a traditional lesson, but at least from the beginning it is vital to have a step-by-step preparation in order to avoid losing oneself in the middle of the lesson. And when thinking up and creating the preparation, the fundamental thing, as specialists on the BBC say, is to have an aim for the lesson, a concrete task for pupils to complete (www.bbc.co.uk).
   Of course not everyone is a computer expert and at the same time the essential goal is teaching English, nothing else, so a teacher of English is just a user of the ICT. It is probable that in a class among children there will be someone who is very skilful with computers. Then it is the task of a teacher to give such a pupil a task in order to ensure that he or she is not bored, or along with that it is a very good solution to engage him or her to help the weaker ones, so that the whole process is quicker and more work can be done. Additionally, it is surely very nice to accept some advice or useful tips from a clever pupil as it is they who know what is ‘in’. Furthermore, it is possible if a teacher or someone else does not know something to ask such pupils to search immediately for the right answer.

3.3.3 Wikipedia as an educational tool 
     In the Introduction there was already a remark about Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. I have decided to dedicate a few words in my work to Wikipedia, an electronic encyclopaedia that I think is the most known and used ‘Wiki’ (a system of hypertext links) on the Web and at the same time very much utilizable tool in school and in education overall. According to www.alexa.com this electronic encyclopaedia belongs among the most visited web pages in the world. In fact it holds eleventh place on the list. On the one hand it does have some limitations in certain topics because it is only humans who compile information into this encyclopaedic form and they simply cannot cover all the branches of human culture, science, profession, or whatever other discipline. On the other hand, however, if some particular information is needed, it is generally good enough to provide you with reliable and credible information. Rosenzweig states that the problem with credibility of information has existed here from the times of a family encyclopaedia, and he offers a solution which quite appeals to me, which is, “Spend more time teaching about the limitations of all information sources, including Wikipedia” (Rosenzweig, 2006). According to my opinion, if one is wise enough it is possible to question almost everything, which is sometimes good to do, sometimes even necessary, but often not, as there is no better possibility around. Therefore it is essential to educate children towards critical thinking and checking out all sources they use.
     Regarding the use of electronic encyclopaedias as a source of information, Guzdial expounds, “Wikis have been successfully used in education as early as 1999” (www.itdl.org), which is a rather short time slot, but ultimately it is the Internet itself, I mean the Internet as such which we know today, as Písek says, the Internet in its current shape is here from the nineties of the previous century (PÍSEK, S. 2001, p. 15). Thus we can say these web pages (Wikipedia) have a little tradition and as I mentioned the evidence is the frequency of its usage. Alexa Internet, Inc. presents a graph of the growth of usage of wikipedia in comparison with Britannica.com.

Figure 1: Comparison of daily reach per million Internet users to 
Britannica.com (blue, horizontal) and Wikipedia.org (red, exponential) 
from late 2002 to 3rd October 2006. Source: Alexa Internet, Inc.

     Piotr Konieczny  in his article also comments on the future. He speaks about ‘virtual universities’ (www.itdl.org) which sounds rather like a fantasy and people have to still develop much technology, but this vision sounds to me quite imaginable. What he writes about is, as I mentioned, related to universities but I think when this happens, secondary and elementary schools will follow these trends. However, until this time Wikipedia will remain a great help to a large number of students and teachers.

3.4 Benefit of ICT for the impaired
     My studies consist of a combination of two subjects; one of them is English and the other one is teaching children with special needs. I was thence interested how ICT can be useful for handicapped pupils in connection with learning and using English. Nowadays, there is such a trend to integrate pupils with a handicap into schools among 'regular' children. In western countries it has probably been a common practice for a few decades already but in our country, it seems teachers are just gaining initial experience with the integration. Computers with regard to English can be especially helpful for pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties or for visually impaired pupils. I will now describe concrete methods how practical computers can be used for these pupils.

3.4.1 Benefit for pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties
     At first I will mention a simple thing which can be done with computers, and that is mere typing of text and word processing which is in particular suitable for children with reading disabilities (dyslexia) and with writing disabilities (dysgraphia). Dominik Dvořák found there are 6.5% of children with Specific Learning Difficulties in the Czech Republic; this is a percentage from last year, and it is still rising (DVOŘÁK, 2006). This figure is by no means small, and that means there is approximately one or two such pupils in one class. Especially for young teachers there is a need to realise the fact that they will teach them and they should be prepared for it. A collective of authors, Černochová, Komrska, Novák, say computers allow even those who do not write neatly to write a nice text and those who do grammatical errors to correct them. Even children with dyslexia can be successful in producing or reading a text (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J. 1998, p. 11).

3.4.2 Benefit for visually impaired pupils
     Sometimes there is widespread belief that computers, with respect to the use in English classes, are rich in pictures and visual stimuli and no communication takes place.  However, as was already mentioned, a teacher is always ‘the boss’ of the educational process. One piece of evidence that the mentioned belief is not true is the fact that ICT can be extraordinarily supportive for visually impaired students and can be successfully implemented in this way.
     I have come across an interesting article by Jarosław Wiązowski about the use of computers in working with visually impaired pupils in connection with teaching English. The article is a bit specific, but in it is nicely described what can be done with such children when teaching English. First of all I will add one detail regarding material and space conditions about which I have already spoken, but this is an interesting related remark from the mentioned article. When a school computer in the classroom is used with learners it should be built in a way so that the teacher can walk among pupils and they can see one another as well as their computer screens. In the past there were isolated cabins with headphones in a language lab and the conditions for communication were quite artificial. Today’s solution is much better; students are in a group together, they can interact together, and this is primary for them in English lessons, not only for the visually impaired but also for everyone else. Consequently everyone can join more senses into learning and especially speak – in English, of course (WIAZOWSKI, J. 2001).
     Computers are used by the visually impaired very widely. Students with this handicap have installed special software on their computer which provides them with acoustic feedback. This software can read a text for them and read icons on which a cursor is located; just the voice of a computer is artificial. Jarosław Wiązowski pinpoints some experiences of the users. When a computer reads these texts in their mother tongue, it is comprehensible but it is a bit more difficult with a foreign language. If it is a short text in English for example, it is still acceptable, but longer texts can be problematic. In these cases, Braille is a better solution and in this case it is teachers whose task is to provide these children with the voice (WIAZOWSKI, J. 2001).
     Today touch screens are widely used. Regarding visually challenged, their visual deficit is compensated mainly with touch so tactile stimulation is involved. Wiązowski further writes there are devices with tactile outcome for these kids in Braille, so this device produces dots. In additon to this, other devices have been developed; those which can depict tangible lines and textures, and thus wholly inform about simple pictures, as touch is one of the most important senses in exploring the world. Of course there are problems with perspective, proportions and colours, but otherwise these devices are going (despite high cost) to become a great help for teaching a foreign language to blind people and can be an extraordinary source of motivation (WIAZOWSKI, J. 2001).
     The Internet as a means of communication has already been dealt with. Wiązowski claims this function can be again excellent for visually impaired learners. Thanks to the software there is no other person needed and these children can have privacy in communicating with peers who can see. It works the same for chat, which nevertheless probably requires a longer time for getting used to it, as reactions and responses have to be quick especially in English as a foreign language. On the other hand the same author claims there are opinions which are against chatting. They say that virtual socialising can endanger real-life contacts between the blind and sighted. In a way this phenomenon functions, but generally it can be said that it works very well, and the visually challenged can be on the contrary, thanks to chat, equally valuable members of a society (WIAZOWSKI, J. 2001).

4 European trends, policy, and approaches to ELT with respect to the use 
    of the Internet
     In this chapter I am going to describe European trends in English language teaching with regard to the use of a computer. I have monitored the present state of computer and Internet usage in the Czech Republic by distributing questionnaires both to teachers and students about which will be the second part of the project. Nevertheless, I was interested in the situation in other European countries also. I considered it interesting to compare the situation in our country with some neighbouring countries and others within Europe. In this part I will summarise the main aspects of the situation in those countries and in the practical part below I will try to find some parallels and topics for comparison and differences.

4.1 Situation in Great Britain
     Černochová, Komrska and Novák describe how the situation looks in Great Britain. They say this country has a unified school curriculum. According to what they say, the subject Technology is included among compulsory subjects, and within this subject students are familiarising themselves with many kinds of technology, how textile is produced, how to cook a basic meal, and other production processes. In addition to these, information technology is included here. From September 1998 this ICT has to be implemented into all school subjects in the United Kingdom – including foreign languages (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J., 1998, p. 14). Of course in the United Kingdom English is not a foreign language, but this country is home of the English language, and as I am concerned with European countries, the British Islands have a foremost position within Europe. It is a country in which very often new methods are developed and then spread to other countries. That is the reason why I considered it important to include Great Britain. As these three authors write further, the British government strongly supports this kind of education and contributes a decent amount of money for the usage of information technology at schools. They state here several organisations like British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, DfEE – Department for Education and Skills, and others which are helping those schools which are having problems with introducing these methods. They offer both methodical and technical support. The British government wants pupils to have an email address as soon as possible, and additionally the results of implementing ICT at schools are continuously watched and analysed for the government (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J., 1998, p. 14).
     Now, I will draw from a document published by BECTA, concretely from The Impact of the ICT in schools (with regard to all subjects, including foreign languages) for which this organisation was asked by another one, DfEE (Department for Education and Skills). New technology like laptops, interactive whiteboards and the Internet offer here a broad scale of new possibilities and approaches to teaching, not excluding language learning. In the mentioned document it is said that no doubt teachers in Great Britain have already acquired some skills and confidence to use the technology in subjects they teach (www.becta.org.uk).
     They have elaborated the Impact of ICT in each of the subjects which are taught in the United Kingdom. I have focused on what they have found about teaching foreign languages (unfortunately not English as it is their mother tongue). In this area they used information from the project The National Centre for Languages - CILT. This project has revealed that the use of ICT is beneficial in both teaching the English language and literature and in teaching foreign languages. The result of application of these methods and devices helps to improve all the skills – writing, reading, listening and speaking. Especially in pupils’ writing, fluency and quality has been improved. It helps to develop a relationship between language, semantics, and spelling, and due to the Internet they have access to authentic texts. What is more, motivation has risen eminently, students just like working with new technology (www.cilt.org.uk). As Jarosław Wiązowski states, “Younger and younger children are friends to the keyboard and mouse” (WIAZOWSKI, J. 2001). Moreover the project showed that with using ICT there has been greater collaboration among pupils and better classroom dynamics. As a result, all of the pupils gain more enthusiasm towards learning a foreign language, a greater range of learning experience, and bigger confidence (www.cilt.org.uk).
     Practically, the biggest interest from the uses of ICT was video conferencing; this was a highly motivational tool for learners. Children like visual devices which enable presentations with animations and simulations, which help pupils to understand and realize some phenomena through concrete examples. The usage of graphic images also helps to ‘grasp’ some abstract concepts, like microscope images and so on (www.cilt.org.uk). It is certain that this technique integrates more stimuli and integrates more senses, so children are more creative and more enthusiastic, as was mentioned. According to Černochová, Komrska and Novák, graphic language and graphic background are becoming more and more a tool for communication in the whole world, which is actually quite obvious as people are able to cross their cultural and national borders, etc. by using digital pictures, schemes, graphs and other visuals (ČERNOCHOVÁ, M. ; KOMRSKA, T. ; NOVÁK, J., 1998, p. 11).

4.2 Neighbouring countries of the former Eastern Block
     I was interested in foreign countries of the former Eastern Block which are today part of the European Union, as these states have been in very similar conditions as former Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. This means Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The fourth country which should correctly belong to this group is Germany. For comparison I have included Hungary and Poland.

4.2.1 Poland
     I will begin with Poland. One of the useful Polish resources for teachers interested in the use of computers in English teaching is an organisation called IATEFL, meaning Individual approach to our members, Attention to current problems of EFL teachers in Poland, Team-spirit, E-contact, Friendship and Learning. On their pages (www.iatefl.org.pl) there is an article by Jarek Krajka from a University in Polish Lublin who outlines a four-year-old situation in Poland regarding the use of ICT in teaching English in Poland.
     He presents that the public expectations of using this technology, or their further implementation, upgrading and before anything else, the expectation of the use of these technologies in English classes, is quite high in Poland. It is probably a country where people realise very clearly their problematic economic conditions and the need to invest into education. He mentions examples of headmasters urging teachers to use up computer classrooms with pupils and pupils urging teachers to use the Internet in English classes. Also, parents of these children are exceedingly satisfied if they hear there are new methods practised in language teaching, especially with the help of computers and the Internet. Additionally, the number of such schools in Poland with a computer classroom available is increasing in Poland. He describes such a trend that basic schools have better conditions and more language laboratories than universities, which is quite surprising (KRAJKA, J. 2002). 
     As he writes further, some elements of computer-assisted English learning are part of the curriculum, which means that on one hand there are some opportunities to do something with a computer but on the other hand it seems that Polish teachers are not prepared to use this technology. The Ministry of National Education and Sport in Poland quite strongly supports education of English teachers in ICT. It seems, however, that Polish English teachers are very busy with the amount of material to cover in their conventional classes, and they do not have enough space or experience for something different. The problem could be amended by organising and implementing some courses of computer-assisted English teacher training into the school curriculum (KRAJKA, J. 2002).
     Within the same page there is an article of a proposal for the internet-enhanced college course by a Polish author Malgorzata Kurek. She analyses the current situation in Poland and suggests towards what goals Polish children should be guided and where their weak points are, and she refers to authors who describe these problems in general (KUREK, M. 2002).
     She points out there is a need to adjust traditional standards to the requirements of the modern information-driven world. She explains that the situation in Polish schools is still not dramatically changing. The stress is still put on the didactic style of teaching (KUREK, M. 2002). It means as Mather says, “receiving linear sequence of facts authoritatively delivered via lectures, handouts or textbooks” (MATHER, 1996). This problem is probably comparable with our country, where the emphasis is put on acquiring a certain amount of facts, often by heart. Kurek implies that it is not memorising which is important. The amount of information doubles every moment so that it is not possible for an individual to cover everything. Instead there is a need to lead children to locate the desired information as fast and effectively as possible (KUREK, M. 2002).
     As eventual problems she points out the fact that there are mixed ability classes at basic schools and not every child has to be computer literate (KUREK, M. 2002). In comparison with my research it seems it is not like that in the Czech Republic (nearly 100% of my respondents have a computer at home and 80% have the Internet, see below), yet my data is not valid for the whole country. In Poland the situation is probably going to differ. 

4.2.2 Hungary
     This is the second country of my concern. On the pages of National Institute for public Education Hungary I found an article by Katalin Petneki who analyses the contemporary situation of teaching foreign languages in Hungary, and I tried to pinpoint her remarks about the application of modern ICT in language teaching. Children in this country are free to choose which language they are going to learn. In most cases they choose between English and German, from which English prevails as it is mainly taught everywhere in Hungary with the exception of two areas in Western Hungary.
     Petneki explains that although Hungarian society puts high emphasis on languages, and teachers are expected to provide with this key skill as many pupils as possible, the general level of language abilities of people is not actually the highest it could be. Regarding students, she describes it as mainly a lack of motivation which causes the poor language abilities. At schools they do not use many teaching aids and are not exposed much to listening to languages of native speakers (PETNEKI, K.), the source of which is undoubtedly the Internet.
     Petneki reports further that, regarding teachers, they are not yet ready to integrate these modern technologies into their English teaching. The odd thing is that foreign language curricula in Hungary do not embody new media despite the fact that an extraordinary pile of computer programs have appeared on the market, and the role of the Internet in language teaching is not being ignored either. What is more, in these curricula there is a condition not to go through covered material again whereas in foreign language learning pupils should successfully continue with more complicated things, once they have understood the basics, so that various revisions and exercises are needed. Petneki says that for the last ten to twelve years the number of hours of foreign languages has been increased so that teachers surely have some space for incorporating ICT into their teaching. Regardless of this, however, it is claimed the level of English of Hungarian children is not changed dramatically (PETNEKI, K.).
     I can confirm that from my experience. We travelled to Hungary by car, and we asked several times for the right way and every time we asked young teenagers. Only in Budapest the situation was acceptable; however, everywhere else the situation was problematic. Every time we tried to use English we did not get satisfactory and understandable advice. 
     This signifies it is not only the number of hours which pupils have at school but the quality of teachers’ training also. The author herself argues that language knowledge from the school should be applicable in everyday life. Moreover, English is a condition for further education, and as she further explained, the lack of  ICT  use in basic schools gives preferential treatment just to those who can afford additional specialised courses. Here it is important to realise the importance of improvement of education for the modern world which is surely operating with digital information in English (PETNEKI, K).

4.3 Lithuania
     I wanted to include some of the Baltic countries, as their conditions were again similar to Czech, and as will be revealed below, I have found a document which maps the situation of ELT in this country very thoroughly. This document provides the reader with many facts and this allowed me to compare some of those, mainly those which are connected with ICT in the practical part of my work.
4.3.1 A few words on Lithuania and its curriculum
     This is one of the three countries which were, as Wikipedia presents, under the control the former Soviet Union and have been included in The European Union and NATO since 2004 (en.wikipedia.org). In a national report on quality enhancement in language studies in Lithuania by Irena Skurvydiene, a remark on national curriculum is stated. In this country the first foreign language is started at the age of ten, and children can choose among English, German and French, English being the leading one. The second one used to be taken up two years later, but since the school year 2000 / 2001 it is not compulsory in Lithuania any more. There is a centralised examination at the age of 18 and it functions as well as a subject for entrance exams for universities (SKURVYDIENE, I.). In the Czech Republic, for comparison, the first language is started in fourth grade and the second one is not compulsory (www.syka.cz), which is exactly the same situation.
     In Lithuania, the main reason why ICT in language teaching is not as widespread as it could be is probably again of the material character. The mentioned author states that Lithuanian teachers have less technology available, in particular personal computers that are nowadays considered normal in the West. On the other hand the situation is getting slowly but gradually better. Like all the Baltic countries, Lithuania has relatively few inhabitants and the important thing for them is to support their education. Lithuanian teachers now have to absorb new technologies, specialise and widen their qualifications, and become lifelong learners. They themselves have to be willing to change (SKURVYDIENE, I.). This is very true for the concern of modern English language teaching, which is implementing technologies like computers or the Internet into English class teaching. The clue is basically to ‘go with the times’.
     Skurvydiene writes The British Council in Lithuania actively controls development of the communicative network among teachers of English. It provides workshops and seminars and creates work groups of teachers in which teachers regularly meet to discuss their experience and analyse weak points, formulate action plans and pedagogical concepts, explain the implication of the innovation, and organise things which are possible and real to do for an improvement. This institution helps teachers to manage initial difficulties with the implementation of new technologies, increases their confidence, and provides instructions needed for their employers to realise modern innovations which should serve both teachers and pupils (SKURVYDIENE, I.).

4.3.2 Survey of English Language Teaching in Lithuania: 2003-2004
     The mentioned British Council of Lithuania and Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Lithuania cooperated on a document which analyses the current situation of ELT in Lithuania and which was released in 2005. Here I am going to introduce this document, and further on, in the practical part, I will compare certain facts from this project with the results of my research. The project is called "A Survey of English Language Teaching in Lithuania: 2003-2004" (henceforth for the purpose of this work SELTL). Concerning the history of development of English in Lithuania, this source states in 1992 the Lithuanian British Council started to support education of teachers and enhance the quality of English teaching in this country. As can be seen in Appendix 3, a table taken from the research, popularity to learn English in Lithuania has grown significantly during the expectation to enter the European Union (SELTL, p. 20). This means teachers and politicians direct their current policy towards application of new methods and technology, a part of which ICT surely is.

Practical part

Practical part – A research of conditions of English language teaching in grades 6 to 9 of Czech basic schools with respect to ICT

1 Graphic illustration of the results of teachers’questionnaires
     Before I approach the sole results I will describe a few circumstances which preceded the realisation of the research. Within the frame of this project I addressed pupils and teachers in twenty basic schools and distributed questionnaires. Here I have to say the recoverability of those questionnaires was almost one hundred percent as I distributed them personally and took them back in the same way. There were 42 respondents among teachers and over 300 among pupils in total. I can say the questionnaires for teachers were filled in rather in detail but some of the pupils’ forms were a bit empty, that is why I have reduced them by two thirds; I evaluated 111 of the pupils’ questionnaires. These were a few facts about the extent of the survey, and now let us proceed to the results.

1.1 Men and women in schools
     In this practical part, I have not anyhow influenced the proportion of male or female teachers and as I said, concerning teachers, I have included all the questionnaires in the results. When I arrived in a school somewhere, I was really lucky if I found out that they have at least two teachers of English at one school. It is obvious that seeking respondents among teachers was much tougher than to find them among pupils where it is sufficient to just distribute questionnaires to the whole class. It might be also easily guessed what the ‘gender proportion’ of teachers of English is like in schools in the Czech Republic. Here are the results:

     For interest I am presenting the list of schools I have addressed and the number of teachers in each of them. The table is supplemented as Appendix 1. Compared to the situation in Lithuania, the gender relation is virtually the same as in my survey.  It shows that from those English teachers who filled in their questionnaires 92.4 % were women and just 5.6 % male. Regarding Lithuanian teachers generally, they state it is usually 90 % female representation and the rest is male (SELTL, p. 39). I do not know all the reasons, however, one of the major causes will be surely the same as in the Czech Republic; men who have qualifications in English teaching are usually elsewhere offered a noticeably bigger salary than in schools.

1.2 Composition of length of experience of English teachers in basic schools
     Now I would like to show what the age composition was, or rather, what the composition of teachers’ length of experience was, as I did not want anyone to be forced to convey personal information in my questionnaires. Since the graph would be quite complicated if I presented all the teachers and at the same time I would like to demonstrate this graphically, I reduced this experience into six categories. It is thus clearer and readable.
                 
     This graph shows that the biggest representation among teachers of English consists of those who have taught the language between one and five years, which can signify that our schools are finally starting to fill with young qualified graduates from universities. Otherwise it can be said when the division of those groups is of five years each, the proportion is quite balanced. Again in comparison with the same composition in Lithuania, see Appendix 5 (SELTL, p. 43), just their division into groups is slightly different. Generally, it can be said they have a significant part of young teachers too, however, the two major portions are teachers from 6 to 15 years experience and those from 16 to 30 years experience.  
1.3 Computer usage by teachers for themselves
     In the first part of my pupils’ questionnaires I focused on the usage of the Internet by teachers for preparations for their lessons, so the 1st question was: ‘Do you use a computer for preparation for your English classes?’ The majority, which means 97.7%, answered yes. The partial questions were for what reasons, specifically. The first option was for test preparation, which is the vast majority (90.7 %). For the purposes of presentations it is however merely 20.9 % , which is logically conditioned by whether the classroom has a digital projector, which will be seen later (compare with question 3b). Further, 39.5 % of teachers said they use a computer differently which means particularly for creating worksheets, for the preparation of listening to songs with lyrics, for crossword puzzles, grammatical tables, games, downloading materials from the Internet and other unspecified preparations for lessons.
     The next question, the 2nd one, is a parallel to the first one, just instead of the usage of a computer I asked about the using the Internet. Herein also, the majority (90.7 %) wrote they do use it, and here is a table with the details. The percentage is taken from those teachers who use the Internet for their preparations.
Table 1: The usage of the Internet by teachers for preparations
Information seeking                                      	94.4 %	
File downloading	46.2 %	
Communication with pupils via email with pupils	15.4 %	
Dictionaries, grammar	84.6 %	
Watching news in English	23.1 %	

     A few respondents chose a different option where they presented downloading texts to songs and seeking pictures and activities.
1.4 Computer usage by teachers with pupils
     Question number 3 sounds, “What is the way you use a computer in class?” Here the result is as follows, taken from those who use a computer.

Table 2: The usage of a computer in class
We have one computer in class	0.0 %	
We can use a digital projector	41.9 %	
We have a computer class in our school	95.3 %	
Differently, how?	7.0 %	

     As a different option teachers presented independent work or group work and working with pupils with an individual educational plan.
     Compared with Lithuania it seems the conditions there are better, as the survey presents 12.7 % of classes are equipped with computers (SELTL, p. 36). As can be read in Table 2 none of the teachers chose this option. Interestingly, I put the same question to Czech pupils and 2.5 % of them responded they have a computer in class (see question 10 below in the pupils’ section). This can imply that pupils in these cases may indeed have a computer in class but it is used in different subjects. All in all, the reason why there is a difference between the situation in the Czech Republic and Lithuania can be the fact that my research is a small scale one and does not describe the situation in the whole Czech Republic. At some other Czech schools the situation can be quite different. The Lithuanian number is bigger than the Czech one, however, in neither case is it a widespread trend to have a computer in class. Still, a lot of Lithuanian teachers would like to have a computer in class – 64.3 % (SELTL, p. 36). The ideal situation is when in class there is a computer with access to the Internet and a digital projector.
     I wanted to distinguish between the off-line and on-line use by teachers in class. The 4th question was therefore whether teachers use a computer off-line with pupils and the result is that 69.8 % of teachers use a computer off-line. Here I state again the concrete activities and their percentage representation.

Table 3: Usage of a computer off-line
Off-line educational programmes	53.5 %	
Writing seminar projects, reports, essays, etc.	25.6 %	
Watching films, documents, clips, etc.	20.9 %	
We use a digital camera	11.6 %	

     From the concrete educational programs or CD-ROMs teachers presented DIDAKTA (about which it is possible to read at the address http://www.i-kantor.eu/vp/aj.php and at the same time to order it),  TERASOFT (about which there is some information on page http://www.terasoft.cz/index2.htm), and Ten Little Indians, a game which is free to download on www.slunecnice.cz, where they state that the game receives positive feedback even from native speakers. Onward is Project English, Langmaster, and software by the publisher Oxford University Press.
     Question number 5 deals with using the Internet by teachers in their internet classes and once again, there were several partial specifications. Generally, 65.1 % of the teachers use the Internet during lessons with their pupils.  In a Lithuanian English classroom 11.3 % of local teachers have access to the Internet. With reference to the general use of the Internet (also in computer classrooms), 12 % of Lithuanian schools visit the Internet during the ELT classroom (SELTL, p. 36). Here the relation is opposite than the comparative remark in question 3, so it is difficult to judge in which country the situation is better. Nevertheless one thing is sure, that Lithuania has a clear policy and goals which they want to reach, which is also very important.
     Here are the concrete activities which Czech teachers do with children in their computer on-line classes.
Table 4: Information seeking with browsers and other uses
Pupils seek information in Czech directories	67.9 %	
Pupils seek information in English search engines in Czech	21.4 %	
Pupils seek information in English search engines in English            	40.7 %	
We use on-line educational programmes. Which?	25.0 %	
Differently, how?	3.6 %	

     Within this question those who use the educational programs mentioned programs by the publisher Oxford University Press and an on-line address www.aj.cz. Those who gave a different answer wrote some additional activities on the topic, dictionaries and exercises.
     Next, the 6th question is this,
“Have you visited any course on working with a computer?” The majority of teachers underwent a course organised by their school. This means schools have themselves the will to educate teachers.
Figure 3.1: Attendance in a computer course

     My 7th question is whether those teachers visited a specialised course for English Language teaching. The result is that over half of them (53.5%) underwent some specialised course, which is probably quite a high number; the next questions could be how intense the course was, what it brought to teachers, and so on.
     As for those who chose the different option, they said they visited courses held by British council four times. Then they mentioned an offer of some English teaching courses by the pedagogical faculty on the Palacký University in Olomouc. Next it was courses like Hot Potatoes, a program for creating quizzes and crossword puzzles [about which there is a chapter in a work textbook ICT for ELT by Světlana Obenausová (OBENAUSOVÁ, S. 2006)] and other courses like retraining ones, ‘game in a lesson’, etc.
     Now, I will demonstrate question 8 within the graph, where I asked how often teachers use a computer with children in their classes. Here I admit that the question is not very specific but I meant how often teachers use computers with a particular class they teach, and when I looked at the results of the pupils’ answers, which is question eight in the pupils’ questionnaires, the numbers are very similar; that means teachers understood the question the way it was meant. Of course, it depends what the teachers are doing in such classes, if they do something beneficial and enriching for pupils, if they train and strengthen their skills with the help of a computer or if they just let them aimlessly surf on the Internet without any control. Nevertheless, I merely wanted to know how often they use computers in their classes of English. It is obvious that if pupils do not have guidance the benefit for the language is probably neutral, at least if they themselves do not have a need to learn something, which could be the case because we as humans are quite lazy. This remark can be found naturally in many pieces of literature concerning this topic. As an example for all of them I present a sentence by Gordon Lewis, „Don’t let them wander aimlessly around on a website” (LEWIS, G. p. 15), meaning pupils.
Here are the numbers:               
     The residual group of questions are prevailingly open ones, and now the 9th question, “Do you think you have good conditions for working with a computer / with the Internet in your school?” Here, 81.4 % of teachers answered 'yes', which is the majority.  However, this is what I expected so I joined it with a partial question: “What could be done for the improvement of the current situation?” Here, one quarter said there is a lack of PCs in language classrooms. Raising the number of computers would streamline the whole process of learning the English language with a computer and enable both teachers and pupils to visit and take advantage of these classrooms more often. And of course, if there is a will to raise a number of PCs there is often a problem with a lack of space. That is why some of the teachers also spoke of the modernization of classes, or basically they would like a new space. Another comment was upgrading the current hardware which is quite similar to the previous ones and is clearly connected with material conditions. Teachers would also positively greet some/more digital projectors (if they already have some), and finally a bigger choice of educational CD-ROMs on the market. About these conditions was already written a paragraph in chapters 3.3.2 and in 3.4.2 in the theoretical part.
     Question 10 asks about this, “Do you have access with your pupils to a computer class within an English lesson?” Nearly all of the informants ticked off they do, which is fairly heart-warming in to my opinion.
     Question number 11 asks if using computers by pupils leads to the improvement of the level of their English. Answers to this question actually confirm my hypothesis which is put right like that. The reality is that 90.5% of teachers think using a computer is beneficial for the improvement of pupils’ level of English, and it is excellent if they really act according to that and take advantage of ICT if they have proper conditions.
     As a reason, they recount that this kind of teaching can be funny and educational for pupils at the same time, which reminds me of my belief in a common piece of knowledge, ‘a school by game’ a term by Jan Ámos Komenský. Pupils have to be motivated by their own joy from the activity, and if it thrives, it is a wonderful thing.
     Moreover, if they are motivated at school and at the same time they have a computer at home, and the preponderance of them does, they can often continue with the activities they like at school at home, which some of the teachers also wrote in the questionnaires. They can broaden their vocabulary, better their pronunciation if they are shown what they could listen to at home, exercise writing skills and typing skills (which is quite an important skill today), and the like.
     Also, many computer instructions are in English. Of course, it is necessary to admit that the situation has got enormously better and nowadays analogies in our mother tongue to masses of programs including systems Windows exist, however, it was America who has always been probably the biggest ‘crib’ of the development of information technology. Facts about history of the Internet can be found, for example, in an article by Mary Bellis, and of course in many other sources.  Among other information it is written that it was invented and developed in the United States (BELLIS, M.). Teeler and Gray directly write, ”Because of its origin in the United States, most of the communication via the Internet takes place in English” (TEELER, D., GRAY P. 2000, p. 3), see also chapter 2.2.1.
     Although there already exists loads of computer instructions in the mother tongue, still some instructions or manuals, messages, reports, etc. are encountered in English while working with a computer. This is a clear argument supporting the idea that using a computer can upgrade a level of pupils’ English, or the other way round, how important English is for using a computer, which again has already been described in chapter 2.2.1.
     Teachers in my research further declared that by using the Internet children are gaining a vast amount of information, and later they compare themselves and their knowledge with others.  Here another source of motivation for brightening language skills by using ICT can be observed. Teachers enounce that surfing on the Web or even games can be useful. Students thus meet many new words in a non-violent form. About the influence of games in general and in educational process also, it can be read in a document by Ben Williamson and Keri Facer (WILLIAMSON. B., FACER K. 2003). Another reason is the fact that educational programs are created in such a way so that they are attractive and resourceful, and more senses are included into the learning process.
     Now question 12, “Do you think using computers by teachers leads to an improvement in their level of English?” Now anew, the response proved another part of my hypothesis to be right. It says 87.7 % of the informants think the ICT have a certain impact on their better level of English. As a reason they once again stated they gain an information overview and also through, for example, www.cnn.com or www.bbc.co.uk broadcast companies, they are in contact with a living language and in addition to that there are of course many other sources of listening on the Internet spoken by native speakers. Through this teachers are given certain feedback about their language level and can test themselves. Teachers can check out new words and grammatical structures, they can brighten their reading skills, and study life and culture of English speaking countries and nations which are included in the Czech curriculum.
     The next to last question is number 13, “If you use the Internet or a computer with pupils in your English classes, what is the feedback like?” This is indeed another proven piece of my hypothesis. Concerning this enquiry, 94.4 % of teachers, (it is the rate out of those who responded and who do use a computer or the Internet in their lessons), stated they receive a very positive feedback from their students. Some of them also added that those lessons are more free and relaxed, pupils look forward to such lessons, and they will do a lot of work without even realising it as they are just submerged into the particular activity. They can also revise the matter more quickly, and it works as a variation of the whole learning process; generally, it can be refreshment from the classic school routine. In addition to that, some programs assess pupils too, and they are happy if they are successful. Nevertheless, teachers do not conceal that many of the pupils would rather surf on the Internet, play games, or chat with friends.
     The last question, the 14th, is probably the one which I considered the most interesting one and about which I was the most curious, “Which activities do pupils like the most?” Here I got a wide range of answers, however, there were also things which were the same or very similar within more people; ten teachers wrote that pupils like the Internet itself , just surfing, which is however not ideal for pedagogical purposes (it was mentioned above saying nonetheless that if teachers are to use the Internet with pupils they should permanently keep an eye on them to be sure they follow their instructions, especially if they are teenagers).  Then it was educational programs, and as everywhere the thing which ‘leaks’ to nearly every other point of view of my research are the games. Children simply like playing on computers and having fun. Thereafter this question was also influenced by those activities which teachers do with their pupils. For example, they seek with them lyrics to songs, reviews of today’s films, games, music, etc. Some of the teachers create presentations with pupils which can be very useful, especially for their future education, so it is good if they start a bit earlier. Someone wrote children like most if they understand the language, and this is according to my opinion crucial, as it takes into account the pupil’s own volition, which is always the most effective source of motivation. Further there were activities like filling in worksheets with particular information from the Internet and correspondence with foreign countries (foreign pupils and peers and mutual pen-pal exchanges-chapter 3.2.1); onwards were quizzes, crossword puzzles and translations of magazines with the help of dictionaries. They also noted an email address: www.helpforenglish.cz where many activities can be found. 

2 Graphic illustration of the results of pupils’ questionnaires
    This is the second part of my practical part which deals with the second necessary component of any educational process not excluding using ICT or English – a pupil. I hold on to the same graphic illustrations as in the previous part for an easier following of the text and easier realising of the reality which is valid for pupils in the Czech Republic. 

2.1 Data about pupils
     Concerning the representation of boys and girls, I tried to balance those two. That is why the relation is very balanced. The number of evaluated pupils in total is 111, as was mentioned. 

All the respondents were taken from the 5th to 9th grade in Czech basic schools. That means children between 11 and 15 years – still primary education. The list of schools and pupils’ representation in them can be compared in Appendix 2.

     I do not think the precise discrimination of the age would have any special meaning in a small scale survey so I conceived this project as research on using the Internet and a computer by the age group of the second stage of basic schools. Grades 5 – 9 of Czech basic school are a quite compact system and I think conditions, with regard to English learning, are similar in each of the grades. Moreover, basic schools are educational institutions with mixed-ability classes and that means there can occur entire fifth classes which are completely interested in the English language, a class which loves every new method, a class with all bright and enthusiastic students, and the like. On the other hand there can also occur a ninth class which utterly refuses any activity, a class of very lazy pupils, and consequently with a much lower level of English.
     I can confirm this experience from my teaching practice in basic school in Holice in Olomouc where I taught ninth grade pupils and some of them had the second type of approach to English. It was not a majority, there were also hardworking students in the class, but I have experience with that. Nevertheless, if those pupils are approached by a teacher from the point that they also have potential, then it is sometimes possible to turn the whole process around and create some motivation in them.
     
2.2 A part of the questionnaire dealing with home use of ICT

     Question 1, “Do you have a computer at home?” The result is right above this paragraph. It would be possibly a bit different if large scale research had been done, but this number is very satisfying to me, and it signifies most people, or rather parents, are probably aware of the fact that if their children are to catch up with demands of today’s world they have to invest some effort into purchasing a computer and eventually other additional technical or material support.
     The 1st question has several sub-questions, the first of those is 1a “How long have pupils been using a computer?”  It is quite interesting. The graph below (Figure 8) shows that three quarters of  children asked have been using a computer between two to four years, which can mean either that it is a general tendency of children to start using a computer in this age (that means sometime before they start the fifth grade in basic school), or many people or families purchased a personal computer quite recently which is quite probable too, in my opinion. If such research had beeen done two to four years ago, I assume the figures would have been quite different, as only 8 % of pupils have been using a computer over seven years. I think that the factor mentioned above applies here, that parents are aware how important operating ICT is for children nowadays. This and following parts of the first question are taken just from those respondents who answered they have a computer at home, which is nearly everyone anyway.

      Now let us see the percentage of usage of concrete applications or purposes. I begin with games, which is 1b.
2.2.1 Games

     This percentage of playing games belongs in third place right after music and chat, which means children play games quite often. On the BBC news they present a survey of 1,000 of teachers in England and Wales, which says, “A third of teachers in Great Britain are using computer games in the classroom and a majority believe they improve pupils' skills and knowledge, a survey suggests” (http://news.bbc.co.uk). This indicates that despite the fact that games can be viewed as an undesirable factor, it is possible to relax here a bit, as it can be seen from the research that adults play games quite often as well. It is understandable. Rather it is good to look for positive aspects of playing or using computers in this way. It is not meant here about sitting behind a computer the whole day or even a week and about loosing contact with reality, this is of course an extreme. The mentioned research states, “… a large majority of teachers believe there are educational benefits” (http://news.bbc.co.uk). On the other hand, despite the fact conductors of this research have explored some powerful benefits, they say there is also a need to know when and where not to use games in order to support the educational process. I can personally see games as a mere tool as everything else which is possible to use, but besides this there are many other interesting things which can be done on a computer, and the bigger store of ideas, possibilities and alternatives is possessed, the better. Thus the ICT application in language teaching should not be restricted just on using games.

2.2.2 Using a computer at home for school purposes
     Another part is 1c and this is using a computer for school purposes. It is obvious the number will not be as high as with other things like music and other hobbies, which are for children usually more pleasant, but still the number is not so small either. 

     If pupils themselves find out the Internet is a source of information about any school subject it is great, and this phenomenon is a sign that teachers teach something useful. This applies double in the English learning process as the Web is an infinite resource of material which is up-to-date at the same time. Later will be seen figures of usage of English for searching.

2.2.3 Digital photography and pictures

     Today we live in a digital age, and one of the consequences of this is that many people today own a digital camera with which pictures can be easily taken and stored in a computer in a convenient digital form without taking any space. Moreover the price of a digital camera, like prices of any other electronics, is decreasing, and their parameters are getting higher and higher. There is just one small drawback in it that the moment when we pay for the camera, it is already old and the next week a new model could appear on the Internet. The figure shows that children between eleven and fifteen years use photographic devices quite commonly. These cameras are often very small so that they can bring them with themselves wherever they want. When I have attended some observation classes within the frame of my teaching practice, I have met several teachers of English who do various projects with their pupils with the use of the digital camera. According to what those teachers said, pupils are always very motivated. I remember one task when they had to take pictures of English signs and later they made a certain project from this collected material.     

2.2.4 Music – a big source of motivation

     Music is very important in the life of teenagers. It is a way to express oneself, which is really important to be aware of if there should be work with pubescents. Their opinions and ideas should be respected and they should be approached as adults as long as they take responsibility for their actions. Music is another fantastic tool (according to this research probably the best, as it has got the highest percentage of use) by which there can be found a way to students. Listening exercises can be prepared with worksheets with information to fill in, they can be assigned to seek lyrics of their favourite songs, these songs can be translated with them, for instance with the help of an electronic dictionary, and talking about music is also possible. There is not any guarantee that topics from which the coursebook consists of are current, modern and generally attractive for pupils. As Lewis brings out, "One of the great criticisms of traditional coursebooks is their lack of authentic material”. (LEWIS, G. 2004, p. 54). With the Internet it is a guarantee of getting such information which is ‘in’ and which will draw children's attention. At first, however, it is necessary to make sure what style of music children like and so on. Also, not everyone has the same taste, so a reasonable compromise of handling this will have to be found. 
     As far as films are concerned (question 1f), the percentage is already smaller – 58.3%. The reason might be the fact that films are a bit time consuming and not every film is attractive enough for this age group, as they mostly like some action or interaction. I think they watch TV a great deal mor, too.

2.2.5 The use of educational programs at home
     The following activity was using educational programmes (question 1g). Those respondents who specified those programs presented programs focused on mathematics, physics, English and Czech. Educational programs can be very useful, however, this is again connected with a strong will to educate oneself. As was written above (within teachers’ questionnaires), it is very good if pupils have the same program at home which they have at school and carry on in exercising or in the same activity. 

     For an alternative option (question 1h) there were 8.3% of these pupils. They presented things like CD burning, working with music, with film material, and as might be guessed, games.

2.2.6 Do you have the Internet at home?
This percentage is not as high as in the first question, yet it is still a very high portion. This fact is again quite satisfying for those teachers who would like to cooperate with pupils or students on some projects or simply communicate with them outside the class. This is small scale research but the reality does not have to be far from my results. It would be very nice to take advantage of this fact and create some projects with pupils which interest both the teacher and students; because if there is such a great means of communication available, which is naturally email, pupils can learn to organise things very quickly and create many interesting things. Here are the numbers:

     Here again, the results of the following sub-questions are taken from those respondents who have the Internet at home. In these I of course wanted to know for which purposes pupils use the Internet.
 
     It is obvious that the Internet is a powerful tool for communication of any kind, as was already written above in the theoretical part. Today, video streaming and web cameras are already very commonly used, but I was interested in using the most known types of communication, which is email and text messages. 

     Nowadays a common practice from which to take benefit are FTPs. For those who are not familiar with this abbreviation (File Transfer Protocol), Wikipedia states, “Specifically, FTP is a commonly used protocol for exchanging files over any network” (http://en.wikipedia.org). Basically said, if someone has an on-line computer switched on it is possible to download his or her shared data. Thus it seems that again, quite many children from the survey use this device.
     Another communication tool in today’s world is a chat or a program called Skype which enables users to speak on-line with one another, just like when telephoned.

Chat is very popular with children as will be seen later, in the end within open questions; the percentage says everything.
     The following point I have included is watching or catching up with world events and news. Here the number is the lowest from the sub-questions within question number 2. Until fifteen years children probably have different problems to deal with than watching what is going on in the world.

     The next possibility to choose from in this set of partial questions was the favourite games but this time on-line ones, and because of this fact, the ratio is a little bit lower than in the issue of playing games generally (1a). As an example of presented on-line games I mention ‘The Crims’, which is a free on-line game and one of the top web games these days. 

     There also exist such game servers which unify people from all around the world into groups, so if someone wants to join and cooperate with people on the Internet (and in the majority of on-line games it is necessary) the only alternative to communicate with people around in the game is with the English language, there is no doubt about it. There even exist headphones with a microphone, (like pilots have in an aeroplane) through which it is possible to communicate with pals and solve some problems in a game, depending what the game is about, and this is for sure an amazing experience for children.
     The last sub-question within the second inquiry is dictionaries. Many dictionary programs and CD-ROMs exist, but it is always good if there is a chance to check things out with more of these dictionaries when translating something or just seeking a word. On the Internet there is an array of many dictionaries, including thesauri and language corpuses which are really useful if a particular word needs to be understood. It is very good to use them by pupils in context (right in English ICT lessons when doing some other activity on a computer – just be prepared to use it anytime); it is possible to listen to the correct pronunciation and other useful details.

     As different options, pupils wrote ICQ, which is actually a type of chat, searching interesting web pages, weather forecasts, games, articles for reading and the page www.spoluzaci.cz, where pupils can be in contact with one another and can share pictures in web galleries, and other files, etc.
     Question 3 investigates using internet searching tools and their certain types, as every one of them has a different database of addresses from which it seeks needed information. This interested me, as searching skills belong among the crucial computer and internet skills. The meaning of handling this skill was already discussed in the theoretical part (chapter 3.1).

     From these 86.6 % as a base, meaning those who use these tools, 84.5 % use Czech directories, 42.3 % use international search engines in English, and 63.9 % use international searchengines in Czech. Logically, children use the Czech directories most often, but its range is quite restricted for certain things. It is also very good to introduce to children the international search engines, and by using them they can themselves explore that the Czech ones are good at seeking one kind of information, and the English operating ones are wonderful for seeking other types of information. Differences between the use of each type of this search tool were again described in the theoretical part in chapter 3.1. I wish that everyone could use English and thus use this language in Web surfing. It is the responsibility of teachers to show pupils how enriching English can be and what a vast amount of information this language can offer.
     Question 4, “In case you use the internet directories or search engines, do you seek information for the school or just for yourself?”
Figure 22: Percentage relation of using the Internet for private purposes and for school

     Although in this graph the contrast may seem big, the frequency of using the Internet for school purposes is actually fairly positive. This question could be compared with 1c (preparation for the school which was 63.9 % of respondents). It is interesting that this number is higher, but we must consider the fact that this figure is taken just from those who have the Internet at home; maybe they realised more things within this question too, as they proceeded in the questionnaire. 
     Question 5, „Do you use English while working with a computer?“

     Here is a table which shows in which applications pupils use the English language
Table 5: Percentage of the use of English within working with a computer
70, 1%	of respondents use English in games	
59, 8%	of respondents use English when using on-line dictionaries	
63, 9%	of respondents use English when they listen to music and translate texts	
49, 5%	of respondents use English when they watch films in their original versions	

     The rest of the respondents wrote they use ICQ in English, or maybe English in ICQ, in programs for photography, in the system Windows, and within writing reports for English lessons with the use of information they seek on the Internet.
     Question 6: This one was aimed clearly on pupils’ own initiative of using a computer for self-improvement in English. It is another question connected with education and I am happy they use it in quite a high ratio. It was already said children have good conditions at home (1st question); it can also be said that everyone has a computer and if not at home he or she has access to it at school.
            
     Here pupils do these things for their improvements of English : 62.3 % look up unknown words, which is using dictionaries, however, this was already covered. 19.5 % of them look up grammatical structures, which is not exactly the most but is appealing that someone ever uses this tool. 37.7 % watch films in their original versions, and 28.6% use English educational programs. 72.7 %, which is quite a big number according to my point of view, translate themselves music texts, and some wrote games into the space for other alternatives. Concerning music this fact once more confirms the remark that music can be very resourceful and useful help for English teaching (chapter 2.2.4).
     Question 7 is purely self-evaluating, “Do you have a feeling you improve because of using a computer?” I am aware of the fact that it is very difficult to judge something like that but I just wanted to know the general feeling of children.

2.3 A part of the questionnaire dealing with the school use of ICT
     As the headline reveals I will here deal with the school use of the ICT in English classes. It was said several times already that although similar questions were put to teachers the results might be different, and in this chapter there is a chance to compare.

Table 6: Percentage of those who use a computer in their English lessons and how often
once a month	36. 7%     	
two times a month	39. 2%     	
once a week	13. 9%     	
two times a week	1. 3  %     	
three times a week	1. 3  %     	
this was an alternative option 	7. 6  %     	
  
     These figures are similar to those of teachers within the same question so it seems it is really like that, however, I have to present the same question and comment. It is very important what teachers do with children in those classes, or whether they do something with them at all. Thus this number can be a bit distorted. On the other hand there are surely some idealists among teachers with a very innovative approach, and I would not want to be unfair to those.
                              
     This is about question number 9. The result shows that pupils would like to use computers in English classes more often. It can be newly seen that students are motivated more than enough to use a computer and the Internet in English classes. I am glad I can put forward this proof so that it can be better realised what pupils’ needs are, and this can subsequently direct teachers’ adjustment of the English curriculum. I think doing small scale or even class surveys by class teachers is very beneficial as it provides the teacher with pupils’ likes and dislikes.
     Question 10, “If you use a computer in your English classes, in what way?”
Proportional data in this question is again taken from those who do use a computer in classes of English. For comparison with the situation in Lithuania, see Apendix 4 (SELTL, p. 36), a table with the percentage of teaching equipment at local schools.

Table 7: Presence of ICT at schools
2. 5 %	of respondents use one computer in a class, the user of which is either a teacher, one pupil or a group of pupils	
97. 5 %	ticked they have a computer lab in their school, which was chosen by almost everyone 	
5. 1 %	have a digital projector in class, which their teacher uses	
     Question 11A: This is about using a computer ‘off-line’ in the classes of English, again taken from those who use a computer at school.
Table 8: The way of using a computer off-line
79. 7 %	use educational programs	
7. 6 %  	are allowed to do what they want when they work with a computer	
15. 2 %	write some things for the school (reports, essay, seminar projects, etc.)	
17. 7 %	use dictionaries on a computer	

     Question 11B: This question is an analogy to the previous question, it differs only in using a computer at school ‘on-line’:
Table 9: The way of using a computer on-line
53. 2 %	use on-line educational programmes	
55. 7 %	seek information according to the instructions of a teacher	
38 %	work with particular web pages, again according to the instructions of a teacher	
25. 3 %	use on-line dictionaries	

2.4 Open questions
     Question 12, „Do you think it is good to use a computer in the English lessons?“
Because I have put forth myself a supposition that it is useful to use a computer / the Internet in the English classes, I was curious about the opinion of those who are involved ‘on the other side’, meaning pupils. They definitely confirmed my speculations about it. There is just no more need to prove popularity of ICT among pupils in English teaching and learning.	

     As the reason why to use a computer in English lessons, pupils mostly wrote they improve in English, it is fun, and they learn at the same time. They can use programs which they do not have at home. They broaden their vocabulary, enrich themselves with some new activities, and generally like working with a computer.
     As a reason why NOT to use a computer (which was the minority), some wrote that it is a different kind of education, that what is important is conversation, and that they are satisfied with what they already do. I am glad about such notes too as everyone has different needs and ways of thinking. I absolutely agree that communication or using the language by speaking in ELT is essential. Also the physical contact between the teacher and pupils is very good. The main benefit of ICT from my point of view is the contact with the language of native speakers.
     
     Question 13, „Do you like learning English with a computer?“   
This is a question very similar to the previous one, and I assume there is no need for any comments.

     Question 14, „What particular activity would you like to do in your English computer classes in addition to what you already do?“ The overwhelming majority answered games,of course, as they occurred in nearly every question. Next was surfing on the Internet, chatting in English, watching films in their original versions, seeking texts to songs, looking up words or grammar structures, and some pupils said they are satisfied with activities they already do.
     Question 15, „What would you like to do in your English computer classes more often?“
Here again, games came in first place, including on-line games. The second is once more the Internet.  Some are satisfied with what they already do, some would like, for example, to look up information according to the teacher’s instructions, some would like to train grammar, translation, and quite a few would like to visit web pages in English or work with special programs on the Internet. There are furthermore some who would like to do just anything on a computer.

Conclusion
     What could be said in the end? First I will provide an explanation for the purpose of this writing. I am convinced that information technology can facilitate a lot of work for a teacher of English , enrich the educational process and be a source of new experiences. In the theoretical part, the most important conditions for a successful realisation of the application of ICT in the educational process was already dealt with. On the other hand if these innovative methods are implemented into actual teaching, preparations for such use is very demanding.  However, once it is tested and proven to be successful, it can be a fantastic tool to work with.
     At this point I will try to summarise the main points. If ICT is to be used in whatever way, it is crucial to determine the exact aim or task for what is to be done; in the end it is like with any activity. This is valid for both of the mentioned usages of a computer at school, meaning for help for teachers themselves and for the class (chapter 2.2.2).
      Also described were two main uses of the Internet. It is a phenomenal tool for communication and seeking out information, which are both very common skills for today’s ‘computer generation’ of children. Nevertheless, not all children are technologically gifted in the same way, which practically means they can use these tools with bigger or lower success. Therefore, it is a big challenge for a teacher of English to provide young learners with useful advice and mainly to broaden their horizons by the implementation of English into their everyday life, which is penetrated by using ICT: email, Google, Seznam, ICQ and so forth.
     Now I would like to summarise the main findings of the practical part – findings which questionnaires have brought about. Regarding teachers’ findings, it is possible to say that almost every one of them use a computer and the Internet for preparations for their English classes, and 65 % use ICT with pupils in the class. Further, the results confirmed all my hypotheses, showing that 90.5 % of teachers think it is good to apply ICT in the educational process, 87.7 % of them think their language is improved with the help of these technologies, and 94.4 % claim that pupils like working and using ICT during lessons of English.
     It seems schools support computer literacy of their teachers, however, not every teacher has undergone a specialised course. As an example of the effective enhancement of qualifications and skills of English teachers, Lithuania can be presented. Teachers in this country, as was mentioned, closely cooperate with the British Council, organise visits to English speaking countries, organise various courses, use ICT for amelioration of their erudition and show interest in what they have found out.
     Now I would like to say a few words about pupils.  Today’s children are in most cases more than familiar with a computer, so there should be no problem with a lack of motivation if a teacher wants to use modern technology in English classes. Everyone but 0.6 % of questioned pupils have a computer at home and some 80 % have the Internet. Pupils or students themselves are of the opinion that using a computer in English lessons is beneficial.
     In my practice I would like to mainly teach students to use search engines in English more often, as I think it is huge advantage for their future. It was already said that 42.3 % of 11-15 year-old children use English when seeking out information on the Web, and the majority use directories in Czech. 
     If seen from the European point of view, of which I am definitely a supporter, it would be marvellous to enhance the general knowledge of the young generation in the Czech Republic. From my point of view, and of many people as well, the connection of language and modern technologies are an ideal combination for today’s world – it was already mentioned a comparison of killing two birds with one stone (chapter 2.2.1). If children are educated, then the standard of the whole society is rising, and people are able to lead a more meaningful life. In A Survey of English Language Teaching in Lithuania the minister Dr Remigijus Motuzas,
Minister of Education and Science, stresses ELT in connection with the European context, writing here about competencies to study and work better within the European Union, solidarity between nations, mutual understanding, and so on (SELTL, p 3). I share a very similar attitude, and that is partly why I tried to ‘look around’, mainly at our neighbouring countries and find out what the trends in this area are.
     There are several similarities when compared with our country. The Baltic countries and our neighbours (except Germany and Austria) also face very similar problems with material support at schools, with the relation of genders at schools (chapter 1.1), etc., but generally speaking conditions in the Czech Republic are prosperous.
   The solution would surely be the implementation of the above methods into school curricula, secondly, suitable equipment of classes, and thirdly, realisation of the position as life-long learners by all teachers. May it happen!

List of figures and tables
FIGURES:
Figure 1: Comparison of daily reach per million Internet users to Britannica.com
Figure 2: Female vs. male teachers
Figure 3: Experience of teachers in years
Figure 3.1: Attendance in a computer course
Figure 4: Usage of a computer by teachers with pupils in a class
Figure 5: Number of boys and girls
Figure 6: Age of pupils
Figure 7: Percentage of pupils who have a computer at home
Figure 8: A time how long pupils have been using a computer
Figure 9: Percentage of pupils who play games
Figure 10: Percentage of pupils who use a computer to prepare for school
Figure 11: Percentage of pupils who use a computer for working with pictures
Figure 12: Percentage of pupils who use a computer for listening to music
Figure 13: Percentage of pupils who use educational programs
Figure 14: Percentage of pupils who have the Internet at home
Figure 15: Percentage of pupils who use email and write text messages
Figure 16: Percentage of pupils who download films and music
Figure 17: Percentage of pupils who use Chat, Skype
Figure 18: Percentage of pupils who watch news and latest world affairs
Figure 19: Percentage of pupils who play on-line games
Figure 20: Percentage of pupils who use on-line dictionaries
Figure 21: Usage of directories and search engines
Figure 22: Percentage relation of using the Internet for private purposes and for school
Figure 23: Using English for working with a computer
Figure 24: The use of a computer in order to improve in English
Figure 25: Percentage of pupils who think they improve because using of a computer
Figure 26: Using a computer in English lessons according to pupils
Figure 27: Satisfaction of pupils with the amount of hours with a computer in English   
                  lessons
Figure 28: Percentage of pupils who think it is good to use a computer in English lessons
Figure 29: Percentage of pupils who like learning English with a computer

TABLES:
Table 1: The usage of the Internet by teachers for  preparations
Table 2: The way of usage of a computer in class
Table 3: Usage of a computer off-line
Table 4: Information seeking with browsers and other uses
Table 5: Percentage of the use of English within working with a computer
Table 6: Percentage of those who use a computer in their English lessons and how 
               often
Table 7: Presence of ICT at schools
Table 8: The way of using a computer off-line
Table 9: The way of using a computer on-line

Bibliography:
Aj.cz [online]. English on the Internet [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.aj.cz/>.

ALEXA, [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none>.            

BBC [online]. News [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/>.

BBC, Computer games motivate pupils [online]. News [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4608942.stm>.

BBC, Knowledge on the Net [online]. Programme 1 Introduction [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/net/knowledge_people.shtml>.

BBC, Knowledge on the Net [online]. Programme 2 Searching [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/net/knowledge_people.shtml>.

BBC, Knowledge on the Net [online]. Programme 3 Validating sites. Discussion groups and message boards [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/net/knowledge_people.shtml>.

BBC, Knowledge on the Net [online]. Programme 4, Using the internet in class. Discussion groups and message boards [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/net/knowledge_people.shtml>.

BBC, Knowledge on the Net [online]. Programme 5, Using the internet in class 2. Discussion groups and message boards [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/net/knowledge_people.shtml>.

BECTA – British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, The impact of ICT in schools – a landscape review, [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://www.becta.org.uk>.

BELLIS, M.: The History of the Internet: About: Inventors [online]. A part of The New York Times Company [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://inventors.about.com/od/istartinventions/a/internet.htm>.

BOLLENTIN, W. (1998); DONOVAN, B. (2001); HAMANN, K. and WILSON, M. (2001) in: Evaluating the Impact of Internet Teaching: Preliminary Evidence from American National Government Classes [online]. Jstore database [cited 2007-02-20]. Available from URL <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=10490965%28200209%2935%3A3%3C561%3AETIOIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0>.
BRÁZA, J. (1999) Internet.cz. Jak hledat a najít. Praha: Grada Publishing. ISBN 80-7169-701-X

British Council Lithuania [online]. [cited 2007-03-16]. Available from URL <http://www.britishcouncil.org/gr/lithuania-english-teacher-development-projects-survey.htm>.

CILT (2005), Digital video in the MFL classroom. CILT, the National Centre for Languages [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://www.cilt.org.uk/languagecolleges/digital_video.htm>.

CNN [online]. News [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.cnn.com/>.

ČERNOCHOVÁ, M.; KOMRSKA, T.; NOVÁK, J. (1998) Využití počítače při vyučování. Náměty pro práci dětí s počítačem. Praha: Portál. ISBN80-7178-272-6 p. 11

DVOŘÁK, D. Diagnóza vývojové poruchy: dobrý pomocník, ale nebezpečný pán at Rodina a škola [online]. 2006, no. 10 [cited 2007-03-15]. Available from URL
<http://www.portal.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=21274>.

DUDENEY, G. (2001) The Internet and the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-52178373-9

EDDINGS, J. (1995) Jak pracuje Internet. Brno: Unis. ISBN 1-800-688-0448

GRIGOLEIT, U. (1997) Internet kompletní průvodce. Praha: Grada Publishing. ISBN 80-7169-378-2 p. 273
GUZDIAL, Mark. 1999. “Teacher and Student Authoring on the Web for Shifting Agency”. Presented at AERA 99 Session: How can CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) change classroom culture and patterns of interaction among participants? Retrieved August 13, 2006. 
[cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu:8888/csl/uploads/24/default.html>.

Help for English [online]. English on the Internet for free [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.helpforenglish.cz./>.

HUITEMA, CH. (1996) A bůh stvořil internet. Praha: Mladá fronta. ISBN 80-204-0576-3

JANDA, K. (1992); WILSON, D. (1996): Evaluating the Impact of Internet Teaching: Preliminary Evidence from American National Government Classes [online]. Jstore database [cited 2007-02-20]. Available from URL <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1049-0965%28200209%2935%3A3%3C561%3AETIOIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0>.

KONIECZNY, Piotr, Wikis and Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool [online]. January 2007, [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_07/article02.htm>.

KRAJKA, J. IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group, Teaching English with Technology, A Journal for Teachers of English [online]. 2002, Vol. 2, Issue 5 [cited 2007-03-15]. Available from URL <http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_edit11.htm>.

KUREK, M. IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group, Teaching English with Technology, A Journal for Teachers of English [online]. 2002 [cited 2007-03-15]. Available from URL < http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_article11.htm#article2>.

LEBEAU, Sue. Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts (video) at You Tube Broadcast your Yourself [online]. 2007 [cited 2007-03-24]. Available from URL
< http://youtube.com/watch?v=L9q3eYrKlCk >.

LEWIS, G. (2004) The Internet and young learners. Oxford: OUP. ISBN 019 442182 1

MANDER, J. (2000) Čtyři důvody pro zrušení televize. Brno: Nakladatelství Doplněk. ISBN 80-7239-063-5

MATHER, P. (1996) "World Wide Web: Beyond the basics" (Chapter 6). [online]. Available from URL <http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~wwwbtb/book/chap6/critical.html>.

OBENAUSOVÁ, S. (2006) ICT for ELT – Work material for teaching a subject ICT for teacher of English

PAYACK, P. The Global Language Monitor Media Tracking and Analysis [online]. 2006 [cited 2007-03-14]. Available from URL  < http://www.languagemonitor.com/wst_page7.html>.

PETER, Ian: Future history of the Internet [online]. Net History, 2004 [cited 2007-03-12]. Available from URL <http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/future.html>.

PÍSEK, S. (2001) Internet v rodině. Jak hledat a najít. Praha: Grada Publishing. ISBN 80-247-0117-0

PLANT, S. Did you know? ... at Digital Europe [online]. 2003 [cited 2007-03-24]. Available from URL
< http://www.digital-eu.org/didyouknow/default.asp?id=29>.

Poradenství v oblasti školství, školského a pracovního práva: [online]. i-kantor.eu [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.i-kantor.eu/kontakt.php>. 

REID, J. (1997) Preparing Students for the task of online learning in: Computers and Teaching: Evolution of a Cyberclass [online]. Jstore database [cited 2007-02-20]. Available from URL <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=10490965%28199809%2931%3A3%3C568%3ACATEOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23>.

ROSENZWEIG, Roy 2006. "Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past". Journal of American History. 93:117-146. Retrieved on July 10 2006. [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL <http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/d/42>.

SKURVYDIENE, I., Universität zu Köln [online]. [cited 2007-03-16]. Available from URL <www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/aspla/tnp2/doc/lithuania.rtf>.

SLAVÍK, J.; NOVÁK, J. (1997) Počítač jako pomocník učitele. Praha: Portál. ISBN 80-7178-149-5

Slunečnice [online]. Download freeware a shareware [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.slunecnice.cz/promotion.php4>.

Syka, Vláda chce zlepšit jazykové znalosti dětí i dospělých [online]. 21. 12. 2005 cited 2007-03-16]. Available from URL <http://www.syka.cz/narodni_plan.htm>.

TEELER, D.; GRAY P. (2000) How to use the Internet in ELT. Longman. ISBN 0-582-33931-6

Terasoft – výukové programy: [online]. Terasoft a. s. Hořovice [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://www.terasoft.cz/index2.htm >.

TESL-L, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Electronic Lists [online]. [cited 2007-03-15]. Available from URL < http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/~tesl-l/about.html>.

Wikipedia, FTP [online]. [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftp>.

YOUNG, J. jstore [database online]. Computers and Teaching: Evolution of a Cyberclass, 1998, in: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Sep., 1998), pp. 568-572.
 [cited 2007-03-04]. Available from URL < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=10490965%28199809%2931%3A3%3C568%3ACATEOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23>.

WALLACE, M. J. (1992) Study skills in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22110-2

WIAZOWSKI, J. IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group, Teaching English with Technology, A Journal for Teachers of English [online]. 2001, Vol. 1, Issue 2 [cited 2007-03-15]. Available from URL < http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_article2.htm >.

WILLIAMSON. B., FACER K. Futurelab [online]. 2003 [cited 2007-03-25]. Available from URL <http://www.futurelab.org.uk/research/other_pubs.htm>.

Wikipedia: Baltic states [online]. [cited 2007-03-16]. Available from URL <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_countries>.

Wikipedia, FTP [online]. [cited 2007-03-11]. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftp>.

Wikipedia: George Boole [online]. [cited 2007-02-20]. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boole>.

Wikipedia: Pen pal [online]. [cited 2007-02-20]. Available from URL < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_pal>.

PETNEKI, K., National Institute for public Education Hungary [online]. Available from URL <http://www.oki.hu/oldal.php?tipus=cikk&kod=Teaching-Petneki-Foreign>.

ZOUNEK, J.; KŘÍŽ, R. (2001) Internet pro pedagogy. Jak hledat a najít. Praha: GradaPublishing. ISBN 80-247-0044-1

Appendices

Appendix 1: A chart of schools and representation of teachers
Appendix 2: A chart of schools and representation of pupils
Appendix 3: Studying foreign languages in general education schools (thousands of pupils)
Appendix 4: Teaching equipment available at schools: a comparison
Appendix 5: Teacher experience
Appendix 6: Teachers’ questionnaire
Appendix 7: Pupils’ questionnaire

Appendix 1: A chart of schools and representation of teachers
School	Place	Number	Percentage	
1.   ZŠ - Hálkova, 4	Olomouc	3	7.0	
2.   ZŠ - Demlova	Olomouc	4	9.3	
3.   ZŠ - Videčská	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	2	4.7	
4.   ZŠ - Hejrovského	Olomouc	1	2.3	
5.   ZŠ - M. Gorkého	Olomouc	2	4.7	
6.   ZŠ - Tererovo náměstí	Olomouc	2	4.7	
7.   ZŠ - Nedvědova	Olomouc	2	4.7	
8.   ZŠ - Zubří	Zubří	2	4.7	
9.   ZŠ - Šafaříkova	Valašské Meziříčí	2	4.7	
10. ZŠ - Sedmikráska	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	1	2.3	
11. ZŠ - Masarykova	Valašské Meziříčí	1	2.3	
12. ZŠ - Vyhlídka	Valašské Meziříčí	2	4.7	
13. ZŠ - Spojenců	Olomouc	3	7.0	
14. ZŠ - Žerotínova	Valašské Meziříčí	3	7.0	
15. ZŠ - Zeyerova	Olomouc	4	9.3	
16. ZŠ - Holečkova	Olomouc	2	4.7	
17. ZŠ - Vidče	Vidče	1	2.3	
18. ZŠ - Komenium	Olomouc	3	7.0	
19. ZŠ - Zašová	Zašová	2	4.7	
20. ZŠ - Pod Skalkou	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	1	2.3	

Appendix 2: A chart of schools and representation of pupils
School	Place	Number	Percentage	
1.   ZŠ - Hálkova, 4	Olomouc	7	6.3	
2.   ZŠ - Demlova	Olomouc	13	11.6	
3.   ZŠ - Videčská	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	8	7.1	
4.   ZŠ - Hejrovského	Olomouc	2	1.8	
5.   ZŠ - M. Gorkého	Olomouc	6	5.4	
6.   ZŠ - Tererovo náměstí	Olomouc	8	7.1	
7.   ZŠ - Nedvědova	Olomouc	2	1.8	
8.   ZŠ - Zubří	Zubří	15	13.4	
9.   ZŠ - Šafaříkova	Valašské Meziříčí	7	6.3	
10. ZŠ - Sedmikráska	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	7	6.3	
11. ZŠ - Masarykova	Valašské Meziříčí	7	6.3	
12. ZŠ - Vyhlídka	Valašské Meziříčí	4	3.6	
13. ZŠ - Spojenců	Olomouc	2	1.8	
14. ZŠ - Žerotínova	Valašské Meziříčí	6	5.4	
15. ZŠ - Zeyerova	Olomouc	7	6.3	
16. ZŠ - Holečkova	Olomouc	5	4.5	
17. ZŠ - Vidče	Vidče	2	1.8	
18. ZŠ - Komenium	Olomouc	2	1.8	
19. ZŠ - Zašová	Zašová	1	0.9	
20. ZŠ - Pod Skalkou	Rožnov pod Radhoštěm	1	0.9	

Appendix 3: Studying foreign languages in general education schools (thousands of pupils)

Appendix 4: Teaching equipment available at schools: a comparison

Appendix 5: Teacher experience

Appendix 6: Teachers’ questionnaire

(circle)         Man    /    Woman             How long have you been teaching   
            English?
                                                    School + place:

1. Do you use a computer for preparations for your English classes?   (mark)                                                  
    □ Yes  /  □ No
    If yes, how?    (mark)                              □    Test preparation
                                                                     □   Presentations
                                                                     □   Differently, how?

2. Do you use the Internet for preparations for your English classes?   (mark)
    □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes, how?    (mark)       □  Information seeking for a class
                                            □  File downloading (music, films, programmes, …)
                                         □  Communication with pupils via the Internet
                                         □  Dictionaries, checking out grammatical phenomena, …
                                         □  Watching news in English
                                         □  Differently, how?

3. Do you use a computer with pupils in English class? How?     (mark)
     □    We have one computer in class which either I use or pupils, separately or small  
             groups of them
     □    We can use a digital projector (presentations, films, clips, …)
     □    We have a computer class in our school
     □    Differently, how?

4. Do you use off-line computers in your English classes?   (mark)     □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes, how?           □    We use off-line educational programmes. Which?                   
    (choose and mark)        □    Pupils write school seminar projects, reports, essays, etc. on  
                                             a computer.
                                      □    We watch films, documents, clips, ...
                                      □    We use a digital camera
                                      □   Differently, how?

5. Do you use the Internet in your English classes?   (mark)     □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes, how?          □   Pupils seek information       – □  in Czech browser
    (choose and mark)                                                         – □  in English browser in Czech
– □  in English browser in English            
                                      □   We use on-line educational programmes. Which?
                                      □   Differently, how?

6. Have you visited any course of working with a computer?    (mark)     □  Yes / □  No
    If yes, in what way and for how long?                 □    Voluntarily
    (choose and mark)                                                         □    Within our school
                                                                                        □    Differently, how?

7. Have you visited a specialised course for teaching English?
    (mark and specify)                                                □   Yes   /   □   No

8. How often do you use a computer with pupils?                         □   once a month
    (choose and mark)                                                                            □   twice a month
                                                                                                            □   once a week
                                                                                                            □   twice a week
                                                                                                            □   three times a week
                                                                                              □   more often than             
       three times a week
                                                                                                            □   differently

9. Do you think you have in your school good conditions for working with a computer / with the Internet? (mark)       □   Yes   /   □   No

    What could be eventually be improved?

10. Do you have access with your pupils to a computer class within an English   
       lesson? (mark)           
      □   Yes   /   □   No
11. Do you think using computers by pupils leads to their improvement of the level of  
      English?       
      (mark)       □   Yes   /   □   No
   
      Why?

12. Do you think using computers by teachers leads to their improvement of the level  
      of English?          
      (mark)       □   Yes   /   □   No
      Why?

     What is it like in your case?     

13. If you use the Internet or computer with pupils in your English classes, what is the 
      feedback like?

14. Which activities do pupils like the most?
      (here you can apply choices from the questions 4 and 5 plus others which are not presented there)

Appendix 7: Pupils’ questionnaire

(circle)   Boy   /  Girl  –  Age:      –     School + place:

1. Do you have a computer at home?   (mark)          □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes:       How long have you been using it? 

                                For what activities do you use it?        □   Games
                                    (mark, specify if you need)                                □    Preparation for school
                                                                     □   Picture, photos
                                                                     □   Music 
                                                                     □   Film
                                                                     □   Educational programmes (which subject?)                                                                                                                      
                                                                     □   Other things, what?

2. Do you have the Internet at home?   (mark)             □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes:   For what activities do you use it?    □   Email / messages
                       (mark, specify if you need)                 □   Downloading films, music…
                                                                      □   Chat / Skype
                                                                      □   News, newest world affairs           
                                                                      □   On-line games
                                                                      □   On-line dictionaries
                                                                      □   Other things, what?

3. Do you use Internet directories or search engines?    (mark)      □   Yes   /   □   No
    If yes, which:                 □    Czech ones
   (choose and mark)            □   International   – □ I look for information in English
                                                                – □ I look for information in Czech                                                                           
                                             □   Differently, how?

4. In case you use the internet ‘search engines’ do you seek information:                            
     (mark)                                                                                                      □ For school
                                                                                                      □ Just for yourself
                                                                                                             
5. Do you use English while working with a computer?  □   Yes   /   □   No
   If yes: When or how concretely,                □   Games
   In which applications?                                 □    Dictionaries
   (mark, specify if you need)                               □   Music – texts
                                                                   □   Films in original versions (with subtitles)
                                                                   □   Differently, how?

6. Do you use a computer in order to improve in English?   □   Yes   /   □   No      
    If yes, how?                    □   Looking up words
   (mark)                              □   Looking up grammatical structures
                                         □   Watching films in their original versions
                                         □   Using educational programmes
                                         □   Music – texts in English
                                         □   Differently, how?

7. Do you have a feeling you improve because of using a computer?  □  Yes  / □  No          

8. Do you use a computer in your English classes?   □  Yes  /  □  No          
    If yes, how often: (mark)                                                                      □   once a month
                                                                                                            □   twice a month
                                                                                                            □   once a week
                                                                                                            □   twice a week
                                                                                                            □   thrice a week
                                                                                                            □   more than three  
                                                                                                                   times a week
                                                                                                            □   differently

9. Are you satisfied with the amount of hours of work with a computer in your English 
    classes?
    (mark)       □  Yes, it is enough  /  □  No, it is little

10. If you use a computer in your English classes, in what way?    (mark)
□ We have one computer in a class and there works either our teacher, one pupil, or a   
     group of several pupils
□ We have three computers in our class
□ We have a computer class
□ We have a digital projector in our class which our teacher uses
□ Differently, how?

11.A In what way do you use a computer OFF-LINE in your English classes?
        What do you do?   (mark)                 □   Using off-line educational programmes
                                                             □   We can do what we want in our English  
                                                                             computer lessons
                                                             □   We type essays, reports, seminar projects  
                                                                             on a computer, etc.
                                                             □   We use off-line dictionaries
                                                             □   Other things, what?

11.B In what way do you use a computer ON-LINE in your English classes?
        What do you do?   (mark)                  □   Using off-line educational programmes
                                                               □   Information seeking on the Internet  
                                                                                according to teachers instructions
                                                               □   Working with certain web pages on the  
                                                                                Internet according to the instructions of the    
                                                                                teacher
                                                               □   On-line dictionaries, thesauri
                                                               □   We do not use the Internet at school
                                                               □   Other things, what?

12. Do you think it is good to use a computer in English lessons?
      (mark and give a reason)        □     Why yes?
                              
                                          □    Why not?

13. Do you like learning English with a computer?   (mark)   □   Yes   /   □   No       

14. What particular activity would you like to do in your English computer classes  
      besides what you already do?

15. What would you like to do in your English computer classes more often?  
Résumé
     Tato práce je zaměřena na použití informačních technologií v hodinách anglického jazyka na druhém stupni základních škol v České republice. Teoretická část pojednává o historii a vývoji informačních technologií a jejich použití ve výuce cizích jazyků, o významu počítače a Internetu pro výuku anglického jazyka a naopak. Dále je zde stručně popsána situace v evropském kontextu, jmenovitě ve Velké Británii, v sousedním Polsku, v Maďarsku a v Litvě. V praktické části jsou vyhodnoceny dotazníky, jež byly distribuovány do dvaceti základních škol učitelům anglického jazyka a žákům a které se zabývají souvislostmi mezi anglickým jazykem a aplikací informačních technologií do jeho výuky.