CONCLUSION

Ever since computers first appeared in schools in the mid sixties, educational practitioners have been excited about their role.  In 1966, Patrick Suppes, author of the first adaptive CAL programme, predicated that it would “change the face of education in a very short time".¹  In 1981, Seymour Papert, author of LOGO, a programming language designed to help children learn geometry by ‘doing’ declared that the ‘worksheet curriculum’ could be confidently abandoned to “allow children’s minds to develop through the exploration of computer simulated microworlds”.²  They foresaw a revolution leading not only to the re-organisation of classroom activities but of the entire structure of education itself on an intellectual, social, environmental and economic level.
In our global and modern world, the ability to use ICT effectively and appropriately is now seen as essential to allow learners to acquire and exploit information within every sphere of human activity.³  ICT has the potential to benefit learning and teaching across the curriculum and in all sectors of educational activity by providing:
Access to information on the Internet and thus extending the resources available.
New ways of recording and presenting information and ideas.
Systems of communication which can overcome barriers imposed by time, distance and disability.
Motivation to learn
Reinforcement of core skills.⁴
Thus, by offering ways of improving learning and teaching, ICT has an important role to play in raising the standards of achievement in all curricular areas, including Modern Foreign Languages.
During the course of our Project, pupils were given opportunities to develop and to apply their IT capabilities in their study of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL).  Our Word Processing and Desk Top Publishing packages allowed pupils to structure and draft documents, combine graphics with text and edit their work in their target language.  Databases, the Internet and CD-ROMS were used to learn about foreign cultures and as consolidation/revision and for language learning.  They were also used for research, to spot trends and to organise information.  Electronic mail was used to communicate with pupils within our cluster group of schools and in other countries.  Our Patch Studies were an effort to combine as many of these computer  applications as possible, with the use of the maximum number of computer peripherals.  Through the above approach, we endeavoured to raise the knowledge and awareness among our students of all target European languages and respective cultures, thus achieving the stated objectives of our Project and fulfilling the criteria of the indicative Outcomes.⁵According to Professor Dr. Michael Goethals, Leuven University:

“Language is our ultimate means of communication,

it is in fact the most powerful ‘multimedia information highway’ ever developed

by the human species.  Hence, information and communications technology

finds its most natural test bed in the language learning process”.⁶

Our Project confirms the above statement, as ICT provided a natural encouragement to our pupils to acquire their new language skills.
In the opinion of Charles Claxton, it would be negligent to willfully and knowingly deny our pupils access to ICT in their language learning.⁷  Using ICT to teach languages is a necessary agent of change.  Johan Grauss (1999) sums up the situation facing schools, as we enter the New Millennium, when he states:
“In addition to their traditional task, they will have to prepare their students for a life and career in the information age.  Students will have to learn to navigate the Internet and cope with large amounts of information with speed and accuracy.  By using the Internet in the foreign language classroom, students will be able to develop skills that parallel those that will be commonly used in the world outside the classroom.  Therefore it is imperative that learning to work with computers and understanding new technologies is assimilated into the curriculum and into teaching methods”.⁸
It is important however to remember that the use of ICT on its own is not enough to improve language learning. ⁹  Johan Grauss in a thesis published on the WWW states his conviction:
of the benefits of the Internet in an educational context and although it is by no means the be-all and end-all of education, it can be a true asset to the Foreign Language classroom. ¹⁰
Ben Joyce (1995) is of the same opinion when he states:
“Computer-Assisted Language Learning is of great benefit if used alongside the more traditional teaching methods.  Its greatest strength is in supporting the teacher and carrying out those tasks the teacher cannot do”.
In other words, ICT is an excellent language tool and can best be used to compliment rather than replace traditional teaching methods and materials (e.g. teacher made materials, audio-visual equipment and commercially published textbooks/workbooks).
In summary, our Project was an effort to demonstrate how we, teachers and pupils, harnessed the power of ICT in order to teach, learn and appreciate foreign languages/culture.  A computer cannot inspire like a good teacher, but we used ICT as an inspirational and motivational tool to enhance and nourish the European consciousness of our pupils ... a most enjoyable and worthwhile experience for all concerned.

REFERENCES
Suppes, P. (1966);  The Uses of Computers in Education, Scientific American, 215” ex McCarthy, P.: “CAL-Changing the face of Education?”; http://www.sis/port.ac.uk/~kingtr/cal95/cal95men.htm

Papert, S (1981); “Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas”; Harvester Press; ex McCarthy P. ; “CAL –Changing the face of Education?”; http://www.sis/port.ac.uk/~kingtr/cal95/cal95men.htm
Clark, M (1994); “Young Literacy Learners”; Leamington Spa; Scholastic ex http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/ict/apend-contents.htm
“The Use of Information and Communications Technology in Learning and Teaching”; The Scottish Office ex. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/ict
“Innovative ICT Projects in Schools”; A Directory of Projects supported by the Schools Integration Project under Schools IT 2000; National Centre for Technology in Education; Dublin; 1999; Page 20.
“From Classroom Teaching to World-Wide Learning”; International Conference on the Use of ICT in Modern Language Teaching and Learning” ex http://www.arts.kuleuven.ac.be/eurocall 98/.
“Is the Internet the next big step forwards for MFL education” a thesis published on the Internet by Charles Claxton at: http://www.dove-tail.com/claxton/index.htm
“An Evaluation of the Usefulness of the Internet in the EFL Classroom” a thesis published on the www by J. Grauss at: http://home.plex.nl/~jgraus
“Is the Internet the next big step forwards for MFL education” a thesis published on the Internet by Charles Claxton at:
http://www.dove-tail.com.claxton.index/htm
“An Evaluation of the Usefulness of the Internet in the EFL Classroom” a thesis published on the www by J. Graus at: http://home.plex.nl/~jgraus/

Joyce, B: “Computer-Assisted Language Learning  - For or Against?” exhttp://www.sis.port.ac.uk/~kingtr/cal95/cal95men.h

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