A thesis in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in

The Law of Exercise

Based on the Law of Exercise, the strength of a connection is determined by how often the connection is used. In other words, the bonds between stimuli and responses are strengthened through frequent exercise, done frequently and vigorously. According to Douglas (1994), the more a stimulus-response connection was practiced, the stronger the bond would become; the less it was used, the weaker it would become. The connections strengthened only by rewarded practice and exercise. This is similar to Pavlov‟s conditioning theory, whereby with repeated practice or conditioning, the learner will improve with each practice.

In the ICT classroom setting, practicing or exercising in using the ICT offers students an opportunity to be competent in integrating the technology into their lessons. This is especially so when the exercise available on softcopy can be
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practiced a countless number of times since the responses can be easily deleted and retyped as many times as desired by the students. Through frequent practicing, the students will establish certain patterns in using ICTs and will create a feeling of satisfaction upon achieving success in using the software. When the acquired stimulus-response is positive, it will actually increase the students‟ confidence in using the technology without fear. The more the exercises or trainings are given to the students; the better would be for the students to improve their competency in using the technology. As a result, their positive attitudes towards the technology will increase and learning would be enhanced.

4. The Law of Readiness

Thorndike stated that this law involves the state of an organism, or its motivation to learn. He also said that when an organism is ready to act, it is reinforcing for it to do so and annoying for it not to do so. Also, when an organism is not ready to act, reinforcing it to act will be annoying to it (Green, 1999). According to Green (1999), this law by itself was actually vague and much has been done to interpret the readiness to apply to the maturity level of the organism on the effects of the previous learning on the present learning. For example, in the classroom setting, a teacher gives out an exercise of using Microsoft Word to write a composition. If the students already have the background knowledge and skill to use the software, they will feel comfortable and have no problem in solving the exercise. On the contrary, the students without the necessary computer skills will be hampered by the lack of knowledge to use

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MS Word and will probably be unable to use the computer to write any story at all.

From here it can be seen that it is always good for teacher to know the maturity and aptitude of the students before he or she begins teaching. This can be done by doing a pre-test or to browse through the academic profile of the students‟ achievement to understand the students‟ level of maturity. This is necessary because teachers may then be able to plan the lesson according to the level of readiness of the students.
Thorndike‟s theories of learning are very beneficial especially when the theories are applied in a classroom situation. In fact, the theories are very useful to teachers, whereby they will be able to implement and develop teaching techniques, such as integrating technology (ICTs) in teaching and learning, thus making the teaching and learning process more authentic and effective. With knowledge of the readiness of their students, the teachers can plan the lesson to provide a pleasant satisfier which can be achievable while ensuring the students are allowed enough frequent use of the tools of learning, i.e. ICT.

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Based on the constructivism theory and law of learning, the following Conceptual Framework is derived.

Framework----------

Conceptual Framework for EFL Learning via ICT
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This chapter discusses ICT in education and EFL learning and teaching. The literature stresses on the importance of using ICT in education and the obstacles faced in the implementation of ICT in education. It then focuses on the use of ICT in EFL learning and the situation of such teaching in Arab countries. This is followed by a discussion of the theoretical and conceptual framework of the study. Here it specifically discusses the Constructivism Theory and Thorndike‟s Law of Learning.
The literature discussed indicates that the use of ICT in education in the Arab countries in general, faces some obstacles in the initial implementation stage but the numerous advantages far outweighs the disadvantages.

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