I believe that technology can be helpful for learning, however I do not feel it has a large enough impact on second language learning. Personally, I found social networking sites distracting and they typically prevent me from doing homework. If one of my classes was utilizing these sites for assignments I would struggle on concentrating on the task at hand. However, my sociology statistics class had a class Facebook and we used it to form study groups and ask each other questions about our homework if we were struggling. I found this very effective because we weren't using it to complete assignments - we were mostly using it to seek out help from our classmates. Also, our professor used to post on the Facebook group as well, so if we were really struggling with something, and no one seemed to know the answer, she would point us in the correct direction.
My article was about the use of a podcast and to see if it really is beneficial tool for students learning better pronunciation. The article defines a podcast as, "an audio file that anyone can create using a computer, microphone, and a software program." Once these are posted on the web, they can be downloaded and played using a computer and/or MP3 player. Since many students have difficulty detecting errors in their pronunciation, assignments on a podcast allows students to record themselves and then play it back and listen to their errors. They can record, listen, edit and revise as many times as they would like. On a podcast, students can also receive feedback from their peers as well as their teacher. A teacher can also post a lecture on a podcast for students to review before coming to class or if they missed class to catch up on the material. One unique and effective tool of a podcast is that teachers can make assignments contextualized in comparison to just drills. This will help students make connections and eventually learn the information better. As a teacher, I would find it useful to use a podcast to post lectures for students who missed class or as reinforcement for students who are struggling. In regards to assignments, I would have students use a blog similar to the one Lina showed us in class.
Although I do think the video is interesting, I personally wouldn't use second life in my classroom. For those students who are interested in computer simulations, such as the sims, this could be interesting for them. I think for students who are more serious about learning a second language this would be a good tool for them. However, for students who are only taking the class to get credit, it wouldn't be effective at all.
Social-networking sites can be distracting, but they are a good tool to use. I like how Facebook has the feature that I can change it to a different language, so I have my Facebook in Spanish. I also like that because of the friends I have met abroad, a lot of the posts on my news feed are in Spanish. So even when I am "wasting" time on Facebook, I am also practicing my Spanish at the same time through reading the Facebook posts and chatting with friends in Spanish. Podcasts sound great and I would love to use those once I become a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI also have my Facebook and iPod set in Spanish. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I once used the Sims to practice my Spanish vocab. To remember how the irregular verbs changed in the perfect tenses, I made a large house of Sims all with names like Volver Vuelto, Hacer Hecho, etc. After spending a good amount of times with those Sims and having all the notifications that popped up use the two words together, I began to associate them. I was able to learn my Spanish while having fun and not even trying. I still know all of them and I think this method is the reason why.
I agree 100% that technology is not enough for second language learning! There are some great programs that help language learning but actually being part of a discussion in a class room plays a huge role on language learning. I also agree that many students would get distracted easily if they depended solely on the computer for learning a language.
ReplyDeleteMary Foster - Wow, that is such an interesting idea for the Sims! I might have to try that.
ReplyDeleteBut as to Melissa's post, I also had a class that used Facebook as a tool to get together with other students, and that was definitely great. But I also agree that I would have a hard time doing actual "work" on Facebook; there's just way too much going on and it's too easy to get distracted by all the English rather than focusing on the target language. Plus, on Facebook there is a "translate" button on most foreign language posts, which kind of defeats the purpose.