Discussion #4: Technology

The article I read focused on intercultural learning through the use of blogging and ethnographic interviews.  Blogs are a form of computer-mediated communication and are used to promote reflective learning.  The idea of having L2 learners read the blogs of NS’s (native speakers) is an excellent idea and I like that it can help those students that are study abroad improve their experience abroad, as well as helping students who are at home become more inter-culturally aware.  Blogs are a good way to learn about important cross-cultural issues, see other cultural perspectives and become culturally sensitive.   I loved this quote that commented on ethnographic interviews, “According to Spradley (1980), “Ethnography offers us the chance to step outside of our narrow cultural back grounds, to set aside our socially inherited ethnocentrism, if only for a brief period, and to apprehend the world from the viewpoint of other human beings who live by different meaning systems” (pp. vii–viii).,” (p.3).  Ethnocentrism is a huge problem and it hinders the experience that a student who goes abroad.  To fully enjoy a study abroad experience a person needs to be open to different cultural experiences and therefore become culturally aware.  The article discussed a study of 16 American students who were studying abroad in Spain and were able to use blogs (personal, class, project blogs) as well as ethnographic interviews to improve their study abroad experience and cultural awareness.  I think one important point made is that students need to be taught idioms (or phrases) that are used in the foreign country that they were be visiting, so that cultural misunderstanding does not happen because of literal/direct translation.  I would not give back my experience abroad for anything and I’m happy I have been able to experience speaking and interacting with a diverse population of NS’s. 

            I think that technology is most definitely an asset when it comes to foreign language learning.  I think foreign language teachers should use social networking tools like twitter, Facebook, blogs and wiki to supplement/enhance foreign language learning.  I have to say that I have become better at writing in Spanish because of the time I spent communicating via text message and chat on Facebook.  I was able to see things written out in front of me and would get instant feedback from the person (a native speaker of Spanish) who I was talking to.  The feedback would either be they did not understand, so I would have to rephrase/rethink what I wanted to say or they would send me an appropriate reply which let me know that the language I used was clear enough to get my message across.  This type of interaction is so different from just writing a dialogue or turning in a paper, since the teacher would give feedback after the fact and it did not show how language is used on a daily basis.             

 

Just this past week after I had posted a comment on Facebook in Spanish to respond to something a Mexican friend of mine had said, I actually had a friend from the Dominican Republic, who is learning English, message me and ask what “chinos” meant.  He wrote me, “hey what does mean chinos I haven't seen this word before at least mexican use it?”  I responded, “Yes, Mexicans use it. Chinos to them it means curly hair...which is really funny because Chinos (meaning Chinese people) do not have curly hair at all!” He messaged back, “alright now I know a new word.”  This shows that my friend is curious and culturally aware as well.  He knows that I have friends from Mexico, so he was correct in assuming that it must be Mexican “slang” or jerga.  It is nice to learn different dialects of Spanish and because of social networking like Facebook, I can see what my friends are up to and how they live their day to day lives. Through my friendships and continued communication with my Spanish friends via Facebook, it is like my time abroad has never really ended. 

            The Second Life for Language Learning was a cool YouTube video and I can see why this approach could be very beneficial for students who want to improve their English speaking skills.  Having a virtual classroom like this English school is an up and coming concept that is taking hold all over the world and a lot of people seem to agree that online learning is more than just a possibility, it is reality.  More people are opting to take online classes and the use of technology in the classroom has increased exponentially in the passing years.  We are more dependent on technology and it is great that we can take advantage of technology when it comes to language learning.  Face-to-face interaction with NS’s is not always a possibility, but not with computer-mediated communication we can chat, Skype, blog, twitter and get to know a NS without ever actually meeting him/her in real life.  Second Life puts a whole new spin on this because it takes role-playing to a whole new level.  I loved how the video had the English students practice being at the airport and the restaurant through this virtual world.  There were many opportunities to practice English, while also becoming more culturally competent.  During the airport practice the English teacher asked the students what they thought the most important thing was about the airport and during the restaurant practice students were able to learn about the food from other cultures. 

Technology and L2 Learning and Teaching

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.

The technology article that I read was about the Amazon Kindle now offering books in other languages. They have the fonts to support the foreign characters and still allow the reader to annotate and highlight within the text. Notes in the margins can be edited, as well as the text shared between users. I think this is a great way to learn in general, if technology is something you prefer. It's a good way to save paper and money and now that they are offering this in other languages, it is even more applicable to different subject areas. I, however, prefer paper books still. I'm all for technology bringing people closer together, even when they are far away, but for reading and learning, I prefer paper.

For learning languages in a classroom, I think blogs and wikis can have their uses. If, like this class, you only meet once per week, it can be beneficial to continue conversations and debates outside of class. On the other hand, it does not give you the one-on-one or group experience that learning a language requires. Even the semi-online courses that may be offered over the summer cannot always reach this face-to-face goal. Even with technologies and tools that let you record your voice, the students cannot see your entire body and the movements you make when you speak. Even videoing yourself does not fully capture everything, and it's still too artificial. I believe person-to-person contact is the best way to learn a language.

This video kinda creeped me out, to be honest. The woman said at the end that "it's a really great place to be" and that they should "spend time here in Englishcity." This makes it sound like they will actually be going to this city, when, in reality, they will be in their bedroom in their pajamas. Also, as I said before about the video an audio recordings, there is no way to see fully all the body movements that go along with speech. This computer generated city is the exact same thing. The people that you see interacting don't move their lips the way they should, nor do they do more than just swing their arms back and forth when they talk--highly unrealistic. I do think it's great that there are real teachers helping out with this program, but it still seems to be fairly rudimentary at best.

Discussion 4 - Technology

I definitely feel like technology can be a great supplement to language learning. By using games like Second Life and social networking sites like Facebook, students can practice the language in the same settings as they use their native language. People who enjoy playing video games will greatly benefit from using their second language in a way that interests them. Not everyone likes the classroom setting, but most people are comfortable talking via social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter.

The main reason I think technology is helpful is because when it is used as a supplement to classroom learning, it extends the daily language learning from only an hour or two into whenever the student wants to practice. People all around the world can reach native speakers of whatever L2 they are studying in just a couple seconds. Technology allows the learner to take more of their learning into their own hands, giving them access to everything they need to be a better L2 speaker.

Nothing can replace the hands-on approach of classroom learning, because any kind of physical group learning activity cannot occur via the internet, like practicing imperative phrases with the total physical response method. But when used in conjuction with each other, language learning can become not only more interesting, but also more effective.

Discussion 4: Way to much to say

I have mixed feelings about technology in the classroom. I love using presentations from PowerPoint or Prezi, videos from youtube, images from the internet, and online homework and quizzes like My Comp Lab or My Math Lab. I find these tools to be easily useful and applicable to the learning environment. Even "fancy" new technology like iPads and eReaders can be useful: I know I use my iPad for 90% of my assigned readings for this semester. There are always developers working on new software and ways to bring it to the classroom. I've even come to like using the Wiki and the Blog to share ideas between students and encourage broader thinking. As I've started playing with AudioBoo, I can see there is great potential there, specifically for foreign language learning.

However, I still have trouble accepting that social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can be good tools for learning. In my freshman year, my English 401 professor required us all to make Twitter accounts and to Tweet article links about that semesters Discovery Discussion topic once a week or so. I found it to be tedious and not very useful at all. Students were looking up links and Tweeting them, but not really interacting with each other or even fully reading their own articles, let alone someone else's.

I read the article about a college professor using Facebook with his intermediate French class of 17 students. The idea was they all took on a fake identity of a French person and they all lived in the same apartment building and interacted with only each other in that character. They were required to have some sort of interaction in that "community" 3 times a week as part of their homework and participation. They had to write memoirs and post them as notes, some of them created events for the apartment community and some of their characters became friends. It was interesting to see each of them create a unique identity and then interact through that medium. They certainly seemed to use French in a very social informal context, practicing with status updates, comments, messages, posting on walls, posting images of art, video clips of songs, etc. The professor then incorporated the apartment community into the classroom, where they would write their memoirs, complete activities and solve problems (like a murder mystery) in their personae   However, I'm not sure that would necessarily work in many classrooms at the high school or lower level. There is enough of a difference in maturity level that might make students less interested in this type of project or less willing to work within the guidelines responsibly. I think it is a fun and fairly useful way to encourage students to practice their language in a social context, but it is definitely not something that can be used in every classroom.

And that is really the biggest issue with technology: it isn't a cover-all solution. Teachers have to be properly trained to use it, apply it and guide students in using it. For example, not every school has WiFi, so not every school can benefit from iPads or iPods for students. Not every student has access at home to a computer, so teachers have to make sure to build in a bit of time in the computer lab or library. It's true students can stay after school or come early to have access, but sometimes they have to take the bus or are on another person's schedule. Even in a perfect world where every student has equal access to technology and every teacher has equal access to training and workshops, there are some parts of technology that will work better for different teaching topics and styles. I think technology can be a useful tool in language instruction, but the burden of proof rests on the teacher to search out the training and learn how to apply it where it will have the greatest effect.

P.S. I think the idea of Second Life for language learning is great for non-traditional students of foreign languages, but to require students at public schools to spend a certain amount of time online and interacting in  a chat world through an avatar is unrealistic. I think you would see similar behavior and problems that are found in any other online world. Students in a traditional school already have access to a (hopefully) teacher and other students that they can interact with. But if you want to learn a foreign language as an adult or in the cases of online high schools, the interaction and access to an authentic teacher and "authentic" learning environment can be incredibly helpful.

technology

            Technology can be a terrific tool to use in a Foreign Language classroom.  There is such a vast array of sources once you open your classroom to the opportunities of the 21^st century.  My article referred to the use of a video chat to link Spanish students with native speakers and teachers in order to improve conversational skills.  This seamless exchange of audio and video allows for the most realistic impression of a face-to-face dialogue.  This practice even just once a week displayed improvement to vocabulary, accent, and overall speaking ability. 

            Other resources such as YouTube are extremely great to find authentic music and videos to present material in different and captivating ways.  Our blog is a great example of something that could be done in any Foreign Language classroom with weekly topics and responses in the L2.  Facebook allows for connecting with native speakers and is a great way to network as well as increase proficiency.  Everyone learns in a different way, especially with languages, so expressing a grammar lesson through a song, video, or other non-textbook manner may spark an understanding or interest in one of your students.  Practicing talking through an exchange with a native speaker will increase comprehension and is a varied and interesting activity.

Discussion # 4

            I think that technology can be very helpful towards language learning, however it can also be detrimental. The great thing about using technology to learn a language is that you can go at your own speed and learn in an environment that is both comfortable and is geared towards your own learning needs. One of my favorite projects for Japanese was a language blog that we shared with a University in Japan. We would write entries in Japanese and they would type us messages in English. Using this blog, not only were we able to have pen pals of a sort, but we were able to learn more casual speech and cultural customs.

            Some of the disadvantages that can come from it though is learning grammatical or writing mistakes. Some software programs are better than others, however, sometimes through learning languages over technology based programs, you may learn something wrong and there is no one to correct you. It is also hard to have language taught in a meaningful context. I also feel that oral skills would be lower due to less face to face interaction on a daily schedule.

            For some very motivated people, learning a language may be a great way to develop language skills. However, for me, I need that extra push that comes from being within a classroom. It brings a competitive edge when being in a class that I think would be hard to replicate through applications and websites. A virtual classroom might be close.

            The Second Life ‘English City’ was intriguing. I thought that Second Life was a dating site, so the video definitely confused me at first. I think it’s a interesting concept, however I think it may be important that you have a consistency of teachers, since there are minor differences between English dialects. The Second Life city allowed language to be taught in a more meaningful context and definitely allowed for learners to speak with each other and enhance their own oral skills. 

I feel that using technology is extremely helpful because it gives teachers the opportunity to go above the what is available just in the textbook. There is such a variety of technology that is available to to teachers and many of them don't take that advantage. I know when I am a teacher that I will use technology because it helps reinforce that material in a way that students are more familiar with. With technology there is an infinite amount of data on the topic of foreign language teaching that with out it students would not be getting the best education they could. With the idea of social networking I feel that it can be used to an extent. Blog and Wiki are excellent examples of good social networking features that are useful for teaching because it encourages students to go into a discussion. Facebook and twitter are not so good in my opinion because people over use them. From personal experience I do not want to see my classes popping up on my news feed. Also so many people use facebook that it can easily distract you from doing homework or trying to have a discussion like on blog. Twitter is also over used in my opinion because so many people tweet stupid things or thing that would distract you. The second life video was interesting but I do think that it would be a good tool for learning a second language because some people may not be interested into a program like second life. If your interested in computer simulations like this then it may prove beneficial but I would never use second life in my class.

Discussion #4: Digital Technology for L2 Learning and Teaching

Based on the technology article you have read, do you feel that technology is an asset to teaching foreign languages or do you prefer not to use it? Why? How do you feel about using social networking tools, such as Blog, Wiki, Facebook, Twitter or Skype to supplement and support language teaching? Use examples to justify your answers. 

View this YouTube video and comment on the use of Second Life for Language Learning.

Effective Language Teaching

The question of effectiveness of language teaching and how to ensure students are actually learning the material can go on forever.  The way that I have successfully learned thus far is through my professors' use of the target language.  Hearing the L2, even if it is just for that short class period, will broaden your vocabulary immensely as long as you are actively listening and participating.  The amount of the language that is not understood may start off as being large, but as each week progresses students will be quicker to pick up on repeated words and phrases and add them to their own personal vocabulary.  Many of the phrases and grammar constructions that I know now and use on a daily basis, I know because of repeating something an instructor of mine has said.  Of course, this is all dependent on what language level you are teaching, a lot of beginning levels will be frustrated and confused if you are rapidly speaking in a language they have never heard before and you will instantly lose their interest.  Once a student has reached an intermediate level or higher, I believe one of the best ways to increase their proficiency is hearing and responding as much as possible in the target language.

Language Teaching

    In my view, effective language teaching is providing learners opportunities to use target language in comprehensive context. These opportunities could be expressing themselves, communicative interaction with other people, or fulfilling the task alone. Besides, teachers need to use authentic language, give feedback when needed, and adjust the teaching methods to meet learners' needs. To let the learners have a better understanding of context, teachers also need to provide the culture background of the target language.
    After reading the 9 methods in chapter 3, I find that lacking of any of these elements listed above cannot augment learners' integrative competence of the target language. The Grammar-translation Method is lack of self-expression, interaction, cultural context; the lack of correction in the Direct Method will lead to early fossilization; Audiolingual Method cannot provide the chance to let learners create themselves; the Cognitive Anti-Method and the Cognitive-code Method are either ignore grammar teaching or emphasize too much on explaining grammar; Communicative Language Teaching doesn't have fixed set of methodological procedures; TPR's way of using commands limits the context; the Natural Approach is lack of corrective feedback in classroom instruction; Community Language Learning does not ensure this class including a large range of contexts; the Silent Way and Suggestopedia all lose authentic input materials and speech. Thus, to teach language effectively, teachers should use different teaching methods together to cover up the shortage of each method.