Technology in Second Language Learning

Technology in language learning has not created an entirely new field of learning (that is, it has not established an entirely new subject of study for students) but rather it has altered the way that we engage with a pre-existent one, foreign language learning. This is not to deny the impact of computer assisted language learning on L2 acquisition and the rich insights that the literature surrounding it has given us. Rather it is to emphasize that “beyond the tech-sex appeal and monitor halos” rests the same set of pedagogical issues and challenges that teachers have engaged with for decades; what should students study? How are tasks and learning environments to be constructed? How can student competencies of language learning and technology be assessed (Thorne and Reinhardt 2008: 562) - and what about the role of teacher and the student in the midst all of this technology and content? Such crucial questions still persist in the context of the new affordances of web 2.0 technologies (Rossell-Aguilar 2007: 477). 

It is beyond the scope of this blog post to describe the scope and scale of the amazing proliferation in online, digital and portable technologies that can be used in second language learning. Instead what I hope to do in the next 1300 words is to critically document and synthesize my own opinions about and experiences with technology-use in language learning. Ultimately I strive to make a few key recommendations, providing examples along the way, about the utility of digital and online technologies as a language tool inside and outside of the classroom.

Unlike earlier use of the Internet in L2 learning, where knowledge tended to be only received (rather than produced) by language students, the affordances of contemporary ‘web 2.0’ technologies (such as video chat, podcasting and online forums to name a few) are far more interactive and engaging, involving social networking and user-generated content (Conole 2008: 124). Keeping such developments in mind, from a pedagogical perspective, one of the true strengths of new ‘2.0’ technologies are their capacity to be adapted to a wide variety of second language acquisition theories from behavioualarism, to authentic content exposure to constructivist SLA theories. (Rossell-Aguilar, 2007).  For example, the podcast can be used simply to deliver to students’ simple grammar activities that might place emphasis on repetition and memorization. However, the same medium could also be used to deliver authentic cultural content made by native speakers for other native speakers (like newscasts or television shows) to L2 learners, or teachers could even assign students the task of creating their own podcast in their target language, encouraging students to reflect upon and develop their own knowledge through exploring such knowledge via new and exciting software like GarageBand.  

All of these opportunities and affordances provoke me to reflect upon what I see though as the appropriate role of the student and the teacher in L2 learning. Drawing upon my own experiences of life as an L2 student in the past, one of the most important things that a teacher can do for their students is to consider and reflect upon the variety of preferred learning styles in their class and to try and cater to as many of these preferences as possible. Technology could have a key part to play in this. For example, I am not an aural learner in second language acquisition. Unlike most students in my Spanish class, for me, listening comprehension has always been the most difficult of the language skills to develop. Given the immersive pedagogy embraced by UQ’s Spanish school, this generated a number of challenges for myself, particularly when it came to listening to grammar explanations (rather than listening to and looking at examples on the board simultaneously). Often I was expected to listen to purely verbal explanations of grammar structures and to then produce examples of such content myself, all within the space of a few minutes. Given that I had often missed the finer points of the spoken explanation, this was usually a difficult and unsuccessful task for me. Eventually I realized that I was a reflective learner who needed time to reflect and analyse before I could engage with material. Therefore I developed some strategies to help me cope; I would read and study all content to be covered in each class before stepping foot in the door. This helped me enormously and made class-time much more worthwhile. This experience leads me to a conclusion about the role of the student in L2 learning, and that is that students must reflect upon their own learning preferences as well. The student must ask themselves where their skills are and where their challenges lie and what does and does not help them to learn and then attempt to compensate or emphasise these qualities where they can. Obviously, whilst the teacher must also reflect upon these questions, in a classroom with a variety of learning preferences, it is difficult for the teacher to cater to every student’s needs all the time. Thus, the student and teacher must work together; to help each to help the other through communicating learning preferences and challenges whilst being willing to adapt or to compensate where they can, in order to make the most of precious classroom time. This is where technology can assist. Given the wide range of free and easily accessible L2 content online, teachers ought to be constantly exploring and recommending resources that students with particular needs could turn to both inside and outside of class. For example, if it is beyond the means of the teacher to devote a lesson to listening and comprehension strategies, the teacher ought to make it a priority to connect students with audio-comprehension difficulties to the appropriate resources. Of course the student could and should attempt to locate such resources themselves but the valuable expertise of the teacher in evaluating the utility of particular L2 sources has an important role to play.

In terms of the technology that I used in my own previous L2 learning experience, the most commonly called upon technologies were those that were quickly accessible via a Google search and that could be accessed for free. Online translators were undoubtedly the most commonly called upon. However after formally studying technology use in L2 acquisition, I realise that there are far more opportunities out there than I had previously realised. For example, in relation to my own difficulties with listening and comprehension, excellent podcasts can be found online via YouTube (like this video) to help students with their language development in very specific areas and such resources can be located through a simple YouTube or Google search. Many online resources appear to come from professional language teaching institutions. This goes some way to overcoming previous reservations I had about the accuracy or legitimacy of online resources that I had inadvertently encountered during my second language study.

Children using a new 'smart board' at school, that allows children to  work collaboratively and then save their work

Technologies that I have found particularly useful are those that are developed with clearly articulated goals in mind. For example, the above YouTube video is specifically focused on one topic, listening comprehension strategies, and this gives the student cues about what to focus upon when engaging with the resource. Technologies that can be easily paused, re-listened to and give time for the student to absorb information and then practise or apply it are particularly useful to me, in light of the reflective preference that I seem to have when it comes to L2 learning.

Technologies that I find least useful are not necessarily of one particular genre, but more they are technologies that attempt to be too entertaining, with lots of music or lots of visuals. Often I find the music and images to be stereotypical, and music in particular can become irritating when the technology requires repeated use.

One concern does occur to me though, particularly where younger learners are concerned, regarding the potential safety risks of being involved in often anonymous and little-regulated digital environments. General chat rooms raise some concerns, as these are interactive environments are often not specifically designed for, nor exclusively cater to, L2 students (and usually involve a mix of different age groups). It is important therefore that language teachers educate students about appropriate topics for discussion and safe and appropriate information to disclose and to warn students that people are not always who they claim to be in online communities.

Final Recommendations…

What can be achieved with any technology ultimately depends more upon “the user’s understanding and expertise” of it – how they understand its capacities and limitations - rather than any inherent qualities of the technology itself (Levy 2009: 777). When teachers or student engage with technology in L2 learning, it is important that each has a clear understanding of what the ultimate goals is for using such technology – it is not sufficient to simply select a technology, whether it be instant messaging or digitally-accessed telenovelas, without an appreciation for what purpose that technology is ultimately to be used for. It is tempting to get lost in the wide variety of flashy and exciting programs, software and websites out there. But teachers must always keep in mind the underlying pedagogies of such technologies and whether they are the best suited out of all the choices, traditional or digital, available (O’Bryan and Hegelheimer 2007). Essentially, new ‘Web 2.0’ technologies should not be used simply because they are new and exciting (though this could be an important part of generating student interest and enthusiasm). The technology that ought to be used, whether it is the humble textbook or Macbook Pro software, is the one best suited to the language task at hand (Levy 2009).

References

Conole, G. 2008. ‘Listening to the learner voice: The ever-changing landscape of technology use for language students.” ReCall Journal 20(2), 124-140.

Levy, Mike.  2009. ‘Technologies in Use for Second Language Learning’. The       Modern Language Journal 93(1): 769-782.

O’Byran A. and Hegelheimer V. 2007 Integrating CALL into the Classrom: The role of podcasting in ESL listening strategies course. ReCall Journal 19(2) 162-180

Rossell-Aguilar, F. 2007. ‘Top of the pods – in search of a podcasting ‘pedagogy’ for language learing.’ Computer Assisted Language Learning  20(5): 471-492

Thorne, S. L., & Reinhardt, J. (2008). "Bridging Activities," New Media Literacies and advanced foreign language proficiency. CALICO Journal, 25(3), 558-572.