FEDJ Samia
Université de Mostaganem
Abstract
At an era of a global rapid change characterized mainly by the great technological dominance, a call for new educational reforms has become imperative. Hence, language instructors are strongly required to renovate their language teaching practices through an adequate integration of new digital technologies, such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones which became indispensable and exciting tools for most learners across the globe. Accordingly, this paper aims to shed light on this crucial modern aspect of learning arguing that technology can be an important instructional device that can empower students’ language learning, by helping them to enhance their communicative skills, boost their language proficiency and consequently increase their chances for academic success and job opportunities. It discusses the following questions: 1. Why has technology use become focal in the modern language classroom? 2. Which technological devices could be used? 3. How can they be integrated in the language classroom? 4. What are the drawbacks and barriers of using technology in language classrooms?
Key words: language education, learning enhancement, technology.
Introduction
The wide availability and adaptability of the technological means within present-day learners can be seen as a real opportunity leading to greater educational achievements. Instructors need to take advantage of this inevitable condition to face the challenges they encounter in their daily teaching practice, such as learners’ lack of focus in class due to their distraction by their smart phones, IPods’, I pads …etc. Instead of entirely prohibiting these devices, teachers can direct the learners to employ them to facilitate their language learning through rapidly seeking a certain piece of information (via applications, blogs and e-books, …etc) or forming virtual contexts for communication in the target language. This can eventually allow tutors to alter their traditional teaching methods into fresh motivating techniques. Nevertheless, integrating technology in the language classroom is by no means devoid of drawbacks as it has, actually, a dark side that can yield detrimental results.
1. The Rationale for Technology Use in The Language Classroom
Several modern educators believe in the need of technology implementation and thus strongly advocate its integration in language education generally and foreign language education particularly. It has been maintained that using technology boosts learners’ language proficiency and helps to improve their academic performance Lee (2000) Galavis (1998) and Dunken (1990). Besides, utilizing technological tools such as computers in the language class has been proved to be beneficial linguistically and behaviorally in the sense that it helped to develop the learners’ specific language skills as it enhanced their learner autonomy Braul (2006). In a similar vein, Hennessy (2005) maintained that introducing ICTs in the language class led the students to become more autonomous through reasoning and acting independently as it motivated both teachers and learners to work in a novice mode. What is more, through the developed new technological techniques that recognize sounds and speech, the learners can receive immediate systematic feedback and consequently can solve many of their pronunciation problems, meaning that the recent technological devices can serve as an efficient instructional support to teachers who may find difficulties in assessing learners’ performance particularly with pronunciation issues as Zhao (2013) pointed out. In fact, there are numerous reasons, in the literature, for using technology in language education thus one may summarize the most crucial ones as follows:
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- It enhances learners’ language proficiency (Galavis, 1998).
- Cultivates learners’ interest in study (Shyamlee & Phil, 2012).
- Increases self-confidence and lowers learning anxiety level (Chapelle, 2001).
- Boost learners’ communicative and intercultural competence (Levy, 1997).
- Improves language teaching quality (Lee, 2000).
- Increases students’ motivation (Dunken, 1990).
- Provides a quick and easy access to a wealth of input in the target language.
- Widens the social learning circle through connecting with peers and experts from all over the world.
2. The Technological Tools for The Language Classroom
A number of multimedia technological tools can be introduced to foreign language classes enabling students to have access to a huge number of data and to communicate with more proficient individuals in order to help them improve their capacities and language skills. This is generally referred to as CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) and MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning). Such tools are used by instructors to create virtual learning contexts, and effective interactive activities, they are classified under two major headings:
Table 1: Types of ICT’s
3. Ways of Integrating ICT’s in the Language Class
In order to make this technologically driven issue manageable and accessible to the language instructors who are attempting to comply with the requirements of this digital age, it is necessary to identify the effective pedagogical means that are practical for the actual learning context. As a matter of fact, multimedia technology can be used for all sorts of language learning activities, according to Drigas & Charami (2014), it can fit into the four language skills as follows:
a. The listening skill: which is an intricate ability especially for young learners to acquire, it is possible to employ for example: Mp3 recordings to increase learner’s understanding on what they listen and digital stories as they combine interactivity, visual aids and repetition.
b. The speaking skill: not of less importance to the former is the speaking ability, for the speaking skill provides the learner with self-confidence, communication skills and many more advantages, thus teachers can create a virtual class of a small number of learners (through Skype/ Oovoo) or invite them to using video recording via mobile phones to enhance their own speech.
c. The reading skill: language learners appear to face many difficulties when it comes to the reading proficiency. Therefore, technology can offer efficient and strategic reading through online books services as did the Learning Content Management System (LCMS) called ‘‘Varsite’’ which allowed the university students to get immediate access to a wide range of texts that are established in the University library.
d. The writing skill: is a skill that entails good mastery of the grammatical structures. Creating a blog for writing can be an entertaining and a useful way to encourage language learners to produce more written pieces. It was noted by (Arslan et al, Lomicka et al and Miyazoe et al) as cited in Drigas & Charami (2014) that the use of ‘blog software’ and ‘Tweeter’ are tools that can have positive impact on learners’ writing, in that they can help them to practice the written language and to find out and study different styles that may be used by other target language users.
4. Some Constraints and Drawbacks of Technology Use in the LC
Despite the multiple gains that technology can offer to the language class, it actually brings with it a number of constraints and disadvantages on the practical ground of teaching and learning, some of which are stated below:
a. The constraints
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- The lack of internet accessibility in academic institutions.
- The lack of technical expertise on the part of both teachers and learners.
- Teachers’ negative attitude towards technology (disruptive tool /fear of authority loss).
- The potential difficulty of integrating appropriate material into the language curriculum.
b. The drawbacks
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Learners’ low self-control as they can get distracted (finding too much online data).
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The risk of taking incorrect information or inappropriate content from resources.
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It can engage plagiarism through the reproduction of available data.
- Time consuming for planning and evaluating the activities (for the instructors).
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Conclusion
The use of multimedia technology is undoubtedly rewarding and crucial to the current language classroom. However, its practical integration in class is not devoid of problems and challenges. Therefore, educational decision makers and authorities must set clear guidelines for its rational and efficient use in real classrooms. Thus, to ensure its good implementation, a proper training needs to be supplied for both teachers and learners to enable them adopt their new roles which are constantly changing.
References
-Braul, B. (2006), ESL teacher perceptions and attitudes toward using computer-assisted language learning (CALL): Recommendations for effective CALL practice, MA Dissertation, Department of Secondary Education, Edmonton, Alberta.
-Chapelle, C. A. (2001), ‘Computer applications in second language acquisition foundations for teaching, testing, and research’, Cambridge University Press, UK.
-Drigas, A. & Charami, F (2014), ‘ICTs In English Learning and Teaching’. IJES ‒ Volume 2, Issue 4, pp. 4-10
-Dunken, P. (1990), ‘Implications of the CAI effectiveness research for limited English proficient learners’, Computers in the Schools, vol. 7, no. 1/2, pp. 31-52.
-Galavis, B (1998), ‘Computers and the EFL class: Their advantages and a possible outcome, the autonomous learner’, English Teaching Forum, vol. 36, no.4, 27.
-Hennessy, S. (2005). Emerging teacher strategies for supporting. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge.
-Lee, K. W (2000), ‘English teachers’ barriers to the use of computer-assisted language learning’, TESL Journal, vol. 6, no.12. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lee-CALLbarriers.html
-Levy, M. (1997), Computer-Assisted Language Learning: context and conceptualization, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
-Shyamlee. D & Phil. M (2012), ‘Use of Technology in English Language Teaching and Learning’: An Analysis. International Conference on Language, Medias and Culture IPEDR vol.33 (2012) © (2012) IACSIT Press, Singapore
-Zhao, Y. (2013). ‘Recent developments in technology and language learning: Literature review and meta-analysis’. CALICO Journal, 21(1), 7-27.