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With the spread of the personal computer now being available in almost
everyoneís home, educational institutions, and businesses as well as a vast international
information system such as the World Wide Web, many educators believe
that this ìinformationalismî (Warschauer,
2000, p. 512) will have an influence on how we teach English in the 21st
century. In what follows, then, the consequences of the use of
technology in the language classroom will be outlined followed by a
description of the particular language skills required which enable our
students to use the technology successfully. Also considered is the changing
role of the learner and questions are presented as to how to assess the
computers' pedagogical effectiveness in language learning. |
 consequences | language skills | learner roles | assessment |
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The spread of different varieties of English around the world goes along with the globalization and relocation of businesses. According to Warschauer (2000, p. 513), ì85% of international organizations in the world make official use of English, at least 85% of the worldís film market is in English, and some 90% of published articles in some academic fields, such as linguistics, are written in English.î He goes on to state that by now L2 speakers of English outnumber L1 speakers (p. 513). What does that mean for our profession? ESL teachers must understand that there will be no one correct or superior variety of English, instead ìthere will be a growing basis for learners around the world to view English as their own language of additional communication rather than as a foreign language controlled by the ëOtherí. Teachers would do well to exploit this situation by creating opportunities for communication based on the values, cultural norms, and needs of learners rather than on the syllabi and texts developed in England and the United Statesî (Warschauer, 2000, p. 515). Concerning
the changing job market, Warschauer (2000) predicts that |
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[A]
large and increasing number of people, even if they never set foot in
an English-speaking country, will be required to use English in highly
sophisticated communication and collaboration with people around the world.
They will need to be able to write persuasively, critically interpret
and analyze information, and carry out complex negotiations and collaboration
in English.î (p. 518) |
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This
implies that the majority of students will focus on vocational rather
than academic skills. Teachers will have to provide these students with
project-based instruction to give them the ìopportunity to learn and practice
the kinds of analytic problem solving and argumentation that they will
need in English if they are to compete for the better jobs in societyî
(Warschauer, 2000, p. 519). |
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Technology will
also have an influence on what we teach. As Warschauer (2000) points out, there are specific language and literary
skills required by the use of computers. He divided these skills into
two broad categories of reading/research and writing/authoring (p. 521).
Vital in order to be able to read from the screen are these skills: |
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becomes clear that reading from a screen is very different than reading
from a page. Teachers will have to think about how to teach reading skills
such as skimming and scanning with the properties of the computer screen
in mind. Similarly, writing skills are influenced by information technology. Warschauer (2000, p. 523) lists five major skills: |
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consequences | language skills | learner roles | assessment Changing Learner Roles It is further important for educators to realize that with the use of the new medium learners ìnot only author texts, or even only multimedia documents, but are also helping author the new rules of multimodal communication [Ö] and they can impose all of their levels of authorship on the outside world through on-line publishingî (Warschauer, 2000, p. 524). Warschauer (2000) summarizes the huge potential information technology bears in the second/foreign language classroom as follows: |
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[T]hese
new possibilities [Ö] bring language learning full circle from an original
emphasis on authenticity (i.e., following the
native speaker norms), to a later emphasis on authorship
(i.e., creating texts within structured environments), to new opportunities
for agency [(i.e., ëthe power to construct a representation
of reality, a writing of history, and to impose reception of it by othersí)].
(p. 524) |
consequences | language skills | learner roles | assessment Assessing the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Computers Whereas it is not a question anymore whether or not to use technology in the language classroom, the pedagogical effectiveness of its use needs to be assessed for each particular learning environment. Salaberry (2001, p. 51) proposes a set of questions useful for determining this effectiveness[2]: |
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These questions should guide instructors in determining specific pedagogical objectives for their lessons and then selecting the appropriate tool. We must be careful not to succumb to the urge to choose the tool first and then to adapt our objectives and our lessons to the tool. As has been outlined here, technology is advancing into the second/foreign language classrooms at a rapid pace. Many teachers are excited about the possibilities the new medium brings but others are reluctant and concerned. It is therefore important to educate instructors about the effective use of computer technology in their classrooms.
The
next section focuses on networked multimedia environments and the Internet
and their effective use in a language learning setting. |