Technologies
Use with Learners of ESL in New York State:
Preliminary
Report
Carla
Meskill and Jonathan Mossop
National
Research Center on English Learning and Achievement
University
at Albany, State University of New York
Abstract
The
Technology and Literate Thinking Group (TLT), National Research Center on
English Learning and Achievement (CELA), is concerned with school age
children's contact with electronic literatures and how interaction with these
texts affects English language and literacy development. This report presents
preliminary research concerning a specific population of learners: learners
whose native language it not English and who attend school in the state of New
York. Data from a statewide survey and from initial interviews with teachers of
English as a second language (ESL) who use technologies in their teaching are
discussed.
Technologies
and ESL: Introduction
The
number of non-native English speaking children in U.S. public schools continues
to rise dramatically. By one estimate, public school enrollment is projected to
rise by 44 million by the year 2000 with nearly all of this increase being in
minority, especially Hispanic, enrollment (National Council of La Raza, 1990).
New York State is representative of this increase both in terms of sheer
numbers and in terms of demographic distribution in urban areas small and
large. In the last decade, New York demographics of non-native speakers of
English have followed the national trend with a 100% increase in the number of
ESL learners in the public schools. The state of New York is, moreover, third
in the nation as regards the number of ESL learners it serves.
One
consequence of this ever growing population of children in need of language and
literacy support is growing interest on the part of administrators, teachers,
and publishers in the use of technologies in ESL instruction. In the past five
years there has been a substantial increase in the number of ESL software
products on the market and, as indicated in our statewide survey responses,
growing recognition of various roles technologies can play in supporting the
language and literacy development of ESL learners. Many new software products
now currently marketed for ESL capitalize on both the capacity of multimedia to
engage non-native speakers in language development activity, and the widely
perceived need for efficient, supplemental materials to meet the challenge of
serving this population.
Literacy
and second language learning: What is at issue?
Children
who enter U.S. schools with limited English-speaking abilities face the dual
challenge of learning how to read, speak, write, and understand a new language
while at the same time mastering grade-level content that is most often in that
new language.* That is, in addition to acquiring literacy and communication
skills to function at a basic social level within the school setting, they must
also, like their native-speaker counterparts, master cognitive academic skills
such as dealing with abstract concepts, problem-solving, and critical thinking
and expression which are highly language dependent. Language through the
different grade levels, moreover, increases in complexity and becomes less tied
to the kinds of immediate, observable realities that support comprehension.
Language
in school becomes increasingly complex and less connected to contextual clues
as students move from one grade level to the next. Language becomes the focus
of every content-area task, with all meaning and all demonstration of knowledge
expressed through oral and written forms of language. (Collier, 1989:512)
As
content becomes more abstract in the later grades, the difficulty involved in
reading, writing, and understanding that content likewise increases. For the
non-native speaker who has limited development of the language-dependent
cognitive and academic skills needed for comprehension of subject matter
content, the challenge is therefore great. Consequently, the amount of time
required for learners of ESL to reach a functional level of Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency, or CALP, is from five to seven years in contrast to the
time they need to acquire Basic Interpersonal Communication skills or BICS
(Collier, 1989; Cummins, 1983).
During
the time it takes to develop CALP, ESL students must not only learn an
additional language, but also develop the complex, higher-order thinking skills
and related knowledge needed to undertake academic work in the content areas, a
great deal of which involves reading. Reading texts in a second language is "subject
to differences in linguistic structure, differently organized similarities in
structure, differential knowledge of the language and ability to process it, as
well as cultural disparities in the context and use for print" (Weber,
1991: 114-115). In addition to general reading ability in the new language, ESL
learners need the superadditional cognitive skills implied in CALP to be able
to comprehend and learn increasingly complex, abstract content. The development
of certain forms of reasoning which are central to the understanding and
mastery of academic content -- such as the ability to infer and generalize
given a narrative or set of information -- has, moreover, been shown to be a
particular challenge in a second language (Perkins & Brutten, 1992). These
forms of reasoning require close and oftentimes critical understanding as well
as other, more complex forms of processing. For example, a reader or listener
must evaluate, generalize, infer, and interpret relationships between elements
in written and spoken texts (e.g., teacher lectures, class discussions) which
are not explicitly stated. Such processes impose heavy demands on attention and
recall. When undertaken in a second language, these demands are formidable as
processing is mitigated by an unfamiliarity with both the language and the
content.
A
student's ability to understand and express understanding of subject matter is
without question language dependent. However, understanding and expression also
involve the integration of experiential knowledge grounded in both school and
life experience. For learners from other cultures, issues such as perceptions
of, attendant beliefs about, and experiences in home culture schooling, in
addition to broader aspects of cultural belonging at home and in school, become
essential in considering the development of these advanced cognitive academic
skills. Considering the monocultural agenda of the majority of standard
curricula in U.S. schools, any congruence between an ESL learner's experiential
base and the demands of academic subject matter is not likely. Learners of
other cultural identities therefore have the added challenge of trying to
understand content that is presented uniformly through lenses of the host
culture and, consequently, is not always open to interpretation through
students' own experiences.
Not
unrelated to cross-cultural issues and the exceptional challenges posed by
linguistic and linguistic/academic development for non-native speakers in U.S.
school settings, is the issue of affect. Research in motivation (Crookes and
Schmidt, 1991), the negative impact of language learning anxiety (Gardner, Day,
and MacIntyre, 1992; Phillips, 1992), and cross-cultural attitudes (Ogbu,
1987), for example, consistently demonstrates how these affective variables
impact second language learning and school achievement. Current notions
concerning the centrality of affect in the language acquisition process itself
are also gaining attention (Schumann, 1994, 1995). There is growing recognition
of the potential for dissonance between children's two experiential spheres;
that of their home culture and home life, and that of the host culture and
school life. Indeed, the effects of this dissemblance have been well documented
(Gee, 1990; Heath, 1980). The affective dimension of these children's school
experiences - self concept in light of being "different" - moreover,
can also work to constrain the already extraordinary challenges they face in
developing English language skills and academic literacy proficiency.
Language
teaching methodologies of the past few decades indeed recognize and accommodate
the critical component of learning that is affective, in lieu of traditional
instructional practice that is strictly cognitive (Asher, 1977; Curran, 1972;
Fanselow, 1987; Lozanov, 1979). The eclectic incorporation of process writing,
response-based practices with literature -- especially multicultural literature
-- Language Experience, Whole Language and the like - approaches that take into
account and value the background and experiences of non-native speakers - has
become common practice. Because the need for access to and the requisite skills
required by the content areas cannot be suspended while learners are acquiring
functional participation skills, the ESL teacher emphasizes needed
content-specific language, and the attendant concepts that are particular to
the subject areas, as the focus of student learning. Current, best practice in
ESL instruction with school-age children treats language as both the vehicle
for becoming part of the school and wider culture and a requisite tool for
mastery of subject area content. There is systematic integration of language
and content through which ESL teachers nurture a sense of acceptance in and of
their students, including the incorporation of the native language and culture
where possible; at the same time, teaching the English skills their students
need to be active participants in class, school, and community activities.
Technologies
and ESL: The Match?
Using
computer-based technologies in ESL instruction makes sense practically,
pedagogically, and to some extent, empirically.
Practical
Non-native
speakers of English represent special challenges for school administrations.
For example, where half of the nation's states mandate the quantity and type of
service to be provided to ESL learners, the other half are left to their own
devices (Fleischman and Hopstock, 1993). Moreover, the number of trained,
certified ESL professional educators has not kept up with the rapid increase in
the numbers of children needing services (OBEMLA, 1996). This situation is
further complicated by the fact 1) that the majority of districts nationwide
have sparse, dispersed numbers of ESL learners in a single building or
district; 2) that the population is oftentimes transient; and 3) that
predicting the specific needs and amount of service each ESL learner will need
makes hiring and retaining trained ESL professionals difficult. Given these
conditions, technologies can be seen as representing a practical option in
terms of both fulfilling contact hour requirements in states where this is
mandated, and as a means of expediting English language development so children
can become full participants in regular classroom and school activities where
services are less systematically provided.
The
prospect of providing language and literacy training for children learning ESL
via computer is an intuitively appealing one. At the level of simple
practicality, this is a potentially economical option in the minds of administrators
who face the challenge of providing services to this population. The notion of
efficiency that is intrinsically tied to anything "technological" is
also part of this appeal. Tied to efficiency is the notion of economy. Per
capita costs for ESL services are high. In most instances, there are so few ESL
learners in a building that grouping is not possible. Variation among students
in terms of their level of linguistic and literacy development also work
against grouping. Outside of large urban areas, then, the most common form of
ESL service is one-on-one tutoring (Fleischman and Hopstock, 1993).
Another
practical aspect of technologies use is that computers are something ESL
learners can do when they cannot otherwise participate in class activities. The
majority of the typical ESL learner's time in school is spent in the regular
classroom. There, because of limited English comprehension, they may struggle
with the content of the subject matter areas as well as the
communications-based dynamics of classroom life. Rather than have a child be
lost during a language-intensive language arts lesson, for example, the regular
classroom teacher can put an ESL learner on the computer; the perception then
being that that time is not being wasted. Because many instructional software
packages also have tracking and record-keeping utilities, both teacher and
student can also have some tangible evidence of work done and progress made
while the child works independently on-line.
Pedagogical
The
intuitive match of multimedia computer software and language instruction is
strong. Simulated contact with language in a variety of modalities - text,
graphics, video, audio - over which learners can exercise some control and, in
effect, interact can be seen as contact that is in keeping with the goals and
processes of learning another language. Rich contexts made up of visual and
auditory information provide environments in which learners can in theory
become immersed and involved, and with which they can in turn make sense of and
produce meaningful language. The fact that learners can also exercise a certain
amount of control over that environment is moreover pedagogically compelling
(Meskill, 1991a, 1996).
Reticent
students who are not prone to risk taking in the regular classroom may also
benefit from multimedia language learning (Chun, 1994; Meskill & Swan,
1996). On the computer a child can exercise thinking and action that is not
necessarily subject to immediate peer and teacher judgment. As such, autonomous
on-line experience, rather than carrying the potential for revealing lack of
comprehension or errors in performance, can be viewed as a comfortable activity
not only insofar as the child's autonomy is concerned, but also as regards
self-efficacy. In other words, where ESL learners may feel disempowered to
participate fully in the daily instructional stream, their on-line work is an
opportunity for them to actually do something that is both academic and that
carries a sense of accomplishment. On-line time also represents a reprieve for
non-native speakers whose daily involvement in trying to understand and
communicate in another language can prove to be exhausting.
In
situations where an ESL instructor works with groups of students who are at varying
levels of English-language ability and/or from different grade levels,
computers represent a means of involving learners in activity that is tailored
to their individual language ability and grade level as well as their
individual learning needs and preferences. An instructor can thus distribute
her attention and direct her support to individual learners as they work on
skills in environments appropriate to their individual needs. Allowing learners
to progress at their own pace through tasks and materials makes particular
sense as individual differences are particularly great among learners of ESL.
Given
current understandings, trends, and emphases in the area of K-12 second
language learning, the complexity of cognitive academic language proficiency,
and the centrality of affect in the language acquisition process, technologies
seem to make good methodological sense. Their use can make content from the
subject areas more accessible and empower ESL learners.
Empirical
The
inherent awkwardness of applying traditional research methods to the study of
the language and literacy learning of non-native speakers of English has been
long documented (Beretta, 1992; Weinstein, 1984). The myriad factors - social,
cultural, psychological, affective, and contextual - that contribute to the
route and pace of a learner's progress in another language render traditional
empirical methods of investigation of very limited utility. Any aspect of the
acquisition process is just plain difficult to assess quantitatively. The
measurement problem is compounded when computer use is involved. Traditional
research methods applied to computers and learning, such as studies comparing
different treatments, have been criticized for an "apples and
oranges" approach to what is in fact rich, complex human activity that
cannot be treated as varying by single, isolatable factors (Crookall, Coleman,
and Oxford, 1992; Hativa and Lesgold, 1996; Pederson, 1988). Both the fields of
second language learning and computer assisted instruction are, consequently,
calling for alternative forms of research that attempt to account for the
multiple and complex interrelation between individual and the contextual
factors.
In
spite of the recent paradigmatic shift in the study of second language learning
and the use of computers in instruction, the bulk of empirical work to date in
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is comprised of a handful of
"effectiveness studies" that attempt to determine a direct, causal
relationship between computer use and student learning of, for example,
vocabulary (Bueno and Nelson, 1993; Chun, 1994; Kang, 1995), listening
comprehension (Grezel and Sciarone, 1994), speaking (Peterson, 1990), grammar
(Swann, 1992) and writing (Pennington, 1993; Pennington and Brock, 1992; Silver
and Repa, 1993). Such investigations typically demonstrate some gains in
student learning. However, due to constraints inherent in methodology (e.g.,
for the most part these studies involve clinical, decontextualized computer use
and are of short duration), these investigations fall short of being able to
claim direct medium effects related to the fact that instruction took place via
computer. In all cases similar learning could have occurred off-line given the
amount of student contact time with materials.
Other
investigations offer evidence that quick, efficient access to on-line reference
and support material is instructionally supportive; that is, on-line
dictionaries (Leffa, 1992), visual support for lexical items (Chun and Plass,
1996), and access to contextual clues to meaning (Bueno and Nelson, 1993) are
helpful to language learners. There is additionally some evidence that suggests
providing on-line learning guidance is of value to those students who do not
possess strong language learning skills and strategies (King, 1991; Meskill,
1991b; Salomon, Globerson, and Guterman, 1989). By far the most consistent
evidence from empirical work with CALL has been that student attitude toward
using the computer for language learning has been consistently positive (see,
for example, Eichel, 1989 and Stevens, 1991). There is also some anecdotal
evidence that suggests that computers represent an opportunity for non-native
speakers to become experts in something where the language barrier prevents
other forms of participation and opportunities for self esteem to be validated
and enhanced (Cazden, Michaels, and Watson-Gegeo, 1987; Johnson, 1985).
Due
to methodological shortcomings, traditional comparison studies have yielded
little practical evidence beyond the common sense conclusion that computer
assisted language learning is as good as other forms of instruction. In some
instances computers may provoke greater enthusiasm for, and consequently
greater task persistence with, language learning activity. To date, such
empirical work on CALL has involved software products specifically designed for
learners of another language while focusing on medium and instructional design
effects. Exceptions include investigations of the discourse generated by
language learners who are paired at the computer with a variety of software
types (see, for example, Abraham & Liou, 1993; Meskill, 1993). Studies that
move beyond single, software-specific features to account for the complex of
contextual factors that constitute on-line language learning are sorely needed.
ESL
and Technology Uses: Project Goals
This
project of the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement
(CELA) is concerned with the implications and effects of non-native speaker
interaction with computer technologies, the patterns of this interaction, and
influences on second language and second language literacy development. Our
overall aim is to characterize what language professionals and mainstream
teachers do with technologies that works well.
Our
goals are
1)
to document intact contexts and processes for language and literacy learning
that involve ESL learners and technology;
2)
to systematically characterize the language and literacy development of ESL
students using technologies over time.
The
ESL and Technologies Survey
The
Project's initial activity set out to document current, intact uses of
technology with ESL learners in the state of New York. To that end, in
collaboration with New York State's Office of Bilingual Education, building
surveys that queried practitioners on technologies use with learners of ESL
were distributed to those districts in the state known to have "Limited
English Proficient" (LEP) populations, twelve hundred districts in total.
Forty-nine percent of the 786 buildings that responded report that technologies
are being used with their ESL children.
A
set of survey responses that we have found to be particularly informative are
the software products language educators reported using on a regular basis with
learners of ESL. Figure 1 (below) represents a breakdown, by category, of those
products New York State schools report using with learners of English as a
second language. Percentages represent a raw count of individual software
packages reported. Products were first categorized by whether their intended
audience was native English speaking (NS) or ESL specific (NNS).
-Insert
Figure 1 here
A
surprisingly large majority of software packages reported being used with learners
of ESL are designed for native-speakers of English (95.1% of the raw count of
the total number of software products mentioned). Of these, there is a close to
even split between what we classify as tools (e.g., word processing, reference
tools, presentation software) and content-specific software designed to be used
with native speakers, not students of ESL.
Non-native
Speaker Software
The
fact that only 4.9% of software products reported are those specifically
designed for learners of English as a second language is remarkable, especially
given the large number of such products now available and the aggressive
marketing strategies publishers are employing to sell them. This non-use of ESL
products is also curious in light of the "problem-solution" stance
typical of many school districts when it comes to ESL learners. One would
assume that ESL software products which publishers tout as high-tech solutions
would appeal to schools with ESL populations. Non-use of CALL products also
contrasts sharply with the heavy emphasis in the research community on
non-native speaker software products.
Those
ESL-specific products that survey respondents did report using can be
characterized as incorporating and focusing on visual components as aids to
vocabulary acquisition. The four most popular packages, for example, provide
language-specific practice through students seeing a picture representing a
word or sentence, reading text that accompanies it, and hearing the word or
sentence spoken. Students essentially match the three elements (visual, aural,
textual) in various ways in various formats. Less frequently reported ESL
products are also of the drill and practice variety, but less visually
oriented; some include language practice, chiefly vocabulary work, in game-like
formats. The 1.2% bilingual software products reported include Spanish-language
games, on-line bilingual (Spanish/English) stories, and Spanish/English drill
and practice programs.
Native-speaker
Software
Of
the native-speaker software products reported, computer tools are the most
widely used with ESL learners by respondents. Writing tools -- which include
word processors, desktop publishing and story-building software -- are clearly
the most popular. One writing/publishing tool that is frequently cited is the
Bilingual Writing Center (43 instances). This package has been adopted by a
number of schools providing bilingual education in New York City.
The
writing/publishing trend reflects software usage in schools overall where
composing and creating documents is increasingly undertaken on computers.
Software tools for presenting projects and reports (e.g., Slideshow, Kidpix,
etc.), comprise the second category of most commonly used products in this
category. Reference software (e.g., encyclopedias, databases) ranked third
under the tools category.
A
great deal of native-speaker software for the content areas is apparently being
appropriated by ESL professionals for use with their students (43.2%).
Native-speaker products tend to be rich in content and motivate use of
realistic problem-solving strategies and accompanying discourse. Their designs,
unlike ESL-specific products, are not preoccupied with form and discrete
language learning objectives. They are, on the contrary, designed for learners
to be doing and thinking about relevant content using English. Such products
emphasize real tasks that require language use rather than automatic or
metalinguistic knowledge that tend to be the focus of most non-native speaker
software.
Follow-up
Interviews
To
determine the reasoning behind why teachers are apparently opting for native
speaker versus ESL-specific software products, and to gain a sense of what
teachers actually do with these products in their efforts to support language
and literacy development, telephone contact has been made with reporting ESL
and Bilingual teachers in New York State. These are language teaching
professionals working with grades K -12 who, via the state-wide survey,
self-identified as using computer technology successfully in the classroom. In
the survey, 118 respondents indicated that they would be willing to discuss
furthuer their uses of technology with their ESL or bilingual students.
Fifty-six of these teachers were interviewed. The reduction in numbers from 118
respondents to 56 contacts is due to several reasons:
1.
some teachers have moved and the replacement teacher does not use technology 2.
some teachers no longer have access to technology that they had when surveyed
3. some of the teachers service several schools and completed surveys for more
than one building
Phone
interviews consisted of open ended questions about practices with computer
technology. To begin with, the teachers are asked about grade levels, language
backgrounds, and type of instructional support they provided ESL learners. They
were then asked what kind of computer programs they found to be the most useful
with their students and why. This deliberately open-ended question was
successful in leading teachers to explain beliefs about the uses of computer technology
in the classroom. An attempt was made to draw the teacher into providing a
rationale for using computer technology and some specific examples of how a
lesson might be constructed around the technology. Finally, questions were
asked both about how the computer is integrated into the lesson and also about
how the ESL lesson integrates across the curriculum.
While
some sense of technologies use was gained from these telephone interviews, the
quality of response is unavoidably uneven. In some instances teachers spoke
between classes or from a phone in a noisy hallway. In others, there were those
who had time to elaborate. Furthermore, some teachers were able to articulate
their beliefs spontaneously in a way that others were not.
Despite
these constraints, the following picture of the use of computer technology for
ESL / bilingual students has emerged:
1.
Access to computer technology is very uneven and, according to interviewees,
depends on several factors:
the
location of the school and resources available (e.g. inner city vs. suburban)
the status of the ESL / bilingual program in the school the degree of
cooperation and coordination between mainstream and ESL/bilingual teachers the
ability of teachers to write successful technology grants
2.
Overall, teachers like using computer programs because they are motivating,
they give instant feedback, they allow users to progress at individual rates,
and they often provide assessment components. Some teachers also like them
because they provide a space for student-student interaction away from the
teacher and aid. The teachers interviewed can, broadly speaking, be divided
into two groups.
Group
One
There
are those teachers who try to use computer programs in creative ways to
stimulate student thinking. For them ESL is not a separate subject in the
curriculum but a space where the content of social studies, science, and math
can be made more accessible to the non-native speaker student population. They
tend not to use ESL software (unless the students are complete beginners) and
instead prefer native speaker software that deals with relevant content topics.
In addition to integration across the curriculum, they also see computer use as
being a part of a larger whole of classroom activity. Typically, these teachers
see the technology as a means of enabling the students to construct situations
and obtain information which can be brought back to the whole class and which
can serve as stimuli for rich language use activities.
From
the teachers interviewed who fell into this group, the following kinds of
computer use were identified:
Emergent
literacy (K - early elementary) Alphabet and spelling programs are used in
developing basic literacy skills. Additionally, graphics programs are used to
support learners in making connections between images and text. Graphics often
serve as a springboard for discussion and writing in the target language.
Literacy
through stories (elementary) Teachers use programs that allow students to
choose environments and graphics to support the stories they write. There is
preference for software that allows students to write, voice record their
stories, and listen to the playback as they follow the text on the screen. Some
use of book-length reading programs was also reported. Here, while reading the
story, learnes can access explanations and animations through hypertext links.
Literacy
through personal journal writing (elementary-middle) Word processing is used as
the medium for interactive dialog journals. Entries are submitted to the
teacher on diskette on which the teacher also saves her personal responses to
students' writing.
Literacy
through content (upper elementary - middle) Social Studies, Science, and Math
programs are used by ESL teachers as part of interdisciplinary, theme-based
activities. Multimedia encyclopedias are also used for content research.
Literacy
through publishing (upper elementary - middle) Word processors and desktop
publishing packages are used to create booklets and newsletters. Multimedia
presentation tools are also used by students to create slide shows and photo
displays.
Literacy
through problem solving (upper elementary - middle - high) Interactive games
and simulations are used in conjunction with content-based work. In such
programs students make thoughtful choices based on their understanding of text
and visuals materials for which there are immediate consequences.
Literacy
through telecommunications (middle-high) E-mail is used to connect students to
other schools, to experts, and to shared problem-solving hubs. There is also a
growing use of the Internet for accessing information relevant to students'
native language and culture, to the interests of individual students, and to
support mainstream classroom work.
Autonomous
usage with integration across the curriculum (high) Here computers are used as
tools by students as they work on their own projects. When the system is
networked, students are able to access their work in a variety of content areas
from a number of locations in the school building.
Group
Two
There
teachers regard computer based activity as separate from regular classroom
activity. For them, the computer is utilized mainly to practice skills or as a
reward for successful classroom work. These teachers are also less inclined to
integrate across the curriculum or collaborate with colleagues (or are
operating in situations less conducive to such practices).
3.
There are strengths and weaknesses of both ESL and Native Speaker software
products.
ESL
Software
Most
of the ESL software in use is relatively old and it is used by teachers to
practice vocabulary and grammar. It is used mostly with beginners and those new
to computer technology. Several teachers mentioned a "beginner awe"
which helps to maintain motivation. However the inherent "skill and
drill" nature of this software soon leads to boredom and sometimes forms
of coercion have to be introduced to keep children on task. There are newer ESL
packages on the market and, while they are more interactive in that they combine
audio and graphics with text, many teachers feel that they do not engage
students beyond a superficial level with language. These kinds of packages are,
moreover, relatively expensive.
Native
Speaker Software
This
type of software is preferred by the vast majority of teachers as it helps to
develop literacy skills embedded in the contexts of the whole curriculum. They
use programs that bring the social studies, language arts topics, science, and
math into the ESL classroom and which encourage students to create content-
appropriate language. Software contexts range from simple problem solving
activities to full scale simulations. Another use of native speaker software is
as a tool for publishing. Here use ranges from simple poster or banner making
to sophisticated desk top publishing or presentations.
The
Elementary Level
For
beginners, teachers tend to use an array of basic skills language arts software
for letter recognition, basic vocabulary, and spelling. The students like the
instant feedback and the speech component that is now available in many
programs. They can listen and repeat and then the machine provides corrections.
This is fun (and motivating) when it comes from a machine and the students
practice longer on the computer than they would in regular class. These
programs also have attractive graphics and usually some kind of game component.
The dynamic is also different from regular class because with computers the
students have a certain amount of control over the activity (using the mouse,
for example) so they are not being directed by the teacher as much as they
would be in regular class. Often those who are frustrated in class (or who are
at risk of being left behind) can turn to the computer and work in a
non-threatening environment. The teachers often give ESL students below grade
level computer programs and encourage them to catch up at their own pace. The
computer also is a way for shy students to interact with each other without the
inhibiting presence of teachers, aides, and translators.
For
students who have already mastered the basics, native-speaker reading and
writing programs are very popular. Especially popular are programs which 'read'
stories out loud. Students can follow the audio portion of the story while
simultaneously following its text highlighted on the screen. In the writing
programs, students can click on graphics and construct a picture which then
serves as a stimulus for writing. In some situations, the students construct
stories on-screen which they then bring back to the whole class. In doing this,
the students gain confidence and feel in control of their stories in a way that
would be difficult to replicate without the technology. One teacher conducted a
multicultural magazine project in which the ESL students interviewed people from
their community, wrote stories, edited, and published a magazine. Their work
was chosen by the local newspaper for a special supplement.
Some
teachers bring content from social studies, science, and math into ESL
instruction at this level. They use programs like The Sandiego Zoo in which the
students can find out content information for projects, or math simulations
where the students have a shopping list and a certain amount of money.
Typically with these programs, the teachers spend time initially building and
checking prior content knowledge and afterwards in sharing the outcomes of
these activities.
Some
of the programs teachers use have built-in assessment components and these are
well received, especially as they can be used to impress parents.
The
Middle School Level
Here
word-processing is frequently mentioned by teachers. Rather than more
mainstream commercial word processing programs, teachers like to use programs
with good graphic support as the graphics stimulate writing. Students drag in
pictures, some of which are quite complicated - not the old two dimensional
cartoon-like pictures. Much can therefore be said and written about them.
Another benefit is that the computer saves the stories and the teacher can look
at them later. This is very useful when learners are all working on different
stories within different time frames. Publishing is also mentioned. Students
use desk-top software to create good visual effects and then to publish their
work.
A
major concern of teachers at this level is that the ESL class should serve
chiefly as a direct support to the content areas of the curriculum. They
believe that they can best serve their students' needs by working with the
concepts and vocabulary of social studies, science, and math and, consequently,
they try to ensure that their ESL work is congruent with the rest of the
curriculum. To further this end they make extensive use of software that deals
with historical, geographical, or scientific topics. They like software
requiring decision making and which stimulates thinking, prediction, and
problem solving. Typically teachers use some form of simulation software in
which the students construct a design (a world, a farm, an insect) and then use
it for classroom follow-up activities.
While
there is a general reluctance to use ESL software because of its inability to
foster creativity, some teachers find it useful for short periods with complete
beginners.
The
High School Level
At
this level the students are a lot more autonomous and they prefer to work
individually on computers. A teacher only has to show the students initially
how to operate the machine and begin on a program and then they work by
themselves. Reference programs (encyclopedias) are used a lot here as students
do their research for other content areas. One teacher uses a bilingual math
program and finds it good. She says that math problems on the computer are more
fun and there is less of a sense of being "wrong" if the students do not
get the correct answer. She also uses logic programs and geometry programs. On
the whole, though, there is less group activity and more autonomous usage of
native-speaker productivity tools with high school students.
E-mail
& The Internet
Several
teachers use a program set up by National Geographic which involves a software
package and e-mail organized around various social science and science themes.
National Geographic provides a hub and sets problems for students who have to
perform experiments and gather data which they then feed back into the hub. The
students are on teams with students in other schools and use e-mail to
communicate and complete assignments. E-mail is also used in one case for the
students to communicate with other students learning English in other
countries.
The
Internet is used for access to ESL web pages, stories that relate to the
students' own cultures (mainly Hispanic) and also for access to sites that have
direct relevance to students' lives—the shoes they wear, the movies they watch,
and the businesses where family members work.
Implications
Current
thinking in the field of second language and literacy acquisition would ideally
see interaction with electronic texts as task-based and socio-collaboratively
oriented in lieu of seeing students drilled in isolation from the rich context
of school life. These software usage findings and reports from the field
suggest that, in the case of self-identifying practitioners of technologies
with ESL students, quite a bit of usage is in keeping with contemporary beliefs
and practice in second language learning. These language professionals are, in
many instances, using technologies as tools through which and around which
literacy skills are socially and collaboratively built. Teachers appear to be
tailoring tasks and guidance for their students around electronic texts and
tools, emphasizing meaningful interpretation and production of target content,
in the target language.
These
trends in software selection and use also suggest that most reporting teachers
perceive the computer less as a delivery system and more as a tool with which
and through which language skills can be developed in task/process-oriented
frameworks. It may also be that teachers who use these products with their ESL
students are just plain resourceful teachers - making use of what is available.
These trends may also be reflecting a sensitivity to the importance of content
richness and correspondence with content-area linguistic and conceptual needs
of ESL children and, what appears to be widespread use of tools-based software,
may be in response to ESL children's needs for enhanced literacy development
activity as well as their need for empowerment through technology.
Conclusion
For
two decades now, the education sector has appropriated computer technology to
serve teaching and learning across the disciplines. And, as advances in
technology have developed, so has the rationale for incorporating this medium
into daily instructional streams matured. For example, in the earliest days of
computers in education, machines were viewed as instructional delivery systems
whereby a given body of knowledge could be transmitted to students by virtue of
its being on a screen and allowing some rudimentary forms of "interaction".
Computers were generally conceived as teaching machines that would take on
responsibility for training particular skills and content thoroughly and
uniformly. They represented, after all, instantiations of "high
technology"; a concept still at the core of our understanding of the
relationship between humans and machines.
More
recently, however, the computer is being viewed more as an integral part of
socio-collaborative learning activity and less as a means by which knowledge
and skills are transferred to learners (Chiquito, Meskill and Renjilian-Burgy,
1996; Johnson, 1985; Meskill & Swan, 1996; Snyder & Palmer, 1986). One
discipline in which these shifts in perception concerning the role of computers
in the teaching and learning process have been particularly distinct is in the
field of language learning. Once considered an ideally "patient
partner" with which learners of another language could endlessly drill and
practice until mastery occurred, the computer is now more widely viewed as a
tool through and around which socio-collaborative language learning can take
place. This shift in thinking directly parallels shifts in our understandings
about the best route to learning language in general, and empowering linguistic
minorities in particular.
Theory
and practice in second language learning has moved from treating the enterprise
as one of mimicry and memorization to one that is a complex, multidimensional
process influenced more by the interaction of the individual and the contexts
of acquisition than by notions of standardized, overt forms of cognition. It
has moved away from viewing language as a static set of automated processes
towards one that accounts for the multiple, complex aspects of language as a
central feature of human identity. Language teaching practice has consequently
moved away from emphasizing the learning of discrete linguistic items to
activity that orchestrates full experiences of, and involvement in, language as
it manifests itself in reality; that is, as a means of making and understanding
meaning.
Like
all innovation, however, developing notions of teaching and learning, with and
without technology, take time to influence educators and become established in
practice. In the area of second and foreign language learning, this is very
much the case. New understandings of how language is best learned and acquired
have been slow to influence classroom practice. The reasons for this are many
and are principally and intricately tied to notions of language as it is
manifest in personal, social, and national identity. There remains in the minds
of the U.S. linguistic majority, educators included, a package of veritable
myths concerning language, how it is learned, and why (Light, 1996; Reyes,
1992). The consequences of these misunderstandings are many and pervasive, and
especially troubling as to how they affect linguistic minority children and
their school life. In terms of computers, there is risk in bringing technology
to language learning contexts where these beliefs persist. As is evident in
these initial findings, there is also tremendous promise of change.
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*exception
being bilingual programs where children continue grade-appropriate work in the
content areas in the native language while learning English.
The
National Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA) is dedicated to
improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts. CELA
provides information about how best to develop the literacy skills that will
heighten student achievement in the content areas, as well as how achievement
in the content areas can strengthen literacy skills. CELA is operated by the
University at Albany in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Additional partners include the Universities of Oklahoma and Washington. The
Center is supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational
Research and Improvement (Award #R305A60005). The views expressed herein are
those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the
department.
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