Graduating on the Installment Plan

Before you read my summary
Here’s some praxis…a great, fun video that is (tangentially) related to the use of technology in the L2 classroom. In this case, the tech element is instructor-facing…the teacher posted a video of his English activities on YouTube so that the lesson content could be viewed and responded to at a distance. The video subtly depicts an L2 model that isn’t really about F2F learning or about distance education; it’s a mix of teacher, student, and tech participation in and out of the classroom.

It’s great what the Interwebs can do for teachers in any field. This video gives you a little snapshot of an English classroom in Hong Kong in a way that traditional text simply could not.





And now: Article Overview
Distance learning courses are becoming a prevalent feature of the educational landscape, and, in part because of increased access to the Internet and the resulting proliferation of global English, online programs that train TESOL instructors are seeing a coincident rise in popularity (63). However, the increase in TESOL certifications earned online brings with it concern over the experience and quality of distance learning degrees relative to traditional degrees earned at brick-and-mortar institutions (67).


Interesting Findings
Through analysis of the results of an international survey of participants in language teacher education by distance (LTED) programs, the researchers surmised the following characteristics of distance L2 pedagogy programs:

• There are few international standards for distance programs, so instructors who are largely supportive of their own particular LTED program are often suspicious of other LTED programs. This general level of apprehension over the quality of competing LTED programs has the effect of diminishing the integrity of the field in general.
• The practice of maintaining large numbers of off-site faculty negatively impacts staff cohesion. Also, off-site staff have less access to institutional funds.
• Off-site students in LTED programs frequently feel isolated, and instructors feel less rewarded by teaching because they “miss their students.”
• The communicative language teaching model (CLT), the prevalent model in formal language instruction that holds that language acquisition is based on use of the target language in communicative activities, doesn’t hold up online the same way as it does in f2f instruction because students, teachers, and buildings are replaced with text and computer images.
• The technology component in LTED programs does, however, allow for the incorporation into the foreign language classroom visual/audio technologies that are increasingly part of modern multimodal communications, and students are eager to engage in computer mediated learning exercises.

Although there seem to be both troublesome and worthwhile elements to LTED programs, the researchers found that instructors and students agree that sound pedagogy, not the technology’s capabilities, is the important factor in designing effective distance learning curricula (74).

Connections between Technology and TESOL
The article connects the recent phenomena of online education to the millennia-old practice of learning by correspondence and, in so doing, draws parallels between the “social practices” of studying a foreign language in face-to-face (f2f) and computer-mediated environments. Because the community of students and teachers studying foreign languages are traditionally mobile, accustomed to learning by correspondence, and able to benefit from rapidly improving pedagogical technologies, technology becomes an attractive component of foreign language instruction.

Interestingly, the authors don’t define TESOL education in terms of conflict between f2f and online models. Rather, they describe foreign language education as a mixture of practices in which teacher-student interactions fluctuate between different degrees of physical presence and technological mediation (see image below). Because of the good and useful expansion of online media into nearly all aspects of education, I am pleased to read research that moves beyond an either/or view of technology to reflect accurately the presence of distance components in traditional classes as well.

Citation:
Hall, D., & Knox, J. (2009). Issues in the Education of TESOL Teachers by Distance Education. Distance Education, 30(1), 63-85. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Researcher Raquel Oxford suggests that utilizing writing technologies may aid instructors and students in incorporating successful composition exercises into the L2 classroom while simultaneously developing desirable computer skills. In designing her study, Oxford notes that despite research pointing to the benefits of using technology in L2 classrooms, many instructors don’t incorporate it because of a lack of familiarity or expertise (shame on them!).

Even though the study showed that the incorporation of technology-enhanced language-learning (TELL) software was responsible for only minor improvements in student learning, Oxford believes this is likely because language improvement is difficult to measure over one course. Furthermore, the study did not attempt to measure the likely improvement of student competency with the technology. Either way, more and more research is drawing a link between writing exercises and language acquisition, and technologically mediated spaces provide a genuine context for language practice. Based on this, Oxford exhorts language teachers to consider using composition and technology exercises in their language curricula as platforms for enduring education.

Moreover, giving L2 students opportunities to write with and be assessed by TELL software provides students with the experience of composing for an audience that is not concerned with the students’ L2 status. Oxford comments that L2 instructors are frequently “sympathetic” to their students’ linguistic endeavors and may assess writing differently than audiences that are not experienced with second language composition. I see this use of technology particularly salient. Even as a beginning student of L2 pedagogy, I anticipate challenges finding a balance between empathizing with students’ struggles toward language competency and creating a realistic classroom environment that demands the same linguistic proficiency as the really real world.

I also find this article compelling because it recognizes overlap between the development of second language competency and comfort with technology. Not only are both skill sets assessed similarly (certifications, rote drills), but they are described similarly (think: computer language, the rigidity of grammar inherent in both coding and composition). Furthermore, it seems too often the case that cross-curricular instruction isn’t applied to L2 language courses. This article demonstrates tools that can be incorporated into the L2 curriculum that enhance student skills beyond the target language alone. What a good idea, I think, for instructors to treat second language coursework as a component of the larger curriculum and not simply a barrier to be breached on the path to “the rest” of one’s studies.

For further reading, check out this syllabus from Washington University for a course that explores the interface of L2 composition and technology.

Citation: Oxford, Raquel.  “Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language.” Hispania, Vol. 89, No. 2 (May, 2006): 358-361. Read it here.

Natsuki Fukunaga’s examination of a group of English-speaking American students’ interest in developing Japanese language proficiency illustrates the roles that social and cultural motivations play in L2 language acquisition.

The author points out that for some L2 learners, the acquired language can serve as a “tool…to acquire agency” within social groups that value that language. In such cases, classroom exercises may not account for the lion’s share of the students’ language acquisition, and linguistic experiences gained through voluntary exposure to L2 media inform in-class grammar and writing practice. This being the case, instructors should consider students’ out-of-class activities when developing exercises for in-class use or when ascertaining students’ progress toward mastery.

Furthermore, acknowledging (or encouraging) students’ engagement with cultural artifacts that are relevant to L2 language study fosters an environment that allows “active learners” to facilitate their studies with more resources than a single classroom can hope to provide.

Fukunaga distills four core recommendations for L2 teachers from her research:

1. Get to know the tools: consider new media, popular media, food…whatever artifacts learners are building culture around




2. Appreciate authentic aspects of other cultures: contextualize the language




3. Have a critical discussion: create active learners that engage the L2 culture




4. Be aware of the power of popular culture: by being aware of student interests, L2 instructors are better able to maintain active classrooms as well as tailor instruction to specific student needs

Interestingly, the article depicts L2 learners (in this case, American students of Japanese) as a group united foremost “through shared practices and a common endeavor, and only secondarily through shared culture, gender, ethnicity, or face-to-face relationships” (Gee 2001, qtd. in Fukunaga 2006). This is interesting in that it parallels the experiences of graduate students taking their first, computer-mediated steps toward joining the L2 pedagogy community itself. Although we as students of L2 composition studies are not (nor need not) be implicitly aware of shared cultural vocabularies or offline acquaintance, we nonetheless come together around our common interest in advancing the state of instruction for second-language learners. In this way, we build a new and shared culture that is enhanced by our diverse linguistic experience. Remaining cognizant of this parallel may give us perspective as we begin engaging the field, and perhaps more importantly, our own classrooms.

Citation: Fukunaga, Natsuki. “Those Anime Students: Foreign Language Literacy Development through Japanese Popular Culture.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Vol. 50, No. 3. (Nov. 2006): 206-22.