Previous Reference Desk Digests

• Phonics Instruction — July 23, 2010
• Single-Sex Education — July 16, 2010
• Teacher Candidates' Field Experiences — July 9, 2010
• Kindergarten Entry Age — July 2, 2010
• Equitable Distribution of Teachers — June 25, 2010
• Drug Abuse Prevention Programs — June 18, 2010
• Data Use by Teachers— June 11, 2010
• School Start Time — June 4, 2010
• Balance Balls and Student Attention — May 28, 2010
• Student Mentoring — May 21, 2010
• Alternative Schools — May 14, 2010
• Low-Performing Schools — May 7, 2010
• Extended Learning Time — April 30, 2010
• 21st Century Skills — April 23, 2010
• Dropout Prevention Legislation — April 16, 2010
• High-School Grade Configuration — April 9, 2010
• Middle-Grades Configuration — April 2, 2010
• Music and Infant Development — March 26, 2010
• Homework and Student Achievement — March 19, 2010
• Foreign Language Technology — March 12, 2010
• Standardized Testing — March 5, 2010
• Charter Schools — February 26, 2010
• PD for Principals — February 19, 2010
• Formative Assessment — February 12, 2010
• Limited English Proficiency — February 5, 2010
• Teacher Evaluation Models— January 29, 2010

The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.

Question of the Week

What Are the Characteristics of Effective Foreign-Language Instructional Technology?

Each month, the Reference Desk receives a variety of questions regarding language acquisition in K–12 schools as well as in post-secondary institutions. This week’s Digest focuses on the characteristics of effective instructional technology for teaching foreign languages. In particular, this entry focuses on alternatives to what the requestor calls, “traditional, grammar-based, teacher-centered foreign-language approach.”

Question

What are the characteristics of effective foreign-language instructional technology for children?

Research Synthesis

Reference Desk Researchers found a range of resources for this question, from reports whose main focus was on aspects of learning second languages to others more focused on the benefits and challenges of using technology as part of the instruction. A few reports echoed this sentiment: “More important than the use of technology per se is the quality of what is done with this medium. A badly conceived interactive task or activity is poor whether it is done on a computer or face to face” (LeLoup, J.W., et al., 2003; see below).

Publicly Available Resources

1. Learning Foreign Languages at a Distance: Characteristics of Effective Online Courses. Nielson, K., Gonzalez-Lloret, M., and Pinckney, K.; 2009; University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language; 20 pages.

   From the summary: “While distance and hybrid courses offer some advantages to learners and institutions, they also come with challenges that can impede their successful implementation. The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) reviewed the existing literature on online and hybrid learning as well as foreign language learning and teaching in order to recommend best practices for the development of distance and blended foreign language courses.” The review provided three conclusions: online courses are flexible but may have challenges, the face-to-face component of hybrid courses may solve the challenges of online courses, and careful course design and instructor training are key to effective online or hybrid language-learning programs.

2. Second Language Acquisition and Technology: A Review of the Research. LeLoup, J.W.  and Ponterio, R.; December 2003; Washington, DC: Eric Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics; ERIC Digest EDO-FL-03-11; 2 pages.

   The authors review the current research base, discussing several aspects of learning via technology: sociocultural issues, learner affect, language awareness, nature of language production, and language skills. “More important than the use of technology per se is the quality of what is done with this medium. A badly conceived interactive task or activity is poor whether it is done on a computer or face to face. Using technology is not enough. In order to promote successful learning, tasks must be meaningful, have a true interactional component, and have a comprehensible purpose for the language student” (p. 2).

3. Invited Commentary: New Tools for Teaching Writing. Warschauer, M.; February 2010; Language Learning & Technology, Vol. 14, No. 1; pp. 3–8.
   From the conclusion: “The diffusion of new technologies, and the development of the knowledge economy that these technologies have contributed to, have made the teaching and learning of writing more important than ever before. Fortunately, these same new technologies can also aid the teaching of second language writing. Blogs, wikis, automated essay scoring, and open-source netbooks are four important tools that can assist writing instruction. As with other educational tools, none of these will bring positive results merely from their presence. However, thoughtful use of these tools can enhance effective instructional approaches that emphasize writing for meaningful social purposes, mastery of relevant genres, and development of students’ academic language proficiency” (p. 6).

The Reference Desk also found these resources and organizations to be helpful in learning more about language instruction and acquisition:

1. Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)

   From the website: “CAL is a private, nonprofit organization working to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture.” Its website includes a “Technology in the Classroom” section that has links to resources for integrating technology into the teaching of foreign languages.

2. CALICO Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium

   CALICO is a “professional organization that serves a membership involved in both education and technology. CALICO has an emphasis on language teaching and learning but reaches out to all areas that employ the languages of the world to instruct and to learn. CALICO is a recognized international clearinghouse and leader in computer-assisted learning and instruction. It is a premier global association dedicated to computer-assisted language learning (CALL).” 

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