Technology and Language Learning (Blog post #1)
Technology and Language Learning
Blog Entry #1
How has technology influenced the way we learn a second language? This question has presented itself to me throughout my teaching career so I thought it would be an interesting place to start.
One of the reasons I am interested in this question is because of my own relationship to technology. I spent my formative years at a school where technology was prohibited. On top of that, my father has always been an “off-the-grid” type of guy. I think this upbringing heavily influenced my opinion of technology.
As a teacher, cellphones bothered me the most. After only a few months of teaching, I decided to create a “cellphone” jail. You may be surprised to discover that my students were adults and even more surprised that they actually liked that I took their phones (aside from a rare few.)
My reasoning for taking their phones was threefold. The main reason I took the phones away was because it really bothered me that students would pull out their phones rather than talk to each other. These people had spent thousands of dollars to come to a new country and learn a new language while also having a life-changing experience! I couldn’t fathom why they would want to spend most of their time doing the exact same thing they do in their own country. Was it out of habit? Were they nervous about connecting? Did they not know how to make small talk (in their own language, in English, or both)? These questions prompted me to make my decision.
The other reason I took their phones was the easiest for them to understand: it is a huge distraction. It became very difficult for many of my students to keep their phones away in order to finish a task, engage in a lesson, or complete assignments.
My final reason is what prompted my question this week and will guide my research for my second blog post. I began to tell my students (without actually consulting any sources or research – oops!) that switching from their native language to English all the time would confuse them and make it more difficult to achieve fluency. It seems logical, don’t you think? Every time they pulled out their phones, they were reading or writing in their native language. The structures and grammatical rules of their native language would certainly influence their next writing activity, or even their speaking. It seems counter-intuitive to expect to achieve fluency through immersion if there is a constant interruption or “intrusion” of their native language.
I’m curious to know what my colleagues think about technology and its impact on language learning. What advantages and disadvantages does technology have on second language acquisition?
