Interactive learning technologies in an ESL classroom

“Please answer in English, not Korean. We are here to study English” Said the English teacher

“No… English hard. I don’t know English. Teacher! You speak Korean.” answered the student.

 Those are words commonly heard in an English classroom in Korea. But how can we change that? How can we motivate students to want to learn, speak or use a language, that’s not native to them? Those are the questions that ponder the teacher’s mind after the above scenario for the minutes that follow. Usually, the first thought is “make it fun”. Something that is often easier said than done. Then the next thought in the thought process is, “give them a reason to learn;” and then maybe “we have to use the computer, somehow.” No matter what the concluded ideas are, at the end, nothing would be possible without the right technology. Without the right delivery method, the right application, the content, the message, would just be simply lost. And in this case, the intended lesson wouldn’t be learned. With these three ideas in mind, I started to think about how it can be done. This leads me to look at different learning technologies used in a typical ESL classroom.

By observing the lessons and noting each technology’s use and the student’s reactions to each, I have made some conclusions about each learning technology’s use and effectiveness. The interaction between the teacher, student, and technology in the classroom, creates a triangular relationship that’s the key to a successful language classroom. The learning technologies used in a typical ESL classroom, can be divided into three categories, each varying in use. The instructional methods of the teacher, the primary supports, used often, and the secondary supports, used seldom, all contribute their part to a successful ESL classroom. Loh mentioned in her review of the Handbook of E-learning, “computing technology and the Internet are not only changing modes of lesson delivery but also reshaping the rhetorical space in which literacy and learning occur.” (Loh, 2007) So where learning can occur, even in an ESL classroom, educational technology is playing its crucial part in creating the ideal learning space for students.   But just like Loh, I also believe that the success of e-learning is not in its way of delivery but by the way people make use of the technology (Loh, 2007).  According to Catherine Adams, it was stated that though the use of Powerpoint showed no significant gain in academic performances, it did increase rapport between the student and the teacher (Adams, 2008).

Before we can teach anything in any classroom, we need to grab the attention of the students. With much technological advancements in society today, it seems like the best way to capture anyone’s attention, is to simply introduce new innovative ideas, or devices to them. By giving them a chance to play with it, or at least to explore and experience the new devices in one way or another, their attention would have been captured, thus making it an excellent motivation strategy.  However, incorporating such technology in a classroom with education can be tricky. Nevertheless, it is a strategy that can still work well.  But of course, while doing so, teachers must always still remember the conventional teaching methods.  It’s about blending the old with the new, and not about an invasion of the new.  Secondly, once the teacher has captured the students’ attention, teaching can commence using any means necessary.  Then finally, teachers can check the students’ understanding in follow-up activities.

 So is this any different in a language classroom?

 Although many language educators would suggest immersion method for the means of teaching a second language, there is a need for the perfect textbook or method of teaching.   As there still isn’t a perfect way to teach students how to acquire new languages, educators and businesses are always trying out different tools and technologies in the classroom. From Audio-Visual Education, which provided a lot of one-way contributions, where students only listened or watched but couldn’t really apply what they’ve learned, then slowly, to the development of learning technologies to support learning. And with that, we entered a new era. It is an era which looked at learning technologies, as “applications to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment”. As it was mentioned in Feng and Petrina’s paper on ‘The Primer for defining and Theorizing Technology in Education’, “depending on the use, practically any technology can be considered a learning technology” so how do we know what is best (Petrina & Feng, Aug 2009).  What does this mean in the case of language learning and learning technology?  Does it mean we need to find ways to present language immersion scenarios in the classroom using the classroom technology or does it mean we need to use technology to assess, and teach?   I believe both answers to those questions, are yes but with conditions.

Before we can start any reforming, getting the students’ attention is the top priority.  Attention grabbing, when working with elementary students, is always a hard thing to create when starting a new lesson.  But as mentioned, new technologies in the classroom, or the use of technology in the classroom itself, is already an attention grabber.  The problem then lies not in grabbing of the attention but the maintenance of the attention.  Students, especially younger children, have short attention spans, which can become a problem when teaching.   As a result a need to constantly be moving and changing in the classroom is vital.  The use of a new program, or new video in the classroom can capture the wanted attention long enough to teach an idea while getting them to follow along in their books may result in graffiti on the tabletops.

Once the teacher has successfully captured the students’ attention, the second phase of learning begins with the use of simple words, gestures, and pictures to teach the target sentences. This also brings forth the biggest problem with teaching a second language, which is that the students have to already have some basic comprehension of the language they are learning to learn. According to H. Douglas Brown this isn’t hard to understand, as long as educators remember that during second language acquisition for learners, we don’t consider the learners to be blank papers, but intellectuals who are able to develop ideas and process information by analyzing and linking between languages internally (Brown, 1987).  So though it may sound ironic it is also quite true for a successful class to commence.  However, if it’s lacking, another option is to also have a native language teacher in the classroom as well, so that everything being taught can be translated immediately if needed. Due to this prior knowledge in students, educators need to remember that the need to understand the students’ mistakes are just as important as teaching the correct forms, as it may be a key to aiding language acquisition (Brown, 1987).

This brings me to the first category, instructional methods by the teachers.  Instructional method is any way to shape information that activates, supplants or compensates for the cognitive processes necessary for achievement or motivation [learning] (Salomon, 1979).  There are many different teaching styles and methodologies available for teachers to use.  But the most common one used in ESL classrooms follows a “Before-During-After” approach, which works really well with learning technologies. In this lessons, teachers aim to engage students, teach them, and then help them produce.  Engaging students as mentioned before is the most challenging part; however, I find that using new technology to grab the attention of Korean students is one of the most effective ways.  And sometimes, this is as simple as showing a hidden image on the computer screen, to guess the lesson objective.

However often times, due to the lack of language understanding in the classroom, we need our primary supports to aid in our lessons.  These primary technological supports are the CD-ROMs and computer programs like Powerpoints, and Word processors. They provide the visuals to help bridge the missing gap due to the language barrier, and it also helps educators clarify teachings and minimize misunderstandings.  Then, if needed, the use of the secondary supports can be brought in.  These secondary supports are the videos, audio clips, and internet that are used less than often in the classrooms though still very important as they serve as link to bridging the textbook to real life, and spark critical thinking. This is based on the logic that a picture is sometimes worth more than a thousand words.

An example of a primary support used, is the CD-ROM that accompany the textbooks that is used in the class.  Together, they are one of the most commonly used tools when teaching English in Korea.  Though both are used in the classrooms, depending on the method of use, contradicting results may occur.  I saw the different results in the students. When further observations were commenced, it was noticed that the amount of use and frequency of use varied among teachers at the school.  It made me conclude, yet again, that it’s not the device that’s important, but the message and the method of delivery, in the classroom that can affect a student’s education.  The CD-ROMs are designed for young low level students, for self-learning with the use of the textbook.  The way the book and CD was created, was so that they can also be a support for each other and not something that can be used individually for learning as neither contains enough information on its own to successfully help a student learn.  Because of this, the teacher’s input becomes crucial as well, creating a triangle relationship among the three.  This form of use may also easily result in rote memory learning, if the teacher isn’t careful in checking that students understand the material. Rote memory teaching in this case, would result in students who may sound very fluent, but actually can’t comprehend the material or manipulate it for their own use.

To aid in prevention of this, another learning technology can be introduced for use. Powerpoint can be used to teach and to check for understanding.  Though many would disagree that it’s a good product and is a less preferred product in Canadian classrooms, the use of it in a second language teaching setting can definitely do more good than harm. It is easy for the students to see that the teachers can easily manipulate the application to their teaching needs and students know what they can expect from it. Most importantly, this tech can aid in preventing excessive rote memory learning because the teacher controls what’s presented on the presentations, so if the students have already practiced speaking and repeating countless times using the CD, then the option to not include it in the powerpoint is simply available.

But of course, the best way to really know if an ESL student really understands the material is to spark critical thinking and application.  If the student has really understood the lesson, like an English target sentence, and have understood the syntax of the sentence structure, they should be able to apply it to new materials that are from outside the book.  While outside of their comfort zone, the students who truly learned should be able to create the new never presented sentences by using what they’ve learnt.

However, the secondary support used in these types of situations, also have to be easy to understand. The secondary supports, like video clips, audio clips, internet resources, or other physical manipulatives should reflect their lessons. For example, when students in my class were learning the target sentence “I would like to …” they were asked to think about and compose sentences that answer and reflect their thinking when given the question “What would you like to do if you are a millionaire?” Though students lack creativity in their answers, most of them were able to complete the assignment given, especially when they had known about the assignment the lesson before and thus had had time to prepare.

I watched a TED Talk video before by Ken Robinson where he talked about schools educating students out of their own creativity (Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity, 2006).  I believe it to be very true, but at the same time; I also think that creativity is something that ESL classrooms have to forego a little as it’s often too hard for students to get their ideas across the page when language learning occurs, as a language barrier is always around.  This is also why I believe the secondary supports come in to aid in second language learning. By having such resources available readily anywhere, even outside of the classroom, students can apply what they’ve learnt more often than not.   Sometimes, it happens even when they don’t realize it. By showing students in the classroom, a famous movie clip or song, we are linking the lessons to the real life that they know. Creating a buffer between the two, can help them ease their fears of learning something new by showing them how it can be applied, and can help spark creativity in them.

These supports collectively create a temporary language immersion experience for the students provided that it’s taught with teachers who refrain from speaking the student’s native language as much as possible. By drawing connections between what they are hearing, seeing, and understanding with what they already know, the students are learning.  Such learning experiences make each lesson more successful than one that entails the student sitting at their seats reciting text off the screen.

With all that said, is it any different from a Canadian classroom? First of all, in Canadian classrooms, we don’t have “English” class in elementary school; we tend to have “literacy” classes instead as students are already fluent in English. But, in terms of second language learning, most Canadian students start to learn French in grade 4 for a few times a week, until high school.  Though short, most French teachers tend to aim to teach in a fun setting instead of the information based lessons. I believe this is because most language teachers know that it’s hard to learn a second language as students get older and even harder for them to remember what they’ve learned if it isn’t applied often outside of class. According to Catherine Adams, it was also stated that though the use of Powerpoint showed no significant gain in academic performances, it did increase rapport between the student and the teacher (Adams, 2008).

In comparison, I would say the instructional methods are the same, if not more important, though the use of the primary and secondary supports may differ. When I was student teaching in Ontario for grade twos and fours, in two separate terms, I noticed that the choice of learning technology used in the classrooms were Smartboard based. And because Smartboard is an interactive tool that allows the users to use a computer like a blackboard, learning can take place using all forms of support without transition delays while switching from one media to another.  However, in most Canadian classrooms, use of certain websites, search engines, or audio-visual supports, are not easily accessible due to copyright issues. This takes a little away from the teacher’s list of supports available immediately.  So it’s important that we don’t fall into a routine of depending on technology too much as it takes away from the importance of instructional teaching, which is to emphasize the relationships between what we are seeing with what we need to understand (Loh, 2007).

However as useful as these technologies are, as the students get older, the use of such mediums should gradually decrease and transit into supports that are more individual based. Instead of having the teachers bring in the supports, have the students look for their own. It promotes another type of learning technology, which is to learn while learning how to use technology. This should create an overview of a students’ language plan that started from learning in a controlled space to learning language in an open space.

Though many different learning technologies are used in many different classrooms, when it comes to an English language classroom in a public school in Korea, the choice of use comes down to fast, quick and easy to understand. In this case, it means teacher’s instructional method, the use of some sort of presentation program and external resources from outside the books. Learning technology is “the tool that helps one learn and thus enables learning through technology” (Petrina & Feng, Aug 2009). According to Catherine Adams, it was also stated that though the use of Powerpoint showed no significant gain in academic performances, it did increase rapport between the student and the teacher (Adams, 2008). So I believe that using such interactive learning technologies in the classrooms can increasingly aid in teaching a second languages as long as it was implemented into their education at a young age and is gradually removed from their learning plan as the student progresses in their education. Just like the simple but clear quote from Petrina and Feng’s Primer Article, about how the path of education and technology has always been progressing alongside each other throughout time. “…education and technology will always require each other” (Petrina & Feng, Aug 2009). So why fear it? We should embrace it with open arms.

Works Cited

Adams, C. (2008). The poetics of PowerPoint. Explorations in Media Ecology, 7(4), 283–289. Library Portal Access.

 Brown, H. D. (1987). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 285.

 Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21-29.

 Loh, C. S. (2007). A suitable textbook for the classroom. Review of the SAGE handbook of e-learning research. Educational Researcher, 36(9), 573-578. Library Portal Access.

 Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (2006). [Motion Picture].

Petrina, S. & Feng, F. (2008). Primer for Defining and Theorizing Technology in Education, pt 1. Vancouver, BC: Tech no-Printing Press.

Salomon, G. (1979), Interaction of Media, cognition and learning. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Tufte, E. R. (2003, September). PowerPoint is evil. Wired, 11(9).