The advent of personal computing and the development of mobile devices have contributed immensely to a rise in technology usage in schools. Some of this technology supports the schools’ infrastructure and management, but most of it has been deployed to enhance the learning that happens in content areas. From educational games to library databases, and from word processors to search engines, many teachers have wholeheartedly adopted technology in their classrooms to improve their curriculum and to facilitate their students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills. Nowhere has technology been more effective at enhancing content area learning than in foreign language instruction.
Prior to the Internet becoming widespread, language teachers needed to travel overseas to acquire authentic realia and offer their students a connection to a culture only represented in books and through the odd foreign language movie. Technology has transformed all of this, allowing teachers and their students to instantly encounter another culture through its art, language, movies, newspapers, radio, music, and literature. For a French teacher, it is now possible to stream a radio station from Sénégal, conduct a virtual museum visit in Belgium, explore living in Paris through street view maps, read the newspaper from Québec City, and livestream a beautiful view of l'Anse à l'âne, Martinique. Technology allows the classroom to extend to the world, making available cultural resources that were simply not accessible previously. This provides a huge relative advantage for foreign language teachers.
Technology can enhance the foreign language content area learning by connecting students with “a range of native speakers of the FL, including varieties of the language not spoken by the teacher, and to up-to-date examples of how the language is currently used” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. 368). It fosters access to countless resources available online. It provides “collaborative tools, fostering creativity and learner autonomy” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. 370). Through easy audio and video recording capabilities, technology creates a safe environment for students to learn and perform a new language in a quiet space, away from other students and the inherent risk of ridicule when speaking a new language (Taghizadeh & Hasani Yourdshahi, 2020, p. 984). It expands the classroom to virtually the whole planet, providing access to authentic language and exponentially increasing cultural contacts between students and the target language’s society. Finally, technology allows language learners “to contact actual speakers of other languages in distant locations” (Serostanova, 2020, p, 187).
Of course, technology is not all advantages. There are several disadvantages to using technology to enhance content area learning, and these are reviewed in this blog post. Overall, however, technology has been very beneficial and advantageous to the foreign language content area, and foreign language teachers continue to remain on the cusp of new technologies, from augmented reality field trips to attending live concerts taking place an ocean away. Relatively speaking, technology is a clear relative advantage for foreign languages!
Prior to the Internet becoming widespread, language teachers needed to travel overseas to acquire authentic realia and offer their students a connection to a culture only represented in books and through the odd foreign language movie. Technology has transformed all of this, allowing teachers and their students to instantly encounter another culture through its art, language, movies, newspapers, radio, music, and literature. For a French teacher, it is now possible to stream a radio station from Sénégal, conduct a virtual museum visit in Belgium, explore living in Paris through street view maps, read the newspaper from Québec City, and livestream a beautiful view of l'Anse à l'âne, Martinique. Technology allows the classroom to extend to the world, making available cultural resources that were simply not accessible previously. This provides a huge relative advantage for foreign language teachers.
Technology can enhance the foreign language content area learning by connecting students with “a range of native speakers of the FL, including varieties of the language not spoken by the teacher, and to up-to-date examples of how the language is currently used” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. 368). It fosters access to countless resources available online. It provides “collaborative tools, fostering creativity and learner autonomy” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. 370). Through easy audio and video recording capabilities, technology creates a safe environment for students to learn and perform a new language in a quiet space, away from other students and the inherent risk of ridicule when speaking a new language (Taghizadeh & Hasani Yourdshahi, 2020, p. 984). It expands the classroom to virtually the whole planet, providing access to authentic language and exponentially increasing cultural contacts between students and the target language’s society. Finally, technology allows language learners “to contact actual speakers of other languages in distant locations” (Serostanova, 2020, p, 187).
Of course, technology is not all advantages. There are several disadvantages to using technology to enhance content area learning, and these are reviewed in this blog post. Overall, however, technology has been very beneficial and advantageous to the foreign language content area, and foreign language teachers continue to remain on the cusp of new technologies, from augmented reality field trips to attending live concerts taking place an ocean away. Relatively speaking, technology is a clear relative advantage for foreign languages!
References
Roblyer, M.D, & Hughes, J.E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching (8th Ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Serostanova, N. (2020). Integrating information and communication technologies in the process of foreign language teaching and learning. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 5(1), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20141.187.197
Taghizadeh, M., & Hasani Yourdshahi, Z. (2020). Integrating technology into young learners’ classes: language teachers’ perceptions. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 33(8), 982–1006. https://doi-org.libproxy.boisestate.edu/10.1080/09588221.2019.1618876
Etienne, I enjoyed reading your blog post and how technology can be used to teach foreign language. I know it can be used to learn basics, but I never considered the wide range of possibilities for connecting beyond the classroom. Thank you for sharing lots of great ideas!
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