Technology Use for Language Teaching in Neiva, Huila, Colombia*

* This is a 2014 paper where I reflect upon technology-use 

by a group of teachers in Neiva, Huila Colombia.

As an English teacher, I would say that using technology in my class has been one of the main strategies I have implemented to keep my pupils focused on a lesson. Fortunately, I have had the chance to work in schools which are very well equipped. The number of resources those schools possess let the teacher be creative and use media to enhance students’ learning. Throughout this essay, I reflect on the use of technology for language teaching in Neiva, Huila, Colombia. To do so, a short survey was created using surveymokeys.com. The survey is available on https://es.surveymonkey.com/s/V82GJKX. It was administered on-line to ten English teachers form public and private schools in the city. They were asked to provide certain information, such as; the years of experience in the field of education they had, the level of expertise in terms of technology use, and the current software and hardware they implemented in their English lessons.

33% of the teachers that participated in the survey had 1 to 5 years of experience in language teaching. Another 33% has worked as English teachers from 5 to 10 years. 16% of the teachers have been educating for 10 to 20 years and finally, the other 16% of the population has been in the field of language teaching for more than 20 years. Regarding teachers’ overall skills in using technology 50% of the population rated their skills as basic. Consequently, the population left rated their overall skills as proficient. They neither assumed to have a below-basic knowledge of technology nor did they claim to be experts in using technology in the classroom. According to Otto & Pusack (2009) advances in Web-based resources, including fine-tuned control over streaming media and of Web 2.0 services and applications have added new dimensions to the ways authoring tools can support acquisition of all the skills, both receptive and productive.

While presenting the next part of the survey, I will briefly point out some of the most outstanding characteristics that educational technologies offer. In the next question, 20% of the teachers interviewed claimed they currently use blogs in their lessons. Regarding the use of blogs with educational purposes, Duffy & Bruns (2006) point out that the growing popularity of blogs suggests the possibility that some of the work that students need to do in order to read well, respond critically and write vigorously might be accomplished under circumstances dramatically different from those currently utilized in higher education. I think that blogs can be incorporated into the classroom as a strategy to support traditional language teaching strategies, such as dictating, write in notebooks and fill in a worksheet overloaded with many grammar exercises.

Subsequently, in a research study, Lizarazo (2012)  implemented blogs as a pedagogical strategy to guide students in the process of understanding the use of an adjective to write descriptions. He found out that it was very probable that the activities carried out coupled with the exercises designed and used in the blog provided the students with enough information to understand how they had to use the adjectives in their descriptions. In my point of view, the use of blogs seems to be a great tool to maintain students motivated and focused on the flow of the lessons carried out. I believe that Students’ curiosity should be considered as a key factor at the time of teaching. When blogs are used in the classroom to reinforce or put into practice a topic, students’ curiosity is challenged. I would say that if a topic and a strategy used by the teacher are interested, they will do their best to accomplish the goal.

40% of the population expressed they currently use e-mail as an educational tool to teach English. Hassett, Spuches, & Webster (1995) claim that students and faculty both benefit from using e-mail. Students learn a communication tool that is used throughout academia and industry. Using e-mail is the first step in using the Internet, the international research and education network that our students can navigate by using network searching tools. Thus, from a personal point of view, the most common use of email in the classroom aims at sharing information such as documents, images, videos and feedback from teachers to students, or from students to teachers.

80% of the teachers claimed they currently take into account educational websites to teach English. Also, 60% accepted that nowadays they use online libraries. Pasupathi (2013, pp. 125-138) conducted an investigation in which she used educational websites to improve listening skills in engineering students. Three web pages were mainly used. Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab (www.esl-lab.com), Teacher Frank’s website (http://www.learn-to-speak-english-esl.com) and The American Rhetoric website (www.americanrhetoric.com). Students who participate in the study appreciated and supported the employment of the three ESL web resources for improving listening skills. They felt technology-based learning was less time-consuming. This study suggests that implementing these methods in school language laboratory classes will help students to overcome their fear and anxiety of listening in English when they first begin higher education. Also, Rátiva, Pedreros, & Núñez (2012) conducted a research study to promote reading. Making use of blogs they found out that students ranked google.com, rincondelvago.com and Wikipedia.com as the most currently visited websites to look for information needed. Apart from that, they claim that the implementation of web activities in the promotion of reading constitutes a new opportunity for learners to strengthen their abilities in acquiring competence in the target language. I think that this kind of study let the researcher who applies it to improve their teaching abilities. Teachers are also able to establish a virtual means of communication with their students. If students are well guided and motivated, they can carry out English language practices from their homes. The learning process becomes more effective.

In this sense, Salinas (2014, pp. 29-48) focused her investigation on collaborative project work development in a virtual environment. She found out that, in a virtual environment, students also need to become autonomous and responsible for their own learning. Hence, students need to play the role of team workers who participate in tasks to communicate and share ideas with the purpose of completing class projects. Moreover, she expresses that, for collaborative learning to be effective in a virtual environment, teachers and monitors need to play several roles depending on the needs and dynamics within teams. I believe that we as teachers fail at the time of providing instructions to our students. In most cases, the instructions are omitted or shortened because the activities are thought to be self-explained. Our role as monitors of students’ development is not practiced. That is the reason why we should raise awareness in our obligation which must be oriented to properly instruct learners. We should also search for strategies to satisfy their needs.

100% expressed they are currently using Microsoft office to support their English lessons. They also highlighted the importance of using online dictionaries in their English lessons. 20% of the population answered they are using chat. 20% said they use social networking such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. And 20% remarked they use Skype. Blattner & Fior (2009, pp. 17-25) emphasize the Group application available on Facebook and highlight the benefits of authentic language interaction and the development of socio-pragmatic awareness as an aspect of language acquisition that is often omitted in textbooks. Here, it is stated on of the bunch of advantages offered by social networking when teaching the English language. In contrast, at the school where I work teachers and students are not able to share social networking. It is said that it is mandatory that teachers avoid accepting students’ requests on Facebook. In this case, the advantages of social networking are not taken into account by the school directors. Unfortunately, they limit the use of Facebook for educational purposes. They do not understand that social networking has become a powerful tool for communication among people around the world.

20% pointed out that they are using WebQuests. 60% assured they incorporate audio/video podcasts. According to Bugos, Nelson, & Dixon (2009) podcasting has the capacity to accommodate the auditory learner, students with special needs, or those for whom English is a second language. They carried out a study in which they found that podcasting has the capacity to enhance some aspects of student performance, motivation levels, and course perceptions. The level of impact may depend upon course materials and content delivery.

On the other hand, the following part of the survey aimed at identifying the kind of hardware teachers currently used. The answer to this assumption as follows. 66% has a teacher-run computer Workstation. 50% implements a Student-run computer Workstation. 83% use a projector. 66% CD/DVD player. 20% use Interactive whiteboard. 63% use Digital cameras, scanners, video cameras. 50% use PDAs, cellphones or iPods. Kukulska-Hulme (2009) overviews that Mobile technology takes learning out of the classroom, often beyond the reach of the teacher. However, in most schools, teachers’ and students’ cellphones are forbidden in the classroom. They are thought to be a distractor for students’ learning. So, I can tell that there is a lack of information regarding the characteristics of social networking and the way it can be oriented and controlled by teachers in the classroom. The school directors I have interacted with seem to conceive virtual learning as a fake. They are against the fact that student has the freedom to learn by themselves without being controlled by an instructor who physically accompanies them. Warschauer (2007) states that curricular and pedagogical approaches to educational technology exist that can foster improved digital learning for all. Such approaches emphasize scaffolding in reading, writing, and cultural literacy while providing access to new digital-era literacies; involve strong person guidance and mentorship from teachers and peers; and serve to make links between in-school and out-of-school learning, rather than devaluing either.

Finally, the results of the survey show that despite age and experience, teachers in Neiva are aware of the necessity to use technological tools in their classrooms. Most of them use hardware, CD players, projectors, even cellphones or iPads. Regarding software, the most rated resources used by language instructors are educational websites, online libraries, on-line dictionaries and audio/video podcasting. Despite the limitations, many schools have in terms of infrastructure, lack of trained teachers and poor resources; I think we are well oriented towards the goal of having technology incorporated in each language lesson. Let us be positive about the fact that in near-future technology will be immersed in our life. As stated by Bax, our aim can be the normalization that I have described, in which CALL finally becomes invisible, serving the needs of learners and integrated into every teachers’ everyday practice. This will almost certainly require changes in technology, in the size, shape, and location of the classroom computer. It will require a change in attitudes, in approach and practice amongst teachers and learners; it will require fuller integration into administrative procedures and syllabuses (Bax, 2002). 

References

Bax, S. (2002). CALL—past, present, and future. System 31, 13-28.

Blattner, G., & Fior, M. (2009). Facebook in the Language Classroom: Promises and Possibilities. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 17-28.

Bugos, J. A., Nelson, J., & Dixon, M. B. (2009). Podcasting: A Method of Enhancing Course Perceptions and Performance in Music Appreciation. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 37-46.

Duffy, P., & Bruns, A. (2006). The Use of Blogs, Wikis, and RSS in Education: A A conversation of Possibilities. In Proceedings Online Learning and Teaching Conference, 31-38. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/5398/

Hassett, J. M., Spuches, C. M., & Webster, S. P. (1995). Using Electronic Mail for Teaching and Learning. To Improve the Academy, 221-237.

Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2009). Will mobile learning change language learning? ReCALL, 157-165.

Lizarazo, O. (2012). Using a Blog to Guide Beginner Students to Use Adjectives Appropriately When Writing Descriptions in English. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 187-209.

Otto, S. E., & Pusack, J. P. (2009). Computer-Assisted Language Learning Authoring Issues. The Modern Language Journal, 784-801.

Pasupathi, M. (2013). Analyzing the Effect of Technology-Based Intervention in Language Laboratory to Improve Listening Skills of First-Year Engineering Students. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 125-138.

Rátiva, M., Pedreros, A. L., & Núñez, M. (2012). Using Web-Based Activities to Promote Reading: An Exploratory Study with Teenagers. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 11-27.

Salinas, Y. (2014). Collaborative Project Work Development in a Virtual Environment with Low-Intermediate Undergraduate Colombian Students. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 29-48.

Warschauer, M. (2007). The paradoxical future of digital learning. Springer Science+Business Media, 41-49.