Using technology and social media is just one way of developing language skills, without leaving the classroom. Photograph: Alamy
"There is no longer a four-walled classroom," says Dr Cecilia Goria, ofNottingham University's Language Centre. "Teaching and learning now extends beyond that."
Technological innovations have changed language learning radically from the old-fashioned image of pupils learning lists of verbs out of textbooks. Although language teaching has a long history of using tech, dating back to the 1960s, recent developments such as social networking and easy-to-use video cameras have removed many of the limitations. Whereas using tech may have once meant a weekly trip to a computer lab, it can now involve anything, from Facebook and Twitter to podcasts and videos in the classroom. The question is: should teachers try to evolve their teaching to fit with the latest gadgets, or should they stick to their old ways?
Those who use tech say the advantages are obvious. Russell Stannard, a linguistics lecturer at Warwick and founder of a teacher training website, says that languages and digital technology are a natural fit. "Language development is around four skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening – and all of those are facilitated by technology. There's a very strong link between the affordances of technology and the type of things we're trying to do as teachers."
Using tech means that students can now turn to Twitter to use the language, without having to pack the class off on a school trip. Goria says: "Use of technology has moved towards the internet and social networks, rather than concentrating on pieces of purposely-designed technology that you would have in language labs. They increase exposure to the target language and allow you to join groups that share interests in the language."
"Computers can also help oral interaction by creating some sort of safety for the speaker. You hide behind the monitor and it lowers your inhibition level."
Another major development in language tech has been the use of video, according to Stannard. "The potential of video is incredible," he says. "It could be instructions, presenting learning materials or students producing videos themselves. They could pretend they're telling the news in the foreign language, they could act out a job interview situation, or put videos online for students in Europe about their local town. We could even prepare for oral exams by working in groups, filming it and then watching it back."
Mark Warschauer, professor of education and informatics at the University of California, agrees: "Technology can provide audio-video materials that can be paused, repeated, played more slowly or quickly. Technology can also record and analyse a learners' own speech, and can provide various types of scaffolding for students learning to read."
For language teacher Ellie Paull, technology has become part and parcel of her lessons. "The students I teach all have iPads," she says. "I don't necessarily use them every lesson, but they add another string to my bow as a way of presenting new information and checking their understanding."
"They are great for adding variety to lessons, which is good when you're catering for a range of learning styles. They also allow for a greater level of independence in the classroom as the children have the resources to look things up for themselves."
Anecdotally, the using technology seems like a perfect way to enhance language learning. But what solid evidence is there that it actually makes a difference?
"There's lots of evidence that giving students extra chances to communicate in the language are very motivating," says Warschauer. "Use of Twitter, email, discussion forums, Skype, and other tools can provide authentic communication opportunities that are too often lacking in language class."
Increased exposure and interaction may be positive features to learning, but assessing the effectiveness of specific, individual tools or apps is more difficult. "How do you measure the impact of technology in teaching? says Stannard. "It's such a difficult thing to do because you can never control the other variables."
In fact, one study in 2001 claimed: "A healthy dose of skepticism about the pedagogical effectiveness of many current technological tools appears to be well justified if one considers the perhaps overly enthusiastic reaction to previous technological breakthroughs."
Used wrongly, computers could even damage learning. "Technology can be a distraction," says Warschauer. "I remember observing a beginners' French class a number of years ago, the teacher bragged about how engaged the learners were in creating multimedia in French. However, the students were spending most of their time and energy talking with each other in English about how to make PowerPoints, when, as beginning learners, they really needed to be spending time hearing as much French as possible."
Stannard says the trick is to put the pedagogy first, not the technology. "You've got to know why you're using it. Teachers do need to learn to use new technology, but the driving force should always be the pedagogy behind it.
"If the technology is quite difficult to use and it takes up a chunk of the lesson to set up the activity, you've seriously got to question whether that's valid. There are ways around it though – you could explain the technology in the target language, for instance – but it can be a problem."
Dr Goria, who runs a masters programme for language teachers about digital technology says there is a "constant balancing act between theoretical discourse and the practical application of it." She says: "Using technology for the sake of it doesn't add anything to either the teaching or the learning. It is really only an improvement if it goes hand-in-hand with a change in the pedagogy."
Ellie Paull, who teaches at Hurstpierpoint College using tech in her lessons is about supporting language learning – not replacing it. "I think technology can only go so far in teaching language," she... ( more at http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/may/12/technology-language-teaching-learning-pedagogy?CMP=share_btn_fb )
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