English in the education system: managing the global realm. Gary Motteram Manchester Institute of Education

Transcription

1 English in the education system: managing the global realm Gary Motteram Manchester Institute of Education

2 The digital turn

3 Digital immigrants Veterans (pre-1946) Baby Boomers (1946) Gen X (1965) Gen Y (Millennials, Net Generation) (1980) Digital natives Gen Z (1995)

4 Software/ Apps Web pages (1990), wikis (1995) and blogs (~1997) Word processors (off and online, mobile) Digital recording (e.g. Voice Thread, Voxopop, on mobile phones etc) Desktop video conferencing (e.g. Skype, Hangout); Virtual Classrooms (Adobe Connect, Big Blue Button) Powerpoint (off and online, mobile) Virtual worlds: MUDs/MOOs 2 nd Life

5 Salaberry, M. R. (2001) The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: A retrospective. MLJ, 85/1. Audiovisual media audio: phonograph 1918 & 1921 for pronunciation and intonation radio 1934 for distance learning & 1972 for bringing in language from all over the world telephone 1988 telephone assisted language programme

6 Salaberry, M. R. (2001) The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: A retrospective. MLJ, 85/1. Audiovisual media audiovisual:

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8 Technology as an enabler of language development Digital technologies can play an even more significant role in the development of language than the technologies of the past; they can mediate the type of language learning processes we re interested in (and also teacher development, too) They create the opportunities for languaging, and for authentic practice that have not been so easy in the past Writing technology allows a process to occur, gives us access to a range of genres and can help us create a high quality finished product Reading from input hypothesis (Krashen), to output hypothesis (Cummins and Swain) Speaking and listening authentic opportunities for practice Project work language making in the real world

9 Contexts of ELT have changed Young learners: primary and secondary Adult learners ESP EAP Assessment

10 Primary language learning Growing around the world Needs to develop alongside other languages being learned in the environment: EFL; EAL; ESL; ESOL Often given limited time in the curriculum and is being introduced too early in some cases Should favour spoken rather than written language, although written language is not excluded Needs making relevant Teachers in many contexts have a limited knowledge of the language Many children growing up now are digital natives, but not necessarily digitally literate

11 Case study: Travelling through arts, p24 6 year old children in Barcelona and Canada working on an arts based education project. In this case doing research about a local artist. Used wiki and blog to upload and store information. Visited an art exhibition in 2nd Life controlling and an avatar online using English. Finished off by creating an e-book based on imaginary meeting between two artists. Glogster was used to showcase the project:

12 Secondary language learning Traditionally where most language learning has taken place State and private school system very often supplemented by evening language schools. State systems usually underfunded and under-valued Passing a language proficiency test at the end of secondary school often linked to university entrance. Often large classes with more formal learning about language rather than skills practice Teaching heavily influenced by exam system. The test is very unlikely to be about communicating with language Across the globe there is a clear shift to making use of technology to support education with teachers making a lot of personal investment in making it work

13 Case study: Telecollaboration in Egypt, p48 Ayat Al-Tawal works at a language school in Cairo. Got interested in technology in language learning via the TESOL EVO and then Webheads Teacher s own laptop and school projector Via Webheads got to meet Maria Bossa from Argentina and set up telecollaboration visits via Skype to each other classes. Preparation was done before the online interviews, Ayat taking the topic of global warming from the syllabus and students prepared questions in advance. Students couldn t initially see how this was going to happen, but once they got the idea they were very keen to continue and so were other classes. A closed FB group was set up for the students to work with each other online exchanging information about each others lives. Rules were set up about what language to use on the FB group, but the learners also exchanged words and phrases in Spanish and Arabic Recordings of the meetings and photos were put up in Photobeach to share with parents and Ayat s PLN to get comments As the project extended other tools got introduced, e.g. Edmodo and Voxopop

14 Adult learners: ESP -- EOP Adult learners come to language learning with individual experiences of life, of the world and of prior learning p72 I would argue that most adult language learning is ESP, certainly post university It should involve needs analysis Is often very focused and requires special materials, courses are often created from scratch. It is related to the methodology and activities of the discipline it serves, p 90 Technology enables ESP teachers to develop materials more easily than would have been possible in the past

15 Case study: English for advertising, p106 In Taiwan Ayden Yeh uses Web 2.0 tools provide a virtual community to extend what happens in the classroom. They also act as a way of displaying project work to the wider world for comment and acts as a portfolio. Presentations made on the course are uploaded to tools like Slideshare and Google Drive so they can be linked into the into the blog or Yahoo! Groups. The production of the digital adverts encourages the use of authentic language and develops oral and communication skills. The whole task process encourages collaborative activity through looking at ideas, planning creating and presenting their work.

16 Adult learners: ESP -- EAP Besides business English in ESP, EAP is the other main branch of ESP Occurring throughout the world, but a lot in BANA countries. Also, features a lot where HE is the medium of instruction in HE Either aimed at EAP exams like IELTS or as a pre- University academic study course About language competency and study skills and should involve needs analysis

17 Case study: A wiki for additional cultural support This is the other side of living in an overseas context and study. Because of the intensive nature of the course, students don t get much chance to learn about the local context or mix with the local community, or get to learn about how to manage social situations. The teacher in this case study worked on trying to get the learners to do project work in the local community and volunteering and supplemented this with a wiki where the students could exchange ideas about Canadian or about their own cultures and debate intercultural issues. A lot of this was done in visits to the computer lab, but as the project develops she is beginning to get contributions outside of regular classes. One of my students did something very similar on a blog about Manchester where she tried to use this as a way of getting the students to be more aware of what was available to them outside of the world of the university.

18 Assessment Assessment in ELT has changed significantly and it is accepted that it has a major impact on what happens in language teaching. Changing assessment practices will have more influence on what teachers do than changing the textbook or methodology. With the help of technology we are moving into a time when it is easier to build a portfolio of learners activity and to focus more on summative than formative assessment

19 Case study: Using Voicethread for recording group discussions Voicethread is used to debate topics that have been a focus of class activity. The students can upload different media and then talk about why a picture, or a video makes a contribution to the debate. Other students may comment on each others ideas or record a new viewpoint that gets across their idea. Antonio, the teacher, views the Voicethreads and in class provides formative feedback to show how the students might develop their language skills.

20 Summary Digital technologies for many people and for most parts of the world are central to the fabric of life They provide the opportunity for language development that has not been possible in the same ways as in the past They offer the opportunity for the development of digital literacy alongside regular language development We can achieve these ends with modest technologies, but we need to give teachers time and support to change their practice