Педагогические
науки/5. Современные методы преподавания
Жамалиева А.А., Иксанова М.Т.
Восточно-Казахстанский
Государственный Технический Университет имени Д.Серикбаева
The Role of
Technologies in Foreign Language Teaching
Virtually every type of language teaching has had its
own technologies to support it. Language teachers who followed the
grammar-translation method (in which the teacher explained grammatical rules
and students performed translations) relied on one of the most ubiquitous
technologies in U.S. education, the blackboard—a perfect vehicle for the
one-way transmission of information that method implied. The blackboard was
later supplemented by the overhead projector, another excellent medium for the
teacher-dominated classroom, as well as by early computer software programs
which provided what were known as
"drill-and-practice" (or, more pejoratively,
"drill-and-kill") grammatical exercises.
Cognitive approaches to communicative language teaching are based on the
view that learning a language is an unique psycholinguistic process. From this
perspective, language learners construct a mental model of a language system,
based not on habit formation but rather on innate cognitive knowledge in
interaction with comprehensible, meaningful language. Errors are seen in a new
light—not as bad habits to be avoided but as natural by-products of a creative
learning process that involves rule simplification, generalization, transfer,
and other cognitive strategies. A learner's output, if relevant at all, is
beneficial principally to the extent that it helps make input more
comprehensible or salient so that the learner can construct his or her own
knowledge of the language.
Technologies which support a cognitive approach to language learning are
those which allow learners maximum opportunity to interact within meaning-rich
contexts through which they construct and acquire competence in the language.
Examples of these types of technologies include text-reconstruction software,
concordancing software, telecommunications, and multimedia simulation software.
Multimedia simulation software allows learners to enter into
computerized microworlds that, at their best, simulate an immersion or a
“lingistic bath” environment; that is, learners can a sense of experiencing the
target language and culture first hand. Many such products also allow a great
of learner manipulation of language forms, functions, and cultural knowledge as
part of their experience within the simulated environment. One early example of
a language learning simulation is the multimedia videodisc program A la
rencontre de Philippe developed by the Athena Language Learning Project at
the M.I.T. Laboratory for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. Philippe is
a game for intermediate and advanced French learners that incorporates full
motion video, sound, graphics, and text, allowing learners to "walk
around" and explore simulated environments by following street signs or
floor plans. To help language learners understand the sometimes challenging
French, the program provides optional comprehension tools, such as a glossary
and transcriptions of audio segments , as well as a video album that includes
samples of language functions. Students can also create their own custom video
albums, which they store on their own computer diskettes.
The Internet is a powerful tool for assisting a sociocognitive approach
to language teaching, and it is in fact this fit of the Internet with a
sociocognitive approach which largely accounts for the new-found enthusiasm for
using computers in the language classroom. The Internet is a vast medium which
can be used in a myriad of ways. We will briefly discuss some of the principle
ways that some of the main online tools are being used in language teaching.
There are several different approaches for using the Internet to
facilitate interaction within and across various discourse communities. One way
is to use online activities to foster increased opportunities for interaction
within a single class. This takes place both through computer-assisted
classroom discussion and through outside-of-class discussion.
Computer-assisted classroom discussion makes use of synchronous
("real-time") writing programs, such as Daedalus Interchange by
Daedalus, Inc. The class meets in a networked computer lab and students
converse through writing rather than through talking. Each student types on the
bottom of the screen, and hits a key to instantly send the message to the rest
of the class. All the messages are listed chronologically on the top half of
the screen and can be easily scrolled through and re-read. The entire session
can later be saved and passed on to students, either in electronic form or hard
copy.
The World Wide Web offers a vast array of resources from throughout the
world. While the majority of web pages are in English, increasingly large
numbers exist in other commonly-taught (and some uncommonly-taught) languages,
including Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese. Accessing and using
these pages in language education supports a sociocognitive approach by helping
immerse students in discourses that extend well beyond the classroom, their
immediate communities, and their language textbook. This is particularly
critical for foreign language students who otherwise see the target culture
only through their instructor and select curricula. Students can use web pages
as authentic materials for conducting research on culture and current events or
for gathering material for class projects and simulations. Students can also
publish their own work on the World Wide Web, thus enabling writing for a real
audience. In some cases, teachers have created in-class online newsletters or
magazines that their classes have produced In other cases, teachers help their
students contribute to international web magazines which include articles from
many students around the worldAnd in other situations, students work together
in collaborative teams internationally and then publish the results of their
projects on the Web
This type of research ignored two important factors. First of all, the
computer is a machine, not a method. The world of online communication is a
vast new medium, comparable in some ways to books, print, or libraries. To our
knowledge, no one has ever attempted to conduct research on whether the book or
the library is beneficial for language learning. The enterprise of seeking
similar conclusions on the effects of the computer or the Internet is equally
inappropriate.
Secondly, and even more importantly, new communications technologies are
part of the broader ecology of life at the turn of the century. Much of our
reading, writing, and communicating is migrating from other environments
(print, telephone, etc.) to the screen. In such a context, we can no longer
think only about how we use technologies to teach language. We also must think
about what types of language students need to learn in order to communicate
effectively via computer. Whereas a generation ago, we taught foreign language
students to write essays and read magazine articles we now must (also) teach
them to write e-mail messages and conduct research on the Web. This realization
has sparked an approach which emphasizes the importance of new information
technologies as a legitimate medium of communication in their own right rather
than simply as teaching tools. Moreover, the nature of electronic media also
implies forms of language and literacy heretofore unknown to the world of
learning measurement. As such, we are faced with learning activity the
cognitive implications for which are as yet unexplored.
In summary, then, the advantages of using new technologies in the
language classroom can only be interpreted in light of the changing goals of
language education and the changing conditions in postindustrial society. The
computer is a powerful tool for this process, as international cross-cultural
discourse is frequently taking place in an online environment. The main
advantage of new technologies is thus that they can be used to help prepare
students for the kinds of international cross-cultural communication which are
increasingly required for success in academic, vocational, or personal life.
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