Technology in a foreign language class. : Technology in a foreign language class. By Violetta Surowiec
The environment of the school : The environment of the school Located in a middle class neighborhood
Offers secondary education for grades 9-12
The ethnicity of school: 54% white, 16% African American, 16% Hispanic and 14% Asian
Out of 448 students, 11% of the students are with special needs
Classes are composed of students with mixed abilities
Students have options of taking Advanced Placement classes and college courses
There are no bells between classes
Participating class demographics : Participating class demographics
Race of the participants : Race of the participants
Problem : Problem Deficient in Spanish vocabulary
Inability to apply basic grammar rules such as: conjugation of verbs, correct use of adjectives
Difficulty in creating conversations in Spanish and understanding the target language
Lack of motivation
Research questions : Research questions How can blogs encourage students to write and read in Spanish?
How can webquests build students’ vocabulary in Spanish?
How can podcasts enhance students’ listening and speaking skills in Spanish?
Summary of Literature : Summary of Literature Technology motivates and awakens students’ interest to learn foreign language
Through technology students are able to experience the authentic language in a classroom environment
Technology helps to make instruction interesting and creative
There are various methods technology can be used to teach foreign languages, such as: video clips, visuals, internet, e-mail, blog, hyperdictionaries, broadcast, videotaping of classroom projects
Research Quotations : Research Quotations “Blogs can be envisioned as a tool for students to develop intercultural communicative competence, defined as openness to difference and a capacity to contingently and dynamically interact with members of other speech communities and cultures.” –Oskoz, Sykes, and Thorne (2008)
“Technology offers us a means by which to make the familiar unfamiliar, to reframe and rethink our conception of language, communication, and society. It is through this process of analysis and reflection that we can best decide how we can and should use technology in language learning and teaching.” - Kern (2006)
Overview : Overview In December and January I researched and created blogs, webquests and podcast that dealt with Spanish units I was going to teach
In January I developed sources such as: pre and post quizzes, pre and post tests, surveys, observation table and assessments
In February I administered the pre-quiz and pre-test
The data was collected until the end of April with a culmination of the post-quiz and post-test
Data Sources : Data Sources
Findings on incorporating blog into classroom instruction : Findings on incorporating blog into classroom instruction
Findings on incorporating webquests into class instruction : Findings on incorporating webquests into class instruction
Findings on incorporating podcasts into class instruction : Findings on incorporating podcasts into class instruction
Action Plan : Action Plan In the future I plan to:
Develop a blog that will include variety of exercises to practice writing, reading and listening in Spanish.
Work on the blog during the summer and have it ready by the beginning of the school year. Therefore, I believe it will be easier for students to get used to it as part of their class and grade.
Use the blog to communicate with students outside of the classroom.
Use the iPods the school has purchased to record students’ conversation in order to save time in class.
Research a variety of podcasts that deal with the specific content areas that are required to be covered by the New York State. I also will create questions that can be answered based on the podcast.
Research and create a webquest for the specific topics that must be covered in Spanish classes.
References : References Kern, R. (2006). Perspectives on technology in learning and teaching languages. TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, 40(1), 183-210.
http://astro.temple.edu/~heimbach/readings/Kern-2006-TQ.pdf
Oskoz, A., Sykes, J. M., & Thorne, S. L. (2008). Web 2.0, Synthetic Immersive Environments, and Mobile Resources for Language Education. Calico Journal, 25(3), 528-546. http://language.la.psu.edu/~thorne/SykesOskozThorne_CALICO_08.pdf