Approaching the topic of youth’s connection with media and technology through a parental lens, I have a conservative stance. I believe that too much technology can negatively affect a child’s ability to create and imagine; to a teenager, the internet serves as an extremely useful tool, however, with its great power comes great responsibility.
From the danger of chat rooms to the overexposure of our youth on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat (to name only 3 of the thousands of outlets available), I would caution my child and limit his or her access to specific content.
Nevertheless, as an educator, given the influence media and technology have on the world, it would be wasteful not to take full advantage of all the benefits it offers. For instance, in our current class, we make frequent use of Twitter and WordPress, which makes learning from our peers fun, quick (given the short nature of tweets/blog posts), and simple—responding is just a click away. A useful tool I use in my Spanish language classroom today is Kahoot, a multiple choice game, which can be used in any content area, where students log in from their cellphones to play against each other. The game is a source of motivation and is an opportunity to think quickly on your feet (questions are timed). It is very helpful for students as they can take notes on which components of the language give them trouble, and for teachers to see where students struggle. Teachers must be mindful, however, that this is only possible in schools where a projector or large TV is present and where all students have smartphones.
As I have already witnessed Kahoot in the classroom, I want to focus my attention to the use of another potentially useful tool: Skype, or similar platform, allowing video and audio communication. Today, Skype (as well as Facetime, Oovoo, Voxox, etc.) is used by many as a method to speak with friends, family, and business partners around the world for free. Look at this as the modern pen pal, if you will. In the foreign language classroom, authentic communication is key. In a manner that is safe for the students, students can be put in contact with a live pen pal (pre-screened by the teacher), within their age category, who is a native speaker of the target language, and practice the language in real time—the most beneficial aspect of this platform. Ideally in a laboratory setting, students would be placed at a computer and by use of a webcam, microphone, and headphones, would generate real speech. If face-to-face communication is not possible, audio communication or chatting can substitute. The benefit of this is that students don’t listen to pre-recorded audio recordings that have no personal connection to them. This way, they can practice speaking about any desired topic, especially since both parties come from a similar mindset. Sarah Elaine Eaton, a research associate at the University of Calgary, explains in a research paper that when learners’ interest and curiosity increases, their receptiveness to learning also increases, lending to a greater acquisition of the target language. Another benefit is the cultural value added. If the pen pal is from another country (or his/her parents are) the students can learn about a new culture and compare and contrast it to his or her own. A fourth reason Skype (or an equivalent) is useful is the authentic accent, speed, and word choice (slang, same words meaning different things around the world, etc.) produced by the pen pal. Textbook recordings tend to recycle the same voices, while talking to someone allows the students to become accustomed to various dialects of the target language. The pen pal can also actively correct the student’s language production, a luxury not present in the foreign language classroom. Lastly, Skype is a free resource.
On the other hand, a few disadvantages should be kept in mind. First of all, if not monitored properly, students can abuse the connection to the world wide web, connecting with nearly anyone, and diverting to inappropriate speech. To avoid this, control of adding profiles and monitoring conversations should be placed in the hands of the teacher. Another disadvantage is that the webcam feature may place the student’s identity in danger. A third downside is that this form of communication is limited to schools that have a laboratory and the use of media in the classroom.
Hey Laila!
I really love the idea of using Skype as an interactive learning tool/modern day pen pal. For those of us who have lived and taught in different countries, Skype could be an excellent way of connecting students from different countries of the same age who are in the process of learning each others’ native tongue. The school that I taught at in France was technologically advanced and the students loved the opportunity to practice speaking English with a native speaker. If they thought it was cool talking to an assistant teacher image how delighted they would be if they got to talk to someone their own age! In turn, these interactions could bring about much more diverse and in-depth conversations in the classroom. The one downside to this would be the time difference between countries–in this case 6 hours. However, I would have to say that the positives of setting up Skype “pen pals” greatly outweighs the negatives.
Hi Laila,
I agree with you that Kahoot and Skype are great tools we can take advantage of in our world language classrooms. I am actually kind of sorry that I did not use them with my students in Madrid, they would have loved to play Kahoot and having a penpal from the States. Like you mentioned, Skype offers many advantages that we should take advantage of, it does not only provide students with the opportunity to have authentic communication with a native speaker, but it also allows them to work cooperatively in the process of learning their respective target languages and culture. Considering that we live in a global society, it is very important that our students start getting exposed to working with people from other cultures from a young age. Although this may not seem like an issue for students in countries as diverse as the US or Spain, I am sure that there are still many schools in which students in both countries are not exposed to cultural diversity at all.
As teachers, Skype offers us the opportunity to collaborate with each other on lesson plans, projects and creating communicative and global environments in our classrooms, which should be our goals as world language teachers.
Thanks for sharing these interesting possibilities, Laila. I am super interested in the ways video chats can help with language rehearsal — I am also excited about the visual information that a video connection can communicate cross-culturally (and interpersonally). I agree with you, Alexandra, about the wealth of cultural information that is made available through a video feed. I’m thinking about expressions, clothes, locations, outside sounds/distractions, and the intensity of a live performance. The live video element produces a sort of theatre for rehearsal and performance of thinking and learning. What if these videos were somehow recorded? I wonder if they could be studied with the same weight as written pen pal letters?
Laila, I loved this post! I think using Skype to have pen pals is a great idea and one that would get students really engaged in learning a second (or another) language. If in high school or middle school I had pen pal in France (I took French), I think I would have been that much more motivated to study and practice my speaking skills. I think there is something special about connecting with someone else who is the same age as you. And as adolescence is a time of so much change and questioning, I think it would also be helpful to students to see that someone in another country, in a whole different culture may still be going through the same things you are. And as others commented, as we live in a global society, I think accessing that global society in the classroom is always a great idea!