Evolving the Teaching-Learning Scenario of English as a Foreign Language through Technology

 

Abstract

Given the revolution of technology in the teaching-learning scenario, experts and researchers have investigated the value of technology-integrated lessons to improve students' learning of English as foreign language education. To assist teachers and first-year students at a state-run secondary school in the city of San Miguel, this research proposal will examine the implications of implementing technologies in the classroom despite of the limited digital infrastructure in the school. The project’s goal is to describe ways to overcome problems related to technology implementation in the classroom, where its application is a frequent issue. This project is beneficial in that it not only allows teachers to act as learning facilitators but also demonstrates the significance of technology use in the learning of English as a foreign language for secondary students.

Keywords: technology, teaching-learning, state-run secondary school, English as a foreign language (EFL)

Evolving the Teaching-Learning Scenario of English as a Foreign Language through Technology

In recent years, the implementation of technology has had an established priority in most of the schools in Buenos Aires due to the present curriculum design for English language education. In the 21st century, the teaching task implies changing traditional methodologies to create a new learning environment in which students are gradually fostered to integrate technological devices with foreign language skills learning.  The use of technology in the class by implementing Computer Assisted Learning Language (CALL) has included resources such as computers, multimedia software, the internet, and apps, which are essential to developing language skills in a language-centred classroom as well as monitoring learners’ progress and providing feedback (Moqbel & Padmarani Rao, 2013).

 The following annotated bibliographies provide a general overview of technology implementation in the classroom.

Ahmadi, M. R. (2018). The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review. International Journal of Research in English Education, 3(2).

The author establishes general aspects of technology use as part of the learning process of English as a foreign language in and out of the classroom. He claims that learners are born into a technologically rich world but might not be skilful users of technology. 

 Al-Mahrooqi, E. & Troudi, S. (2014). Using Technology in Foreign Language Teaching. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

The authors present blended learning as a new methodology. They stress that students are exposed to a variety of language teaching and learning modes, although there is no evidence of their real success in foreign language environments. Computer-assisted learning resources are described as tools to be implemented in language teaching classes to support course designers and foster collaborative learning.

Bennet, S., Maton, K. & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘Digital Natives’ Debate: A Critical Review of the Evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775 – 786.

The authors examine the digital native debate as well as its nature. Digital natives are defined as young people immersed in technology all their lives. The authors assert that such immersion influences students’ skills and interest in significant ways in education, sparking a debate about whether education must change to meet learners’ needs.

 Moqbel, M. S. S. & Padmarani Rao, L. V. (2013). Enhancing EFL Teaching and Learning through Technology. International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow (IJSST), 2 (2), 1-9.

The authors describe technology as a powerful tool for students to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) with Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) driven by Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) tools. They emphasise that teachers are required to be competent in implementing those resources to motivate students in developing language skills as well as monitor their progress and provide feedback.

Technology can be considered an enhancing teaching-learning tool; however, there is not much evidence of its real impact in high school students’ academic performance. Hence, some pedagogical and technical impediments that teachers encounter in fostering foreign language learning led to the following research questions: first, how can technological devices be used in English language teaching in a state-run secondary school? Second, what are the benefits and drawbacks faced by teachers in EFL using technological tools? Third, how does technology affect students’ academic results? 

As innovation of the teaching-learning scenario might be critical for both teachers and students, this paper will analyse the implementation of technology as a valuable tool in the EFL first-year classroom of A1 students at a state-run secondary school located in San Miguel, Buenos Aires, Argentina. To start, these specific objectives are set: to explore ways of implementing technological devices and their advantages in this class, to identify the impediments that teachers could encounter whilst introducing technology, and to analyse the effects of technology on students’ academic performance.

In section 1, the introduction is developed.  Section 2 will describe delimitations and limitations; section 3 will define the procedures of the research. In section 4, the expected outcomes will be presented and in section 5 appendixes will be found.

Delimitations 

This action research will take place in a first-year class of students whose level of English is A1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The group attends a school in San Miguel city, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The population in this institution is about 500 students who mostly come from densely populated and low-class neighbourhoods. Students can attend this school from kindergarten up to secondary level. The digital infrastructure in this institution is reduced and students cannot afford to have e-tools like computers in their homes.

 

Limitations

The teacher-researchers have considered a few variables which might influence the action research implementation process, concerning inadequate infrastructure, such as computer labs, and the population of the state-run secondary school, where the sample of students is selected from. Currently, some teachers might feel insecure about CALL resources and CMC tools due to the technical issues they encounter, affecting the teachers’ ability and, even, hindering the teaching-learning flow in the classroom. Other limitations may concern the lack of technical support; the design of online tasks could be time-consuming, or the number of available netbooks will be limited at the workplace. The students' level of engagement in writing activities might be low, and several students, who regularly use their cell phones to play online games, may become distracted during class instead of using the devices for classwork. Due to those constraints, there may be an adjustment to the action research during the implementation of technology-integrated lessons, which might exceed the allotted time and change the desired outcomes.

                Methods

Participants

This research will be carried out in an EFL first-year classroom of twenty-four students, aged between 12 to 14. Most of them live nearby the school they attend, where they have two-hour English classes per week. The school is in the city of San Miguel, Buenos Aires. These students have just begun high school and their command of English is mostly A1 as specified in the CEFR. They can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and interact in a simple way. A team of five teacher-researchers will carry out an action research plan to be applied in the indicated classroom. After obtaining permission from the institution authorities and having communicated to the students about the teaching-learning plan, the teachers will execute the scheme at a predetermined time.

Materials

The teacher-researchers will use a cloze questionnaire and a conversational-type interview. Incorporating technology into data collection will be paramount for recording students’ positive or negative responses to the use of technological devices. During the implementation of the project the teachers will also make use of classroom documents, such as lesson notes, pictures of students’ writing productions, and an e-portfolio of students to reflect and evaluate the action plan for further improvements.

Procedure

A sequence of six lessons will be developed to put the research plan into action in the classroom. After students have completed a cloze questionnaire about their performance and interests in technology, their academic performance will be observed and registered by note-taking, registering students’ written productions, and recording oral participation. The focus of such tasks will be the implementation of technologies since students will be provided with CALL resources such as Internet and multimedia software to complete classroom activities or tasks with group interaction, and individual or pair work writing through CMC tools as well. The students’ performance in the absence of technological devices will be compared with their performing with the aid of CALL tools. Support will be facilitated if technical difficulties occur during the lessons. The data collected will be saved for future evaluation and reporting.

Expected Outcomes

Learners’ knowledge of CALL resources and CMC tools management will be enhanced benefitting students’ learning environment and EFL learning. The teacher-researchers of this project expect that students may build knowledge of computational skills as well as commutative skills. Such understanding would help learners to interact among peers and teachers and to be able to take risks in expressing their ideas and opinions with the technological or teacher’s support. In addition, the desired outcome is that the team of English teachers will boost their competence to have a binder of strategies for solving pedagogical and technical impediments by aiding each other and assisting students in developing language skills in the classroom. Furthermore, the project would lay the groundwork for the CALL approach and CMC tools to be applied in other EFL classrooms at the same state-run secondary school.

Appendixes

Appendix A. Questionnaire: Technology in the English classroom.

Reflect on your attitudes towards technology and choose the answers that best suit you.

	Yes	Average	No
1. Do you like using technology?
2. Do you like interactive activities or games?
3. Do you feel confident when working with technology?
4. Do you use any technological tool to do homework?
5. Do you use any technological tool in the English lesson?
6. Do you think using technology during English lessons would be interesting and useful?
7. Do you think technology is a fundamental tool in English lessons?
8. Would you like to learn more about using technology at school?
9. Does technology facilitate task resolution?
10. Do you know how to find information on the web?

 

Appendix B. Conversational-Type Interview.

1. Do you like using technology during lessons?

2. Do you think technology helps you solve tasks easily? How?

3. Which technological tool do you feel more confident working with? 

4. What activity/ies, such as listening, reading, writing, or speaking, do you like most?

5. What do you find easy about your performance in every activity?

6. What kinds of impediments have you found when using technological gadgets?

7. What parts of writing or speaking do you need more help with? 

 

Appendix C. Guide for collecting lesson notes

 

Lesson Nº:
Date:
Learning objectives:
Gadgets used during the lesson:
Students’ attitudes:
Impediments and solutions:
Teachers performance:
Students performance

Appendix D. Students’ e-portfolio

The teachers will use the e-portfolio for the collection of students’ work and tell the class that the purpose is to show themselves how their English productions improve throughout time. Students will document, assess, and reflect on their growth as thinkers, readers and writers, they may become digital communicators using their productions. Finally, the teachers will assess the students’ work in order to acquire a theoretical position and enhance teaching.

 

References

Ahmadi, M. R. (2018). The use of technology in English language learning: A literature review. International Journal of Research in English Education, 3 (2). 

 

Bennet, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775 – 786.

 

Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). (n.d.). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages

Moqbel, M. S. S., & Padmarani Rao, L. V. (2013). Enhancing EFL teaching and learning through technology. International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow, 2 (2), 1-9. 

Motteram. G. (2013). The Benefits of New Technology in Language Learning. British Council.