Mitchell (2009)
provides a wide range of internet and experience-based reading and listening
activities which are in line with current methodology researchers such as Grabe
and Stoller (2011) and Field (2008) respectively. At the heart of Mitchell's chapter is the concept of authenticity and the benefits derived from it:
variety not available before and the possibility to make our learners more culturally
aware via interaction with authentic sources. I particularly find encouraging
the fact that a low tech option is also available e.g. print the headlines and
put them around the classroom as technology is not ubiquitous.
As regards the
activities suggested these are defined and clearly justified in terms of MFL
teaching theory and practice such as the need to activate prior knowledge when
preparing students for a receptive skills activity building the activities up
in terms of difficulty by going from skimming to scanning while using simple
tech to aid students in this respect and to stimulate their curiosity e.g.
using Google Images, web-based listening activities or giving students the
power to control the speed at which audio is rendered via programs such as
Audacity. In addition, script availability enables not only the learner but the
teacher by making it possible to for them to work out the nuances of spoken
texts once skills work has been done (Field 2008:45). Pre-teaching vocabulary
along with guessing word-meaning from context are also mentioned as strategies
effective readers use and although not mentioned in the article the internet and
mobile technology allow for ease of access with language at our finger tips
which was not available before. Harnessed adequately lack of vocabulary provides
a fertile ground for search techniques strategy training with the view of fostering
independent training.
Mitchell's
suggestions grounded in his classroom practice and as such they are feasible
when similar conditions are met. I wonder though the amount of student training
required/done when he mentions for instance the use of Audacity which is not the
most intuitive piece of software for the novice user. On the other hand, his
report on the popularity of the French 'momes' forum provides evidence of how
more than ever the digital generation is in their element in this type of
setting. At work, we have been using Blogs and VLEs like Edmodo for a couple of
years to provide an excellent opportunity for students to interact amongst
themselves in a safe environment while involving their parents as 'observers'
of such activity with very positive results for those involved.
Last but not least,
Mitchell wisely identifies how the internet allows for a wealth of authentic
resources that are not only exploited for language development but also for 'crucial'
cultural awareness raising opportunities which, in my opinion, cannot be divorced
from language. It is the 'how' these resources now readily available are used
that matters - the pedagogy behind technology, our competence that shapes our performance
using Chomky's terms, our conscious learning through monitoring and practice of
how we use tech and how our competence changes as a result of acquired skills
in Krashen's terms (Blake 2008:15-20).
References
Blake, R. J.
(2008) Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Teaching.
Georgetown, University Press. Online at http://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=24802
[accessed: October 4, 2014]
Field, J. 2008. Listening
in the language classroom. Language teaching library. Cambridge, Cambridge.
Grabe, W. and Stoller, F. 2011. Teaching
and Researching Reading. 2nd ed. Harlow, Longman.
Mitchell, I. 2009.
The Potential of the internet as a Language Learning Tool. In: Education and
Digital technology: Foreign Language Learning with Digital Technology. Continuum International Publishing. Online at http://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=1017622
[accessed: October 10, 2014]
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