As a language teacher, I am hesitant to incorporate student-use of technology, for fear that it might interrupt their acquisition of personal interaction and self-expression skills. With the myriad online translators and dictionaries that exits today, a student doesn't really need to memorize verb conjugations in order to figure out how to say something in Spanish. My goal as that student's teacher, however, is to teach him or her how language works and how to use it to communicate with people of other cultures. As teenagers interact more and more through Facebook and text messages, I worry that they are losing their ability to relate to each other. While they are in my class, I want them to engage one another in the communicative process and practice respectful collaboration. Looking at screens may only hinder this.
I suppose this makes my teaching style sound old-school. I understand that today's youth must be prepared for the world that they will face once they're ready to enter the work-force. Our technology is advancing so rapidly that I cannot even predict how different it will be when that happens a few years from now. However, they'll also need to be communicatively competent and most will need Spanish in the professions they choose.
I'm not saying that I don't use technology in the classroom to keep students engaged. We have a language lab that provides all students an opportunity to record their speaking practice and listen to themselves, assessing their own grammar and pronunciation. I often use Powerpoint to give students visuals for the vocabulary that we study. I post articles, songs and videos for students so that they can engage with Latin American culture outside of the classroom. I have used discussion boards on our course webpage for students to post their reflections on readings and comment on one another's posts. I am very cautious, however, to not make technology too much of a focus so that my students understand the importance of face-to-face communication.
Courtney, I so agree. Students and parents frequently want to know why they can't just use google translator to do their writing for them. Students don't realize they will acquire language through ample comprehensible input and meta-cognitive linguistic strategies. I just finished doing an inquiry project on "Lost in Translation." My favorite article was written by an AP Translation instructor. Pym concluded that students need to have linguistic competence + translation competence to result in what he calls a "super competence."
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I agree we overemphasize the use of technology in schools today. The majority of children are walking around OPRF High School today with headphones in their ears, many of them are allowed to listen to music in their classrooms or in study halls. I am very much against this and believe there is no place for I pods and cell phones in schools today as it takes away from human interaction and developing focus skills. Effective multitasking is extremely difficult to achieve and do we think easily distracted teens can really learn in a meaningful way while texting and listening to music in school. It is actually refreshing to hear you are hesitant to use technology for fear of distraction from classical educational techniques.
ReplyDeleteAs a Spanish teacher too, I agree that technology use during class is difficult especially the translators online. It does take away the traditional method of learning a new language, but having the students record themselves speak is a great idea. When I taught ESL students I had them to that too. I can't believe I didn't think to do the same with teaching students Spanish. I am definately going to start. Thanks for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteI like your appreciation of the importance of face-to-face interaction in learning how to communicate (in any language really). I agree that it is important to be careful that the human dimension of education is not lost amidst the possibilities of new technologies. Selecting the right tools for specific, targeted tasks is a good way to go.
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