TESL-EJ21.2,August2017 Stevens & Verschoor/Internet 1

TheElectronicJournalforEnglishasaSecondLanguage

August2017–Volume21,Number2

CodingandEnglishLanguageTeaching* *OntheInternet***

VanceStevensHigherCollegesofTechnology,CERT,KBZAC,AlAin,UAE<vancestev@gmail.com>

JenniferVerschoorStGeorge´sCollegeNorth,BuenosAires,Argentina

Vancereflectson20thcenturylearning,asanearlyadopterandearlyadaptor

WhenIwasstudyingmyMA/ESLinHawaiiintheearly1980sandtryingtogetmyheadaroundhowpeoplelearnlanguages,IwasstruckbysomethingEarlStevicksaidinoneofhisbooks,inachapterongamesinlanguagelearning,Thequalityofthelearningthattakesplacewhenwefocusourattentiononlyontheitemstobelearnedisdifferentfrom(andprobablyinferiorto)thequalityofthelearningthatisincidentaltosomethingelsethatwearetryingtodo(Stevick,1982;pp.131-132).

In my career as an English teacher, I’ve always been on the lookout for tasks withincidental language learning outcomes. In my first job after earning my MA at theUniversity of Hawaii, Manoa, I was responsible for planning and implementing acurriculum for teaching ESL to foreign students at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, aboardingschoolontheBigIslandofHawaii.TherewereonlyafewESLstudents,mostlyJapanese and Chinese, and they tended to keep to themselves and speak together intheir language rather thanmix easilywith thepredominantlynativeEnglish speakingstudentsattheacademy.IwasanearlyadopterofCALLforlanguagelearning,andtriedtousecomputerswithmystudentstotheextentpossible.Thiswasin1983,atthecuspof the age of ubiquitous personal computing, somost student computing atHPAwasdoneat terminals connected to amainframecomputer in a single roomwhereall thestudents went when they needed to compute or print assignments.When I gavemyforeignstudentswritingassignmentstobedoneatthosecomputers,Inoticedthatwhiletheywerethere intheroomwiththeotherstudents,sittingrandomlynexttothematthe available terminals, theywould often have questions, not usually about language,butmoreoftenabouthowyougot themainframetodo thisor that, formatorprintadocument,forexample.MyESLstudentsmentionedtomethatsuchmomentswererareopportunities to interactnaturallybutmeaningfullywith thenativespeakingstudentsthere.Ihadsentthemtothecomputerlabtowritesentencesandparagraphs,andthey

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had come away having had authentic communication experiences with other Englishspeakersthathopefullyledtomoresuchopportunitiesinothercontexts.Thiscouldonlyhaveimprovedtheir languagedevelopmentinwaysthatIcouldnothavearrangedforthemifIhadtriedtodevelopassignmentstofocusonthat.IwasalsoanearlyadaptorofCALLprogrammingatHPA.IhadsucceededinbudgetingmyprogramforalabwithafewAppleIIcomputersbutIwassurprisedtobetoldwhenthe computers arrived that there were no further funds for software on top of myrequesttobuyhardware.Personalcomputershadonlyrecentlybeeninvented,Ihadn’trealizedI’dneedaseparatebudgetforsoftwareaswell,andithadnotbeenobvioustoanyoneelseatHPAatthetimethatsuchhardwarewasoflittleusewithoutsoftware.Fortunately,intheseearlydaysofpersonalcomputingtherewasabuddingcommunityofhobbyistswhowerewritingprogramsonAppleIIforsimplegamesanddistributingthem in the public domain.MyApple Club inHonolulu held swapmeets occasionallywheresuchprogramswereexchangedonfive-and-a-quarterinchfloppydisks,andIhada trove of those I had brought over with me to the Big Island. The programs werewritten in Basic and the code was visible and could easily be changed. A lot of theprogramswerewordgamesorclozeprogramswhereIcouldsimplychangethetextintheprogram interfaceor items in thedatabases,while keeping intact the subroutinesthatdidtheactualwork,toproducemyfirstCALLsoftwareprograms(Stevens,1985).Thiswasoneofmyfirstforaysintocoding.TherewasapopularcommercialgameprogramatthetimecalledMysteryHousewhosedevelopers had decided to donate it to the public domain. Armando Baltra had beenpromoting use of this game for language learning in conference presentations andarticlesatabout this time(e.g,Baltra,1984). Iacquired thepublicdomainversion formy lab and encouragedmy students to play it. They communicatedwith the game insubject/verbutterancessuchas“gowest”or“lightmatch.”Thegameusedstick-figuregraphics but somehow managed to give the students the impression they wereexploring a house and meeting people there (but then the characters in the housestartedturningupdead,andtheobjectof thegamewasto findthekiller fromamongthose remaining in thehousebefore thekiller foundyou).The studentshadexploredalmosteverywheretheycoulduntiloneof themissuedacommand,quitebyaccident,thatcausedawalltomoveandrevealedpassagesbehindthewalls.Thisstirredveryrealexcitement inmyclassroom,which in turn led tocommunicationwithandamong thestudentsthattookongreaterurgencyandmotivationthananyIhadbeenabletoelicitinanyEnglishclassbeforethen.

Thiswasmyfirstpalpableawarenessofthepowercomputershavetocreatesituationsinwhichstudentshavegenuineneeds tocommunicateon topicsnot teacher-directed,but teacher-facilitated. Since then I havebeen exploring thebenefits of serendipity inlanguageclasses,andtheimportanceofpromotingchaosasawayofgettingstudentstodiscoversolutions toproblemstheyweremotivated tosolve,and tocommunicate theprocessesinvolvedinthosesolutionstoothersinthetargetlanguage.

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CALLandLACL

At a more recent job this century, where I was teaching computing at PetroleumInstitute in Abu Dhabi, we had a curriculum that focused largely onMicrosoft Officeapplications,butImanagedtoconvincemycolleaguestoallowmetocreatesomeunitsteachingHTML, inwhich the students coded theirownwebpages. Since the studentswerenon-nativeEnglishspeakingengineeringstudents,IcalledwhatIwasdoingLACL,language-assisted computer learning, a play on the better-known acronym CALL(computer-assistedlanguagelearning).Mycolleaguestoleratedmycontributionstotheprogram for awhile but eventually over-ruledme since they didn’t feel they or theirstudentsneededtoknowthecodethatunderpinnedmostofthecontentontheInternet.Theirattitudewasthatweallhavebrowsersforthat,andifyouneedtoproducecode,you can usually find an HTML editor to produce it for you. However, sites such asPBWorks,Wikispaces, or Blogger, have underlying HTML code which can be used totroubleshoot problems when the WYSIWYG interfaces don’t work as expected, assometimeshappens.AsDudeney,Hockly,&Pegrumputit(2013,p.162):

Knowinghowtorecogniseandchangeelements incoding languagesallowsus toescape the constraintsof templates, andgivesusgreater control over the formatand appearance of some online communication. A basic familiarity with thecommoncoding languageHTML(HyperTextMarkupLanguage),whichunderpinsmostwebpages,includingblogs,wikis,etc.,isagoodplacetostart.

Havingrecoursetotheunderlyingcode,andknowingenoughaboutcodingtobeabletotameaWYSIWYGeditor,canbeempowering,satisfying,andsavealotoftimetryingtotweakaninterfacethatwillnotbendtoyourwishesuntilyougetunderthehoodandseewhatwires are crossed there. Justwanting to knowhow to tweak code can poseseemingly wicked problems that networking within a community commonly helpsresolve. Knowledge gaps are venerable language teaching ploys, and as with mystudentsatHPA,inanenvironmentwherehelpisavailablefromaskingothers,apostona socialmedia site can elicit help and start conversations. If this post is from a non-nativespeakerinatargetlanguage,butisansweredbyanativespeakerorevenanotherNNS who uses the target language as the lingua franca for the discussion, thenauthenticity of purpose and motivation to learn converge with availability ofinterlocutors,allcatalystsforsuccessinlearningaforeignlanguage.

WeseethisdynamicplayoutnotonlyintheexamplesabovebutingamingcommunitieswhereNNSplayersachievefluencyinEnglishwhileplayingwithothersingamessuchas Minecraft, all the while speaking in English. They typically engage in a host ofperipheral behaviors such as researching tips and ‘cheats’ onwikis and YouTube (inEnglish),recordingthemselvescommunicatinginEnglishwithotherswhileplayingthegame, and in posting their own tips and how-to videos on YouTube (e.g., Smolčec,Smolčec,andStevens,2014).Soweseethatthiscombinationofingredientsforsuccessin language learning — authenticity of purpose and motivation to learn plus anavailabilityof interlocutors—appliesnotonlyinthe20thcenturylanguagelearningIwas facilitating in the mid-80’s at HPA, but even more so this far into our presentmillennium.

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21stcenturylearning

A common catch phrase for this is 21st century learning. AsRich (2010) puts it, “theterm‘21st-centuryskills’isgenerallyusedtorefertocertaincorecompetenciessuchascollaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocatesbelieveschoolsneedtoteachtohelpstudentsthriveintoday’sworld.”Inanerawhereschoolsrealizetheyaretrainingstudentstoexcelinjobsthathaven’tbeeninventedyet,employersare looking forstudentswhocan learnonthe job,andwhohaveaskill-setthatincludesthethreeC’s:creativity,communication,andcollaboration.Theseskillsareneeded to enable employees to adapt to dynamically shifting work environments,communicatewithothersnotonlyintheimmediateenvironmentbutacrossnetworks,andinsodoingabsorbon-the-jobtrainingthroughcollaborationwithothers.TotheseC’sothers,forexample,ThoughtfulLearning(2017)adda4thCforcriticalthinking,aswell as the literacy skills of information, media, and technology literacies. WorldEconomicForum(2015,p.3)characterisethisinaninfographicgivingacomprehensivebreakdownof21stCenturySkills,asquotedinTable1.

Table1.21stCenturySkills

FoundationalliteraciesHowstudentsapplycoreskillstoeverydaytasks

CompetenciesHowstudentsapproachcomplexchallenges

CharacterqualitiesHowstudentsapproachtheirchangingenvironment

Literacy Criticalthinking/problemsolving

Curiosity

Numeracy Creativity Initiative

Scientificliteracy Communication Persistence/grit

ICTliteracy Collaboration Adaptability

Financialliteracy Leadership

Culturalandcivicliteracy Socialandculturalawareness

LifelonglearningOne driver of the attention to these so-called 21st century learning skills is whatemployerssaytheyarelookingforinjobapplicantsnowadays.Scott(2015)conductedaninsightfulmetaanalysisinto21stcenturyjobskillssoughtbyemployers.AmongthestudiescitedisonewhereWagner(2010)andtheChangeLeadershipGroupatHarvardUniversity conducted “several hundred interviews with business, nonprofit andeducationleaders”whichledthemtoconcludethat,fromanemployer’spointofview:

studentsneedsevensurvivalskillstobepreparedfortwenty-firstcenturylife,workandcitizenship:• Criticalthinkingandproblemsolving

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• Collaborationandleadership

• Agilityandadaptability

• Initiativeandentrepreneurialism

• Effectiveoralandwrittencommunication

• Accessingandanalysinginformation

• Curiosityandimagination[1]

InhermetaanalysisScottalsocitesastudybyaconsortiumcomprisingtheConferenceBoard,etal. (2006,p.9)who jointlysurveyedover400employersacross theUSAandfoundthatthe“appliedskills”mentionedabove:

trump basic knowledge and skills, such as Reading Comprehension andMathematics.Inotherwords,whilethe“threeRs”arestillfundamentaltoanynewworkforce entrant’s ability to do the job, employers emphasize that applied skillslikeTeamwork/CollaborationandCriticalThinkingare“veryimportant”tosuccessatwork.

TheConferenceBoardreportcontinues,“whenaskedtoassessnewworkforceentrants,employers report that many of the new entrants lack skills essential to job success”(p.10).So it isapparent that teacherswhopromoteskills thatwill leveragesuccess intheworldatlargeinthecourseofteachingtheirsubjecttotheirstudentsaredoingtheirstudentsaswellasthemselvesavaluableservice.

Codingand21stcenturylearningAccording toDudeney,Hockly, andPegrum (2013) coding is a deeper skill subsumedunder the four main digital literacies of language, connections, information, and(re)design.WhereshouldEnglish teachersstart if theyareplanning to teach thisnewkindofliteracy?Let´sstartbyunderstandingtheconceptofcoding.

Codersorprogrammersarepeoplewhowrite theprogrammesbehindeverythingwesee and do on a computer. Most of our students spend several hours playing onlinegames, but fewknowhow to create a game. Learning to code encourages students tobecome creators, not just consumers of the technology they use. Clare Sutcliffe, co-founder of Code Club (https://www.codeclub.org.uk/), a UK network of educatorsrunningcodingclubsforstudentsaged9-13,wasquotedinMorrison(2013)assayingthatteachingcoding:

hasthepotentialtobringaboutafundamentalshiftinthewayweviewtechnology,turning us from passive consumers into active producers. “There is a massivedifferencebetweenconsumingcontentandbeingable tocreate it,”Sutcliffeadds.“Itisimportanttohaveagencyoverthetoolsyouareusing.”

Whenchildren,oradultsforthatmatter,learntocode,ithelpsthemtodevelopessentialskills such as problem solving, logic and critical thinking. Through coding,we realizethat there’s oftenmore than oneway to solve a problem, and that simpler andmoreefficient solutions are often better. Analysing and discussing the processes of criticalthinkingandproblemsolvingcanresultinmeaningfullanguagepractice.

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CodingandEnglishteaching

Though this paradigm applies across all aspects of the curriculum, the focus of thisarticle is onhow it applies toEnglish teaching, andmore specifically, onhowEnglishteachingcanbedone in conjunctionwithencouraging students toworkwith code, sothatbetweenthetwo,theyinculcateaspectsofthe21stcenturyskillsmentionedherewhile promoting language development. More than just an idea, this is an actualbusinessmodel for Bucksmore Education in UK, which offers summer coding classeswherestudentsaged13-16can take15hoursperweek inEnglishandanother7.5 incoding classes, and take a Raspberry Pi home with them at the end of thecourse,http://www.bucksmore.com/courses/computer-coding-summer-school/.Scratch, a free object-oriented programming language developed atMIT, is a populartool of choice for teachers wishing to integrate coding into their language learninglessons.WritinginSlate,Berdik(2015)quotesScratchEdfounderKarenBrennan,who“describesScratchassimplyanotherwaytoexpresslearningandcreativity.‘InsteadofwritinganessayordoingaPowerPointpresentation,foraclass,youcanuseScratchtocreateyourowninteractivemedia,’shesaid.”

JoanBrownisanEnglishteacherwhousesScratchwithherstudents.InBrown(2016)she presents a rationale for, as her blog post title puts it, “Coding in English Class –PerfectPair”.Inherwords:

werarelythinkofcodingandEnglishgoinghandinhand,yetasIwasinstructingthe students, I was amazed at the similarities I found… So similar towriting inmanyways.Youcan’tstartwritingandhavenodirection.

Coding,shebelieves,teachestheconceptofplanninginawaythatmightcarryoverintowriting.Shefurtherpointsoutthatprogrammershave“theirowngrammarrulescalledsyntax.Thatsyntaxdetermineswhetherthenextprogrammerwillbeable toreadthecodeaswellaswhetherthecodewillruncorrectly.Suchawonderfulanalogytoactualgrammar.”

teaching the logic behind conditional statements is the art of writing a greatcomparativeessayoragreatreinforcementtosomanysubjectivedecisionsaboutliterature.TheIf-Then-Elseblockrequiresstudentstoweightwopossiblescenariosandnever leave anything out. There are somanyapplications to using that flowchartconceptinEnglishclass.

Alan Cohen (2017) uses Scratch in ESL classes by getting students to code shortconversations.NotingthatScratchiseasytolearn,andthatitsdraganddropinterfacedoesn’t create spelling and syntax barriers in the code they create, Cohen has hisstudents

code dialogue that cartoon-like characters display in speech bubbles …. As theydiscuss and plan their story, the teacher listens to the groups and correctspronunciation where needed. The students then tell the class what their story isabout and run their program. The class and teacher can correct any spelling orgrammar mistakes. The coding exercises provide other benefits. They teachplanningandlogicalthinking.

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Laura Bradley (2016) uses tutorials from Code.org (https://code.org/) in her Englishclasses.Shelikesthefactthatshedoesn’thavetobeanexpertincodeand“thetutorialsdifferentiatetheexperienceformystudents,someofwhomhavebeenlearningtocodeontheirownviaKhanAcademy,andotherswhohaveneverheardofcoding.Bestofall?The online tutorials are all free,” and remain online beyond the end of the MOOCsessionsforwhichtheywerecreated.

HavingtaughtherstudentsthebasicsofcodinginScratch,Bradleyreportsonafollow-onactivityfromanassignmenttowritenovelsinEnglishclass.Thefollow-onwasto:

createacomputergamebasedonthenovelyoujustwrote…Havingjustinvestedoveramonthintothatnovel,theyknewtheircharacters,plots,andconflictsinsideand out. I hoped that the chance to create a game from that storywould honortheirwritingandstretchsomedifferentbrainmuscles,whilealsogivingthemthebasis for a richer game than they might create if it didn’t come from a well-developedstory.

Shecontinues:Thereissomuchaboutthisprojectthatmirrorsthewritingprocess:inadditiontocreatingastory,theybrainstormedandoutlinedtheirgames,draftedthem,testedthem,founderrorstofix,draftedsomemore,testedsomemore,revisedsomemore.Andeventuallytheywillpublishtheirgamestoanaudienceasbigastheinternet(via the Scratch site),where this creative gaming community can play, rate, andgivethemfeedback.Andiftheydidn’tproofreadtheirgamecarefully?Itwon’trun.

Bradley (2017) reflects on this project and concludes that “although codingmay notseem to fit in an English class … coding is a language with its own vocabulary, andproofreadingone’sworkiscritical.”

Sowhywould I take threeweeks out ofmyEnglish curriculum to letmy studentslearn the basics of computer coding? Why should teachers of science, history, ormathdothesame?…becausecoding:

• buildsproblem-solvingskillsandlogicalthinking

• opensnewavenuestocreativity

• givesstudentsafoundationforsuccessin21stcenturycareers

• reinforcesourowncurriculumthroughadifferentlens

• helpsstudentsunderstandhowtheirowntechnologyworks

• openstheireyestopotentialcareers

From a student’s perspective, a native Farsi speakerwith anMA in English languagelivinginFinlandtakesaCLILapproachtolearningcodingandEnglishatthesametime.WithoutmentioningCLIL,Omid(2014)argues thathisbestway to learnEnglish is tolearn it in conjunction with something else, such as programming languages. Omidpointsoutthatifyouwanttolearncoding,thendoingitinthecontextofESOLisagoodway to leverage the benefits of both subjects. He suggests starting withCodeacademy,https://www.codecademy.com/.Inhiswords:

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Codecademycourses are good for improving your reading and comprehensionskillsbecause,basically,youreadandfollowinstructions,whichareallwritten inEnglish.Youcanalsopracticeyourwriting skillsby joining thediscussions in theforums. Also, subscribe to their free email newsletter where you will read aboutpeople who have done something notable using what they have learnedfromCodecademycourses.

ThisechoeswhatSmolčec,Smolčec,andStevens(2014)discovered,asmentionedabovewithrespecttoMinecraft,whentheotherthingyouaretryingtolearnhasawealthofmaterialsandtutorialswrittenaboutitinEnglish.

Two of that article’s co-authors, Marijana and (her son) Filip Smolčec, have beenparticipating for the past three years in EVO Minecraft MOOC, an Electronic VillageOnline sessionmeant to engageeducators inMinecraft so that they can in turnuse itwith their students (Stevens, 2017). One of the moderators of that session, MirceaPatrascu,hasbeenshowinghisEVOMinecraftMOOCparticipantpeershowtobuildinMinecraftwith script,while inRomania, he teaches children to code, andhaswritteninstructions for connecting Scratch to Minecraft and ScriptCraft (Petrascu, 2016). AsMissio (2015) points out, Minecraft “is also now part of Hour of Code, a worldwideinitiativethataimstoteachkidscomputerprogramming”(https://code.org/minecraft).Bringingteachersuptospeedoncoding

Morrison(2013)pointsoutthat“ifcodingistobecomeembeddedinschoolsitisgoingto take amassive effort in terms of teacher-training.” Morrison also interviews CodeClubteacherLauraKirsop,who,notinglackofsuchtraininginherowneducation,says“thereisalongwaytogobeforeteachersfeelconfidentenoughtoteachtheseskills.”Claire Siskin has been promoting coding for teachers of English to speakers of otherlanguages for a long time. Her web page athttp://www.edvista.com/claire/rev/compiles dozens of links where teachers can get resources on LiveCode, a scriptinglanguagesimilartoHypercardonMac,butwhichrunsoniOS,Android,Windows,Mac,Linux,Server&HTML5.Recentlyshe facilitatedaprojectwherebyEnglish teachersatDaffodilUniversityinBangladeshusedLiveCodetocreateanappforsmartphonecalledBrimmEng, “designed to provideEnglish language practice outside the classroomandreinforce learning in the classroom,” (Siskin, 2107). Her project demonstrates thewillingness and ability of English teachers in developing nations to learn a codinglanguage from the start and use it to create their own apps for language learning(Stevens,2016).

In September 2015 New York city mayor Bill de Blasio announced a program forprovidingeverypublicschoolstudentinNewYorkCitywithcomputersciencecoursesat every grade level by 2025, and allocated $80 million in funds to providing 5,000teacherswithcomputersciencetraininginordertobringthatmanyexistingstaffuptospeedwiththeinitiative.InanarticleintheNewYorkerentitled“CananEnglishTeacherLearntoCode?”Morais(2015)introducesustoMeredithTowne,atheaterandEnglishteacher,andbeneficiaryofthisprogram.

“The language in Scratch is very similar to theatre language,” she said. … Shedevised an assignment in which students use Scratch to direct staging—that is,

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programtheirfellow-actors….HerninthgradershavebeentinkeringwithScratchforacoupleofmonthsnow.“They’realreadybetteratitthanme,”shesaid.

Theobservationsaboveaddressamajorconcernofhumanitiesteachersoverwhetherthey can learn coding themselves well enough to use it as a basis for class projects.Karen Brennan’s ScratchED is a community of learners and teachers who help eachotherovercomesuchhurdles.Shehasstudiedthestrategiesofasubsetofstudentswhoworkontheirownmorethantheyrelyonsupportfromthecommunitytodebugtheirprograms. She uses that knowledge to help teacherswith “getting unstuck,” the termBrennan(2014)usesinhertalkontheHarvardEducationYouTubechannel,wheresheassuresteachersthat“studentsdon’tneedyouinthewayyouthinktheyneedyou.Theydon’t need you to solve every problem.” Instead teachers should “embrace thevulnerability of not knowing” and let students understand the value of learning incollaborationwiththeteacher.

Wherecanyouandyourstudentslearncoding?

InthecontextofELTthereareseveralwaystostartintegratingcodingasanewkindofliteracy.Mostcodingwebsitesareeasytofollowandtheyprovidecleartutorialsonhowtogetstarted,soneitherstudentsnorEnglishlanguageteachersneedtohavepreviousknowledgeofcoding.Let´s begin by exploring the apps, programs and websites to bring coding into theclassroommentionedbytheEnglishteacherswhosevoicesemergefromearlierinthisarticle. These teachers have converged on the following Web projects in particular:Code.org,HourofCode,CodeClub,Scratch,ScratchEd,andCodeacademy.

Code.organdHourofCodeGettingstartedwithhttps://code.orgisverysimpleforteachers.Themainobjectiveofthiswebsiteistoteachcodingusingblocksinasimpleandentertainingway.Teachers will find a variety of coding activities divided into levels ranging from K-5through6-12andUniversity+.Thesite isdivided into thecategories (1)Students, (2)Educators, (3)HourofCode, and (4)Get involved.A clickon “Students /Exploreourcourses”takesyoutothispage:https://studio.code.org/courses.

Hereyouwillfindafullcoursecatalogdividedintothethreeaudiencelevels(K-5,6-12,anduniversity),plustheHourofCodeoptiondesignedtohelpstudents(oranyone,tryityourself!)startlearninghowtocode,orimprovetheircodingskills,inonlyone-hourchunks.Here,weareintroducedtothefundamentalsofcodinginasetofoverahundredtutorialsandactivitiescreatedbycomputersciencespecialists.Englishteachersshouldbe able to realize the potential in workingwith their students, not only in using thelanguageinthemodulesthemselves,butintalkinginclassaroundthecontentofthesetutorials.

Asgivenathttps://code.org/hourofcode/overview,thesetutorialsare:• Minecraft–ProgramanimalsandotherMinecraftcreaturesinyourownversionofMinecraft.

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• StarWars–Learn toprogramdroids,andcreateyourownStarWarsgame inagalaxyfar,faraway.

• Frozen–UsecodetojoinAnnaandElsaastheyexplorethemagicandbeautyofice.

• Sports–Makeabasketballgameormixandmatchacrosssports.

• FlappyCode–Wannawriteyourowngameinlessthan10minutes?TryourFlappyCodetutorial!

• ClassicMaze–Trythebasicsofcomputerscience.Millionshavegivenitashot.

• InfinityPlayLab–UsePlayLabtocreateastoryorgamestarringDisneyInfinitycharacters.

• PlayLab–CreateastoryormakeagamewithPlayLab!

• Artist–DrawcoolpicturesanddesignswiththeArtist!

• TextCompression–Inthislesson,studentswillusetheTextCompressionWidgettocompresstextbysubstitutingpatternswithsymbols.

• Conditionals – Learn about algorithms and conditional statements in this“unplugged”activityusingadeckofcards.

Mostofthesemodulesarebrokendowninto10or20puzzles.Studentsarenotwritingdown code. They are using Blockly as a visual programming language, to tell thecomputer in plain English what to do. Students must drag and drop the Blocklydirectionstomakeagame.ThedirectionswithBlocklylooklikethis:

“move forward” “turn left” “turn right”

Javascriptisgeneratedundertheseblocks.Translatedintocode,itlookssomethinglike:moveForward(); turnLeft(); turnRight();

ESLteachersshouldreviewwithstudentsthespecificvocabularyofeachgamebeforeworkingwith Code.org; for example, “flap”, “when clicked”, “playwing sound”, etc. AsimplewaytogetstartedistoteachtheBlocklydirectionsneeded.Teachers can explore more tutorials athttps://code.org/learnor even explore thepossibilityofintroducingroboticsathttps://code.org/learn/robotics.

CodeClubIfyouteachchildren9to13,youcansetthemupintheirownCodeClub.CodeClubwasdesignedtoofferweeklyextra-curricularcodingspecificallyforthisagegroup.Nopriorcoding knowledge is needed to start or to join the clubs. Students can learn how tocreategames,websitesandanimationsusingScratch,HTMLandPython.

TocreateaCodeClubgotohttps://www.codeclub.org.uk,orifyouliveoutsidetheUKgo tohttps://www.codeclubworld.org. Once you activate your account you will find

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step-by-step instructionsonhow to createaCodeClub, andhaveaccess to resources,materialsandguidancetorunyourCodeClub.Ifyourstudentsdonotfall intothecorrectagebrackets,youcanstillexplorethissite,and the others mentioned here, and adapt the concept of teaching human languagesthroughcodinginaclubsettingofyourowndevising,designedtosuityourcontext.

ScratchandScratchEd

Codingimpactseverycareerinthe21st-century,andScratch(https://scratch.mit.edu/)isonethebestwebsitesforbeginnerstolearnthebasicsofcoding.ScratchwascreatedbytheMITMediaLabasa freeprogramming languagedesignedtoprogramwebsites,gamesandanimations.It’sgoodforarangeofclassroomactivitiesbecauseit’seasytouse, it runs inabrowser, it’sdrag-and-drop,anddoesnotrequirestudents toprovidecorrectsyntax.ThusitdetractsnegligiblyfromwhatStevickcalled,“thelearningthatisincidentaltosomethingelsethatwearetryingtodo”(1982,p.132).

AccordingtotheScratchwebsite,“Scratchisdesignedespeciallyforages8to16,butisused by people of all ages.Millions of people are creating Scratch projects in awidevariety of settings, including homes, schools, museums, libraries, and communitycenters”(soit’salreadybeingusedinmanycareersinthe21stcentury).AndthereisaversioncalledScratchJr.especiallycreatedforages5-7enablingstudentstocreatetheirown interactive stories and games. Teachers can download the guideathttps://www.scratchjr.org/learn/interface/wheretheywillfindclearinstructionsonhowtouseScratchJr.

Teachers can join the ScratchEd community of practiceathttp://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/to get help and share projects with teachersworldwide. Joining the community is free and teacherswill encounter engaging ideasintroducinghowScratchhasbeenusedbyeducatorsindifferentschools.Teachers can also find lesson plans using Scratch at the Code.orgwebsite,https://code.org/educate/curriculum/teacher-led/. The lessons are groupedinto elementary school,middle school, and high school projects, but the topicsmightapplytoalllevels,andevenseedfunprojectsforadults.Highschoolprojectslistedhererange from a variety of STEM activities (e.g., “Code and animate a Solar Systemsimulation,aninteractiveecologicalpyramid,aworkinganalogclock”),throughvariousoralhistoryanddigitalstorytellingprojects,tothisone:“Yourclasswillbebecreatinga‘history of computers’ web page/Scratch project/video that we can share with theworld.Tomakethiswebpage,youandyourpartnerwilldoresearchandwriteaboutoneimportanteventorpersonincomputerhistory.”Teacherswell-practicedintheartofadaptinglessonplanswillknowthatanykindofhistory,oralmostanythingelse,canbesubstitutedfor“computerhistory”.TeachersofEnglishtostudentsofallagesshouldbeabletofindactivitiesheresuitabletotheircontexts.Codeacademy

Codeacademyisawebsitethatprovidesavarietyofcodinglanguages.Teacherscanfindsimplelessonplansandclasssequencesreadytoimplementforall levels.However,ofallthesitesmentionedhereCodeacademymightbeonethatteachersofEnglishshould

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usewithanawarenessofwhatitdoesanddoesn’tdo.ThereisabalancedreviewofitatKite (2017), who notes that whereas this is a good starting point for learningrudimentarycodeforfree,ithas“limiteddepth”andit’sdirectedatadultlearners(e.g.,text-based descriptions, no videos to engage digital natives). Two advantages ofCodeacademyare that the coding is taught inside abrowser (avoidingyourhaving toinstall the languageonyourcomputer)and that it teachesAPIs forhooking intoappssuch as YouTube and Twitter (note the digital storytelling possibilities there), butScratch works inherently inside a browser and you might not want to go as far asworkingwithAPIsifyoursubjectisEnglish.

Whereas theCLILapproach to learningEnglishwhile learningprogrammingseems tohave worked with Omid (2014), according to Hughes (2015), “The reason whyCodecademy is successful is because it takes coding, and transforms it into addictivebite-sizedpiecesthatareeasytoaccomplish,andofferinstantaneousfeedback.It’sthecandy of coding.” Whereas they have introduced many to the fundamentals ofprogrammingandhavehelpedlaunchcountlesscareers,“theirproduct–andtobemoreprecise, their teachingmethods– leavea lot tobedesired, andare leaving thousandsfrustrated, andunsureofwhere toprogresswith their formativedevelopment skills.”Furthermore, these exercises donot sufficiently recapitulate previously learned items(“blink,andyou’llmissit,”asheputsit),nordotheyhelpusersapplywhattheylearntopractical projects. In particular,Hughes faults themonproducing exercises in chunksthat do not teach themindset of programming. They teach syntax, but not the art ofprogramming,and it’s theart, the inculcationofawayof thinkingaboutapproaching,troubleshooting,andsolvingproblems,thatmostconcerns21stcenturyeducators.Although a Google search trawls up a surprising number of similar perspectives onCodeacademy, therearealso thosewhohave found it tobeausefulexperience;Omid(2014)forone,andalsoRushkoff(2012)whosays:

To buildmy own code literacy, I decided to take free classes through the onlinewebsite Codecademy.com, and ended up liking it somuch that I’m nowworkingwiththemtoprovidefreecoursesforkidstolearntocode.ThelessonsI’velearnedalong the way are of value to parents and teachers looking to growmore codeliterateyoungpeople.

WhenRushkoffsaysheisnow“workingwith”Codeacademy,hemeanshehasbecomea“resident Digital Literacy Advocate or ‘Code Evangelist’ at Codecademy”(https://www.edutopia.org/user/202975) but there are many proponents ofCodeacademywhoextolitsvirtuesbecauseit’sfreeanditteachescoding.It’sprobablyworthlookinginto,ifonlytogetabettergroundingincodingasateacher,asyouworkthroughtheothersiteswithyourstudents.

ConclusionRushkoff (2012) makes some compelling points in his article aptly entitled “Codeliteracy: A 21st century requirement.” Using the example of Facebook, he notes thatwhereas we (over 2 billion of us, including teachers and students) use the sitesuperficially to share the minutiae of our lives with friends, the deeper purpose ofFacebook is to sell data points on those minutiae to high bidders, and that an

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understanding of the deeper mechanics of how our digital world works is a criticalliteracy skill for the 21st century. Learning to code, he says, is oneway that we canregainsomecontroloverourworld.Programorbeprogrammed.

Learninghumanlanguagesissimilarlyempowering,asisself-evidentinthenumberofpeople willing to employ teachers to help them learn them. Learning coding in thecontext of language development should be doubly empowering, especially asdevelopmentofeither,evenon itsown,or ideallyboth,enablescritical thinkingskillsandleveragesopportunitiesinanuncertainfuture.AsRushkinsays,“Codeliteratekidsstopacceptingtheapplicationsandwebsitestheyuseatfacevalue,andbegintoengagecritically and purposefully with them instead. Otherwise, they may as well be at thecircusoramagicshow.”

Sometimesweas teachers lookoutatourstudentspeeringat theirhand-helddevicesandwonderiftheyareusingthemproductivelyordistractingly.Often,it’sapparentthatthe latter is the case. Engaging our students is our key to success, for then we candiscourse with them and have them describe their adventures on their learningjourneys, andhow these relate to their present (perhaps thepresent class) and long-termgoals.Butweourselvesmustbeworthyofoursideofthediscourse,whichmeanswehavetokeepnotchingourownskillsupwardinordertobootstrapourstudents,orto appreciatewhen they bootstrap us, which can be the casewhen teachers learn toleverageintotheirteachingstyle“thevulnerabilityofnotknowing”Brennan(2014).We are all now temporally and firmly ensconced in the 21st century.We need to befocusednowonmovingourselvesandourstudentstowardthe22nd.Itisincumbentonusalltobecomingtogripswiththeliteraciesandskillsetsthatwillimprovelikelihoodofsuccessandevensurvivalaswepreparetoadapttotheworldunseennotfararoundthecorner.Note

[1] ThequoteaboveistakenfromScott,2015,p.3,buttheURLgiveninherreferencesisincorrect. The correct URL is given under Wagner (2010) in the Reference sectionbelow.NearlyidenticalpointsmadebyTonyWagnerwererecordedinAmericanYouthPolicy Forum (2010) and are reiterated on Wagner’s websiteathttp://www.tonywagner.com/7-survival-skills/).

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Bradley,L.(2016).CodinginEnglishclass?YES!andnotjustan#hourofcode,buta#monthofcode!LauraBradley.Available:https://laurabradley.me/2016/12/15/coding-in-english-class-yes-and-not-just-an-hourofcode-but-a-monthofcode/.

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