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This article was downloaded by: [Nipissing University] On: 10 October 2014, At: 23:06 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Community College Journal of Research and Practice Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucjc20 TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS Estelita Calderon-Young Published online: 15 Dec 2010. To cite this article: Estelita Calderon-Young (1999) TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 23:2, 161-169, DOI: 10.1080/106689299264981 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/106689299264981 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of

TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

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This article was downloaded by: [Nipissing University]On: 10 October 2014, At: 23:06Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number:1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 MortimerStreet, London W1T 3JH, UK

Community CollegeJournal of Research andPracticePublication details, including instructionsfor authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucjc20

TECHNOLOGY FORTEACHING FOREIGNLANGUAGES AMONGCOMMUNITY COLLEGESTUDENTSEstelita Calderon-YoungPublished online: 15 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Estelita Calderon-Young (1999) TECHNOLOGY FORTEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS,Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 23:2, 161-169, DOI:10.1080/106689299264981

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/106689299264981

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy ofall the information (the “Content”) contained in the publicationson our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and ourlicensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever asto the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of

the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publicationare the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the viewsof or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verifiedwith primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not beliable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs,expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoevercaused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation toor arising out of the use of the Content.

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TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING FOREIGNLANGUAGES AM ONG COM M UNITY COLLEGESTUDENTS

Estelita Caldero n-YoungHumanities and International Studies, Collin County CommunityCollege, Plano, Texas, USA

The dream of community college instructors of using technology to enhance theacquisition of foreign languages among students is now a reality. Language labsequipped with interactive computers are taking the place of their listening stationpredecessors. Within these updated language labs, students are using the targetlanguage via interactive software packages, CD-ROMS, E-mail, and the Internet.Faculty members are creating their own multimedia packages that include listen-ing, speaking, reading, and writing. The World Wide Web is creating opportunitiesto instantly acquire and use cultural information about foreign countries thatwould previously take hours of research. The new technology is fostering interestamong foreign language faculty members. With their enthusiasm and proper train-ing, instructors are actively engaging community college students in the process ofacquiring second languages.

Over the last few years, colleges and universities have become inter-ested in what technology has to o� er their faculty, sta� , and stu-dents. Some departments are even spending a lot of moneyintegrating the latest technological advancements into their subjectareas. Computers, LANs, CD-ROMs, scanners, �le servers, and las-erdiscs are fairly standard equipment in most colleges and uni-versities today. Some colleges and universities have more computerperipherals and software programs than others, but the presence ofthese technological advances indicates that educators are interestedin the bene�t gained from the technology at their disposal.

Generally speaking, computers can increase productivity. Softwarepackages today calculate student progress, schedule classes, createtests/worksheets, generate curriculum templates, generate officialreports, track students’ progress after they leave college, �gurepayroll, and so on. Through E-mail, messages and documents are sent

Address correspondence to Estelita Caldero n-Young, 2530 Pecan Meadow, Garland,Texas 75040, USA.

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 23: 161–169, 1999Copyright 1999 Taylor & FrancisÓ

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at one’s convenience and read at the same time or when time permits.The World Wide Web (WWW) is allowing students to access informa-tion within a matter of seconds and connect with people all over theworld in many languages.

Computer-assisted language instruction advocates recommend thatlanguage professionals use one or more of the advances in the tech-nology cited above. The proponents of computer-assisted languagelearning (CALL) claim that all of the technology we have at our dis-posal has the potential to empower students when it is used appropri-ately. Technology is changing much quicker than our educationalinstitutions. The critical issue to address is how to incorporateconcern for learning into the functional speci�cations of the newdevices (Norman, 1993). As Lanham puts it, ‘‘Electronic technology isfull of promising avenues for language instruction ; it will be lunacyif we do not construct a sophisticated comparative-literature peda-gogy upon it’’ (Lanham, 1993, p.23). It will be more important to traina smaller group of experts to facilitate language learning throughnew digital technologies than to train and employ enough languageexperts who are pro�cient in the labor intensive methods that charac-terize the analog method. Students will have access to a broad rangeof authentic language materials and instructors will use these toenhance learning.

This article examines some applications of computer use in theforeign language classroom and suggests some uses of computer net-working.

E-M AIL, CHAT ROOM S, ELECTRONIC FORUM S

By using E-mail instead of using the telephone to make long-distancecalls, institutions can save thousands of dollars. Students can initiatediscussions with their teachers or with other students any time ofday, and from a number of places, rather than only during class oroffice hours, resulting in greatly increased student–teacher andstudent–student interaction (Harasim, 1986; Hartman et al., 1991;Phillips, Santoro, & Kuehn, 1988). A student does not need to wait foran instructor’s permission to talk, giving students even more controlover what topics to raise and when (Garrison & Baynton, 1987). Theycan also communicate their thoughts at their own pace, leading tofurther opportunities for self-expression (Kinkead, 1987). Professionalproductivity increases when educators use technology efficiently ande� ectively, and using E-mail is one way to do this.

E-mail is an asynchronous form of telecommunication because therecipient does not have to be on-line at the time the message is sent.

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Technology for Teaching Foreign Languages 163

The messages can be composed on-line or in a word-processor andthen uploaded. Messages can be sent from one person to many peoplevia bulletin boards and discussion lists. With asynchronous conferen-cing, messages can be read at a later time.

Synchronous conferencing, on the other hand, allows people tosend messages instantly between people who are on-line together.This can take place on a university network or in a language labor-atory. It can also occur at a distance using the Internet resourcesavailable such as Multiple User Domain, Object-Oriented (MOOs)and Internet Relay Chat areas (IRC), both of which are used as dis-cussion and simulation areas. Electronic mail office hours encouragecollaboration with students and colleagues in other places.

With the addition of CuSeeMe cameras and QuickCam software,individuals can also be seen as they communicate via E-mail. A golf-ball size camera is mounted on the computer and the softwareinstalled. The location is put onto the screen and within seconds theimage of a person or a class is on the screen. Imagine the excitementof a classroom of 20 students each seeing the person on their com-puter while engaging in real time conversation in a foreign language.CuSeeMe users are listed on the Web, making it easy for any teacherto initiate and continue live dialogue with someone in France,Mexico, Germany, and so on. The communication occurs in thenative language of that country while the communicators are face-to-face via computer. International borders are fading quickly with theuse of such technology.

COM PUTER PACKAGES

More popular perhaps for language educators has been the use ofcomputers for practice. Software packages today include problem-solving and simulation, drill and practice, videotape lessons, triviagames, and computer-animated books. The latest programs containdigitized images of foreign cities and countries accompanied by textin the target language. Many are equipped with Voice Recognitioncapability, which records the student’s voice, corrects the pronun-ciation and allows for several attempts at perfecting the pronun-ciation of the word or phrase.

Integrating new technologies into foreign language classes haspresented many instructors and software companies with challenges.Foreign language software developers face the enormous task ofdesigning computer programs suited to the learning styles of manystudents. A look at cognitive styles of learning shows that students’performance will be greater when they are taught with methods that

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re�ect their learning style (Reid, 1987; Richardson, 1977). How canone produce a computer program to successfully �t the needs of alanguage lab �lled with 20 students?

There is where much work has been done to assess the e� ec-tiveness of using technology in language instruction. The results aremixed. The assessment of total student gain rather than low-levelthinking skills is difficult to do because of lack of resources for con-trolled groups, the Hawthorne e� ect, bias of the software manufac-turer who conducts the study, and so on. What has been found is thatthese types of programs exist and have a place in some learning situ-ations but are no longer the ultimate use of computers in technology.

Instructor-Designed M ultimedia Programs

With the abundance of authoring systems available today, instructorsare developing programs that correspond to their particular languagecurricula. These systems are fairly easy to use and allow the instruc-tor to enhance the instruction by integrating teaching materials attheir disposal such as laserdisc, video, graphics, CD audio, digitizedaudio, text, and so on. Many of the authoring programs allow theinstructor to toggle back and forth between the template and theactual text to assure that the �nished multimedia program includeslistening, speaking, writing, and reading. The cultural part is embed-ded in each of the content areas and can be added at the instructor’sdiscretion.

Some of the multimedia/hypermedia authoring systems currentlyin use in the foreign language profession include Dasher, Calm, Win-calis, Supermaclang, Calet, Lecture, Galt, Libra, Hyperstudio, OracleMedia Objects, Authorware, Iconauthor, Language Tool, MultimediaToolbook, and Hypercard. The components and costs vary for each ofthese programs, but most of them have been designed to allow theinstructors to design a custom-made multimedia program withinseveral hours using information they have or can access easily.

THE WORLD WIDE WEB

The WWW is experiencing exponential growth as a means to acquireinformation. Currently doubling in size roughly every 50 days, theWeb provides possibilities that are extraordinary. The questionfacing many of us is ‘‘Are we ready to begin the transition from ourpresent form of delivering our instruction to the Net?’’ Whereas someeducators have never ventured into that arena, some instructors,such as those included in materials produced at the University of

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Technology for Teaching Foreign Languages 165

Hawaii’s Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, areintensively exploring the Web’s potential in designing and deliveringlearning materials.

M ETHODS OF INTERACTION

What follows is a list of ways to use the Web or Internet to enhanceand/or deliver instruction.

Browsing

Probably the most well-known method is ‘‘Web browsing.’’ Sites arebeing added at unbelievable rates on a daily basis. You simply type ina subject of interest in one of the search engines such as NetscapeBrowser, Yahoo, Alta Vista, Infoseek, Webcrawler, Microsoft’sInternet Assistant, and so on, and before long you have entered siteswith bountiful information and links to other related sites.

Guided browsing is a direct way to increase interaction betweenstudents and information on the Web. Rather than allowing the stu-dents to randomly surf the Net, instructors �nd particular sites, usethe information to enhance the lesson plan for the day and direct thestudents to that particular site. After �nding the information, stu-dents can then complete the lesson using the material on that siteand by using the links provided, print the answer sheet, and deliver itto the instructor in person or via electronic mail.

An example of a lesson using the Web would be as follows: Stu-dents are asked to plan a prospective business visit by a group ofbusinessmen and women to Monterrey, Mexico. Students are directedto CITYNET on the Web where information is found on the weatherfor the day of their visit, means and costs of transportation to andfrom the airport and within the city, special places to visit in the cityand surrounding areas, and major hotels and travelling documentsrequired. All this is provided by giving the student one universalresource locator (URL). From there links are found to the addresseswhere the information will be found. On these links, students aregiven the opportunity to read the information in Spanish or English.A beginning language student on a fact-�nding mission for a culturalor historical assignment might want to read about it in English,whereas a more advanced language student would do the same in thetarget language. The total time needed to complete such an investiga-tion would be 30 minutes, during which the student is learning aboutthe language and cultural di� erences in telling time, forms of money

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and exchange rates, forms of reporting temperatures and distances,and so on. The list could go on to indicate the bene�t gained.

The implications for an intermediate or advanced class are unbe-lievable. A report by the student on an author, for example, mayinclude sound �les of the author’s voice (when available), photogra-phs, or original text. These objects are found on the Web and areadded to the �le created by a word processor. All that is required iseasy access to a computer equipped with a word processor andattached to the Web.

Web sites are appearing so rapidly that they are almost impossibleto track. Pages devoted to languages and language learning arespringing up so quickly that they are almost impossible to explore ona daily basis. Southern Methodist University’s Foreign LanguageLearning Center at http://�lc.smu.edu/ is a good example of the typesof materials that can be brought together for access from one site.The National Foreign Language Resource Center at http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/n�rc/ is an invaluable resource for trends andresearch in the area of technology and foreign languages. The AgoraLanguage Marketplace at http://agoralang.com/ has assembled anenormous collection of references and links to other sites and refer-ences.

REAL-TIM E COM M UNIC ATION

Unlike E-mail, Web-based communication systems allow multimedia,synchronous communication in real time. Primarily used for socialrole playing, this class of interaction is supplemented by MultipleUser Domain (MUD), Multi-User Shared Hallucination (MUSH), andobject oriented MOOs. Certain software programs such as ROUND-TABLE at http://www.� g.com/rt.html allow users to exchange docu-ments of all kinds as they participate in the live conferencing. Thisparticular company has chat sessions such as French People Talking,Israel, Italian, Japan, German Chat, La Escuela, Deutsch am rundenTisch, and more. MUNDO HISPANO at http://web.syr.edu/, 1mturbee/mundo.html is an interesting site that o� ers informationon Web-based software that makes the connection to the live chat onthe Web a little simpler.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM ENT AND TRAINING

When technology is used as an information processing tool, itrequires more time on the part of the instructor in learning how to

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use it e� ectively. To facilitate student involvement in the computerculture, teachers must be actively present in the project, for theirinvolvement ‘‘likely plays a direct role in how actively students par-ticipate’’ (Eastmond, 1993, p. 136). One looks at the database, sortsinformation, and places it in categories to present it to the students.Asking the students to click on the icon that says WWW must befollowed with precise directions on where to go to begin the searchfor the desired information. Unless this direction takes place, stu-dents become entangled in locations that do not impact the concen-tration area.

Opportunities for professional development in technology are cru-cially needed to prepare teachers to e� ectively use the Internet. Thefocus should be on skill development with the cognitive tools thatmitigate the Internet’s complexity (Ryder & Wilson, 1995). However,skill development with the Internet’s tools is a function of extensivepractice (Mayes, 1994).

Traditional approaches to integrating new curricula in the class-room will not be successful when applied to technology. As Grandge-nett and Mortenson (1993) observed, merely supplying teachers withtechnology often does little good unless the teachers are also care-fully trained to use the technology through an appropriate inserviceprogram. A few workshops here and there are not enough to suc-cessfully integrate technology into instruction (p. 56).

Research proves that providing training to professionals has animpact on the way they perceive the usefulness of the resource.Honey and McMillan (1993) investigated the impact of factors such asprior experience with technology, availability of training, adminis-tration commitment, and the type of Internet connection on educa-tors’ attitudes toward and use of the Internet. These researchersfound that those teachers who were the most positive about the use-fulness of the Internet in their teaching were those engaged in anongoing process that required extensive training from experts.

In addition, the measurement of the impact of using technology asan information processing tool requires developing and applyingstandards and the ability to wait at times for long periods to completethe project or task. It also means that students need at least 1 hourper week in the lab to e� ectively learn and use the technology avail-able. With the proper training, instructors will be able to implementnew programs to enhance the learning process in acquiring a foreignlanguage and will be able to develop tools to e� ectively measure thisimprovement.

Beyond training the students in computer use, the teacher is alsoresponsible for handling the new teacher–student and student–

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student relations in the computer classroom. Fox noted that ‘‘for aclassroom to really be interactive, the teacher has to contributeactively, too’’ (Fox, 1990, p. 46). Teachers need to be clear on what isexpected of students, be aware of uneasy feelings initially andencourage progress toward involvement until the student feels com-fortable.

A central goal of modern approaches to language teaching, includ-ing communicative language teaching, task-based learning, processapproaches to writing, and training in language learning strategies,is to enhance student autonomy and control over the language learn-ing process. (Warshauer, Turbee, & Roberts, 1994). Rather than con-centrating on the drill and practice programs available to students onthe computer, a more global view is needed to look at the possibilitiesavailable through the ‘‘information explosion.’’ Cummins and Sayerspointed out that more than 6,000 scienti�c articles are written eachday (Cummins & Sayers, 1990), and with information doubling everyfew years (Cross, 1984) new technologies will bring us in step with thecultural, scienti�c, and economic realities of the 21st century.

Through technology, students can gather information to producecreative work that they can share with their classmates, teachers,and others outside the classroom; they can also make meaningfulreports to their classmates and contribute to e� orts to improve thelife within the college and in the community.

The use of computer technology, like other forms of technology, isnot a ‘‘magic wand’’ that can solve all problems just by being waved(Hiltz, 1990). The appropriate and e� ective use of computers forstudent empowerment is more a pedagogical issue than a technicalone. Successful results require careful planning (Eldred, 1991), a bal-anced and critical perspective (Hawisher & Selfe, 1991), and ‘‘aninteractive and experiential approach to pedagogy’’ (Cummins &Sayers, 1990, p. 22) ; in short, a pedagogy of empowerment.

REFERENCES

Cross, K. P. (1984). The rising tide of school reform reports. Phi Delta Kappan, 66,167–172.

Cummins, S., & Sayers, D. (1990). Education 2001: Learning networks and educationalreform. Computers in the Schools, 7 1/2, 1–29.

Eastmond, D. (1993). A lone but together, adult distance study by computer conferencing.Unpublished dissertation, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

Eldred, J. (1991). Pedagogy in the computer-networked classroom. Computers and Com-position, 8.

Fox, T. (1990). The social uses of writing : Politics and pedagogy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Garrison, D. R., & Baynton, M. (1987). Beyond independence in distance education:

The concept of control. The A merican Journal of Distance Education, 1, 3–15.

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Grandgenett, N., & Mortensen. (1993). A collaborative inservice model for training tea-chers in advanced technologies. In D. Carey, R. Carey, A. Willis, & J. Willis (Eds.),Technology and Teacher Education Annual, Charlottesville, VA : Association forAdvancement of Computing in Education.

Harasim, L. (1986). Computer learning networks: Educational applications of computerconferencing. Journal of Distance Education, 1, 59–70.

Hartman, K., Neuwirth, C., Kiesler, S., Sproull, L., Cochran, C., Palmquist, M., &Zubrow, D. (1991). Patterns of social interaction and learning to write : Some e� ectsof network technologies. Written Communication, 8, 79–113.

Hawisher, G., & Selfe, C. (1991) The rhetoric of technology and the electronic writingclass. College Composition and Communication, 42, 55–65.

Hiltz, S. R. (1990). Collaborative learning: The virtual classroom approach. T.H.E.Journal, June 59–65.

Kinkead, J. (1987). Computer conversations: E-mail and writing instruction. CollegeComposition and Communication, 38, 337–341.

Lanham, R. A. (1993). The electronic word : Democracy, technology, and the arts.Chicago : The University of Chicago Press.

Mayes, T. (1994). Mindtools: A suitable case for learning. NATO Advanced StudiesInstitute. [On-line] Available at http://ithaca.icbl.hw.uk/pub/nato–asi/mayes1.txt

Norman, D. A. (1993). Things that make us smart : Defending human attributes in theage of the machine. Reading, MA : Addison Wesley Publishing Company.

Phillips, G., Santoro, G., & Kuehn, S. (1988). The use of computer-mediated communica-tion in training students in group problem solving and decision-making techniques.The A merican Journal of Distance Education, 2, 38–51.

Reid, J. M. (1987). The learning preferences of ESL Students. TESOL Quarterly, 21,87–111.

Richardson, A. (1977). Verbalizer-visualizer: A cognitive style of dimension. Journal ofMental Imagery, I, 109–126.

Ryder, M., & Wilson, B. (1995). From local to virtual environments: Making the con-nection. [Online] Available at http://ouray.cudenver.edu/ , slsanfor/virtle.txt.

Warschauer, M., Turbee, L., & Roberts, B. (1994). Computer learning networks andstudent empowerment (Research Note Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii,[ 10).Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center.

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