Targeting pedagogy

Objective #3:  to underscore the pedagogical functions of communications technologies in the FL classroom 

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Now you have a good understanding and working knowledge of many communications technologies.  Great!  So what can you do with these  technologies in your FL classroom?  Ay, there's the rub.

    Alas, understanding the communications technologies and knowing how to use them is not sufficient. Preservice and veteran FL teachers must also be able to integrate technology into their curriculum in a meaningful and beneficial way. A lot of these technologies are very slick and impressive.  But that is not enough of a reason to use them in your classroom.  You need to ask yourself some basic questions in order to determine if using a given communications technology will lead to optimal FL instruction and learning.

Basic questions

OK, let's take each one of these questions and see where we stand.

1. What are my objectives for the lesson?

    You need to know where your lesson is headed and what skills you are targeting with your presentations and activities.  For example, is this a lesson that focuses on reading and speaking skills?  Listening skills? Writing abilities?  Are you presenting a particular cultural aspect? Are you trying to incorporate authentic materials into the lesson?

2. What do I expect the students to be able to accomplish or do at the end of the lesson?

    Here is where you need to consider your behavioral objectives for the students (i.e., what you want your students to be able to do at the end of your fabulous lesson).  Should they be able to identify certain vocabulary words?  Explain selected cultural traits?  Listen to a native speaker (NS) and react to the information imparted?  Answer questions about an authentic text?  Produce written or  spoken discourse in the target language (TL)?

3. Will any of these communications technologies facilitate the students’ success in achieving the lesson objectives?

    Hopefully your lesson objectives are predicated on the students engaging in meaningful learning and purposeful language use:  language in context, communication for a reason, tasks that are real-life activities and that make sense to students.  Can any of these communications technologies support activities meeting these criteria?  Do real people use these communications technologies outside the FL classroom?  Sure they do--so think about how, when, why, and then structure your tasks to parallel this real-life use.
    For example, email use is fairly pervasive these days.  People communicate via email by writing--exchanging authentic texts in whatever language they use on a daily basis. Spanish speakers write in Spanish, French speakers in French, Urdu speakers in Urdu, etc.  Structuring an activity that involved real and purposeful communication between your students and (1) another class of TL students in your district, (2) some NSs across the country or the world, or (3) any peer group wishing to communicate in the TL for educational purposes would be a true-to-life and meaningful task--particularly for adolescents once photos are exchanged!

4. Which, if any, communications technologies are best suited to the particular tasks I have chosen for my students to perform?

    Once you have decided what you want to accomplish with the lesson and what you want your students to be able to do at the end of the daily instruction, a logical step is to choose materials and methods by which to carry out these plans.  Consider the electronic communications technologies you have been learning about up to this point.  Do any of them lend themselves to the presentations and/or activities you are planning for your students?  For example, if your lesson calls for using authentic spoken TL text, where will you get this authentic material?  Do you have ready access to the types of spoken discourse you want to incorporate in your lesson?  If not, could you use one of the communications technologies to access some authentic NS texts?

5. Will the use of technology hinder or help the students; i.e., are they adequately and appropriately trained in the use of the technologies?

    Many of our students are light years ahead of many of us when it comes to technology.  Some are definitely well-trained and could, in effect, teach the technology portion of the class.  Nevertheless, others are still lagging behind due to inadequate facilities or instruction, and others are being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century (Oh ye Luddites, abandon hope all that enter here!).  The point is that you cannot allow the use of technology to hinder the FL lesson--after all, we're trying to use this stuff because we think it will enhance the lesson, not bring it to a standstill.
    You need to make sure all of your students are on the same page vis-à-vis the nuts and bolts of these communications technologies so you don't waste valuable laboratory time re-explaining operational concepts and basically showing the students what to do.  You may need to dedicate a certain portion of class time to acquaint them with the technologies, but this should be during a separate lesson--notduring the class period wherein you want to incorporate the technology.  It would behoove you to check with the people who have primary responsibility for training students in the use of technology to see if you can coordinate instruction in certain applications and consequent activities that use those applications in your classroom.

6.  Do I feel competent in using the communications technologies I am asking my students to use?

    Along with  the previous question, how is yourtraining and confidence factor when using these communications technologies?  You definitely need to practice, and you need to be as familiar with the programs you are planning to use as possible.  This does not mean you must know everything, but you should be prepared to troubleshoot for students and feel at ease using the applications yourself.  If you do not, you need to return to the beginning and start over with  Getting acquainted with the tools and then  Learning the basics and keep doing them until you can see them in your sleep. Go on, get back there.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200 . . . .  

7.  Am I just using these bells and whistles because it's Friday and/or I didn't plan adequately for my lesson?

    Finally, you need to examine your motivation for employing these communications technologies.  Do they really enhance the FL instruction and learning that goes on in your classroom?  Or is this just a cool thing that you know the kids will like?  After all,  it gets you off the hook for a lesson plan, and, well, heck, it's Friday anyway so we all deserve a break, don't we?  Actually, using communications technologies does precisely the opposite:  it puts you onthe hook for a lesson plan, because you must be extra-well prepared and ready for any "technical difficulty."  Plus you need to be especially clear and concise in your directions, expectations, and outcomes when using these technologies in order to have students make optimal use of their time and skills in the FL class.

National Standards

    Because every foreign language curriculum is different with respect to goals and objectives, we do not pretend to address specifics here that are best examined at the local level.  Rather, we will look to the  National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and use them as a general curriculum guide in order to provide a few examples of integrating electronic communications technologies into the FL classroom.  The 5 C's (Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities), as they are affectionately called, are the goal areas or categories under which the eleven national Standards fall. Let's take a brief look at one of the Standards in each of these categories and see if we can't find a sound pedagogical basis for using some of our new technologies.

Communication:  Communicate in Languages Other Than English

Can you think of any electronic communications technology that would be an asset here? How about email?  IRC?  Usenet groups?  MOOs?  FL learners could be in contact with native speakers (NSs), teachers, or even other learners of the target language (TL) and fulfill all of the objectives of this Standard easily.

Culture:  Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures

How might students come in contact or become familiar with practices and perspectives of the TL culture, particularly if no NSs are to be found in their vicinity?  Might the WWW be useful here?   Or FTP?  For example, a local newspaper briefly covers a fiesta in Spain called the Tomatina with a photo and a two-line explanation of people throwing tomatoes at each other.  Why do they do that?  Is this an ancient ritual? A recently instituted practice? A long-standing tradition?  Language learners can use the WWW to look up information on this happening that most likely will not be in the encyclopedia. Again, technology can bring the world to our classroom, and distance difficulties melt away.

Connections:  Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information

Suppose a student becomes very interested in a particular topic, and the best information available on that topic is only available in another language.  For instance, a philosophy student might be interested in what Russian philosophers have to say about American philosophical schools.  This information can only be found in original Russian texts in written form.  The WWW might be of help here locating original TL texts on this topic.  Another possibility would be to engage in a TL conversation with Russian philosophers, most likely on an electronic Philosophy discussion list.

Comparisons:  Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture

Frequently students ask questions about vocabulary that is simply not within the lexicon of the FL teacher.  No translation might be available for a given phrase or idea, or a radically different way to say what the student wants to express might be most acceptable.  This sort of information can be discovered via electronic discussion lists, newsgroups, and on-line dictionaries on the WWW.

Communities: Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home & Around the World

Students who become excited about FL learning will seek numerous ways outside of class to access the TL.  Electronic communications technologies such as IRC, WWW, newsgroups, electronic discussion groups, or CUSeeMe provide ample opportunities for TL input in a variety of formats.

Now that you have thoroughly examined your motives for incorporating electronic communications technologies into your FL curriculum and have aligned your lesson objectives with the National Standards , it's time to try your hand at creating activities and lessons that pull together all you have learned in this technology module.  You have really covered quite a lot of information and acquired considerable technological skill.  Now, go to Objective #4, Designing lesson plans, and strut your stuff!

Copyright © 1998 Jean W. LeLoup