Teaching Languages with Technology

Communicative Approaches to Interactive Whiteboard Use

Euline Cutrim Schmid, Shona Whyte

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781623568825
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sprachen & Linguistik
• Subtopic: Sprachwissenschaft

This book draws on theories of second language acquisition (SLA) to illustrate how interactive white board technology can be exploited to support language acquisition. It examines interaction, collaboration and negotiation of meaning and focus on form in the communicative language classroom in primary, secondary and vocational schools. In recent years new technologies have been incorporated into second and foreign language education as tools for implementing teaching methodologies. IWBs have established their role in the field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and are an effective and inspiring tool which motivates both teachers and learners. Although the number of IWBs in classrooms has rapidly increased over the past decade in many parts of the world, teacher training materials and pedagogical support for the design, evaluation and implementation of IWB-based materials in the foreign language classroom has not kept pace. Research also shows that language teachers do not always use IWBs in pedagogically sound ways. There is a real need for the development of training models and examples of good practice which can support teachers in developing the necessary competencies for exploiting the IWB in ways consistent with current theories of language teaching pedagogy.This book provides that best practice and gives a full account of in-depth research in an accessible manner.

PART ONE

Case studies

1

The IWB in language education for learners with special educational needs: learning Welsh at primary school

Emily Hillier and Gary Beauchamp

Reflective Questions

Before reading

1 ‘The multimodal features of the interactive whiteboard make it very effective for promoting a fully inclusive language learning classroom.’ Debate whether you agree or disagree with this statement, and discuss which modes of information and communication technology (ICT) you think are most effective for teaching learners with special educational needs (SEN).

2 Using the headings in the table below, make a list of how the features of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) could be used in second language lessons to support the following SEN. Add extra headings to the table for different SEN that may be relevant for your setting:

	Dyslexia	Autism	Visual impairment	Motor control difficulties	(add here)	(add here)
Features of the IWB

Introduction

Although there has been a long history of research into the benefits of using ICT for all pupils in an educational setting, it is only more recently that a growing body of research has developed highlighting the particular benefits of ICT for learners with SEN or learning difficulties. This has developed in the context of underlying debates around ‘integration’ and ‘inclusion’ in UK policy and practice (Dyson et al., 2004; Office for Standards in Education, 2004; Stevens, 2004). Both of these concepts, and the distinction between them, need to be explored to contextualize the use of ICT in general, and the IWB in particular, within SEN education.

The starting point in the United Kingdom was the 1944 Education Act, which, as well as providing free education for all, ‘constructed a highly segregative post-war education system with its ten categories of handicap for which special schools would cater’ (Thomas et al., 2005, p. 18). This resulted in a minority of pupils being placed in ‘special’ schools, catering only for pupils with SEN, with the majority of pupils in ‘mainstream’ schools. Subsequent changes in policy meant that some pupils with special needs were moved into the mainstream system and provided with ‘planned and continuous interaction with other children within common educational systems and settings’ (Jones, 2004, p. 12).

This process of ‘inclusion’ describes ‘efforts made to include students with a range of physical, sensory, communication or cognitive disabilities in both learning and wider social opportunities’ (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA), 2003a). Since then, reflecting wider concerns over rights, participation and social justice outside education, there has been a move away from ‘integration’ towards ‘inclusion’ for all. The distinction is summed up as follows: ‘with inclusion the mainstream school reorganises its structures to accommodate children regardless of their needs. Integration on the other hand leaves the school structure unchanged and the child’s task is to assimilate into an unchanged school environment’ (Woolfson, 2011, p. 175).

Two relatively recent political landmarks, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2001, have emerged in the United Kingdom, based on the notion of inclusive practice, with the intention to strengthen the support given to children with SEN in a mainstream setting working alongside children who do not have SEN (as opposed to a ‘special’ school where all children have SEN).

Although such developments in policy imply positive steps towards inclusion, some researchers remain sceptical. This is due to the difficulties of changing practice that was deep-rooted in previous systems, the existence of contradictory policies and associated assessment systems that create competitiveness among schools (Bines, 2000). One way in which practitioners can make ‘reasonable adjustments’ and help with inclusion is through the use of ICT – but it is important to note that the use of ICT alone is not a panacea. Research suggests there are many benefits of ICT for SEN, not just for learners themselves, but also for teachers and parents (BECTA, 2003a). Non-specific benefits include:

• enhanced learner autonomy;

• demonstration of achievement that is unattainable through traditional methods;

• greater communication;

• activities can be tailored to suit individual needs (BECTA, 2003a).

While Bines (2000) argues that policies such as the introduction of a National Curriculum (1988) contradict inclusive policies, specific language learning initiatives, such as ‘Language for All’ (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2002), which seek to allow all learners the opportunity to learn a second language, have been a product of such standardization. A body of research investigating how ICT can be used to support learners with SEN in language learning contexts has subsequently emerged. However, there remains a dearth of research that explores the specific use of the IWB to support learners with SEN in this context, which this chapter aims to address.

The chapter will provide a summary of recent research and literature relating to ways in which ICT can be used to support learners with SEN in second language learning, before highlighting the smaller body of research that focuses on this issue in relation to IWBs. A case study conducted in a mainstream primary school in Wales will be outlined, describing the ways in which the IWB was used to support two learners with SEN. Key findings that emerged from interviewing the teacher about the use of the IWB, including a discussion of various IWB tools that can be used, are discussed. The chapter will conclude with suggestions for future research and points for discussion for further reflection.

Literature review

Language learning in UK primary schools

Despite shifts to integrate second language learning into UK primary schools and the apparent advantages of introducing such learning at a relatively young age, Cameron (2001) argues that research illustrating the UK experience of second language learning in primary schools is not always a positive one. This suggests that a consideration of how second language teaching and learning is integrated into the school context is important.

The implementation of second language teaching and learning has been based on a variety of second language acquisition theories that draw on a range of theoretical landscapes including sociological, psychological and behavioural. Recent research, however, suggests that the influx of emerging technologies has led to a general shift from cognitive linguistic perspectives towards a socio-constructivist and communicative approach to second language education (Lantolf, 2000). The focal point of this approach is summarized by Chapelle (2009, p. 747), who asserts that ‘From this perspective, the communication the language learner engages in with peers and others using the target language is critical to the development of language and intercultural competence’.

Chapelle (2009) also suggests that the bridge between technology and language learning has provoked interest from a variety of stakeholders, including teachers, learners and the government. As a result, some work has been carried out to explore the design and evaluation of related computer-assisted language learning materials (Ellis, 1998; Tomlinson, 2003). One of the recurring principles used to design and evaluate these learning materials is the need to ensure that learners are exposed to second language learning using an authentic context, so that learners can associate the language learning they experience in the classroom with the language that they will require outside the classroom in a real-life context (Chapelle, 2001; Tomlinson, 2003).

Language learning and SEN

Even though the development of a National Curriculum can be interpreted as contradicting the individual needs of learners with SEN (Bines, 2000), such reform has allowed all learners with SEN the entitlement to have a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ (Meiring & Norman, 2005, p. 129). The landmark Warnock Report (1978) was originally responsible for this, and it was later preserved in the Education Act 1981 and Education Reform Act 1988 (Warnock, 2010). Prior to this shift, certain subjects, including foreign language learning, were only offered to a small minority of learners across secondary schools rather than to all learners (Meiring & Norman, 2005).

The introduction of a National Curriculum in 1988 had an impact on many other subsequent initiatives, which sought to enable opportunities for all learners, including the ‘Languages for All’ strateg...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Notes on contributors
• Editorial Advisory Board
• Foreword: interactive whiteboards – against the odds?
• Introduction: Theory and practice in second language teaching with interactive technologies, Shona Whyte
• Part One Case studies
• 1 The IWB in language education for learners with special educational needs: learning Welsh at primary school, Emily Hillier and Gary Beauchamp
• 2 A task-based approach to video communication with the IWB: a French–German primary EFL class exchange, Shona Whyte and Euline Cutrim Schmid
• 3 Digital storytelling in the primary EFL classroom, Anika Kegenhof
• 4 The IWB in the CLIL classroom: using visuals to foster active learning with young beginners, Helene Sailer, Euline Cutrim Schmid and Ton Koenraad
• 5 Using the IWB to support gamification in order to enhance writing fluency in the secondary language classroom, Graham Stanley
• 6 Exploring IWB use for language instruction in Turkish higher education settings, Serkan Çelik
• 7 Academic teacher training and the IWB: coaching pre-service teachers in Belgium, Margret Oberhofer, Mathea Simons and Tom F. H. Smits
• Part Two Final recommendations
• 8 Ongoing professional development in IWB-mediated language teaching: evening up the odds, Euline Cutrim Schmid and Shona Whyte
• Part Three Glossary
• Glossary
• Index
• Copyright