 Terence
W. Cavanaugh Ph. D. |
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Adult ESOL & Technology Terence
Cavanaugh Ph.D. tcavanau@unf.edu We
are teaching in a standards based educational world which includes the concepts,
methodologies, and practices concerning English as a second language and
technology. Consider
these two statements from national organizations that set our teaching
standards: (ISTE: International Society for Technology in Education & TESOL:
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) ISTE:
the most effective learning environments meld traditional approaches and
new approaches to facilitate learning of relevant content while addressing
individual needs. The resulting learning environments should prepare students to §
Communicate using a
variety of media and formats §
Access and exchange
information in a variety of ways §
Compile, organize and
synthesize information §
Know content and be able
to locate additional information as needed §
Become self-directed
learners §
Collaborate and cooperate
in team efforts §
Interact with others in
ethical and appropriate ways (ISTE. 2000. National Educational Technology Standards for Student: Connecting Curriculum and Technology. Eugene, OR: Author.) TESOL:
teachers should use the following strategies in implementing
standards-based instruction: §
Organize learning around
what students need to know and be able to do §
Enrich their teaching by
cultivating students’ higher order thinking skills §
Guide
student inquiry by posing real-world tasks §
Emphasize holistic
concepts §
Provide a variety of
opportunities for students to explore and confront concepts and situations §
Use multiple sources of
information §
Work in interdisciplinary
teams §
Use multiple forms of
assessment to gather concrete evidence of student abilities (Irujo, S. ed. 2000. Integrating ESOL standards into classroom practice. Alexandria, VA: TESOL, Inc.) There exists the need for teachers to meld of these two areas: Technology and ESOL. Teachers in of ESOL students or in ESOL classrooms need to apply strategies, knowledge and skills to effectively integrate the technology to improve the achievement of their students. The use of educational technologies can be an effective method to meet the unique educational challenges of limited English proficient students, assisting them to effectively communicate with others while developing primary target language skills. Research on students using technology within the context of
specific subject areas shows many benefits. Students using word processing feel
more positive about their writing skills, improve the quality and fluency of
their writing, are more self-motivated in writing, are motivated to achieve
literacy, improved in literacy, and want to write more. Using word processing
software has been found to develop more time spent on revising writing drafts,
higher quality revisions, and increased the length of writing. When using word
processors students more readily developed conceptual abilities, composed more
fluently, and produced enhanced science-related documents. Word processing
caused students to overlook fewer errors and make fewer errors (Poole, B. 1997.
Education in the Information Age. Boston: McGraw-Hill.). Students had higher
comprehension scores after reading electronic text than after reading printed
text (Bitter, G & Pierson, M. 1999. Using Technology in the Classroom.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.). This
finding could be even more effective for ESOL students using today interactive
text documents such as eBooks. Generally
students using computers for learning math and problem-solving showed greater
achievement gains, learned concepts more effectively, and scored higher on
measures of ability to transfer skills to other areas of mathematics. Students
who used computers in the science classroom achieved more from computer-based
labs than from conventional activities, more effectively learned to generate
graphs and analyze data, more easily transferred understanding from one type of
physical activity to another, and gained data-handling skills likely to be
valuable throughout life. Students accessing information electronically were
able to get information faster and develop research skills (Poole, B. 1997.
Education in the Information Age. Boston: McGraw-Hill.). Nationally, in recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of students enrolling in school ESOL programs. Often, ESOL students are children who come from economically disadvantaged households, and they are therefore far less likely than their native English-speaking classmates to arrive in school with technology skills. In fact, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration reports on the digital divide in “Falling through the Net” that about half as many minority households have computers as white households. (NTIA. 2000. Falling through the Net. Online at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/net2/falling.html) ESOL students often are facing not only challenges of learning a new language, but also that of assimilating into a new culture and learning subject matter in a new language. For these students technology is a tool that has the potential to not only assist them in meeting content standards, but also as a pathway to employment and further education. Not only can educational technology provide tools especially designed for the language development and content area learning of ESOL students, but technology in ESOL classrooms can also begin to close the digital divide for these students. Surveys of employers and higher education institutions show that students must leave school with strong skills in communication, cooperation, problem solving, and self-direction. ESOL students begin their education in Florida’s schools with a significant deficit in English communication. In order for the learning, language and technology gaps to be closed, teachers of ESOL students need expanded access to technology equipment, resources, and effective integration methods for the specific needs of their students. Sample TechnologiesDVD Inspiration Software Screen Reader – Read Please 2000 Translation – www.freetranslation.com American
Council on Teaching Foreign Language Standards ESOL
teacher Standard
3.d. Using resources effectively in ESL instruction
Candidates
are familiar with a wide range of resources and technologies and choose, adapt,
and use them in effective ESL teaching, including ESL curriculum books and
materials, trade books and materials, audiovisual materials and published and
on-line multimedia materials. Supporting
explanation
Instructional
materials and tools ESL teachers use should help support their practice.
Selecting materials for ESOL students presents unique challenges. Candidates
learn to provide materials that are rich, interesting, motivating and culturally
responsive — either connecting to students' previous cultural experiences
and/or providing necessary background information needed to understand the
materials. Candidates must also know how to assure that materials are linguistically
accessible and age-appropriate. Candidates must match materials to
the range of developing language and content-area abilities of students at
various stages of learning. Teachers must also determine how and when it is
appropriate to use first language resources to support English language
learning. Candidates
must be capable of finding, creating, and using a wide range of print and
non-print resources: books, videos, audio tapes, visuals, props, visual
aids, published texts, environmental print, realia, content-area resources,
hands-on learning materials, etc. Candidates
must also be knowledgeable regarding the selection and use of technological
tools to enhance language instruction, including computer software and
Internet resources. In addition, candidates must understand their advocacy
role in assuring instruction in the use of technology and access
to technological tools for learners of English. 3.d.4. Use
technological tools to enhance language and content-area instruction.
3.d.5. Use software and
internet resources effectively in ESL instruction.
5.b.3. Advocate for
student access to all available academic resources, including technology.
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