As part of Language Methodology, Dr Liam Morgan provided us with this interesting reading. An easy and enjoybale read. It is a comprehensive and thorough evaluation of IT in the LOTE classroom, located within a sound theoretical framework (for those in Sue’s and Liam’s classes – plenty of references to ol’ Richards and Rodgers). The report reinforces my own opinion on several fronts:

• Technology Based Language Resources need to be carefully selected according to their paedagocial potential. There are many resources with al lthe “bells and whistles” which are dominated by technology and do not make the language use and learning the main concern
• Learner differences; Even the best and “paedagogically sound” ICT material may not appeal to all students at the same time, highlighting the need to make it one of many varied approaches to language teaching.
• And on the same vein – despite the fact that more kids than ever before are extremely tech-sazzy, ICT knowledge can’t be judged to be universal and a given for every kid in the classroom. So where we make use of ICT, we need to be sure that the kids are familiar enough with the technology to get learning out of the activity (and that’s not the type of learning related to being able to navigate around on a PC or MAC).

Another interesting point raised in the article was that with falling numbers of LOTE classes, ICT may offer a financially viable alternative to offering foreign languages. Where schools can’t put on a particular foreign language becasue there’s only 3 or 4 students interested, a “virtual classroom” (like we use for this subject) may be an alternative. But of course, there is heaps of  logistical and techological groundwork to be done to set this up (plus finding a teacher who’s willing to take on such a challenge).

Overall the best read I had so far in regards to this topic and language learning.