Task 2b: Affordances of Laptops for Language Teaching and Learning

For years, laptops have become a common teaching and learning tool and served a crucial, useful role in education. According to Penuel (2006, p. 330), in the United States, there has been a significant effort to develop one-to-one initiatives designed to provide each student with a computer to assist in academic learning almost ten years. As a worldwide trend, many laptop initiatives have been launched in many countries (Inan & Lowther 2010, p. 937). Many educational institutions require laptops of students and the cost of the laptop is included in the tuition as the laptop has tremendous teaching and learning values.

Unlike desktop computers, which are not easily carried or handy, laptops are designed to be light and portable. In reference to Siegle and Foster (2001, p. 30), the portability of laptops is attractive to a lot of teachers who have limited equipment or seek greater mobility and access for students. Laptops have the same general functions as desktop computers, but with their convenient size and innovative design, they have become more popular and helpful for learning and teaching. For academic purposes, such as research, teaching and learning, laptop computers can be used anyplace and anytime, whenever it is convenient for the users. Students can do their assignments with personal laptops in the library, on the train, in the canteen, in class, at home and wherever they are comfortable to work with their laptops.

Demb, Erickson and Hawkins-Wiling (2004, p. 395) discovered that for about two-thirds of the students in the study, the laptop rendered a crucial difference in study habits and to their academic and social lives as they realized that laptops assisted with classroom assignments, email, communication and research. Today research papers are published electronically, so it is very comfortable for learners to study from these online published research articles. Learners can simply download such electronic research in case that they like to save it in their computers.

Teachers can make use of computer laptops to make their class more interesting. Raising students’ interest is important in that it promotes students’ autonomous learning. With Internet connection, instructors have many different choices of teaching methods and materials. Teachers of English writing, for example, might have students review their peers’ writings or give feedback for students’ writings via e-mail to make the way of giving feedback different from the traditional pen-and-paper way of doing so. Communication via e-mail helps increase interaction between teachers and students as it decrease students’ anxiety to encounter teachers face to face. According to Dahlman and Rilling (2001, p. 7), their study revealed that most of the students considered the use of computers a modern and effective way of taking on tasks and they enjoyed communicating with the teacher via e-mail because they obtained timely feedback.

The frequently used applications necessary and helpful for classroom tasks are the Office applications, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. With reference to Siegle and Foster’s (2001, p. 34) observations, students gained substantial benefit from using laptops to create PowerPoint presentation slides, review information, complete exercises and prepare for exams.

For not just students but also teachers, the Office applications are beneficial as they greatly facilitate teachers’ jobs, such as teaching material production, assessment procedures and creating PowerPoint slides. Teachers can connect laptops with printers or photocopy machines for making a number of material copies for students. Besides, laptops are compatible with CDs, DVDs, interactive whiteboards, projectors and televisions. Therefore, by assistance of laptops in teaching, teachers have a wider variety of teaching methods and materials.

Specifically facilitating language teaching and learning, laptops enable teachers and students to access the Internet. If classrooms are well-equipped with wireless access, teachers and students can connect laptops to the available Internet network and surf the Internet on purpose. The Internet is a teaching and learning resource bank and a classroom tool. Demb et al. (2004, p. 384) indicate that laptops foster access to communication via email, chat rooms, bulletin boards and instant messaging, leading to more timely interaction, particularly interaction about specific topics or projects. Laptops mediate the initiative ways of language instruction, especially through online communication tools, such as email, discussion forums and blogs. One of the effective network-based communication tools that promote collaborative learning is an online discussion forum.

The Laptop computer is the technology that mediates online discussion forums contributing to online communication among students. AbuSeileek (2009, p. 320) states that one of the CALL formats beneficial for language learning or teaching is online language learning. As it is portable and can be connected to a wired or wireless network, the laptop, with the same functions as the desktop that students are used to, promotes increased participation in the online discussion forums that are highly beneficial for second language learners. Online discussion forums, thereby, will increase interaction, collaboration among students and encourage students’ critical thinking.

An online discussion forum is an asynchronous network-based tool language teachers can integrate with traditional classroom instruction. It is a platform for asynchronous collaborative activities which can be accessed at anytime whenever the individual leaner wants (Dooly 2007, p. 218). Dooly (2007) also points out asynchronous delivery may be the most effective way for autonomous pair work, for extensive reading or writing activities and for taking part in questions, concerns and long debates. Incorporation of an online discussion forum into traditional classroom opens up considerable, favorable opportunities for more effective and innovative language teaching and learning.

First of all, an online discussion forum creates interactive learning environment. It helps increase interaction between teachers and learners and among learners without time constraint. O’Dowd (2007, p. 25) mentions that one of the reasons for the achievement of online technologies in foreign language teaching and learning is the opportunity for teachers to enhance student interaction for better fluency in the target language.

Second, as an online discussion forum is an asynchronous communication format, it allows students more time to understanding the language features and ideas shared in the forum board than face-to-face communication does. Thereby, it helps decrease communication anxiety of students. In other words, students will feel more comfortable to take their time in pondering the perspectives of other students and to participate in discussion. This results in increased student participation.

Third, in the online discussion forum, students can choose to communicate with others in various ways of their choice. They can depict their work and share pictures or videos which help make their points more concrete, credible and even interesting. As a consequence, an online forum renders serious discussion on academic topics more fun, thereby engaging students’ interest and attention. Also, students can post a link to another relevant website for the forum participants to explore further information.

Laptop computers facilitate students’ learning, contributing to better learning development. For students’ writing, laptops prove highly beneficial. According to Warschauer, Arada and Zheng (2010, p. 221), the apparent effect of individual laptop use is on students’ writing. Laptops help students with grammar check, spelling check and formatting tools. It is convenient for students to edit their work whenever they want. Students can make use of online dictionaries in refinement of their work.

Integrated-technology instruction with use of laptops fosters student autonomy and student-centered learning environment. According to Slunt and Giancarlo (2004, p. 985), in learner-centered activities, students are energetically involved in the learning process rather than allowed to passively collect information from a traditionally delivered lecture. Weimer (2002, cited in Wright 2011, p. 93) points out that in the student-centered classroom, the roles of the teacher and student change so that the teacher alters from the “sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side” who regards students as seekers to be guided along their intellectual developmental journey. For example, teachers use Internet-connected laptops to contact students via online social network and suggest software packages or websites where by using their laptops, students themselves can learn about writing components, such as grammar, word choice and organization and find model essays or useful phrases for their writing.

According to Penuel (2006, p. 340), supplying students with more ubiquitous access to computers allows them more practice in employing technology. Besides, familiarity of using computers helps prepare students for use of technology in the workplace before they enter their chosen profession.

With regard to Demb et al. (2004, p. 384) laptops allow students more opportunities to work on academic projects individually, to foster group work or to explore class work with peers because students can use laptops in campus areas outside classroom. Therefore, students are likely to obtain better exam results and to achieve greater academic success according to the objectives of the subject or project.

With regard to Siegle and Foster (2001, p. 34), laptops with accompanying software had a beneficial impact on students’ course grades. Teachers might suggest or provide students with a free software application related to the subject for students practice certain skills on their own.

My intention is to teach English grammar and writing to EFL students, and my target students are the university students from intermediate to advanced level. Normally, they have a personal laptop that is a primarily used tool for access to the discussion forum. In the university, students can access the online forum at anytime through free wireless network connection facilitated by the university. They can engage in the online forum at any place and time whenever it is convenient for them to connect to the Internet. Kern (2000, cited in Ware & Canado 2007, p. 110) suggests that the elements of academic writing and synchronous writing can be used to enhance overall literate competence in the target language. One of the effective collaborative activities which help increase grammatical knowledge is peer feedback. According to Ware and Canado (2007, p. 109), peer feedback on language form and use contributes to students’ improvement as advanced language users. Thereby, one of the tasks I will assign to my students will be a peer review through an online classroom forum.

In conclusion, laptops are advantageous for language teaching and learning in many aspects. They help promote interaction among instructors and students, students’ autonomy, authenticity of the tasks and teaching materials, teaching assistance, collaborative learning environment and communication among students. However, it should be noted that all have both positive and negative sides, so it is suggested that technologies in classroom practice should be employed with appropriate pedagogic guidance by the instructors.

References

AbuSeileek, AF 2009, “The effect of using an online-based course on the learning of grammar inductively and deductively”, ReCALL, vol. 21, no.3, pp319-336.

Dahlman, A. & Rilling, S. 2001, ‘Integrating technologies and tasks in an EFL distance learning course in Finland", TESOL Journal, vol.10, no.1, pp.4-8.

Demb, A, Erickson, D & Hawkins-Wiling, S (2004), ‘The laptop alternative: Student reactions and strategic implications’, Computers & Education, vol.43, no.4, pp383-401.

Dooly, M 2007, Choosing the Appropriate Communication Tools for an Online Exchange, Online Intercultural Exchange: An Introduction for Foreign Language Teachers, Robert O’Dowd (ed.), Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.

Inan, FA & Lowther, DL 2010, ‘Laptops in the K-12 classrooms: Exploring factors impacting instructional use’, Computers & Education, vol.55, no.3, pp937-944.

Kern, R 2000, Literacy and Language Teaching, Oxford University Press, Oxford, cited in Ware, PD & Canado, M 2007, Grammar and Feedback: Turning to Language Form in Telecollaboration, Online Intercultural Exchange: An Introduction for Foreign Language Teachers, Robert O’Dowd (ed.), Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, p.110.

McLinden, M, McCall, S, Hinton, D & Weston, A 2006, ‘Participation in online problem-based learning: Insights from postgraduate teachers studying through open and distance education’, Distance Education, vol.27, no.3, pp331-353.

O’Dowd, R 2007, Foreign Language Education and the Rise of Online Communication: A Review of Promises and Realities, Online Intercultural Exchange: An Introduction for Foreign Language Teachers, Robert O’Dowd (ed.), Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.

Penuel, WR 2006, ‘Implementation and effects of one-to-one computing initiatives: a research synthesis’, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol.38, no.3, pp329-348.

Siegle, D & Foster, T 2001, ‘Laptop computers and multimedia and presentation software: Their effects on student achievement in anatomy and physiology’, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol.34, no.1, pp29-37.

Slunt, KM & Giancarlo, LC 2004, ‘Student-centered learning: A comparison of two different methods of instruction’, Journal of Chemical Education, vol.81, no.7, pp985-988.

Warschauer, M, Arada, K & Zheng, B 2010, ‘Digital literacies: Laptops and Inspired Writing’, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol.54, no.3, pp221-223.

Ware, PD & Canado, M 2007, Grammar and Feedback: Turning to Language Form in Telecollaboration, Online Intercultural Exchange: An Introduction for Foreign Language Teachers, Robert O’Dowd (ed.), Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.

Weimer, M 2002, Learner-centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, cited in Wright, GB 2011, ‘Student-centered learning in higher education’, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, vol.23, no.3, p.93.

6. A Review of an Online Resource "Manythings"

Manythings.org targets ESL or EFL learners. It is non-commercial and does not contain any advertisements. Covering the macro-skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, it offers various CALL activities, including quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams and a random-sentence generator. TESOL teachers, especially those who teach English pronunciation, may find it practically useful for English language teaching and use the exercises provided in the website in teaching pronunciation to their students. Teachers of English pronunciation will find the website beneficial for their students and helpful in pronunciation instruction. The website’s section that aims at pronunciation practice is accessible through the link provided “http://www.manythings.org/pp/”. It is appropriate for ESL students of all levels. The front page is well-organized, presenting the contents of the website. Teachers and students can directly access the interested contents, including game-like minimal pair practice and quizzes and “listen and repeat” videos with which students can practice segmental and suprasegmentals of pronunciation, such as consonants, consonant clusters, r-controlled vowels, diphthongs and stressing two-syllable words. What is more, it has some fun activities, such as tongue twisters, song and poems. Also, the opening page supplies the instructions on how to use the pages of the activity for minimal pair practice. There are several additional, intriguing, embedded videos varying in the selected elements of English pronunciation. As there are many sets of minimal pair exercises, teachers can choose one set of the minimal pair exercises related to sounds in the present lesson and have the students practice such sounds through the selected set of exercises. Alternatively, teachers may recommend the website to their students so that students can access the website to practice at any time.

5. A Review of an Online Resource "Pronunciation Tips"

“Pronunciation Tips” by BBC Learning English offers a variety of resources, including videos, quizzes, activities and downloads. It is appropriate for everyone who likes to learn about and enhance English pronunciation. The URL for the Pronunciation Tips is http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/. Interestingly, Pronunciation Tips provides a series of videos presenting pronunciation of each sound represented by a particular phonetic symbol with example words in which the sound exists and the difference between a long and short sound. Also, it gives the audio recordings of the words for learners to practice differentiating the contrast in the two sounds different in length. Teachers may use this function in demonstrating that the same sound can occur from different spellings. What is more, it supplies interactive and downloadable exercises on other features of English pronunciation, including sounds and spelling, schwa, connected speech and voicing together with the explanation in detail. Teachers can print these exercises and hand them out to the students for them to increase their understanding of these elements of pronunciation. The answers for these exercises are given. There are five quizzes about sound symbols, similar sounds, spelling, pronunciation and listening for sounds from easy to medium level. The quizzes are printable and the recordings for the print version of the quiz are downloadable.

4. A Review of an Online Resource "Rachel's English"

Rachel’s English is a website comprising a series of video recordings presenting pronunciation of American English sounds. It is appropriate for everyone who likes to improve American English pronunciation. Through the video recordings giving credible, detailed explanation by a native speaker of American English, TESOL teachers, especially non-native English teachers, can learn not just how each sound is created but also how to explain the sound production to their students. The website is well-designed, so it is easy for the web users to navigate through all sections of the website. There are a series of videos thoroughly explaining the place of articulation of each sound. In such video recordings, as a presenter is pronouncing a particular sound, there are the drawings of the articulatory organs on the presenter’s face to illustrate the anatomy of the mouth together with a description of how the sound is produced and the movement of the articulatory organs. It is highly helpful for teachers to use these videos in teaching their students the place of articulation. The videos teach how to pronounce individual sounds, covering consonants, vowels and diphthongs, accompanied by example words and stressing of the words. A video text or transcript of a video is provided under the selected video.