Watching this TeacherTube video made me think of different aspects of language that can be explored through technology and the answer is all!!!!!Students have access to all sorts of resources on the net that in traditional classroom would be impossible to obtain. Through the net they can research different aspects of culture, such as customs, traditions, food, movies, songs, history etc. which will get them to appreciate and understand the language and people from that particular country and it will also get them to make cross-cultural connections.
We as language teachers can then give them the freedom and choice of presenting and demonstrating their findings and understandings through the use of different technologies such as power point, videos, podcasts etc. where they can use their imagination, strengthen their learning and at the same time share their creations and get a feedback on their progress. For example, students can create a brochure about a city or a country in which the target language is spoken by collecting information from research from the Internet, which can be enhanced with images downloaded from the Web; students can create a PowerPoint presentation about themselves or any other topic, using learned vocabulary with scanned photos and clipart etc. These are just a few examples, but the choice of technology and activity will depend on the students’ age, level of language and the topic studied.
Online activities and games (e.g. Languages online), web quests can come in handy for practicing language vocab and structure. It’s fun for them and it’s getting them to learn. Things like e-mail and blogs can also be used for the practice phase of language learning, but I think that these would be more appropriate for advanced learners. By incorporating technology we are basically expending our classroom outside the walls.
Technology in the World Language Classroom. http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5c68a54010b61b3e94b0
Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/512754373_8f29b305fd.jpg?v=0
