Multiple Intelligences Emerging Uses of Technology in Language Teaching

Warschauer divided the history of CALL into three phases:

Structural (1970s to 1980s), during which tutorials were developed for use on mainframe computers to provide learners with drill-based grammar practice for the purpose of accuracy;
Communicative (1980s to 1990s), during which personal computers were used for communicative exercises for the purpose of accuracy and fluency; and
Integrative (21st Century), during which multimedia and the Internet have been used to expose learners to authentic language for the purpose of accuracy, fluency, and agency.

Davies, Walker, Rendall, and Hewer (2012) renamed the stages as follows:

Dumb CALL (1970s to 1980s) due to the absence of sound and video capacity at the time;
Multimedia CALL (1990s onwards);
Web CALL (1993 onwards), which was used at first for more behavioristic activities due to the limited capabilities of the web, but allowed more interaction as sound and video quality improved with the advent of Web 2.0.

Some years later, although there is evidence that technology is being used to a lesser or greater degree depending on the context, it appears that there is still some distance to go before full integration. Language education experts generally agree that the holy grail in terms of the use of technology in language education is normalisation, as “the stage when a technology is invisible, hardly even recognised as a technology, taken for granted in everyday life”, when computers in all shapes and sizes will be used “without fear or inhibition, and equally without an exaggerated respect for what they can do. They will not be the centre of any lesson, but they will play a part in almost all… They will go almost unnoticed”. Some concurred that, ideally, language educators should aim for “a dynamic complex in which technology, theory, and pedagogy are inseparably interwoven”.

The options for technology use have expanded considerably since the early days of CALL. In their review of over 350 empirical studies focused on language learning technologies, some examined the effectiveness of a diverse range of technologies, among them learning management systems (LMS), interactive white boards, e-Portfolios, electronic dictionaries, intelligent tutoring systems, grammar checkers, automatic speech recognition, network-based social computing, and mobile and portable devices. Presently, there is a keen interest in mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and growing interest, as well, in robot-assisted language learning (RALL). These terms are briefly discussed in the following sections.

MALL
The literature reveals that learners at different levels of language proficiency use mobile devices, particularly smartphones, for language learning purposes. This usage appears likely to increase as more teachers learn how to better leverage mobile technology to achieve desired language learning outcomes and as learners become more adept at designing their own learning activities . Mobile devices offer convenient access to technology for all learners, but they are especially useful for distance language learners ; as well, they are a powerful tool for migrants and refugees. Yet, in spite of their many affordances, the most common use of mobile devices in language education has been described as behaviorist and teacher-centered, not unlike the use of computers in the early days of CALL. Many language teachers have not yet learned how to tap into the opportunities for communication, collaboration, project-based and task-based learning that mobile devices afford. Furthermore, due to lack of guidance, learners generally limit the use of mobile devices, in terms of their language learning, to online dictionaries and translation tools.

RALL
Inspired by AI (artificial intelligence) technology, the research and development of RALL started around 2004 in a small number of Asian countries. Robots have since proven to be an effective tool for motivating children to learn in foreign language learning contexts where it is often difficult to find native-speaking teachers of the target language. One of the challenges with this technology, however, is its limited ability to recognize children’s speech. Since the concept is still in its infancy, considerable research is needed in the area of RALL to ensure that robots are designed to meet the needs of learners and teachers in different language learning contexts.

As the brief history and evolution of CALL above illustrate, technology use in language learning has progressed considerably since its humble beginnings, but it is still far from full integration. The sections below discuss the opportunities and challenges related to the use of various technologies in language education.

The following list offers an overview of some of the affordances of technology for language education:

• Enables multimodal language activities in which reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are integrated, not isolated, thereby accommodating the strengths of different learners
• Reduces language learning anxiety and increases motivation and participation, e.g., through game-based activities and opportunities to be creative, such as via mashups and digital storytelling
• Enables learners to collaborate, co-construct knowledge, and build communities
• Allows learners to construct a new social identity online which may give them confidence to interact with native speakers, i.e., to find a medium between their first language and the target language
• Facilitates individualized learning experiences for learner-centered instruction, in which learner analytics is expected to play an increasing role as the ability to monitor and track students’ progress increases, e.g., with adaptive learning tools like the online language learning platform Busuu and intelligent language tutors like Chatbot Lucy
• Enables access to big data such as corpora (large collections of authentic language) that can be used by teachers to create authentic learning activities
• Enables immersion in authentic contexts via the use of immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), online games and simulations, and telepresence or videoconferencing tools
• Develops learner autonomy and allows informal learning experiences that empower learners
• Allows learners to explore and engage in meaningful, authentic language practice with native speakers via computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools, such as texting, chats, e-mail, online discussions, blogging, wikis, and web-based word processing, e.g., Google Docs
• Enables computer-adaptive testing, which improves test security and prevents cheating
• Allows for real-time feedback on assessments
• Enables automated feedback on written tasks via automated writing evaluation and chatbots, which can be created by teachers for text chat practice; also enables spoken feedback via automated speech recognition (ASR), although a few reservations have been expressed concerning the effectiveness of ASR for some language learners
• Enables localization (situated learning) and personalization via the use of mobile devices, as with the MASELTOV project (http://www.maseltov.eu/), which proved effective in accommodating the language learning and settlement needs of migrants in Europe
• Facilitates one-on-one language advising/language support between teachers and students via online access

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory has always played a tremendous role in the development and use of CALL, but this is perhaps the greatest hindrance to the use of technology in the teaching of languages other than English, particularly less commonly taught languages. Because SLA theory originated in the field of English as a Second Language (ESL), it applies to some extent to commonly taught languages like Spanish and French that are closely related to English, but it does not apply to languages that are very different, especially those with a non-Roman script.

According to Sauro, studies published in four CALL journals during the four-year period from 2012 to 2016 focused on 16 languages, including one artificial language and one Native American language. English was identified as the focus of 64% of the studies. In her commentary, Sauro, a teacher and CALL practitioner in a teacher education program in Sweden, referred to a 2015 influx of about 163,000 refugees, over 35,000 of whom were unaccompanied minors, and all of whom needed to learn Swedish. Much existing CALL research did not apply to teaching Swedish; as a result, the pre-service teachers with whom she worked were not convinced of the relevancy of the literature to their context. Sauro and her pre-service teachers were further disappointed to find that although Swedish was one of the languages featured on the popular, free language learning platform, Duolingo, the user interface was English, making it inaccessible for anyone who did not know English. An overwhelming focus in CALL literature on technology use for the purpose of English language instruction has been viewed by others as a prevailing issue.

The following presents additional challenges with technology use in language education, a few of which are common to other teaching disciplines.

• Godwin-Jones observed that exposure to different types of online genres provides opportunities for learners to become acquainted with informal language not typically found in textbooks. Someone found this somewhat problematic in that “CMC language is often less correct, less complex, less coherent than other forms of language use” and that learners might lack the ability to distinguish between standard and non-standard uses of language; thus, he advised teaching students appropriate registers (levels of formal and informal language) for different communicative contexts. someone offered similar advice. Further suggested that the dynamic nature of speaker identity in online cultural interaction requires teachers to help learners make sense of such language exchanges. Somewhat related, someone cautioned against learner reliance on translation tools that might miss cultural nuances.
• As learning becomes more personalized, teachers in all disciplines are increasingly required to take on new roles such as facilitating and guiding. Adoption of new roles may be disruptive for some, particularly those who lack the know-how to effectively adapt technology for use in their specific context; yet, they will need to take on the responsibility of researching and testing tools for learners to use inside and outside the classroom someone suggested that these tasks might be facilitated by a basic working knowledge of the design and coding of certain digital tools. Such expectations of teacher autonomy may seem daunting, but enrolment in a MOOC or active participation in a community of practice (CoP) are two recommended ways to gain the skills and knowledge to ease the process.
• To reasonably assess the use of the technologies they wish to incorporate into their teaching, teachers need to acquire practical knowledge of such tools; as well, they should be prepared to train learners, even the most tech-savvy ones, to use various tools effectively, to reduce anxiety and cognitive load, and enable achievement of language learning goals. This is critical for learners of less commonly taught languages, who should be provided with resources and training early in their language learning experience.

Given the indications in the literature as to the need for increased leveraging of mobile devices, a tool such as VoiceThread (https://voicethread.com/), which allows users to create and share images and videos (among other files) on their smartphones, and to comment by microphone, phone, or webcam, might be used following a field trip to enable students to present photos and/or videos related to the trip and comment on files uploaded by their peers. Applied in such a manner, VoiceThread would encourage creative expression, allow student-to-student interaction, and enable learner-centered, multimodal language activities. VoiceThread can also be integrated with a number of LMS such as Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard; and learner usage can be monitored and tracked, facilitating assessments of each learner’s progress.

The leading questions with technology use in language education appear to connect to a absence of studies on a diversity of languages in CALL research. More studies on technology use for younger language learners are needed. Perhaps future research will bring increased focus on these areas.

In spite of the obstacles that have yet to be overcomed, this much is evident: in this age of automation, language teachers don’t need to fear being replaced by technology. They will still be needed to help learners make sense of the cultural variations of language.

Second Language Teaching and Learning with Technology Views of Emergent Researchers

Although technology has become embedded in our everyday life, researchers and practitioners constantly strive to find ways of incorporating technology in education, with language learning being one of those fields (Garrett, 2009). Numerous publications on this subject are available, mostly on condition that one is affiliated with a university, and that this university subscribes to a broad spectrum of publications. With the aim of widening free access research publications, we have elaborated a peer-reviewed eBook published under a Creative Commons licence which provides not only protection but also freedom for authors and editors. Young researchers from a variety of countries participated with a chapter of their ongoing projects.

Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching

In this early part of the 21st century the range of technologies available for use in language learning and teaching has become very diverse and the ways that they are being used in classrooms all over the world, as illustrated in this book, have become central to language practice. We are now firmly embedded in a time when digital technologies, the focus of this book, are what Bax has referred to as ‘normalised’ (2003, 2011) in daily life in many parts of the world, although not amongst all people as there are digital divisions everywhere (Warschauer, 2003), and still not always in the world of education. However, digital tools, or what I will describe in Chapter 7 as ‘technical cultural artefacts’ have long been a feature of the world of education (Bates, 2005), and particularly language education (Salaberry, 2001). These digital tools are, of course, central in what I would argue is the established and recognised field of computer assisted language learning (CALL), but are also increasingly a core part of English language teaching (ELT) in general.