Incorporating Digital Storytelling in the English Language Class for Korean University Students

The purpose of this project is to suggest practical ways to incorporate digital storytelling in the English classroom at the university level. To be specific, this project provides curriculum which includes set of practical activities and free digital media resources teachers can adapt. Using such devices for learning in a classroom will increase the students’ motivation for learning (Hagood & Skinner, 2008; Reinders, 2011). Each activity and lesson is focused on students being able to create their own digital story. Student will select a topic for their digital story and each lesson outlines how to develop the story using a step-by-step process. The primary goal of this project is to provide teacher a curriculum that incorporates digital storytelling to help students improve their overall English proficiency. Teachers will develop an understanding of how to incorporate students’ personal electronic devices in their classrooms. Students will learn communicative skill while they brainstorm a topic for their digital story, write and revise a script, and record and edit their voiceover narrative

Perceptions, practices, and attitudes on the use of technology in the English as a Foreign Language classroom: The iPad in the Andorran school system

Over the years, computers and mobile devices have transformed the way the English language is taught at school. While numerous bodies of literature are available globally regarding computer- and mobile-aided language learning, this field has never been explored in the local context of Andorra. This research thus aims to study the teachers’ and students’ perceptions, practices, and attitudes on the use of iPads in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in the Andorran school system. Guided by the interpretive-constructivist paradigm, it uses qualitative research design, employing ethnography as its methodology, to gather detailed and grounded answers to the research questions. Classroom observations, semi-structured focus group interviews, and questionnaires were used to collect data from English teachers and EFL students of the first and second levels of Andorran secondary schools. Qualitative data analysis and descriptive statistics were carried out to process the information. Findings reveal that the users have positive perceptions towards the use of iPads in English classes and the technology is used primarily to accomplish tasks identified in the course curriculum guidelines. Their attitudes are mostly favorable towards iPads especially due to the perceived benefits of inclusivity, flexibility, increased engagement, and more efficient production of better outputs. However, there are also some drawbacks identified, such as distraction, dependency, and saturation. Further studies are recommended to explore the benefits of using tablets in educational management and technology.Al llarg dels anys, els ordinadors i els dispositius mòbils han transformat la manera d’ensenyar anglès a l’escola. Tot i que hi ha força bibliografia disponible d’àmbit mundial sobre l’aprenentatge de llengües assistit per ordinador i dispositius mòbils, aquest camp no ha estat mai explorat en el context local d’Andorra. Aquesta investigació pretén, doncs, estudiar les percepcions, les pràctiques i les actituds dels professors i dels estudiants sobre l’ús dels iPads a les classes d’anglès del sistema educatiu andorrà. Guiat pel paradigma interpretatiu i constructivista, l’estudi segueix el disseny de la investigació qualitativa, emprant l’etnografia com a metodologia, per recollir respostes detallades i fonamentades a les preguntes de la investigació. Per recopilar dades del professorat d’anglès i dels estudiants de primer i segon nivell de secundària de les escoles del sistema educatiu andorrà, s’han utilitzat observacions a l’aula, entrevistes de grups focals semiestructurades i qüestionaris. Per processar la informació, s’han dut a terme anàlisis qualitatives de dades i estadístiques descriptives. Les conclusions revelen que els usuaris tenen percepcions positives sobre l’ús dels iPads a les classes d’anglès i que la tecnologia s’empra principalment per dur a terme tasques identificades a les directrius del currículum del curs. Les actituds dels usuaris són majoritàriament favorables envers els iPads, sobretot a causa dels beneficis percebuts d’inclusivitat, flexibilitat, millor interacció i producció més eficient dels treballs encomanats. No obstant això, també s’han identificat alguns inconvenients, com ara la distracció, la dependència i la saturació. Es recomanen estudis addicionals per explorar els avantatges de l’ús de tauletes tàctils en gestió i tecnologia educatives

The IPAD and the Development of Speaking and Writing in the Secondary EFL Classroom

Recent research (Kukulska-Hulme & Viberg, 2018) indicates that mobile technology can support second language learning and educational literacy. The iPad is a mobile device that is having a large distribution in schools and an important impact on second language formal and informal learning. However, studies focused on the use of the iPad to specifically enhance and support second language learning and teaching are still scarce. Against this backdrop, this study sought to investigate learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of mobile learning, the implementation of technology-mediated language tasks and the potential impact of the iPad in developing writing and speaking skills in an English as a foreign language classroom in a secondary school in Italy. The data was collected through classroom observations, interviews, recorded teacher meetings, students’ written assignments, and lesson plans. The data collected has been analysed from a socio-cultural theory perspective. The analysis of written data was also informed by Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and a Task-based language teaching (TBLT) framework was used to design writing and speaking tasks. Results show a positive influence on student motivation towards the performance of speaking tasks and improvements on technology-mediated second language writing tasks. In addition, the study found that the use of the iPad had a positive impact on the design of speaking and writing tasks for teachers. Moreover this action research study contributes to mobile assisted language learning by providing further understanding of how the iPad can enhance foreign language learning, especially teaching speaking and writing in the context of secondary education, and provides educators with recommendations on how to design specific language tasks

Exploring how digital media technologies can foster Saudi EFL students' English language learning

Digital Media Technologies (DMTs) has been inspiring people, especially younger generations, for decades. In education, DMTs usage has been investigated as a learning tool. In recent years, studies have been conducted to examine the affordances of DMTs in the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Research has shown that there is a relationship between DMTs usage and intentional learning, as the latter has been argued to be an important aspect of learning. This study aims to understand high-school students’ use of DMTs for fostering EFL intentional learning, especially outside the classroom in the Saudi context. To achieve this goal, a mixed-method research approach was applied. The quantitative data was collected through an online survey that was distributed to Year 12 Saudi male students (n= 350). The qualitative data was collected with students through two phases: the first phase consisted of semi-structured focus group interviews (n= 24) while the second was an online journal (n= 6). The results have shown that Saudi high-school students were highly engaged with DMTs and intentionally use several types of DMTs for learning purposes

AN EXPLORATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATORS’ COGNITIONS AND PRACTICES IN RELATION TO THE PEDAGOGICAL PURPOSES AND EFFICACIES OF 21ST-CENTURY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

This multiple case study investigates English language (EL) teacher educators’ cognitions and practices related to pedagogical technology integration. The focus concerns five native-English speaking teacher educators (TEs) within a teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) training program at a South Korean university. The goal was to determine 1) TESOL-TEs’ cognitions regarding the pedagogical purposes and efficacies of 21st–century digital technologies, 2) TESOL-TEs’ uses of such technologies in their practice, and 3) factors related to TESOL-TEs’ decisions of whether and how to integrate technologies into their praxis. Data collected over twenty weeks in 2013 included four rounds of semi-structured interviews and two sets of classroom observations for each of the five focal participants, interviews with program administrators, written reflections, field notes, photographs, and document review. Data were coded using King’s (2004) template analysis method. Categories were based on constructs from the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework (Mishra and Koehler, 2006) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT, Venkatesh et al., 2003) and UTAUT 2 (Venkatesh et al., 2012). The focal participants displayed high levels of TPACK and used Web 2.0 applications extensively to facilitate interactions in their roles as teacher educators. It was found that UTAUT factors guided TEs’ decisions and use behaviour to varying degrees, but that the mediating factor of age did not relate to TEs’ decisions in the manner predicted by the UTAUT. TEs’ cognitions both coincided with and diverged from their practices. This study contributes to research gaps on the roles, cognitions, and technology-related practices of TESOL-TEs in South Korea. Research on TEs in different contexts is recommended to gain further insights into the connections among these factors. TESOL program administrators and TEs will particularly benefit from the light shed on teacher educator cognitions and practices in this study.

Dialogues with the written world(s): Plurilingual TEAL pedagogy and content learning of Japanese young learners in multilingual landscapes

This ethnographic study aims to describe the literacy development of young Japanese children learning English at an international school in Tokyo (Japan). The research participants, who were recruited from Kindergarten to 4th grade (5 to 10 years old), also participated in summer programs in British Columbia (Canada) for periods ranging from 2 weeks to 2 months. The school adopts a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach (Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010), within a Hundred Languages of Children of Reggio Emilia educational approach (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998) and Miyazakian dialogic pedagogy (Miyazaki, 2013). The school also adopts a plurilingual approach to teaching (Lau & Van Viegen, 2020) and used linguistic landscapes as a pedagogical tool (Dagenais, Moore, Sabatier, Lamarre & Armand, 2009) to promote children’s English and content learning through a series of critical inquiries. Methodological tools include classroom ethnography (Heath & Heath, 1983; Frank, Dixon & Green, 1999; Egan-Robertson & Bloome, 1998), Action Research (Wallace, 1998), as well as visual (Pink, 2009) and walking ethnography (Ingold & Vergunst, 2008) to explore the linguistic landscapes with the participants. The analyses are anchored within the theoretical concepts interconnecting plurilingualism (Marshall & Moore, 2018), multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009, New London Group, 1996) and language learning in an asset-oriented perspective on education that views language competence as holistic and plurilingual and intercultural awareness conducive to critical thinking (Coste, Moore & Zarate, 2009). The purpose of the thesis is to build upon the current discussion on plurilingual pedagogies, curriculum design and language instruction for K-12 children, in the context of English teaching and learning in elementary schools in Japan. It has wider implications for teacher education in English as an Additional Language (TEAL) situations

Technology in the Classroom: The Features Language Teachers Should Consider

The fast development of technology and the new generation of highly computer literate students led to consider the integration of technology in school as essential. Throughout the last two decades, research has identified multiple factors leading to the successful and unsuccessful integration of technology in the classroom. Educators must consider these factors when deciding on which technology tools to use and how to integrate them to their lessons. Simultaneously, the increasing number of English learners in the United States calls for the identification of teaching strategies that will best support their needs. Many language teachers now rely on teaching techniques using technology advancement to promote language learning. However, their selections of tools and integration strategies do not always yield to positive learning outcomes. This literature review aims to gather information on the efficiency of the features provided by different technology tools used in classrooms, with a focus on language learners. It covers some of the recent studies exploring the positive and negative factors affecting language learning. However, researchers must continue to develop, among educators, a better understanding of educational technologies, factors influencing their success, and potential issues that might surround them

Using Mobile-Assisted Language to Encourage EFL Learning among Indonesian Learners of English

Digital Literacy (DL) is defined as the ability to use information and communication technology to communicate with cognitive and technical skills. One of the Digital Literacy is Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) or mobile phones-based language learning. Merits of this study are worthy of helping learners easier understand the language learning materials presented by either guided face to face in the classroom or self-learning out of the school. The study used experimental and control classes to compare the results that the significance of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning in learning language could be prescribed. Refer to the initial students’ ability, this study designed pre and post-test for the experiment. Furthermore, participants were 40 students of second-year students at the English Education Department. Same topics were taught for experiment and control class in alter methods. The results claimed that the using post-test of MALL had merits on improving experimental group more than control group performance. The results declared that using MALL would encourage students learning activities such as self-language learning, enriching vocabulary, promoting teacher’s pedagogic, student’s cognitive, writing skill, reading comprehension, speaking, grammar and listening skill. Lastly, this paper implied MALL as a reference for future curriculum and material developmen

English-Language Learning at their Fingertips: Educational and Motivational Affordances of Tablet Apps in Children’s EFL Learning

Given the popularity of multi-touch tablets, especially among children, and the amount of educational applications (apps) currently available for their use, tablets offer mobile-assisted language learning opportunities rarely provided by more traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching methods. Tablets are increasingly finding their way into classrooms, as their unique affordances give them educational advantages over other mobile technologies. To date, however, insufficient research has been conducted on the educational applications and motivational potential of this digital tool, particularly with reference to foreign-language acquisition by young beginner learners. The aim of this research was to explore the educational and motivational affordances of tablets and tablet apps in supporting young EFL beginner learners, and the factors affecting students’ self-determination to use tablets to learn English. To fulfil this aim, I designed and conducted a case study in a fourth-grade class in a state primary school in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia. I used an exploratory qualitative case study design to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. My approach was social-constructivist, supported by a framework of self-determination theory. I collected the data via participant observation, focus groups, semi-structured interviews and blogging. The sample consisted of 22 female students between 9 and 10 years old. I used inductive and deductive thematic analysis to examine the data. The findings indicate that the technological affordances of tablets, their capacity to mediate and encourage social interaction and collaborative learning, and the overall positive experience of tablet-based EFL learning powerfully motivate children to use tablets to learn English both in classroom settings and beyond. These influential factors were found to elicit, enhance and sustain the intrinsic motivation (IM) and self-regulation of the young EFL participants. The children were highly intrinsically motivated and positively self-regulated by the use of tablet apps to learn English both in the classroom and outside the school setting. Self-determination types such as IM accomplishment, IM knowledge, IM stimulation and identified regulation of external motivation were observed in the data. These findings suggest that the experience of learning via apps was both enjoyable and personally meaningful. However, the students’ self-determination appeared to be affected by certain factors related to the use of tablets (digital and social factors) and apps (app features) that reduced their motivation to deploy these learning tools. The findings of this thesis provide language instructors and researchers, policy-makers and app developers with insights into the educational and motivational tools afforded by tablets and tablet apps for English-language learning, and the factors that enhance or reduce young EFL students’ self-determination to use these tools for learning. In addition, recommendations are made for future research in this area