Introduction
Nowadays, the question is not if a child will be computer literate, it is when to begin considering advanced computer technology for youngsters (McManis, 2012). Some researchers think that young children, who become technologically-savvy too early are better equipped for school, whilst others scholars claim that too much technology is excessive at early age (McManis, 2012). Nevertheless, the digital gadgets are among the six major international technologies, which have a substantial influence on language and literacy practices (McManis, 2012). Moreover, they are poised to become dominating in the predictable future (McManis, 2012). Consistent with the InformaTelecoms & Media, the amount of all digital gadgets created yearly is more than 1.2 billion (McManis, 2012).
Tablets are leading among the type of mobile technology driving this enormous development. The tablet sphere is expected to raise from less than 20 million units in 2010 to more than 230 million in 2015, with approximately 90 million Android gadgets following 90 million iPads (McManis, 2012). This paper is meant to analyze the negative and positive effects of tablets on language and literacy practices.
In spite of the fact that tablets allow people not to worry about their mistakes, weaken the analysis of the reading and worsen literacy abilities due to reading text with the help of a screen, technology experiences are tied with better listening and understanding, letter acknowledgment, phonemic knowledge, vocabulary and language acquisition.
Negative Effects of Tablets on Language and Literacy Practices
History has demonstrated that technology and literacy generally evolve together (McManis, 2012). With certain advances, for instance, the printing press the accessibility of literature improved as numerous copies of literary works could be simply made and spread. Nevertheless, one thing did not change with the course of time. The process of correcting mistakes has not become easier. The author had to either eliminate an error or start writing the page again.
Word processors in computers and in tablets eradicated the need for that, enabling the users to fix mistakes very quickly. In spite of the fact that it may be really convenient, simple and fast correction also presupposes that people may not be as careful relating to what they write. Consistent with the researcher Lilla Dale McManis (2012), it can cause poorer writing, as less thought can be put into the initial concept and the corrections, which were made.
The Web has also allowed new types of literary presentation to rise. For instance, sites do not constantly embrace simple written text. Popular moving pictures and sound effects may be added for better perception, developing a completely new way to express thoughts in writing. One more influence on literacy is the wealth of content (McManis, 2012). In spite of the fact that this enables apparently endless spread of data, the huge part of material can weaken the reader’s tuition. If a person is being “attacked” by a large amount of facts, he cannot concentrate on one issue and offer the assignment the same depth of analysis as he would offer a journal or a book (McManis, 2012). Whilst humans read more varied things, they rarely analyze them, therefore, valuing the quantity over the quality of the text (McManis, 2012).
Youngsters, who use tablets, are falling behind in the classroom. However, the majority of students prefer e-books to printed variants. The evolvement of technology presupposes that children, who read texts on a screen, have worse literacy abilities; also, fewer students today enjoy reading. A research, performed by The National Literacy Trust, discovered that 52% of youngsters preferred to read texts on a gadget, whilst merely 30% claimed they would rather prefer a usual book (McManis, 2012). At the same time, just 12% of children reading books on the tablets claimed that they actually enjoyed reading, contrasted to 50% of those people who preferred usual books (McManis, 2012). Furthermore, the survey of nearly 35,000 young people discovered that children, who prefer usual texts, were two times more likely to have above-average reading abilities as those students, who prefer texts on screens (McManis, 2012).
Positive Effects of Tablets on Language and Literacy Practices
The researchers holding the opposite stance claim that in the learning perspective a tablet may be treated as a basis for language learning, and by itself the tablet may be depicted as multimodal texts that support the children’s acknowledgement and invite them to take actions and develop meaning themselves (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012). Both the communicative role of an educator and how the digital device is incorporated in everyday activities, are important for the learning results: when educators support students and tablets are incorporated in the curriculum, technology experiences are tied with better literacy and language results, for instance, listening and understanding, letter acknowledgment, sounds, vocabulary and understanding notions concerning the stories (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012).
A research that surveyed children aged three to seven discovered that thanks to the tablets the children succeeded in phonological awareness and vocabulary, with youngsters aged three to five demonstrating the most successful accomplishments (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012). The latest study of kindergartners arbitrarily assigned to use a tablet to concentrate on literacy discovered that the children using the gadget had always greater achievements than those not using digital devices (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012). The scientists discovered particularly strong influences in respect of the iPad children’s degree of phonemic knowledge and capability to symbolize sounds with letters (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012).
The largest part of studies dealt with reading understanding and glossary evolvement (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012). A large part of digital tools, such as iPad or Kindle improve vocabulary evolvement and reading comprehension by offering the students access to pronunciation, meaning of the term, contextual data, and comprehension basis to guide a student’s reading (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012). Hence, a thorough and trustworthy research supports the thought that tablets may improve all aspects of literacy progress (Sandvik, Smørdal & Østerud, 2012).
Many studies support the benefits of tablets for language achievement (Zhao, 2005). Children, who go to school in advanced environments, reveal greater accomplishments in areas of language development than students learning under more conventional circumstances (Zhao, 2005). Zhao (2005) analyzed the studies, which investigated the usage of digital multimedia and language. He made a conclusion that technology may be used to improve language acquisition. These are the best ways to improve language acquisition with the help of a tablet (Zhao, 2005):
- Improving access efficiency via digital multimedia: multimedia components may create stronger memory links than simple text. Also, tablets permit direct playbacks that offer fast and easy access to various parts of materials than when learners have only their textbook (Zhao, 2005).
- Improving authenticity via the Web: the Web offers the students access to genuine information, for instance, news and literature (Zhao, 2005).
- Improving clarity via student control and online comments: online materials may be improved with captions or language slowdown, enabling the student to simply absorb the data. Digital reading information may be hyperlinked to various media that students may select to assist their understanding of the data (Zhao, 2005).
- Offering significant and genuine communication opportunities. Learners may involve themselves in real kinds of communication via e-mail and other digital means (Zhao, 2005).
Conclusion
Despite the fact that tablets permit learners not to worry about their errors, weaken the analysis of the reading and worsen literacy skills due to reading text with the help of a screen, technology experiences are tied with better listening and apprehension, letter acknowledgment, phonemic knowledge, vocabulary and language acquisition.
Hence, the research literature throughout the last ten years has demonstrated that technology may improve literacy evolvement, influence language acquisition, offer the greater access to necessary data, support tuition, motivate students to study better, and even improve their sense of worth due to better knowledge of various phenomena and issues. In fact, the scholars have stated that tablets offer the plentiful chances for learners to construct or transform their individual knowledge via all the experiences that advanced computer technology embraces. Basically, tablets impose both negative and positive effects on language and literacy practices. The tablets may either harm the course of the tuition or assist a student in becoming more successful learner. In fact, everything depends on the way a student uses his or her tablet.
References
McManis, L. (2012). Achieving School Readiness & Success Using Tablets and Content. Web.
Sandvik, M., Smørdal, O., & Østerud, S. (2012). Exploring iPads in practitioners’ repertoires for language learning and literacy practices in kindergarten. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, (7)3, 204-220. Web.
Zhao, Y. (2005). Technology and second language learning: promises and problems. Web.