Abstract
Our growing dependence on technological innovations in our daily lives is unstoppable. Technology has had a positive impact in the education system. In phase one of this project, the teaching and learning problems were identified and presented. Additionally, a brief narrative of the district, instructional profile and student population involved in the study were also presented.
The instructor introduced a technology-based solution to the education system, the target group, the rationale behind the chosen solution and the relative advantage for selecting the proposed technology.
Through appropriate use, having technology incorporated into the curriculum of school systems gives children the opportunity to develop their intellect to a higher level and in the process enabling them to become well-rounded individuals (Meskill, 2002). Multimedia programs offer a natural combination of the benefits that facilitate foreign language education.
According to research findings, computer technology has really helped in improving students’ comprehension and memory in learning Spanish vocabulary (Moore, 1996). Students are able to have a good understanding of foreign languages through the use of technology.
Introduction
The current teaching curriculum seems very complex and therefore many students find it difficult to cope with it. Things become even more complicated when students are supposed to grasp information that is completely strange. The current curriculum changes make it difficult for students to remember what they are taught in class.
Teaching a foreign language is very challenging to the teachers because students take a lot of time to comprehend the class materials. Teachers are forced to spend large amounts of instructional times in reviewing materials while students struggle to keep up with the speed of the class.
This project entirely focused on the need to develop relevant educational tools that can enable students to comprehensively learn and master the Spanish vocabulary. In an attempt to test the recommended solution, teachers were required to master the lesson plan and how to use multimedia technology before introducing any new vocabulary to the students.
Only one day was given for every vocabulary lesson that the students were supposed to learn. The one day timeline was supposed to stop time wasting in the continuous review of materials in previous lessons.
Student and School Information
This research was done in one of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. The Department of Defense Education Activity is government agency that that is charged with the responsibility of managing the academic affairs of schools in all the U.S military bases (Carmona, 2007). The agency has both local and overseas districts and strictly admits students of military service members.
Schools within (DoDEA) have programs running from prekindergarten up to the 12th grade. Students are tested in each of the subjects they undertake at the end of every grade level. The DoDEA agency is divided into three major areas namely Guam, Europe and Cuba.
The approximated number of students in these schools is 86,000 with 87,000 teachers on board (Carmona, 2007). Language and culture studies are emphasized in these schools with the students being introduced to the language and culture of their host nation right away from the elementary level. Advanced language courses are taught in high school.
The department’s website provides all the relevant information about its progress as well as the description of its educational enrolment and staff. Schools within (DoDEA) offer kindergarten, middle school and high school education (Carmona, 2007). The information about student enrolment and staff is well presented in details.
The statistical information about the (DoDEA) schools helps us have an overview of student enrolment and staff information of all the schools that are within the Department of Defense Education Activity. The curriculum, systems and operations of the DoDEA schools are fully regulated by the U.S government.
Approximately 8,700 educators serve 86,000 Department of Defense Activity students (O’Neil, 2003). The demographics of the Department of Defense Education Activity schools highlight the nature of students and the expected challenges in both teaching and learning.
White students form the majority of the student population with approximately 46.7 % composition (O’Neil, 2003). The other bulk of students consist of both African American and Multiracial students. The staff members in these schools are predominantly White forming 75% of the total teaching and support staff members. The majority of the students’ parents serve in the Army and the Air force.
This project focused on one of the DoDEA institutions located in Germany. In this study a Spanish language class was selected for testing the multi-media technology in teaching and learning the Spanish language (Carmona, 2007).
Classroom and Participants
The Spanish classroom had the following resources available: 10 desktop computers with SPAM and filtering software, antivirus, Microsoft office suite, Ethernet ports with Internet capabilities, retractable overhead projector screen, LCD projector, headphones & microphones, class sets (20) and wireless laser jet printer.
In addition, the foreign language department had access to a mobile lab that contains 25 laptops with wireless access.
The participants involved in the study include a certified Spanish teacher and a Spanish class. The teacher who participated in the study had over 15 years of experience teaching Spanish.
The Spanish class was made up of students who were learning the Spanish language and were a mixed group of students. Some students were considered on a higher Spanish proficiency grade level. In this Spanish class, students’ learning styles, prior knowledge and abilities were not the same.
Instructional Profile
The (DoDEA) institution that we are focusing on in this paper is a middle school that is part of the Department of Defense Dependent Schools In Europe. The institution is located in Germany and is one of the five school districts. The institution’s enrolment is approximately 516 students in grade six through eight. Many of the students joined the school as a result of their parent’s relocation due to military orders (Carmona, 2007).
Other students had to start school in the middle of a semester due to diverse reasons. According to the Department of Defense Education Activity’s Annual School Report Card 2011, the composition of gender in this middle school included 52% males while the female students constituted 48% of the total student population (Carmona, 2007).
The demographics of the school were as follows: 50% White, 20% African Americans, 15%Hispanic or Latino and 9% Multi racial (O’Neil, 2003).
Teaching/Learning Problem
Many scholars such as Bicanich and Mechling viewed the introduction of computers as a step forward towards speeding up the process of teaching and learning. It is therefore of great importance to use various teaching aids such as visuals aids in improving a student’s interest in whatever subject they may be studying. A student’s interest in the learning process makes the cognitive process to be fast and more efficient.
In the course of this project, quite a number of problems were identified in the Spanish classroom after a number of observations had been made. To begin with, the students struggled a lot in practicing their pronunciations as well as remembering learned vocabulary.
Through the instructor’s traditional teaching methods and experience coupled with the past experience of this section, it was observed that many students experienced a lot of difficulties in correct pronunciation of Spanish vocabulary. Past test scores demonstrated that students did not understand the materials taught to them which caused them to score very low in their Spanish oral tests.
This problem was attributed to the students’ lack of technological resources that would help them in practicing their pronunciations both inside and outside the classroom. Although most of the Spanish vocabulary had been taught in previous lessons, it was observed that the instructor had to revisit these lessons quite a number of times to refresh the students’ memories.
Many students were unable to advance to the next lesson, understand learned vocabulary, comprehend oral conversations without the assistance of written material and feel confident in their learning ability. In addition, the instructor found it very difficult to identify the students in need of help because many students felt too embarrassed to ask questions and participate in class.
Rationale
At the end of the project, it was found out that some of the traditional educators did not fully support the use of technology in teaching foreign language classes. Traditional educators were of the view that some foolish ideas about technology were simply being oversold. They argued that online education is a very important field and should not be discredited by some foolish ideas.
They were also of the view that the use of technology in teaching foreign languages was not being approached with legitimate pedagogical objectives. There were other educators who were supportive of the ideas of using technology in teaching.
The pro-technology educators believe that technology is an important tool in education (Meskill, 2002). The rationale of this problem was identified around oral Spanish vocabulary comprehension. It was identified through the observation of the student’s performance and attitude. The instructor observed frustrations, loss of interest, confidence and motivation.
In addition, a decrease in class participation and a number of incomplete assignments were observed. Furthermore, the results from several assessments: diagnostic, formative and summative confirmed the problem. The usage of diverse technology tools increased test scores and students’ interest in learning new vocabulary (Meskill, 2002).
Technology -based Solution
The proposed solution designed to help students to practice their learned vocabulary, enhance their comprehension, increase class participation and reinforce lessons involved the utilization of the computer –assisted language learning technology (Meskill, 2002). This form of communication technology needs an overhead projector and some computer software programs to provide grammatical practice.
Multimedia simulation software has given language teaching and learning a very cognitive approach. The computer has the ability to facilitate the functions of both the teacher and the students and there making learning to be a bit quicker. Students are able to have a first hand experience of the new language courtesy of the multimedia simulation software (Korsvold, 1997).
Online discussions can be utilized by students through networked computer labs. The multimedia technology has become a very useful tool in facilitating the process of learning foreign languages. Foreign language students are able to encode information about new words in a dual way (Moore, 1996).
Multimedia technology depends on both visual and verbal information which has made learning foreign languages much simpler. This technology uses computers and has been gaining popularity in recent years (Moore, 1996).
Different studies have shown that the use of multimedia technologies and annotations is the most effective way of learning foreign languages. Two web-based programs named Voki and Digital Dialect flashcards were utilized in this project (Moore, 1996). These programs present the learner with vocabulary items that are supposed to be repeated by the learner for long term retention.
These programs have been helpful in helping learners to remember new vocabulary on a long-term basis. Both programs provided students with an extra support of practice and remembering learned Spanish vocabulary. Voki allowed students to record their voice and practice their vocabulary on their own compared it to their teacher’s pronunciation (Meskill, 2002).
Using real speech allows students to hear correct pronunciation; students can stop, pause and rewind at any time. A Voki can speak using the creator’s own voice, an uploaded file or by reading a typed-in message.
Voki had the flexibility to allow students to practice their new language by creating short stories, poems or content information pieces. In addition, the teacher utilized an instructional video to support instruction and engage students.
The Digital Dialect flashcard program allowed students to have visual, audio and oral practice in presented vocabulary. This program benefited student’s learning regardless of their learning style (Meskill, 2002). By utilizing these programs students were able to process information by hearing and discussing the information. Other learners processed the information through information through visual aids.
Construction of meaning is very vital in learning a foreign language and visual aids help in facilitating this important function (Korsvold, 1997).
Students with a kinesthetic learning style processed the learned Spanish vocabulary by muscle movements and experiences that were hands-on by clicking the diverse options presented on each screen. The flexibility and functionality of these programs provided a huge impact on students’ education (Korsvold, 1997).
Relative Advantage
Multimedia programs such as animations have helped in the learning and remembering of foreign languages. The animation program is a very critical tool in learning foreign languages because of its interactive nature. Animations are known to have the ability to address the majority of a student’s senses.
This program contributed immensely in reducing the amount of time spent on un-productive pronunciation exercises (Moore, 1996). Through this program, students had more time to understand, comprehend and learn to speak learned Spanish vocabulary.
This mode of learning is very essential in eliminating all psychological and linguistic barriers. The learning environment is very important because it must make the students to feel comfortable and eager to learn new concepts.
Psychological barriers could be a huge obstacle in learning foreign languages. The use of Voki and flashcard software helped students to feel confident in their learning aptitude. The performance of students studying the Spanish had improved significantly after an assessment was done (Meskill, 2002). The improvement in performance was attributed to the use of Voki and flashcard programs.
Multimedia materials coupled with innovative methods of learning have been proven to provide the required support and motivation needed to learn a foreign language. The multimedia technology makes the learning environment to be more colorful for learning a new language.
The challenges of using technology had also brought the need to seek formal or informal education on how to employ the new technology in the best way possible. Teachers must seek diverse and innovative tools that support student’s education. Teachers who are able to appreciate and understand the critical role played by technology in improving learning are the most needed.
The teachers should fully take advantage of all the benefits brought about by technology while recognizing its shortcomings as well. In an increasingly technological society, we need teachers who are both technologically savvy. Allowing students to use multimedia programs as a learning tool gives teachers the ability to cover topics in-depth and practice conversational Spanish.
The use of Voki and flashcard programs had positively changed the student’s perception on how to learn foreign languages.
Instructional communication technology has been instrumental in helping students with both learning problems to significantly improve their overall class performance. Instructional communication technology addresses attention problems and at the same time accommodates with varying cognitive skills (Meskill, 2002).
Students deemed to be at risk of failing to learn and understand foreign languages are greatly helped by this type of technology.
The main goal of this project was to help students that are time constrained to effectively prepare for an oral Spanish exam and help them to remember learned vocabulary. Any advantage that a student can gain by using multi-media programs such as Voki and flashcards was an added bonus and should be utilized in foreign language classes (Meskill, 2002).
These technological solutions had many possibilities of supporting and reinforcing students’ learning in the Spanish classroom. There were no limitations to what a student could learn regardless of their educational background, learning abilities and both social and economic status.
Although the computer has been seen as a threat to the teacher’s roles, the use of technology in teaching foreign languages has a lot advantages compared to its limitations. The ever changing goals of language education make it impossible to use technology in both teaching and learning foreign languages.
The need to introduce language students to new discourse communities can only be facilitated by technology. The computer technology is useful in facilitating meaningful interaction (Meskill, 2002).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note the fact that the use of technology has improved teaching and learning foreign languages. According to the findings of this research, many students studying foreign languages have a great problem in mastering the vocabulary and therefore forcing teachers to keep on reviewing previous lessons and consequently wasting a lot of time.
The use of multimedia glosses such the voki and flashcard programs not only make learning of learning foreign languages simpler but also bring the much needed motivation and interest.
Although some traditional educators are very skeptical about the application of technology-based solution in solving learning problems, the majority of them have been able to experience an improvement in the their students’ performance due to the use of technology. The computer has got a lot of features such as the animation feature which is a very useful visual aid in teaching foreign languages.
References
Carmona, A. (2007). A study of ways to promote and improve potential involvement in a middle school setting. New York, NY: ProQuest.
Korsvold, A. (1997). New technologies in language learning and teaching. London: Council of Teaching.
Meskill, C. (2002). Teaching and learning in real time: Media, technologies and language acquisition. New York, NY: Athelstan.
Moore, Z. (1996). Foreign language teacher education: Multiple perspectives. New York, NY. Multiple Press of America.
O’Neil, H. (2003). Technology application in teaching: A learning view. New York: Routlege.