The ambivalent role of electronic tanslators on language instruction

     In the field of foreign language & ESL instruction there are varied opinions about the usage of direct translation resources & their actual impact on student learning. The most commonly sought translation resource is the bilingual dictionary, which technology has enhanced in the form of electronic translators.  These devices are increasingly replacing printed bilingual dictionaries to a large extent due to their convenient sizes, instant translation searches, & often even multilingual databases. In the language learning classroom however, there is much debate about how high dependence on these facilitating instruments actually hinders language processing & comprehension skills. This is the dilemma presented in an online article I read which was published by an ESL instructor.
     When a language learner encounters unknown vocabulary in written or oral discourse in the language being acquired, he/she has the option of merely resorting to direct translation to obtain the word's immediate meaning  or otherwise of resourcefully applying decoding strategies to decipher the contained meaning.  Language learners can attempt to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word by examining the context in which it appears & relating it to words he/she does know.  In addition, word construction, which includes affixes and root forms, is also conducive to revealing word meaning. When a student learns a new word, he/she must not dismiss the importance of concurrently learning how the word is used in real discourse.  Only through associating new words with their particular function & significance in communication the student will authentically internalize a word's fundamental meaning.
   Unfortunately as stated in the article, having electronic translators at their disposition frequently causes students to heavily rely on instant translation for understanding unfamiliar words, therefore leading them away from developing essential decoding skills . Furthermore, during classroom interaction & when practice activities are being done, students' dependency on referring to translation can turn quite disruptive both for the students' focus on the lesson theme & for the instructor's goal to proceed with the lesson. A viable approach to the issue would involve the instructor teaching essential vocabulary decoding strategies & afterwards reasonably limiting the use of the electronic translators.
   On my behalf I believe that translation devices, when operated in the ideal circumstances & setting, can be fairly beneficial to learning certain aspects of a word's meaning.  I feel that mainly when a student is just beginning to learn a language, occasionally translation can assist in acquiring the meaning of abstract concepts. However, once the learner starts to establish an operable language register, reference to translation should become less & less frequent.  The students by then should be capable of managing his/her gained language competence to infer word meaning through context & usage. 
    

Audio-recording devices: A college student's ally

     Throughout my entire college coursework, I have known students who diligently record their class lectures on audio-recording devices.  I have always considered this to be a wise act of active dedication to mastering academic material.  In spite of this, I personally have yet to take the initiative of bringing an audio-recorder to class. However, since I am currently taking a class, in which after having taken the mid-term exam I realized that the most essential notes were actually delivered orally, I am compelled to start using a recording device. Audio-recording devices are truly a rather basic technology that has existed for several decades. Unlike earlier versions which were bulky apparatuses that required a cassette to store content, modern audio-recorders come in slim sizes and have a built-in storage space.  One does not have to necessarily sit right in front of the teacher for the recording to come out at a decent volume.
     The advantages these devices extend to students include being able to store the oral development of their class meetings, in order to then replay it at their own pace and availability. This resource is ideal for lectures in which large quantities of important content are covered at a unreasonably accelerated pace.  It grants you the privilege of being able to revisit the main points of a class discussion & take elaborate notes at your leisure. This unquestionably rids you of the stress of having to frantically copy down sloppy notes that may even need to be rewritten. I have heard accounts involving audio-recorders in which the instructor forbids his/her pupils to record his/her class lectures.  As a future educator I disagree with this type of policy, yet I do understand why these teachers would be unwilling to have their voice recorded. My belief is that if my students will significantly attend to the class material and learn more efficiently by recording the class's oral content, then it is an approach worth trying.  I am aware however, that there is a risk involved since trouble-making individuals can proceed to use someone's voice for pranks using voice editing/altering software.
    

Practicing a foreign language in an ESL webpage?!

A few days ago I was searching online for decent ESL excercises that I needed to present for another class.  I encountered several useful webpages which contained free grammar excercises, vocabulary tests, & basic readings for the ESL student.  There was one particular website that included a selection of bilingual excercises offered in a number of languages.  Being that I am in the process of learning Arabic, I decided to attempt a vocabulary exercise in Arabic/English.  To my appeal, there were several categories of topics to choose from, which allowed me to thoroughly practice my Arabic vocabulary.  Looking back at my endeavor that day, I find it ironic how a website designed to assist speakers of other languages to learn English can also have the reverse effect of guiding English speakers to learn another language!
   One of the underlying rewards of teaching an ESL class is the mutual language exchange that can occur between teacher & students.  As I will be imparting knowledge & competence of English to my ELLs, there is an inevitable potential that I too will get to learn certain words & aspects of my students' native languages, especially from students in the lower proficiency levels.  Bilingual instruction tools, such as the website I found, are an excellent method for beginner ESL students to bridge knowledge from their native language to English.  Likewise, these interlanguage resources can serve the purpose of orienting the instructor on some of the features of his/her students' native languages. With this knowledge at hand, an ESLinstructor can form a more accurate idea of how his/her students might be perceiving the English language material that is being taught.     

Technological unawareness

   It has boldly come to my attention that despite my daily involvement & exposure to contemporary technology, there are many technological innovations that I may currently be totally oblivious to.  The focus of this online course & mainly the nature of the last two interactivities have led me to this eye-opening realization.  Up until I was faced with the task of utilizing a google spreadsheet for interactivity #3, I was unaware that google even offerred such a service, which typically has to be purchased as software by Microsoft. I was quite out of sync with the extent in which google has expanded its domain, adding a variety of commonly used document tools.  I admit to have initially felt ignorant & unskilled in my attempt to utilize the google spreadsheet.  The video tutorial on how to operate the google documents services ( which I unfortunately decided to watch after I had submitted interactivity #3) fairly oriented me on how to function the google spreadsheet tool. It is certainly impressive how versatile & efficient many of the features are (Ex-embedding comments & shared access). 
     Although I still lack knowledge on how to operate most of the functions available on the google spreadsheet, my new familiarity with this dynamic form of technology has resulted in my acknowledgement of the importance of technological competence.  As a prospective teacher, I clearly understand how maintaining awareness of the innovations & uses of technology can have a significant impact on the extent to which I integrate relevant technology for the benefit of student learning.  As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I could be totally oblivious to the dynamic power technology has to offer.     

Interactivity #4

   I found this lesson plan to be appealing primarily because of the various forms of language stimulation & the authentic application of technology it contains.  This lesson on learning about the regions of Washington D.C & Washington state entails multiple procedures that require the students to practice their oral, reading, & writing proficiency in English.  The lesson involves orally evaluating student knowledge before & after the information sources are offerred. The ELLs are exposed to maps, documentary films, & websites which altogether allow them to answer the initial questions & explore beyond these points.
    I modified the orginal lesson plan in several manners, in order to more effectively direct the materials & activities to the curriculum goals specified in the NJ standards I obtained. In the effort to incorporate diverse technological media, I changed the assessment task & included exposure to documentary films within the lesson.  Instead  of having the students produce a written letter to a friend (original assessment), I modeled the scenario of them having won a travel sweepstakes.  The students have been granted the opportunity to travel to either one of the two researched destinations (Washington DC or Washington state).  The task requires for them to compose a formal e-mail (using an e-mail account) confirming which destination they selected & what appealing aspects of the location influenced them in their decision.  The students must discuss which sites/activities they are looking forward to & how this travel experience will expand their perception of American society.
   The diverse selection of technologies that are integrated into this lesson indeed can formidably achieve the defined curricular goals for this intermediate ESL class (proficiency level suggested by  original lesson plan author).  They strategies/technologies included in the original lesson plan or that I implemented address several of the curricular goals. For instance, the W 9-10.1 strand which requires students to be proficient at introducing/developing precise claims in an organized & evidence-supported manner is forged by the different sources of language use & topic information (online, film, class discussion, printed maps, consistent teacher assistance).  The RI 9-10.4 strand which expects ELLs to determine the meaning of words/phrases as they are used in a text, is satisfied by access to online bilingual or ELL dictionaries & the visual/audio components of the films & websites.  In general, the features of each technology integrated into this lesson, serves the purpose of enriching the learning experience while addressing the overall curricular goals.    
Link to spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuwMUFKQz3bNdHBpd1pHR3RZSXlZdWk1U2I3QWJJNWc