Submission Type
75-minute Hands-on Workshop
Abstract
As digital learning has evolved over the last decade, second and foreign language instructors have resisted the call to accept or utilize online dictionaries and translators in their classes. In this presentation, we will explore how authentic and meaningful language learning can take place in a way that recognizes the role online tools play in the field. We will consider what the implications are on the future of our discipline as language and technology become increasingly interdependent.
Start Date
5-22-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-22-2019 2:45 PM
Description
Best practices in foreign language pedagogy have evolved over time, shaped largely by the needs, the materials, and the resources available in the context of the learning environment. As the needs, materials, and resources change in step with globalization and technology, so then must our pedagogy adapt.
Modern language educators face challenges ranging from decreasing enrollment to the question of how to assess language proficiency in the online classroom, and the proposed solutions to date have tried to defy the very real and pervasive presence of the online translator. In short, the online translator is viewed as cheating, when in reality, it is one of the emerging technologies of our time. Teachers have done and continue to do their best to spot student work indicating the support of online tools. However, online translators have become increasingly accessible and sophisticated, and while we may wish to remain in a world where language students do not use them, to pretend to do so is to ignore our role and responsibility as language instructors in the modern world.
In this workshop, we will first take a look at how language instruction has changed over time, mapped with how language resources and needs have also changed over time. We will consider our role as language instructors and what it means to learn, use and communicate in multiple languages today. We will then discover digital competency strategies using modern, online resources and translators as effective tools of inquiry based and purpose driven language learning. Participants will be invited to experiment with these tactics during the interactive portion of the workshop and will leave with ideas on how to adapt their current courses with effective and practical approaches proven to increase student engagement in the language learning classroom.
Inquiry Based Language Learning in the Age of Google
As digital learning has evolved over the last decade, second and foreign language instructors have resisted the call to accept or utilize online dictionaries and translators in their classes. In this presentation, we will explore how authentic and meaningful language learning can take place in a way that recognizes the role online tools play in the field. We will consider what the implications are on the future of our discipline as language and technology become increasingly interdependent.
Comments
Link to presentation slides here.